As he spoke, he lifted the woman's shirt on her right shoulder, revealing a knife wound about an inch long: "This is the wound my elder sister suffered when she saved Master. I clearly remember it was on her right shoulder. The wound matches perfectly, and with this identical face, isn't that enough proof?"
Huangfu Mi was astonished. He turned to look at the woman, staring into her face and eyes, and said, "Are you really, really Qingcheng?"
The woman raised her head, then lowered it again, shrinking closer to Liancheng as if she had been frightened.
Seeing this, Liancheng patted her shoulder to reassure her, then turned to Huangfu Mi and said, "It seems that my elder sister has lost her memory. She doesn't even recognize me. When I saw her, she was begging on the street. It seems that she has suffered a lot in the past two years..."
At this point, Liancheng's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at her sister, feeling heartbroken.
Although Huangfu Mi was still confused, she knew it was not the time to ask anymore. After all, Qingcheng had lost her memory and Liancheng was emotionally unstable. It was better to leave her behind for the time being and observe how things would turn out.
"In that case, you should settle everything for her first. I will call Hua Jiuye back first thing tomorrow morning to treat her injuries."
Liancheng nodded, then curtsied to Huangfu Mi before helping Qingcheng turn and walk towards the side courtyard.
--
"Puyang—" Back in his room, Huangfu Mi still felt something was amiss. He summoned Puyang and instructed him, "Investigate that woman's background thoroughly, down to the smallest detail. I need to know if she is indeed Qingcheng."
If Qingcheng really didn't die, he would naturally be happy, after all, that girl fell off a cliff while trying to save him, which made him sad for quite some time.
But how could someone survive a fall from such a height and still make it to the capital after two years? No matter how he thought about it, he found it all rather strange.
"What's wrong?" Meng Wan asked softly as she walked over to him, noticing his serious expression, as if something had happened.
Huangfu Mi finally came to his senses and recounted what Liancheng had just said, including the fact that Qingcheng had died for him, telling Meng Wan everything in detail.
Meng Wan listened quietly, her mind still replaying the look the woman had given her when she left. Suddenly, her heart began to pound with unease.
Could it be that the woman wasn't the captivating beauty Huangfu Mi spoke of? Then who was she? What was she doing infiltrating the Prince's residence? Was there some kind of conspiracy?
Huangfu Mi was naturally worried about this as well, which is why he asked Puyang to investigate. Puyang was always reliable, and that very night he personally left the palace to search around.
Despite being a prince, Huangfu Mi has made many friends over the years, and Puyang used their help to investigate the woman's identity.
In just half a month, nothing was gained. On the contrary, in the Wangfu, under Hua Jiuye's treatment, although the woman's memory had not been restored, her health was improving day by day.
I learned from her that although she had lost her previous memories, she remembered the events of the past two years clearly. She said that she fell into a deep valley for some unknown reason, but was rescued by a passerby. After that, she wandered around that area and eventually came to the capital.
Her words were vague, but they vaguely matched the events of Qingcheng's fall off the cliff years ago. With Liancheng's confirmation, Huangfu Mi accepted the fact that Qingcheng was not dead and settled her in the palace, taking good care of her.
Meng Wan didn't inquire too much about these things. She only vaguely heard Huangfu Mi mention them. She secretly made a note of them but didn't say much. She continued to live her life peacefully as usual.
During the day, Xiao Yun'er came to the Prince's Mansion to visit Meng Wan. Because there was a Thousand Carp Pond in the backyard, Xiao Yun'er insisted on going to see it, so the two sisters went together. However, they did not expect that Liancheng and Qingcheng were already there early in the morning.
Seeing Meng Wan, they were clearly taken aback. Lian Cheng was the first to react and quickly pulled Qing Cheng up to pay their respects. Only after Meng Wan said that they didn't need to stand up did the two sisters get up. Xiao Yun'er had already poked her head over and asked, "Sister, who are these two? Are they your husband's concubines?"
The word "concubine" made Meng Wan frown. She spat at Xiao Yun'er and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Where did this 'concubine' come from? You speak so rudely. They are all friends of the prince."
"Friends?" Xiao Yun'er was a little puzzled. "But can men and women be friends? Especially such a beautiful girl, it just makes me feel uneasy!"
Despite her young age, that girl was quite precocious, speaking with remarkable precision.
Meng Wan was a little unsure how to explain, but Lian Cheng smiled humbly and said, "Actually, we work for the Prince. It's just that the Princess Consort is being too kind and calls us friends. In reality, we are just the Prince's men."
"Oh--" Xiao Yun'er nodded as if she understood, but was clearly not interested in this. She ran over to the Thousand Carp Pond to look at the fish.
Meng Wan then said to the two sisters, "My younger sister is young and doesn't understand things, please don't take offense. By the way, is Miss Qingcheng feeling better? Has she remembered things from the past?"
As she spoke, she kept staring at Qingcheng's face, but saw that she was staring blankly to the side, as if she had not heard Meng Wan's words. Liancheng then chuckled dryly: "Your body is much better, but you can't remember anything. It's really worrying."
Meng Wan didn't care about Qingcheng's indifference. She smiled gently at Liancheng and was about to say something to comfort her. However, before she could speak, Qingcheng suddenly stood up and stared into the distance. Her expressionless face suddenly broke into a smile.
"Your Highness..."
It was Huangfu Mi who returned from the morning court session. Meng Wan had just pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked over when she saw Huangfu Mi standing tall and handsome as he walked over. His tall figure and good looks were captivating.
Meng Wan watched quietly, a smile unconsciously playing on her lips. She stood up, ready to go forward, but before she could move, a gust of wind suddenly blew past her, and as Qingcheng rushed over, she was knocked to the ground.
"Your Highness—" Upon seeing this, Liancheng hurriedly went over to help her up. Meng Wan endured the pain in her knee from the impact and forced a smile as she stood up, saying, "I'm fine."
Looking up, Meng Wan saw that Qingcheng had already run up to Huangfu Mi, her hands tightly gripping his wrists, as if she was saying something to him. Her voice was very soft and could not be heard from here. Meng Wan frowned involuntarily as she watched.
"Your Highness, please don't mind. My eldest sister didn't mean anything by it. It's just that the prince visits her during the day, so she treats him as one of her own and inevitably oversteps her bounds with him."
Meng Wan naturally understood and wouldn't be jealous over such a thing. However, just now, she felt that Qingcheng's bump into her was not unintentional. She didn't know if she was just being paranoid, but in the end, she still felt that there was something wrong with Qingcheng.
So that night, after the couple had made love, she nestled against Huangfu Mi's chest and voiced her doubts. She had expected Huangfu Mi to agree with her as before, but to her surprise, he shook his head and said, "Perhaps you are overthinking it. I don't think there's anything wrong with her."
Meng Wan suddenly looked up: "Is there news from Puyang?"
"Yes, according to the family that took her in, it matches her story. But no one knows anything about what happened two years ago, which coincides with the time of her disappearance."
"But..." Even if we put aside the question of whether Qingcheng is real or not, and even if she is, is it really just a coincidence that she suddenly reappears after being missing for two years?
Meng Wan frowned slightly; a woman's intuition told her she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, a rapid knocking came from outside: "Your Highness—"
Zixiu, the maid who was instructed to take care of Qingcheng, was standing anxiously at the door. When she saw Huangfu Mi come to open the door, she immediately knelt down on both knees: "It is truly my fault for disturbing Your Highness's bedtime. However, Miss Qingcheng has been complaining of a headache and has been muttering incantations to Your Highness. I was worried that something might have happened, so I came to report to Your Highness."
Huangfu Mi frowned slightly: "Are you calling me?" His eyes suddenly lit up: "Have you remembered something?"
Overjoyed, she quickly said a word to Meng Wan before leaving with Zi Xiu. Only then did Meng Wan sit up from the bed, watching Huangfu Mi's disappearing figure, her delicate brows gradually furrowing together.
Headache?
--
When Huangfu Mi arrived, Qingcheng was still lying there, curled up in a ball, her eyes closed and her brows furrowed, looking as if she was in great pain.