"""
"Braised pork, braised pork!"
Tan’er bounced along the small pathway of the Thousand chanism Pavilion, enjoying the first trickling spring rain.
anwhile, she was tailing ng Qianqian.
This task was sothing she’d assigned herself.
"This is what they call, misusing public resources for private matters!"
ng Qianqian walked ahead, listening to Tan’er’s seemingly clever conclusion, and couldn’t help but smile knowingly.
Suddenly, she ca to a halt.
Tan’er let out a startled "Hm?" and stopped as well, glancing warily around and asking, "Which cowardly turtle is hiding here? Still sneaking around? If you don’t show yourself, watch out—I might start killing indiscriminately!"
"Little girl, your use of idioms isn’t bad."
The Mao Tu, dressed in green and holding a peach blossom umbrella, descended from the sky. Her trailing hem and sleeves spread out in the night rain, resembling a picturesque scene of Jiangnan rain and mist.
Her toes lightly grazed a puddle before landing between Tan’er and ng Qianqian.
Tan’er tilted her head, examining her: "You are... Mao Tu?"
Lan Yeyue smiled faintly, "You recognize ?"
Tan’er scoffed, "The Rooster said that anyone dressed like a big cabbage could only be you—who else?"
Lan Yeyue’s face darkened.
Soon, her smile blood again like a flower. Turning to ng Qianqian, she said, "The new... Phoenix Girl? You seem to have sothing you want to say to ."
ng Qianqian spoke calmly: "I want to make a transaction with you."
Lan Yeyue’s smile grew even more alluring: "Do you know who I am? And yet you dare propose a deal?"
ng Qianqian replied: "Lan Yeyue of dicine King Valley."
Lan Yeyue stared at ng Qianqian deeply, stepping closer and closer: "You seem to know well. Then you should understand dicine King Valley’s rules."
ng Qianqian: "A life for a life."
Lan Yeyue: "That’s right."
ng Qianqian said plainly: "I want Gongsun Wuyou’s life."
Lan Yeyue’s eyes widened in shock, her hand covering her mouth: "Kill him? dicine King Valley saves lives; we don’t hire assassins."
Tan’er snorted: "If you don’t kill for money, then how is ’a life for a life’ supposed to work?"
Lan Yeyue glanced over with a laugh: "That’s because they voluntarily agree."
ng Qianqian replied coolly: "Spare the theatrics with . I’ll exchange another person’s life for his."
Lan Yeyue chuckled: "He’s the Young Master of the Thousand chanism Pavilion, the last heir of the Shang family. Whose life could possibly be worth as much as his?"
ng Qianqian enunciated each word clearly: "Gongsun Yanming."
"Hahaha... hahahahaha..."
Lan Yeyue laughed as though she’d just heard the funniest joke of her life, bending over in uncontrollable mirth.
Tan’er stomped over to ng Qianqian’s side: "Is she laughing herself into madness, sister?"
Lan Yeyue wiped teary eyes as she gestured: "Little girl, your elder sister isn’t crazy."
Tan’er exclaid in surprise: "She heard that?"
Her voice had been so quiet!
Lan Yeyue smiled lightly: "Don’t worry, I have no interest in knowing who you’re selling your life for."
Tan’er looked over at ng Qianqian.
ng Qianqian nodded slightly.
Lan Yeyue turned to ng Qianqian with a smile: "Both you and Gongsun Yanming want to offer the other’s life to —whose words should I trust?"
ng Qianqian said, "You’ll find out by watching."
Lan Yeyue glanced at Tan’er and chuckled: "I’m in a good mood today. How about I offer you a convenience? Gongsun Yanming’s life is too resilient for you to take—how about trading your little girl instead?"
ng Qianqian’s fingers flicked, sending a silver needle shooting towards Lan Yeyue’s neck.
A bead of blood erged.
Lan Yeyue raised her hand and touched the spot, her fingertips stained red.
Her smile turned cold: "Do you have a death wish?"
ng Qianqian replied unhurriedly: "This ti, it’s just a warning. Try for her again, and I’ll scar your face, tear your mouth, and gouge out your eyes."
Intense killing intent flickered in Lan Yeyue’s eyes.
ng Qianqian turned and began to leave: "Here’s the deal: I’ll deliver Gongsun Yanming’s life to you, and Wuyou—dicine King Valley may not touch him."
Tan’er cast a sidelong glance at Lan Yeyue, then chased after ng Qianqian without looking back.
"Infuriating! Absolutely infuriating!"
Lan Yeyue threw her peach blossom fan to the ground in fury, venting her frustrations.
Once she cald down, she gazed at ng Qianqian’s retreating silhouette, a cold smile of obscure aning forming at her lips: "You truly haven’t changed a bit."
-
Tan’er stayed "on watch" with ng Qianqian until dawn, mooching food, drink, and sleep in ng Qianqian’s room.
ng Qianqian opened a ledger and marked half a circle around Gongsun Yanming’s na with cinnabar.
Tan’er seed to be having a pleasant dream, sprawled on the bed with drool trickling.
ng Qianqian pulled up a blanket to cover her, then quietly left for the dungeon.
Lady Yan was imprisoned in a damp, dark cell, bearing the marks of relentless torture.
She sat against the wall, her cracked lips bleeding.
Footsteps echoed from the corridor, followed by the sound of her cell door opening.
She did not even lift her eyelids.
Until a bottle was thrown onto her lap, making her look up—ng Qianqian stood before her.
Startled, she rasped out: "You? How did you get in?"
Then she picked up the porcelain bottle in her arms, sniffing it before smiling: "dicine for wounds; how thoughtful."
ng Qianqian looked down at her coldly: "I just don’t want you dying too quickly. That would be too easy. I want you to personally witness how I destroy Gongsun Yanming—how I shatter everything you sched to seize."
Unexpectedly, Lady Yan did not offer her usual warnings against opposing the Thousand chanism Pavilion, nor did she implore her to spare herself.
Instead, she sneered: "Fine, then. I’ll wait and see."
ng Qianqian crouched down, taking out a clean handkerchief.
Lady Yan asked: "What are you doing?"
With a faint smile, ng Qianqian used the handkerchief to wipe off so blood on her cheek: "Sneaking into the dungeon in the dead of night to deliver dicine to my master... I must leave behind so evidence."
She dropped the embroidered handkerchief bearing her na onto the cell floor, "This way, the Thousand chanism Pavilion will think my cold cruelty toward my master is rely a facade—and they’ll believe they’ve truly found my weakness."
Lady Yan smirked mockingly: "You’ll pick up quite a few tricks with him."
ng Qianqian stood up: "Thanks to all of you—without this, I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn."
She left the cell.
"Take care, Master."
-
After returning to his residence, Prince Jin summoned a slew of Imperial Physicians to his courtyard, ordering each to take his pulse individually.
One after another, they diagnosed him with excessive heart fire, liver agitation, and blocked kidney chi.
In simpler terms, they concluded he was angry and startled.
The anger, they could understand—it was a day of pomp and glory for the Imperial Grandson, further distancing Prince Jin from the Crown Prince position.
But startled... by what, exactly?
The physicians exchanged uneasy looks, keeping their thoughts unspoken.
Prince Jin found it hard to articulate: "Do I have... do I have... Forget it, all of you may leave. I’m just weary from arranging Qi’er’s wedding."
The Imperial Physicians nodded and agreed repeatedly.
"""
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