Liu Hong looked furious, so Liu Qing quickly stepped forward, grabbed her younger sister's arm, and shushed her, "What's the use of you going up there now? Let's see what they're up to. I have a feeling that Meng Dan's injury was inexplicable."
Seeing Liu Qing's serious expression, Liu Hong also sensed that something was amiss with Meng Dan's injury. Moreover, where had Xiao Jian encountered Meng Dan? What secrets did they share? These were all questions!
Looking at the deserted Huibinlou Restaurant, Liu Hong felt a headache coming on. She went back to her room to get some medicine and gauze. She was about to take them upstairs when Liu Qing stopped her again.
Liu Hong was a little puzzled. Liu Qing gestured towards the upstairs and whispered, "I'll go deliver it. You're all sullen right now, so they won't say anything to your face. If I go, I might be able to get a word or two out of them."
Liu Hong didn't want to see those three people's faces anyway, so she shoved the plate into her own brother's hands. "Then you go ahead, I'll clean up this mess in the lobby." Good thing she didn't have to go!
Liu Qing shook her head, knowing that Liu Hong had this kind of temper, and then carefully carried the medicine and gauze upstairs.
Liu Hong rolled her eyes at the upstairs, then directed the servants who were helping at Huibinlou to clean up the leftover food on the table.
Liu Qing walked to the door, first peeking inside to listen for any sounds, but only faint voices could be heard. Since the sounds weren't very clear, Liu Qing stopped listening, walked forward, knocked on the door, and went inside.
“This is our own medicine for treating injuries. We don’t know how badly Meng Dan is injured, or if it will be safe to use it.” Liu Qing frowned, looking worried about Meng Dan. “There’s also a jar of wine here, which will be perfect for healing his wounds.”
Xiao Jian silently accepted the things from Liu Qing's hands without even a word of thanks. Instead, Fu Erkang stepped forward and patted Liu Qing's shoulder, "Thank you for your trouble. I'm afraid you'll have to cook some easily digestible porridge. Let Meng Dan have some when he wakes up."
Liu Qing nodded with a smile, then turned and left without any hesitation.
Fu Erkang watched Liu Qing go downstairs before closing the door tightly. Little did he know that the moment he closed the door, Liu Qing quietly returned.
"Aren't you being too nervous? Huibinlou is Liu Qing and Liu Hong's place, and Liu Qing and Liu Hong are our good friends. What is there that they can't know?" Fu Erkang sat down on a chair to the side with a carefree attitude and said with great disdain.
He knew that Xiao Jian was worried that Liu Qing and Liu Hong would reveal their secret, and Fu Erkang felt somewhat contemptuous of Xiao Jian's level of caution.
Xiao Jian rolled his eyes at Fu Erkang with his back to him, cursing inwardly. How could this rumor be so unreliable? The rumor said that the eldest son of the Fu family was humble, courteous, and intelligent, but in his eyes he was just a person with nothing but empty words.
"No matter what, it's better to be careful. Do you want them to get involved in this mess?" Regardless, Xiao Jian still needed to use them, so he could only patiently explain.
“We are all friends who have been through thick and thin together, and they grew up with Xiao Yanzi. What is there to distrust? They even know the real and fake princesses, so what else can’t they know?” Fu Erkang retorted again.
Xiao Jian was speechless after being rebuked like this. He could only close his eyes tightly and silently pray that he wouldn't get angry and wouldn't argue with this big fool!
Seeing that Xiao Jian's expression was off, Fu Erkang stopped arguing and just sat quietly to the side, letting Xiao Jian bandage Meng Dan.
Fu Erkang, on the other hand, sat to the side with his legs crossed, completely at ease. He wasn't a royal physician, nor a doctor, and he didn't know how to treat illnesses. Judging from Xiao Jian's busy appearance, it was clear that he had learned quite a bit from his travels around the country.
Xiao Jian hadn't expected Fu Erkang to be of any help, but he was a little annoyed by Fu Erkang's attitude of just watching the show from the sidelines.
Okay, he did the bandaging, and Liu Qing and Liu Hong cooked the porridge. He just sat there like he was giving orders, and besides, he wasn't the one giving the orders.
"Did you get caught when you went to help Meng Dan kidnap Han Xiang today?" Xiao Jian asked Fu Er Kang after finishing his work.
Xiao Jian saw Fu Erkang's face suddenly turn pale, and he knew that he had achieved his goal. In any case, Fu Erkang had boarded his ship.
"I'm not sure if Ertai recognized me; he saw my eyes. He even seemed stunned for a moment." Fu Erkang said, sounding a little flustered.
He had already been demoted to the imperial kitchen, reduced to a cook. How much worse could he get? But thinking about the punishments in the palace for those who kidnapped imperial concubines, Fu Erkang still felt a chill run down his spine.
He could only pray silently that Voltay did not recognize him.
Xiao Jian saw through Fu Erkang's thoughts and scoffed inwardly. He'd already done it, so what was there to be afraid of now? Hadn't he considered the consequences before he acted?
“But you helped Meng Dan, so no matter how they check the numbers, it won’t be right. I’m afraid you’ll be discovered soon.” Xiao Jian calmly explained to Fu Erkang.
Fu Erkang was already flustered, and now, after Xiao Jian's reminder, he felt even more confused. Yes, no matter how he looked at it, what he was doing was wrong.
Seeing Fu Erkang panic, Xiao Jian felt he was one step closer to his plan. "Even if you don't admit it, the Imperial Kitchen has records of your departure. Even if they don't, Chef Zhuang will find out. Then..." Xiao Jian stopped talking, picked up a cup of tea, and silently sipped it.
He was waiting for Fu Erkang to think things through and understand things clearly before he would willingly join Fu Erkang's group.
Fu Erkang suddenly realized what he had been doing these past few days. He had thought he could lend a hand when Yongqi and the others came to capture Meng Dan, but he hadn't expected to become Meng Dan's man in such a muddle.
Fu Erkang was startled. If the Emperor found out, not only would he lose his job as a cook, but he might also lose his life.
"Take your time and don't panic," Xiao Jian said, noticing Fu Erkang's nervousness.
"How could I not be nervous? Ertai saw my eyes. If I can recognize him, he can certainly recognize me too." Fu Erkang panicked for a moment, and even the teacup in his hand was a little unsteady.
Xiao Jian: Sometimes it's not so bad to be alone. But with these two incompetent teammates, how can I possibly succeed? Being with these two is sometimes really frustrating.
"So what if he recognizes you? He has no evidence to identify you, just a pair of eyes? Won't you deny it?" Xiao Jian felt like he had brought a useless teammate, and he felt a tightness in his chest.
“Yes, even if I don’t admit it, he won’t think it was me.” Fu Erkang finally realized what was going on, and for a moment, he even felt a little embarrassed. He needed Xiao Jian to remind him before he could understand.
"But you still have something on your younger brother." Xiao Jian really wanted to roll his eyes at Fu Erkang, but now was not the time to be frank with him.
"Like you said, I'll just deny it to the death. What can he do to me? Even if it's a handle, he can't threaten me." Fu Erkang felt that Xiao Jian was talking nonsense to him, and for a moment he was speechless.
Xiao Jian noticed Fu Erkang's speechless expression and suddenly felt an even tighter tightness in his chest. "No matter what, in your brother's heart you're already on Meng Dan's side. I'm afraid you're going to go down this path to the bitter end."
Fu Erkang glanced at Meng Dan lying on the bed, a hint of disdain flashing across his face. With his martial arts skills, he thought he could take Hanxiang back? Dream on!
This is terrible! His brothers have either died, been injured, crippled, or fled. It's like he tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead—utterly foolish.
In Xiao Jian's eyes, Fu Erkang's expression made them look like two elementary school kids. Was it a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Neither of them were easy to deal with, nor were they particularly clever.
"What do you think?" Xiao Jian still asked Fu Erkang for his opinion.
“I also think that Meng Dan and Han Xiang, as lovers, should be together in the end. But Han Xiang is now the Emperor’s woman, which is an indisputable fact!” Fu Er Kang still felt some resistance in his heart.
He was, after all, the emperor's servant, and besides, he wanted to be reinstated and marry Ziwei in style. Now, having gotten involved in this mess, he truly had no hope of regaining his former position.
Furthermore, he also learned about what Hanxiang had said to him that day, and he felt that Hanxiang's actions were correct. After all, a woman should not serve two husbands. She was already the emperor's woman, so how could she rekindle her old feelings with Mengdan?
Xiao Jian also felt that Han Xiang was no longer a good match for Meng Dan, and they had a fierce argument that day. Xiao Jian then assumed that the emperor had already favored Han Xiang.
The emperor was originally Xiao Jian's enemy. Although he sympathized with the plight of the two lovers, he felt that Han Xiang was no longer worthy of Meng Dan's deep affection for her because that dog emperor had already defiled her.
But what does this have to do with him? He was after revenge anyway. Making the emperor look bad was something he was happy to see happen.
"Think about your and Ziwei's situation. Aren't you in the same situation as Mengdan and Hanxiang? Do you want to see this couple separated by death?" Xiao Jian was still trying his best to persuade Fu Erkang.
It must be said that Xiao Jian is indeed very good at bewitching people. Fu Erkang, whose heart was not firm to begin with, immediately became shaky again, and what he had just said completely collapsed.
"But Hanxiang has already rejected Mengdan. According to Ziwei, Hanxiang told Mengdan to look ahead and forget her. Today, she said it to Mengdan again." Fu Erkang felt that the chances of the two of them getting back together were pitifully small.
"If Meng Dan could truly look forward, would he have kidnapped Han Xiang today?" Xiao Jian already had his words to say to Fu Erkang. "Besides, if it were asking you to give up Ziwei, would you really give her up?"
Hearing Xiao Jian's words, Fu Erkang lowered his head. Yes, he couldn't do it. If he were ever asked to give up Ziwei, he'd rather die. Thinking this, Fu Erkang's eyes hardened again.
"Besides, you yourself said that Hanxiang was forced into the palace. Haven't we already heard Meng Dan tell us everything about their experiences? I'm afraid Hanxiang is heartbroken right now. Why don't you go back to the palace and have Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi ask her again? If there's still a chance to help her and Meng Dan, wouldn't Hanxiang want to escape from the palace?" Xiao Jian coaxed Fu Erkang gently.
At this moment, he was no longer in a hurry and sat down to slowly sip his tea.
Liu Qing, who was eavesdropping outside the room, was already drenched in a cold sweat. He couldn't believe they were abandoning their peaceful lives to kidnap the Emperor's women, the concubines from the palace! Wasn't that tantamount to suicide?
Liu Qing tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen and absentmindedly cooked a bowl of porridge. After all, she had to be convincing in her act; if she had been down there for so long and couldn't even cook a bowl of porridge properly, Xiao Jian would probably become suspicious.
Liu Hong had originally wanted to get some information from her brother, but seeing Liu Qing absentmindedly cooking porridge, she went up and patted Liu Qing on the shoulder. "What are you doing? Didn't you go up to listen to their conversation? What were they talking about?"
Liu Qing was startled and almost dropped the spoon. "You startled me. Meng Dan was trying to kidnap Hanxiang, and then Yongqi and the others stabbed him. Now they're talking about how to get Hanxiang out of the palace." After saying that, Liu Qing stirred the porridge in the pot.
"What? We could let the matter of the real and fake princess go back then, since it involved Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei. But this Hanxiang has nothing to do with us. Why are we getting involved in this mess?" Liu Hong felt like everything was going to go black. What kind of mess was this?
"This is a matter of life and death. We should fix up Huibinlou as soon as possible and make as much money as possible during this time so we can reopen a shop. We should stay far away from the capital then." Liu Qing had also come to terms with it. Ever since Xiao Yanzi entered the palace, they and Xiao Yanzi were no longer from the same world.
After all, if Liu Qing and Liu Hong could still cover up for Xiao Yanzi's past mistakes and help her out, they really couldn't help with the trouble she caused in the palace; they were willing but unable to do anything about it.
Besides, they are just ordinary people with a large, crowded courtyard where they have to support the elderly and young. They can't withstand any more storms or disturbances; they just want to live a peaceful and quiet life.
“You’re right, brother. Should we let Xiao Yanzi and the others know when we leave?” Liu Hong didn’t intend to inform Fu Erkang, but she thought that Xiao Yanzi had grown up with them in the tenement, and they still had some feelings for her.
Looking at the porridge in the bowl, Liu Qing said calmly but firmly, "No need. She's grown up now and doesn't need our protection anymore. Besides, if you tell her, she might just tell Fu Erkang in the blink of an eye."
Liu Hong nodded silently, agreeing with her brother's point.
"Alright, then I'll have Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi ask them after I return to the palace." Fu Erkang paced around the room for a moment before finally making up his mind.
Xiao Jian used the teacup to cover the corners of his lips that were silently curving upwards.
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