Proud Feather

Chapter 62 It’s okay
"A Ling is here too?" The emperor was surprised and walked out quickly. Sure enough, he saw Chu Ling biting her lips and staring blankly at the inner room.

As he left, Concubine Shu's outstretched hand fell empty, and she had a bad feeling in her heart. She turned her head to look at Pang Yu, who hurriedly followed him out, saying, "What happened to A Ling? It's all my fault. In a moment of anxiety, I forgot A Ling was here..."

Before she could finish, Concubine Xian gently pulled her away, signaling her not to make a sound.

Pang Yu could not openly disobey the virtuous concubine, so he had to stop.

"A Ling!" The emperor also felt something was wrong. Chu Ling's eyes were fixed, and his lips were bleeding from biting, but he was unaware of it.

His heart skipped a beat, and he approached his daughter cautiously: "Look, Father is here, tell him if you have anything."

Chu Ling didn't move.

The virtuous concubine remembered something and whispered, "Princess, could it be that the princess is in a nightmare? Imperial physician! Imperial physician, come and take a look!"

The imperial physician was outside writing a prescription and was immediately summoned. When he saw Chu Ling's expression, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, be careful! The princess seems to be bewildered. Exciting loudly could lead to irreversible consequences. She needs to be awakened gently and softly."

The emperor was startled and glanced at them with a stern look, and everyone fell silent.

In the silence, the emperor called softly: "A Ling! Look here, father is here."

Chu Ling remained motionless, but was not stimulated either.

The emperor moved a little closer, reached out his hand and carefully touched her shoulder: "A Ling! A Ling! Do you hear your father's voice? Turn around and see if your father is okay?"

After calling a few times, Chu Ling finally responded and slowly turned his head.

The emperor forced a smile and said softly, "A Ling, please let go of yourself first and don't bite yourself."

Chu Ling finally opened her mouth. The blood on it made the emperor's heart ache. He stretched out his hand to her: "Come, tell your father, what's wrong with you? Are you unhappy? Why?"

In the emperor's coaxing tone, Chu Ling's eyes finally moved, and he looked at him steadily: "Father..."

"Yes, it's Father who is here." The emperor gave a soothing smile, "Come, A Ling, come to Father."

After receiving his message, Chu Ling's tears quickly gathered, and she finally cried out "wow" and threw herself into the emperor's arms.

"Father! I'm so scared! Concubine Shu suddenly collapsed! Did I get into trouble? I didn't mean to do it. I only came to visit Concubine Shu when I met my second sister-in-law on the road. I really just came to visit, but I didn't expect... Am I in trouble? First it was Mother, then it was my eldest brother, and even Concubine Shu... No, Father, please stay away from me. I can't hurt you!"

As she spoke, she pushed the emperor away with force and hid outside by the door.

The emperor was not expecting this and immediately showed anger: "Who said such nonsense in front of the princess?"

Everyone present was stunned. How could they dare to gossip about the princess? Forget about the emperor's favor, just look at the princess's temper. What would happen if she knew?
Of course, when the Crown Prince passed away, there were people who grumbled in their hearts, "Although the Princess is doted on now, she's afraid she'll have a hard time in the future. After His Majesty's death, with the new emperor and new ministers, things will be completely different."

The emperor didn't bother to ask for punishment, and tried to comfort his daughter first. "A Ling, don't be afraid, Concubine Shu is fine. She fainted because she didn't eat enough recently. It has nothing to do with you. She's not seriously injured. Just eat more and she'll be fine soon."

Although the imperial physician's description of Qi and blood deficiency was true, the emperor's description of Concubine Shu's fainting today was somewhat exaggerated. However, in order to appease Chu Ling, the emperor naturally tried to downplay Concubine Shu's condition, and that was the meaning of the words.

The virtuous concubine quickly glanced at the room and concealed the smile that flashed across her lips.

"Really?" Chu Ling was still skeptical, "Is Concubine Shu really okay?"

"It's okay." The emperor pointed firmly at the imperial physician and said, "Tell me, what happened to Concubine Shu?"

The imperial physician dared not glance at her any longer. Under the emperor's intimidating gaze, he could only answer honestly, "Princess, the Concubine Shu is indeed fine. Qi and blood deficiency is a common symptom in the harem. It's simply because she hasn't eaten much and hasn't moved much, especially since the Concubine has not eaten much in the past few days, that she has become even weaker."

"Is that so?" Chu Ling hesitated and looked towards the inner room, "But Concubine Shu lost a lot of blood..."

"Not much," the imperial physician said hurriedly. "The wound looks scary, but actually, just a little bit of blood mixed with cinnabar ink will do the job. It won't have any effect."

"Oh..." Chu Ling breathed a sigh of relief, "So Concubine Shu is fine and healthy!"

The imperial physician felt that this was not right, but he could only bite the bullet and say, "Yes, as long as your majesty eats three meals on time, eats more and exercises more, she will naturally be radiant."

"That's great!" Chu Ling smiled and held the emperor's hand. "Father, did you hear that? Concubine Shu is fine! She can still accompany you for a long, long time! Buddha bless you, with Concubine Shu accompanying you, the spirit of the Queen Mother in heaven can rest in peace."

The emperor smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, your mother will also bless Concubine Shu."

Chu Ling still felt it was not enough, so she rushed into the inner room, grabbed Concubine Shu's bandaged hand, and shook it with a smile, saying, "Concubine Shu, did you hear what the imperial physician said? Don't worry, as long as you eat and drink well, you will definitely live a long life!"

The wound of Concubine Shu was torn by her, but she couldn't pour cold water on her. She could only respond with pain: "Thank you for your concern, Princess. I feel relieved now..."

By the end, he was gritting his teeth.

Xianfei, who was listening outside, smiled even more sincerely, and said from the bottom of her heart: "Your Majesty, the princess is really a kind and filial child. She is always thinking about you, missing the queen in her heart, and she cares about Shufei so much."

The emperor was deeply moved by her words and sighed, "Some people always say that I dote on A Ling too much. I'm afraid that I've made her arrogant and domineering. Maybe the same thing will happen again as during the reign of Emperor Taizong. Look, they've slapped me in the face, right? How could I not dote on such a good child?"

Who would dare to say these words to the emperor's face? Xianfei was alert, thinking about whether she had said disrespectful words in the past, and replied with a smile: "Yes, the princess deserves your favor."

The emperor remembered that they had just been having a meal when this incident interrupted them. Instead of being angry, Concubine Xian was so considerate. He felt a little apologetic and held her hand, saying, "You have worked hard. The palace is busy, and Concubine Shu is not feeling well. I can only ask you to bear with me."

Xian Fei was delighted and replied with even greater tenderness, "I cannot ask for more than a little help from Your Majesty. How can I say it's too hard? Your Majesty, rest assured. I will take good care of Sister Shu Fei. Please make sure she eats well, exercises regularly, and stays healthy."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. Although a few things had happened today, they had all been resolved satisfactorily. He was especially relieved to know that his daughter was filial and kind, and that even the virtuous concubine was reliable.

By the way, I have to take better care of A-Ling in the future. This child seems fine on weekdays, but I'm afraid she's traumatized. Concubine Shu is really something, fainting in front of the child, look how scared she must be...