A loud round of applause broke the silence of the entire Yanqi Pavilion.
Upon hearing the sound, the two maids abruptly turned and looked in the direction of the clapping. When they saw who it was, their minds went blank and they froze instantly. Then, as soon as they came to their senses, they hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down on both knees with a thud, their brows furrowed and heads bowed as they timidly said, "This servant greets General Cheng."
Ever since these two maids were sent by Granny Zhao to serve Lu Tianjiao in Yanqi Pavilion, no one else had ever appeared in the courtyard except for the two of them and Lu Tianjiao. The two maids were completely stunned by the sudden arrival of these people. Moreover, Cheng Liang's applause just now... undoubtedly indicated that he had heard everything they had been discussing. What were they going to do...?
Cheng Liang led a few of his men through the archway, then glanced around at the beautiful scenery of the covered bridge in the courtyard. He looked up at the crescent moon in the night sky, and with a smile, he sighed to the two women who were kneeling nervously, "Under the flowers and the moon, in the quiet of the night, you two ladies are chatting so happily, what a pleasant mood! But... why did you suddenly stop? Continue!"
"This servant dares not, please punish me, General." The two still dared not raise their heads even slightly, only trembling as they spoke.
In an instant, Cheng Liang's face turned fierce, and he angrily rebuked them, "Dare not? I think you two are quite bold, daring to gossip about the master of the Qin Prince's mansion. Tell me... do you want me to cut off your tongues and serve them to the brothers in the mansion as a snack?"
After speaking, Cheng Liang swiftly drew his sword from his waist, the gleaming blade pointing directly at the two maids who were already as frightened as startled birds.
In this situation, the two immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing and begging, repeatedly saying, "General, spare our lives! General, spare our lives! We will never dare to do it again..."
"Spare my life? If you really want to spare my life, that's not impossible. Then answer my questions truthfully. Otherwise, my sword is a veteran of countless battles and can cut through iron like mud, you know?" Cheng Liang's eyes were full of cold light. As he spoke, he unexpectedly placed his long sword on the left shoulder of the round-faced maid.
The maid was so frightened that she trembled uncontrollably, and beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead. She begged for mercy, saying, "I know, I know. No matter what General Cheng asks, I will answer everything I know."
"I ask you, were all those words you just said true? Did Miss Lu and you... and the Princess really conspire to deal with Miss Yi? Did the Princess really summon Miss Yi to the palace because she wanted to kill her, or because the Princess was frail and needed a female physician to attend to her?... Besides, what other tasks did your Dongning Kingdom assign to the Princess? Do you know them all?" Cheng Liang had overheard their conversation from the shadows when he arrived and was utterly astonished. So this was the truth. Seeing how much this maid knew, perhaps she knew even more.
Upon hearing this, the round-faced maid frowned, glanced at the oval-faced maid beside her, stared at her for a long time, and kept her teeth tightly clenched.
Suddenly, the maid with the oval face spoke up, bluntly denying anything, saying, "Why are you looking at me? You were the one who said those things just now. I didn't say anything, and I don't know anything about it."
Seeing her hesitate, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself, Cheng Liang immediately moved the sword in his hand closer to her neck from her left shoulder, and urged her sharply, "Are you going to talk or not? This is the Qin Prince's Mansion in Xiqin, not your Dongning Imperial Palace. Even if the Princess Consort is here, it is still His Highness the Prince of Qin who has the final say."
At this moment, the round-faced maid was filled with complex emotions, as this matter was of great importance.
If she were to speak out, and Mei Xiyuan were to discover her betrayal later, she would surely meet a terrible end. However, if she remained silent, both Granny Zhao and Mei Xiyuan had gone to the south of the city and were not currently in the mansion; who could stand up for her then?
Even without Cheng Liang's reminder, she knew that in this Qin Prince's mansion, she was just an insignificant maid, like an ant, while the person in front of her was the most trusted person in front of the Qin Prince, who was the most powerful person in this mansion and even in the entire Western Qin Kingdom.
He could easily kill her or make her disappear quietly in this mansion without the King of Qin even having to say a word.
After much deliberation, she finally seemed to have made up her mind and said, "This servant can tell General Cheng everything she knows without reservation, but I beg General Cheng not to tell the Princess Consort about this. Otherwise, this servant will surely die."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang looked into her eyes, which seemed to have been convinced, and ordered, "Men, take this girl away. Even if you have to turn the entire Yanxi Pavilion upside down, you must find those dregs of medicine for this general."
"Yes!" The subordinates obeyed the order, stepped forward, grabbed the oval-faced maid, and hurriedly retreated.
At this moment, Cheng Liang spoke again, "This general promises you that he will not let your master know everything you said tonight. You can speak freely."
So, the maid gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, frowned briefly, then relaxed, and began to slowly and truthfully recount everything she knew to him…
Meanwhile, in Lin Yuexuan, which was separated from Lin Yuexuan by only two walls.
As expected, as soon as Zhang Mama entered the main hall, she declined, saying that she was weak and drowsy. After giving Lu Tianjiao a few simple instructions about the medicine, she went into the side hall alone.
Still seemingly uneasy, Lu Tianjiao secretly stood outside the side hall and peered inside for a long time. Only after confirming that he was truly asleep and motionless did he feel relieved and strode quickly towards Xuan Yuanhan's main bedroom.
As he was about to enter the hall and see the person he had longed for for so long, Lu Tianjiao suddenly held his breath and focused his mind.
A night breeze swept by, and the shadows of the trees outside the palace swayed gently. Inside the spacious and solemn sleeping quarters, under the dim candlelight, the soft gauze curtains swayed gently, as if the person inside was breathing very faintly.
The man lay motionless on his sickbed, unconscious. Although his face was pale and weak, it was still impossible to hide the noble and imposing air between his brows.
A faint yet warm candlelight gently fell upon his serene and aloof features, surrounded by wisps of sandalwood incense.
Lu Tianjiao remained silent, his gaze as gentle as water, layer upon layer, thread by thread, drawing him little by little into the web of love she had painstakingly woven for him over the past decade.
She stood at the doorway, her heart aching. She stared blankly at the person on the bed, whose face was turned away from her, looking extremely weak. She was filled with heartache but had no one to confide in. Her eyes were filled with endless tears of longing.
Suddenly, as if her heart had shattered or she had collapsed, she put down the medicine she was holding with trembling hands, strode towards him, and hugged the person on the bed tightly. Pressing her chest against his chest, she choked out a trembling cry, "Brother Han..."
This cry seemed to release all the hopes, grievances, longing, and grudges that a woman had held in her heart for so many years. In an instant, tears streamed down her face.
At that moment, she finally embraced him, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if something had slapped her.
At this moment, the noisy world seemed to have nothing to do with them anymore.
At this moment, they seemed to have returned to those unforgettable youthful years. She was still the proud little sister of Brother Han, who loved to stick to him all day long, like his shadow, and Xuan Yuan Han would still only dote on her, his little sister. This affection would only grow stronger with time.
After a long while, when Lu Tianjiao's sobs finally subsided, she remained pressed against his chest, still seemingly agitated, and said, "I knew something must have happened at Lin Yuexuan. It was you, Brother Han, who was in trouble. Tianjiao knows that the news of Brother Han's serious injury and coma is of great importance and must not be known to outsiders, lest they take advantage of the situation to attack our Western Qin, especially Princess Yongle of Dongning Kingdom who is planted beside Brother Han. That's why Tianjiao deliberately sent her far away. Western Qin Kingdom is protected by Brother Han with his life. Tianjiao understands you, Tianjiao truly understands you. In this world, no one understands you better than Tianjiao. Tianjiao knows that Brother Han would never allow anyone to harm or betray this country. Tianjiao would never, never."
Lu Tianjiao spoke with conviction, wiping away the tears on her face with one hand. She slowly sat up, gazing tenderly at Xuan Yuanhan's cold, sleeping face for a moment, when she suddenly remembered the bowl of medicine that had been placed to the side when she entered the room. She got up and went to retrieve it, carefully feeding it medicine spoonful by spoonful, while continuing to say softly, "Brother Han, don't worry. With Tianjiao here, I will never allow anyone to harm Brother Han in the slightest. At first, Tianjiao mistakenly thought that Brother Han would follow the 'arranged marriage' and willingly accept the Emperor's bestowed marriage, living in harmony with the wealthy Princess Yongle of Dongning Kingdom. Until Tianjiao later discovered that Brother Han treated her like a decoration, even on their wedding night, the proud princess spent it alone. But later, even today, Tianjiao is still unwilling to accept it. Why would Brother Han take a fancy to that ugly, useless girl from the Yi family, whom my brother even rejected? What is it about her that Tianjiao can't compare to? From childhood to adulthood, our innocent past, can Brother Han really ignore it all? What has Tianjiao meant to me for these past ten years? Brother Han, do you know that besides you, Tianjiao will never love anyone else in this life!"
As he finished speaking, Lu Tianjiao seemed to grit his teeth and become agitated once again. Meanwhile, outside the bedchamber, meticulous preparations were underway…
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