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Chapter 51: Origins

The female official from the Imperial Medical Bureau quickly arrived and carefully examined the injuries of Yu Lingxi. She praised with surprise, “Who bandaged Miss Second’s wounds? The handling was very meticulous.”

Yu Lingxi couldn’t help but recall the scene in the morning when Ning Yin changed her dressing and blew on her wounds. Her heart seemed to be lifted by a soft breeze.

She suppressed the raised corner of her mouth, “Probably a ‘miracle healer’ with an unpredictable temperament but unparalleled abilities.”

The female official didn’t inquire further and comforted, “Second Miss’s health recovery and improvement are both outstanding. The toxins in her body have been completely eliminated, and the wounds have healed well. Just a few days of rest, and she will fully recover.”

Upon hearing this, both inside and outside the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Lingxi knew that her absence in the mansion for this night must have caused a commotion. Her heart felt warm and guilty.

She looked around and asked anxiously, “Why don’t I see Father?”

Yu Xinyi replied, “Someone reported a murder in Guangzha Street. As it involves the attendants and guests of the Eastern Palace, Father went with the Grand Justice to investigate and handle the matter.”

Speaking of the Eastern Palace, she looked disdainful.

Yu Lingxi thought of Ning Yin changing clothes and washing up. She kept her thoughts to herself and didn’t say anything. She grabbed her mother’s hand, unable to conceal her concern and guilt, “Your eyes are red from staying up all night; go and rest.”

Madam Yu helped Yu Lingxi tie her spring clothes and gently said, “Have a good sleep, and Mother will accompany you.”

Yu Lingxi leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder, “If Mother doesn’t sleep, I won’t either.”

After some persuasion, she finally managed to get her mother and elder sister to go back to their rooms and rest. Su Guan, feeling sorry, didn’t want to leave. Out of guilt, she personally cooked porridge and snacks for Yu Lingxi, setting up a table full of delicious food with a fragrant aroma.

“Sister-in-law, where is my brother?” Yu Lingxi asked.

Su Guan handed her a bowl of porridge and answered with a smile, “Just now, I saw him standing in front of the corridor.”

Thinking of her brother’s complex expression when facing Ning Yin, Yu Lingxi knew he must be holding back a lot of words. Some things couldn’t be avoided, and she had never planned to hide them from her father and brother forever.

After finishing the porridge, Yu Lingxi made up her mind. She lifted the quilt and walked towards the corridor. Sure enough, Yu Huanchen was standing with his arms crossed in front of the steps, his brows furrowed with a thoughtful expression.

“Elder Brother,” Yu Lingxi walked over and called out.

Yu Huanchen turned his face abruptly, putting down his hand, “Sui Sui, why are you up?”

Yu Lingxi, with picturesque brows, said sweetly, “Can’t sleep. Elder Brother, can you accompany me for a walk to clear my mind?”

Yu Huanchen’s eyes changed several times, eventually succumbing to concern. He nodded in agreement. The cool breeze blew gently on the waterside pavilion, and tall lotus leaves stood proudly in the pond. Yu Huanchen slowed his pace, looking at his sister, who was gradually becoming more mature and charming.

How much did Sui Sui know about Wei Qi, he wondered?

He didn’t want his sister to be used and kept in the dark.

“Has Elder Brother already guessed who the assassin is?”

Yu Lingxi looked down at the fish swimming in the water from the waterside pavilion and took the initiative to speak, “The Crown Prince can’t tolerate the Yu family. Even if he doesn’t take action now, in the future, after ascending the throne to prevent powerful subjects, he will also target the Yu family. But if Father and Brother endure until then, it will be too late.”

Yu Huanchen casually raised his hand and patted his youngest sister’s head, “These matters have Father and me to handle. It’s not something a young girl like you should worry about.”

“When the assassin attacked me and Sister-in-law openly on the street, it wasn’t just a matter for you and Father. It’s a predicament that our entire Yu family will face.”

Yu Lingxi smiled transparently, “Elder Brother already has the answers, or else why would you secretly investigate the whereabouts of Seventh Prince?”

Yu Huanchen raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, he had a lot of questions to ask, but in the end, he was interrogated by his sister.

A family has its own secrets, and he didn’t deny it. He just raised his hand to support the railing of the waterside pavilion and said, “Investigating the other princes is just adding one more option. It’s far from making a decision. As for you, Sui Sui, you seem to be getting too close to Seventh Prince.”

Yu Lingxi naturally heard the probing tone in her brother’s words and the hidden concerns.

“I know what Elder Brother wants to ask. Thinking back on everything that has happened recently, every time, I am extremely grateful that I kept Seventh Prince by my side.”

The light blue skirt of Yu Lingxi fluttered in the summer breeze as she told her brother calmly, “Regardless of who Seventh Prince is, he has saved my life many times.”

“No man does things without gain, Sui Sui.”

Yu Huanchen snorted, “You think he doesn’t expect anything in return, but how do you know he’s not plotting something more important?”

Like his sister.

Once Sui Sui’s fate falls into the hands of someone with deep scheming, it’s equivalent to holding the lifeline of the Yu family. Yu Lingxi gently shook her head, her almond-shaped eyes filled with a gentle light, “I trust him, and I ask Elder Brother to trust me once.”

Yu Huanchen looked at his sister and sighed, “Sui Sui, you’re too reckless. Do you know what kind of person he is? Is he worth your trust like this?”

“I know,” Yu Lingxi said.

He was the person she had come to understand over two lifetimes, worthy of entrusting all her trust.

Yu Huanchen looked at his sister, a deep surprise floating in his eyes.

“After the spring search, I said that Seventh Prince is not an ordinary person.”

Yu Lingxi, without any timidity, repeated softly, “I know everything, Elder Brother.”

Only now did Yu Huanchen understand that this seemingly gentle and weak sister was playing a much bigger game in the next move.

“But at that time, you also said that you could distinguish between gratitude and romantic feelings.”

Yu Huanchen asked, “Does Sui Sui still stand by those words?”

Yu Lingxi hesitated slightly.

This brief hesitation did not escape Yu Huanchen’s eyes.

“Do you know why Father and I haven’t made a decision for so long?”

After pondering for a moment, Yu Huanchen decided to reveal the truth he had discovered, “Marquis Xian’s wife was a renowned beauty, and she was also the Empress Dowager’s sister-in-law. Later, when the current emperor ascended the throne, Marquis Xian died inexplicably, and the sovereign took his wife, imprisoning her in the harem and forcing her to give birth to a son… That child is Seventh Prince, Ning Yin.”

Yu Lingxi suddenly raised her head, looking at her brother in disbelief.

“Unfortunately, the emperor was heartless. After using various means to snatch the woman he wanted, he discarded her like worn-out shoes after tasting her for a few years.”

This was a deeply hidden secret in the palace, and Yu Huanchen’s voice became heavier, “Seventh Prince is the result of illicit relationship between the Emperor and his brother’s wife, born in the cold palace. From the moment he was born, he was not recognized and blessed by the world.”

Choosing to align with such a prince undoubtedly meant opposing the morals of the world. Yu Lingxi felt a dense pain in her heart, as if something was infinitely expanding her chest, letting out a cold wind.

She finally understood why, in her past life, she couldn’t find any information about Ning Yin’s background. He was a tragic product seized by imperial power, born with original sin. He killed his brother and father because the Crown Prince wanted the lives of him and his mother. His righteous biological father bestowed upon him the dirtiest, the most insane bloodline.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Yu Huanchen turned his head to look at his sister and asked in a low voice, “Are you scared now?”

Yu Lingxi shook her head. No, it was heartache.

“A person cannot choose their own birth, and that is not his fault. If I reject everything he has sacrificed because of his ominous birth, it would only prove that he misjudged me, that I don’t deserve his protection.”

Yu Lingxi sniffed, her eyes shining with a bright and resolute light. “I believe he can rise against the wind and rule the world.”

This was the only thing she had never doubted. Yu Huanchen was a straightforward and intelligent person. Even though his sister had taken in such a dangerous person and embarked on such a risky plan, he harbored no blame.

“I know Sui Sui wants to find a way out for the Yu family. I will carefully consider this matter. But you must understand, if I could uncover Seventh Prince’s identity, and others can too.”

He calmly, as an elder brother, told his sister, “The biggest obstacle in front of you won’t be me. The political situation in the court changes rapidly, and I just hope you never get involved in this vortex, forever.”

Under the summer willows, green as silk, the breeze lifted ripples on the pond, and the sunlight shattered into dazzling fragments.

After Yu Huanchen left, Yu Lingxi stood alone on the waterside pavilion for a while. Leaning on the railing, she stared at the sparkling water, lost in thought. A measured and unhurried footsteps approached from behind, and soon, Ning Yin’s handsome reflection appeared on the water’s surface.

Under the lotus leaves, the koi fish scattered in fear of the footsteps, and the divine-like reflection on the water became scattered. Yu Lingxi turned her head and looked at Ning Yin’s cold and handsome profile for a while, then blinked her eyes softly.

“Ning Yin?” she called, “Why did you come?”

Every time her emotions surged, she would address him by his full name.

“Miss, I forgot to bring your medicine.”

Ning Yin toyed with the small medicine bottle in his palm, glanced at her for a long time with narrowed eyes, and slowly raised his elegant eyebrows, “Miss seems so dispirited, who bullied you?”

Even if it was something Yu Huanchen said that shouldn’t have been said, he wouldn’t hold back.

“My parents and my siblings are doing well, who would bully me, don’t say such things.” Yu Lingxi earnestly glared at him and then softened her gaze.

Thinking of her brother mentioning those past events, she couldn’t conceal the dull pain in her heart, pulling at her thoughts.

Ning Yin never cared about his own body and life, indifferent to the point of self-abuse. Yu Lingxi even felt that if given a choice, he would rather perish in the womb than endure suffering in this dirty world.

“Too bad.”

She sighed, looking somewhat sorrowful, “The bowl of grape yogurt I bought for you yesterday, spilled.”

Ning Yin laughed, seemingly indifferent, “If it’s lost, it’s lost. Is there a need to be so distressed?”

Yu Lingxi shook her head, “What I’m distressed about is not that bowl of grape yogurt.”

She just urgently wanted Ning Yin to have something sweet. Her heart was too bitter.

The crowded lotus leaves swayed in the wind by the waterside pavilion. With a thought, Yu Lingxi stretched out her hand to reach the nearest lotus pod. Her left arm still had a wound, and with a large movement, it inevitably touched the injured area.

As she stood on tiptoes, frowning, she saw Ning Yin’s slender arm reaching out from the side. With a crisp sound, he plucked the lush and full lotus pod for her.

Ning Yin used the lotus pod to lightly tap her smooth forehead and coolly said, “Miss, are you not planning to let this wound heal?”

Yu Lingxi took the lotus pod from his hand, then folded a piece of lotus leaf to hold it. Leaning on the railing, she focused on peeling the lotus seeds. Her delicate fingertips were even more tender than the lotus flesh.

She placed the peeled lotus seeds in a clean lotus leaf and handed it to Ning Yin, saying, “For you to eat.”

The cold smile at the corner of Ning Yin’s mouth disappeared. He looked at Yu Lingxi for a long time, picked up a seed, and put it in his mouth, chewing it finely, including the bitter core.

“Is it sweet?” Yu Lingxi asked, holding the lotus leaf.

Ning Yin tasted the sweetness and slight bitterness on his tongue, squinted his eyes, and said, “Sweet.”

She smiled and continued to peel the lotus seeds. It turned out that without any catalyst of fragrance, just quietly watching her could also taste endless sweetness and beauty.

The bright and hot sunlight fell on her, melting into alluring warmth as it transformed against her flawless and jade-like skin.

“Why is Miss so attentive?” Ning Yin asked.

Without lifting her head, Yu Lingxi softly replied, “Because you deserve it.”

Ning Yin uttered an “Oh,” and casually said, “Then Miss must always be good to me. If there comes a day when you get tired of me, I’ll just kill…”

He was about to say something absurd again, and Yu Lingxi snorted, “Kill who?”

Ning Yin chuckled softly, with delight and greed in his eyes.

He picked up a lotus seed, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed it. Looking at her with an almost gentle expression, he said, “If I were to kill Miss, I wouldn’t bear to. Then I’ll just have to kill myself.”

With a crisp sound, half of the peeled lotus seed dropped to the ground.

It rolled a few times and fell into the pond.

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