Chapter 8 The Clingy Carp Jiang Zhuoying suddenly looked up, if she were...
Jiang Zhuoying looked up abruptly. If she were a human, she would have wanted to kneel down to express her gratitude.
She had never met the Second Prince before, yet he treated her like this!
Waaah... She apologized for the complaints she had made in her heart!
"This woman is still useful. Saving her life may be of help in the future."
The red carp, which had been excitedly wagging its tail, suddenly stopped: "?"
Chu Yixin bowed and said, "Don't worry, Master, this servant will make the arrangements right away."
"Um."
The man waved his sleeve and turned back to face the fishpond once more.
Only then did he realize that the red carp, which had been excitedly wagging its tail at him just moments before, had somehow swum away to the farthest corner from him.
She was even facing away from him.
Jiang Zhuoying heard "Zhuozhuo" a few times, but she ignored it.
She's not going to pay any attention to him!
However, this neglect only lasted for less than an hour. At lunchtime, the man came to feed her as usual.
Jiang Zhuoying swam toward him with difficulty until Chu Yixin, who had rushed over, said, "Master, Yu Ji has returned with a message."
The latter lowered his voice, as if he were about to report a very important secret.
Jiang Zhuoying was afraid she couldn't hear clearly, so she swam faster and arrived in front of Qi Fan in just a few breaths.
Such an obvious change drew the attention of the two men.
"Master, Zhuozhuo is probably hungry."
The man glanced at the pool: "Feed it later."
Chu Yixin followed his gaze and saw the fiery red carp in the pond surfacing and poking their heads out, seemingly impatient to get out.
"What message did Yu Ji send back?"
Hearing his master's indifferent voice, he immediately snapped out of his reverie and focused on reporting.
"Master, according to Yu Ji, that Miss Jiang's smallpox seems to be a bit strange."
After saying that, he lowered his voice and moved closer to Qi Fan: "Yu Ji said that Miss Jiang's illness does not seem to be smallpox."
The man's expression hardened slightly, and he withdrew his gaze from Jiang Zhuoying. His voice suddenly became somewhat amused: "Doesn't seem like smallpox?"
Chu Yixin bowed: "That's right, but it will take some effort to confirm it."
Jiang Zhuoying heard all of these words.
Her heart was pounding; was it not smallpox?
That's wonderful! Then she can survive!
Jiang Zhuoying breathed a little easier.
"Even if it's not actually smallpox, judging from Miss Jiang's symptoms, it's still very dangerous. It's hard to say whether she can pull through."
Jiang Zhuoying: "!"
What does this mean? Does it mean she still might not be able to save her life?
Qi Fan paused for a few moments, then ordered in a deep voice, "The people from the Imperial Medical Academy should be arriving soon. Tell them to do their best."
"This servant will go and deliver the message immediately."
After Chu Yixin stepped down, the man turned around and looked at the plump little carp in the pond again.
He stared at the fiery red carp's back, his eyes slightly narrowed, his voice so cold it sent chills down Jiang Zhuoying's spine.
"Are you interested in Jiang Zheng's daughter?"
Jiang Zhuoying froze, she hadn't expected the Second Prince to be so perceptive!
She suppressed her panic and swam around in circles as if nothing was wrong, pretending to know nothing.
The Second Prince is truly suspicious, to the point of doubting a red carp!
The man stood on the bank, silently watching the chubby little carp that was running for its life in a panic for a long time.
Until I watched helplessly as she plunged headfirst into the withered, fallen lotus leaves.
He scoffed lightly: "Come here."
Jiang Zhuoying hid in the lotus pods. He told her to go over, so she went over.
Doesn't that confirm that she can understand human speech?
She wouldn't be that stupid.
"Tap tap tap~" is the sound of footsteps fading into the distance.
They're leaving already?
Jiang Zhuoying waited a few more moments before cautiously peeking out, only to meet those cold, deep eyes.
She even saw the other person's slightly upturned lips with her own eyes.
Jiang Zhuoying: "!"
How incredibly bored must this person be to set a trap for a carp!
Jiang Zhuoying silently dived back into the water, and soon she heard a faint voice coming from the shore: "If I don't see Zhuozhuo when I return with the food box, then you don't need to eat today."
Jiang Zhuoying was still cursing the man's cunning and debating whether to let him succeed when she heard him casually add a sentence.
"No one will reveal anything about Jiang Zheng's eldest daughter to you in the future."
Jiang Zhuoying: "!"
Coercion and bribery—that's exactly the kind of person he is!
He used only threats, not bribes!
After speaking, the man walked away, his footsteps growing fainter and fainter.
Jiang Zhuoying floated up a little higher and peered out through the gaps in the lotus leaves to confirm that the Second Prince had indeed left.
This person is full of suspicions and is indeed not easy to fool.
Jiang Zhuoying hesitated for a long time before plunging headfirst into the deeper pool.
After an incense stick had burned, the man returned carrying a food box.
When he reached the edge of the pool and saw the scene reflected in the water, a barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Zhuoying had taken advantage of the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to retrieve a few sections of lotus root from the depths of the pond.
It is already autumn, and the lotus roots in the pond have long been ripe, but no one has taken care of them.
She put in a lot of effort for these lotus roots!
The fiery red carp in the pond were pushing the lotus roots with their heads towards the shore, constantly blowing bubbles in the water.
Qi Fan squatted down and looked directly at Jiang Zhuoying in the pond: "Did Zhuozhuo specially give me this lotus root?"
Jiang Zhuoying looked up from her frantic busyness and exclaimed, "Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!"
Seeing how hard she was working, this person stood by and watched, looking completely relaxed and not offering any help whatsoever!
She clearly couldn't speak, but the man raised an eyebrow: "Is Zhuozhuo blaming me?"
Feeling guilty, Jiang Zhuoying sank into the water and then leaned forward, using her head to support the lotus root.
The lotus roots have already touched the pond wall; they can't go any further...
How can this man be so clueless!
Just when Jiang Zhuoying was at her wit's end, the Second Prince finally reached out and took the initiative to scoop the lotus roots ashore.
Jiang Zhuoying was panting heavily. She looked up at him, wondering if the gift she had carefully chosen would be enough to fool him.
Qi Fan glanced sideways at the lotus roots still covered in mud, then looked directly at the little fat carp: "Zhuozhuo is truly clever and well-behaved."
Jiang Zhuoying flicked her tail fin, and seeing that the man's slender fingers had already opened the food box, it seemed that he did not intend to bring up the previous matter again.
That's good...
She breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After lunch, the man left again with the food box.
Jiang Zhuoying looked around anxiously, waiting for Chu Yixin to bring back news, unable to completely relax.
Fortunately, this is a courtyard with one entrance and one exit, and the fish pond is in the middle of the courtyard.
If the eunuch enters through the main gate, he will have to pass through the courtyard no matter where he is going, and she will be able to see him.
Jiang Zhuoying swam slowly around the fishpond, not knowing how many laps she had made, when she finally heard hurried footsteps coming from the courtyard.
She quickly poked her head out of the water, and sure enough, the person who came was that sycophantic eunuch!
He strode quickly, looking hurried, heading towards the main house.
Jiang Zhuoying's heart tightened; she had to stop him!
As for how to stop people, she had already been planning it in her mind for a long time.
Jiang Zhuoying gathered her strength and leaped out of the water again and again without stopping for a moment.
Such a splashing sound on the water's surface would surely attract the eunuch's attention.
As expected, when Chu Yixin walked into the courtyard, she was immediately attracted by the commotion on her side.
He immediately turned his toes around and walked back towards the fishpond.
Seeing the red carp leaping out of the water, he couldn't help but frown: "Oh dear, what's wrong with Zhuozhuo now?"
Unable to speak, Jiang Zhuoying could only jump out of the water one after another, splashing water onto Chu Yixin's cheeks.
He slapped his thigh and said in a high-pitched voice, "I'll go find the master right now, Zhuozhuo, you better stop jumping around!"
Having said that, he immediately turned around and quickened his pace...
Jiang Zhuoying also stopped; her goal was to see the Second Prince.
She also learned of the news brought back by the Second Prince's personal eunuch!
...
The man arrived very quickly, but he didn't see the scene Kang Yixin had just described.
Chu Yixin wiped her forehead as she watched the chubby little carp swimming obediently in the pond.
"Ahem, sir, just now Zhuozhuo was jumping around and behaving wildly. This servant thought something serious had happened."
"Perhaps he's...tired from jumping around?"
The man frowned, squatted down, and carefully examined the red carp in the pond.
Everything was as usual, with nothing unusual.
Jiang Zhuoying poked her head out at him and swayed it from side to side, her intention quite clear.
A look of understanding flashed in the man's eyes, and he reached out to gently stroke the top of her head.
Chu Yixin was amazed and couldn't help but sigh, "Zhuozhuo's temperament has changed a lot recently."
While she was likable in the past, she was never as lively and cheerful as she is now.
Look, it's already starting to rub against its master's hand.
"Um."
The man responded softly, which was taken as agreement.
Jiang Zhuoying didn't take it to heart; it was perfectly normal for her personality to change.
These two could never have imagined that the core of the red carp was actually a real person!
...
Qi Fan saw the innocent red carp with his own eyes and felt a little relieved. He played with it for a while before getting up to go back to his house.
As soon as Jiang Zhuoying saw that he was about to get up, she immediately moved closer, unwilling to let him leave.
Chu Yixin clicked her tongue in amazement: "Hehe, Zhuozhuo is getting more and more clingy."
The scene before him was peaceful and warm. He paused for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject.
"Master, I just came to report to you about Miss Jiang."
Upon hearing this, Qi Fan's expression hardened slightly, and his gaze towards the red carp in the water shifted from leisurely to deep.
He casually tapped the top of the red carp's head.
The man's fingertips were covered with a thick layer of calluses, and Jiang Zhuoying could feel the rough texture.
She was extremely anxious. "Speak! Keep talking!"
Why did you only say half of what you meant?
Chu Yixin was waiting for her master's reply.
But Qi Fan remained silent, staring intently at the red carp in the pond that was clearly becoming agitated.
"Master?"
Chu Yixin felt a little puzzled. This matter was extremely important, yet her master's attitude was rather cold.
The man remained silent for a moment before slowly asking, "How is it?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the message from the head of the Imperial Medical Academy has been confirmed; Miss Jiang does not have smallpox."
The man clicked his tongue lightly upon hearing this: "It seems that Duke Rui is getting senile."
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