Duke Anguo had just stepped inside when he heard what his son had said. Frightened, he hurriedly glanced toward the door. Only after making sure no one was outside did he breathe a sigh of relief.
He strode to the bedside and scolded sternly, “Wen Liang, watch what you say. Do you want to lose your head?”
He waved to the trusted guard. The man immediately withdrew and stood watch outside the room, leaving only the father and son inside.
“Father, they’re being unfilial! How can daughters refuse to acknowledge their own father? Since they know medicine, why won’t they come and treat me? I’m their biological father!”
Xi Daniu’s face was filled with fury. He was certain that people from the Ninth Princess’s residence had injured his legs. His daughters knew medicine, yet they had treated their enemy first instead of him. How could he not be angry?
Duke Anguo sighed. “Alas, my chest still hurts even now. They dared to strike even their own grandfather, yet you expect them to acknowledge you? That will be difficult. Now that they’ve become commandery princesses, they’ll only hold us in even greater contempt. Our duke’s residence is nothing but an empty shell these days. We can barely come up with any money.”
They had been robbed one after another, and the entire duke’s residence could hardly find any silver left. Even if there were hidden assets, little of that money could be accessed immediately.
By contrast, the sisters, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan, not only had an eight-hundred-household fief but also fifty qing of fertile farmland. They had received gold, bolts of cloth, and other rewards—and everything had been given to them in duplicate. They lacked nothing, and there was a constant stream of people waiting for the miracle doctor to treat them. Even if the duke’s family wanted to deceive them, they had nothing to offer.
The more Duke Anguo spoke, the more dejected he became. If he had known how capable his two granddaughters were, he would have sent people to bring them back three years ago.
A vicious glint flashed through Xi Daniu’s eyes. “Father, have someone carry me to their residence. Isn’t she a miracle doctor? If she won’t even save her own biological father, then what kind of miracle doctor is she?”
Duke Anguo was stunned. His son intended to use moral pressure to force them to save him.
If they refused, the people of the capital would accuse them of being heartless and unworthy of the title of miracle doctor.
He suddenly hesitated. The plan was good, but it carried risks. If things went wrong, they would become enemies instead of relatives. He still remembered the way Xi Weilan had pointed a concealed weapon at him. That girl had killed the Grand Tutor as easily as slaughtering a chicken. What if she simply killed Wen Liang?
He voiced his concerns and urged Xi Daniu to abandon the idea. He did not dare gamble on the minds of those two fearless children.
Xi Daniu, however, remained determined. “My legs are crippled now. I might as well be dead. I refuse to believe they would truly dare attack me. And if they did, they wouldn’t be able to remain in the capital afterward. Let’s take the gamble.”
Duke Anguo had no choice but to agree in the end. Since they could not persuade the girls to come, they would force them to save him.
Before they could put their plan into action, however, the Duchess stopped them. They had not even left the residence when she blocked their path.
Pointing at Duke Anguo’s nose, she angrily berated him. “Fool! How can you gamble with something like this? What if you lose and he ends up dead?”
She had witnessed it firsthand. Her beloved grandson had once been injured by those two girls. Neither of them was harmless, and they would certainly dare to strike. Those concealed weapons were impossible to defend against.
If they wanted to test the girls, they should send someone else. She leaned close to Duke Anguo’s ear and whispered a name.
Duke Anguo’s mind cleared at once.
That was right. The injured were not limited to his son. The Eighth Prince was also seriously wounded and confined to his bed.
Many people were plotting against Xi Qingyue or trying to force her to save someone, while she did not take any of the capital’s people seriously.
As soon as night fell, she took Xi Weilan and flew out of the capital, heading straight for the farmstead on the outskirts owned by the Duke Anguo’s household—the very place where they had once taken their belongings.
Yet, to her surprise, she could not find any trace of Cheng Dingxiang or the others after searching the entire farmstead with her ability. It was as if they had never been there.
“How strange. Didn’t they say Xi Daniu had brought them here to settle down? Why can’t we find a single one of them?” Xi Qingyue gazed at the moon overhead in the night sky, deep in thought.
Xi Weilan tugged at her sleeve and pointed toward the empty orchard. “Elder Sister, they don’t have anything left to eat here. Do you think they went somewhere else to beg?”
Xi Qingyue slapped her forehead. “That’s right! They had no food or water left, and Xi Daniu was too busy to look after them. They probably went elsewhere to find a way to survive.”
What she did not know was that Cheng Dingxiang and the others had only left that very day. They had learned about everything happening in the capital from travelers going back and forth, and they had also found out that Xi Qingyue and her sister were there. After hearing about what the sisters had done in the capital, they had fled in terror.
The sisters had made the trip for nothing, so they simply changed direction. Since they were leaving the capital anyway, they might as well pay the Eighth Prince’s residence a visit.
She remembered that the Eighth Prince’s household had promised gold in exchange for treatment. She could collect it while she was there.
The two of them thoroughly ransacked the Eighth Prince’s residence. They nearly tore the house apart before finally returning happily to their new estates.
Early the next morning, the Eighth Prince was found lying on the floor. There was not even a chair left in the entire room. The thieves had even pried up the floorboards.
When news of it spread, the entire capital was once again thrown into a state of panic. Everyone feared that their own residence would be the next target.
When Lu Qianning heard the news, she spat out the tea she had just sipped. Her expression was indescribably strange.
She knew without asking who had done it. Shaking her head, she wondered whether she had heard correctly. This time, they had stolen so thoroughly that they had even pried up the floor?
Luo Ling murmured from nearby, “Why would they pry up the floor? Don’t they already have residences of their own? Two of them, in fact.”
Lu Qianning shook her head. “Who knows? They’re children. Perhaps they simply did it for fun.”
After saying that, she could not help laughing again. “It’s good that they’re going south for a while. They can consider it a trip to punish evil and uphold justice.”
She felt that wherever those two went, they managed to make the place a little cleaner. There were always areas beyond the court’s reach—or places no one bothered to govern—and sending the girls there to play for a few days was a perfect solution. Everyone benefited.
The Duke Anguo’s residence quieted down, while the Eighth Prince’s household was too busy to cause trouble. As a result, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan’s commandery princess investiture ceremony went smoothly.
Xi Qingyue was given the title Commandery Princess Cenyue, while Xi Weilan was given the title Commandery Princess Suwei. Their residences were also fitted with plaques bearing their new titles. Their lands and other holdings were officially registered, and guards were assigned to them. Everything proceeded without a hitch.
After the investiture, Xi Qingyue went to meet Consort Qin. This was her first time seeing Lu Jinshuang’s mother.
Though the woman was in her thirties, she looked barely more than twenty. Her spirited features carried a hint of gentleness, and she bore a slight resemblance to Lu Jinshuang.
Consort Qin was delighted when she saw the two girls. She pinched Xi Weilan’s cheek, then Xi Qingyue’s, clearly unable to contain her affection.
Mama Su had already ordered people to prepare a table laden with food. She was also very fond of the two little commandery princesses.
Consort Qin held Xi Qingyue’s hand with great warmth. “Qingyue, I heard you’re planning to visit Jiangnan. Would you like me to assign you a few more guards? I hear many refugees have recently gone there, so it may not be very peaceful. You’ll be safer with more people protecting you.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head. “No need. We’re used to traveling on our own. Bringing more people would only slow us down.”
“What? You’re not taking any guards?” Consort Qin asked in astonishment. Even if they knew martial arts, they should at least bring some help. The roads were crawling with bandits and refugees—how could two young girls possibly be safe?
Lu Jinshuang, seated nearby, rolled her eyes. “Mother, you can rest easy. Even if everyone on the road were dead, nothing would happen to them.”
The instant she finished speaking, there was a loud crash, and she toppled to the ground, chair and all.
