The local people were all angry but dared not speak out. This group had been occupying the area for a long time, and had been doing things like kidnapping women. They said that if anyone dared to stop them, they would at least be beaten, and at worst they might lose their lives. So no one on the big street went up to stop them.
Cui Zique happened to be passing by and, upon seeing this scene, his blood boiled. He didn't recognize Xu Yuehuai and assumed she was just an ordinary woman, so he stepped forward to stop her without saying a word.
Unexpectedly, this group of people, used to bullying the villagers, completely disregarded him, a cripple, and actually started fighting with him. Cui Zique didn't tolerate them either. Despite being in a wheelchair, he quickly chased them all away. Only after removing the black cloth from Xu Yuehuai's face did he recognize her and asked suspiciously, "Manager Xu, is that you? Could these petty thieves have kidnapped you?"
Xu Yuehuai refused to speak. Although she had regained some of her senses, her face was still full of sorrow. Seeing this, Cui Zique tentatively asked, "Want to go for a drink?"
"I think it's a good idea." Xu Yuehua nodded upon hearing this.
The two arrived at a small restaurant, ordered a few dishes and started drinking. Xu Yuehuai drank half a jar of wine right away, and then shouted for the waiter to refill the jar.
...
In just half an hour, Xu Yuehuai had drunk four or five jars of wine, and said in a drunken stupor, "Cui...Cui Zique, do you know? I am not a person of this world at all."
Cui Zique naturally didn't believe it and shook his head with a smile.
"You...you don't believe me? I'll prove it to you!" Xu Yuehuai got excited.
From the concept of a round heaven and a square earth to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, from freedom of love to women entering officialdom, the conversation culminated in the slapping of Cui Zique's leg and shouting, "Do you know? In our place, even a disabled person like you has equal... equal access to education. Who... says that being covered in mud doesn't count..."
At this point, she suddenly picked up a wine jar, vomited violently, and then continued, "...hero."
After saying that, he fell into a deep sleep.
Cui Zijue was moved by her last sentence and began to look at Xu Yuehuai with new respect.
Before he knew it, Xu Yuehuai had gotten completely drunk.
Although Cui Zique was disabled, he was still a gentleman. He did not offer any help, but instead called out, "Princess? Princess Heyue?"
But Xu Yuehuai didn't react at all.
Cui Zique was also in a dilemma. Although Xu Yuehuai did not intend to befriend the Cui family, he could not simply leave the person here.
He pondered for a moment, then said to the servant beside him, "Go find two maids to carry the princess to the carriage. Let's take her back first."
Upon hearing this, the servant did not rush to act, but instead said, "Young master, right now the master and madam both regard the young master as the hope of the family, but he is no match for you in any way. If you can win over Princess Heyue's heart, the master and madam will definitely look at you with new respect."
"What? You want me to take advantage of you?" Cui Zijue's face turned cold.
That was exactly what the servant meant, but after seeing Cui Zijue's expression, he immediately changed his mind: "I wouldn't dare."
"Go and get it done quickly," Cui Zique urged hurriedly.
Soon, Xu Yuehuai was sent to Tianxiang Tower.
Cui Zijue still had two maids help her down from the carriage before following her into Tianxiang Tower. However, he never expected that after he brought her into Tianxiang Tower, he would see Qi Guze, who should have been burned to death.
Zhou Wan immediately helped Xu Yuehuai upstairs.
However, San Niang noticed that Cui Zijue was keeping a close eye on Qi Guze, fearing that he would expose Qi Guze's affairs at Tianxiang Tower. She immediately stepped in to smooth things over: "Thank you very much, Young Master Cui, for bringing A Yue back today. However, we at Tianxiang Tower have other matters to attend to, so we will not keep you any longer."
She awkwardly gave him the hint to leave.
However, Cui Zique showed no intention of leaving.
He also knew why Tianxianglou was somewhat hostile towards him, so he quickly said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I'm not the one who's here to complain, so you don't need to be nervous."
"What else does Young Master Cui want to say?" Qi Guze asked coldly.
Seeing Qi Guze's cold expression, Cui Zijue could only continue to explain: "I just wanted to remind Your Highness that there are quite a few people in Chang'an who want Princess Heyue's life, both openly and secretly."
"You must be careful," he said, his eyes flickering slightly, as if he were thinking something.
Upon hearing this, Qi Guze immediately lowered his guard: "Then thank you for the reminder, Young Master Cui."
As he spoke, he bowed to Cui Zique in thanks, and Cui Zique, being quite perceptive, said, "Your Highness, since that's the case, then I, Cui, will take my leave now."
"Okay." A hint of something unreadable flashed in Qi Guze's eyes. He then got up and saw the person to the door.
Zhou Wan helped Xu Yuehuai to bed and then quickly sent someone to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, while also ordering someone to quickly fetch a doctor.
The doctor could tell what was wrong with Xu Yuehuai just by taking his pulse, but his brows furrowed even more, which made Zhou Wan, who was standing to the side, extremely worried.
"Doctor, how is she?" Seeing that the doctor had stopped, Third Sister quickly led him out to ask.
The doctor shook his head: "This illness is neither mild nor severe. It's caused by pent-up emotions, but if it's not resolved quickly, it will become a serious illness."
The doctor began writing a prescription and took out a dose of medicine from his medicine box.
Third Sister was terrified. She quickly took the prescription and pills, saying, "Thank you, doctor. Thank you, doctor."
She quickly gave the doctor some silver and saw him out the door.
After everyone left, she quickly gave the prescription to her third son: "Third son, go and get some more medicine according to the prescription."
She quickly grabbed some water to feed Xu Yuehuai her medicine. Xu Yuehuai was lying on the bed, feeling dizzy and disoriented. It took San Niang a lot of effort to get the medicine down her throat.
She wiped the sweat from her brow, tucked the blanket around Xu Yuehuai, and then went out.
Xu Yuehuai lay on the bed, and soon after taking the medicine, she began to sweat slightly. She started to toss and turn.
She quickly regained consciousness, sat up, and scratched her head, which was throbbing badly.
She got up and drank some water, but still felt feverish all over. Perhaps she had drunk too much. Although getting drunk could relieve all her worries, she still couldn't figure things out, so she decided to go up to the roof to get some fresh air.
She had just climbed onto the roof when Qi Guze arrived.
Seeing Xu Yuehuai sitting alone in the wind, he quickly grabbed a cloak and wrapped it around her.
"It's getting cold, and the night wind makes it even colder," Qi Guze said, sitting down next to Xu Yuehuai on the roof.
Xu Yuehuai's attitude was somewhat cold, perhaps due to her inner turmoil; she only let out a soft hum.
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