Chapter 131 Gift
After several generations of emperors reformed the system, the household registration system in Qi was already very complete. Regardless of whether a person was born, moved, or changed their status, they had to update their registration with the government within ten days.
However, the "neighbor brother" named Ren Ze seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace after the fire at Xiao Yuxuan's adoptive parents' house.
Ren Ze's parents spoke with certainty that Ren Ze had indeed become a soldier, and they even produced a document showing the silver taels given to him when he enlisted, with the year and origin matching perfectly.
However, after checking more than ten volumes of military names, his name was not found.
How could such a strange thing happen?
In previous years, missing persons would be counted and recorded by the Ministry of Revenue at the end of the year and then uniformly recorded as deceased. However, Qi Jun suppressed Ren Ze's household registration file, feeling that this person's disappearance was not simple.
"You're not a good enough instructor either. Haven't you taught the little girl how to ride a horse yet?"
Yu Xin was very curious about this Miss Xiao, but unfortunately he had only seen her from afar before and had never interacted with her.
Qi Jun was speechless for a moment, and then he was too busy to pay attention to this matter.
"It's fate that we bumped into each other. Come on, let's go say hello!"
Before Qi Jun could stop him, Yu Xin walked towards Xiao Yuxuan on his own.
Sensing someone approaching, Bihui immediately said:
"Young lady, who is that young master? Do you know him?"
After all, she hadn't been accompanying her master to banquets since childhood, and she wasn't familiar with most of the young men and women in the capital. At this moment, she could only whisper a reminder to Xiao Yuxuan.
Xiao Yuxuan raised her eyes, but her gaze did not fall on the approaching boy. Instead, she took a half step back and saw Qi Jun following behind him at a leisurely pace.
Qi Jun was still wearing the same casual clothes today. Xiao Yuxuan had seen him several times, and he was almost always wearing the same clothes, as if he had made more than a dozen of the same style...
However, she always felt that she had forgotten something.
These past two days, she's been buried in piles of medicinal herbs, busy identifying and picking them until she's dizzy and overwhelmed. She racked her brains but couldn't come up with a solution.
The boy walked up to her and politely crossed his arms in a greeting.
"Greetings, Miss Xiao. I am Yu Xin, the heir of the Marquis of Yu."
"Greetings, Prince Yu! Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
She returned the greeting, but showed little interest in the conversation and prepared to leave afterward.
"Oh, Miss Xiao, what are you rushing off to? Is there anything I can do to help? Things have been rather unsettled in the capital these past few days, so it would be best if you stayed home as little as possible."
It was clearly their first time meeting, yet Yu Xin greeted her with such familiarity and concern. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was Xiao Yuxuan's older brother.
Qi Jun knew perfectly well that it was just to avoid going to the Eastern Palace to continue working for him.
"It's nothing important. I've recently been assisting the imperial physicians in developing a prescription for epidemic prevention. I heard that it was the Seventh Prince who inspired Physician Wei's methods for preventing and treating the epidemic, so I thought I'd come and try my luck."
These words left the two people on the other side somewhat bewildered. The difference was that Qi Jun remained expressionless, while Yu Xin was almost speechless with shock.
"Qi You? That child can also—"
Realizing that Qi You's older brother was right next to him, he quickly shut his mouth.
"You really are relying too much on luck!"
He disagreed with Xiao Yuxuan's actions, but he still said:
“I haven’t seen Qi You for quite a while, so I’ll go with you. You don’t know, he liked me, his cousin, the most when he was a child.”
As soon as Yu Xin finished speaking, he saw Xiao Yuxuan's eyes suddenly light up.
She remembered what she had forgotten.
The Crown Prince! She still wants to save the Crown Prince!
Although the person was now standing alive in front of her, the thought of Qi Huan's rule after Qi Jun's death in her previous life, and how he brought chaos and misery to the Qi Kingdom, made her want to sigh with regret.
Now that the epidemic has arrived ahead of schedule, it is difficult for her to even enter the palace, let alone save the crown prince.
She looked down and saw the rough little medicine bag hanging from her waist.
She naturally believed what Xing'er said, but the Crown Prince might not be willing to accept it.
Never mind, let's just send it out first.
She quickly untied the sachet and handed it to Qi Jun:
"Your Highness, this is a sachet made by the physician in my household to ward off plague. I hope Your Highness will not find it offensive and will wear it close to your body."
"The recent epidemic in the capital has caused widespread panic. As the Crown Prince, Your Highness must not overwork yourself. Remember to eat and rest on time. Only if you are safe and healthy can there be hope for the future of Qi."
Yu Xin wasn't annoyed at being ignored. He looked at the girl with a strange expression, feeling that there was something hidden in her words.
Then look at the sachet in her hand?
This is at most a small medicine packet. The materials are rough, the sealing is clumsy, and there is no embroidery. How could the crown prince of a country possibly accept such a thing?
The next moment, Qi Jun waved away the eunuch who was about to step forward and personally reached out and picked up the sachet.
The medicine packet, made of off-white cotton, spun around between his fingers, releasing a bitter medicinal aroma.
These words came out of nowhere, but he could clearly see the urgency and worry in the little girl's eyes, as if she would surely die if he didn't accept them.
As if by some strange twist of fate, he actually accepted the shapeless sachet.
Yu Xin's eyes widened in disbelief. What was wrong with the Crown Prince? Had he also contracted the plague?
"Thank you. I will take care of myself. Miss Xiao, please take good care of yourself as well."
Yu Xin, who had been completely ignored, couldn't hold back any longer.
"Miss Xiao, why did you only give this medicine packet to the Crown Prince? I'm standing right here, a perfectly healthy person!"
"It was my oversight, Your Highness, please forgive me. This sachet is still under development. I will personally send someone to deliver it to your residence in a couple of days."
This was also Xiao Yuxuan's original intention. The sachets made by Doctor Pei and Pei Xing'er were an unexpected surprise. Even if they weren't really very useful, it was good to have something to hold onto.
In fact, as the epidemic progressed, many people were not actually killed by the epidemic itself, but were scared to death by the fear of not having a cure.
People who experience fear, worry, and excessive thinking will gradually weaken their bodies—a truth that Xiao Yuxuan only understood later.
Qi Jun gripped the sachet in his hand tightly; the jumbled herbs inside pricked his palm and made it ache.
"It's getting late. Since Miss Xiao is going to find Qi You, she should go soon."
"Yu Xin, there are still some government affairs to attend to in the Eastern Palace. You will return with me."
Yu Xin turned his head sharply, only to see Qi Jun turn around and stride away. He dared not not follow, after all, this cousin was the crown prince, the next emperor!
"Miss Xiao, I'll take my leave now. Let's chat again another day when we have time!"
As he spoke, he hurriedly picked up his robe and chased after him.
"Your Highness, wait for me!"
The two handsome young men left together.
"Let's go, let's hurry and pay our respects to the Empress, and then go find the Seventh Prince."
The Empress's palace did not receive guests. Xiao Yuxuan only knelt once at the palace gate before being led by a palace servant to the Seventh Prince's residence.
"Waaah..."
The faint sound of a child crying startled the three of them. At this time of day, the Seventh Prince was usually either sleeping or eating pastries. Who was crying now?
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