The Prince of Pingyang left.
However, soon after, a whisper of gossip began to spread quietly.
The Prince of Pingyang took the Jinx out, and they actually encountered assassins!
The Jinx was truly a jinx!
The shopkeeper who had given Duoduo the jade pendant couldn't help but press his hands together, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless their business with prosperity.
However, the Bodhisattva did not bless them.
Someone leaked the news that the Jinx had bought jewelry at the Treasure Pavilion.
Many people stopped going to the Treasure Pavilion and went to other shops instead.
For a time, the Treasure Pavilion's business took a drastic nosedive.
But that was a story for later.
The Prince of Pingyang brought Duoduo back to the prince's estate, but she remained unconscious.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was very anxious, repeatedly feeling Duoduo's forehead.
"Your Highness, the child has a fever."
"Ling Feng, bring the fever-reducing medicine, and go prepare some cold water."
The Prince of Pingyang took the medicine bowl and signaled his wife.
"Pingting, hold her up. I will feed her the medicine."
"Your Highness, why don't you let me do it?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang offered, reaching for the bowl.
"She is unconscious; one person won't be able to feed it to her alone."
Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang hurriedly and carefully lifted Duoduo into her arms.
The Prince of Pingyang swiftly reached out, pinched Duoduo's jaw, and fed her the medicine.
Even in her unconscious state, Duoduo tasted the bitterness of the medicine and shook her head from side to side, trying to reject it.
The Prince of Pingyang held her cheeks firmly and poured every last drop of the medicine down her throat.
Duoduo's little face scrunched up into a tight ball from the bitter taste.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang gently stroked her cheek. "Now that you've taken the medicine, you'll be better soon."
"Your Highness, the cold water is here," Ling Feng said as he walked in carrying a basin.
"Pingting, take a wet cloth and place it on her forehead."
The Prince of Pingyang instructed calmly.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang carefully laid Duoduo down, then took the wet cloth and placed it over the little girl's forehead.
After leaving it there for a while, she could no longer feel any coolness, so she swapped it for another cloth.
Whether it was the effect of the medicine or the cold compresses, Duoduo's body temperature slowly stabilized.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang checked repeatedly, and only after confirming that Duoduo's fever had indeed broken did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Pingyang was listening to Ling Feng's report.
"Your Highness, the entire estate has been thoroughly searched. The identities of a few individuals are somewhat suspicious, so your subordinate has cleared them out."
"Also, our men were originally lying in ambush nearby today, but it seemed as though the attacker knew we were there."
"Your subordinate suspects that there is an issue among our guards as well."
The Prince of Pingyang twisted his jade thumb ring.
"Didn't I tell you to investigate all the guards last time?"
Ling Feng lowered his head in shame.
"Your subordinate thought that since these guards were all brought over from the capital by Your Highness..."
"...they wouldn't betray you. Otherwise, they wouldn't have followed Your Highness all the way to Xianyang."
"It was entirely my negligence that nearly led to a catastrophic mistake! Please punish me, Your Highness!"
Ling Feng fell to his knees with a heavy thud.
The Prince of Pingyang's gaze lingered on Ling Feng for several minutes.
"Ling Feng, the reason I chose you to follow me back to Xianyang was that I valued your cleverness and reliability."
"But your recent actions have deeply disappointed me!"
Ling Feng prostrated himself. "Your subordinate knows his mistake!"
The Prince of Pingyang's hand slowly turned the jade thumb ring as he looked at Duoduo on the bed.
If it hadn't been for this child today, perhaps the one lying in bed right now would be him!
His own flesh and blood wanted to take the life of a cripple like him at every turn, simply because his prestige in the military was too high.
They feared that one day, if he raised a rallying cry, tens of thousands of soldiers would support his rise to power.
He had thought that his concessions were enough to prove he had no interest in that throne.
However, those people still pressed him relentlessly.
Since they refused to let him bow out gracefully, he would play along with their wishes.
At worst, he would stir up this game so thoroughly that no one would be able to rest easy!
At this thought, the Prince of Pingyang's gaze fell back onto Ling Feng.
Ling Feng was the guard who had been with him the longest, one of the few Ling-character guards he had personally trained.
The members of the Ling-character guard were all orphans he had raised and trained from scratch.
They ate together, lived together, and faced life and death together; the men of the Ling-character guard shouldn't betray him.
If betrayal was ruled out, Ling Feng's actions were likely just an oversight.
The Prince of Pingyang's hand, which had been turning the jade thumb ring, came to a halt.
"Go and receive ten strokes of the military cane on your own. I won't need you to serve me for the next two days."
"And if there is a next time, I will absolutely not keep you by my side!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Ling Feng gratefully kowtowed three times to the Prince of Pingyang before taking his orders and leaving.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at her husband. "Actually, you can't entirely blame Ling Feng. How could one person possibly oversee everything so comprehensively?"
Hearing this, the Prince of Pingyang stroked his jade thumb ring.
Indeed, the manpower at his disposal was far too limited.
In the past, the Prince of Pingyang had his own Xiao family troops, all guards he had personally trained from the ground up.
At that time, whole-heartedly focused on the greater good, he had integrated the Xiao family troops into the main military camps.
He had led the Xiao family army to win battle after battle.
The Xiao family army had also achieved outstanding merits, and every one of them had been awarded official titles and noble ranks.
When the Prince of Pingyang fell from his horse and was subsequently forced to hand over his military tally, he had been utterly disheartened.
He didn't want the talents he had personally cultivated to follow him into a life of obscurity and mediocrity.
Therefore, he left the Xiao family army behind in the military camps.
He had even originally intended to disband the Ling-character guard.
If it hadn't been for a lingering trace of vigilance in his heart that made him order the Ling-character guard to stand by...
...he might currently be nothing more than meat on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.
The Prince of Pingyang's hand, turning the jade thumb ring, paused.
He pushed his wheelchair over to the desk.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang hurriedly stood up. "Let me grind the ink for Your Highness."
The Prince of Pingyang spread out a sheet of paper. Once his wife had finished grinding the ink, he dipped his brush and began to write rapidly.
Soon, the Prince of Pingyang stopped writing.
He divided the written letters into several portions and sealed them inside small bamboo tubes.
He put his fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle, and a pigeon flew to the window.
The Prince of Pingyang reached out toward the pigeon, and the bird landed on his hand.
He attached the bamboo tube to the pigeon's leg ring, then released the bird into the sky.
He repeated this several times until all the letters in his hand had been sent out.
Seeing the pigeons continuously flying out, Ling Feng's eyes darkened with gloom.
This time, he had indeed made a grave mistake.
If it hadn't been for the young miss, perhaps His Highness would now be...
Ling Feng didn't dare to continue that thought.
As the wooden cane struck his backside again and again, he gritted his teeth; the physical pain of his flesh was nothing compared to the agony in his heart.
If anything catastrophic had happened to His Highness, he wouldn't have any reason to live either.
It was all due to his misplaced soft-heartedness and caring too much about camaraderie.
That was exactly the greatest taboo!
Others were out for His Highness's life, yet he was still considering the bonds of fellowship with his colleagues—he truly deserved to die!
Ling Feng swung his hand and gave himself a hard slap across the face.
Inside the room, the Princess Consort of Pingyang watched as the little figure on the bed slowly opened her eyes.
