Chapter 129: There is another princess in Nanzhao?
Manluo wiped the corners of his lips with a handkerchief and rubbed his jaw with her fingertips:
"No one is competing with you."
The handkerchief had a hint of Bauhinia fragrance, and half a Bauhinia flower was embroidered on the edge. Xie Zhan's eyes trembled slightly, and he wanted to take the handkerchief:
"Miss Manluo, don't bother, you can do it yourself."
However, in a panic, the big hand happened to fall on her small hand.
Manluo chuckled, but did not withdraw her hand:
"Master Xie, are you going to imitate the lecher?"
"Feel sorry!"
Xie Zhan hurriedly let go, but when she handed him the handkerchief, he grasped it in his palm for some unknown reason.
The remaining warmth on the fabric mixed with her breath was like a small flame, burning his palms.
To ease the awkwardness, he looked around and saw that the room was quiet and unique, and it was obviously a woman's boudoir. He asked:
"Miss Manluo, where is this?"
"This is a house I own in Yandu City."
Xie Zhan nodded, and suddenly remembered the white shadow before he fainted, and the pair of familiar eyes, and couldn't help but blurt out:
"Besides you, is there another girl in white..."
Manluo pretended to be displeased, stood up and placed the empty medicine bowl on the table:
"There's no such thing as a girl in white. I think you've been poisoned and confused. Damn it!"
Xie Zhan's face froze slightly. He looked at Manluo's slightly annoyed face and chuckled softly, apologetically:
"Perhaps, I really am dazzled and mistaken! Miss, please forgive me."
Manluo smelled an unusual scent and immediately became interested:
"But, when you were unconscious, you kept calling for your mother..."
Xie Zhan was slightly stunned. The light in the woman's eyes was as clear as a stream, yet concealed a subtlety like a deep pool. He suddenly became tired of the twists and turns in the palace.
He raised his eyes and looked at her, his voice low but clear:
"Miss Manluo, thank you so much for saving my life. Since you are my benefactor, I cannot hide anything from you. I am Xie Zhan, the Second Prince of Nanzhao. I have come to Tianqi to discuss state affairs."
"ah!"
Manluo pretended to be shocked and took a half step back, causing the jade bottle on the antique shelf behind her to sway slightly:
"So it's His Highness Nan Zhao! I... I'm just a commoner, how dare I... overstep my bounds like this."
After saying this, he was about to bow, but was stopped by Xie Zhan:
"No need to be so polite. If you're so awkward, it's better to get along with each other more easily and comfortably as before."
Manluo smiled: "That's interesting!"
Xie Zhan's brows relaxed immediately:
"Very good! I didn't mean to hide it before. After all, I am in a foreign country... However, meeting a pure and elegant girl like you is a pleasant surprise."
"Second Prince, you were unconscious, yet you were still calling out for your mother. Queen Nan Zhao is truly blessed to have such a filial prince like you."
When Xie Zhan heard this, his fingertips suddenly clenched the carved edge of the bed, and a hint of pain appeared in his eyes.
The morning mist outside the window brushed across his sharp brows, deepening the sadness.
"Filial piety? I would like to fulfill my filial duty, but I don't have the opportunity."
Manluo was stunned:
"She...is gone?"
"It's more painful than not being here."
Xie Zhan's voice was like a bowstring soaked in morning mist:
"She has been in bed, unconscious for fifteen years. Do you think she is alive or dead?"
Manluo's heart trembled slightly, and she asked in a low voice:
"Why on earth is this happening?"
Xie Zhan's Adam's apple rolled, and his fingertips rolled heavily over his palm:
"Fifteen years ago, after my mother gave birth to my younger sister, she suffered some traumatic events, which led to a hemorrhage. The imperial physician diagnosed it as postpartum weakness combined with mental trauma, and so, she has been in a deep sleep ever since..."
"younger sister?"
Manluo caught the conversation: "I only heard that Nan Zhao had several princes, but I never knew there was also a princess."
Xie Zhan sighed deeply, looking at the gradually dispersing mist outside the window, his eyes blank.
"My younger sister... Sigh! When she was born, her body was purple and black, her features blurred. Rumors abounded throughout the court and the country that she was a demon. Coincidentally, my father was on a southern tour and hadn't returned yet. My grandmother decisively ordered the palace servants to throw my younger sister, who was less than a day old, into the Black Water Lake. My mother, the queen mother, had just given birth and was extremely weak. Upon learning of my younger sister's fate, her grief spurred a hemorrhage, leading to..."
Manluo's pupils shrank slightly: "The whole body is purple and black?"
Xie Zhan nodded.
Manluo blinked and suddenly sneered:
"The royal walls are too high. They not only trap people, but also contain too many secrets that cannot be seen."
Xie Zhan was slightly startled: "Miss Manluo, what do you mean by that?"
Manluo looked up, the morning light shattered into cold stars in her pupils:
"Didn't anyone investigate thoroughly back then? Your sister isn't some monster at all. Her entire body is purple and black, a clear sign of poisoning!"
A hint of appreciation flashed across Xie Zhan's eyes:
"You are truly clever, young lady! After returning from his southern tour, father had his suspicions and sent people to investigate. However, he lacked evidence, and since he still hadn't found his sister... he had no choice but to give up."
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