Kong Feng'er was born out of wedlock and had been jealous of Consort Kong's status as the legitimate daughter since childhood.

Knowing that Consort Kong and Songhua had a close relationship, she deliberately kept an eye on them. First, Kong Que'er entered the back garden, followed closely by Songhua. Later, Hongyu also followed, and she only entered after Princess Xinyue. She thought everyone had caught Consort Kong and Songhua in the act, but it turned out they hadn't found them yet?

Seeing that Princess Xinyue remained silent, she walked through the pavilion and looked into the bamboo forest. At that moment, the bamboo deep inside swayed, as if someone was approaching.

A moment later, a girl with bangs that reached her eyebrows came out, pulling along a man wearing a veiled hat and limping.

Everyone was surprised; these were not Consort Kong and Song Hua.

Princess Crescent Moon stepped forward and questioned, "Who are you? What brings you here?"

The girl with bangs that reached her eyebrows pouted and glanced sideways at Princess Crescent Moon, saying, "This back garden was built for me by my father, why can't I come here?"

It turns out that the girl with the bangs that reached her eyebrows was Kong Yan'er, the third daughter of the Kong family. At the tender age of 12, she was still like a mischievous child, sticking out her tongue at Kong Feng'er and rolling her eyes.

"Did Third Sister run into Eldest Sister? I saw her come in, didn't I?"

"without."

"Have you ever seen Brother Songhua?"

"without!"

“Why are you upset, Third Sister? Eldest Sister has come back to visit her family, and she and Brother Songhua are reunited. I was just thinking of spending some time with Eldest Sister, but I'm afraid she'll be returning to the palace in another hour…”

Kong Feng'er kept rambling on, trying to trick Kong Yan'er into telling the truth.

Kong Yan'er, however, glared angrily, her cheeks puffed out, seething with rage.

------

At this moment, a group of people rushed into the back garden to watch the excitement. Chen Yu squeezed to the front and saw the cripple. She was overjoyed.

These days, she often goes to the clinic to inquire about the lame man. The manager says that he hasn't seen the lame man in a month.

Upon seeing the cripple again, Shen Yu felt as if she were seeing a long-lost friend, and her heart warmed, her eyes welling up with tears.

Through blurred vision, Kong Yan'er dragged the lame man away, but Kong Feng'er stopped them, shouting, "Who is this young master? Could it be Brother Songhua?"

As Kong Feng'er spoke, she suddenly ripped off the cripple's veil, "Ah!"

Kong Feng'er's screams continued, and a commotion erupted around them. "What was that? It was terrifying!"

"Extremely ugly, extremely terrifying..."

"Your face is covered in pustules, is it contagious?"

"Hurry up..."

Everyone fled in panic, but Chen Yu remained standing in place with a slight smile on her face, unable to hide her amusement. If the lame man's boils were contagious, the capital would have been ravaged by boils long ago.

She picked up the veil from the ground, brushed off the footprints, and slowly walked towards the lame man, faintly smelling a foul odor. It seemed the lame man's condition had worsened. She continued to approach him, wanting to examine his sores more closely.

The cripple looked away in fear and unease, his body trembling slightly.

"Don't be afraid. She doesn't look down on you; she must be a kind-hearted person," Kong Yan'er said, gently patting the lame man's arm.

The lame man nodded and fell silent.

Shen Yu was surprised. Why was the cripple listening to Kong Yan'er?

Suppressing her doubts, she placed the veil over the lame man's head. Before pulling down the veil, she couldn't help but examine his appearance closely. The pustules were in their peak reproduction period, covering his forehead and scalp; presumably, there was no intact skin left on his body.

When she lowered the veil, she met the lame man's eyes. Although his eyes were distorted by the pustules, his blinking, uneasy, and restrained gaze could not hide his panic and shyness, just like when Liu Yu first met her.

Her nose stung, and tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly loosened the veil, took two steps back, and asked, "Did you drink the medicine the shopkeeper gave you?"

The lame man nodded vigorously.

Chen Yu felt disappointed, but after thinking for a moment, she said, "I know a divine physician who may be able to cure your boils. Go home immediately, pack your bags, and come with me to find the divine physician."

The lame man remained silent.

Kong Yan'er gently patted the lame man's shoulder to comfort him, and sighed, "He has no home. I followed him and found that he lived in a dilapidated thatched hut outside the city. He boiled medicine in a broken pot and drank it directly from the pot. When I talked to him, he could only nod or shake his head. His throat is probably damaged."

How did you meet him?

"When I first arrived in the capital, I sneaked out to stroll through the night market and encountered three thugs. He was the one who helped me and chased them away. I had run away and was planning to climb over the wall to go home when he led me to a dog hole. Through the dog hole was the bamboo grove in this back garden. Today, my older sister and brother Songhua went through that dog hole..."

Kong Yan'er stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

Shen Yu naturally guessed that it was Kong Yan'er who covered Consort Kong and Song Hua's escape through the dog hole.

This back garden used to be Yanran's Yanhong Garden. There are two dog holes in the bamboo grove, one leading to the rockery and the other to the outside.

But how did this cripple know all this? Looking at that extremely familiar figure, Chen Yu leaned closer, her voice choked with emotion, almost unable to speak, "Have you been to the West City Villa?"

The lame man shook his head.

Chen Yu burst into tears and continued to ask, "Do you remember the little fish pendant?"

Do you remember Yu Yu?

The cripple continued to shake his head.

Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh at herself. Yes, King Yan had already found Liu Yu's remains and personal belongings, so what else could she question? That cripple was just a beggar; perhaps he had sneaked into the courtyard before, which was why he knew the dog hole so well. If it were somewhere else, he probably wouldn't know.

She wiped away her tears and said to the lame man, "I've heard there's a small cave in this mansion. Do you know where it is?"

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