Imperial Medical Academy
Perhaps she was truly exhausted, for Xie Xiangsi fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down on the couch. She slept so soundly that she was still asleep when Zhou Yanzhi arrived.
Qing Shu came out of the inner room, bowed to Zhou Yanzhi who was standing in the outer room, and said softly, "Young Master, the young lady is still resting."
She paused, then glanced into the inner room.
"Should I go and call him?"
Unexpectedly, she was so tired. Zhou Yanzhi shook his head and said, "No need, let her sleep a little longer."
Qing Shu was speechless. She used to follow the madam and naturally knew about the jade bracelet. Therefore, she had already guessed when the young lady returned wearing the jade bracelet. She never expected that the young lady was really with the young master.
For no apparent reason, a surge of excitement welled up inside me.
Concealing the satisfaction in his eyes, Qing Shu lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
"Go and take care of the girl."
Zhou Yanzhi waved his hand to signal Qing Shu to leave, then walked to the stone bench under the plum tree in the courtyard, sat down, propped his head up with one hand, closed his eyes, and took a short rest.
On the treetops, red plum blossoms are in full bloom, swaying gently in the wind.
Inside the room, Jie Xiangsi seemed to sense something, her thoughts pulling her from her sleep as she slowly opened her eyes. Hearing the rustling sounds, Qing Shu, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward and helped her to her feet.
"girl."
Jie Xiangsi rubbed her temples, her face still flushed from sleeping for so long. Thinking of something, she lowered her hand and asked in a muffled voice, "Sister Qingshu, has anyone come looking for me?"
"In reply to your question, young lady, the young master came a moment ago and is currently waiting in the courtyard outside."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi stiffened, her eyes filled with regret and embarrassment.
Oh no, I slept so soundly I overslept!
Suddenly throwing off the covers and getting out of bed, Jie Xiangsi hurriedly gathered her black hair while pushing Qing Shu and saying urgently, "Sister Qing Shu, could you please get me a set of clothes?"
"Sister Moyue, come quickly and help me tie my hair. Also, quickly have Yuhe serve tea to my cousin."
Seeing that the usually dignified and gentle Jie Xiangsi was so impatient, Qing Shu covered her mouth and smiled, repeatedly replying "Yes," before quickly walking to the wardrobe and taking out a set of light blue spring clothes.
Mo Yue followed and pressed her down to sit in front of the dressing mirror. She rolled up her sleeves and quickly styled her hair, saying, "Don't worry, Miss, I'll definitely give you a beautiful hairstyle!"
After a hurried commotion, Xie Xiangsi hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran out the door amidst the teasing gazes of her three maids.
The "pattering" sound grew louder as it approached, finally stopping abruptly about two zhang away from Zhou Yanzhi.
Looking at the smiling young man opposite her, Jie Xiangsi took a barely perceptible breath and pinched her palm repeatedly from her sleeve.
After a moment of silence, she gave Zhou Yanzhi a faint smile.
"cousin."
...
The horse-drawn carriage rumbled along the main street of the capital.
Looking at the scenery on both sides of the long street, Jie Xiangsi lowered the carriage curtain, turned to Zhou Yanzhi and said gently, "Didn't you say you were going to see someone? Why are you heading east?"
The eastern street of the capital was mostly inhabited by imperial relatives, nobles, and important officials. However, the Prince An's residence was already located on the eastern street; if one went further east, it would likely lead directly to the palace.
Zhou Yanzhi explained, "We are going to enter the palace."
"Enter the palace?"
Jie Xiangsi was somewhat surprised: "Are we going to meet the Emperor?"
So it really is going to the palace?!
For some reason, Xie Xiangsi felt a surge of anxiety and couldn't help but nervously ask the person opposite her, "But I... I'm not ready yet. Can we go back first and let me prepare properly before we enter the palace together?"
Zhou Yanzhi chuckled and reassured him, "I'll go to see the Emperor. You don't need to. I'll take you to the Imperial Hospital first. That's where we need to see the person."
"Okay, okay."
In an instant, the heart that had been in her throat settled back down, and Jie Xiangsi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The Prince An's residence was not far from the palace, and they arrived at the palace gate in no time. Since they could not travel by carriage for the rest of the journey, the two got out of the carriage.
It just so happened that Su Feng was on duty that day and was inspecting the palace. When he learned that they wanted to enter the palace, he took them in directly.
Su Feng's mouth never stopped moving the whole way.
However, he wasn't arguing with Zhou Yanzhi, but with Xie Xiangsi, who was standing next to Zhou Yanzhi.
"Hey, Cer'an's cousin, you've been following Cer'an for a month, through all the danger and danger, weren't you terrified?"
Sensing the schadenfreude in his tone, Jie Xiangsi replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Lord Su is too kind. With my cousin here, Xiangsi is naturally not afraid."
Her tone shifted, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes.
"However, I've heard that Lord Su seems to have gotten himself into some romantic entanglements lately. Is Lord Su alright?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi, who was about to speak, swallowed back what he was about to say, a smile flashing in his eyes, and he secretly curled the corners of his lips.
Meanwhile, Su Feng, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly shattered his carefree and philandering demeanor, jumping three feet high: "What nonsense are you talking about?! What romantic entanglements?! That's not true!"
Turning her head away, Jie Xiangsi smiled but remained silent, letting Su Feng chatter on and on.
It's not that she's making things up; it really happened.
Even before she arrived in the capital, she had learned about the recent gossip in the capital from Zhou Yanzhi. One piece of gossip in particular shocked her: the current emperor actually intended to bestow a marriage upon Su Feng and the Fifth Princess Zhou Yuyi.
She was so surprised that other gossip, such as "that master was caught red-handed by his wife in a brothel," failed to arouse her interest.
After questioning Zhou Yanzhi, they learned that Su Feng had kept his promise to Zhou Yuyi that day, and had indeed given her a bag of golden silk pastry cakes after she returned from her meditation retreat at the temple.
Su Feng had a naturally amorous face, and he actually kept his promise, so Zhou Yuyi secretly fell in love with him. After returning from the temple, she asked Su Feng to go out with her every day.
Once or twice was fine; Su Feng would simply consider it fulfilling his duty as a member of the Imperial Guard to protect the royal family. But after it happened repeatedly, Su Feng naturally understood the situation perfectly. Since he didn't actually mean it, he lied and said he had something to do and couldn't spend time with her.
Zhou Yuyi wasn't stupid; she naturally knew he was deliberately avoiding her. With a determined heart, she blocked Su Feng in the street and declared that he would marry her whether he wanted to or not!
As soon as these words were spoken, they quickly spread throughout the entire capital, and everyone in the streets and alleys was talking about the romantic affair between the General of the Imperial Guard and the Fifth Princess of Dazhao.
As they approached the Imperial Hospital, they spotted another figure. Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow, manually shutting Su Feng's still-spitting mouth, and teased him, "We won't trouble you, General, to escort us. You should probably avoid your romantic entanglements for now."
After saying that, he waved again at the figure not far away.
Su Feng followed the gaze and saw the figure turn around. Judging from the face, it was none other than the Fifth Princess, Zhou Yuyi. Su Feng slapped Zhou Yanzhi's hand away, glared at him resentfully, and then quickly ran away.
Are you kidding me? If he gets entangled with this fifth princess, does he even want to live?!
"Su Feng!"
"Su Yunyun!"
"Don't run!"
"Wait for me!"
As soon as he left, Zhou Yuyi ran over, lifting her skirt. Seeing Zhou Yanzhi again, she was still a little scared. She lowered her head, said "Cousin," and ran away without waiting for Zhou Yanzhi to return the greeting.
Of course, she didn't forget to understand the longing in her heart.
As he ran away, he deliberately bumped into her with his shoulder. If Zhou Yanzhi hadn't caught Xie Xiangsi quickly, he would have actually been knocked down.
Watching Zhou Yuyi run away in an instant, Zhou Yanzhi frowned, then looked down at the person in his arms: "Cousin, are you alright?"
Jie Xiangsi shook her head: "I'm fine."
The subtle fragrance in the air slowly faded away.
Her long eyelashes drooped, concealing the darkness in her eyes, but a sense of unease was secretly growing in her heart.
That day, when Zhang Xu imprisoned her in the dungeon, she also smelled a faint fragrance on him. But Zhou Yuyi was far away in the capital, so how could she also have this fragrance on her?
"Cousin? Cousin?"
Zhou Yanzhi's voice came through.
Jie Xiangsi looked up and met a pair of worried eyes.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling unwell?"
Jie Xiangsi shook her head: "No, I just suddenly thought of something." She smiled slightly and said, "Didn't you say you were going to take me to see someone? Let's go quickly."
Zhou Yanzhi looked deeply at Jie Xiangsi, concealing the worry in his eyes, and said gently, "Alright."
As they walked with Xie Xiangsi to the entrance of the Imperial Hospital, a eunuch who had been standing by stepped forward and said solicitously, "Greetings to the two esteemed guests. Head Physician Qi has prepared tea for you in the side hall."
Zhou Yanzhi nodded: "I'll trouble you to lead the way, sir."
The eunuch lowered his eyes and head, saying, "Please follow me."
After turning a corner, the eunuch pushed open a door: "Please come in, my lord."
With a creak.
Qi Minghua, who was sitting by the window sorting medicinal herbs, turned around upon hearing the sound, stood up and took a few steps forward, and said with a gentle smile, "Ce'an is here. However, you are never late. Why are you a quarter of an hour late today?"
Zhou Yanzhi led Xie Xiangsi forward and replied, "We met Su Feng on the way and chatted with him for a few minutes."
Xie Xiangsi, who was following behind him, blinked guiltily. She knew all too well why she was late.
Lord Su, I am truly sorry.
Qi Minghua glanced at the person behind Zhou Yanzhi and smiled knowingly: "Is this the little cousin Yunyun mentioned?"
Jie Xiangsi: "..." Lord Su really loves to talk.
Taking a few steps forward, Jie Xiangsi curtsied to Qi Minghua: "Xiangsi greets Headmaster Qi."
Qi Minghua then cupped her hands in greeting and smiled slightly, saying, "Cousin, you can just call me Minghua."
Jie Xiangsi: "..." Is he so familiar with me?
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Zhou Yanzhi: "...Let's just call him Young Master Qi."
Jie Xiangsi replied gently, "Then I will still call you Young Master Qi."
"Well..." Before she could say anything, Qi Minghua caught a glimpse of Zhou Yanzhi's warning look out of the corner of her eye and readily changed her mind: "Of course, that's fine too."
Qi Minghua led the two to sit down and personally poured them tea. Then he sat down himself and turned to Zhou Yanzhi with a smile, saying, "Ce'an, is there something you need from me?"
Zhou Yanzhi nodded, glanced at Xie Xiangsi beside him, and said in a deep voice, "I would like to ask you to examine my cousin's pulse."
"oh?"
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