“No,” Mo Yu cried and shook her head, then suddenly grabbed Yan Shu’s sleeve and shook it: “Sister is not well, she can’t marry so far away. Brother Yan, can you go and talk to Father? You are a miracle doctor, Father will believe you. Sister is really not well, she can’t go, she can’t go…” Her loud sobs eventually turned into small whimpers.
Nie Qingyue carried the exhausted Mo Yu, who had finished crying, out the door. The servants of the Prince's Mansion quickly came to greet them, feeling heartbroken as they looked at their young mistress's red eyes.
"Thank you for your care these past few days, Young Master Yan and Miss Nie. The Thirteenth Prince's Mansion will definitely present the reward tomorrow." The heavily made-up woman said a few polite words and then turned to leave.
"If it's convenient tomorrow, I'd like to pay you a visit." Yan Shu's voice wasn't loud, but it made the woman stop in her tracks.
The woman looked surprised, but quickly replied, "Your Highness is naturally welcome. We await your arrival." With that, she hurriedly got into the sedan chair and took Mo Yu back to the mansion.
The black lacquered door slowly closed, and Nie Qingyue turned to look at Yan Shu: "I thought you wouldn't go."
“If you can’t get rid of your mental illness, you have to learn to face it directly.” Yan Shu said calmly.
“That’s true.” As a royal woman, Mo Yu would find out sooner or later; it wasn’t a matter of belief or disbelief.
At this moment, the cold wind was crisp and the moonlight was gentle. Nie Qingyue, who stood side by side with Yan Shu under the pine tree, had no idea how many unknown variables tomorrow's seemingly ordinary trip would bring to their future lives.
Much later, when she recalled that night, she would sometimes regret it, but more often she felt fortunate, because at least for now, until tomorrow, their hands would be tightly clasped together.
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Good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly (Part 2)
The next day.
"Given Miss Mo's current health condition, marrying so far away to Lian Lan is indeed not appropriate. I hope Your Highness will reconsider." In the end, all that could be done was offer this word of advice.
Mo Yu's bright eyes cautiously stared at her father, her careful expression and expectation as if she were the one being arranged for a marriage alliance. The Thirteenth Prince, seated in the main seat, merely nodded politely without replying.
"Take the medicine as I just mentioned, once a day. It will help Miss Mo's health." Yan Shu turned her head and instructed the maid standing beside her, then took Nie Qingyue's hand and left.
The two hadn't gone far when they heard Mo Yu's tearful tantrum from behind, the sound carrying a strange pang of heartache through the cold air. Maids and elders were frantically trying to soothe him, their voices a jumbled mess, but the Thirteenth Prince's voice was nowhere to be heard.
Nie Qingyue sighed softly, pushed open the door, and was surprised to see Mo Yue, the young lady of the Mo family, standing there in a daze. She wore a light blue autumn dress with only a thin plain cotton robe over it, and her hands trembled slightly as she tightly gripped the hanging sash.
Mo Yue looked up in surprise at the two people who had come out earlier. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her lips were bitten so hard by her teeth that they turned white.
Yan Shu remained silent, and Nie Qingyue simply nodded. Mo Yue stepped aside, and the two of them retreated into the empty space.
After walking a long way, Nie Qingyue felt uneasy. She turned around and looked back, and the pale blue figure was still standing outside the door. Seeing her turn around, Mo Yue quickly turned and walked into the main hall.
"Are you an old acquaintance of Miss He Mo?" Yan Shu stopped and looked at her.
Nie Qingyue shook her head: "This is our first time meeting."
Yan Shu looked at the closed door: "During the consultation, Miss Mo kept staring at you."
Nie Qingyue froze and remained silent.
Actually, she had this feeling from the moment she entered Mo Yue's room, but she always thought she was just overthinking it.
At that time, Mo Yue was leaning against the window writing. After the servant announced her identity, Mo Yue put down her brush and came over. Mo Yue had the same delicate oval face as Mo Yu, and her features were somewhat similar, but she possessed a more charming and delicate beauty.
Mo Yue's gaze lingered on her for a while, scrutinizing her from head to toe before glancing at Yan Shu. After some polite pleasantries and small talk, Yan Shu began the consultation and prescription. Royal women, raised in seclusion, were generally weak and prone to illness, and Yan Shu quickly offered her advice.
Throughout the entire process, Nie Qingyue sat quietly to the side, while Mo Yue, though facing Yan Shu, kept glancing at her intentionally or unintentionally. It wasn't until Nie Qingyue couldn't help but turn her head to the other side that Mo Yue seemed to notice and restrain herself, refocusing her attention on Yan Shu.
"I feel uneasy all over," Nie Qingyue murmured, "like being laid out on a table and priced by weight."
"What kind of analogy is that?" Yan Shu chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Really." Nie Qingyue tried to tidy her messy hair. "Just like looking at a love rival, Miss Mo actually likes you, doesn't she?"
"Hmm, he liked me so much that he only glanced at me once throughout the entire process."
“This is called a heavy and restrained love.” She continued to joke, but a lingering unease remained in her heart.
Just then, a man in a dark blue shirt walked past them in a hurry. Nie Qingyue felt he looked somewhat familiar, and upon closer inspection, she saw that the man had also turned to look at them, then paused. A subtle, awkward silence fell over the air for a moment.
"This is really too much of a neglect. I'll have a servant escort you two out..." the man said politely, calming his expression.
"No need to trouble yourself. The scenery at the Prince's mansion is beautiful. We'd like to take a walk around." Nie Qingyue quickly interrupted, bid farewell to the steward Chen Li, and pulled Yan Shu to continue walking.
She had mostly forgotten the unpleasant incident from last time, but the cold, calculating impression Chen Li left on her hadn't faded. She should have realized that there was only one prince in Wuhuang City, but she had been too preoccupied with Mo Yu to immediately connect the dots.
It seems best to visit the Prince's mansion less often in the future.
At that moment, she could never have imagined that she would see Chen Li again soon. Three days later, the young lady of the Mo family died of poisoning.
The basis for the judgment was that the dregs of medicine dumped in the back garden contained several Chinese herbs that, when their properties clashed, produced a highly toxic substance, and the prescription written by Yan Shu himself.
As dusk approached, dark clouds pressed down on the horizon.
Nie Qingyue was stopped outside the Thirteenth Prince's Mansion and stood there blankly for half an hour.
The prince, who was supposedly "resting and unable to receive guests," still hasn't been able to make it convenient.
The biting winter wind chilled her to the bone. She hugged her arms and stamped her feet. The servants guarding the door stood calmly and solemnly. White lanterns and ribbons hung on either side of the door, appearing even more silent and sorrowful in the dim light.
“Master would never make such a simple mistake.” These were Yu Che’s exact words.
When she returned from outside that day carrying wine and dishes, only Yu Che was left standing blankly in the center of the huge courtyard; Yan Shu had already been taken away by the government officials.
What did I feel at that time? Rather than finding a precise adjective, it's better to say I felt nothing. My mind was filled with a chaotic and empty feeling that was hard to understand and believe, like I was dreaming.
The government officials, likely influenced by the Prince's residence, forbade even visits, accusing them of interfering with the case. Meanwhile, the Prince's residence consistently avoided them. Nie Qingyue was anxious, utterly helpless and clueless. If things continued like this, would she be utterly unable to defend herself and at the mercy of others on the day of the trial?
Just as she was getting impatient, the lacquered wooden door that had been tightly closed opened, and Chen Li came out from inside: "Miss Nie, please go back. His Highness is too grief-stricken to rest."
Nie Qingyue stared at Chen Liping's indifferent face, her expression weary and earnest as she said, "Manager Chen, there must be some misunderstanding. Let me in..."
Chen Li remained silent and was about to instruct the servants to close the door when he suddenly heard a dull thud. Nie Qingyue, who had been standing perfectly fine just moments before, had collapsed to the ground, her face pale and her eyes closed.
"Manager, what should we do?"
Chen Li hesitated for a few seconds: "Help him in first, and then call the doctor over."
Inside the side room of the Prince's Mansion.
"The patient is already weak, and after standing outside for so long, he caught a chill and is also restless. He needs to rest and won't wake up so quickly." A gentle, aged voice sounded by the bedside.
"Then I'll trouble you, Dr. Li." After saying this, Chen Li turned around and gave a few instructions in the direction of the door before leaving, leaving only the doctor and the patient in the room.
"Girl, the person is gone. What happened?" Her hand, which was outside the blanket, was tapped.
Nie Qingyue opened her tightly closed eyes, grinned, and whispered, "Doctor, it's you?"
The old doctor smiled and stroked his precious beard, mimicking her lowered voice: "I didn't know it was me. Girl, how dare you just collapse like that? Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
Nie Qingyue sat up, clutching the blanket, and scratched his head, honestly admitting, "Mo Yu stayed at my house for a few days before, and when I was learning about his medical history, I knew that you were the doctor who was familiar with the Prince's mansion. Besides, the closest medical clinic to here is the Li Family Clinic."
The old doctor nodded: "I see. Have you encountered any trouble?"
Nie Qingyue silently twisted the corner of the blanket, then suddenly looked up with some confusion: "The day the accident happened..."
So, on the day Miss Mo's poisoning occurred, the Prince's mansion didn't contact you?
"Poisoning? So the white lanterns I saw earlier were because of Miss Mo?"
Nie Qingyue did not answer, her doubts deepening.
According to the officials, Miss Mo collapsed on the road shortly after taking her medicine and was about to leave when she was poisoned. Logically, there should have been servants nearby who discovered her in time; why didn't they immediately call a doctor?
She looked out the door; if she went out now, the servants waiting outside would probably send her back very soon.
"Doctor, let's help each other out completely." Nie Qingyue thought for a moment and smiled ingratiatingly, revealing a set of small white teeth.
With the help of the old doctor, she was able to stay at the Prince's mansion because she was "too weak and frail to step out of her room and catch a chill." Of course, there were guards outside the door 24 hours a day.
The old doctor left after prescribing the medicine that day, instructing his disciple to take over the treatment the following day.
The next day, the disciple who had closed the door arrived quickly. He was a gentle and slender scholar. As soon as he entered, he rushed over and gave Nie Qingyue a bear hug. His arms, which were not strong at all, wrapped tightly around her, and his soft voice comforted her in her ear: "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
Nie Qingyue sniffed, the chaos and helplessness of the past two days finally calming down a little. She reached out and hugged the slender shoulder in front of her, then lowered her head and nuzzled against him, saying, "Murong."
Murong Luo smiled gently, turned around, and removed the mask and disguise from her face.
“I have some familiar customers at the teahouse who have connections with the government. After I finish investigating here, I’ll see if I can arrange a meeting with you.”
"You knew everything?" She had only asked the unsuspecting old doctor to bring Murong over, without mentioning the cause and effect.
Murong tapped her head: "Teahouses and inns aren't mostly about food and drink, they're full of rumors and gossip. If something happens, they don't even know to come to me first."
Nie Qingyue gave a bitter smile and remained silent.
Miss Mo's boudoir became empty around two days ago. As Nie Qingyue passed by from afar, he saw the white silk hanging high in the corner of the door. The servants who used to come and go frequently had all left, leaving behind an eerie desolation and loneliness.
She was rather thin, and her features weren't as striking as those of an ordinary woman, so it didn't take her long to disguise herself as the scholar that Murong had just impersonated.
"The pharmacy is just inside this door, turn left. Please let me know if you need anything." The maid who led the way took her to the front of the garden and then turned and walked away.
Nie Qingyue approached the pharmacy and took out the prescription written by the old doctor. The servant guarding the door unlocked the door for her. The huge medicine cabinet was divided into more than a hundred compartments, each with a clear wooden sign in front of it.
She absentmindedly fetched the medicine, while the servant behind her kept watching her.
"Does the doctor always have to come and get the medicine in person?" The older folks must be exhausted from climbing up and down the ladder.
"Originally, there was a servant who knew about pharmacology who was in charge of it, but he took leave and went back to his hometown half a month ago," the servant replied casually, reminding him, "Remember to leave the prescription after you get it."
"Leave?"
"Yes, it'll be convenient for the pharmacy staff to check the quantities and replenish medications when they come back."
Nie Qingyue nodded and, following the servant's instructions, put the prescription into the lower left drawer. Upon opening it, the drawer was filled with papers densely covered with the names and dosages of various medicines. Nie Qingyue flipped through the top few prescriptions; naturally, the prescriptions Yan Shu had left behind were gone, but the accounts of the medicine dosages were neatly placed beside them.
She carried the account book behind the servants' backs and put it in her bosom.
On the way back, we naturally passed that empty room again.
With no one around, Nie Qingyue thought for a moment and then sneaked inside. Aside from replacing the pink curtains with white ones, the room's furnishings remained largely unchanged. Although Nie Qingyue hadn't yet accepted the fact that Mo Yue was dead, the atmosphere made her feel a little uneasy.
The paper on which Mo Yue casually wrote on the table by the window that day is still there, held down by a small white porcelain pen holder; it contains nothing more than poems lamenting the passing of spring and the coming of autumn.
Nie Qingyue flipped to the next page and saw pages and pages of calligraphy, some large and some small, densely packed, each stroke neat and elegant.
What's the meaning?