GBP Chapter 174 Impact
Chapter 174 Impact
Winter had unknowingly arrived, and the weather was gradually getting colder. Lan Qingwu now took a walk around Suowu Palace every day.
Emperor Shenwu naturally accompanied him every day.
That day, Lan Qingwu left the Suowu Palace and slowly walked towards the Qianzheng Palace.
On the way, Lan Qingwu felt tired, so he sat down in an octagonal pavilion to rest.
Ruhan was a little worried and said, "Master, why don't you wait for His Majesty to come and take a walk together?"
Lan Qingwu looked up at the clouds in the sky and said softly, "His Majesty has been busy these days. If he can't come, I'll go find him. You, Ruping, Qiulan and so many people will follow, so nothing will happen. We'll rest for a while and then leave. I don't need to take another walk today."
Ruhan looked around. Sure enough, there were quite a few people from Suowu Palace, nearly ten of them. Ruping also smiled at Ruhan and asked, "Did you see Lan Hao again when you left the palace yesterday?"
Ruhan nodded, her cheeks slightly red.
Lan Qingwu thought of Madam Qian who had moved into Qingciyuan and couldn't help but sigh. She looked at the three of them and said, "Ruhan, Ruping, Qiulan, remember, no matter who you marry in the future, in addition to respecting each other, you must be the legal wife and not kowtow to any other woman. Remember, don't pretend to be magnanimous and take concubines on your own initiative. What others say is not important. What matters most is living your own life."
Ruhan nodded thoughtfully. Every day she watched her master and His Majesty get along as lovingly as an ordinary couple. It seemed as if not even a needle could get between them. Ruhan seemed to understand something.
Qiulan bowed and said, "Master, I've thought about this a long time ago. Instead of marrying someone to serve the whole family, it would be better for me to follow you and serve you alone."
"Why do you think so?"
"Master, my sisters are all married, but now... almost none of them are living well. A while ago, I had to rely on you to solve many of my sisters' problems. I want to follow you like this. If they want to bully my sisters again, they should think twice, right?"
Lan Qingwu had no choice but to say, "If you change your mind, tell me. What about you, Ruping?"
Ru Ping looked at Lan Qingwu and said seriously, "Master, I will never marry in this life! I have said it before. Ever since the day you saved me, I have decided to follow you for the rest of my life."
Lan Qingwu guessed that Ruping must have encountered something in the past. She didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and said, "One more thing. This world is inherently unfair to women. No matter what we will encounter in the future, nothing and no one is worth giving up our lives for. You must always remember this."
Ru Ping's heart trembled slightly. She knew that Lan Qingwu had made some guesses. As she expected, the master had no intention of despising or disdaining her. Instead, he told her how precious her life was.
Ruhan and Qiulan both seemed to have realized something.
The master and servant started talking about other topics.
After a while, there was a slight sound coming from under the octagonal pavilion, and Qiulan immediately walked towards the pavilion.
Later, Qiulan came back to report to Lan Qingwu: "Master, it's Princess Mingzhu and the eldest prince. Concubine Li brought Princess Mingzhu, and Concubine Shuixia accompanied the eldest prince. They are here to pay their respects to you, Master."
Lan Qingwu frowned slightly, what a strange combination.
But it would be bad not to see them, after all, the eldest princess and the eldest prince were there. Lan Qingwu had no choice but to say, "Let them come up, and we'll leave after they greet us."
A group of people went up to the octagonal pavilion. Noblewoman Shuixia and Concubine Li first saluted Lan Qingwu. Princess Mingzhu was not unfamiliar with Lan Qingwu. After all, Lan Qingwu often went to the Cining Palace to pay his respects. She also received many gifts from Concubine Yi. Among them, her favorite was a picture of a cute white cat playing with a ball.
Princess Mingzhu also greeted Lan Qingwu: "Is Concubine Yi going to rest here?"
Lan Qingwu nodded: "Why is the eldest princess here?"
Princess Mingzhu remembered Empress Dowager Li's instructions and straightened her back, saying, "I just came here for a stroll. First I ran into my brother, and then I ran into Noble Lady Shuixia."
As for Concubine Li, she was there to take care of her, and Princess Mingzhu didn't take her seriously at all.
Concubine Li quickly lowered her eyes as she looked at Lan Qingwu's belly, hiding the hatred and resentment in them. After the incident in the Cining Palace that day, Emperor Shenwu had given her double the amount of contraceptive medicine. Now, with her frail constitution, she could no longer be a mother.
Concubine Li raised her head slightly again and looked at Lan Qingwu: "The baby in Concubine Yi's belly is about to be born, right? This is the eldest princess and the eldest prince's sixth brother! By the way, why doesn't the eldest prince bow to Concubine Yi?"
Lan Qingwu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she almost instantly sensed Concubine Li's malice.
Noblewoman Shuixia also smiled and said, "Yes, eldest prince, this is Concubine Yi, your stepmother. You should pay your respects."
The eldest prince lowered his head slightly, remained motionless and silent. Behind him, Luluo clung to him tightly, feeling apprehensive. Hongqiao, however, stood not far behind them, her head bowed deeply, keeping a distance from them.
Lan Qingwu slowly stood up: "Forget it, it's just a child. I'm tired too, so I'll leave first."
The eldest princess frowned and said, "Brother, etiquette cannot be abandoned. Moreover, as a member of the royal family and the eldest son of our father, you should set an example."
Lan Qingwu turned around and took a few steps: "No need, all of you can leave."
The eldest prince suddenly said, "My sister told me to bow, so I will bow!"
Lan Qingwu only heard the chaotic screams of several people. Before she could turn around, she felt the collision. Ruping reacted quickly and blocked the blow. The impact was not strong, but it was very sudden. She only had time to reach out and hold the railing of the stone pavilion, but her abdomen still inevitably hit the railing.
All that was heard was the crowd's exclamations and panic. Ru Han and Ru Ping hurriedly supported Lan Qingwu, only to see her face turn pale in an instant.
Qiulan said angrily: "Prince, what are you doing?"
Lan Qingwu only saw the eldest prince's red eyes filled with hatred. She didn't care about anything else: "Ruhan, Ruping, I feel very bad. Let's go."
Ru Ping was unusually flustered: "Master, what's wrong?"
Lan Qingwu only felt a warm current flowing out of her body. She slowly fell to the ground and said, "Go call His Majesty and Doctor Nie..."
Qiulan was about to run down the pavilion in panic, but when she turned around, she saw Emperor Shenwu striding up to the octagonal pavilion. It turned out that Emperor Shenwu was also worried about Lan Qingwu and came out of Qianzheng Hall early.
The Shenwu Emperor walked in with a sullen expression. Lan Qingwu, with his eyes slightly closed, could only hear the sound of people kneeling. The Shenwu Emperor saw Lan Qingwu lying on the ground and asked, "What's going on?"
Emperor Shenwu passed by the people kneeling on the ground and hurried forward to hold Lan Qingwu in his arms.
There was a moment of silence in the pavilion.
Qiulan calmed herself down and said, "Your Majesty, it was the eldest prince. He deliberately bumped into the Empress. It was all our fault. We thought the eldest prince wanted to pay his respects to the Empress and let down our guard."
The phoenix eyes of Emperor Shenwu locked onto the eldest prince in an instant. The eldest prince felt his father's tremendous anger. He seemed to realize what he had done. He trembled and did not dare to look up at Emperor Shenwu.
Emperor Shenwu's gaze swept over Concubine Shuixia, Concubine Li and Princess Mingzhu one by one, and those who were glanced at by the emperor almost immediately broke out in cold sweat.
A white jade hand gently grasped the sleeve of Emperor Shenwu: "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Shenwu hurriedly picked up Lan Qingwu and walked down from the octagonal pavilion: "Go and summon all the doctors from the Imperial Hospital to Suowu Palace."