"Ring?"
Su Man was surprised, "What's so special about Qi Xing's ring?"
Qiu Niang looked impatient. "Why so many questions? Just remember, find a chance to steal his ring and give it to him."
She threw a black jade ring on the quilt. Su Man picked it up and looked at it. It was exactly the same as the one she saw on Qi Xing's hand today.
Holding the slightly cool ring, Su Man had a vague guess in her mind.
Qiu Niang hated Qi Xing so much, but she did not go directly to Qi Xing. Instead, she used the Fifth Prince to fight him.
Perhaps this ring is a kind of amulet, which is why she can't get close to it...
-
A sleepless night.
Before dawn, a palace maid came in with a copper basin and directly lifted the bed curtain without caring whether Su Man had gotten up or not.
"Miss Liu, your servants will help you get up."
Su Man squinted her eyes as several palace maids took turns to tossing her around. After she had washed and dressed up, the palace maids drove her to the queen's bedroom.
The queen was already sitting at the coffee table drinking tea, the sunlight shining on her pale face, her skin was covered with thick watercolors that fell down when she smiled.
"Did Miss Liu sleep well last night?"
"Thank you, Queen, the palace maids have served you very attentively."
The two chatted for a few more words, but the queen kept looking outside while she was talking to her, looking absent-minded.
This made Su Man think of what Qiu Niang said yesterday, that the Queen was just a puppet in Qi Xing's hands...
Outside the palace gate, a eunuch with triangular eyes hunched over and hurried in. "Empress, Miss Liu, it's time for breakfast. The Third Prince is waiting."
"Okay, let's go now."
The queen stood up and walked in front, holding the hand of the palace maid.
...
At the dinner table, Qi Xing was wearing a black and gold python robe, which added a bit of solemnity.
Seeing the queen, he stood up and saluted, "Your son greets your mother."
"Your Highness, please stand up." The Queen smiled.
After sitting down again, Qi Xing personally served Su Man a bowl of soy milk, "The soy milk here, Queen Mother, is the best. You should try it too."
Su Man took it with both hands, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Her eyes vaguely slid across Qi Xing's fingers. The ring fit perfectly on his hand, and there was nothing special about it from the outside.
Qi Xing was keenly aware of Su Man's gaze. He subconsciously lowered his arm and covered the ring with his wide sleeve. "What's wrong?"
Su Man raised her head in confusion. "Ah? What happened?"
“…”
Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, Qi Xing thought he was just being overly suspicious and picked up his chopsticks and said, "Nothing, let's eat."
After breakfast, Qi Xing took a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth and glanced at the eunuch with triangular eyes from the side.
The eunuch immediately stepped forward and said to the queen, "Your Majesty, it's time for you to take your medicine."
When the Queen heard the words "drink medicine", her smile froze for a moment. With the help of the eunuch, she stood up from her chair and said, "Xing'er, accompany Miss Liu for a walk in the Imperial Garden. I'm going to rest first."
Qi Qi stood up and said with concern, "My Queen Mother, please take care of yourself. Eunuch Hong, please take good care of her and send her back."
"yes."
The eunuch called Eunuch Hong helped the queen away.
-
Qi Xing took Su Man to the Imperial Garden as the Queen had instructed.
In fact, there are no flowers to appreciate in the Imperial Garden in winter, and it is all white.
The two people stepped on the snow, and their footprints compacted the loose snow, making a "crunching" sound.
"How is the emperor?"
It was Su Man who broke the silence. Qi Xing, who was walking half a step ahead of her, slowed down his pace and walked side by side with her. "Father has woken up."
Su Man pretended to be surprised, "The emperor is awake? Then why isn't Your Highness staying by his side?"
"Father only passed on the teachings to my fifth brother."
Qi Xing's tone was calm, but anyone could hear the unspoken resentment in his voice.
Su Man said tactfully, "I'm afraid that after the Emperor has finished speaking to the Fifth Prince, he will summon Your Highness right away."
Qi Xing smiled casually, "You don't need to comfort me. I knew from the beginning that Father loves my fifth brother more than me. As long as Father is happy, it doesn't matter whether he sees me or not."
Although he claimed to be extremely filial and righteous, Su Man did not believe that he would just watch the fifth prince seize the throne.
On the contrary, he must have made a careful plan. Perhaps the Fifth Prince, Qiu Niang, and even herself were all his pawns...
...
"Meet the Third Prince."
A familiar voice attracted Su Man's attention. The person kneeling before them was Xu Yuan, whom she had not seen for a long time.
He was wearing the imperial physician's court robes and a hat on his head, and he did not look out of place in this deep palace.
Looking at his completely transformed appearance today, he can no longer be compared to the apprentice who made medicine in the past.
Qi Xing smiled, "Doctor Xu, Miss Liu is your former master, you should also pay your respects to her."
Xu Yuan slowly raised his head, a pair of eyes with complex emotions revealed under the brim of his hat, "Miss, I wish you all the best."
Feeling Qi Xing's vague gaze beside her, Su Man sneered, "Don't, Doctor Xu is no longer the same as before. I can't afford your greetings."
Seeing her like this, Qi Xing's smile grew wider. "Doctor Xu is young, and it's good for him to have ambitions. Man'er should also be understanding."
Su Man nodded reluctantly, "Your Highness is right."
Seeing how much Su Man disliked him, Xu Yuan's face, which had lost weight, became even gloomier. "Then I will go and make medicine for the emperor."
"Go ahead."
Before Xu Yuan left, he glanced in Su Man's direction again, but Su Man didn't even look at him, and even turned her back to him, as if she didn't want to look at him any more.
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