Chapter 48 She smacked herself in his arms with a soft thud. ...
The newly acquired name "Liu Jixue" spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yunzhong County in the blink of an eye.
"I heard that the Crown Princess made her a female physician. Women can hold official positions now?"
"Why is Miss Yuan causing such a fuss with her family? It's unsightly!"
"She's Miss Liu now! You have no idea what her stepmother did, do you? Tsk tsk, I never would have guessed she could be so cruel!"
Madam Yuan and her maid were taken away by the soldiers brought by the prefect. The fact that Madam Yuan had drugged her stepdaughter and forced her to marry could not be kept secret and was quietly spread by word of mouth.
Now no one discussed Liu Jixue's severing of ties and changing her surname anymore. Even those moral guardians who muttered to themselves, "Children should not speak ill of their parents, and even if something outrageous happens, ties should not be severed," dared not say it out loud in front of everyone, for fear of being swarmed and beaten.
However, some people still looked down on women holding official positions and made sarcastic remarks, saying, "What kind of official is a medical officer? He's just a doctor who treats people."
"She's not just any doctor, yet she was appointed as a physician by the Crown Princess herself! I heard that the Crown Princess ordered her to treat the refugees outside the city."
The villagers of Heishigou and the abducted children were temporarily placed outside the city. They would only be allowed to enter the city after Liu Jixue had inspected them one by one and confirmed that there was no risk of them contracting the epidemic. In this way, the people on both sides could feel at ease.
However, they all lived in tents in the military camp, which were fully equipped with bedding and were not shabby at all.
After enduring many days of wind and rain, the group finally had a flat place to sleep and a hot bowl of porridge, and they were all very satisfied.
Meanwhile, Feng Mian, unaware of the rumors circulating outside, was hurriedly being pushed back to Cang Gong Temple.
Logically, having just helped Liu Jixue completely break free from the Yuan family, she should have celebrated with her properly. However, she was still preoccupied with other matters and couldn't settle down until they were finished. So, she instructed someone to send over two jars of fine wine, promising to make up for today's celebration in a couple of days.
Upon entering the room, they found someone sitting at the table.
He bent one knee, leaned lazily against the armchair, and carefully examined a booklet in his hand.
"Your Highness?" Feng Mian was pushed to the side of the desk by the servant and found that he was looking at the household registration documents that he had not finished reading before.
Baili Xunzhou slightly lifted his eyelids, which was considered a greeting to her, before burying himself in his documents again and casually picking up a notebook to jot something down.
Feng Mian peeked out and saw that he was picking out suspicious information from the documents and writing it down, just like he had been doing in the format he had used before.
She rushed back precisely because of this matter.
The traffickers were all caught, and all the children who had not yet been sold were rescued. However, the information of the children who had been resold by them had been destroyed, and it was impossible for them to remember it.
I still need to check the documents again.
Baili Xunzhou pushed several pages of documents to Feng Mian and said, "The traitor within the government has been caught; he is the clerk of the yamen. They have been doing this kind of thing for five years, and we only need to check the documents from the last five years."
"They have confessed about the towns that have changed hands over the years. I have sent people to investigate separately, and I will find them one by one."
In just a few words, Feng Mian explained everything that was on his mind.
Feng Mian glanced at the documents again. Baili Xunzhou had already checked the rest of the documents, so she didn't need to put in any more effort.
She knew in her heart that he must have been worried that she was too exhausted to continue checking the documents, so he did everything he could for her in advance, yet he acted so calmly and didn't ask for any credit.
She wanted to thank him, but felt that doing so would hurt his feelings. After all, this wasn't just her responsibility; he also bore some responsibility for his actions.
"You haven't had dinner yet, have you? I'll have someone get you some food."
Then let's just treat them to some good food and drinks. They'll have more energy to work when they're full.
Liu Ying, who was ordered to go out and announce the dinner, was very puzzled. "Now that the people have been caught, all the prefect needs to do is issue a notice, and the abducted people will naturally come looking for them. Why go through all this trouble?"
"What if the family won't release them? What if they've already died in an accident?" Wu Liu always thought things through more thoroughly than Liu Ying, explaining, "What if someone lies and tries to frame us?"
"People in this world have all sorts of thoughts, so naturally we need to think things through more thoroughly."
Liu Ying suddenly realized that there was actually such a complicated and convoluted process behind what she thought was a very simple matter.
Sigh, if only things could be simpler for everyone.
With a gentle flick of a silver needle, the candle flame flickered and shone brightly again, illuminating the dazzling array of delicacies on the small table.
Feng Mian put down her silver needle, rested her chin on her hand, and watched Baili Xunzhou eat. She noticed that when he picked up his chopsticks, he always avoided the coriander first, then bypassed the ginger, and specifically picked the tenderest part of the fish belly.
Hmm, he's actually quite picky about food.
Next time, I'll have to tell the kitchen staff not to put these things in his pantry.
Feng Mian herself wasn't a picky eater; she'd enjoyed eating almost anything since she was little, only occasionally her body wouldn't allow her to eat everything. Before preparing the meal, she forgot to ask Baili Xunzhou if he had any dietary restrictions.
But did the cooks in the Prince's mansion not know that he was a picky eater?
"Aren't you going to eat?" He suddenly looked up, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air.
Fengmian snapped out of her daze, ignoring the faint hunger pangs in her stomach, and firmly shook her head, "I'm not hungry."
The idea of instant soup noodles gave her inspiration. She decided to starve herself for a few meals to experience the hunger of refugees and see if she could see some fresh food in her dreams.
Therefore, she must resolutely resist the temptation and absolutely cannot eat it.
Feng Mian picked up the teacup and sipped the tea.
If you're hungry, just drink some tea; drink water to fill your stomach and fool yourself.
Bai Lixun never imagined that there were people in this world who would deliberately starve themselves. He didn't suspect anything and continued eating.
Feng Mian watched with longing as he ate heartily and drank two large pots of tea.
After blowing out the lamp at night, the two lay down on either side of each other, as if separated by a Milky Way.
After a long silence, Feng Mian blinked and stared at the bed curtains above her head. "How about I go with you to the government office tomorrow to check the household registration?"
Baili Xunzhou: "Mm."
Silence fell between them for a moment, with only the sound of their soft breathing.
After a long pause, Feng Mian suddenly called his name softly, "Baili Xunzhou?"
"What's wrong?"
Feng Mian clutched the corner of the blanket and asked cautiously, "I didn't even ask for your opinion before letting Ji Xue stay at the Prince's Mansion. Are you unhappy about that?"
She'd really lost her mind; she'd completely forgotten that the victim was right there. He'd previously said he didn't want to see Liu Jixue again. Now, all told, they'd already met at least twice more!
Baili Xunzhou said in a calm tone, "You are also the master of the Prince's mansion. It is your freedom to let whomever you choose to stay."
"What will you do if I say I'm unhappy?"
Can we still go and kick them out now?
Feng Mian sat up. "Then I'll go with her to find another place to stay."
Baili Xunzhou quickly sat up and pretended to stop him, saying, "Alright, I was just talking nonsense. Lie down."
He never imagined that she actually wanted to go.
"Oh." Feng Mian lay down smoothly, secretly amused. She knew that if she said she was going to take people away right now, he would definitely stop her.
Baili Xunzhou paused for a moment. Her smooth and effortless movements made it seem as if she had no intention of actually getting out of bed.
He lay down as well, saying nonchalantly, "Besides, she has already abandoned her former identity. Let bygones be bygones."
To be so petty as to argue with a desperate young woman shows a lack of magnanimity.
"That's good. I'll tell her tomorrow, and she'll surely be happy..."
As Feng Mian relaxed, his voice grew softer and softer until it faded away.
She hadn't had much rest these past few days, and today she had starved herself all day, so she was completely exhausted and fell asleep while talking.
Baili Xunzhou heard the breathing beside him gradually become steady and even. He turned his head and saw that Feng Mian had fallen asleep peacefully.
Her curled eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes, her nose was high and straight like jade, and her sleeping profile was serene and beautiful.
Bai Lixun chuckled to himself; he had fallen asleep so quickly today.
The first few times they slept in the same bed, they both pretended to sleep with their eyes closed at first, and after a long struggle, he finally heard her breathing as she fell asleep.
I imagine they must be exhausted these past few days.
Upon careful consideration, Baili Xunzhou realized that since arriving in the Northern Frontier, she hadn't had a single day of peace. She would be sick for a few days, busy for a few days, busy for a few days, and then sick for a few days again.
I wonder if she was like this in the palace?
He had assumed that Princess Qingping, with Emperor Jiayu's protection in the palace, must be pampered and carefree. But today, he heard from his mother that Princess Zhaoning had pushed her into the water in the palace.
The Prince's residence was far from Shengjing and knew little about what was happening in the palace. However, they knew that this Princess Zhaoning was the daughter of the Emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Rou. It was likely that she was favored by the Emperor, just as much as Fengmian. Otherwise, the boatman wouldn't have dared to call a royal physician when Fengmian fell into the water.
If she dared to do this openly, how could she possibly get along well with Feng Mian in normal times?
Moreover, her mother said that the Empress Dowager disliked her granddaughter Fengmian. When Fengmian was five or six years old, the Empress Dowager suspected that she was possessed by evil spirits. Without the Emperor's knowledge, she threw her into a Taoist temple and did not give her water or food for seven days, only water with talisman ash.
Later, the emperor lost his temper.
My mother overheard this story many years ago when she attended a banquet at the Prince of Qin's residence, during a casual conversation among the ladies of the court. Afterward, she had forgotten about this gossip she had overheard, but upon hearing about Feng Mian's drowning today, she thought about it carefully and remembered it.
Neither of the two women in charge of the harem liked Feng Mian. Even with the Emperor's protection, she still had to suffer to some extent. She was nothing like the pampered girl they imagined.
Baili Xunzhou thought even further ahead. He calculated the timeline and realized that during the days when Feng Mian fell into the water, had a high fever, and was unconscious, the Emperor bestowed upon them a marriage certificate.
Feng Mian also said that the Emperor arranged her marriage to the Northern Frontier because of the theory of destiny, in order to break Feng Mian's bad luck.
It's clear that someone was behind all of this.
Baili Xunzhou sighed silently, thinking of how she felt when she first came to the Northern Frontier and how she was rejected by the people.
If he insists on a divorce, and Feng Mian returns to the palace, will he be made difficult by the Empress Dowager and Consort Rou? Will he be bullied by Princess Zhaoning again?
Perhaps he could find some other reason to keep her in the Northern Frontier? Although the climate in the Northern Frontier is not as warm and pleasant as that in Shengjing, at least with him there, he would definitely not let others bully her.
Lost in his thoughts, Baili Xunzhou drifted off to sleep, only to suddenly hear a rustling sound beside him in the middle of the night.
You really shouldn't drink too much tea before bed.
Feng Mian sat up groggily, drooped her head for a while, and then reluctantly knelt up, slowly running out of bed.
Worried about waking Feng Mian, she wanted to get out of bed by going around to the foot of the bed, but Baili Xunzhou's bed was so long that it was actually quite difficult to get around him.
Never mind, she thought, she should be careful and slowly step over him.
This is a real challenge for the sleep-sealing technique.
Her limbs were limp from sleeping, and she couldn't exert much force with her feet. With great effort, she managed to kneel down on Baili Xunzhou's hand.
Baili Xunzhou had been holding his breath and not moving, wanting to see what she was going to do, but he was suddenly struck and couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
Startled, the person on top of him hurriedly moved their knees away, but lost their balance and fell into his arms with a thud.
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