Chapter 16 Evil Thoughts She's still too beautiful.
The case has new leads and is progressing much faster.
Li Chengyi spent several days at the government office. Lin Yanshu didn't pay any attention to him and wandered around the neighborhood on her own.
Lin Yanshu found that the capital city was indeed very prosperous. She spent several days exploring it but still couldn't see everything.
She looked around at the commotion, when a man bumped into her.
She stumbled a few steps from the impact, and the man reached out to support her, repeatedly apologizing to her.
"Young lady, are you alright?"
Lin Yanshu steadied herself, shook her head, and prepared to leave. She had only taken a few steps when Xie Ciyan called her back.
He stepped forward and stood in front of her, holding a money bag in his hand:
"Miss, I accidentally knocked your purse to the ground."
Xie Ciyan smiled gently at Lin Yanshu.
Lin Yanshu reached for her waist, looking at Xie Ciyan with some wariness.
Her purse shouldn't have fallen so easily, but she still politely thanked Xie Ciyan.
Xie Ciyan crossed his arms, leaned slightly forward, and said considerately:
"Young lady, are you new to the capital?"
"I can recommend some local specialties from Beijing to you, I wonder if you'll like them."
Lin Yanshu stopped and turned to look at Xie Ciyan.
She found this person strange; they were complete strangers, yet he was so enthusiastic.
Lin Yanshu couldn't help but recall Li Chengyi's words: most men in the world are lustful.
Lin Yanshu touched her cheek, wondering if her stunning beauty had captivated this passerby.
She shook her head helplessly. Although this person was superficial, he had excellent taste.
Lin Yanshu lowered his head, took out several playing cards from his bag, and held them up in front of Xie Ciyan:
"Young master, what evil intentions do you harbor towards me?"
Xie Ciyan grinned awkwardly. He just wanted to get close to Lin Yanshu so he could extract information about the Crown Prince.
But why does this woman speak so bluntly?
He coughed and offered a hypocritical explanation:
"I just feel that I have a connection with you, and I would like to be your friend."
Lin Yanshu shook her head; this person wasn't telling the truth.
She turned to leave.
Xie Ciyan quickly blocked Lin Yanshu's path, awkwardly touching his nose, and then earnestly explained to Lin Yanshu:
"Miss, my name is Xie Ciyan, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
Lin Yanshu bowed to Xie Ciyan. She didn't know why the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital had sought her out.
Xie Ciyan followed Lin Yanshu, speaking eloquently:
"Girl, I really want to be your friend!"
"I, Xie, felt an instant connection with the young lady, and felt an extraordinary affinity for her!"
"I only regret that fate is unfair, allowing me to meet you only now!"
Lin Yanshu looked at Xie Ciyan's nonchalant and exaggerated manner.
Lin Yanshu remained silent, only taking out nameplates from his small bag:
"You're lying! What are you really after?!"
Xie Ciyan pulled out a folding fan from somewhere and gently fanned himself in front of his chest, pretending to be a refined gentleman.
"Young lady, you truly have discerning eyes."
"Possessing a precious jade will inevitably attract attention from all sides, don't you know that, young lady?"
Lin Yanshu frowned. What precious jade did she have?
Xie Ciyan smiled as he looked at the woman's bewildered expression. Was Lin Yanshu truly clueless, or was she feigning ignorance?
She's already living in the Crown Prince's residence; doesn't she realize how much attention she's attracting now?
"Didn't His Highness tell you his identity?"
Your Highness? Lin Yanshu caught the unfamiliar title.
Was he referring to Li Chengyi?
Lin Yanshu looked at Xie Ciyan warily:
"Do you know Ah Zhao?"
Xie Ciyan looked at the words on the plaque, which read "His Highness the Crown Prince's own handwriting."
Lin Yanshu even addressed Li Chengyi with such intimacy.
Xie Ciyan knew that he was right.
Xie Ciyan covered his face with a folding fan and raised an eyebrow at Lin Yanshu with a flirtatious air.
Lin Yanshu's face remained indifferent, but his heart was in turmoil.
Who exactly is Ah Zhao?
Lin Yanshu felt that the high-ranking official in the capital was far more than that.
He seems to be the same as before, hiding many things from me.
Lin Yanshu looked up and glanced at Xie Ciyan:
"I'll remember you."
After saying that, she turned and left.
Xie Ciyan watched Lin Yanshu's retreating figure, and he had a bad feeling.
Xie Ciyan's premonition was correct.
………………
For several days, Li Chengyi restrained himself from seeing Lin Yanshu, but whenever he let his mind wander, he would think of Lin Yanshu, and his longing would seep out through the cracks in the tightly locked door.
Thinking of Lin Yanshu's face, sometimes near, sometimes far, her moist red lips...
Li Chengyi felt that he must be under too much pressure from the case, so he summoned Physician Zhang from the palace and asked Huo Zheng to take him to Lin Yanshu.
As soon as Lin Yanshu returned to the mansion, he saw a refined old man sitting in the hall.
She turned to look at Huo Zheng, her eyes wide, and asked in a question:
Who is this? Your grandfather?
Huo Zheng quickly explained:
"This is Physician Zhang, the lord invited him to treat you!"
Lin Yanshu understood, but she didn't have high hopes.
She knows how to treat her throat.
However, the medicinal herbs she needed were too precious; even if Li Chengyi were an official in the court, he might not be able to find them.
Physician Zhang sized up the quiet girl in front of him.
Lin Yanshu greeted Physician Zhang, sat down opposite him, and offered him her hand.
Physician Zhang placed the handkerchief on Lin Yanshu's wrist. Lin Yanshu looked at the silk handkerchief and let Physician Zhang examine it.
Not long after, Physician Zhang wrote down a prescription and sighed:
"The girl's illness cannot be cured by medicine alone; it also requires the use of specific acupuncture techniques."
"It is only because I am not skilled enough in acupuncture that my friend is here. He is sure to be able to cure your ailment."
Lin Yanshu started chatting with Physician Zhang:
"The Lingluo Acupuncture Technique? If my master were here, perhaps I could exchange some knowledge with his friends."
Physician Zhang's eyes lit up, and he asked Lin Yanshu with concern:
"May I ask who your teacher is, young lady?"
Lin Yanshu dipped his finger in water and wrote two characters on the table:
era.
Suddenly, Dr. Zhang, tears streaming down his face, looked at Lin Yanshu and said emotionally:
"Child, is your master truly the Era?"
Lin Yanshu nodded.
Physician Zhang smiled excitedly:
“Child, you should call me Master! Your Master and I were sworn brothers back then.”
"But later I chose to stay in the palace, while he went to war with the army, and then we lost contact."
Lin Yanshu never expected to hear news of her master here. She was moved by Physician Zhang's words and her eyes filled with tears.
I never imagined that my master had such a past.
Why does he have such an old sworn brother? And his master looks so silly, he doesn't seem like someone who has served in the military at all.
Before Lin Yanshu and Physician Zhang could exchange many pleasantries, Li Chengyi arrived.
He looked at the two of them with puzzlement, as if they had known each other for a long time.
Lin Yanshu withdrew her hand, refusing to look at Li Chengyi.
When Physician Zhang saw Li Chengyi, he remembered his mission for the day: to treat the Crown Prince.
Physician Zhang bowed respectfully to Li Chengyi:
"Your Highness, have you been feeling unwell lately?"
Lin Yanshu then looked at Li Chengyi.
Ah Zhao wasn't feeling well, why didn't he tell me?
Li Chengyi avoided Lin Yanshu's gaze; if Lin Yanshu were there, he wouldn't know how to speak.
He wanted her to know that he dreamed about her, but Li Chengyi felt this wasn't a perfectly legitimate dream.
He said somewhat guiltily:
"Yanshu, you can go out first. I'll stay with Physician Zhang alone for a while."
Lin Yanshu was a little angry. Without saying anything, she simply turned around and walked out, kicking the pebbles on the roadside.
Ah Zhao is hiding something from me again.
What he's doing is something he's keeping from himself.
Who exactly is he? He's keeping it from himself too.
Did he think that if he didn't tell her, she wouldn't know?
Not just anyone can afford to hire the imperial physicians in the palace.
Lin Yanshu thought that A Zhao's status must be more noble than she imagined, perhaps even that of a member of the imperial family, given that even the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review would fawn over her and could so easily summon the imperial physician.
Only after seeing Lin Yanshu completely gone did Li Chengyi feel relieved and allow Physician Zhang to treat him.
Physician Zhang frowned and touched his chin:
"Your Highness, besides worrying about state affairs, what else is troubling you lately?"
Li Chengyi was silent for a moment, then asked sincerely:
"Sometimes when I see someone, I get short of breath. When I get close, I feel a stuffy heat in my chest."
"At night... I always dream about her."
Physician Zhang hesitated again and again, and asked:
Is this person male or female?
Li Chengyi blushed and coughed a few times:
"woman."
Physician Zhang smiled knowingly:
"Congratulations, Your Highness. You are not seriously ill; you are simply lovesick."
The three unfamiliar words echoed in Li Chengyi's mind.
Lovesickness? He's lovesick?
Is he in love with Lin Yanshu?
He could see Lin Yanshu every day, how could it be lovesickness!
Quack doctor! Absolutely a quack!
Li Cheng asked indifferently:
"If I want to, I can see her every day. How could it be lovesickness?"
Looking at Li Chengyi, this young man who had never experienced love, with the wisdom of an experienced physician, Physician Zhang sighed and said:
"Your Highness, you are simply infatuated. What you think about during the day, you dream about at night."
Li Chengyi suddenly stood up and firmly denied it:
"Absolutely not! I'm just too tired lately."
"Just prescribe a few remedies for me."
Physician Zhang looked at the young man before him with amusement, though he wouldn't admit it.
Only a young man inexperienced in love would act this way.
He shook his head helplessly and wrote down the prescription with a smile.
Li Chengyi felt much more at ease after seeing the prescription written by Physician Zhang.
He said that he could never possibly like Lin Yanshu, that he was just sick.
As for why he keeps thinking about Lin Yanshu, it's simply because Lin Yanshu has been the only woman in his life all these years.
He's just not used to it yet.
Yes, that's it!
Li Chengyi perfectly justified his entire story.
So when he encountered Lin Yanshu on his way out, he naturally kept his distance from her.
He thought that staying away from Lin Yanshu would be fine, and he would feel better after taking the medicine for a few days.
Lin Yanshu had no idea of the complex thoughts in Li Chengyi's mind. She just wanted to find Li Chengyi and ask him for clarification.
She gave Ah Zhao a chance to confess.
But Li Chengyi seemed to have foreseen this and quietly avoided him.
Hide during the day, hide at night.
Lin Yanshu watched his retreating figure and lowered her eyes. It seemed that A Zhao did not want to tell her the truth.
Lin Yanshu gave a wry smile.
That's right. She only met him by chance and saved his life. What obligation does A-Zhao have to be honest with her?
She found plenty of reasons for Lee Seung-ik, but she couldn't let it go.
A note from the author:
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Li Chengyi: I am absolutely not moved!!! Absolutely not!
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