ng Qianqian shook her head, "I need to handle this myself."
Tan’er jumped off the swing and stomped over to ng Qianqian’s side. "Sister, Gongsun Liuying’s in trouble!"
ng Qianqian continued drying dicinal herbs as she asked, "What happened to her?"
Tan’er said, "She crippled soone!"
ng Qianqian asked in confusion, "Crippled?"
Tan’er took a bite of her candied hawthorn. "That’s right! Late at night, so young man, gravely ill, went looking for Gongsun Liuying to save his life. Her needlework went astray, and just like that, she crippled him!"
ng Qianqian recalled, "Master did go out last night and only returned at dawn. Could it have been because of this?"
Tan’er nodded, "Elder Yan had to work so hard to save that person! And this isn’t even the first ti!"
ng Qianqian asked doubtfully, "But I’ve heard that this lady is highly skilled in dicine. Her mastery of the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles is unparalleled and flawless."
Tan’er tilted her head. "I have no idea what’s going on. In just the past three days, she’s ruined three patients! The Thousand chanism Pavilion is keeping a tight lid on the news!"
Thanks to staying by Shang Wuyou’s side, Tan’er was able to pick up this information. Otherwise, she too would have been as oblivious as the other disciples regarding Gongsun Liuying’s mistakes.
One mistake might have been excusable, but three mistakes in three days? That was simply absurd.
ng Qianqian murmured, "Could her hand be injured?"
As she pondered, a Hunting Eagle descended from the sky, aiming straight for the sieve in ng Qianqian’s hands.
Tan’er, with her candied hawthorn in her mouth, lunged forward and tackled the Hunting Eagle to the ground with a thud.
The Hunting Eagle, now pinned and rolling its eyes in distress: "..."
Tan’er removed the candied hawthorn from her mouth, adopting a serious tone, "Sister worked so hard to dry these herbs. If they’d been scattered, how’d we ever dry them again?"
ng Qianqian’s lips curved into a smile. "Is there news from Lu Yuan?"
Tan’er released the Hunting Eagle.
The Hunting Eagle shook its wings, puffed its chest arrogantly, and hopped onto the rack, sticking out one talon with utmost pride.
ng Qianqian untied the ribbon from the eagle’s talon, surprised. "This is the hair ribbon I gave to Mother. Is she here in the Imperial City?"
Crown Prince Mansion.
Liu Qingyun, having eaten and drunk his fill, sprawled on the spacious bed, happily waiting for his son.
The Crown Prince, who should have occupied this very room, had been forced to move to Prince Ming’s courtyard.
Prince Ming was lying on a wicker chair, basking in the sun. When he heard footsteps, he removed the folding fan covering his face. Seeing his troubleso brother approaching, he sneered, "Oh-ho, what wind blew my dearest Second Brother over here? Ca to check if your younger brother’s dead? I thought having a Crown Prince for a big brother ant being brought to the city to enjoy life. Turns out, it’s so you could use as a scapegoat."
Lu Zhaoyan said plainly, "I’ll stay here for a few days."
"Why are you staying in my courtyard?"
Prince Ming was still unaware of Liu Qingyun’s entry into the mansion.
Lu Zhaoyan replied indifferently, "This is my mansion. I’ll stay wherever I want."
Prince Ming: "...And what about my mansion?"
Lu Zhaoyan said, "The Ministry of Industry is overseeing its construction. If you don’t want to stay here at the Crown Prince Mansion, you can move to the palace and keep Father company."
Prince Ming: "My dear Imperial Brother, I was wrong."
Lu Zhaoyan headed to the study.
The attendants following him placed a pile of morials on the desk.
Prince Ming narrowed his eyes, clutching his folding fan, and followed him to the study.
Lu Zhaoyan opened a morial.
Prince Ming circled around him, scrutinizing him closely from every angle.
Lu Zhaoyan asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Sothing’s not right." Prince Ming squinted at him and said, "In the thirty years I’ve known you, this is not like you! I cursed you so badly just now, and you didn’t react... Have you fallen for a woman out there?"
Lu Zhaoyan shot him a glare. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Prince Ming pointed his folding fan at him. "Aha! This look—this exact look! You had it that night too!"
Lu Zhaoyan asked, "What night?"
Prince Ming realized he’d misspoken and quickly blocked his mouth with the fan, determined to keep silent.
Lu Zhaoyan closed the morial. "Old Sixth, you know my temperant. You’d better spill the truth. What exactly do you know?"
An intangible pressure emanating from shared bloodlines made Prince Ming’s heart race with fear.
Yes, others might not understand his second brother, but he did.
Lu Zhaoyan was far from the mild and harmless facade he presented to the world.
Prince Ming gave up resisting and sighed deeply. "It’s really not much. At most, you once secretly traveled to Miaojiang and encountered a young lady there. To avoid revealing your identity, you wore a mask, claid you were hideously scarred, and even pretended to be mute. That girl believed you. Not only did she not shun you, but she also stood by you with unwavering loyalty.
"While in Miaojiang, you were hunted down. She risked her life to escort you out of Miaojiang. But what did you do? You must’ve done sothing terrible to her, angering her enough to leave!
"In hindsight, I bet that ’terrible thing’ was your one-night fling with Dou Qingyi, where the girl caught you in the act! That’s why she left without a word and vanished from your life!"
Lu Zhaoyan stared at him without blinking, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Who told you all this?"
Prince Ming leaned back lazily in his chair, resigned. "Three years ago, on New Year’s Eve, you got drunk and blurted it all out yourself. The way you talked about that girl then—it’s the sa as how you’re acting now!"
He shook his fan. "If soone didn’t know better, they’d think she’s co back looking for you. But alas, what’s lost is lost. You’d do well to just settle down and marry Dou Qingyi as the Crown Princess Consort."
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