Under the cover of night, the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city was quiet and still.
Cheng Liang and Physician Yue sat facing each other at a stone table in the secluded courtyard of Xinglin Pavilion. Their brows were furrowed, as if they had been holding their breath for a long time. Although they did not speak, they each harbored the same doubts and fears. The faint scent of herbs permeated the air around them, as if freezing everything around them in time.
After a long pause, Cheng Liang suddenly spoke up, "Alright, whatever the final outcome, since Granny Zhang is so fixated on that fire from back then, it was no accident. And Miss Lu has indeed become increasingly strange and unpredictable in recent years, especially after His Highness's wedding, she seems to be burdened with many unspoken thoughts, making her difficult to fathom. And today, you two have laid many traps in her mind beforehand. Tonight is indeed a good opportunity to uncover the truth. So… let's find out the facts of what happened back then. At least, it will settle Granny Zhang's long-held resentment…"
Before Cheng Liang could finish speaking, Physician Yue assumed he had agreed to their plan and his face lit up with joy. However, Cheng Liang added, "However, tonight we can only get her to tell the truth. If... if she truly is involved, then how to deal with her must wait until His Highness is sober. Only His Highness can decide. After all, she has been Lu Xian's pride for many years..."
"Sigh..." Upon hearing this, Physician Yue slowly looked at the medicine pot on the stone table that had been mixed with datura and let out a long sigh.
“In that case, let’s follow the plan you two have already discussed and quickly find someone to start making arrangements. It’s getting late.” As Cheng Liang spoke, he saw that the guards outside Xinglin Pavilion were starting to light their lamps, so he slowly got up, looking extremely tired.
Just as he was about to turn around and rush out the door, Physician Yue, who was still sitting there in a daze, suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly stood up and said, "General, there is one more thing I need your help with."
Turning away, Cheng Liang felt a mixture of anticipation and dread about the truth of the night. After all, it was the daughter of Lu Xian, who was utterly loyal to his master and relied heavily on him. Now, with Zhang Mama so certain, if her prediction were true… Cheng Liang dared not think any further. Therefore, he didn't turn back, but simply paused and asked with a curt "What is it?"
"As the saying goes, 'to catch a thief red-handed, to catch an adulterer in the act,' to ensure absolute certainty and leave that girl no chance to deny it, I will need to trouble the General to search Miss Lu's residence for the dregs of the medicine, and... witnesses. That will be irrefutable evidence." At this point, Physician Yue seemed to have no other choice. Despite his reluctance, he could only wholeheartedly cooperate with Granny Zhang to get to the bottom of this matter. After all, judging from the current situation, the true background behind this matter seemed to be becoming increasingly complex.
"Okay." Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang took a deep breath, then left with only one word before stepping over the threshold and striding away.
Lu Tianjiao's residence in the Qin Prince's mansion was a courtyard called "Yanqi Pavilion," which Mei Xiyuan had specially secured for her from Xuan Yuanhan. After all, she was Lu Xian's daughter, and Xuan Yuanhan would certainly not treat her poorly.
When the Dowager Consort was alive, Lu Tianjiao would always stay with her in the Zihe Pavilion whenever she came to the mansion, like mother and daughter. But now, the Dowager Consort has been gone for many years, and although her courtyard is still cleaned and tidied every day, it has been empty ever since.
Yanqi Pavilion was originally a spacious and elegant courtyard in the Prince's Mansion, specially designed for distinguished guests to stay in. It had pavilions and waterside terraces, as well as a separate small garden, and had everything one could need. Staying there made one feel completely at home.
Because it is very close to Xinglin Pavilion, it is very secluded.
It is also very convenient as it is only separated from Lin Yuexuan's courtyard and Mei Xiyuan's Shaohua Pavilion by two walls.
At this moment, the two maids that Mei Xiyuan had painstakingly placed beside Lu Tianjiao, who had come from Dongning Kingdom to accompany him to the Qin Prince's mansion, were busy lighting lamps in various parts of the courtyard.
One of the maids, thin and with a small, oval face, muttered indignantly, "If I had known life in the Qin Prince's mansion in the Western Qin Kingdom would be so miserable, I would have preferred to stay in the Dongning Palace. Now, not only do I have to do everything myself, but I've also been sent by Granny Zhao to serve this so-called academy girl. That country bumpkin has never seen anything like it. The other day, the princess asked me to give her some exquisite silk flowers from her dowry. At first, she mistook them for real flowers, but when she found out, she claimed they were poisonous and refused to accept them. However, she dared not put them in her hair. It's hilarious! Does she think we, the princess of the dignified Dongning Kingdom, would harm a country bumpkin like her? Who does she think she is, making us serve her? We were born to serve the princess, and now we're serving her... It makes me so angry, I feel like I'm going to vomit blood."
Upon hearing this, another, more composed, round-faced maid quickly glanced around and shushed her, saying, "Shh... You should just do your job and not gossip about others behind their backs all day. Have you forgotten what Granny Zhao told you before? 'Speak less, do more.' This is the Qin Prince's Mansion in Western Qin, not the Imperial Palace of Eastern Ning Kingdom. Don't be impulsive and cause trouble for the princess. Her situation is already bad enough..."
The maid with the oval face, who had been complaining incessantly, surprisingly fell silent upon hearing this. She sat on a stone bench in a corner of the courtyard, propping her chin up with one hand, and frowned in bewilderment. "Our princess is of such noble birth, and her beauty is beyond compare—'the moon hides its face in shame, the fish sink and the geese fall from the sky.' What is it about her that doesn't suit him? Yet, why is the King of Qin so cold and heartless towards her? He practically ignores her… Could it be… could it be that the King of Qin already has someone else in his heart, which is why he treats our princess so poorly? That King of Qin… his sweetheart… could it be… that country bumpkin? I heard she's the King of Qin's childhood sweetheart, his senior and junior brother, isn't that how it's written in the stories? Humph… that brat… daring to steal our princess's man, she's asking for trouble! It seems I really need to show her what I'm capable of…"
The oval-faced maid got more and more excited as she talked, and couldn't help but rub her hands together. At this moment, the more composed round-faced maid, listening to her endless rambling, couldn't help but interrupt her, saying, "You, stop guessing. That person isn't her."
"Ah, so... the King of Qin really does have one... not that brat... then who is it?" The chattering, oval-faced maidservant jumped up in surprise upon hearing this.
As they spoke, all the lights inside and outside Yanqi Pavilion were lit, making the entire place brightly lit.
In the pond in the center of the courtyard, a group of red carp seemed to be very happy. They quietly rose to the surface and blew out tiny bubbles, as if they wanted to join in the conversation between the two.
The poised, round-faced maid slowly walked towards the oval-faced woman, took her hand, and sat down with her on a stone bench in the courtyard. After wiping her breath, she lowered her voice and said, "Once, I overheard the servants of the Qin Prince's mansion gossiping in the backyard that the Qin Prince's beloved is a useless, ugly girl from a pharmacist's family in the Western Qin Imperial Palace. Moreover, that girl has been rejected by her fiancé. I heard that she has been injured many times before, and each time the Qin Prince personally brought her back to the mansion to heal. And... after this Lantern Festival, she will become a female physician in this mansion. This was even specially requested by our princess from the palace."
Before she could finish speaking, the hot-tempered maid jumped up as if she had been set ablaze, saying, "What? How could this be? How could our princess be so foolish? Isn't this inviting trouble? This is unacceptable! I will tell the princess right now!"
As the maid with the oval face spoke, she began to stroll toward the archway.
Seeing this, the round-faced maid quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to sit down. She then pressed her hands heavily on her shoulders and said softly, "Why are you always so impulsive? Do you think these things can be hidden from the ears of the intelligent princess? She already knows all this, and it is precisely because she knows all this that the princess did this."
The maid with the oval face asked, puzzled, "Why is that, Princess?"
The round-faced maidservant wore an expression of admiration and respect, saying, "Princess, this is a classic case of 'playing hard to get, putting her in a desperate situation to survive.'"
The maid with the oval face asked anxiously, "What do you mean by that?"
The round-faced maid turned to look into her eyes, a sly smile spreading across her face. She said softly, "Rather than letting the enemy wander aimlessly, completely out of our control, it's better to temporarily play along with the King of Qin's wishes, invite him into the palace, lock him in a cage, and hold him tightly in our grasp. Then, when the opportunity arises, deliver a fatal blow, and he'll never be able to recover. Princess, your plan is truly brilliant!"
“But what if we don’t give her the chance to deliver the fatal blow?” the oval-faced maid asked.
"No? Hmph... As long as Miss Lu from Xiqin Academy, that jealous bastard, is here, how can we not have the opportunity to deliver this fatal blow?"
Upon hearing this, the woman with the oval face seemed to finally realize something and said, "A big jealous pot? You mean this country bumpkin, she... she really is jealous of the King of Qin..."
"It's a pity that 'the falling flowers are willing, but the flowing water is heartless'! However, no matter how many wildflowers and weeds there are inside and outside the Qin Prince's mansion, our princess will weed them all out... no, it should be said that she will uproot them. In the eyes of Princess Dongning, there is no room for even a speck of sand." The round-faced maid slowly got up and stood by the pond, smiling at the red carp, and said.
Just then, a loud round of applause rang out from the archway beside the two of them, instantly shattering the tranquility of the entire Yanqi Pavilion...
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