Wei Jingzhuo seemed to have seen through her thoughts.
He said calmly, "I had long anticipated that I would be demoted; this was merely going with the flow."
The Emperor could no longer tolerate him. Rather than being confined to the small world of the capital, it would be better to leave the sight of those people and make his plans slowly.
Besides, the poison in his body couldn't wait that long, so he couldn't openly search for it and had to resort to a counter-strategy.
However, to his surprise, some unexpected events led him to meet Su Wan.
What surprised him even more was that Su Wan's medical skills were so high that he once thought she came from the Hua family, a family of divine doctors in Southern Chu.
Later, he asked Lin Qingfeng to investigate privately, but they found nothing.
However, the origins of Su Wan's birth mother are somewhat suspicious.
The reason for letting Lin Qingfeng leave this time was twofold: first, to protect Su Yuze, and second, to investigate where Su Wan's mother came from.
Thinking of Su Wan's mother, he also thought of Chu Yi, the prince of Southern Chu who had appeared in Linyuan Village before.
The royal family of Southern Chu has a long tradition of intermarrying with families of renowned physicians, but for some reason, the two families did not intermarry in the previous generation.
Later, some people said that the eldest daughter of a family of divine doctors died tragically after falling into the bottom of a mountain while out collecting herbs, while others said it was to avoid a marriage alliance with the royal family of Southern Chu.
In short, eighteen years ago, the Hua family's eldest daughter did not marry into the Southern Chu royal family because of an accident.
But what is Chu Yi doing here now?
He turned his gaze to Su Wan, who was sitting at the table tying her hair up.
The sunlight enveloped her slender figure, making Su Wan appear as if she were draped in a pale golden veil. Her fair skin glowed with a luminous sheen, and her delicate, lively features made her look like an elf who had stepped out of a painting.
He stared at her intently, his gaze gradually deepening.
A gentle breeze rustled the curtains on the windowsill, and the fragrance of hibiscus blossoms from the courtyard wafted in, filling the room with a sweet aroma that added a touch of warmth to the simple house.
Su Wan spent a long time combing her hair but still couldn't figure out how ancient people tied their hair, so she had to give up and simply tied it into a ponytail.
Seeing that her hair was tied up in a messy bun, Wei Jingzhuo slowly walked over, picked up a comb from the table, and let her tangled hair down again. He said in a light voice, "I'll help you."
Su Wan was taken aback, not expecting it to be Wei Jingzhuo. She turned her head and glanced at him sideways, asking in surprise, "You know how to style a woman's hair?"
As soon as she said it, she felt it was inappropriate. Who was Wei Jingzhuo?
That was the former crown prince. Among ordinary noble families, children as young as thirteen or fourteen would already have concubines arranged for them by their elders, let alone someone of Wei Jingzhuo's high status.
So it wasn't wrong for him to tie a woman's hair up, but she wasn't one of his women, and a sense of resistance welled up inside her.
She turned away, refusing his approach. "No need. I think it's fine as it is. When we're out and about, I'd rather dress as a man."
Wei Jingzhuo could hardly miss the sudden change in her attitude. He glanced at Su Wan thoughtfully and saw that she looked distant and resistant.
The two remained locked in a stalemate.
Thinking of what she had just said, Wei Jingzhuo was taken aback. It took him a while to come back to his senses. His deep eyes held a smile, and he chuckled softly, "I don't know how to make women's hairpins, but I am familiar with men's hairstyles."
Su Wan glanced at him, not believing him at all, "Then you've never styled the hair of your concubines before?"
He has gradually gotten used to the words she sometimes uses that he has never heard before, and he can even quickly understand what she means.
The "little wife" she was referring to was probably a concubine.
His gaze remained fixed on Su Wan, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Ah Wan, are you very concerned that I have a concubine?"
"No way," Su Wan retorted, a hint of unease flashing across her face. "What does your concubine have to do with me? I don't care."
As Wei Jingzhuo saw that her tone became increasingly cold, his mood became even more agitated.
He raised his hand and continued combing her hair, ignoring her struggles, saying, "I don't have any concubines."
"Ah, why are you telling me this? I didn't ask," Su Wan turned her head away from him, her eyes darting around. "Besides, if you don't have concubines, you must have a few maids, right?"
This man is twenty-three years old, which would be considered quite old for a young man in ancient times. At Wei Jingzhuo's age, he should already have children running around everywhere.
Even if the emperor didn't have concubines, he would still arrange for palace maids who were knowledgeable about human affairs.
“No,” he said, a slight smile curving his thin lips. “Ah Wan can ask me anything else she wants to know, and I will answer all her questions.”
She was still somewhat surprised to hear him say that he didn't even have a concubine.
For some reason, she suddenly felt much better.
Wei Jingzhuo noticed that the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and she seemed to be in a good mood.
When he was fifteen, the emperor also bestowed some women upon him, but he disposed of them all for various reasons.
He preferred peace and quiet, and if those women were honest and well-behaved, he wouldn't mind sparing their lives.
It's just a few more pairs of chopsticks.
But those people kept crowding around him, forcing him to deal with them.
The emperor originally did not intend for him to marry into a prominent family, and the harem was controlled by Consort Li, who was even more pleased that he would not get married.
So the wedding has been delayed until now.
Furthermore, he was already resistant to the idea of getting married.
For some reason, although Su Wan couldn't see Wei Jingzhuo's expression behind her, she always felt that a gaze was always staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
“I have nothing to ask,” she coughed lightly and urged, “Hurry up and tie my hair so we can get going as soon as possible.”
Wei Jingzhuo quietly tied her hair up, his slender fingers running through her jet-black hair, making his fair skin appear exceptionally white.
A gentle breeze was blowing, and a few strands of her dark hair that had fallen on her shoulders were lifted by the wind and landed on his hand, emitting a faint fragrance.
The hand that was combing Su Wan's hair paused for a moment, then gently gathered the few mischievous strands of hair.
Su Wan watched quietly as he tied her hair up, making a mental note of it so that she could do it herself in the future.
Finally, Wei Jingzhuo took a wooden hairpin from his own hair and put it in her hair.
Su Wan glanced at herself in the mirror with satisfaction, surprised that this person's skills were actually quite good.
What she didn't know was that Wei Jingzhuo had done all of this himself in the past.
After changing into a coarse linen dress, she also groomed her face to make herself look more like a young boy.
The two of them didn't have much to bring; she had left all the important things in the apartment, except for the potatoes she grew in the yard.
After instructing Lu Zhao to take care of things, the two then set off for the General's Mansion.
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