Chapter 19: The Prince Goes to Zeng, the Princess Disappears
Ji Suxian thought about it carefully, then walked forward to help her smooth out the hair that was stuck in the lining of her clothes.
"It's not heavy anymore. It's not heavy anymore after you came."
"...After I came?" The subtle expression on Shang Yuwan's face solidified bit by bit.
Ji Suxian hurriedly tried to make amends.
"Perhaps because of your appearance, Twelve sees you as the Shang family's hope for revenge. Don't worry, although she is a little stubborn and not as loyal to you as she is to Princess Qi, she is also on your side and will be of great help to your revenge plan in the future."
She secretly dispelled Shang Yuwan's concerns, and then she heard the man put on his clothes and asked again, "How was Twelve before I came?"
Seeing that she couldn't change the subject, Ji Suxian asked her, "Why are you still asking this?"
According to Ji Suxian's personality, she would have asked this question before she knew Shang Yuwan's true identity. After all, Shang Yuwan had not dared to say a single word in order to avoid revealing his true identity, for fear that people would find out that this shell had a new owner.
Shang Yuwan put on the wrist guard on her right hand and said lightly, as if trying to brush it off: "It's just a casual question."
"Is that so?" Ji Suxian had no intention of making things difficult for him, so he continued speaking along the way.
"When she first arrived, I had the most contact with her and Shang Mingqi. As you know, Shang Mingqi was seriously injured when he was brought here. If that arrow had gone even a little off, it could have killed him."
Shang Yuwan's breathing became slightly heavier, and his heart sank little by little.
"He also went through a period of deep depression. After all, the Shang family's execution was a huge blow to him. But it's strange that a child under eight years old could recover slowly on his own—or maybe not? But he's definitely not suffering from depression anymore."
Ji Suxian watched Shang Yuwan sitting in front of the dressing table combing her hair and noticed that she was pulling out her own white hair. "Stop pulling it out. I'll send you two bottles of black hair cream later. It can help your hair grow longer. Don't pull out your hair and turn yourself into a vulture."
Shang Yuwan stopped what she was doing when she heard that, picked up a green headband and tied up her hair, "Go on."
"As for Twelve, she didn't have any serious injuries, but her heartache is no less serious than the arrow wound on Shang Mingqi's body."
Ji Suxian's mouth was dry as she spoke, and she walked to the table to pour herself a cup of tea. "For the first month or so after she came, she had trouble even walking. Her whole body was stiff and shaking, and she couldn't move. It was like she had eaten several kilograms of green peppercorns. For a while, her whole head was numb, and she was sweating coldly."
"She gradually recovered on her own, but now it seems that her depression has turned into madness. She has a frantic energy when carrying out tasks, but she doesn't care about her life so much."
Shang Yuwan felt as if a knife had been stabbed into her heart, cold and painful. Twelve and Qi'er had such a hard time during her absence.
Ji Suxian saw Shang Yuwan sitting there without saying anything, so she walked over and patted her shoulder.
"You should protect yourself in the future."
Shang Yuwan was stunned for a moment, "What?"
Ji Suxian shuddered when she thought of Twelve's eyes that day.
"You slept for four days and just woke up today, so it's normal that you don't know. I killed more than half of those women in black that day, and some of them were killed so brutally that their eyeballs were mashed out."
Shang Yuwan's pupils shrank slightly.
"The blood she shed that day mixed with the blood of others, and it half-dried into a bloody shirt."
Ji Suxian's words echoed in Shang Yuwan's mind.
"She almost went crazy that day."
"If something really happened to you, I don't know what would become of her."
“…Thank you.”
Ji Suxian waved her hand, "Nothing, just a few words. Have you packed up? Let's go and have dinner."
It was almost noon when Shang Yuwan woke up. After tidying herself up, she had lunch with everyone.
During the meal, Shang Yuwan saw Ju Gongcheng looking wary of Lu Heying and asked casually, "What's wrong?"
Ji Suxian snorted twice, "He's old, his hands and feet are not as agile as before, and he broke our Acheng's fire barrel cannon."
The dark circles under Lu Heying's eyes had not faded yet, and she ate silently without saying a word.
Seeing Shang Yuwan was a little confused, Ju Gongcheng swallowed his food and said, "I only have six fire barrel cannons, which are enough to blow up a whole mountain!"
"Acheng, stop exaggerating."
Ji Suxian was the most meticulous in controlling the amount of food, and Ju Gongcheng curled his lips.
"It's a bit exaggerated... but it's still much more powerful than regular gunpowder."
Shang Yuwan didn't know much about things like mechanical devices and gunpowder, but he just nodded in agreement, "It's already very impressive."
Shang Mingqi looked at this and that, turned his head and met Shang Yuwan's eyes. He was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and silently took a bite of the braised pork.
Qi'er has lost some weight.
Shang Yuwan looked away, and her eyes fell on Twelve, who remained silent.
Twelve has also become a little thinner, with some signs of being skin and bones.
Shang Yuwan secretly wanted to ask the kitchen staff for some instructions. After she finished her meal, she went to discuss matters with Xiao Qingxu.
The prince is cunning, and the people behind him are even more cruel and vicious. She doesn't know how many unexpected events will happen behind the scenes during the few days she has been in a coma, so she must hurry.
“Knock knock.”
"Enter."
Shang Yuwan got the consent and pushed the door open, and a faint warm fragrance hit her face.
"I thought you were going to burn the silver charcoal for a few more days."
Shang Yuwan walked in and saw that only warm incense was burning in the house, and Xiao Qingxu was not wearing as thick clothes as he had been a few days ago.
Turning around, I saw a sand table. Judging from the topography, it seemed to be Zengguo.
"Silver charcoal is expensive. Burning less can save a lot of silver. Besides, I'm not dying, so I'm not that weak."
The voice behind the mask said with a faint smile, "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"
"Of course, Ji Suxian's medical skills are top-notch."
Shang Yuwan lifted her robe and sat down. Xiao Qingxu glanced at her and said, "It's rare for you to change into light blue clothes. I thought you only wore green."
"It's just the color of the clothes." Shang Yuwan had already opened the letter and read it.
"One good news, one bad news, which one do you want to hear?"
Shang Yuwan didn't even raise her head, "Anything is fine."
Xiao Qingxu was used to seeing her like this, and didn't feel she was being perfunctory. "Good news, the Crown Prince and the people behind him are in the same boat, but they are not of the same mind."
Shang Yuwan nodded. While she was having dinner, she heard Ji Suxian mention what happened that day and guessed it right away.
"The prince's orders are different from those given by that man. Otherwise, we would not be able to hold out until the twelve and their support arrive."
The prince's actions this time were more like a cat teasing a mouse, luring them along while provoking them. The person behind the scenes, however, was decisive in ordering his men to hunt them down.
Shang Yuwan's eyes darkened as he spoke, "They're from Langjiang, and they're all women. The leader's martial arts skills are on par with mine. Who in Dayu can do this?"
While Shang Yuwan's martial arts skills were slightly inferior to Twelve's, they were definitely not mediocre enough to be easily defeated. There were few women in Dayu who could rival her, and in Langjiang... that wasn't necessarily the case.
"There's more bad news." Xiao Qingxu pushed a letter to her, and Shang Yuwan reached out and took it in her hand.
She took another look at Xiao Qingxu's hand. It was thin and slender, but seemed to have no flesh and not much blood.
"How much did you eat today?"
Xiao Qingxu was stunned. "Eat? You ate two small bowls. What's wrong?"
"Eat as much as you can. How thin are you getting, Skeleton Soldier?"
When Xiao Qingxu came to his senses, he felt that the warm fragrance today had a sweeter taste.
"I will."
Shang Yuwan couldn't see his face, so naturally she didn't notice the tenderness in his eyes. She lowered her head to read the letter, "The Fifth Princess... is missing?"
Xiao Qingxu also drew his attention back: "Yes, she disappeared since the prince went to Zengguo, and Louke hasn't found any trace of her yet."
The prince went to Zeng State secretly, and when he arrived there, the fifth princess seemed to have disappeared.
Shang Yuwan thought for a while and asked, "How are Twelve and the others' injuries?"
"It seems you think the same as I do." Xiao Qingxu nodded. "Twelve's shoulder isn't healed enough for her to handle a knife, so she can't go. But the others can. Shall we set off immediately?"
Shang Yuwan added, "Have someone keep a close eye on Shang Mingqi. Zeng Country's flooding continues unabated. Who knows what the Crown Prince and the people behind it will do. He's still young, so he can't go."
Shang Yuwan stood up and walked to the sand table, followed by Xiao Qingxu.
The two men stood on the left and the right, their eyes fixed on the sand table.
Shang Yuwan pondered for a moment and said, "Call Ju Gongcheng. His fire barrel cannon might be useful."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
