Chapter 40 The Fortieth Kill

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of Zhou Yi tapping the car rim with his fingers could be heard from outside the car, accompanied by his dissatisfied words: "I heard it all~"

Xiaoyu opened the car curtain with a guilty conscience and said, "Of course, compared to Guard Lin, Guard Zhou, you are still very good-looking."

Zhou Yi covered his chest, leaned against the carriage and cried, "My heart is so broken, it can't be mended."

Xiaoyu flattered, "Then when we get back to the palace, I'll make you some midnight snacks to replenish your appetite?"

Zhou Yi smiled smugly, "That's more like it. Your Majesty, I'm hungry. Please sit tight, the carriage is about to speed up."

Xiaoyu immediately jumped back into the carriage and sat next to Zhou Xunran.

It was rare to see such a lively expression on her face again. She was no longer as cautious and timid as before when she knew he was the leader of Jieyou Sect. Zhou Xunran simply put down the letter in his hand and said with a smile: "Remember to send me a midnight snack as well."

"Are you hungry?"

Zhou Xunran nodded and touched his belly: "The dishes for the palace banquet are usually prepared in advance and then steamed again when the meal starts. They have no taste."

Xiaoyu originally wanted to trick Zhou Yi into giving her a midnight snack, but when she heard Zhou Xunran say that he was hungry, she thought of dishes along the way and went straight to the kitchen when she returned home.

Zhou Yi sent Zhou Xunran back to Qingwu Courtyard and waited at the door for a long time, but there was no sign of Xiaoyu. He couldn't wait any longer and went straight to the kitchen to look for her.

It was late at night, and there was only an old woman cooking in the kitchen. Xiaoyu didn't ask her to help, and worked hard on her own.

Seeing Zhou Yi appear, Xiao Yu knew that he must be extremely hungry, so he looked up and said, "It will be ready soon."

Zhou Yi walked over to her and stood still. Seeing that her face was sweating from exhaustion, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "It's hard enough for you to prepare medicinal food for the prince. Now I want you to make a midnight snack for me. I'm sorry to bother you."

"What's the big deal? I'm going to do it for the prince anyway, so it's just a matter of convenience."

Xiaoyu deftly placed the cooked meat soup in the pot into two bowls.

Zhou Yi reached out to take it, and his eyes accidentally saw the Buddhist beads on the chopping board. He said in surprise: "Isn't this the prince's bracelet? Why is it here?"

Xiaoyu said nonchalantly, "In the afternoon, the prince was too bothersome to let me wear it first, and I forgot to give it back to him just now. I will give it to him later when I deliver the meat soup."

Zhou Yi no longer cared about the meat soup in his hand, and quickly picked up the bracelet and carefully wiped off the powder on the Buddhist beads with the corner of his sleeve.

"This was given to the prince by someone else. He treasures it very much. You must not damage it."

"I know."

She made it, and the master gave it to her. Zhou Xunran must have cherished it so much because he missed his master. It was not in vain that the master accepted him as his disciple.

Zhou Yi wiped the beads clean and said with emotion: "There was such a big box of jewelry at that time, all kinds of night-shining pearls, agates, gemstones and gold jewelry, but the prince didn't even look at them. He fell in love with this string of beads at first sight. I don't think there is anything strange about it. It's just ordinary sandalwood. Why do you think the prince likes it so much?"

Xiaoyu paused while picking up the food box. "What did you say? A box of jewelry?"

How come she didn't know that the master was so rich?

Zhou Yi nodded, "Yes, Yangzhou is a very rich place. The things sent by their richest man, such as jewelry, antiques, rare calligraphy and paintings, seemed to have taken three carriages."

"Given by the richest man in Yangzhou?"

Not her master?

Zhou Yi didn't notice the abnormality in her eyes, and said to himself: "Yes, I was the one who lifted the box off the carriage at that time."

Xiaoyu put down the lunch box, snatched the bracelet back from his hand, and confirmed the pattern she had carved on the bracelet herself. "Are you sure this bracelet was given to you by the richest man in Yangzhou?"

Zhou Yi was surprised that she was so excited, "He gave it to me, what's wrong?"

Xiaoyu grinned stubbornly, "It's okay, just asking. You eat first, I'll bring the midnight snack to the prince."

"Okay." Zhou Yi lowered his head and took a sip of the meat soup. It was so hot that he grimaced. He hurriedly went to find some cool water to rinse his mouth, not caring about the strange condition of the little fish.

All the way from the kitchen to Qingwu Courtyard, when Xiaoyu stepped over the threshold, he finally thought of a solution.

Zhou Xunran was discussing matters in the study. When he saw Xiaoyu coming in, he waved his hand to pause and said, "Take a rest for half an incense stick."

Xiaoyu placed the food box in front of him and said with a smile, "Your Highness has made progress. In the past, you would wait until the meeting was over before eating."

Zhou Xunran took the bowl of soup and said, "I'm really hungry today."

After he had taken two bites, Xiaoyu said cautiously, "My Lord, I am very soft-hearted. Can I ask you for a favor?"

Zhou Xunran immediately asked: "Why, is it Li Mantang's place..."

"No," Xiaoyu denied, "It's me. Minglu and Lin Kun are going to get married in two months, and I don't have any satisfactory gifts at the moment."

She leaned closer to him and said flatteringly, "I think since they follow you, their standards must be very high, and ordinary things will definitely not be in Minglu's eyes. So...can I take a look at your warehouse catalog and then go in to pick out a gift?"

Zhou Xunran breathed a sigh of relief, "You don't need to tell me about this, just go to Wang Shunyi to get the key."

I guessed he would agree, but I didn't think it would be so easy. Xiaoyu said happily, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I'll go now!"

"Why rush? There's still time to go tomorrow."

Xiaoyu walked out and said seriously, "That won't do. There are treasures in your warehouse. What if you regret it tomorrow?"

Wang Shunyi was still awake at this time. When he heard that Zhou Xunran agreed, he gave Xiaoyu the booklet and key without saying anything. After all, everyone knew her current status in the palace and Zhou Xunran's attitude towards her.

"Let me go with you. If there is anything you want to know, I can explain it to you." Wang Shunyi said.

Xiaoyu also had the same idea.

Zhou Xunran has three warehouses alone. If she searches them one by one, it will take her a long time to find the item.

She took the booklet and pretended to flip through it casually. "Since it's for Minglu, it can't be a gift from the palace. It'd better be given by someone below. And it has to be something big and strange. I think Minglu will like it."

Wang Shunyi thought for a moment and pulled out the booklet at the bottom. “These are all donated by some local wealthy businessmen and officials.”

Xiaoyu opened the booklet and flipped through the pages one by one, occasionally picking out two interesting names to ask Wang Shunyi about.

Until I saw the words "May 18th, the sixth year of Wenjing, sent by Yangzhou merchant Zheng Ying", Xiaoyu did not miss a single detail and finally saw the exquisitely carved Buddhist beads bracelet that Zhou Yi mentioned on the next page.

Xiaoyu's heart sank.

Seeing that her attention had been on this page, Wang Shunyi explained, "This Zheng Ying was taken care of by the prince when he was doing business in his early years. So after Yangzhou became prosperous, he specially collected many treasures and antiques and sent them to me."

Xiaoyu asked, "What did Zheng Ying do before he started doing business?"

"He seems to be a knight. He drank too much and injured himself. His martial arts skills have been almost completely lost. That's why he settled down to do business."

Master Wu Le loves drinking, and his drinking buddies can be said to be all over the world. Xiao Yu doesn't know if this Zheng Ying is related to Master.

She said, "Since he is such a legendary figure, the things he sent must be rare. Chief Steward, can you take me to see it?"

"What's wrong with that? Let's go."

The things in the warehouse were neatly arranged and there were people cleaning it regularly. The two of them entered the warehouse and found the things that Zheng Ying had sent them in no time.

"According to the records, all the things are here, and the prince has not transferred them. You can take a look at them. If you need anything, come and find me. I'll be at the door." Wang Shunyi said.

Xiaoyu nodded and flipped through the books one by one according to the contents.

The more the little fish looked, the more anxious it became.

No Buddhist beads.

There are really no Buddhist beads.

Xiaoyu held the wooden frame tightly. It was impossible. The master had said that the bracelet was to be given to his male disciple and would never be given to anyone else.

Maybe, Master was drunk and unconscious?

No, she has to go to Yangzhou.

Since Zhou Xunran is so important to Zheng Ying, Zheng Ying must remember the gift for him very clearly.

She wanted to ask Zheng Ying in person where she got this bracelet.

Having made up his mind, Xiaoyu picked up a precious jade ring from the wooden rack beside him and walked out.

Wang Shunyi recorded the appearance of the jade ring and did not forget to praise Xiaoyu for her good taste.

Xiaoyu smiled in agreement, went back to her room and put the jade ring back into the brocade box.

After a sleepless night, Xiaoyu was suddenly awakened by the noise outside at dawn.

The Fenghe Courtyard where she lived was next to Zhou Xunran's Qingwu Courtyard. Zhou Xunran was in poor health and required a very quiet accommodation. If it wasn't for something big happening, the people in the palace would never dare to make such a loud noise near Qingwu Courtyard.

Xiaoyu quickly got dressed and got out of bed.

After opening the door and leaving Fenghe Courtyard, she grabbed a servant who was running fast and asked, "What happened?"

The man said, "The young lady fell down and will have a difficult delivery."

As the saying goes, a woman may be alive on the seventh month of pregnancy but may not be alive on the eighth month of pregnancy. Zhou Qingxue is now more than seven months pregnant. If she falls down at this time, not only the baby in her belly but also she herself will be in danger.

"Why did you fall?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Xunran also hurried out of Qingwu Courtyard. Xiaoyu went to greet him, "Prince."

Zhou Xunran's face was gloomy. "Let's go and take a look together."

Since she knew her identity, Zhou Qingxue didn't care about the baby in her belly. When Zhou Yi took her back to Beijing, he found that she wanted to take medicine to abort the baby.

Not long ago, when Xiaoyu was talking to Minglu, she also heard her reveal that Zhou Qingxue was trying to find a way to get rid of the baby. She also said that she had a bright future and having a baby would only be a burden to her.

It was just because the pregnancy was too advanced and taking the baby away would harm the mother. In addition, Nanny Zhao was watching her closely and Zhou Qingxue could not get in touch with doctors outside, so she called it quits.

Now that this has happened, it is hard for Xiaoyu not to think too much and wonder if Zhou Qingxue did it on purpose.

Looking at Zhou Xunran's ugly expression, Xiaoyu guessed that he might think so too.

When the group arrived at the yard where Zhou Qingxue lived, Doctor Chu was already there and was checking on her condition.

Zhou Qingxue held her stomach, her face covered in sweat from the pain, almost wetting the pillow under her head.

"I don't want an old man to see me, Mammy, Mammy, I want a female doctor! I want a female doctor!"

Nanny Zhao held her hand and said, "Miss, be obedient. Doctor Chu is a very good doctor. Miss, be obedient and the pain will go away soon."

Zhou Qingxue struggled and shook her head, "I want a female doctor! I don't want an old man!"

She shook her body and refused to cooperate.

Just as Xiaoyu was about to step forward, a gentle voice came from the door behind him: "I'm coming, Dad, please get out of the way!"

Zhou Xunran took Xiaoyu's arm and stood beside her.

Zhou Yi stopped beside them breathlessly and explained to Xiaoyu: "It's Chu Wei, Dr. Chu's daughter. I carried her here on my back."

Chu Wei pushed Doctor Chu aside, pulled down the curtain, and began to examine Zhou Qingxue's body.