Free Web NovelChapter 110: Chapter 110: Tossing and Turning, Sleepless from Heartache
Wei Chi Lianping was indignant. ’Just because no one else is putting food on my plate, does that mean I can’t eat?’
Just as he reached for the dish with his chopsticks, Emperor Wu Su shot a look.
Li Yuzong hurriedly swapped the platter of emerald rolls to the spot right next to Ji Qingwu.
Wei Chi Lianping’s chopsticks closed on empty air. He once again revised his opinion of this Miss Ji. ’She needs others to serve her food, and even has the serving platter moved for her. This woman is utterly pampered.’
He didn’t stop to think, however, why Ji Qingwu could command the Chief Eunuch to personally move a dish for her.
After the meal was over, Li Yuzong brought a large stack of memorials from the Diligent Governance Hall and piled them on the desk in the main tent.
Staring at the pile of memorials, which stood nearly waist-high, Ji Qingwu felt a wave of indigestion on the Emperor’s behalf. Not daring to disturb Emperor Wu Su as he dealt with state affairs, the group quietly withdrew. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
「The night grew deeper.」
Ji Qingwu returned to her assigned tent to rest. She had just lain down when someone knocked at the entrance.
It was Princess Hua Chang, who lifted the tent flap to enter.
Ji Qingwu said with surprise, "Her Highness the Princess?"
"I saw the lamp in your tent was still lit, and I have something to discuss. It wasn’t convenient to speak earlier with so many people around," Princess Hua Chang said, adding, "You don’t need to get up. I’ll just sit here and talk."
But how could she possibly lie there while the Eldest Princess sat.
Ji Qingwu sat up, draped an outer robe over her shoulders, got off the cot, and moved to a nearby chair.
She ventured, "Your Highness, have you been feeling unwell recently?"
Princess Hua Chang shook her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I came to ask you to check my pulse and see if there’s something wrong with my body."
She sighed inwardly. ’The fact that there’s nothing wrong is the biggest problem of all.’
Princess Hua Chang took the nourishing pills from Ji Qingwu every day and had been indulging Wei Chi Lianping’s romps these past days. The dark circles under her eyes had grown heavy, and it took a great deal of pearl powder to barely conceal them.
But for all her efforts, her monthly courses still arrived right on time.
Princess Hua Chang was filled with a frustration she couldn’t voice. Even if she hadn’t seen Ji Qingwu here, she would have found an excuse to meet with her in a few days.
"Miss Ji, please help me see what’s really going on."
Ji Qingwu wanted to find a silk handkerchief to lay over the Princess’s wrist, but the tent contained no such personal, womanly items.
Princess Hua Chang was loath to be touched by outsiders, but this was an urgent matter. She lowered her gaze to Ji Qingwu’s fair, unadorned fingertips and thought, ’Perhaps being touched by such clean, lovely fingers wouldn’t be so unacceptable.’
"Just check it directly," she said.
Ji Qingwu’s expression flickered with surprise. She realized Princess Hua Chang was very different from when they first met. Though her face was still one of otherworldly beauty, she now had the warmth of a living person. Her eyes were more vivid, and she no longer seemed so aloof.
She lowered her long lashes, her expression tranquil as her warm fingers rested on the Princess’s wrist.
Princess Hua Chang slowed her breathing, awaiting the diagnosis.
After about the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, Ji Qingwu withdrew her hand and narrowed her eyes slightly.
Seeing her expression, Princess Hua Chang began hesitantly, "Is it... could it be that I overdid it? Was I too diligent and ended up harming my body’s foundation?"
Ji Qingwu shook her head. "No, Your Highness. Please don’t worry, your body is in excellent condition." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The nourishing pills she gave Princess Hua Chang were all formulated by her own hand; there couldn’t be a problem with them. The pulse she just took also showed that the Princess’s constitution was better than before, with her qi and blood flowing freely and abundantly.
The nurtured soil is more than fertile enough. The problem must lie with...
...the ox that plows the field.
Ji Qingwu frowned. "Your Highness, has the Prince Consort shown any... issues?"
Princess Hua Chang asked intently, "What kind of issues do you mean?"
Ji Qingwu considered for a moment, then said delicately, "For example... has he been lacking in vigor?"
Princess Hua Chang shook her head decisively. Wei Chi Lianping had boundless energy. When it came to *that*, his vigor was never an issue.
"Would it be possible for me to check General Wei Chi’s pulse?" Ji Qingwu asked.
That was exactly what Princess Hua Chang had been thinking.
Ji Qingwu added, "Let’s say that General Wei Chi’s wounds need to be treated, and since there is no medical woman here, Your Highness came to ask for my help."
From her few encounters with him, she had come to understand Wei Chi Lianping’s personality. If they told him the real reason, he was bound to say something tactless.
This was not the Princess Mansion, and with so many outsiders around, it would be bad if anyone overheard.
Moreover, if the problem truly did lie with the Prince Consort, it was all the more important that he not know the real purpose of her visit.
Meanwhile, Wei Chi Lianping had taken a bath in his tent. When he emerged, he found the Princess was gone.
He was sitting at the table in a sulk, a sour look on his face.
When a guard entered, he was so intimidated by the General’s expression that he nearly lost his nerve, stammering, "G-General Wei Chi, the Eldest Princess sent a messenger. She has asked Miss Ji Wu to treat your wounds. They are on their way over now, so she asks that you get ready."
Wei Chi Lianping’s face immediately broke into a wide grin, and the guard suddenly seemed much more pleasant to look at.
He chuckled. "Ah, so that’s it. This General understands. You may go."
He knew it. Sooner or later, he was bound to melt that block of ice.
The more Wei Chi Lianping thought about it, the happier he became. He belatedly recalled that Princess Hua Chang had even openly defied the Emperor for his sake earlier that day.
Overcome with excitement, Wei Chi Lianping could no longer sit still. He had no intention of waiting for Ji Qingwu and the Princess to come to him—he threw back the tent flap and charged outside.
Ji Qingwu had just finished dressing and was about to step outside when a man’s voice called out from beyond the tent flap.
The two women looked toward the tall, muscular silhouette.
Wei Chi Lianping knew he couldn’t just enter a lady’s tent, so he stood at the entrance without rashly stepping inside.
He announced in a loud voice, "AHEM! This General was only scratched a few times by a little bear cub, but my princess, she was so worried about my injuries—so worried she’s been tossing and turning, unable to sleep! She took the opportunity while I was away to specially find Miss Ji to treat me. So sorry for the disturbance! It’s all this General’s fault!"
Then, Wei Chi Lianping announced from the entrance, enunciating each word, "This General has come to escort the Eldest Princess back to our tent!"
His voice was so deep and resonant, it was no exaggeration to say it could be heard clearly for a hundred meters in every direction.
Duan Mingfeng, who suffered from insomnia, had just been drifting off to sleep. He was now instantly wide awake, his face darkening with a grim expression.
The patrolling Black Armor Guards: ...
Weren’t the Eldest Princess and the Great General rumored to be a couple in name only, their relationship strained? Why were they being so disgustingly affectionate in the middle of the night?
Inside the tent, Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but smile.
But when she met Princess Hua Chang’s irritated gaze, her smile vanished.
’In any case, their relationship really is improving,’ she thought. ’It seems the incident with Ji Changlin last time didn’t cause any lasting damage.’
Thinking of her eldest brother, far away in Nanchu and eating dust, Ji Qingwu sighed softly.
Hearing no response, Wei Chi Lianping called out again, "Miss Ji, this General is perfectly fine! The night is long, and I know you may be sleepless, but don’t delay a husband and wife from their rest."
Ji Qingwu, thus accused of keeping the couple from their sleep, was silent for a moment.
Then she said, "Her Highness the Princess, please ask the Prince Consort to come in. If we wait any longer, I fear no one in the entire camp will get any sleep."
