Outside the Ninth Princess's residence, a group of imperial physicians left the estate, shaking their heads and sighing.
Mu Jin had driven them out after giving them a thorough scolding. As they walked away, some of the physicians continued to lament.
“Alas, the Ninth Princess is truly pitiful. She’s only clinging to life with ginseng.”
“Yes, she’s only sixteen. What a shame Consort Zhuang passed away so early. Otherwise, who would dare treat the Ninth Princess this way?”
“Alas, I can only blame my own lack of skill as a physician.”
The words they exchanged were overheard by the nearby onlookers and quickly spread throughout the capital as though they had grown wings.
The common people whispered among themselves that the Fourth Prince was vicious enough to attempt to murder the Ninth Princess, and that it served him right to have been poisoned and fallen into a coma.
When Consort De heard the news in the palace, she was so furious that she smashed more than a dozen teacups in succession.
“These ignorant commoners! How dare they! I’ll have every one of them arrested!”
She clutched her chest in anger while the palace maid beside her tried repeatedly to soothe her.
“Your Highness, your health is what matters. Please calm down. In any case, she won’t live much longer. So many imperial physicians are helpless before her illness, so she certainly can’t be saved. She’s merely clinging to life for now. Sooner or later, she’ll die.”
Only then did Consort De feel somewhat relieved. But when she thought of the poison in her son’s body and the estates belonging to her maternal family that had been completely looted the previous night, she still couldn’t bring herself to feel happy.
The Duke Anguo’s residence.
A servant came running in panic to Xi Daniu’s courtyard.
“My lord, something terrible has happened! Chen Xin was murdered and dumped at the estate gates. His body is covered in injuries—he’s almost impossible to recognize!”
“What?” Xi Daniu was shocked.
He set down the child in his arms and gently comforted him. “Qian'er, be good. Your father has to go out and take a look. Go to your mother for now.”
Song Qian immediately burst into tears. “Father hasn’t held me in so long. Father doesn’t like me anymore.”
The Hereditary Princess frowned at once. “Qian'er, your father has something important to do. He’ll hold you when he comes back. Your mother had someone buy pastries from Wang’s Bakery. Let’s go eat some.”
She picked Song Qian up and gave Xi Daniu a gentle smile. “Husband, go take care of your business.”
Xi Daniu likewise nodded tenderly at the Hereditary Princess. It was a picture of marital affection and domestic harmony.
Outside the duke’s residence lay a man whose face was beyond recognition. His body was covered in wounds, and there was a conspicuous bloodstain around his neck. He had only just breathed his last.
By the time Xi Daniu followed the servant outside, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered at the gates.
They pointed at the corpse on the ground and whispered among themselves. Some even began speculating aloud.
“When someone dumps a dead body at another person’s gates, it usually means the victim did something vile and was returned as a gift. They’re clearly sending a message.”
“Exactly. The powerful families in the capital love using this sort of method as a return present. So many things have happened at the Duke Anguo’s residence lately. They must have offended someone behind the scenes.”
The group fell silent the moment they saw Xi Daniu emerge.
Xi Daniu’s face darkened. When he saw his most capable guard murdered and dumped at the gates, his fists clenched tightly. He knew without asking that the people from the Ninth Princess’s residence had done it.
He had sent someone to investigate the princess’s residence. How much time had passed? They had already sent him back a corpse. They were truly ruthless.
Just as he was about to squat down and examine the body carefully, the crowd suddenly began shoving for no apparent reason. Caught off guard, Xi Daniu was pushed to the ground. Another onlooker was being shoved backward and failed to notice the fallen man behind him. In the confusion, he stepped directly on Xi Daniu’s leg.
A moment later, Xi Daniu’s agonized scream rang out beyond the estate gates, accompanied by the servants’ cries of alarm.
When the onlookers realized what had happened, they fled as fast as their feet could carry them, terrified that the duke’s residence would come after them.
The household servants hurriedly carried Xi Daniu back inside and sent someone to the Duchess’s quarters to summon an imperial physician. Fortunately, the physicians who had come earlier had not yet left.
Xi Daniu was carried back, his forehead drenched in sweat from the pain. The Hereditary Princess burst into tears the instant she saw him.
The servant sent to summon the physician found him still writing out a prescription. The Duchess had just awakened when she heard that her son’s leg had been crushed beneath someone’s foot. Her vision went black, and she fainted again.
The entire duke’s residence descended into chaos once more.
Inside the room, Duke Anguo paced back and forth. He was so furious that he nearly grabbed a sword and charged to the Ninth Princess’s residence, but he had no reason to do so—and no evidence whatsoever.
“They’re far too arrogant! This is outrageous! Wen Liang merely sent a guard to her residence, yet they dealt him such a vicious blow. The Ninth Princess is still unconscious. Who on earth did this?”
His face was livid, and his heart seethed with hatred toward the Ninth Princess’s household.
“If anything happens to my son, they won’t get away with it.”
The duke’s household had truly been plagued by misfortune. Their entire estate had been looted, and now even their outlying properties had been cleaned out. His son had only just been found, so he absolutely could not afford to let anything else happen to him.
Inside the Ninth Princess’s residence.
Xi Qingyue was lounging leisurely in the courtyard. To her right sat pastries, tea, and a plate of fruit. One little maid thoughtfully placed food into her hand, another kneaded her shoulders from behind, and a third crouched before her, massaging her legs.
She was living an exceptionally comfortable life.
Xi Weilan was practicing lightness kung fu with Luo Ling. Her tiny body could shoot up to the top of the courtyard wall in an instant, but once she got up there, she had no idea how to get back down.
The sight of the little girl lying on the wall with her bottom sticking up made Luo Ling and the others laugh heartily. In the end, Mu Jin had to climb up and lift her down by the collar.
Xi Qingyue merely smiled and did not interfere. For a child, being able to climb over the wall was already progress. Since they usually stayed together and there was no danger, it was enough for her to improve a little every day.
After coming down, Xi Weilan pouted and ran over to Xi Qingyue, then lay across her legs with a pitiful expression.
“Sis, Luo Ling was laughing at me just now. Am I really that stupid?”
Xi Qingyue stroked her head. “You’re not stupid. Our Weilan is the cleverest girl there is. Children your age can usually do nothing but cry. Luo Ling laughed at you? Do you want Sis to teach her a lesson?”
When Luo Ling heard this, she immediately ran off in fright.
“Mu Jin, I’m going to check on the princess! I’ll leave this place to you!”
Xi Weilan watched her retreating figure and muttered, “Coward.”
Then she shook her head at Xi Qingyue. “Sis, forget it. Her brain isn’t working properly anyway. I won’t hold it against her.”
Mu Jin’s lips twitched. It was humiliating enough for the princess’s personal maid to be called stupid—especially by a three-year-old.
But after thinking it over carefully, she felt it was indeed rather embarrassing. Luo Ling had run far too fast.
Xi Qingyue continued to soothe Xi Weilan gently. “There’s no need to rush. It doesn’t matter if you can’t get down yet. First learn how to fly up. Fly as high as you like. As long as you stay within this courtyard, nothing will happen to you. Sis is watching right beside you. Go on.”
With that, she popped a piece of pastry into Xi Weilan’s mouth.
Still chewing, Xi Weilan happily ran off again, and Mu Jin hurried after her.
Seeing this, the maids all smiled. One doted on her younger sister while the other was sweet and sensible—no wonder their princess adored the two sisters. They liked them very much as well.
In Lu Qianning’s room, she was utterly bewildered as she felt her perfectly intact body. Not only was she unharmed, but her internal energy seemed to have increased considerably. Just how had Xi Qingyue managed to do it?
Her curiosity lasted only a moment before she set it aside. Since the imperial physician had left and everyone believed she was on the verge of death, it was time for her revenge.
