Chapter 163 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 17.

Something happened?

Yu Shiqing sensed danger in Ye Cangxing's fleeting expression. His heart skipped a beat, and he opened his mouth to call for help, but before he could utter a sound, Fei Changshi suddenly turned around from the front.

"Mr. Yu, the carriages and horses are ready!"

Chief Secretary Fei greeted them with a smile.

In that brief moment, Ye Zangxing's figure had already vanished. Yu Shiqing's heart skipped a beat, and he had no choice but to look away.

"Chief Secretary Fei, your timing is perfect, I was just about to look for you..."

"What a coincidence! I came here specifically to pick up Mr. Yu, fearing that I would be late and miss his morning class."

Fei Changshi smiled and led Yu Shiqing forward.

Yu Shiqing suddenly stopped: "Thank you for your concern, Chief Secretary Fei. Although His Highness Prince Yong said yesterday that there was no need for farewell today, the Sixth Prince is also a good friend of mine. We have agreed that I should say goodbye to him when I leave..."

“Sixth Prince,” Chief Secretary Fei waved his hand, “he is busy meeting with old friends outside the city. I just went to have someone lead his horse and ran into him. Now that I think about it, he should have already left. If Mr. Yu wants to bid farewell to the Sixth Prince, I'm afraid it won’t be possible today.”

"However, His Highness has friends all over the world, and it is common for him to forget one thing when he thinks of another. Mr. Yu, you don't need to worry that he will blame you for this."

These words sound comforting, but they are actually full of provocative irony.

However, Fei Changshi should not be lying. It seems that Ye Zangxing did not tell him the truth. After all, what kind of good person would visit an old friend with a murderous expression?

Yu Shiqing met Fei Changshi's scrutiny, his smile noticeably dimmed, and he lowered his eyes, saying, "I see... Then I'll trouble you, Fei Changshi. Let's go first."

Fei Changshi smiled and said, "Mr. Yu, you're too kind."

The group boarded carriages and horses, exited through the side gate, and arrived at Yushan Mountain just as the city gates were opening.

They remained silent the entire way.

Upon arriving at Weiwen Academy, Yu Shiqing bid farewell to Prefect Fei and entered the academy with a natural expression.

Fei Changshi glanced at the academy gate, narrowed his eyes slightly, waved his hand towards the shadows, then let out a whoosh, spurred his horse around, and rode down the mountain.

When they arrived back at Prince Yong's villa in Huai'an, it was barely dawn. Fei Changshi dismounted, and his personal servant hurriedly brought him breakfast. Fei Changshi waved his hand and refused, saying, "Oh, I don't have time for that. I have to see the Prince. I can't eat!"

After saying that, he quickly changed into a clean shirt and hurried to the study.

Last night, Prince Yong stayed in the main study and did not return to his residence. The previous two times his headaches flared up, he avoided the Princess Consort like the plague, refusing to go back to his room no matter what.

"His Highness has risen. Chief Secretary Fei, please come in." The eunuch inside, hearing the commotion, came out to greet him.

Fei Changshi hurriedly followed him inside.

The room was dimly lit, with little morning light. Prince Yong, wearing an outer robe, sat at his desk, examining a piece of paper that seemed to have been written on but was covered in black ink. His hair was loose, with stray strands falling down, obscuring most of his face, making his expression indistinct.

"Your Highness."

Chief Secretary Fei bowed. "Mr. Yu has been sent back. Before leaving, he wanted to say goodbye to the Sixth Prince. As you instructed, I made it vague and prevented them from meeting. However, it was just a coincidence that the Sixth Prince was going to visit a friend and went out early. Even if I had asked him to go, he wouldn't have been able to see him. It wasn't that I intentionally lied to him."

"In addition, two secret guards have been left behind, mainly for surveillance, and of course, to protect Mr. Yu's safety. However, Your Highness, no matter what, Yu Shiqing is just a minor scholar. Is he worth all this trouble?"

Prince Yong's gaze fell heavily on Chief Secretary Fei. He did not answer the question, but instead asked, "Did I give you all of this?"

Fei Changshi looked surprised, then suddenly realized: "Your Highness has been suffering from headaches these past few days, so perhaps you have forgotten. It was indeed you who personally instructed me to do this, and you also told me not to tell anyone else, especially to be wary of the Sixth Prince."

He was an old resident of the Prince's residence and knew quite a bit about Prince Yong's headache.

Upon hearing this, Prince Yong's expression remained unchanged, though his eyes seemed to darken slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "Perhaps I've had too many headaches, and I've become somewhat forgetful." He then asked, "Aside from this matter, in the past few days... at certain times, have I given you, or anyone else, any instructions?"

"Aside from Mr. Yu's matter, there's nothing else. Oh right, there's also the matter of posting notices to find a doctor, but that's a big deal, you shouldn't have forgotten, right? The newly found doctor moved into the Prince's residence last night, and the young princess seems to like him very much, and you seem quite satisfied as well..." Chief Secretary Fei said.

Prince Yong closed his eyes, and after a long while, he slowly took a deep breath. Just as he was about to say something, a voice from outside announced, "The Princess Consort has arrived!"

Prince Yong paused, looking at Chief Secretary Fei, who immediately cupped his hands and said, "This humble official will take his leave now."

"You've worked hard these past few days, please get some rest. Come to my house for lunch."

Upon hearing this, Chief Secretary Fei's face immediately lit up with joy. "I dare not claim credit, but I am willing to share the burden with Your Highness!"

Having said that, he bowed and withdrew.

The curtain to the study had just fallen, but was lifted again moments later.

Princess Yong, dressed simply with a cloak over her shoulders, hurried through the door like the wind. Upon seeing Prince Yong, she did not immediately approach him, but stopped and asked, "Is Your Highness alright?"

Prince Yong sighed inwardly, "I'm sorry, Rong'er, I..."

Before she finished speaking, Princess Yong took a step forward and threw herself into Prince Yong's arms, hugging him tightly. The force was so great that it almost made Prince Yong stumble.

Upon seeing this, Prince Yong felt a pang of sorrow. "Rong'er..." He had barely uttered two words when Princess Yong suddenly punched him in the chest. Prince Yong couldn't catch his breath, and his face instantly turned red.

"Just because you're sick in the head doesn't mean you've become a completely different person. You despise me and don't even want to see me. How dare you!"

Princess Yong cursed angrily, but her eyes were red.

Upon seeing this, Prince Yong felt even more distressed. He reached out and embraced the person, gently stroking their hair: "You know, that wasn't 'me'... at least not the 'me' you see now, the 'me' who's with you day and night..."

Princess Yong glared at Prince Yong, buried her head in his arms, and said nothing more. The two embraced in silence for a while, and when their emotions had calmed down, they released each other and sat back down in their chairs.

"Over the years, although I have had occasional headaches, like a recurrence of a headache, they have never actually flared up. I thought that as long as I paid more attention, it would be fine..." I recalled that when I visited Weiwen Academy a while ago, we chatted about headaches, but who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, it would actually flare up.

The sun was rising outside the window, casting a warm glow that should have illuminated the room. But Princess Yong, slumped in her chair, felt only a sense of gloom and darkness.

Prince Yong was silent for a moment, then said, "This time it was not much different from the previous two. After several frequent minor headaches in a day, there would suddenly be one or two sharp pains that made me lose consciousness, as if I were in a coma. I have no memory of what happened during the coma, and I only heard about it from other people when I woke up."

“I saw you drinking your medicine just as you were doing so, then suddenly you stopped, opened your eyes, saw me, and your expression changed. You told me to leave, and that's when I guessed something. That strange headache had really come back,” Princess Yong said, her expression somber. “This illness… is rare in the Great Qi, but it’s not unheard of. There are similar symptoms, such as headaches, amnesia, or feeling like a completely different person. But ultimately, the symptoms exist, but there are no cures…”

“A few have been cured by sheer luck, but we’ve tried those unorthodox remedies before. They only harm the body and have no other effect. If this happens again once or twice… I’m really worried.”

Prince Yong sighed and said, "Don't worry too much. Based on past experience, this headache should subside for a while. During this time, let's have the doctor that Afu has been longing for come and treat him."

"Chief Secretary Fei said that a doctor was appointed last night. Is it the same Doctor Rong who cured my headache in my past life, the one Afu mentioned in her heart?"

“Indeed,” Princess Yong nodded. “Afu was very happy to see him. It seems that this Doctor Rong might have some ability. However…” Princess Yong paused, her brow furrowing slightly, “This man’s background is a bit problematic. He seems to have been a vagrant in his youth, and was later adopted by a doctor…”

"But what about the descendants of criminals?" King Yong asked.

Princess Yong shook her head: "The investigation revealed that it is not true. But in our opinion, although Afu's rebirth and the expression of his inner thoughts can be called miracles, we should still be cautious when it comes to actually doing things... We believe in Afu, but we should also take it one step at a time to be on the safe side."

“That’s how it is,” Prince Yong nodded, his eyelids drooping wearily. “We’ll try anything, even if it’s a long shot. I just hope that doctor is decent and can be of some use…”

To be completely unaware of what you've said or done, as if you can't even control yourself—that feeling is truly terrifying. And if this leads to the injury of loved ones and innocent people, then you would be utterly culpable.

Thinking of this, Prince Yong seemed to have an idea. He told his wife to go and have her meal first, while he sat down at his desk, opened the secret box, took out the letter paper and seal, and after careful consideration, slowly wrote a secret letter to the capital.

At the same time.

At the foot of Yushan Mountain, Yu Shiqing, dressed in a coarse hemp robe and wearing a straw hat, walked briskly out of the mountain path.

The Prince's Palace's secret guards and the Imperial Guards were of the same origin, so he was very familiar with them. He soon discovered the two left behind by Chief Secretary Fei.

This was not unexpected.

The young princess is still young. If she were a reincarnated person, she probably wouldn't hide too much from her trusted family. It's highly likely that Prince Yong learned about some things from the young princess's words. He wanted to win her over, but he was also wary of her. It's normal for him to send two secret guards to monitor her.

However, such methods alone are not enough to keep an eye on him. As a mere scholar, he cannot defeat the secret guards, but if he only uses some tricks to temporarily escape, it is not impossible.

In fact, Yu Shiqing did not intend to take such a risk. Such actions could easily expose his secret and arouse suspicion if he was not careful. However, Ye Cangxing's hurried departure this morning made him uneasy.

He knew Ye Zangxing too well; unless it was something extremely important, he would never unleash such murderous intent.

But whether in this life or the last, Huai'an has always been peaceful and tranquil, so how could such a thing happen?

Yu Shiqing had a bad feeling.

"If he were inside the city, he would most likely not ride a horse, so he would have to leave the city. This is something I shouldn't have lied to Chief Secretary Fei about... The east gate only opened when I left the city, and the south gate was always the last to open. That left only the west and north gates. The north gate had the most vendors entering the city every morning, and there was also a dock, so it often needed to open early to receive and deliver goods..."

Yu Shiqing did not know where Ye Cangxing had gone, but Huai'an Prefecture was neither too big nor too small, and he believed he knew a thing or two about it.

Yu Shiqing rented a mule near the official road, mounted it, and rode towards the north gate.

There were many tea stalls along the way. He asked around at a few and sure enough, he found the boy in blue without much trouble.

"The dock? Could it be that we're really going to pick up some old friend?"

Yu Shiqing had never heard of Ye Zangxing having any friends in Huai'an besides himself, so it was probably impossible.

But despite thinking this way, for some reason, Yu Shiqing's fingers, which were gripping the reins, still tightened silently.

A dozen or so miles north of the city lies Huai'an's largest wharf, where boats shuttle back and forth, a bustling and lively scene. Adjacent to the wharf is a town that, inheriting this prosperity, has also developed quite well, with a constant stream of pedestrians.

Yu Shiqing inquired his way here and arrived at the busiest market in the town.

The marketplace was a chaotic mix of people, its atmosphere thick with corruption, quite different from the imperial court and academies. Yet, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar to Yu Shiqing. Though he appeared refined and noble, he was also a man who had risen from humble beginnings, having weathered many storms over the years, traversing the southern and northern deserts. What place hadn't he seen?

With his straw hat pulled low, Yu Shiqing walked with a slightly hunched posture and unassuming manners through the crowd.

After walking for a while, he looked around and was about to ask someone for directions again when his gaze suddenly sharpened. He caught sight of a familiar figure on a two-story restaurant not far away.

Ye Cangxing, with a willow-green hairband and dressed in blue clothes that were different from the previous night, peeked out from the window with a half-smiling face, exchanging drinks with a man opposite her.