Chapter 397: Ji Qingwu Is Seriously Ill

But Ji Qingwu had no intention of letting them see the contents of the imperial edict. She didn’t want its words to be sullied.

Mrs. Cui collapsed back into her chair in horror.

"You! You... how... why..."

Seeing her mother-in-law begin to ramble incoherently, her gaze losing focus, Feng Shuang looked suspiciously at Ji Qingwu.

"What is that thing you’re using to fool us?"

Ji Qingwu said, "Go ask the Grand Dowager. She knows."

Mrs. Cui swallowed hard several times before coming to her senses. She stared at Ji Qingwu as if looking at a demoness.

’Why is it still the Ji Family? Why is it her...’

’The Ji Family lost an Empress Dowager, and now they’ve produced an Empress. Has even Emperor Wu Su been bewitched by her looks?’

Ji Qingwu’s tone was light as she said, "Father, Mother, I’ve already spoken with my brother-in-law. We’ll take Big Sister home first."

Lu Juan heard himself being called "brother-in-law" the moment he stepped over the threshold.

’She’s finally willing to acknowledge my status again.’ He breathed a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Qiao was hesitant at first, worried that abruptly taking her eldest daughter back to her maternal home would affect the couple’s relationship.

But when she saw Xiao Wu’s calm expression, looking as if she had reached some sort of agreement with Lu Juan, she felt reassured.

"Alright, let’s go get Qingrong and go home together."

Ji Bo Lian and Mrs. Qiao walked ahead. Just as Ji Qingwu was about to step out, someone rushed up to block her way.

"You think you can just leave? No way!"

It was Feng Shuang, who still hadn’t grasped the situation.

Feng Shuang turned back and said, "Mother, we can’t just let her go. All the grievances we suffered before will have been for noth—"

SLAP.

Feng Shuang’s head snapped to the side from the blow. The new injury piled on top of the old, and she cried out in pain, her shriek particularly shrill.

Feng Shuang stared in disbelief at the person who had hit her. "Mother, why did you hit me? I’m trying to help you!"

The slap had come from Mrs. Cui.

Mrs. Cui stood behind her, her raised hand still trembling. "Shut your filthy mouth!" she said mercilessly.

Ji Qingwu was surprised. She glanced at Mrs. Cui, but the other woman quickly averted her gaze.

"Xiao Wu, let’s go."

Mrs. Qiao looked back at her. Ji Qingwu broke into a smile and strode away without hesitation.

Mrs. Cui watched the departing figures of the Ji Family, grinding her teeth in hatred.

Emperor Wu Su had clearly been so opposed to having a woman from the Ji Family enter the palace as a concubine, yet in the end, he had still made one his Empress.

The Empress Dowager had already fallen from power, and Ji Bo Lian held no high-ranking position in the court.

Mrs. Cui had thought the Ji Family was on the verge of decline, but now they had produced an Empress!

Mrs. Cui was unclear on many things, but one point she saw with absolute clarity.

Who could possibly coerce the Emperor?

In the year Emperor Wu Su ascended the throne, when he most needed the support of the great families, he had not granted the position of Empress to anyone.

But now... Mrs. Cui couldn’t even lie to herself. The Emperor had granted the title of Empress to Ji Wu not to balance the court and the inner palace, but simply because...

He wanted to.

Mrs. Cui’s heart was filled with hatred, yet she had no choice but to bow her head. The feeling was worse than a knife twisting in her heart.

There is no cure for a sickness of the heart. That very night, Mrs. Cui fell gravely ill, but that is a story for another time.

*

Ji Qingrong did not return directly to the Ji Family estate, but instead went to the medical clinic.

The clinic had everything a new mother could need. Ji Qingwu personally selected three wet nurses to take turns looking after the baby.

Something had been off with Ji Qingwu these past few days.

Gazing at the infant sleeping sweetly in the cradle, she would start to daze off.

First, she would think of little Jiu Jiu, who loved to sleep and would smile at everyone upon waking.

Then Ji Qingwu would feel a pang of sadness, realizing she had missed seeing Yuan Heng at this age. She’d heard the little one was a crybaby, the complete opposite of Jiu Jiu.

As her thoughts drifted, she couldn’t help but wonder what Zhao Mingyan had been like as a child.

He too must have had a time when he was so fragile and needed care. ’Was he well protected?’

Ji Qingwu felt she was done for. She was sick.

These past few days, no matter what she was looking at, her thoughts would always twist and turn their way back to Zhao Mingyan.

Emperor Wu Su had now reached the Northern Border, and news from the battlefield had made its way back to Lin’an.

Everyone, from the main streets to the back alleys, knew that Beili and Xijin were at war, and that the Emperor himself was leading the campaign.

The common people hoped for the Emperor’s triumphant return, but they were also anxious, afraid that some accident might befall their wise and brilliant monarch.

Ji Qingwu poked the chubby face of the little bean swaddled in brocade.

Her longing for the two children could be eased, at least.

Every few days, Jiu Jiu would have Si Hai send back her drawings: a rabbit kicking a tiger, a rabbit biting an eagle, and a rabbit punting a bear.

Jiu Jiu had created the mightiest little rabbit in the world.

Sometimes, a letter from Yuan Heng would be tucked inside, just a few short lines asking how she was.

Ji Qingwu would send gifts in return: two small medicinal sachets and some little trinkets that were popular outside the palace.

「The next day.」

Her "illness" grew even more severe.

Ji Qingwu went out with Mo Lingling, and when she returned, she seemed to have lost her soul.

At the dining table in the medical clinic, four women, each with her own distinct grace, sat across from one another, eating.

In front of Ji Qingrong and Tao Wanxin were specially prepared postpartum and pregnancy meals, both personally formulated by Ji Qingwu based on the principle that food and medicine share the same origin.

The dishes before Mo Lingling and Ji Qingwu, however, were more casual. Rich, savory, and spicy, they abstained from nothing and looked extremely tempting.

During the meal, Ji Qingwu held her bowl in her left hand and used the chopsticks in her right to poke at the spicy meat slices within it.

Seeing her eating without any appetite, Mo Lingling asked with concern, "Fifth Missy, what’s wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"

Ji Qingwu didn’t respond.

It was as if she hadn’t heard a word, lost in her own thoughts and unable to pull herself out.

Ji Qingrong said with a smile, "Miss Mo, just eat your meal. Don’t worry about her."

Thanks to the postpartum recovery technique Ji Qingwu had redeemed from the system, combined with proper care at the clinic, Ji Qingrong’s complexion was now rosy and healthy.

Among the women present, she had the best complexion of all.

Tao Wanxin was still a bit weak. The condition of her pregnancy was no longer as perilous as before, and she could now come downstairs to walk around.

However, she still needed to spend most of the daytime resting in bed.

Tao Wanxin asked softly, "Is Qingwu sick?"

Ji Qingrong had seen her fifth sister in this state often these past few days. As someone with experience, she already knew what was ailing Ji Qingwu.

"I think Fifth Sister is sick, too, and it’s not a minor case."

Tao Wanxin raised her eyebrows in surprise. Seeing Ji Qingrong’s teasing expression, she understood and covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh.

Mo Lingling put down her chopsticks and said blankly, "Then... then I should go get a doctor right away to check on Fifth Missy."

As she spoke, she started to stand up to find a doctor.

Ji Qingrong pulled her back down into her seat and said playfully, "Fifth Sister’s illness doesn’t need a doctor. I can diagnose it myself. It’s definitely a sickness of the heart."

Mo Lingling said, "No wonder I’ve seen Fifth Missy frowning so often. She even gets distracted while sorting medicinal herbs."

"That’s not all. Today, when we went out shopping, Fifth Missy was walking along and nearly ran right into a cart selling loose-leaf tea by the roadside."

Tao Wanxin was speechless, and even Ji Qingrong raised her eyebrows.

"It’s that serious?"