Duty bound?
Chu Yunfei’s pupils darkened slightly. She turned her head and instructed Nanny Xiong, "The matter of decocting the medicine is left to Miss Liu. Nanny, you are responsible for assisting Miss Liu. Once the medicine is decocted, bring it over for the Prince to take."
Nanny Xiong nodded, "Yes."
"I do not like outsiders entering the Inner Courtyard, nor do I wish to smell overly pungent medicinal odors. Therefore, have someone set up a stove in the kitchen for Miss Liu to decoct the medicine," Chu Yunfei said, then added, "The Prince is currently recovering from his injuries; do not let any other unrelated people enter the estate."
Nanny Xiong accepted Chu Yunfei’s instructions without question, "Rest assured, Princess Consort. This old servant will certainly ensure the Prince's Estate is well-guarded and will never allow any other messy things to enter the estate without authorization and disturb the Prince’s recovery."
Chu Yunfei gave a hum of acknowledgment and turned to leave.
Liu Qingxi narrowed her eyes, watching Chu Yunfei’s figure with a calm expression.
Messy people?
She must be referring to Chu Yunjiao.
"Judging by the Princess Consort’s displeased tone, it seems her anger has not yet subsided." Liu Qingxi withdrew her gaze and walked toward the kitchen with Nanny Xiong. "The Noble Consort originally wanted to summon the Princess Consort to the palace, but thinking that the Prince needs someone by his side to look after him right now, she let this servant come over to offer some comfort. She said the Prince has been somewhat unreasonable lately, and once his injuries improve, she will personally discipline him, ensuring the Princess Consort does not suffer any injustice."
Nanny Xiong smiled, "The Noble Consort has always been strict with her son and tolerant toward her daughter-in-law. It is the Princess Consort’s good fortune to have such a mother-in-law."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked away.
Sheng Xia, however, had sharp ears. She turned to glance at Liu Qingxi and repeated her words to her Master: "The Noble Consort is tolerant toward her daughter-in-law? This morning, Chu Yunjiao personally said that the Noble Consort was going to bestow a marriage upon her, and that she would be the Prince’s main wife... I wonder which of the two, Physician Liu or Chu Yunjiao, is more credible."
Chu Yunfei did not speak; she did not care whose words were more credible.
In any case, everyone who wished them harm was an enemy. At present, she could not determine how many people were secretly trying to deal with Rong Cang, so she could only guard against them as much as possible.
Except for those she could completely trust, it would not be wrong to maintain a defensive attitude toward everyone else.
"Sheng Xia," Chu Yunfei said upon entering the Inner Courtyard, "set up another stove for decocting medicine in the small kitchen. Pay attention to ventilation. Tomorrow morning, start decocting the medicine one incense stick of time earlier than Liu Qingxi. During this period, no one is allowed to approach Shuanghua Courtyard without authorization, except for you, Baochan, and Nanny Xiong."
Sheng Xia was slightly startled, only then realizing what the Princess Consort meant by having her go out to get medicine: "Does the Princess Consort suspect that the prescription from Imperial Physician Liu is problematic?"
"The prescription is certainly fine, and the medicine he prescribed is also fine," Chu Yunfei said with a cold tone. "But whether the decocted medicine is problematic is hard to say."
Sheng Xia nodded, "This servant understands."
Chu Yunfei pushed the door open and entered the room. She ordered Sheng Xia to keep watch outside, then walked quietly to the bedside, looking at Rong Cang, who was lying on the bed reading a book: "Is the Prince no longer in pain?"
Rong Cang lay on his side, the light streaming through the window hitting his face, making his profile look cold and white as frost: "You are not welcome here."
"The Prince is mistaken," Chu Yunfei said with a faint smile. "This is my bedroom, and also our bridal chamber. How can you say I am not welcome?"
Rong Cang turned his head to stare at her: "What exactly do you want to do?"
"It is rare for the Prince to suffer such severe injuries; you should be unable to use martial arts for the time being, right?" Chu Yunfei stood before the bed and reached out to pat his face. "So, during these days of recovery, I ask the Prince to be well-behaved. Otherwise, if you suffer, you will have brought it upon yourself."
Suffer?
Rong Cang gave a cold smile: "Are you planning to take revenge on this Prince?"
"How can you call it revenge?" Chu Yunfei smiled gently. "Serving the Prince is this concubine’s duty. Since the Prince is injured, even washing up is a problem. Although the weather has not been very hot these past two days, the Prince is a person who loves cleanliness, so you should hope for someone to wipe your body, right?"
Rong Cang’s complexion changed slightly, and he gritted his teeth while looking at her.
"If the Prince wants Chu Yunjiao to come and serve you, I am not entirely opposed to it," Chu Yunfei raised her lips, smiling with great pleasure. "It is just that she is also injured herself, and I fear she is too busy to care for herself, let alone look after another injured person."
Rong Cang’s voice was deep and cold: "How come I never realized before that you were so heartless?"
"The Prince has never done such shameless things before either," Chu Yunfei said with a faint smile. "When a woman is jealous, she is terrifying; she is capable of doing anything."
Rong Cang’s eyes were dark and heavy, and he remained silent.
Chu Yunfei walked to the table, poured a cup of warm water, and turned to hand it to Rong Cang: "Drink some water."
Rong Cang said: "Let Chang Qing come in."
"He is busy with other matters," Chu Yunfei handed the teacup to his lips, her attitude firm. "The guards in the estate need to be rearranged. Chang Qing and the Guard Commander have set out to arrange it. The Prince will not see him tonight."
Rong Cang’s expression turned cold: "Who allowed you to rearrange the guards in the estate without authorization?"
"A weak injured person should just focus on recovering and not worry about anything else," Chu Yunfei frowned. "Drink the water."
Rong Cang pursed his lips in a stalemate.
Chu Yunfei was not annoyed; she just held the water quietly until Rong Cang compromised and drank two sips of warm water from her hand.
Only then did she curl the corners of her lips in satisfaction: "That’s a good boy."
This tone, like praising a pet, unsurprisingly made Rong Cang’s face darken: "Do not think that just because I am injured, you can give orders."
"Even if the Prince were not injured, could I not give orders?" Chu Yunfei raised an eyebrow. "Has the Prince forgotten that when you married me into the estate, you personally said that I could make all the decisions here, and that my words were even more effective than yours?"
Rong Cang was speechless.
He had indeed said that back then, and he had gathered all the stewards and servants of the Prince's Estate to announce the Princess Consort’s absolute status in the estate, stating that for any matter—as long as it was a family affair—the Princess Consort had full authority to decide.
Because he had to manage the barracks, he had no time to attend to the trivial matters of the estate; for both big and small affairs, one only needed to consult the Princess Consort.
He had not expected that today he would be held to that point by her.
"Get Chang Qing to come over," Rong Cang said with a cold expression. "This Prince will reformulate the rules of the estate. You, as the Princess Consort, are already a discarded wife and from now on have no right to interfere—"
Chu Yunfei raised her hand and slapped him. The force was not great, but it was enough to make Rong Cang shut up.
"You are an injured person now. If you do not want to suffer more, do not keep mentioning words like 'letter of divorce' or 'discarded wife'. Otherwise, you can wipe your own body and go to the toilet by yourself tonight; I will not let anyone help you."
Rong Cang’s expression turned visibly green, and he gritted his teeth in anger: "Get out!"
Chu Yunfei turned and placed the teacup on the tray on the table, her voice sounding relaxed: "Do not glare at me anymore, and it would be best if your tone of voice were more polite. After all, your fate is now in my hands. If you make me angry, I will let you experience what it means to call for help to no avail."
After saying this, she truly turned and walked out.
The moment the door was closed, Rong Cang felt the room darken again.
All the coldness on his face faded in an instant.
He pursed his lips and looked toward the door, a trace of dispiritedness flashing in the bottom of his eyes, and he remained silent for a long time.
✦✦✦