093. Delivering Medicine to a Love Rival

Le Qianxue lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze cool and distant. “You shouted for me this loud just to tell me this?”

Yuan Tianci saw how unconcerned she looked, and it only made him think that Le Qianxue truly was not taking this seriously at all.

He said, “Le Qianxue, we haven’t known each other long, but I know you well enough. If you had even the slightest interest in Prince Zhan, would you still be tangled up with him like this? Otherwise, you’d be like you are with the Fourth Prince, not even willing to see him. I came all this way to tell you, and you still act like it means nothing. I’m honestly heartbroken.”

Le Qianxue was startled, then suddenly laughed instead.

“Who said it means nothing to me? Then you should stay in the General’s Residence and not go back to Prince Zhan’s Manor!” she said at once.

Yuan Tianci asked timidly, “Not go back? Won’t Prince Zhan skin me alive?”

“As long as I’m here, what are you afraid of?” Le Qianxue narrowed her eyes. “A little girl? Someone important to him? No wonder he was so anxious today…”

At once, Le Qianxue thought of someone: the junior sister he had mentioned, Yu Yao.

She gave a light laugh, feeling a little ridiculous herself. She still had not even figured out what was going on, and already she had gotten mixed up with Zhan Lianjing.

Le Qianxue could not tolerate even the tiniest grain of sand in her eyes. If Zhan Lianjing dared to be halfhearted with her, she would definitely castrate him.

When Yuan Tianci heard her say that, he finally felt relieved. After all, if Le Qianxue said she would protect someone, she meant it. She was absolutely not the sort to go back on her word.

So Yuan Tianci settled down and stayed in the General’s Residence.

Zhui Xing waited outside the gates of the General’s Residence for a long time, but Yuan Tianci never came out.

Just as he was about to go in and ask what was going on, Hua Tao came out and said to him, “My young mistress says that Divine Physician Yuan will not be going to Prince Zhan’s Manor. Sir Zhui Xing need not wait any longer.”

Zhui Xing’s face darkened at once. “What? That’s what Miss Le said?”

He still had not figured out what was happening. What was Le Qianxue throwing a fit over now?

Hua Tao nodded. “That is exactly what my young mistress said. Please go back, Sir Zhui Xing.”

With that, she curtsied and returned to the residence.

Naturally, Zhui Xing was unwilling to accept it. There was still someone at Prince Zhan’s Manor waiting for Yuan Tianci to save her, so he immediately chased after Hua Tao. “Let me see your young mistress!”

Since following Le Qianxue, Hua Tao had lost all fear. She said in a clear, steady voice, “Sir Zhui Xing, my young mistress is resting and will not receive visitors.”

Zhui Xing truly could not understand it. Why had Le Qianxue suddenly changed her temperament?

Still, Le Qianxue was favored before Zhan Lianjing now. If he barged in by force, he might be punished.

So after hesitating for a moment, Zhui Xing left the General’s Residence and returned to Prince Zhan’s Manor to report to Zhan Lianjing before deciding what to do next.

Zhan Lianjing had not expected this either. It turned out that Le Qianxue was refusing to let Yuan Tianci go.

His chest felt tight. He had used too much internal energy all at once, and now he needed to withdraw and recuperate.

He said shortly, “Her illness is not urgent. I will go to the General’s Residence myself tomorrow.”

Zhui Xing said nothing more and let Zhan Lianjing go into seclusion.

Poor Le Qianxue waited the entire day and did not see a trace of Zhan Lianjing.

She had thought he would come and give her an explanation, but it turned out she had only been deluding herself.

Because of that, her mood for the day was terribly irritable. In the evening, Eunuch Chen arrived, carrying out the emperor’s orders and bringing an imperial physician to examine Le Qianxue’s condition.

Le Qianxue had done a little something beforehand, and after taking her pulse, the imperial physician could only say that her body was still extremely weak.

Still, Eunuch Chen let out a sigh of relief. “This is good news. Miss Le’s life is no longer in danger. As for the weakness, it can be properly nourished back to health.”

The imperial physician nodded. “Eunuch Chen, such nourishment will take some time.”

“The emperor anticipated that much, so this old servant has brought a thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom. The physician can use it to prepare a prescription.” Eunuch Chen said, “Does Divine Physician Yuan have any advice as well?”

Seeing the lingzhi mushroom, Yuan Tianci realized it truly was a priceless treasure. There was probably only one such specimen in the imperial palace, and yet the emperor had given the entire thing to Le Qianxue for her recovery. That was extraordinarily generous indeed.

He stared, wide-eyed, unable to understand what the emperor was up to.

But since he knew Le Qianxue was only pretending now, he accepted the lingzhi and said solemnly, “If Eunuch Chen trusts me, then leave it to me. I guarantee that in one month, my disciple will have recovered completely.”

The imperial physician was inwardly disdainful, but he did not dare say anything.

Who made the Yuan family of Medicine King Valley so renowned? Even as an old imperial physician, he still had to speak humbly before Yuan Tianci.

Eunuch Chen, however, was overjoyed. “One month? Then I shall entrust this to Divine Physician Yuan. This old servant will report back to the emperor at once, and His Majesty will surely be delighted.”

Yuan Tianci responded with a soft acknowledgment and had Hua Tao see them out.

When he returned, he saw that Le Qianxue, who had just moments ago looked half dead, was now sitting up and examining the lingzhi closely.

A faint smile touched her lips. “This is truly excellent quality. It can be used to refine some fine medicine.”

Yuan Tianci sat down beside her and said, “What puzzles me is that the emperor wanted to kill you one moment and save you the next. I really can’t see what he’s thinking.”

Le Qianxue narrowed her eyes and said, “You’re not the only one. I can’t make it out either.”

Still, having received such a valuable lingzhi for free, she felt it counted as compensation.

Yuan Tianci propped his chin on his hand and asked, “Then you must be even more careful from now on. Who knows when the emperor will be displeased and try to strike at you again?”

Le Qianxue curled her lip and thought through everything over and over.

Then her brows drew together as she suddenly remembered something.

She immediately went to the dressing table and rummaged through it, then found the agate hairpin she had worn that day.

Le Qianxue’s eyes deepened. Could it be...

Seeing her reaction, Yuan Tianci was again a little surprised. “What are you doing?”

Le Qianxue said, “Nothing.”

But then she called Hua Tao in and asked a few questions. Only then did she learn that Le Yongcheng had gone into the palace today to discuss matters, which explained why he had not been around just now.

She looked again at the agate hairpin. Though the design was ordinary, the agate itself was anything but. A casual glance was enough to reveal a brilliance that was dazzling indeed.

Looking more closely, she found two characters engraved on it: made by the palace.

Le Qianxue smiled. So that was it.

Hua Tao was curious. “Young mistress, what are you smiling about?”

Le Qianxue shook her head lightly. “Nothing. So the Dowager Empress was telling the truth when she said this hairpin could save a life.”

This was most likely something the emperor had once given Tong Xianxian. No wonder the emperor had fixed his gaze on her hair that day. It had all been because of this hairpin.

Yuan Tianci and Hua Tao were both a little dazed. She had spoken only halfway and then stopped, really teasing their curiosity.

Then Le Qianxue split the lingzhi into several pieces.

Yuan Tianci was quite pleased. He would get to watch Le Qianxue refine medicine again. That truly was one of life’s great joys.

The whole affair lasted until late into the night. Le Qianxue had not rested for two straight nights, and by now she looked somewhat haggard.

Hua Tao felt sorry for her and prepared a lavish breakfast.

In the past, Yin Susu had always made all sorts of delicious food for Le Qianxue, and Le Qianxue’s palate had long been spoiled by her.

After taking a few bites, she had no appetite left. Hua Tao took the blow hard and swore that she would practice her cooking properly from now on. She absolutely could not let Le Qianxue look at her food with such obvious disdain.

“Hua Tao.” Le Qianxue took out a small medicine bottle. “Take this to Prince Zhan’s Manor and say that Divine Physician Yuan prepared it for that little girl to take.”

Yuan Tianci, who was standing nearby, was surprised. “Le Qianxue, you never used to be this kind. What if that little girl is your rival in love? What then? You’re making enemies for yourself!”

Le Qianxue thought nothing of it. “It doesn’t matter. This was also given by the emperor. Besides, it’s only one pill. It won’t cure her. It will only lessen her suffering for the time being.”

Yuan Tianci clicked his tongue. “Then why don’t you come with me to Prince Zhan’s Manor and learn the situation properly, so you won’t be sitting here guessing?”

Le Qianxue smiled. “Right, why didn’t I think of that? All right, then I’ll go with Hua Tao to deliver the medicine.”

“What about me?” Yuan Tianci pointed to himself. How was it that he was always being ignored by Le Qianxue?

“I’ll disguise myself as you, so you can stay here obediently,” Le Qianxue said. “Who told you to say yesterday that I needed a month of recuperation? If I go out bright and lively now, then you’ll have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!”

Yuan Tianci’s face darkened halfway. Le Qianxue truly was a troublemaker, always setting traps for him!

He waved her off. “Do whatever you want. I see through you now!”

Le Qianxue changed into men’s clothing, then used a folding fan to cover her face. Though she was not as tall as Yuan Tianci, it was still enough to fool people.

The carriage had already been prepared. Le Qianxue and Hua Tao arrived at Prince Zhan’s Manor, which surprised everyone there.

But Yuan Tianci had come, after all. This morning, the young girl had fallen ill again, and both Haoyue and Zhui Xing had been terribly worried. They had gone to the General’s Residence to ask for help, only to be turned away. Fortunately, Yuan Tianci had finally arrived now.

Yet the moment Haoyue saw “Yuan Tianci,” he froze. “Miss Le?!”

Le Qianxue knew she could fool the guards outside, but there was no way she could fool Haoyue and Zhui Xing.

She had not even worn a human-skin mask, so being seen through at a glance was perfectly normal.

She lowered her fan and smiled. “My master Tianci couldn’t come, so I’m delivering the medicine on his behalf.”

Zhui Xing was somewhat annoyed. “But wasn’t it Miss Le who kept Divine Physician Yuan from leaving yesterday? How has it suddenly become that Divine Physician Yuan is the one who won’t come?”

Le Qianxue shifted the blame onto Yuan Tianci and said leisurely, “Actually, it was Master Tianci who didn’t want to come, so he pushed me out instead.”

Only then did Zhui Xing calm down. He was already thinking that the next time he saw Yuan Tianci, he would absolutely beat him up.

Le Qianxue gave a soft hum. “Haoyue, then lead the way. Master Tianci also wants me to take the girl’s pulse.”

Haoyue thought that Le Qianxue knew some medicine as well, so it would not hurt to let her have a look.