My apologies for the delayed update. I was unwell, but I am now slowly recovering.

A big many thanks to Ashley and Olena for your support! ? Lots of love to my readers. ? Happy reading! ?

Chapter 27: Secret Medicine

The Jinyun Villa on the outskirts of the city has been idle for seven or eight years, but recently it welcomed a new owner.

With continuous spring rain, the semi-abandoned mansion hidden in the mountains hung two brand new red lanterns. When the wind blew, the chilling air was palpable, giving off an eerie atmosphere.

From the inner courtyard, there were constant cries and pleas from women. Before long, the curtains were lifted, and Zhao Yuanyu, sweating profusely, emerged, cursing under his breath.

The guards silently entered and dragged the two barely conscious women off the bed to deal with them. These women’s wrists were bound with thick ropes, and their arms were covered in bruises. If one looked closely, despite their pale faces, they still had a youthful appearance, as if they were young girls who had not yet reached adulthood.

The maidservant nervously entered to change the blood-stained bedding but was pushed over by Zhao Yuanyu.

Not long ago, the elusive immortal master had sent him a newly refined pill named “Supreme Secret Medicine,” said to have rejuvenating effects. However, the price was that the Prince needed to cooperate to do some minor tasks.

Having failed to trap the Crown Prince at the Flower Pinning Banquet, he had already lost the initiative and couldn’t afford any more mistakes. To stabilize his position as “one of the heirs to the throne” and cure the hidden illness of his was now a matter of urgency.

Having taken a few pills, Zhao Yuanyu began to feel a bit rejuvenated, but the effects would abruptly stop, leaving him in pain. This left him in a bad mood, and his subordinates had to bear the brunt, as if only through this could he vent his inner feelings of incompetence and anxiety.

Zhao Yuanyu downed two cups of herbal tea and said hoarsely, “Where is Chunniang? Go, fetch her immediately!”

Unlike coquettish and vulgar, Chunniang wore a neatly tailored dark yellow-brown dress, her face clean and composed, giving the impression of a woman from outside the world.

She raised her right hand, thumb and index finger slightly bent, and bowed, saying, “Greetings, Prince.”

Zhao Yuanyu’s face was extremely pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He asked impatiently, “Is there any more ‘Supreme Secret Medicine’? Get more for this prince. Several bottles will greatly benefit me!”

“Prince, please don’t worry. This medicine was painstakingly refined by the immortal master, and the process is extremely complicated and difficult.”

Chunniang closed her eyes and said, “The catalysts you sent last month have already been used up in the refining process. Without the medicine catalysts, it may take several months for more.”

Zhao Yuanyu could wait, but his deteriorating condition couldn’t.

Moreover, his uncle, the Emperor, had already begun to let Zhao Yan take charge of the Flower Pinning Banquet on his behalf. If the Crown Prince gained favor, what position would the Prince of Yong’s Mansion have?

“It’s just a few medicine catalysts, right? There are plenty outside the capital. Send someone to fetch them!”

Thinking of something, Zhao Yuanyu’s face turned sinister. “Go and inform your immortal master that he should focus on refining the Supreme Secret Medicine. He doesn’t need to worry about anything else! Even if he needs dragon liver and phoenix marrow as catalysts, this prince can still find them.”

“Early next month is the rare Pure Yang Day in ten years, which is the best time to refine this medicine. I will return to inform the immortal master and await good news for the prince.”

Liu Ying went to the imperial pharmacy to get some external use medicine from physician Zhang, then returned to the Chongwen Hall, only to see her master coming out from the back hall looking unnatural, his originally pale face showing a faint blush, as if suppressing annoyance.

Liu Ying glanced worriedly at the half-open door of the back hall, but the distance was too far to see clearly.

“It’s nothing.”

Supporting herself against the red lacquered railing, Zhao Yan breathed slowly, waiting for her emotions to calm down a bit before waving her hand. “Class is over for today, let’s return to the Eastern Palace.”

The medicine given by Wen Renlin was of unknown origin, but Zhao Yan felt slightly more comfortable riding in the sedan chair this time, not enduring as much agony as before.

She quietly clenched the two medicine bottles in her sleeve, feeling a warm sensation spreading through her body, as if soaking in a pool of extremely comfortable warm water, washing away all the soreness and coldness. Except for the area where the medicine wasn’t applied, there was still some itching and pain, but it was bearable.

Feeling slightly better, Zhao Yan remembered the main issue and asked, “How’s the investigation into the Flower Pinning Banquet going?”

Liu Ying gently stuffed a soft embroidered pillow behind Zhao Yan’s slender waist, making her posture more comfortable, and replied, “Gu Xing still has people keeping watch there. After bringing His Highness back last night, the Prince of Yong quietly left the city in a low-profile carriage and hasn’t returned yet. His whereabouts are quite mysterious. Gu Xing was afraid of alerting the enemy, so he didn’t follow too closely.”

Zhao Yan frowned.

“The big battle has just begun, and the refugees outside the city are scattered everywhere. If he’s wandering around at this time, it’s not because he’s guilty and fleeing, there must be something else suspicious.”

She pondered silently: I need to send a message to Gu Xing, urging him to closely follow this lead.

Regardless of Zhao Yuanyu being one of the prime suspects in his brother’s death, just considering his dirty hands in the Flower Pinning Banquet, he must not be let off lightly!

Back at the Eastern Palace, Zhao Yan immediately spotted Liu Ji waiting with crossed arms in the corridor. The spring rain moistened the fallen petals, and a wet branch of crabapple adorned her swaying hairpin, giving her a hint of the charm of a beauty in a traditional Chinese painting.

Unfortunately, this beauty was too fierce and tall. When she was quiet, it was fine, but once she moved, she shattered the tranquility of the beauty depicted in paintings.

“I heard that Your Highness was unwell yesterday. How are you feeling now?”

Liu Ji pulled at her obstructive skirt and hurried over.

Only then did Zhao Yan remember her and hastily focused, “Much better. And you, have you finished what you needed to do?”

Liu Ji glanced at the silent Liu Ying and whispered, “I have something to discuss with Your Highness.”

Since Liu Ji rarely acted so solemnly, Zhao Yan gestured for Liu Ying to wait outside the hall and followed her to the Cheng’en Hall. As soon as the door closed, Liu Ji leaned against the desk by the window and unfolded a portrait.

The man in the portrait had sharp eyebrows and eyes, with a thin face seemingly carved with a knife. He had a stubble beard, tattoos on his forehead and neck that only criminals would have, and two curved knives wrapped in strips of cloth behind his waist.

It must be said that Liu Ji’s painting skills were top-notch. With simple and rough ink lines, she managed to vividly depict the gloom and oppression of the man who had experienced countless killings.

“What’s this?”

Zhao Yan picked up the portrait and carefully examined it, but she couldn’t recall anyone like this from her memory.

“Did Liu Ying tell you that the Crown Prince once rescued a convict from the death row?”

Seeing Zhao Yan’s confusion, Liu Ji furrowed her brows slightly, displeased, “That little maid Liu Ying, why does she keep everything from you!”

Everyone had their own helplessness in life.

Glancing at the fierce-looking man with facial tattoos in the portrait, Zhao Yan realized, “So, the convict the Crown Prince rescued is this man in the portrait?”

Her intuition told her that Liu Ji must have made some significant discovery during her trip out of the palace.

Setting down the portrait, Zhao Yan’s expression became more serious, and she said earnestly, “Tell me about him, Liu Ji.”

Liu Ji opened a packet of pine nut candies bought from the market, popped two into her mouth, then used her finger, stained with oil, to point at the portrait, and began to narrate.

“This man has no name or identity. No one knows what crime he committed to be thrown into prison, awaiting execution. At that time, when the Crown Prince needed manpower urgently, he ignored everyone’s advice and pulled this man out of prison, naming him Chou Zui. He was treated as a guest of the Crown Prince’s mansion and was even promoted to be the Crown Prince’s close attendant. Before I entered the palace, Chou Zui had already been promoted to be the Crown Prince’s chief attendant, responsible for protecting the Crown Prince’s safety.

During the incident in the Eastern Palace when it was closed off, I heard that Chou Zui died. It makes sense if you think about it. With his skills, it’s impossible for him not to protect the Crown Prince.”

At this point, Liu Ji’s chewing of the pine nut candy slowed down as she fell into reminiscence.

She furrowed her brows, taking a long while before saying, “But yesterday, outside Mingde Pavilion, I distinctly felt like… I saw him.”

Yesterday, Liu Ji had taken the secret scroll downstairs, preparing to flee on the spot. While perched on the wall, she saw what seemed like a figure standing in the shadows at the distant corner, glaring menacingly in this direction.

“Chou…”

Liu Ji’s heart skipped a beat. She slid down the crooked-neck jujube tree outside the wall with a swift movement. In that split second of distraction, the figure in the corner vanished.

“Mingde Pavilion?”

Zhao Yan fell silent. The people and events involved intertwined like a spider’s web, and at the tangled center, the words “Mingde Pavilion” were written prominently.

What exactly happened during the two months Zhao Yan spent in Mingde Pavilion last year?

The threads of clues that were broken due to Shen Jingming’s death seemed to have extended into another obscure branch.

Without realizing it, Zhao Yan held her breath and asked, “Are you sure the person you saw yesterday was this Chou Zui?”

Liu Ji nodded, “I didn’t see his face, but his figure and the curved knife he carries are unmistakable. It’s highly probable.”

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Yan carefully rolled up the portrait and said, “I’ll have someone investigate his whereabouts and inform you when there’s news.”

She intended to hide the portrait in her wide sleeve, but unexpectedly, when she poked it, a small white jade pillbox came out.

The pillbox fell onto the carpet, rolled around, and stopped at Liu Ji’s feet.

“What’s this?” Liu Ji reached out to pick it up.

Zhao Yan’s eyelashes fluttered, and she hastily picked it up before Liu Ji could, almost biting her tongue in the process. “It’s nothing, just peppermint oil from the imperial physician to refresh the mind.”

Liu Ji looked at the departing figure of “Little Prince” in confusion.

“Peppermint oil is peppermint oil, why are you blushing?”

…

Back in her sleeping chamber, Zhao Yan stared at the small pillbox for a long time before reluctantly hiding it back in her sleeve.

After arranging everything, it was already early evening.

During this special period, Zhao Yan couldn’t take a bath, so Liu Ying prepared several tubs of hot water and clean towels for her to wipe herself.

After finishing wiping herself, putting on her corset again, Zhao Yan remembered one more thing to do. She pursed her lips and casually instructed, “I’ll dress myself in the remaining clothes. You can go down first.”

Liu Ying nodded, collected the clothes Zhao Yan had changed out of, and the menstrual supplies, then went downstairs to take care of them. As soon as Liu Ying left, Zhao Yan retrieved the small pillbox she had hidden earlier and, enduring some discomfort, picked out a pill with her fingertip.

It was her first time taking this kind of medicine, and accepting it calmly was somewhat difficult, to be honest. There was still some hidden pain inside, but she dared not explore it. She simply applied the pill around the edge and quickly washed her hands before getting dressed.

Sitting on the small couch, Zhao Yan thought wearily: All those tales of ecstasy and bone erosion are just lies.

I’ll never do this kind of thing again in the future. It’s not just embarrassing; it’s troublesome afterward. 

Once her mood had calmed somewhat, she put on her outer robe and pushed open the door to the inner chamber.

“Your Highness! His Royal Highness the Prince Su is here, waiting for you in the sleeping chamber.”

Li Fu hurried over with quick steps, nervous. “Should we, um, go to Liu Ji’s place to avoid him?”

Zhao Yan hesitated for a moment before shaking her head slowly.

Wen Renlin already knew she was a woman, so using “favoring Liu Ji” as an excuse wouldn’t work anymore.

“Wait for me from a distance, and don’t let others get close to the sleeping chamber.”

After instructing Li Fu, Zhao Yan took a deep breath, then placed her hand on the door of the sleeping chamber and gently pushed it open. Bright light flooded out, and Wen Renlin was sitting in the center of the light, leaning over to read the article on the desk that she hadn’t finished writing.

Seeing her standing stiffly at the door, Wen Renlin suddenly smiled, warm as a spring breeze melting snow.

“Why do you have such a… look of resignation?” he paused, finding the right words, “…as if facing death?”

Zhao Yan’s hair still carried a slight dampness, her spring clothes thin. She stared at the leisurely Wen Renlin for a while before softly saying, “It’s almost time for bed…”

Wen Renlin raised an eyebrow slightly, puzzled by her abrupt statement.

So Zhao Yan cleared her throat and made it clearer, “I… am going to sleep.”

Wen Renlin straightened up, “Hmm.”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, it won’t be long.”

He approached slowly, and with his long arm, gently closed the door behind Zhao Yan, “Once the inspection is done, I’ll leave.”

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