ng Qianqian returned to the main courtyard and told Lu Yuan about Princess Wanping asking her to go to the Princess Mansion.
"You should rest first. No need to wait for tonight."
Lu Yuan said coldly, "Are you planning to leave alone in an empty room?"
ng Qianqian blinked in confusion. "Hmm?"
Lu Yuan cleared his throat. "What I an is... are you going out to secretly et soone else?"
ng Qianqian frowned again. "Hmm?"
Lu Yuan continued in a lofty tone, "Do you not care about my dignity?"
"Ah..."
This logic felt so forced.
ng Qianqian quickly switched to her sycophantic mode. "Grand Commander, if you’re free, could you accompany Little Nine to the Princess Mansion?"
Lu Yuan replied indifferently, "Only because you are the one asking to go."
ng Qianqian nodded hastily. "Yes, yes, absolutely. It’s my idea for you to co along, not that you insisted on joining ."
Lu Yuan’s face turned chilly. "ng Xiaojiu."
ng Qianqian imdiately softened. "I was wrong."
After saying goodbye to Liu Qingyun, ng Qianqian got onto the carriage to the Princess Mansion with Lu Yuan.
"Grand Commander, Mother didn’t scold ."
"Why would she scold you?"
"For leaving the residence so late at night."
She had expected Lu Yuan to respond with, "The Princess summoned you; how could you not go?"
But to her surprise, Lu Yuan replied, "She often sneaks out herself in the middle of the night."
"Sneaks?"
I didn’t sneak out... wait, there’s gossip here.
Lu Yuan sneered, "When I was young, whenever she got a late-night craving and went to the town to buy food, she would always take . If we got caught by my grandmother, she’d claim it was who wanted the food and let take the bla."
ng Qianqian: "..."
"So, didn’t you get beaten up a lot when you were little?"
Judging from what her grandfather said, her grandmother was quite fierce.
Lu Yuan said, "No. My grandmother believed ’if the child errs, it’s the mother’s fault,’ so my mother got the beating."
ng Qianqian was once again dumbfounded.
Lu Yuan continued, "So later, my mother would sneak off to town alone. When caught by my grandmother, she righteously said, ’Didn’t you say if the child errs, it’s the mother’s fault? Beat yourself up, then!’"
ng Qianqian: As expected of my grandfather’s biological daughter—just as mischievous!
"And then?" ng Qianqian was curious how her grandmother responded.
Lu Yuan said, "Then my grandmother replied, ’If the child errs, it’s the mother’s fault; that’s true. But... are you the son? No, you’re the daughter!’ And then my mother got beaten again."
She hadn’t imagined that her mother-in-law had this kind of colorful history. ng Qianqian didn’t know what to say.
But if Lu Yuan was willing to share such amusing stories, did it an he no longer harbored as much resentnt towards Liu Qingyun in his heart?
ng Qianqian’s face was full of curiosity. "Any more stories?"
Lu Yuan started talking about his childhood mories.
Ti slipped through their fingers unknowingly. What was a half-hour carriage ride felt like an instant.
The two disembarked from the carriage.
The steward of the Princess Mansion, surnad Bao, had been waiting outside for quite so ti. When he saw the Governor Mansion’s carriage, he imdiately stepped forward to greet them.
When he recognized Lu Yuan, he was utterly startled. "Grand Commander, why are you here?"
Lu Yuan replied coldly, "What? Am I not allowed to co?"
Steward Bao laughed nervously. "Of course not—just surprised! Grand Commander, Young Madam, please co in!"
ng Qianqian asked, "Steward Bao, may I know why the Princess summoned Little Nine so late at night?"
Steward Bao sighed deeply. "Sigh, the Princess was out boating on the lake today and got back late. On her way, she encountered a woman in labor..."
When ng Qianqian arrived, she discovered that the woman in labor ntioned by Steward Bao was none other than Lin Wan’er.
Lin Wan’er had fainted, while Lu Luo stayed by her bedside. It seed she had endured many hardships—her hair was disheveled, her face dirty, and her body covered in wounds.
"Lu Luo?"
ng Qianqian called out tentatively.
Lu Luo looked up and was imdiately alard. "Young Madam!"
"You know each other?"
Princess Wanping entered the room.
Lu Yuan didn’t step into the courtyard and waited outside, so Princess Wanping hadn’t seen him yet.
This ti, it was ng Qianqian’s turn to be surprised. "Princess, you don’t know who these two are?"
She turned to Lu Luo again. "You didn’t tell the Princess your identities?"
Lu Luo suddenly dropped to her knees, kowtowing to Princess Wanping, crying and pleading. "Princess! Please show rcy and save my mistress!"
Princess Wanping looked at ng Qianqian with a peculiar expression.
ng Qianqian pointed to the bed where Lin Wan’er lay. "She is Lin Wan’er, Lu Lingxiao’s wife."
Princess Wanping frowned. "She is Lin Wan’er? The concubine who pretended to be you and attended the Governor Mansion’s banquet under that guise?"
ng Qianqian thought to herself: Why do you only rember things related to Lu Yuan...
Princess Wanping glared at Lu Luo. "Didn’t you just tell this Princess that... ah, forget it! You, save her first!"
The last remark was directed at ng Qianqian.
ng Qianqian replied, "Treatnt won’t co cheap."
Princess Wanping said curtly, "As if I’d be short of your peanuts and dates."
ng Qianqian quipped, "Five hundred taels."
Princess Wanping roared in anger, "ng Xiaojiu, why don’t you just go rob soone?!"
ng Qianqian calmly replied, "Lu Yuan is outside."
Princess Wanping’s tone changed instantly. "You’ll get a thousand taels."
ng Qianqian grabbed Lin Wan’er’s wrist and began taking her pulse.
Suddenly, Lu Luo shouted, "Princess! You can’t let her deliver the baby. She’ll kill my mistress!"
ng Qianqian spread her hands. "Princess, it’s not that I don’t want to help."
Princess Wanping frowned slightly, then instructed Steward Bao outside the door, "Go to the Lu Family and tell them Lin Wan’er is in my mansion."
Lu Luo imdiately cried, "Princess, you mustn’t!"
Princess Wanping’s tone turned cold. "This won’t do, that won’t do—what exactly do you want? From the mont you t this Princess, you haven’t said a single truthful word! You even hid your identity from ! Get out of my sight!"
A maid entered the room and dragged Lu Luo out.
"Continue," Princess Wanping told ng Qianqian.
ng Qianqian asked, "Princess, aren’t you afraid I might kill her by accident?"
Princess Wanping answered solemnly, "Just treat her. If she dies, it’s on ."
ng Qianqian gave Princess Wanping a deep look, suddenly realizing that perhaps her understanding of the Princess had been too shallow.
Though she was chaotic at tis, she also carried the responsibilities and compassion of a Princess.
ng Qianqian spoke earnestly, "Princess, even if you hadn’t run into her, she wouldn’t have lived long. There’s no need to take all the guilt on yourself."
Princess Wanping frowned. "What do you an?"
ng Qianqian glanced at the unconscious Lin Wan’er. "She’s been poisoned."
Princess Wanping looked confused. "Poisoned?"
ng Qianqian took out her silver needle. "What is a tonic for ordinary people turns into poison for her."
After a few needles, Lin Wan’er slowly opened her eyes. As she regained consciousness, waves of familiar, sharp pain flooded her senses.
ng Qianqian said, "Princess, ask her yourself."
Princess Wanping tentatively approached the bedside, gazing at the disoriented Lin Wan’er, and asked with a frown, "Lin Wan’er, I am Princess Wanping. You’re in my mansion. Can you tell this Princess what happened to you?"
"Oh dear, is she mute? Call her maid—"
Lin Wan’er suddenly burst into tears. "Princess! Lu Xingzhou tried to kill ... Please, seek justice for !"
Princess Wanping was shocked. "You’re not mute? Wait a mont—what did you just say? Lu Xingzhou tried to kill you? Isn’t he your father-in-law?"
"He is..."
Lin Wan’er nodded, just about to expose Lu Xingzhou’s cri, when suddenly her water broke with a gush.
Princess Wanping jumped back in alarm. "ng Xiaojiu, she wet herself!"
ng Qianqian lifted the blanket and gazed intently. "Her water just broke. Princess, we need to decide: save the mother or the child?"
Only then did Lin Wan’er notice that ng Qianqian was also present.
Princess Wanping examined her carefully. "We can only save one?"
ng Qianqian answered gravely, "Her body is already critically weakened. It’s possible... neither might survive."
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