Qi Mansion
By the time they arrived at the Qi residence, it was already broad daylight. A faint scent of medicinal herbs still lingered within the residence, its aroma strangely bitter yet refreshing.
Stopping at the entrance to the dungeon, Qi Minghua turned around, looked at Zhou Yanzhi who was about to go in, and sighed helplessly, saying, "The Empress Dowager is inside, and Miss Xiao is still tied up. Don't lose your composure because of this."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi's anxious expression eased somewhat, and he responded softly, "Yes, I know."
"Alright, let's go in then." Su Feng stepped forward and patted Zhou Yanzhi on the shoulder. "Our great romantic."
...
At the dungeon entrance, the aroma of medicine was replaced by a damp, musty smell.
The dungeon was dark, with only oil lamps on the walls providing illumination. These lamps had been burning day and night for the past two days, leaving a noticeable black stain on the walls.
Outside the prison cell at the end of the passageway stood two old women, one on the left and one on the right, like door gods.
Zhou Yanzhi's heart sank—how could it be the two most stern and unsmiling nannies by the Empress Dowager's side?
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Zhou Yanzhi walked quickly toward the end of the passageway, but before he could reach the end, the two old women stepped in front of him and blocked his way.
Zhou Yanzhi had no choice but to bow slightly to the two old women and complete the proper etiquette: "Old Woman Qin, Old Woman Xia."
The two returned the greeting meticulously: "Your Highness."
Zhou Yanzhi raised his hand to decline the formalities and was about to step inside. But before he could take a step, a hand reached out from the side and blocked his way, like an iron gate.
Immediately afterwards, Qin Mama's flat, emotionless voice came: "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has ordered that no one is allowed to enter and visit."
Zhou Yanzhi paused, his voice turning somber: "Neither can I?"
“Especially you.” A dignified voice came from inside the cell.
Looking in the direction from which the sound came, they saw that the Empress Dowager, whom they had seen at the palace gate earlier, had somehow reappeared here.
“Grandmother…” Zhou Yanzhi stood there, stunned.
The Empress Dowager stepped out slowly, her gaze calmly falling on Zhou Yanzhi. After a moment of silence, she said, "Granny Qin and Granny Xia, you may leave now. I have something to say to the young master."
"Yes." The two maids responded and withdrew.
With no one blocking his way, Zhou Yan instinctively tried to walk inside, but the Empress Dowager's piercing gaze forced him to stop in his tracks.
After glancing at the Empress Dowager directly in front of him, Zhou Yanzhi then glanced at the cell where Xie Xiangsi was imprisoned not far away. He gritted his teeth and knelt down directly before the Empress Dowager.
"Grandmother, please allow your grandson to see Xiao Yan."
Looking at her grandson, who was travel-worn and exhausted after a night of intense work, the Empress Dowager sighed silently, then slowly said, "Ce'an, you know that she is Xiao Yan."
Hearing the Empress Dowager's unfinished words, Zhou Yanzhi clenched his fist and raised his eyes: "Grandmother, whether she is Xiao Yan or not, she is the person I want to spend my life with."
"Moreover, the Empress Dowager should also know that the Xiao family never rebelled; they were... victims of a power struggle."
Looking at the kneeling young man, a fleeting emotion flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but her tone remained unchanged: "You know, that's not what I meant. On that day in the Zichen Palace, she frankly told all the officials that her feelings for you were always based on self-interest."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi's eyelids twitched slightly, but he remained silent.
Seeing him like this, the Empress Dowager felt inexplicably heartbroken. Zhou Yanzhi had always been like this since he was a child. If he heard something he didn't want to hear, he would turn around and leave if the other person was of lower status than him, but if the other person was of higher status than him, he would lower his eyes and look down.
He may seem obedient, but in reality, his words go in one ear and out the other. No matter how much you talk, he won't listen to a single word.
Clearly, he wasn't listening to a single word.
The Empress Dowager twirled the sandalwood beads in her hand, her tone becoming somewhat serious: "Zhou Ce'an!"
Zhou Yanzhi raised his eyes, his expression utterly indifferent.
“Grandmother, you watched Ce’an grow up. You should know that with my personality, whether she approaches me for the benefit of the family or for something else, as long as I am uninterested, she has no way to use me.”
At this point, his tone softened, yet remained firm: "Therefore, Grandmother need not worry. Ce'an will gladly accept this matter."
"..."
Silence spread through the damp air.
After a long while, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes.
"Go."
...
Stepping quickly into the cell, Zhou Yanzhi saw the pale-faced person bound to the rack and hurriedly untied the ropes from Xie Xiangsi. He then took out a pill from his sleeve and carefully fed it to her.
"elder brother……"
Seeing her unconsciously babbling in her sleep, Zhou Yanzhi's heart finally settled down a little. He glanced at the cold, dark cell, tightened his grip, and carried her out of the cell.
Outside the cell, Qi Minghua and Su Feng were still waiting.
Looking at Jie Xiangsi in his arms, before he could speak, Qi Minghua stepped forward first: "Come with me."
...
Qifu Shannai Temple.
Qi Minghua, dressed in white, sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers resting on Jie Xiangsi's wrist as he took her pulse. However... his brows were tightly furrowed, giving him an inexplicably heavy look.
Thinking of something, Qi Minghua took out a pill from the medicine box next to her and fed it to her. Then he took out a pair of silver needles from the medicine box and inserted needles into several acupoints on her head.
Half an hour later, he removed the needles and began to take Jie Xiangsi's pulse again. As if sensing something, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
After feeling the pulse throbbing through his fingertips, Qi Minghua withdrew his hand and reassured the anxious Zhou Yanzhi, "Don't worry, Miss Xiao is just a little tired. Apart from having some more poison from the Moon Gazing Powder in her body, she's fine and will wake up soon."
As Zhou Yanzhi tucked the blanket around Jie Xiangsi, he led the other two out of the inner room. "Her body is now infused with the poison of Wangyue Powder. Is she really alright?"
"Don't worry." Qi Minghua turned his head and comforted Zhou Yanzhi, "Miss Xiao didn't ingest much, but she may need to drink more medicine when she's having the poison removed later. By the way, the dungeon is cold and damp, so I'll have someone boil some ginger and brown sugar water for her to drink to warm her up when she wakes up."
With the affirmation from the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Zhou Yanzhi finally felt relieved: "That's good...that's good, thank you."
Upon hearing this, Qi Minghua smiled slightly, but a hint of sorrow appeared in her clear eyes: "Ce'an, with the new emperor's ascension to the throne, you..."
"I will stand with her through thick and thin." Seeing the identical worry on Qi Minghua and Su Feng's faces, Zhou Yanzhi said, "Although Your Majesty is the ruler and I am the subject, since the Xiao family is innocent, I will definitely help her and clear their name."
"..."
After a long silence, Qi Minghua nodded and patted Zhou Yanzhi on the shoulder: "In that case, I will do my best to help you."
Su Feng didn't speak, but he also raised his hand and patted Zhou Yanzhi solemnly.
The same applies to the Su family.
...
When Jie Xiangsi woke up, Zhou Yanzhi was leaning against the bed frame next to her, resting with his eyes closed.
Upon first glance, it was him. Jie Xiangsi was momentarily stunned—having been blind for some time, her sudden return to sight was quite unusual.
She blinked, gazing at Zhou Yanzhi with increasing longing. The fear she had harbored in her heart during her time in the palace gradually dissipated in this peaceful moment.
Before noon, the sunlight outside the window was exceptionally bright, shining through the lattice window onto his face, making the dark circles under his eyes even more noticeable.
Jie Xiangsi gazed at the face for a long time, her heart aching more and more. She couldn't help but raise her hand, wanting to touch the face she longed for day and night.
Suddenly, her outstretched hand was gently grasped.
"You ambushed me?"
Zhou Yanzhi had opened his eyes at some point and was now smiling gently at her.
Jie Xiangsi was startled and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but it was held tightly and she couldn't break free.
The two of them, one trying to escape and the other trying to stop them, didn't say a word and just childishly pulled at each other for a while.
Finally, Xie Xiangsi couldn't hold back any longer and said, "You... let me go."
Zhou Yanzhi ignored her, still holding her hand, bowing slightly, and raising an eyebrow at her: "Why don't you call me 'cousin' anymore?"
Seeing his expression, Xie Xiangsi couldn't help but glare at him angrily—her identity had already been exposed by Consort De in front of all the civil and military officials, and she didn't believe he didn't know.
After a moment of silence, under Zhou Yanzhi's slightly teasing gaze, Xie Xiangsi slowly spoke: "...You know perfectly well why I'm asking."
Previously, when he didn't know her identity, she could still use that as a reason to convince herself to call him "cousin." But now that he knows her identity, and they both know the truth, she can't convince herself to suppress her shame and call him that.
Hearing her answer, Zhou Yanzhi couldn't help but chuckle softly twice. Then he leaned closer to her and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "Since you don't call me 'cousin' anymore, shouldn't I change how I address you?"
"For example... 'Yan Yan'?"
"No!" Jie Xiangsi looked up instantly.
Seeing the smile almost overflowing in Zhou Yanzhi's eyes, she couldn't help but pinch the hand holding hers hard: "No, that's too cheesy."
Zhou Yanzhi suppressed a laugh and pretended to be troubled: "Then what should we do? We can't just keep calling each other 'you' and 'me' all the time, can we?"
Taking a deep breath, Jie Xiangsi spoke: "Cousin."
Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Who are you calling?"
"You." Jie Xiangsi raised her eyelids: "I'm talking to you."
Zhou Yanzhi exclaimed "Ah!" and laughed, "So, Miss Xiao is still going to be my cousin?"
Jie Xiangsi didn't say anything, too lazy to pay him any attention.
Zhou Yanzhi chuckled to himself for a while, then continued, "That's fine too. After all, I'm not used to you calling me 'Ce'an.' It feels more natural and intimate to call you 'cousin'."
Jie Xiangsi nodded in agreement—after all, after being at odds for so long, it was really not used to suddenly calling each other by our childhood nicknames, or rather, it felt a bit strangely cheesy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
