Chapter 24: The Twenty-Fourth Kill

Doctor Chu was Zhou Xunran's usual doctor, so he was naturally familiar with his physical condition. After reconnecting Zhou Xunran's arm and carefully examining his physical condition, he wrote a prescription.

Zhou Yi left the room with him.

Xiaoyu and Zhou Xunran were the only ones left in the room.

Xiaoyu sat on the edge of the bed, lowered her head and remained silent.

She didn't say anything, and Zhou Xunran didn't speak either.

When it comes to keeping silent, Xiaoyu can never be better than him. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Zhou Xunran immediately responded: "Where are you going?"

[Of course, it’s to solve the problem. ]

But he couldn't say this out loud. Xiaoyu said, "Go and guard the grave. I found you. Even if you refuse to admit it, I will go back and tell Master the news."

Zhou Xunran was stunned for a moment. This was the first time the two of them talked about the passing of Master Wu Le. Zhou Xunran asked, "How did Master..."

"I was drinking and slipped and fell off the cliff." Years have passed, and when Xiaoyu talks about the death of his master, his mood has become much calmer.

Thinking of how Master Wu Le cared about him every time they met, Zhou Xunran lost his dignity as the Regent King and became the youthful person he only showed in front of Master Wu Le: "Where is his tomb? I want to go and pay my respects."

Xiaoyu said, "Master was a follower of the wind by nature, and he told me long ago that after he passed away, his ashes should be scattered to the wind. Now there is only a cenotaph for him, at the top of Baoquan Mountain in Yundang Mountain."

"Okay." Zhou Xunran said softly, "Then how long do you expect to guard the tomb?"

Xiaoyu said as a matter of course: "Of course it will take ten or eight years, otherwise how can it be called guarding the tomb."

Zhou Xunran looked at her silently.

What could he say? It was he who ordered her to leave using his identity as the leader of the Jieyou Sect. It was also he who assaulted her and forced her to leave under the pretext that she had a fight with Nanny Zhao.

How could he open his mouth now and say that the palace is your home and you can come back anytime.

Besides, the Worry-Free Door is much safer than being by his side.

Zhou Xunran was lying on the bed, looking sideways, and could only see half of her face. She lowered her head and clasped her hands, and it was unknown what she was thinking. The flesh on her cheeks was slightly bulging, and even her lips were pouting inexplicably, as if she was dissatisfied with something.

Unable to see her eyes, Zhou Xunran couldn't hear what she was thinking.

The sound of Madam Zhao's footsteps could be heard outside. Before she entered, Zhou Xunran said to Xiaoyu, "Go back to Fenghe Courtyard to rest. I'll have Zhou Yi take you back tomorrow morning."

Xiao Yu stood up and looked at Zhou Xunran, angrily saying: "You are such a fickle person, one moment you use a trick to make me come back, and the next moment you say you want to send me away."

[I was thinking that if you bowed your head, I would forgive you and not go back to Jieyoumen. I would continue to stay in the palace to cook for you and take good care of you. Fortunately, I didn't say it out loud just now, otherwise I would have lost face.]

Zhou Xunran explained: "I'm doing this for your own good."

"I don't want your 'for my own good'." Xiaoyu said, turned around and left without looking back.

Nanny Zhao, holding a bowl of soup, passed by Xiaoyu who was walking out angrily.

She put down the bowl and said to Zhou Xunran, "Your Highness, you are too indulgent towards her. She is just a little girl, yet she dares to ignore you."

"She is still young..."

Madam Zhao interrupted him: "Young? When I was her age, Mingwei would have run all over the place."

Ming Wei is Ming Lu's elder brother. He now leads an army and is stationed at the border.

Zhou Xunran glanced at Madam Zhao nonchalantly: "Madam, I told you before that I didn't punish her because I thought she was wrong, but for other reasons. This will never change. I also hope that you won't target her anymore. I've said this for the second time. You know, I hate people who don't listen the most."

Nanny Zhao's heart sank, and she looked embarrassed, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I understand."

"Well, it's late. Madam, please go back first and let Zhou Yi come over."

Nanny Zhao pushed the bowl of soup towards him and couldn't help but remind him, "I made this myself. It's your favorite clear soup noodles. Remember to eat some before taking the medicine, or your body won't be able to bear it."

Zhou Xunran nodded, but did not move.

Nanny Zhao hesitated for a while, and when she saw that he didn't say anything else, she stood up and called Zhou Yi in.

When Zhou Yi came in, he was also confused, especially when he heard Zhou Xunran ask him to send Xiaoyu back to Baoquan Mountain after dawn.

"Your Majesty, I don't quite understand what you mean."

All this trouble, except that his health got worse, did not change the result of Xiaoyu leaving.

Zhou Xunran was feeling annoyed, and when he heard this, he rebuked, "Since when did I need you to understand my actions?"

Zhou Yi lowered his head and said, "I know I was wrong."

Zhou Xunran said, "You can leave directly from Fengheyuan tomorrow morning. You don't need to come and say goodbye to me."

As a result, Xiao Yu never even thought about saying goodbye to him.

When seeing Xiaoyu off, Zhou Yi recalled the expression Zhou Xunran had when he said this last night. It was exactly the same expression the girl he liked had when she was angry. He guessed that the prince wanted to say goodbye to Xiaoyu.

As the two of them were leaving Fenghe Courtyard, Zhou Yi pretended to remind her casually: "Miss Xiaoyu, how about we go to Qingwu Courtyard?"

Xiaoyu didn't even look at him: "No."

"It would be inappropriate not to go. After all, this is the prince's place."

"What's inappropriate about that?" Xiaoyu raised her voice and shouted towards Qingwuyuan, "He was the one who took the initiative to drive me away. I shouldn't have come back last night!"

Zhou Yi explained: "Maybe the prince has other plans."

"What arrangements can be made?"

Zhou Yi was rarely stuck. He thought for a moment and tried to say, "Are you afraid that you will disturb the love between the couple?"

Xiaoyu looked at him speechlessly: "Brother Jing is injured and you still won't let him go. Do you have any sympathy?"

Zhou Yi: “….”

He doesn't need to worry about this matter.

Zhou Yi regained his expressionless face and said, "Let's take this route out of the house. Let's set off quickly while it's still early."

The two of them walked past the gate of Qingwu Courtyard and walked forward. They heard the gate behind them being opened and heard Lin Kun's panicked figure: "Oh no! The prince is vomiting blood again! Someone come quickly!"

Xiaoyu was sure that in the time she had known Lin Kun for more than a month, she had never heard his voice so full of emotion.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi immediately turned around and asked him, "Lin Kun, what happened to the prince?"

Lin Kun said anxiously, "The prince was fine just now, but suddenly he vomited blood again. Zhou Yi, please call Doctor Chu over."

Zhou Yi looked at Lin Kun awkwardly, then looked at Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu said, "You go ahead. I can go back by myself."

Zhou Yi and Lin Kun looked at each other and thought at the same time, why is she still thinking about leaving at this time?

Zhou Yi received Lin Kun's signal and said to Xiaoyu firmly, "No, the prince asked me to send you back, so I have to send you back. Otherwise, the prince will definitely punish me when he wakes up."

Xiaoyu was still angry, "Aren't you making it difficult for me? How about I go to Sister Qiutang's house and wait for you?"

Zhou Yi said, "Qiu Tang is busy taking care of Wu Jing, so don't bother them. Come in and wait. I'll ask Doctor Chu to come and check on the prince."

Only then did Xiaoyu reluctantly enter the gate of Qingwu Courtyard.

She originally thought that Zhou Xunran was pretending to vomit blood, but after entering the room and seeing the blood on his chin and neck, she realized that he was really vomiting blood.

She was anxious and asked directly: "Lin Kun, why is the prince vomiting blood again?"

Lin Kun told the truth without hesitation, "When the prince heard your voice just now, he might have been too excited."

It's a miracle that Xiaoyu could believe this nonsense.

Xiaoyu wet the handkerchief and tried to wipe the blood off Zhou Xunran's chin.

Who would have thought that as soon as the wet handkerchief touched his skin, Zhou Xunran opened his lips slightly and another large mouthful of blood spurted out from the corner of his mouth.

Xiaoyu quickly tilted his head to the side and used a handkerchief to catch his blood.

How can I catch all of them?

The warm blood, like a red-hot iron, passed through the handkerchief and burned Xiaoyu's hand so hard that it trembled.

After staining the wet handkerchief red, Zhou Xunran finally stopped spitting blood and started breathing lightly.

He narrowed his eyes, and when he saw that the person in front of him was her, he pulled the corner of his mouth: "Xiao Yu."

Xiaoyu's voice trembled with worry: "Prince, I'm here, please don't say anything and have a good rest. Doctor Chu will be here soon."

Zhou Xunran blinked his eyes weakly, closed them for a moment to gather some strength, and then opened them with difficulty: "Are you still mad at me?"

Xiaoyu didn't know why he said that. Thinking about what happened in the past two days, she said something that both of them knew, "Of course, you hit me seven times with a ruler, so of course I'm angry with you."

Zhou Xunran paused for a moment, corrected her, and said seriously: "I'm counting, not seven, but eleven."

"Eleven is eleven. When you get better, I will fight back too!"

Zhou Xunran paused for a moment after each sentence he spoke, "Okay. I'll let you hit me."

Xiaoyu continued to state the conditions: "Don't let Guard Zhou, Guard Lin, and Madam Zhao watch from the side. They will definitely stop me."

"Well, since there are only two of us here, I'll let you hit eleven, no, twenty-one."

Only then did Xiaoyu smile with satisfaction.

Zhou Xunran lay down obediently and let her wipe the blood off his face. "Anything else?"

"What?"

Zhou Xunran said: "Zhu Debiao told me that you were very sad when you knew about Mrs. Cheng's death."

Xiaoyu paused for a moment and nodded.

Zhou Xunran told the truth: "Mrs. Cheng wanted to kill me, so I broke her legs. It was not too much. And before she died, I asked Zhou Yi to kill her enemy, so she got her revenge. She committed suicide, and died very quickly, without any pain."

Xiaoyu looked at him in surprise: "You avenged her?"

Zhou Yi, who was washing handkerchiefs at the side, finally interrupted: "Yes, I killed that enemy. I chopped off his head with my knife and brought it to Madam Cheng. Only then did she rest in peace."

Sensing Zhou Xunran's threatening gaze, Zhou Yi's voice became quieter and quieter, until he barely managed to utter a few words, then walked out with the basin in his hand, "The water is dirty, I'll go change it."

Xiaoyu watched Zhou Yi walk out of the room, and the stone in her heart suddenly relaxed a lot. Seeing Sixteenth Sister like this, she finally got her revenge and was relieved.

Now, there's only one last thing left.

"My Lord, I want to ask you something."

"You say."

"The street where Sister Qiutang lives is going to be demolished because of the expansion of the imperial city. Did you send those people to drive the residents away?"

Zhou Xunran didn't know why she asked this question, so he answered truthfully: "The expansion of the Imperial City is the business of the Imperial City Department. What does it have to do with me?"

Xiaoyu said hesitantly, "I saw Guard Lin appear nearby."

"He has appeared in many places. Could it be that they are all related to me?"

Xiaoyu thought this made sense, maybe she was really overthinking it.

Zhou Xunran looked at her, coughed twice, and changed the subject to himself: "I can feel it this time."

Xiaoyu was thinking about something, and asked casually, "What?"

"My body is so bad that I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of bed for two days."

It means being weak and in need of care.

Xiaoyu said, "Why are you worried? Guard Zhou, Guard Lin, Madam Zhao, Minglu, aren't they all the people who are taking care of you?"

Zhou Xunran immediately asked her: "What about you?"

"I have to go back and guard the grave."

Zhou Xunran really couldn't reject this reason.

Seeing him embarrassed, Xiaoyu tried not to laugh, but after she finished laughing, a look of worry appeared between her brows again.

The sect leader only gave her three days, and today was the last day. If she couldn't return to the Worry-Relief Sect before sunset, she would be punished.

But the prince's health was like this, how could she leave with peace of mind?