Chapter 134
After Yingning returned to the manor, she saw Bai Chuning, who was fast asleep, lying on the stone table.
Since he was poisoned, his physical condition has been worse than that of an ordinary young man.
When the Western Regions delegation entered the Min Dynasty, the matter of Bai Chuning's poisoning was not reported to the emperor. Instead, the original owner of the body asked the fourth prince, Yan Qizhen, to keep it a secret.
The original owner was worried that if news of Bai Chuning's poisoning leaked out, it would cause some unnecessary crises.
Yan Qizhen was extremely satisfied with this situation. He then used the matter of finding a doctor for Bai Chuning as a pretext to get closer to the two siblings from the Western Regions.
When Bai Chuning closed his eyes, he looked remarkably like the original owner of the body.
His black hair on one side of his forehead was braided into several thin braids, covered with a pale green exotic hair ornament with a golden bell. This pale green color was now obediently attached to Bai Chuning's long black hair.
“Ah Chu”.
"Don't sleep here," Yingning said softly.
She reached out and gently patted his back, trying to wake Bai Chuning.
The foreign youth at the stone table seemed to have only slowly awoke from his deep sleep upon hearing the familiar call.
"Royal sister...?"
"Ah Chu, why are you sleeping here?"
Bai Chuning rubbed his eyes, his light brown eyes still a little dazed. After seeing the person speaking, he spoke directly:
"A-Chu wants to wait for his elder sister to return."
"He's just a child." Yingning noticed that his face was a little pale and couldn't help but feel worried.
"It's late, let's hurry back to the courtyard."
"good."
Bai Chuning stood up. Now that he had waited for his elder sister to return, he no longer insisted.
Just as he was about to say goodbye to Yingning, he noticed the red marks on her neck.
Those are clearly marks from where someone was choked!
"Royal Sister!"
"These red marks are..." Bai Chuning asked nervously, his light brown eyes filled with panic.
Yingning subconsciously touched her neck, but then lied:
"Today, Her Majesty the Empress's birthday banquet is being held in a garden palace. Perhaps some unknown insect took a bite out of it."
"I felt a bit itchy along the way, probably because it was a little red."
As she said this, her gaze remained unwavering, as if she were truly talking about some kind of insect.
Bai Chuning didn't believe it.
Those were clearly marks where someone had restrained the neck, and the shape of the marks could be vaguely identified as a man's hand.
Who is it?!
How could they treat the imperial sister like this?
Bai Chuning's gaze was fixed on Yingning's neck; he knew why his elder sister had said that.
I just didn't want to worry.
From the day he was born, he caused the death of his mother, whom he had never met, and his father, the emperor, disliked him because of this.
In the palace, he was often referred to as an unlucky person by the palace servants.
His father didn't care about him, so the palace servants treated him harshly in every way.
It was her own elder sister who noticed the palace servants' strange behavior and immediately went to the Emperor's palace to request a princess's residence.
He brought her out of the palace and moved into the princess's residence with her.
Even so, his father seemed to have forgotten about him, never summoning him to the palace to pay his respects during court banquets and festivals.
Even as the other princes were gradually granted titles, he remained a prince until his father passed away and the next prince ascended the throne.
He still has not been given a title.
It's alright...
It was his elder sister who pulled him out of the abyss. As long as he could be with his elder sister, he didn't care about the attitude of his father and the palace servants.
However, after the new emperor was defeated in the Battle of Rongsu, he discussed a marriage alliance with the Min Dynasty and put forward his elder sister.
He was reluctant to part with it...
So he followed.
The Empress may not know that it was he who sought an audience with the new Emperor that day, explaining his wishes in detail, and that's how he obtained the status of a hostage.
If the Empress were to marry someone from the Min Dynasty, she would then be required to settle there for a hundred years.
He then served as a "hostage" to accompany his elder sister for a hundred years.
Looking at the red marks on Yingning's neck, Bai Chuning felt a surge of frustration.
He had thought that he and his elder sister could spend their lives quietly in the Min Dynasty.
My elder sister does not wish to marry a man of high status; she only desires to find a true love who can protect her in everything.
That's what he thought...
However, since arriving in the Min Dynasty, first there was the assassination attempt, and then the person who was poisoned.
First there was the hypocritical Fourth Prince, and now who knows who left this red mark?
The court is not at peace.
He even had a premonition that a storm was brewing.
Suddenly, Bai Chuning felt that perhaps he and his elder sister were getting further and further away from a peaceful and stable life.
........
"Royal sister..."
"If you get bitten by mosquitoes, you should also apply some medicine."
"Just in case some mosquitoes are too vicious." Bai Chuning knew that she didn't want him to worry, so she didn't expose Ying Ning's lie.
"Ah Chu, I know."
"I'll have the maid apply the medicine when I get back to the courtyard. You should go and rest."
“Okay,” Bai Chuning replied.
......
Until Bai Chuning's figure disappeared into the night.
0067 finally spoke: "Master, will Bai Chuning believe it?"
"I won't believe it."
"Then why did the master lie to him?"
"Bai Chuning is intelligent and perceptive, with a clear mind. Last time, she was able to directly point out Yan Qizhen's true colors."
"But he has been trapped in a trough because of what happened in his childhood."
“Such a perceptive person as him is blinded, which is why he dares not look ahead.” Ying Ning withdrew her gaze, somewhat hesitant.
Because the person who blinded Bai Chuning was the original owner of this body.
Bai Chu was willing to back down and make concessions for his elder sister, sacrificing his future for the sake of their peaceful life.
But being a member of the royal family...
If we retreat step by step... we will be forced to retreat step by step by others...
Until they reached a dead end.
"If Bai Chuning wants to step out of his comfort zone, he needs to know that the royal family members are inherently plundering and greedy."
"If he always retreats, he will not only have no peaceful days, but will be swallowed alive by others."
0067 was unusually quiet.
Knowing that its master was making plans for Bai Chuning's future, it switched its perspective and secretly glanced at Bai Chuning in another courtyard.
They discovered that he had not rested.
Instead, he stood alone in the courtyard, lost in thought.
The swaying shadows of the trees fell on him, but he didn't notice them.
......
The next day, Yan Qizhen's visiting card arrived.
Several hours later, a figure dressed in azure blue appeared outside the mansion.
As soon as Yingning stepped out of the mansion gate, she saw Yan Qizhen waiting for her.
His shoulders were embroidered with green bamboo patterns, and the edges of his sleeves were filled with a circle of emerald green bamboo. His well-defined eyebrows and eyes had a misty, rainy look, and his elegant demeanor was comparable to that of a person in a painting.
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