Chapter 39 The Thirty-Ninth Kill

When Xiaoyu saw the person who solved the problem of worry again in Qingwuyuan, she was able to ignore him.

Zhou Xunran waved his hand to let the person go, and then watched Xiaoyu calmly bring out the medicinal meal.

"Little fish."

Xiaoyu thought he wanted to explain the identity of the sect leader again, "I'm really not angry, so please don't mention this matter again, Your Majesty."

Zhou Xunran shook his head, "When I came back from Yanyuan that day, I noticed that you were not in a good condition, so I went to check on Li Mantang's affairs."

The Jieyoumen intelligence network was very powerful, and within three to five days, they had found out about Xiaoyu's mother's past.

From his face, Xiaoyu could be sure that he knew her life story very clearly.

The little fish was a little angry.

"Why didn't you ask me first?"

Zhou Xunran said cautiously, "I'm afraid it will cause you sadness."

"So it's not caused now? Since it's been found out, you know it yourself, why bother telling me?"

After Xiaoyu finished speaking, he realized that he was the sect leader and lowered his head to apologize: "I was too excited, please don't be angry, Your Majesty."

Seeing her lowered brows and submissive look, Zhou Xunran's heart tightened and he reached out to hold her hand.

Xiaoyu dodged and said, "The medicinal food is getting cold, please drink it while it's hot, Your Majesty. I'm a little tired, so I'll go back to Fenghe Courtyard to rest. I'll come and collect the dishes later."

She walked quickly, and when she returned to her room in Fengheyuan, her heart was still pounding from her rapid pace.

Not long after, Zhou Xunran knocked on the door, "Xiao Yu, let's talk."

Xiaoyu blew out the candle and replied through the window: "I'm going to sleep. We can talk tomorrow if you have anything to say."

Zhou Xunran responded and stopped knocking on the door.

Xiaoyu lay by the window, listening attentively to the movements outside, but she never heard the footsteps of his leaving.

Xiaoyu felt strange and it took him a while to react. He suddenly opened the door.

Sure enough, I saw Zhou Xunran wearing only a single piece of clothing, standing at the door in a daze.

"Why are you wearing so little? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Xiaoyu scolded, while reaching out to pull him into the room.

She has a strong physique and a strong firepower. Even in such a cold winter, there is always a brazier in the room. Noticing that Zhou Xunran's clothes in her palm were like ice, Xiaoyu looked around and said, "Quick, sit on the bed!"

Zhou Xunran's body was almost stiff, his limbs seemed to have no consciousness of their own, and he was almost completely led by Xiaoyu all the way.

The chill that seeped out from the seams of his numb and painful bones seemed to permeate the soft quilt that Xiaoyu had draped over his body.

Xiaoyu rubbed his face with both hands, feeling anxious, angry and distressed: "Look at you, you're just standing there freezing?"

Zhou Xunran clenched his teeth and uttered four words, "I'm worried about you."

After finally getting some warmth on his cheek, Xiaoyu covered his face and said unhappily, "What do I have to worry about?"

Zhou Xunran's frozen heart seemed to be warmed by her.

He looked at her, thought for a moment and said, "If you want to recognize him, I can go and talk to him."

Xiaoyu shook her head, "No, my mother begged him hard but failed to make him come back, how can I make him agree?"

"I have." Zhou Xunran tilted his head and rubbed her palm, "I have. After all, this is your mother's last wish."

Xiaoyu let go of his face and wanted to sit down.

Zhou Xunran immediately opened the quilt on his body, and after she sat next to him, he wrapped them both in the quilt.

The little fish curled up into a small ball, half leaning in his arms.

She thought for a moment, but still didn't want to agree. "He has joined Cao Shipeng, and Cao Shipeng and you are mortal enemies. If I get involved with him, it will make things very difficult for you. Besides, I hate his servile look."

Zhou Xunran laughed and continued, "You don't have to consider my position. As long as you want, or even to fulfill your mother's last wish, I can go find him."

Mother's last wish? This was the second time Zhou Xunran mentioned this.

Xiaoyu looked at him and asked, "Do you know something?"

Zhou Xunran had never thought of hiding the truth from Xiaoyu, so he told her the truth. "I just found out that your mother had contacted Li Mantang many times, wanting to get you into the Li family tree. But..."

But she was a girl, and to Li Mantang, a daughter without a prominent maternal family was of no use.

Xiaoyu continued Zhou Xunran’s unspoken words in her mind.

In her pitiful childhood memories, there is also a scene of her mother kneeling on the ground, begging Li Mantang desperately.

Xiaoyu sighed: "Let me think about this matter again."

"Yes." Zhou Xunran put the quilt on her, "Then I'll go back first. If you have any questions, you can come to me."

Xiaoyu grabbed his hand and said, "Wait."

She stood up, took out a cloak from her closet, and put it on him. "Even though it's only a short distance, your body can't stand being so cold."

Zhou Xunran tightened the laces of his cloak, nodded and smiled, "Okay, I know."

Xiaoyu walked him to the door and only closed the door after he walked away.

She walked to the bed and lay down. The quilt under her chin seemed to still carry the scent of Zhou Xunran's medicine.

Smelling this scent that appeared and disappeared, Xiaoyu's heart gradually calmed down.

She didn't expect that she recognized Li Mantang and Li Mantang also recognized her.

When Xiaoyu went out to stroll on the street, she noticed Li Mantang had changed into a simple indigo uniform and was hiding behind a sesame cake stall, staring at her furtively.

Noticing Xiaoyu's gaze, Li Mantang not only did not hide, but also pointed at Tian Xiaohui behind Xiaoyu openly.

That means, let Xiaoyu send Tian Xiaohui away.

Xiaoyu really didn't want to pay attention to him.

She pretended not to see it and walked into the nearby garment shop side by side with Tian Xiaohui.

As Zhou Xunran's accompanying maid, Xiaoyu's status in the palace is almost higher than Minglu, the personal maid. Her clothes are naturally made by the palace's embroidery room.

Tian Xiaohui asked her: "Do you want to buy clothes?"

Xiaoyu said, "Just take a look. Do you want to buy anything? I have a lot of silver with me today."

Tian Xiaohui shook her head.

The space inside the clothing store is quite large, and there are two floors above that are dedicated to women's winter clothing. Xiaoyu said, "Then wait for me here. I'll go upstairs and take a look."

Tian Xiaohui thought there wouldn't be any danger in the shop, "Okay, call me if you need anything."

Xiaoyu originally wanted Tian Xiaohui to watch at the door, so that when Li Mantang saw her and realized that it was hopeless to talk to her, he would retreat.

Unexpectedly, when she went upstairs, she saw him sitting leisurely under the window drinking tea.

The little fish turned around and wanted to leave.

Li Mantang slowly put down his teacup and called to her, "Li Mei'er."

Xiaoyu turned around and stared at him coldly: "Who are you calling?"

Although Li Mantang is over 50 years old, he takes great care of himself. The skin on his face is still fair and tight, and his body is as straight as a pine tree.

No wonder he could attract so many women in Qizhou to pave the way for him.

Li Mantang smiled and said, "Of course I'm calling you, my daughter."

He took a step forward with a smile, and Xiaoyu took a step back in disgust.

It was not until his lower back was against the railing that Xiaoyu scolded, "What on earth do you want to do?"

Li Mantang's smile grew wider. "I heard that you are a maid who is trusted by the Regent. I never thought, Mei'er. Daddy still remembers that you were so small and followed your mother around. Now you can actually stand on your own."

"What does it have to do with you?"

"Why is it not related? I am your father and you are my daughter. As long as you say a few good words for me in front of the prince, my future will be bright. Only when I am well can you be well."

Xiaoyu stared at him and said, "You have already surrendered to Cao Shipeng, a servant with two masters. Aren't you afraid that he will kill you if he finds out?"

Li Mantang said confidently, "He wouldn't dare. Because it was Cao Gong who told me that you are Mei'er."

The little fish looked at him in shock.

She had always known that Zhou Xunran and Cao Shipeng were political enemies, but she only thought that the two of them were involved in state affairs and would not harm innocent people.

But now, in just two days, Cao Shipeng has found out something that happened so long ago based solely on his own abnormalities in Yanyuan.

So now, he told Li Mantang about this matter because he wanted to get something from himself or Zhou Xunran through Li Mantang.

On the carriage back to the palace, Xiaoyu kept thinking about this question.

It was not until she returned and saw Zhou Xunran that she told him about her meeting with Li Mantang today and their conversation.

"My Lord, why did Cao Shipeng do this?"

Zhou Xunran could guess what Cao Shipeng was thinking.

He had recently been asking Zhou Yi to investigate the posthumous child hidden by Cao Shipeng, and he might have found the key point. Cao Shipeng was anxious, so he thought of pushing Xiaoyu out to disrupt his vision.

In other words, it's a gamble on who is more important to Cao Shipeng, the posthumous child or the little fish to himself.

After figuring out the point, Zhou Xunran said, "Xiaoyu, what do you think? If you ask to go back to the Li family and let them add your name to the family tree, Li Mantang will definitely agree."

Xiaoyu refused, "I get annoyed when I see him, and I don't want to go back. Besides, he agreed to this because of you, in order to use me. This goes against my mother's last wish, and she won't blame me."

"Okay, if you change your mind later, you can always let me know."

Xiaoyu responded, thought for a moment and then reminded: "If he does something, Your Majesty doesn't have to consider me, just deal with it as you see fit."

Zhou Xunran relieved her, "This is natural."

After this incident, I don’t know if Zhou Xunran did something secretly, but when Xiaoyu went out again, she never met Li Mantang again.

Entering the waning month, the weather is getting colder day by day.

As the year draws to a close, the palace begins to get busy. Especially now that a new owner, Zhou Qingxue, has arrived in the palace and she is pregnant, Nanny Zhao is even busier than ever.

Xiaoyu followed Zhou Xunran on a daily basis. Although she did not eavesdrop on him on purpose, she knew that his increasingly busy schedule was mostly related to Cao Shipeng.

Fortunately, after these days of intensive rest, Zhou Xunran's health has improved a lot, his complexion has become rosy, and he has gained some weight, looking less thin.

After being stared at by her for nearly half a minute, Zhou Xunran finally couldn't help but put down the book in his hand, "Xiaoyu, do you have something to say?"

Xiaoyu shook her head: "No."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Xiaoyu said as a matter of course: "I think Wang Ye is handsome. His nose is a nose and his eyes are eyes. He is much better than Zhou Yi."

Xiaoyu deliberately lowered her voice for the second half of the sentence in order to avoid being heard by Zhou Yi who was sitting outside the carriage.