Chapter 50 "Then tonight's affairs are entrusted to the Princess."...

==Chapter 50: The Plague==

Bai Shuang wanted to see Su Wanyue because she had decided to leave the capital. After leaving, she would travel the world with Xiao Yi. Without the shackles of their identities, she and Xiao Yi would definitely get married. So, it was only natural that she should come and pay her respects to Su Wanyue before leaving. Another reason was that she was from Nanqiong herself, and her master's disciple, Princess Zilu, was a cousin of Princess Cheng. So, it was just right for her to come and see Princess Cheng before leaving the capital.

However, her timing was unfortunate; His Highness Prince Cheng was also inside. When Bai Shuang met him with Xiao Yi last time, she felt that His Highness Prince Cheng had an overly powerful aura and seemed unapproachable. She felt a little awkward about it.

Upon receiving her master's signal, Chunzhi smiled and said to Baishuang, "Miss Baishuang, please come in."

Bai Shuang, a free-spirited woman who roamed the martial world, said "thank you" to Chunzhi and went inside.

The layout inside the hall is completely different from the outside. It is elegantly decorated, and every item on display is priceless and hard to come by.

The hall was separated by a brocade screen. His Highness Prince Cheng was handling official documents inside, while Princess Cheng was preparing tea. Upon seeing her enter, Princess Cheng smiled and said, "Miss Bai Shuang."

With skin as white as snow, delicate features, eyebrows like distant mountains, and a captivating smile, Bai Shuang took an instant liking to her. She quickly stepped forward and took Su Wanyue's wrist, her attitude very intimate, "Your Highness, Princess Consort."

Qin'er recognized the girl Bai Shuang in front of her. Bai Shuang was the only female disciple of Abbess Jinghui and a native of Nanqiong. She smiled and pushed the teacup in front of Bai Shuang, saying, "Please have some tea, Miss Bai."

“When I was learning medicine and divination with my master, I often heard about the Princess Consort.”

Su Wanyue's almond-shaped eyes flickered slightly. She had heard about her cousin, but her cousin hadn't taken a master because she felt that learning a skill would mean losing her freedom. How did she even hear about her cousin?

Bai Shuang noticed her confusion and smiled charmingly, "Actually, I've heard the most about Brother Lu the Second and Sister Zi Luo. Even the Princess Consort knows that Master Huiyuan is my senior uncle. Every year at a fixed time, my master will take me to see my senior uncle, and he will mention Brother Lu the Second and Sister Zi Luo to me."

Su Wanyue's eyelashes were like butterfly wings, and her almond-shaped eyes were like water. She suddenly remembered that every year in mid-May, Abbess Jinghui would come to visit her master to reminisce. Then her master would give them time to go home and visit their families. So Su Wanyue had heard of Abbess Jinghui, but she had never met her.

The "Sister Zilu" that the girl was talking about was her.

Since the man was still inside and he wasn't deaf, he could definitely hear what they were saying, so Su Wanyue didn't respond, knowing that saying more would only make things worse.

Bai Shuang was quite interested in this. She frowned, rested her chin on her hand, and sighed, "My master has been mentioning Brother Lu Er and Sister Zilu to me before. He said that Sister Zilu is amazing and learns everything very quickly. He also said that although both Sister Zilu and Brother Lu Er are his disciples, he still prefers Sister Zilu. I've always been very curious about what Sister Zilu looks like. It would be even better if I could be friends with her. But every time I go there, Sister Zilu is not there."

"That's because Master Huiyuan gave your sister Zilu and the others a few days off, and they went back to the capital."

"No wonder it always happens so coincidentally," Bai Shuang said with a sudden realization, then asked, "Does the Princess Consort and Sister Zilu still exchange letters?"

She kept referring to her as Princess Zilu, which terrified Qin'er. She could tell that this Bai Shuang girl really liked their princess, so she was trying to find out about her in various ways. But the truth was that the person in question was sitting right in front of her, using a different identity. How could she not be terrified? Unfortunately, Bai Shuang girl was straightforward and didn't notice anything amiss.

The real Princess Zilu is no longer in the Southern Prince's Mansion. How can Su Wanyue maintain correspondence with her?

Su Wanyue took a sip of tea and mumbled that they had exchanged letters.

In reality, Su Wanyue had never contacted anyone from Nanqiong since she married into the family; it was Zhou Heng who contacted Qin Jue.

Bai Shuang nodded, remembering something she had always been curious about. She said that a couple of years ago, she overheard her senior uncle mentioning that Lu Ergege and Zilu would get married in the future, and she wondered if it was true.

Su Wanyue smiled nonchalantly, "Sister Zilu and Young Master Lu have a good relationship, they should get married."

Before Su Wanyue could finish speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned as cold as if it were frozen solid.

The viscous ink left a heavy stain on the rice paper, and the man behind the screen, who was processing official documents, casually raised his eyes.

Bai Shuang was delighted to hear this and smiled, "I also thought they would get married, but I don't know why the Prince of Nan's Mansion and Prime Minister Lu's Mansion have been quiet lately, last time..."

"Miss Bai, please try the osmanthus cake. I don't know if it suits your taste," Su Wanyue said with a smile, pushing the osmanthus cake in front of her.

Bai Shuang was immediately drawn to the pastries. She picked up a piece, took a bite, and said, "It's sweet but not sticky, and the aroma is rich. I really like it."

To prevent her from bringing up those matters again, Su Wanyue smiled faintly, her eyes sparkling and captivating, "I wonder why Miss Bai has come to see me today?"

Bai Shuang suddenly slapped her forehead. She had been so engrossed in reminiscing that she had forgotten about the important matter at hand.

"Actually, I came here today to say goodbye to the Princess Consort. His Highness the Crown Prince has been confined to the East Palace to reflect on his mistakes, and His Highness the Seventh Prince has been laid to rest. It is not appropriate for me to stay in the capital any longer. His Majesty has suggested that I go to the Imperial Hospital, but I know my own limitations and do not want to be bound by the rules and regulations of the palace for the rest of my life. Therefore, I plan to leave the capital today. Before I leave, I came here specifically to pay my respects to the Princess Consort."

If the Seventh Prince had truly met with an accident, Bai Shuang would definitely have stayed at the Imperial Hospital to wait for an opportunity to avenge him. However, since the Seventh Prince did not die, Bai Shuang certainly did not want to stay in the capital. The reason she came to the capital was to avoid arousing suspicion from some people. Now that the matter was settled, she would definitely leave.

However, Bai Shuang did understand a principle during her trip to the capital: it was not as easy as she had imagined to bring down the Crown Prince. She felt that Xiao Yi's "death" was in vain; his "death" disrupted the situation in the court but did not bring the Crown Prince any deeper punishment.

"Has Father Emperor granted your request?"

"His Majesty has agreed and even had Eunuch Zhou give me one hundred taels of gold as a reward for my meritorious service in treating the Seventh Prince."

"Where does Miss Bai plan to go after leaving the capital?" Su Wanyue asked, knowing that the Seventh Prince had not died.

"I want to go back to Nanqiong first to meet my master, and then travel the world to heal the sick and wounded," Bai Shuang said with a smile, her eyes brimming with undisguised happiness and joy.

Before meeting Xiao Yi, Bai Shuang always went out alone. After meeting Xiao Yi, she always had someone by her side no matter where she went. She liked this feeling very much and genuinely liked Xiao Yi.

"Then Miss Bai, please take care on your journey. If you ever return to Beili, please come and visit the Prince Cheng's residence." Su Wanyue didn't say anything about Bai Shuang's choice, only smiled and said.

Su Wanyue understood this about her, which made Bai Shuang very happy. Bai Shuang's eyebrows were raised in delight. "Your Highness, please rest assured, I have martial arts skills and I am not afraid of being bullied. However, before I return to Beili to visit Your Highness, I must find an opportunity to see Sister Zilu."

Bai Shuang and Su Wanyue had a very pleasant chat. When she left, Su Wanyue asked the servants to prepare a box of pastries and some checks for her to take with her. Qin'er personally saw her off to the door, saying, "This servant will see Miss Bai off here. Please take care on your journey."

Bai Shuang smiled broadly, "Qin'er, please go back and take care of the Princess Consort."

Bai Shuang returned to her residence carrying a box of pastries. Inside was a timid-looking little maid. She was Bai Shuang's medicine boy and also considered half of her maid. Seeing that Bai Shuang looked happy, Xiao Cui asked her a question.

"I was so happy to see Princess Cheng. You have no idea how beautiful she is, she looks like a fairy from heaven." Bai Shuang raised her eyebrows and continued to pack her things to take with her when she left.

Xiao Cui had been by Bai Shuang's side for several years and knew that she had always wanted to meet Princess Zilu of this dynasty. "I heard that Princess Zilu and Princess Weiyang have a resemblance in their eyes and brows. I suppose Princess Zilu's appearance must be stunning."

Speaking of this, Bai Shuang remembered something, "Right, didn't my senior uncle leave a painting here with Master before?"

“Yes, that painting depicts Master Huiyuan, as well as Young Master Lu and Princess Zilu. However, Master Huiyuan has not yet returned from his travels, so the painting is still with Abbess Jinghui,” Xiao Cui said.

Bai Shuang thought that she could ask her master to borrow the painting to take a look. Perhaps she could guess what Sister Zi Luo looked like without even seeing her in person.

Bai Shuang became increasingly happy as she thought about it, and took Xiao Cui on a boat to Fuzhou, unaware that she had already been followed.

===

Once the bystanders left, the man behind the screen emerged. Su Wanyue raised her eyebrows slightly and softly called out, "Your Highness."

"What did the princess promise me just now, hmm?" Xiao Yu leaned over, wrapped one arm around her, and pressed the corner of her eye with the other.

He was referring to the saying, "If you want to comfort someone, you should kiss me."

Su Wanyue wanted to deny it, but when their eyes met, his pupils were dark, and his eyes seemed to be filled with flames, thick and sticky. Su Wanyue then pressed his hand down, tilted her head slightly, and kissed his lips.

Su Wanyue's lips were luscious and warm, exuding a faint fragrance of osmanthus, while the man's thin lips were cool. When their lips touched, the man couldn't control himself.

The woman kissed him and was about to leave when the man pressed down on her back. He pried open her teeth and kissed her inch by inch until she was breathless. Only then did Xiao Yu stroke her black hair and ask in a hoarse voice, "Has Your Highness learned it now?"

Su Wanyue calmed her disordered breathing and nodded gently.

For some reason, his emotions are always fluctuating; for example, right now, his unhappiness is written all over his face.

She doesn't understand anything yet...

Xiao Yu's lips curved slightly, and his thin lips fell again, "Then tonight will be left to the Princess."

That night, they were once again deeply in love and their affection was intense.

===

Before they knew it, it was late autumn of the fifth year of the Dingyuan era. Crown Prince Xiao Ruofei was released from confinement. After leaving the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince resumed his former courtesy and gentle demeanor, which greatly pleased the Emperor.

Unfortunately, the timing was unfortunate; at the end of that year, an epidemic broke out in the capital.