The old man kept his word and administered acupuncture to Su Xiaoning that very night, reminding her to endure the pain. Su Xiaoning endured the excruciating pain all night long, until dawn broke. She was covered in a cold sweat, the tightness in her chest had subsided, and she felt refreshed and full of energy.
Unable to contain her excitement, Su Xiaoning ran to tell Su Qingcai and Bai Hua the good news. The three of them were overjoyed and turned back to find the old man to thank him, but the old man had vanished without a trace.
In the empty room, a cute little dog was lying in its kennel. It barked excitedly at Su Xiaoning and took a letter from its kennel, handing it to her.
Su Xiaoning opened it and saw that there were only eight words on the letter.
"I have left, but do not forget your promise."
They're leaving already?
Su Xiaoning was surprised. Su Qingcai wanted to come closer to see the contents of the letter, but she hurriedly put the letter away, afraid that he would ask her what the promise was.
Faced with Su Qingcai's suspicious gaze, Su Xiaoning chuckled twice, picked up Pearl, and said softly, "Since the old crane has already left, let's go back first. I'll take it with me."
She patted Pearl's head. Although she didn't know why the old man would leave his pet behind, she was determined to treat it well since he had given it to her.
Su Qingcai still wanted to know what was written on the letter, but seeing that Su Xiaoning was unwilling to say, he had no intention of forcing her. He simply nodded, and the three of them walked out of the bamboo house together and embarked on their journey back to the capital.
This trip took far too long, a whole month in total. By the time Su Qingcai and the others returned to the capital, the situation there had already changed considerably.
Qin Yunyun has been enjoying immense popularity lately. It's said she's been accompanying the Seventh Prince to distribute porridge to the poor, and spreading rumors that she's the reincarnation of a lucky koi, the true savior, while Su Xiaoning is nothing but an imposter. Coincidentally, Su Xiaoning hasn't shown her face during this time, so it's been fabricated that she's being punished by the gods for forging her identity, preventing her from waking up.
With Su Qingcai away, no one in the vast Ninth Prince's Mansion dared to step forward and make decisions, and no one bothered to clarify the rumors. Over time, the brainwashed public began to accept the rumors as the truth. Now, the people revere Qin Yunyun as a deity, while Su Xiaoning has become a pariah.
Su Qinghe hadn't been idle during this time either. While Su Qingcai was away, he cultivated relationships with powerful figures in the court and secretly recruited soldiers to strengthen his power. Now, with Qin Yunyun's assistance, he was a completely different person.
After returning to the capital, Su Qingcai clearly felt the pressure. He was so busy that he was overwhelmed. Before he could clean up the mess in his mansion, he was summoned to the palace by the emperor.
In the imperial study, the emperor's face was very gloomy, and he stared at Su Qingcai with an extremely serious expression.
"Where did you go the other day? I thought you had disappeared again like before!"
Although Su Qingcai left after finishing his business at home, he did not inform anyone of the reason for his departure and also misjudged the travel time. As time went on, the emperor became anxious, fearing that something bad had happened to him.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Su Qingcai pursed his lips and said, "This matter was my doing, and I beg Your Majesty's punishment. To be honest, it was because Xiao Ning fell ill that I went to find doctors and medicine for her, which is why I was delayed for so long..."
"What did you say? She's really unconscious?" The emperor was astonished, and a surge of anger rose in his heart.
"Do you know what kind of rumors are circulating outside? I didn't believe them before, but I didn't expect them to be true! You are clearly deceiving me. Su Xiaoning is not the one chosen by the lucky charm, she is a jinx! I have said long ago that the Prime Minister's daughter is the most suitable for you. You cannot be with Su Xiaoning!"
"Your Majesty, please do not believe the rumors! How could I dare to commit the crime of deceiving the Emperor?" Su Qingcai frowned, his tone becoming increasingly urgent. "She was indeed unconscious before, but that was not due to any divine punishment. She was simply ill! I have already stated that I will only marry Su Xiaoning. Please remember what you promised me, Your Majesty!"
"You! You are truly incorrigible!" The emperor's face turned ashen, and he was so angry that even his fingertips trembled.
The two stared at each other for a long time, the atmosphere in the imperial study was very tense.
Knowing that this would be detrimental to the emperor's impression of Su Xiaoning, Su Qingcai forcibly suppressed his agitated emotions and softened his tone slightly: "Your Majesty, Xiaoning has already woken up. You don't need to worry, she is doing well. I am only keeping quiet to protect her. Please do not make unfounded speculations. I am capable of handling these rumors."
"Even if she wakes up, what can she do? Things have already turned out like this, and you still insist on indulging her." The emperor snorted coldly, his attitude softening slightly.
Su Qingcai was speechless for a moment. He knew that arguing with the emperor about these things would not yield any results, so he could only express his attitude through silence.
The emperor was so angry he panicked and smashed the cup. A young eunuch rushed forward to clean it up. The eunuch carried the shards of porcelain out of the imperial study, then casually tossed them aside. He went back to his room, wrote a letter, and had his informant deliver it to the Seventh Prince's residence.
Su Qinghe quickly received the letter. After reading its contents, his expression changed, and he hurriedly summoned Qin Yunyun.
He carefully examined the koi fish mark on the back of Qin Yunyun's hand, and only after seeing that the mark had not changed at all did he breathe a sigh of relief and put his mind at ease.
Qin Yunyun withdrew her hand and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what happened?"
"What else could it be related to your koi fish mark?" Su Qinghe's expression was very unpleasant. "My spies in the palace said that Su Qingcai said Su Xiaoning has woken up. What's going on? Didn't you say before that she was doomed?"
"She actually woke up?" Qin Yunyun's pupils contracted slightly, unable to believe what she was hearing.
Su Qinghe was annoyed and didn't bother to talk to her anymore, so she waved her hand and sent her away. As soon as Qin Yunyun returned to her room, she immediately summoned Fu Ruo and told her everything Su Qinghe had said.
Fu Ruo was also very surprised. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and her face was full of disbelief: "This is impossible, I will not fail!"
"But she's awake now! You need to think of something!" Qin Yunyun was anxious, afraid that her lucky charm mark would be returned.
"I can't possibly fail when I take action. There must be something fishy about this. I need to investigate." Fu Ruo pursed her lips, made the promise, and then hurriedly left.
After Fu Ruo left, Qin Yunyun felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She slumped weakly onto the bed, appearing calm on the surface, but a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up inside her.
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