In the pitch-black medicinal soup, Ji Fengyao's eyes were tightly closed, her brows slightly furrowed, and her delicate face was flushed red from the heavy steam.
She seemed to be enduring great pain, but her expression revealed determination and composure. Clearly, she was fully aware of her situation and was willing to accept it.
The dark medicinal soup soaked up to her shoulders, making it difficult to see anything. But at this moment, Black Owl's attention wasn't on the young female bandit's beautiful and alluring figure, but rather on the familiar yet slightly different smell of medicine filling the room.
Black Owl disregarded his rudeness and quietly approached the bathtub, dipping his finger in the bathwater and sniffing it.
The medicinal soup smelled very similar to the terrible medicine he remembered, except that the soup in front of him was not as fishy and smelly as he remembered. On the contrary, it retained the fragrance of herbs.
The young female bandit used this medicinal soup for bathing, not for drinking.
Black Owl's complex gaze was fixed on the little female bandit's delicate and cute face. His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched and unclenched repeatedly. A deep-seated shame and anger, hidden for many years, kept assaulting his nerves.
He desperately wanted to pull the young female bandit out of the water and interrogate her:
What was her relationship with that person, and if so, what was it?
But reason told him that the young bandit's age didn't match up; she wasn't even born when he and Shang Xiye were struggling to survive in the darkness. And the young bandit was kind at heart; that person could never have taught such a kind and optimistic disciple.
Perhaps it's just that the prescriptions are similar.
But what exactly is this prescription for?
Judging from the young female bandit's voluntary act of taking a bath, this prescription does not seem to be something specifically designed to harm people.
The apprehension and hostility in Black Owl's eyes gradually faded. Looking at the captivating face of the little female bandit so close to him, he gently curled the corners of his lips: "Besides Xiao Jiu, you are the second person in this world I am willing to trust. Don't let us down."
He slowly reached out and raised his hand to her face, wanting to touch her. But his slender fingers hesitated and stopped when they were about a centimeter away from her.
He shouldn't have done that.
He turned around quietly.
Black Owl slipped out the window silently, just as he had come in. But instead of leaving, he sat on the roof to keep watch over her, waiting for her to come to her senses from a state he neither understood nor comprehended.
Princess Zhaoping had just left Cixi Palace after serving the Empress Dowager all day.
Aunt Sun helped the Empress Dowager wash up and lie down, stirring the calming soup in the bowl, preparing to let the soup cool down before the Empress Dowager ate it.
The Empress Dowager leaned against the raised pillows, her gaze distant, as she recalled events from long ago.
After a long silence, the Empress Dowager suddenly said softly, "Zhaoping has been coming to the palace every day recently. Although she hasn't said anything, I understand her thoughts. Originally, I wanted to wait until the Ninth Prince recovered before bringing this matter up with the Emperor, but I didn't expect the Emperor to be so impatient and stuff that bandit into the Prince Su's residence. Alas..."
“The princess is very filial to the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor is very kind to her. The princess is intelligent and understands that now is not the best time for her to enter the Prince’s mansion,” Aunt Sun advised, continuing to stir the medicine soup in the bowl.
The Empress Dowager remained silent for a while, and after drinking the calming soup, she sighed softly and said, "That bandit has been kind to me. I didn't mean to make things difficult for her. I just wanted to temper Zhaoping's temper so that Zhaoping's life would be easier in the future. Unfortunately, I have never succeeded. Instead, I have only emboldened her."
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