The Grand Princess

TGP Chapter 1: Double Kill

"If I die, then Pei Wenxuan cannot live."
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Near the end of winter came the coldest time in Huajing.1 The ice and snow had quietly melted away, bringing bursts of chilliness.

In the Grand Princess's mansion, Li Rong was lying in bed and covered with a thick brocade blanket. There were many braziers in the room keeping the temperature in the entire room high like on a scorching summer day.

There were many people standing in the room, but no one spoke a word. Li Rong was half-conscious and half in a trance. It was not a particularly pleasant feeling, but compared to the past few days when she felt hot and cold all over and coughed up blood nonstop, this was much better.

[1] Huajing - Lit. Magnificent Capital, magnificent as a flower, an old name for the Capital city.

"Change out the towel."

A refined and elegant male voice rang out. The maid beside him gave an affirmative "yes," and then the sound of water followed.

After that, Li Rong felt someone wipe the sweat off her forehead. The man's movements were very gentle as if he was wiping a porcelain doll, afraid it would shatter in a moment of carelessness.

Li Rong opened her eyes in a daze. A man in white clothes immediately appeared in her line of sight.

The man looked to be in his early forties and had a noble, refined temperament as well as a handsome and gentle face. His each and every movement possessed an indescribable elegance. Just based on these things alone, he was already exceedingly pleasing to the eye.

He had noticed that she had opened her eyes and also brought his eyes up to meet her gaze. Seeing Li Rong staring intently at him, he was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and gently said: "The Princess has awakened?"

Li Rong was still in a daze for some time after hearing these words. The man reached to help her up and placed a pillow behind her back. He took a bowl of pear and snow fungus tonic soup from the hands of a maid and brought it to her lips, softly saying: "Drink this first to moisten your throat."

He fed her spoonful by spoonful as he spoke. As she swallowed the distinctly sweet soup, she gradually came back to her senses.

She finally recognized the person in front of her. This was the steward of the Princess's mansion who had served her for many years, Su Rongqing.

This is her most trusted advisor and also the person who was closest to her.

Li Rong was about to say something when her throat suddenly felt itchy. She lifted her hand and pushed away the hand that had been feeding her soup, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently.

Su Rongqing patted her back to ease her discomfort. She gradually stopped coughing after a while. The moment she opened her mouth, she directly asked about the imperial court affairs: "What about choosing a successor to the throne?"

"Still a stalemate," Su Rongqing unhurriedly said precisely what she had been worried about, "Left Prime Minister Pei2 refuses to yield and is determined to support the Eldest Prince as the successor. I have already had people arrest the Eldest Prince's subordinates for their crimes. Tomorrow, I will submit a memorial to the throne."