Chapter 129
The waiter pointed to the people next to him with a half-smile: "They said my friend did well on the exam and was invited to a banquet. I'm going with them to find him."
Perhaps unsure himself, the waiter looked at Qin Sang with a hopeful expression, seeking clarification.
Qin Sang carefully scanned the two men standing next to Xiao Er. Both were strong and robust, with extraordinary physiques, clearly skilled in martial arts.
In a flash, she realized that if the waiter was taken away, he would most likely never return, and his so-called friend was probably also in grave danger.
I never expected these people to be so quick and efficient; they took the person away before the exam hall even opened! How outrageous!
She bet the two men wouldn't dare do anything to her in public, so she braced herself and carefully pulled the waiter's sleeve to the side: "Come on, let me say a few words to you first."
Although they didn't stop them, the two quickly exchanged a glance, their eyes already revealing murderous intent.
Qin Sang pretended not to see, and braced herself to pull the person away slightly under their gazes, then whispered, "Don't go with them, your friend might already be in trouble. Don't panic, don't show any signs of alarm, I'll help you, just do as I say..."
After the explanation, the waiter's face turned ashen. People have a sense of danger, and he already felt uneasy about the two people, while Qin Sang looked much kinder, so he subconsciously trusted her.
Suppressing his pounding heart, he processed the information, swallowed hard, and walked back to the two servants. His voice trembling, he said, "Well, it's like this. The friend I told you about isn't actually very close to me. He owes me money and said he'd pay me back after passing the imperial examinations. That's why I couldn't wait to come and see him. It's alright. If he's lucky enough to be noticed by you gentlemen, then I won't join the fun. I… I have some urgent business to attend to. I'll go find him when he returns from the banquet."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
"Wait..." but one of them reached out and stopped him.
The waiter's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He stared at Qin Sang with a guilty look on his face, as if pleading for help.
Before Qin Sang could speak, the other person pressed down on his companion's arm, saying, "Forget it. Since we're not friends, it's fine if we don't go. Let's go back and report."
The two exchanged a glance, and indeed decided not to pursue the matter further, turning and leaving.
Xiao Er, like a cub that had escaped from the jaws of a tiger, took a long time to dare to reach out and touch his chest, which felt like it was about to be pierced, and gasped for breath.
“Aunt…Auntie…” His voice trembled involuntarily.
Qin Sang didn't argue with him, and simply said, "Come with me," before turning and walking towards her carriage.
Halfway there, she suddenly turned around. Although the two figures had already disappeared, just to be on the safe side, she didn't get into her own carriage, but instead led her people into a side alley.
As soon as she entered the alley and saw that there was no one around, she stopped and turned back, saying, "Listen to me, if I'm not mistaken, you're not safe now. Here's some silver; find a place to hide it and don't go back to the inn. Those people won't let you off so easily..."
"Wait..." the waiter interrupted her, "Miss, what do you mean? I...I'm law-abiding and haven't done anything wrong...I...I don't understand why you're hiding?"
Qin Sang paused for a moment before saying, "Didn't your friend Li Zigu not come out?"
The waiter finally realized, "Oh right, Brother Zigu, Brother Zigu...you mean, Brother Zigu got into trouble??"
Qin Sang was too lazy to explain further to him. In the end, she pulled the man aside and explained their guesses in detail. The waiter was so frightened that he turned even more ashen-faced. Finally, he ran away with the silver, looking dejected and crying.
To avoid being followed and causing trouble for the Xie family, Qin Sang deliberately took a detour and had Lingding tell the carriage to wait at the next intersection.
However, she did not return directly to the Xie residence, but instead drove to the Ning'an Prince's residence.
This time, the feeling was different from the last time. After all, she was the future mistress of the house, and the doorman and the butler who came to greet her were exceptionally warm.
The steward said, "Why have you come?" while explaining that the Prince of Ning'an had fallen ill after returning from court that day.
"He's sick again? He seemed to be in good spirits the last time I saw him," Qin Sang thought to herself, puzzled.
"Hey, the weather's bad. I'm always prone to getting sick around this time of year. It's all because I took medicine years ago and it ruined my health." Perhaps influenced by Prince Ning'an's teachings, the steward no longer deliberately hid the fact that Prince Ning'an had been taking medicine and feigning illness in his younger days from Qin Sang.
"Oh." Qin Sang nodded, then said, "Now you should take good care of yourself. There will be even more things to do in the future, so you can't overwork yourself."
The steward said, "That's right. When the young lady enters the manor in the future, you must persuade Zhu Zi to stay up late. He never listens to me and often stays up late into the night."
Qin Sang smiled smugly but didn't answer him.
As we walked towards the main hall where Prince Ning'an worked, we heard a continuous coughing sound even before we stepped inside.
During the years Qin Sang studied under her master, observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation were the basic skills. She hurried in, and Prince Ning'an was about to speak when another round of coughing silenced him.
Qin Sang secretly rolled her eyes, but her hand quickly reached for her purse.
"Why have you come?" Prince Ning'an asked with a smile.
"Sit down first." Qin Sang pressed the person down into the mahogany armchair without allowing any argument, and spread out a roll of silver needles on the table, each one shimmering with a crystal light.
She pulled out a needle, grabbed the other person's hand, and pressed it into the acupoint.
"hiss……"
As Prince Ning'an gasped, the steward belatedly stopped him, "Hey, Miss, you mustn't..."
"What medicine do you usually take?" Qin Sang didn't care, and continued to prick the needles one after another while asking.
The steward peeked at Prince Ning'an and, seeing him nod, said, "These prescriptions were all written by the imperial physicians. Several doctors have also examined them, and they all said there were no problems. If you want to see them, I have the prescriptions here."
As he spoke, he pulled a neatly folded piece of yellow paper from his sleeve.
Qin Sang took it and glanced at it quickly, then said, "On the surface, there seems to be no problem, but your master's health was damaged by the medicine he took years ago. Now the medicine is too strong and he can't handle it. It needs to be gentler. The dosage of these medicines should be halved."
As she spoke, she bent down, picked up the brush on the desk, circled the medicines she mentioned, and added two more at the end.
The butler, watching from the side, felt a toothache: "This is a famous medical prescription..."
Qin Sang said confidently, "Trust me. More than anyone else, I hope your master recovers and lives a long and healthy life. Let's give it a try; it can't get any worse than it is now."
After she finished speaking, she noticed the Prince of Ning'an staring at her. For a moment, she was stunned.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
Prince Ning'an smiled faintly, coughed twice, and then, after sipping tea to moisten his throat, said, "Madam is truly a benevolent and skillful physician."
Qin Sang was startled by the word "Madam" and looked warily at Prince Ning'an.
Prince Ning'an smiled and said, "I am unlucky. My first two wives died suddenly not long after they entered the household. But seeing how knowledgeable you are in medicine, I believe you will not follow in their footsteps and die young."
Upon hearing his words, Qin Sang suddenly remembered Xie Xiao. Xie Xiao's plan was to have her die suddenly after marrying into the royal family, and then she would take her place.
This is really...
However, it's still a way to extricate myself. Even if I don't make way for Xie Xiao, it's a good way for me to gracefully retire in the future.
But judging from Prince Ning'an's words, is he planning to block this escape route? Could it be that he's truly infatuated with her beauty and unwilling to let go?
Thinking of this, she hurriedly said, "Your Highness, quickly send people to investigate. It's likely that the candidates for this year's imperial examination have already met with misfortune before they even left the examination hall. If we go now, we can still find some clues; any later, the bodies will be destroyed!"
Why sacrifice relationships when you're focused on your career? Seriously.
Upon hearing this, Prince Ning'an's expression changed slightly, and he glanced at the steward beside him.
Upon receiving the order, the butler immediately turned and left in a hurry.
"How did you know?" Prince Ning'an asked. "Just how many people have you planted in the capital? You don't have people in my residence too, do you?"
"Your Highness thinks too highly of me. I don't have that much money to support so many people. It's just that I can come up with ideas by going out more and seeing more of the world."
Prince Ning'an stared at the exquisitely beautiful woman before him and suddenly recalled a line of poetry: "A fair maiden is the object of a gentleman's affections."
He endured years of suppression from the princeling faction, spending his days pondering how to survive. Then, suddenly, he was supported and embarked on a bloody and treacherous path of no return. In his eyes, women were either servants in his harem or pawns on a chessboard.
I never thought that a woman could be something other than any of these categories.
Even when the little maid from the Xie family came running up to him with a silly suggestion, he seriously considered the possibility of such a substitution. At the time, he thought that if it wasn't a big deal, doing someone a favor wasn't a big deal.
But at this moment, precisely at this moment when she rushed in so forcefully, at this moment when she was ordering his butler around without any room for argument, he no longer wanted to think that way.
Qin Sang was so close to him that her previously blurry face suddenly became clear and charming.
Her eyebrows and eyes were expressive, and her smiling lips were also expressive.
The next moment, a thought popped into my head—she is my fiancée.
A wife is one who holds a husband's hand and grows old with him.
If one had to choose someone to confide in about one's forbearance and suffering, one's ambitions and plans, then this clever and quick-witted woman would be a suitable candidate.
But, I think she said something like, she has someone she loves?
Yes, she did come and make some demands of him.
Xie Sui'an, that kid, also came here.
At that time, he didn't care about any of that; he just thought it was absurd and foolish to talk about such trivial matters of love and affection before important matters.
But in an instant, he began to feel uneasy, as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat.
Qin Sang glanced at him, who seemed lost in thought, exhaled, and waved her hand in front of him: "Your Highness? I'm here to inform you of this matter."
Prince Ning'an looked at her again, and Qin Sang said with some difficulty, "There is another matter. I have limited manpower. Your Highness may be able to send someone to guard an inn. That inn is where the examinee Li Zigu is staying. I am afraid that the innkeeper and related people are in danger. If Your Highness can send people, perhaps we can catch one or two lackeys."
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