Chapter 326 Princess Ping has learned bad things
After Xiao Beiheng placed Su Mo under house arrest in Prince Ping's mansion, he went out and did not return for two days.
Su Mo didn't know where Xiao Beiheng had gone, and she was secretly worried. Thinking of Shen Yuexi's death from poisoning, she shed tears alone.
She and Shen Yuexi get along well, like real sisters. To ease the relationship between Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Beiheng, she gave the parrot Liuli to Shen Yuexi. She and Xiao Beiheng went to Shengjing to celebrate the Qixi Festival with his brother and sister-in-law. After Shen Yuexi became pregnant, she went to visit her in person...
Everything seemed to be going in the right direction, but the sudden bad news still shattered her fantasy.
No matter how hard she tried to promote harmony between the two families, there could only be one Crown Prince. This had been the case throughout the dynasties, an unchanging fact. Xiao Beiheng and Xiao Zhuo both coveted this position, and the brothers were bound to fight openly and secretly. Poisoning Shen Yuexi was the beginning of this struggle.
As for who had poisoned her, it no longer mattered to her. The current situation was like a fire that had already been ignited. She was powerless to put it out and could only watch the flames grow larger and larger.
Heavy depression and sadness lingered in her heart, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. Furthermore, she knew nothing about the situation, which made her even more anxious. She tried to go out to look for Xiao Beiheng twice, but was stopped at the gate by the loyal guards each time.
These guards obeyed her orders submissively, but they also carried out Xiao Beiheng's orders without hesitation.
"Prince Ping has ordered that the princess must not leave the palace," the head of the guards stood at the gate and saluted respectfully. "I am following orders. Please don't make things difficult for me, princess."
Su Mo looked up at the sky. The sky was high and the clouds were light. The red sun was setting in the west. It would set in about half an hour.
Where did Xiao Beiheng go? Did he go to prepare his army to go to war with Xiao Zhuo?
"I want to go find my husband," Su Mo angrily scolded the guard leader, "How dare you repeatedly stop me? Do you still regard me as your princess?"
The chief guard looked embarrassed: "Princess, this is your husband's order. You know it..."
Su Mo glanced at the guards who were blocking the gate tightly. They all greeted her with a smile, which was annoying to look at... She turned around and walked towards the back door of the palace.
There was also a back door to the Prince Ping's mansion, but it was also heavily guarded by guards. Seeing her approach, everyone immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Princess."
Everyone's tone was respectful and polite, but none of them showed any intention of giving way.
Su Mo remained silent. She knew that arguing was pointless. After looking around, she returned to the house and called over the maid, Xiaoxiang, saying, "Xiaoxiang, can you find a ladder?"
Xiaoxiang looked surprised and asked, "Master, are you going to escape by climbing the ladder?"
"Well, isn't there a street just outside the garden wall?" Su Mo said, "I want to go find Bei Heng."
Xiaoxiang advised, "My lady, you are a princess, how can you climb a ladder? That's something only lowly craftsmen and the like would do... Besides, if you don't even have a carriage, how are you going to see Prince Ping?"
Su Mo's face darkened and she said, "Just go if I tell you to."
Xiaoxiang had no choice but to turn around and walk out mumbling.
Soon, Xiaoxiang came to the door with great effort, dragging a ladder that was more than one person tall. Su Mo was already waiting at the door. The two of them worked together to lift the ladder into the house.
After dinner, Su Mo thought it was inconvenient to wear a skirt, so she asked Xiaoxiang to find two sets of men's clothes.
Xiaoxiang was even more upset after hearing this: "Master, how can you wear men's clothes? This is so unbecoming. A princess..."
"My sister-in-law often does this."
"She is she, and you are you. Princess An used to wander around with Prince An... She could ride a horse, but you would fall off the first time you rode..."
Su Mo glared at Xiaoxiang, and she had to shut up and go out to find clothes.
It took quite a while to find clothes this time. It was not until the moon was high in the sky that Xiaoxiang finally returned to the house with two sets of clothes.
"Master, I've found it." Xiaoxiang placed the clothes on the table. "There are so many men in the palace, it's hard to find clothes that don't smell good, and the sizes don't match..."
Su Mo changed into her clothes, stretched out her body for a bit, and said with a smile, "It's much more convenient than a skirt. What are you standing there for? Change quickly."
"Ah, why do slaves have to change too?"
"If I go out by myself, I won't know the way. You have to follow me. Otherwise, what's the point of having two bodies?"
Xiaoxiang had a sad face and changed her clothes slowly. The two of them tied their hair up and carried a ladder to the back garden secretly.
The garden had been cleared of all the broken branches and trees, and four guards holding torches were guarding the back door.
The two of them quietly carried the ladder along the darkness to the courtyard wall and placed it against the wall. The corner they were in was very dark and could not be discovered unless the guards at the gate came with torches.
With Xiaoxiang supporting her from below, Su Mo climbed up the ladder step by step to the top of the wall and looked out.
"Master, first put one leg over and sit on the wall." Xiaoxiang reminded with her head raised.
Su Mo held the ladder and looked outside. She paused for a long time and did not do as Xiaoxiang said. She stretched her feet down and slowly came down.
"Why did the master come down?" Xiaoxiang asked in confusion.
Su Mo said dejectedly, "There's a row of people standing outside the courtyard wall..."
Not to mention people going down, even if the ladder was lowered, the guards standing below would notice it. She didn't expect Xiao Beiheng to send so many people to guard the palace to prevent her from leaving.
She was a little unwilling to give up, so she and Xiaoxiang carried the ladder to the other side. This time, Xiaoxiang climbed up the ladder to see.
As Su Mo said, outside the palace wall, there was a guard standing every ten feet, and there were also guards walking around with torches, checking everywhere, surrounding the entire Pingwang Palace like an iron barrel...
The idea of escaping using the ladder didn't work. They had no choice but to carry the ladder back to the bedroom and change back into their original clothes. Xiaoxiang thought Su Mo had given up, so she happily returned the ladder and clothes.
Su Mo was unwilling to give up, and said to herself: "I don't believe I can't get out."
She thought about it and came up with an idea.
After Xiaoxiang returned the ladder and the clothes, she walked back along the corridor. Just as she turned the corner, she saw several maids gathered in front of Su Mo's bedroom, all panicked and clamoring. Su Mo's painful moans could be heard from inside the room.
A maid turned around and saw her coming, and hurriedly called out, "Xiaoxiang, come quickly. The master has a sudden abdominal pain. The pain is very severe. We don't know what to do."
Xiaoxiang ran over, pushed through the crowd and rushed into the house.
The room was in even greater chaos than the entrance. The floor was strewn with broken porcelain shards and spilled with water. A maid was squatting, wiping with a cloth, while several other maids gathered around the bed, some handing out hot water, some holding handkerchiefs, and some carrying a pile of medicine jars.
"Master, drink some hot water first..."
"Please take the medicine bottle away. What if the master gets sick from taking the wrong medicine?"
Xiaoxiang rushed to the bedside, where Su Mo was rolling around on the bed, holding her stomach. Her hair was disheveled, her brows were furrowed, her eyes were closed, and she was shouting, "It hurts so much!"
Xiaoxiang was familiar with this situation. Su Mo had performed this act before in the Qi Wang military camp, and it really scared her at the time. Later, she found out that Su Mo was pretending to be sick and learned it from Shen Yuexi.
Alas, ever since the master started interacting with Shen Yuexi...what has he learned?
She was at a loss for words, but she couldn't expose Su Mo, so she had to cooperate. She also pretended to be flustered and said, "Master, wait a minute, I'll go call Doctor Lin."
Lin Kui was also a highly skilled doctor. He was not only Xiao Beiheng's advisor, but also his own doctor. Whenever anyone in Prince Ping's mansion had a headache or fever, Lin Kui would prescribe medicine.
As Xiaoxiang finished speaking, someone next to her reminded her, "Xiaoxiang, are you getting confused? Doctor Lin has already been appointed an official in Beijing."
"Oh, I forgot," Xiaoxiang said, "Then let's go to the city and call a doctor."
Xiaoxiang ran to the palace gate and told the chief guard about Su Mo's severe abdominal pain. The chief guard did not dare to neglect her and immediately sent the guards to the city pharmacy to ask for a doctor.
The doctor came to Su Mo's home to treat her, but he couldn't find out what was wrong with her after many examinations. During the examination, Su Mo screamed even louder, making the doctor anxious and sweating.
Xiaoxiang knew Su Mo wasn't ill in the first place, so it was a wonder she could be cured. She scolded the doctor and sent him away. A second doctor came, but he still couldn't diagnose her and was sent away too.
Su Mo acted out the role vividly, from shouting at the top of her lungs to collapsing on the bed with only groaning left.
Xiaoxiang rushed out and found the captain of the guards and said, "The master's illness is strange. These doctors are so poorly educated that they can't diagnose it. We must go to the capital immediately."
The chief guard hesitated and said, "But Prince Ping won't let the princess leave... How about I send someone to the capital to invite the imperial physician?"
Xiaoxiang feigned anger and said, "What are your intentions? The master is so seriously ill now. How long will it take for you to call a doctor? Can you afford to take responsibility if something happens to the master?"
The head of the guards also became frightened after hearing this. Although Xiao Beiheng asked him to guard Su Mo, if Su Mo got into trouble, Xiaoxiang would blame him, and he would be in big trouble.
But if I agree to let Su Mo go, Xiao Beiheng will blame me again...
A clever sergeant nearby reminded the chief guard, "Commander, isn't there a doctor named Hua imprisoned in our northern courtyard?"
The chief guard asked, "Are you talking about Doctor Hua?"
Xiaoxiang was slightly startled, as she seemed to have heard the name Dr. Hua somewhere before.
"Yes, that Doctor Hua is a very skilled doctor," the sergeant said. "It was he who cured Prince An when he was shot by an arrow. We will escort the princess there. Besides, the courtyard is also within the Prince Ping's palace, so it doesn't violate Prince Ping's order."
The guard leader was very pleased and patted the sergeant on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, that's a good idea."
Seeing that they had reached an agreement, Xiaoxiang immediately came to find Su Mo and said, "Master, there is a doctor named Hua in the courtyard north of our palace. We will take you there for treatment."
Su Mo groaned as she opened her eyes and asked, "Which Doctor Hua?"
"That's the guy from Shengjing Shenghetang," Xiaoxiang said. "Prince Ping once visited their clinic. Have you forgotten?"
Su Mo was surprised. Wasn't Doctor Hua in Shengjing? How did he end up in Anzhou? Could it be that Xiao Beiheng had captured him? Why did he capture Doctor Hua?
She was filled with doubts and wanted to see what was going on, so she nodded and said, "Okay... let's go. Ouch... it hurts again."
Xiaoxiang didn't dare laugh. She and the other maids helped Su Mo onto the carriage. The chief guard led over a hundred guards to escort them. Under the cover of night, the convoy left the city and headed north.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com