In the following days, Zhao Hua brought Ruo Xin along when she accompanied Cheng Yu to court.
The young Cheng Ye, however, had to remain in the palace, tended to by wet nurses.
Upon arriving at the Chaoyang Palace, Zhao Hua and Cheng Yu headed to the Jinluan Hall, while Yun Shan took Ruo Xin to the inner chambers to play with Jin Yue.
After four or five days,
On this day, when Zhao Hua was taking Ruo Xin back to the palace after court, she noticed Ruo Xin staggering as she walked, nearly falling over.
Zhao Hua quickly grabbed the child's arm to steady her and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Ruo Xin tapped her little head, stuck out her tongue, and giggled, "Perhaps I slept too long during the nap and haven't fully woken up yet."
"A nap?" Zhao Hua said, as if she had heard something highly amusing and couldn't help but laugh. "You little mischievous girl, this is quite rare. When you were in my palace, I could never coax you to sleep no matter what. But now that you've been to your father's palace, you're napping in the afternoon?"
Ruo Xin explained, "Every day when I go to Father's palace, I play with Sister Jin Yue. We play hopscotch, toss sandbags, and even played chess with Father yesterday. But whenever it's noon, after we've had our meal, Father always has us take an afternoon nap."
Curious, Zhao Hua asked Yun Shan, "With Ruo Xin's playful nature, can she really fall asleep?"
Before Yun Shan could respond, Ruo Xin nodded vigorously and raised her voice, "I can sleep! The fragrance in Father's palace is so lovely. Sister Jin Yue and I would lie down and smell it, and before long, we'd fall asleep."
Despite Ruo Xin's effusive praise for the Chaoyang Palace, Zhao Hua still found the matter peculiar.
Although she had sent Yun Shan to accompany them, when Ruo Xin and Jin Yue were playing and enjoying family time with Xiao Jingheng in the inner chambers, Yun Shan could not always be present.
After returning to the palace, Judge Zhang happened to come to check on Zhao Hua's pulse.
She asked him to examine Ruo Xin as well.
After carefully checking Ruo Xin's pulse, Judge Zhang said as usual, "The Third Princess is in good health, only slightly anemic."
Ruo Xin has always been a picky eater. Previously, she was under Zhao Hua's supervision, but these past few days at Xiao Jingheng's palace, he had spoiled her.
He let her eat whatever she wanted, and if she didn't want something, she wouldn't touch it with her chopsticks.
"Is Ruo Xin's dizziness today also due to her anemia?"
Judge Zhang nodded, "Indeed. The Third Princess was born prematurely, so her body has always been somewhat frail. Moreover, she's picky about food, so her nutrition is often lacking, causing this anemic condition, which is normal. It's not a major issue, she just needs to have a proper dietary supplement."
Zhao Hua fell silent for a moment, then recalled something and asked in a low voice, "Ruo Xin said that whenever she napped in the Chaoyang Palace, she could smell a peculiar fragrance. She said the scent was so comforting that she would easily fall asleep..."
Judge Zhang explained, "When I examined her pulse, I did notice traces of her having been exposed to a sedative incense. However, that sedative incense, mixed with the Yuelin Fragrance, is always burned in the Emperor's palace.
The sedative incense has a calming effect. For adults, it soothes the mind, while for children, it aids sleep.
It's a gentle substance, and even with daily use, it won't have any adverse effects on the body."
After hearing this, Zhao Hua was finally fully reassured.
She realized she had been frightened by Xiao Jingheng into seeing dangers everywhere.
After all, she had witnessed firsthand how Xiao Jingheng could be viciously cruel.
He was a madman, and who knew when the beast inside him might resurface, causing him to commit more heinous acts?
As Zhao Hua was talking with Judge Zhang, she saw the maid Xiaofuzi enter with a solemn expression.
She stood by Zhao Hua's side, observed the proper etiquette, and said in a somber voice, "Your Highness, news has come from outside the palace. Lady Ning... is on her deathbed."
In the Capital City, at the Ning Residence.
Lady Ning had just coughed up blood again.
Since Ning Wanshuang returned home, she had been by Lady Ning's side.
At this moment, Lady Ning was asleep, and Liu Yue, seeing Ning Wanshuang's exhausted appearance, couldn't bear it and gently advised her,
"Your Highness, you've been awake for five days now. Continuing like this isn't the answer. The Lady is resting now, why don't you return to your room and sleep for a while?"
Wearily, Ning Wanshuang nodded and quietly left the room.
The night wasn't too deep, and the bustling sounds of people in the streets could still be heard.
However, in the Ning Family's courtyard, fallen leaves were scattered everywhere, leaving only desolation.
The once bustling Ning Residence now had only three or four servants remaining.
Ning Wanshuang tread through the wild overgrown weeds, slowly making her way back to her room.
A flock of crows perched on the branches of a willow tree, flapping their wings and descending to the ground, pecking at the scraps of meat that had spilled from the servants' discarded dishwater.
In the night, their silhouettes resembled ghostly shadows.
Ning Wanshuang stood there, staring blankly.
Puzzled, Liu Yue said, "Your Highness, why are you looking at those filthy creatures? Those ominous things only bring bad luck!"
With that, she stomped her feet, startling the crows into taking flight and scattering.
Ning Wanshuang watched their small bodies easily fly over the courtyard walls and disappear into the unknown heights, a bitter smile forming on her lips.
"Cough cough... cough cough cough!"
The violent coughing sounds coming from Lady Ning's room interrupted Ning Wanshuang's wandering thoughts.
She panicked and rushed back.
Perhaps she had opened the door too forcefully, for the gust of wind extinguished two of the three candles burning in the room.
Only one candle remained, flickering precariously on a soot-covered candlestick.
Ning Wanshuang hurried to the bed, and by the faint moonlight filtering through the latticed window, she saw her mother covering her mouth as she coughed violently.
Blood... it was seeping through the gaps in her fingers.
Ning Wanshuang took a white handkerchief and kept wiping away the fresh blood that her mother was coughing up.
The blood stains dyed the handkerchief red, and her eyes grew misty with tears.
"Liu Yue! Go and summon the imperial physician back! Call the best physicians in the Capital City, all of them, to come here!"
"There's no need," Lady Ning's coughing eased somewhat.
She feebly waved Liu Yue away, then wiped her blood-stained hand on the bedsheet before calmly taking Ning Wanshuang's hand and smiling, "Wanshuang, your mother wishes to speak with you peacefully for a while."
