Jinyi Spring

Chapter 230 Secrets

Shui Chuchen put down her teacup, got up, and went to her bedroom. She took out a piece of plain paper from the drawer, ground ink, picked up a brush, and wrote a short message.

After finishing writing, seal the opening and call Peony in.

"Go out of the palace and personally deliver this letter to Guo Hei, so that he can immediately pass it on to Lord Ming."

She thought for a moment, "As for the reason for leaving the palace... I'll say that the imperial pharmacy doesn't have the medicinal herbs I need, so I have to go to an outside pharmacy to buy them."

Peony tucked the letter into her bosom and hurried away.

Shui Chuchen stood by the window, watching Shaoyao's figure disappear under the corridor, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly—having a boyfriend who is a secret service chief makes some things much easier to handle.

Before long, Tang Jian returned and whispered with a smile in Shui Chuchen's ear, "Princess, please watch carefully."

Before the palace gates were locked, Peony hurried back, her face still carrying the chill of the night wind, but her eyes were bright and sparkling. "Master Guo took me to see Lord Ming, and the letter was handed to him in person."

She stepped closer, took out a letter from her bosom, and lowered her voice, "Lord Ming laughed out loud after reading the letter, and wrote a reply on the spot, which I brought back."

Shui Chuchen took the letter, her heart skipping a beat. She walked to the lamp, tore open the seal, and pulled out the thin letter.

The letters almost always begin with love quotes like "A day apart feels like three autumns," "My thoughts are always with the rising sun," and "I am outside the wall, you are inside the wall, my heart belongs to you, yet we are as close as if we were next to each other."

Shui Chuchen's heart and eyes lit up as she read the letter. She couldn't suppress the smile on her lips; it was as sweet as honey, overflowing from the corners of her eyes and brows.

I haven't been this happy since entering the palace.

At the end of the letter, there were only a few words about the important matter: I will work with you to make that good thing happen.

"That guy..."

Shui Chuchen chuckled softly, pressed the letter to her chest for a long time, but still had to take it to the lamp and burn it.

Some things are best left unsaid. Evidence cannot be left here.

Shui Chuchen didn't see it; in another room, Shaoyao was clutching her chest and grinning.

Inside were a jeweled, red-gold peacock hairpin and a comb that Guo Hei had personally carved for her. The comb was carved into a pair of mandarin ducks; it was extremely beautiful.

The next day, Shui Chuchen asked Tang Jian to invite He Quan over.

He Quan bowed to Shui Chuchen and said with a smile, "This servant greets Your Highness the Princess."

Shui Chuchen smiled broadly, bowed slightly, and said, "Please sit down, Eunuch He. Let me take your pulse."

He Quan bowed again, and said with trepidation, "This servant is unworthy and unworthy to trouble the princess."

He sat down as instructed, placing his left hand on the small table.

Tang Jian gently draped a handkerchief over his wrist.

After examining his left hand with focused concentration, Shui Chuchen switched to his right. After a moment, he released his hand and said with a smile, "Eunuch He has no major ailments, but he does have two minor ones."

He Quan hurriedly asked, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Shui Chuchen said, "Firstly, I have a chronic stomach ailment, probably something I developed since childhood. I usually experience dull stomach pain, belching, and acid reflux, which worsens if I'm not careful with my diet."

"Secondly, his spleen and stomach are weak, leading to impaired digestion. Your Excellency has served the Emperor for many years, with irregular eating habits, resulting in insufficient vital energy and frequent fatigue and abdominal distension." He Quan nodded repeatedly, smiling wryly, "Your Highness is truly amazing. When I was young, my family was poor, and I often went hungry, which left me with a chronic stomach ailment. After entering the palace, I often missed mealtimes, which worsened my condition. The imperial physicians have prescribed medicine and administered acupuncture many times, but they haven't been able to cure me."

Shui Chuchen took the prescription he brought, looked at it, and nodded, saying, "The prescription is correct, so I won't prescribe anything else. For your symptoms, herbal decoctions alone are not enough; you need acupuncture to unblock the meridians and regulate the middle burner."

"I cannot administer acupuncture to you every day, but I will tell Physician Cai which acupoints to use so that she can administer acupuncture to you daily. Every three to five days, you should come here so that I can personally perform bloodletting to clear away the long-standing stagnation. I am not exaggerating, but with this treatment, Eunuch He's chronic illness will be cured within two years."

He Quan's eyes were slightly red, and he stood up to kneel, "This servant thanks Your Highness the Princess."

Shui Chuchen offered a helping hand and smiled, "I know how good you are to me in private, so I won't stand on ceremony."

He Quan bowed repeatedly.

Shui Chuchen first took a three-edged needle, gently touched the tip of his middle finger, squeezed out a few drops of dark red blood, and then changed to a filiform needle to select acupoints along the meridians and slowly insert the needle.

As she performed the acupuncture, she quietly explained the procedure to Cai Yuxiu and Banxia.

He Quan sat upright, holding his breath, and felt a faint energy flowing under the needle, a sensation slightly different from that of other imperial physicians.

Half an hour later, the acupuncture was finished. He Quan breathed a long sigh of relief and left with profuse thanks.

Before leaving, he said to Shui Chuchen in a very low voice, "His Majesty truly loves and appreciates you."

Shui Chuchen had already realized that her scumbag father admired her. But she was happy to see that the cautious Eunuch He was willing to reveal some unimportant information at this time.

At noon, Xiaodie, a palace maid serving the Second Princess, went to the plum garden to pick red plum blossoms and arrange them in a vase.

As soon as she entered the plum garden, she heard the little eunuch Xiao Lizi and the palace maid Chun Tao whispering to each other on the east side of the princess's residence.

Little Li entered the palace at the age of seven and studied in the Imperial Library for four years before being sent by He Quan to the eastern route of the Princess's residence. The little fellow was quite clever despite his young age, and Shui Chuchen took great pity on him, instructing Tang Jian to take good care of him.

He spoke in a high-pitched, thin voice, with a childlike quality.

"I heard that the Empress Dowager has taken a fancy to General Sun from the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion... Of the princesses now, only Princess Yong'an and the Second Princess are of marriageable age. Princess Yong'an is the eldest, so it's probably meant for her."

Chuntao asked, "Really?"

"Of course it's true. It was Young Master Shangguan who told Princess this himself on the second day of the month."

Chun Tao continued, "Is the young General Sun from the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion the same young General Sun who serves in the Imperial Guard? Oh my, I've seen him twice while he was on duty in the palace. He's so handsome. He's so young, yet he's already a fifth-rank official. I heard he's even a contender for the position of Marquis of Zhenbei's heir."

Little Li said, "He's not handsome and has no future. How could the Empress Dowager possibly like him? That day, I accompanied the princess to the front court to meet some ministers. On the way back, we happened to run into General Sun. He was talking to the princess, and she also lifted the curtain to talk to him and even smiled at him."

Chun Tao quickly said, "Shh, you're going to die! How dare you say such things? Aren't you afraid of getting a beating?"

Little Li's voice was even softer, "It's only because it's Sister Chun Tao that I dare to say a few more truths. This is the first time I've seen our princess smile, and her smile is so beautiful."

Xiaodie stopped picking flowers, quietly left the plum garden, and hurried back to the princess's residence.

The chief eunuch of the princess's quarters, Qin Lian, cursed, "What's going on? You've been gone for so long, and you haven't even brought back a single plum blossom?"

Xiaodie said, "I heard a secret story and rushed back to report to the princess."

With that, he ran towards the main hall, and Qin Lian followed closely behind. (End of Chapter)