The torrential rain lasted for four days.
For four days, Zhan Xinjia either clung to Little Shen or slept soundly while holding Jide. By the time the weather cleared up again, it was already September.
Yesterday, Fu Shou'an sent Zhao Jiu to deliver a message saying that Princess Liuyu, who was temporarily staying at Sifangguan, was sick. However, it seems that none of them were responsible; she really did fall ill suddenly.
This is like someone handing you a pillow when you're about to fall asleep; wow, you don't even need to poison it, you can just mix it in directly.
Early in the morning, Shen Suqing was adjusting the little girl's collar.
The rain had only stopped last night, and there was still a lot of water on the ground. The clear puddles reflected the blue sky like a broken mirror.
The sky was a clear, blue after the rain, and a cool, damp breeze carried a faint fragrance as it brushed against my face. The flower branches in the courtyard, washed clean by the rain, swayed gently in the wind, with glistening dewdrops still clinging to their petals.
With the arrival of autumn, the sweltering summer has quietly passed.
As the weather gets colder, he inevitably has more things to worry about.
After tying the ties, Shen Suqing reached out and smoothed the wrinkles in the fabric on her shoulder.
He frowned, and his tone still betrayed deep concern.
"The most important thing is to ensure your own safety. Don't do anything more dangerous because of a momentary impulse. I'll worry about you."
"I heard it! I heard it with both ears, Master Shen!"
Zhan Xinjia clung to his arm and rubbed against him, then looked up at him with a silly grin.
Today she wore a pure white, feather-white, open-necked, half-sleeved ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with no embroidery on the upper and lower parts, making it flowy and light.
Her dark hair was styled into double buns with a silver butterfly hairpin, without any other ornaments, and a gentle breeze stirred the strands. Against her face with red lips and white teeth, her eyes appeared exceptionally large, bright, and lively.
After all, she was going to be playing a female physician, so naturally she had to dress simply and elegantly.
However, to be fair, she and the old man were able to successfully impersonate the imperial physician and the female physician thanks to Lord Shen.
Power is indeed very useful.
Despite the child's straightforward answer, Shen Suqing remained uneasy and could not relax.
When the carriage that was supposed to pick her up had already arrived at the courtyard gate, he let go of her hand. The young man bent down, raised his finger, and tucked a stray strand of hair that had been blown away by the wind behind her ear and tied it back up.
His expression was gentle and focused.
"No matter what happens, I'll take care of everything."
——
Actually, Zhan Xinjia wasn't too worried about being exposed, since both Wu Lanlian and Liuyu had only seen the young version of "Zhan Wending" during the Tribute Festival, but she was a girl now.
In contrast, the elderly living alone appeared much more anxious.
"Holy crap! When you guys dragged me onto this pirate ship, why didn't you make it clear that it was a serious matter involving beheading? Is it too late for me to jump off now?"
"Oh, old man, why are you so timid? With me here, what are you afraid of? Once inside, you just need to pretend to examine Princess Liuyu and prescribe some medicine. I'll take care of everything else."
"What if I finish writing the prescription and you're still not back?"
"Why don't you just leave first? What else do you want to do? Stay and celebrate the New Year?"
Anyway, having this old man come along is just for decoration. Otherwise, if people see how young she is, they will definitely doubt her medical skills. It's better to have someone with white hair and a white beard to make a good impression.
Before the two could exchange more than a few words, the carriage came to a smooth stop.
The Sifangguan was a separate building built outside the palace for foreign envoys to stay temporarily. The guards at the gate were half from Dasheng and half from Nanjun, since all the foreign envoys except those from Nanjun had already left.
Lord Shen had already made arrangements in advance, so Zhan Xinjia entered smoothly and without any obstacles.
As they walked along the corridor to the backyard, they found Wu Lanlian, who was worried about her daughter's condition, waiting at the door.
She still wore a veil over her face, revealing only her pale-colored eyes.
With a wary and scrutinizing gaze, Wu Lanlian looked the old man and the young man up and down before finally speaking coldly after a long while.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Zhan Xinjia didn't reply, keeping her eyes down and bowing slightly as she followed the old man into the room.
As soon as I pushed open the door, a porcelain teapot was smashed against the doorway with a loud bang, shards of tea splashing everywhere.
If Zhan Xinjia hadn't pulled the old man away quickly, he would have been split open on the spot.
Immediately following was Liu Yu's muffled voice.
"I've already said I don't want to see him, I don't like him, and I won't marry him, so why are you forcing me!"
Zhan Xinjia raised an eyebrow.
Good heavens, it turns out that Liuyu didn't actually fancy the ancient-style young man at all.
That's true. In Nanjun, men value strength and muscularity; the taller and more robust a man is, the more attractive he is to girls. Someone as thin and frail as Yan Huishi would be just another face in the roadside in Nanjun, unnoticed by anyone.
Thinking of this, Zhan Xinjia slowly stepped forward.
"Princess, we are here to treat your illness."
The jade cricket in the quilt thrashed a couple of times, looking furious and behaving very arrogantly and rudely.
"Get out of here!! I'm not sick, let me out if you dare."
Having been confined by her own mother for over a month, Liu Yu was already quite depressed. In particular, just two days ago, her mother said she wanted to leave her in the Great Sheng Dynasty to be some kind of concubine for the Crown Prince, which made Liu Yu so angry that she went on a hunger strike on the spot.
Her current weakness is not due to illness, but rather because she hasn't eaten for almost two days and is starving.
After venting her anger like that, her already weak and powerless body became even weaker. Just as Liu Yu dejectedly flopped onto her pillow, she heard the doctor's voice clearly coming through the bed curtains.
"Does the princess have no interest in His Highness the Crown Prince? I wonder what kind of man the princess prefers?"
Although it was indeed very strange to chat about such private matters with a stranger, Liu Yu, who was almost going crazy from being confined for a month or so, blushed, stammered, and still couldn't help but lift the curtain to start a conversation—
She was really eager to find out how the other person was doing.
"What...what has that young master Zhan from General Zhan's mansion been doing lately?"
Zhan Xinjia: "..."
Holy crap, this is messed up, they're after her.
No, this girl has some connection with mugwort, so how come she developed feelings for it after being scolded on the day of the tribute festival?
However, Liuyu's question gave Zhan Xinjia a rather unethical and bad idea.
She feigned delight and spoke in an extremely exaggerated manner.
"Oh dear, I was sent by Young Master Zhan to inquire about the Princess's condition. I've heard that the Princess is growing increasingly frail, and Young Master Zhan is very worried about her. If I may be so bold... the Princess should not be fasting at all; on the contrary, she should eat more!"
Under Liu Yu's half-satisfied and half-doubtful gaze, Zhan Xinjia continued to spout nonsense without changing his expression.
"You need to be well-fed to have the strength to run away. Does the princess really want to be trapped here until she's packed up and sent to the Eastern Palace...? Princess, you may not know this, but Young Master Zhan is actually waiting for you outside the manor right now~"
Originally, Zhan Xinjia was worried about how to distract the guards from Nanjun, but now he has a ready-made scapegoat.
As soon as Liu Yu escapes, Wu Lanlian will definitely send people to search for her everywhere. There are only so many people in the Sifang Pavilion. When the whole pavilion is in chaos, she can take advantage of the chaos and drink the hot soup.
The only immoral thing is that exploiting a young girl's feelings is absolutely reprehensible...
But regardless, Zhan Xinjia could still tell which was more important.
She noticed early on that Liuyu was a bit slow-witted, probably because she had been spoiled in Nanjun. After all, she was the daughter of the eldest princess, but to put it bluntly, it felt like even if she were cured, she would still be drooling.
Upon hearing her words, Liuyu was indeed overjoyed.
The gloom on her face vanished instantly, and she sat up with a swift movement, eagerly ordering the maid waiting at the door to bring her food.
"He...he really wants to see me?!"
Zhan Xinjia responded with an affirmative thumbs-up.
After writing a simple prescription to aid digestion, Zhan Xinjia gestured for the old man to leave the Sifang Pavilion and meet up with the Dali Temple's sentries outside, while she stayed behind to wait patiently.
In the silence, the door creaked open, and an older woman, also with her face veiled, entered.
Her hair was styled in a bun, and she appeared to be around forty years old. She wore a smart black outfit with fitted sleeves, exuding the aura of a martial arts expert. Her eyes, visible through her veil, were shrewd and sharp.
"Is Yu'er feeling any better?"
Zhan Xinjia's heart suddenly stopped beating.
A look of astonishment flashed in her eyes, her whole body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head to look in the direction of the door in disbelief.
Her face began to turn pale, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Her knuckles clenched tightly under her sleeves, digging into her palms. She almost had to use all her strength to make her expression look completely natural.
She was certain she had seen this person before, a long, long time ago...
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