Chapter 176 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 30.

As noon approached, in the warm sunlight of the Huai'an villa, Princess Yong was holding the awakened Afu and carefully feeding her medicine.

The three-year-old girl, her pale, round face scrunched up, nestled in her mother's arms, her hands weakly pushing away, "Mother... I can drink it myself, it's just a sip, it'll make your mouth hurt so much..."

Princess Yong supported her, her heart aching with heartache, but her attitude was resolute: "The imperial physician said that medicine should be taken in small sips and slowly for the best effect. Look, your favorite candied fruit and fruit have been placed next to you. Once you finish drinking them, the bitterness will be relieved. Just bear with it, okay?"

The little girl frowned and glanced at the plate on the side. She sighed like a little adult and said, "Fine, let's just drink it like this. Ah Fu can bear with it."

[Sigh, since my mother has begged me so much, I'll spoil her a bit. After all, Afu isn't three years old, she's ten, quite a grown-up!]

Princess Yong found it amusing to see her appearance and hear her thoughts. She wanted to laugh, but feeling the frail little body in her arms, she couldn't laugh. Her heart was filled with bitterness and anger.

She had learned everything from the guards who had rushed back overnight, and she was just waiting for Doctor Rong to be brought back so that she could skin him alive and cut him into a thousand pieces! He could even do that to an innocent child; he was simply a beast!

"Good Afu, you'll feel better after drinking it, and you'll recover soon..." Princess Yong hugged the little girl, coaxing her softly as she slowly fed her the medicine.

The medicine bowl was quickly emptied, and Afu eagerly reached for some candied fruit. Princess Yong smiled and helped her, feeding her one. Afu chewed the candied fruit, and her wrinkled little face finally relaxed, revealing a relieved expression. Princess Yong hugged her and gently stroked her head.

The surrounding maids and servants watched this heartwarming scene quietly, all with smiles on their faces.

Just then, footsteps approached and stopped outside the screen: "Your Highness, the Sixth Prince and Mr. Yu have rushed here, saying they have something to ask of you."

Princess Yong was taken aback and turned her head: "Just the two of them?"

"right."

Princess Yong pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Please invite them in."

[Are the young imperial uncle and Mr. Yu here? Did they come to see Afu? Why hasn't Father come yet? Is he hurt and walking slowly?] Afu chewed on a candied fruit, curiously opening her eyes to look outside, her mind wandering aimlessly.

Princess Yong looked at her and sighed silently, then patted her head, "You're still sick, don't be greedy."

"Afu knows," the little girl answered obediently in a soft voice.

Princess Yong smiled, then got up to go to the outer room to meet the guests.

However, in that brief moment, two hurried footsteps approached from outside, almost as if they were running.

Princess Yong frowned and quickly walked around the screen. She saw two young men who looked travel-worn. Although their expressions were not too turbulent when they got closer, Princess Yong could vaguely sense a hint of urgency in their brows.

As if infected by their anxiety, Princess Yong also became uneasy. Before the two could stop and pay their respects, she spoke directly: "What happened? Why are you so flustered?"

"Sister-in-law, something has happened to Fourth Brother!" Ye Zangxing seemed unable to hold back any longer and blurted out the news as soon as the Princess Consort of Yong asked.

Princess Yong was startled, her heart pounding. She quickly glanced around. Why had this child suddenly become so foolish? If the prince was in trouble, whether he was dead or alive, she shouldn't have shouted out so recklessly. There were too many people around!

"Everyone, get out of here!" Despite her anxiety, Princess Yong's first words were still to dismiss everyone. Then she glanced into the inner room. From this distance, she should be able to hear Afu's thoughts. Since no thoughts came out, it meant that Afu hadn't heard them.

Princess Yong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After the servants filed out and only her personal maid remained, she immediately stopped hiding her true feelings and asked anxiously, "What exactly happened?"

Ye Zangxing didn't answer immediately, but instead turned and exchanged a glance with Yu Shiqing. Their expressions seemed to relax slightly at the same time, the tension from before gone.

Princess Yong was taken aback, then seemed to understand something.

Just then, Yu Shiqing cupped his hands and spoke first: "Your Highness, as the Sixth Prince said, the Prince has indeed had an accident, but the situation may not be as bad as imagined..."

In a concise and to-the-point manner, Yu Shiqing quickly recounted everything that had happened at the post station. Princess Yong's expression changed several times, but a hint of disbelief and astonishment remained constant until finally settling into a solemn and thoughtful expression.

"An extraordinary person..."

Princess Yong murmured, and after a moment, sighed: "Actually, this matter..." She paused, as if considering her words, "Xuan Shu should still remember that the Prince's first headache was not long after he got married and established his own residence at the age of sixteen. At that time, neither I nor the Prince thought that something was controlling or possessing our bodies by a strange soul, but we did realize that something was wrong. We did some things to deal with it, but in the end... nothing came of it."

"However, although the prince has never said anything since then, I know that he has always been on guard and seems to be making some preparations in secret, but I don't know the specifics."

"This time, being manipulated by an alien, seemingly disappearing to search for the Demon Queen's rebels, and meeting another alien, is truly unbelievable and extremely dangerous. But I also believe that even if Your Highness is involved, you are not entirely passive..."

Princess Yong's words didn't sound like self-consolation; rather, they suggested she genuinely understood something.

As she spoke, she turned her gaze slightly to Yu Shiqing and Ye Zangxing: "However, you should not know these things, so when you said earlier that 'the situation is not that bad,' it means that you already have a plan for rescuing the prince?"

"Was your rash shout just now that the prince was in trouble also part of your plan?"

“That’s exactly right,” Yu Shiqing said.

"Fourth Sister-in-law is truly amazing!" Ye Zangxing said.

Princess Yong forced a smile and said, "Alright, stop trying to sweet-talk me. Tell me."

Ye Cangxing looked at Yu Shiqing, who said, "Your Highness, you must have noticed the inconsistencies in what happened last night, right? It's not impossible for the strange man to take the prince's body and disappear, but why leave a note saying he will return in three days? Does he really think we would believe that the note is genuine and leave the prince out there with only two guards protecting him, his fate uncertain? That would be incredibly foolish."

Princess Yong frowned: "Then what is this...?"

“I can’t guess much about his purpose,” Yu Shiqing said with a clear and calm gaze, “but I’m sure he’s really certain that the prince will return in three days.”

"But whether the one who comes back is still Fourth Brother is uncertain." Ye Zangxing's expression turned slightly cold.

Yu Shiqing said, "It sounds like a fantasy, but I suspect they might have some means to make the prince's soul disappear, which would take about three days..."

"They've rebelled!" Princess Yong was terrified, gritting her teeth. She abruptly turned around, looking as if she wanted to immediately mobilize the guards to rush to their rescue. But despite her shock, anger, and urgency, she still maintained her composure. "What exactly is your plan, you two?"

"Fourth Sister-in-law, don't worry. We still need your and Afu's help with this matter." As a fellow family member, Ye Zangxing was naturally anxious and flustered, but many things only get worse the more anxious you are.

Princess Yong closed her eyes briefly and said, "Helping... I'll take it easy, but what about Afu?"

“Yes,” Ye Zangxing said, “Does Fourth Sister-in-law know what the obstacle to our rescue is right now?”

Princess Yong raised her eyebrows, her expression questioning.

"First, we don't know where the prince is, and second, we don't know how to find and rescue him without making things worse," Yu Shiqing continued. "Regarding the Empress's rebellious party, we have exchanged information and have grasped most of their power, but their leader has not yet shown up, and there are still some hiding places we don't know the details of."

"If we rashly mobilize the Imperial Guard to eliminate the current forces of the rebels, the probability of alerting them is far greater than successfully rescuing the Prince. Even worse, it may lead to even more unpredictable events for the Prince."

"Therefore, the Sixth Prince and I devised a plan. On one hand, we would follow the so-called 'past life' narrative, starting with our understanding of the extraordinary people to find clues about the prince's whereabouts. On the other hand, we would release news that the prince had encountered an accident, to provoke the rebels and some officials in Jiangnan. Then, we would have the Sixth Prince make a move, pretending to be about to cause a major incident, to lure the enemy out of their hiding place..."

Princess Yong remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Yu Shiqing: "Mr. Yu is extraordinary, and I am willing to trust you. I can cooperate with you on this matter, but there is one exception: Afu..."

“Your Highness, please don’t misunderstand,” Yu Shiqing said. “I would never put the young princess in any danger. I just want to have a chat with her. It’s just for now, and we’ll talk about it and then move on. Although this calligraphy and painting teacher is just a calligraphy and painting teacher, he is still a ‘teacher’ after all. I would never harm the young princess.”

Princess Yong closed her eyes.

Fifteen minutes later.

Afu was carried by the mute nanny into the flower hall, which she had been clamoring to go to ever since she woke up.

Princess Yong sat quietly in a small pavilion not far from the flower hall, watching as Afu's pale face lit up with joy. She pointed to one pot of flowers after another, calling out their names and recounting how she got to know them. Despite her weakness, she was full of spirit.

Moving forward, soon Afuyouhua saw the painting. Underneath the painting, Yushiqing spread out paper, ground ink, and looked up with a smile.

Afu paused for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "Mr. Yu!" and struggled to get down and bow.

The etiquette between teachers and students in the Great Qi Dynasty is even more solemn. According to custom, Afu should first bow to Yu Shiqing. However, upon seeing this, Yu Shiqing stopped him, saying, "The young princess is still ill, so there is no need for this. Today, it would be acceptable for the teacher to waive the student etiquette and the princess to waive the scholar etiquette."

Afu paused for a moment, thought about it, and realized it made sense, so he happily said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, sir!"

After saying that, she added, "Sir, did you come today to see Afu?"

“That’s right,” Yu Shiqing nodded. “We’ve come to see Afu, and also to give Afu our first lesson in calligraphy and painting.”

"The first lesson in calligraphy and painting?" Afu asked curiously.

"right."

Yu Shiqing smiled and said, "The first lesson in calligraphy and painting is to learn to love and appreciate painting, and to believe that paintings also have a soul and spirit."

“Please look, Princess,” Yu Shiqing said, taking a piece of paper with still-wet ink from the side of him. “This painting is called… ‘The Suppression of the Rebellion’.”