Chu Qingze hesitated for a moment before finally walking forward.
Xiao Yao's expression softened slightly. "You know better, hurry and take me in for proper treatment. I won't hold what happened before against you."
Before Xiao Yao could finish speaking, Chu Qingze had already closed the door.
Xiao Yao: "..."
So, he hadn't come over to help her up just now, but to close the door.
Xiao Yao's face turned pale and then flushed. Finally, she took a deep breath. "Help! Someone's assaulting me! Help..."
"Why are you making such a fuss? What will people think if they see this?" Chu Qingze had no choice but to come out again.
Xiao Yao snorted coldly. "Hurry up and take me in to treat my injuries. This is the capital, and my home is just three streets away. If you don't listen to me, I'll have my father intervene and have you taken into the palace to be a eunuch!"
Chu Qingze crossed his arms and pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where did you say your home was?"
"It's right there. The one with two large stone lions at the entrance is my home. What do you say, scared now?"
Although Xiao Yao was sitting on the ground at the moment, it didn't stop her from threatening Chu Qingze.
Chu Qingze turned and went back into the courtyard. Just as she thought he was going to ignore her and was about to scream about assault, a stick was extended towards her.
"What are you doing?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled.
"Grab it, and I'll help you inside."
Xiao Yao's mouth twitched. Looking at the uneven, indescribably shaped stick, she was extremely disgusted. "Can't you just help me in with your hands?"
"There's a difference between men and women. You are a princess, a precious blossom of the imperial family. How could my dirty hands possibly defile you?" While the words sounded polite, Xiao Yao didn't feel complimented at all.
Recalling how he seemed uncomfortable touching women, Xiao Yao had no choice but to grab the end of the stick and, using it for support, hobbled into the inner room with Chu Qingze.
Upon entering, Xiao Yao discovered it was a medical hall. The shelves on either side were not filled with medicinal herbs, but with a pile of bottles and jars, each with strange and unusual names. On the wall hung several paintings, not of landscapes, flowers, or beauties, but of internal organs after an autopsy, which looked quite frightening.
She quickly averted her gaze.
"Hey, your place... where is everyone?"
She came back to her senses and found the room empty.
"Hmph, this rustic doctor dares to be so disrespectful to this princess! Let's see how I deal with him!"
After sulking for a while, she only felt increasing pain in her ankle, with no relief. She could only cast her gaze upon the two rows of small bottles on the nearby shelf.
She had never seen a doctor's hall with no medicinal herbs, only bottles. Out of curiosity, she picked up a gourd-shaped bottle. It had no label, but judging by the color and smell, it seemed to be medicinal wine for treating external injuries.
Since the doctor was no help, she had to save herself. Thus, she applied the entire contents of the "medicinal wine" from the bottle to her ankle.
At first, she felt a warm sensation on her ankle, and the pain seemed to lessen. But soon after, it felt burning hot, as if it were on fire.
"Ah, what is this stuff?" Her face turned ashen, and cold sweat poured down her. But now, there was no one in the room. She was truly in a desperate situation.
When Chu Qingze returned with the Xiao family's housekeeper, he saw Xiao Yao in great pain.
"Oh dear, Miss, what happened to you?" Xiao Yang, with his white temples despite his age, was still agile. Seeing Xiao Yao in agony, he rushed over.
Xiao Yao pointed at Chu Qingze. "It's all your fault! What medicine did you put on the shelf? My ankle hurts so much!"
Chu Qingze saw that the situation was unfavorable and quickly walked into the room. He found the empty bottle, frowned, searched the shelf, and finally found a green bottle, which he handed to Xiao Yang.
"Apply this to the affected area."
Xiao Yang nodded, took the bottle, and quickly applied it to Xiao Yao. After a short while, the pain on Xiao Yao's face subsided. Her eyes teared up, and she glared fiercely at Chu Qingze.
"You deliberately harmed me."
"You suddenly appeared at my doorstep. How could I have known you would come here and prepared these things in advance? If you hadn't meddled with my things, you wouldn't be like this."
"How dare you speak to the princess like that? Are you tired of living?" Xiao Yang, hearing someone disrespect his young lady, began to scold him indignantly.
With someone backing her up, Xiao Yao felt even more emboldened. "This princess will not stoop to your level. I need to return to my manor to recover. You will come with me and take care of me personally. When I'm fully recovered, I'll let you go."
Chu Qingze's face darkened. Looking at Xiao Yao's clearly improving ankle, his tone remained relatively calm.
"Princess, your injury is no longer serious. As long as you rest well, you will be fine. I am afraid I cannot accompany you."
"If you don't go, I will..."
"Miss." Xiao Yang suddenly interrupted her. "Miss, you have been away from home for a long time. You should go back and inform your father immediately. Everyone is worried." While speaking, he kept winking at Xiao Yao.
"Alright then, I'll let you off this time."
Xiao Yao lifted her chin with a proud expression and was led away by Xiao Yang.
Chu Qingze breathed a sigh of relief. If this princess had clung to him, he didn't know what trouble he would face in the future.
After the two of them left, Chu Qingze was about to tidy up the bottles on the shelf. The one Xiao Yao had used was his newly developed poison. When applied to the skin, it would cause a burning sensation and the surface would turn scaly, like snake skin. He had only half-finished developing it, and he didn't expect Xiao Yao to barge in.
Now, it seemed he needed to store the poisonous medicines where others couldn't reach them, otherwise, there was a high chance of someone getting killed.
Just as Chu Qingze was halfway through tidying up, there was a muffled thud outside, as if someone had fainted at the door.
Chu Qingze's expression turned grave. He pushed the door open but saw nothing. As he was about to go back in confusion, he suddenly felt a pain on his head and his body went limp as he fainted.
As he fell, Xiao Yang's face appeared from behind him.
"How is it, Miss? Didn't I say I had a way?"
Xiao Yao appeared from behind the door and looked at the person lying unconscious on the ground with a complex expression.
"Is this your idea of a solution?"
Xiao Yang nodded. "Yes. Anyone who dares to defy our young lady must be taught a lesson. You wanted to take him back and teach him a good lesson, right? Leave it to me. I guarantee it will be done without anyone knowing, and your father will never find out."
After speaking, Xiao Yang clapped his hands outside, and several servants who had been hiding outside ran in. They nimbly carried Chu Qingze away.
Xiao Yao scratched her head. Would this be too much?
However, on second thought, she had suffered so much at Changping County and had nowhere to vent her anger. He had offended her, so it was only fitting to teach him a lesson. Thinking like this, it didn't seem like a big deal.
At the General's mansion, a carriage stopped at the entrance. A handsome young official descended from the carriage. Upon closer inspection, he looked somewhat familiar – it was Li Wenxuan, who had appeared at the wedding of Xia Yunting.
Following closely behind was another carriage, which looked much plainer. After Duan Xucheng alighted from it, he helped down an elderly man with white hair.
These two men, like Li Wenxuan, wore grim expressions.
Before entering, Li Wenxuan looked at Duan Xucheng and said warningly, "Imperial Physician Duan, you are here to accuse Xia Yunting, not an ordinary citizen. Have you thought this through? If nothing is found, you will be charged with slander."
Duan Xucheng was extremely fearful, but his attitude was firm. "I saw it with my own eyes. It is not false."
"Then let's go in."
Li Wenxuan's expression was not good. He flicked his sleeve and entered. The old man behind him glanced at Duan Xucheng with a frown, but Duan Xucheng didn't notice him. He also had to be helped inside.
In a flower bed in the backyard, several young servants dug open the soil, revealing a bagua mirror.
Everyone present was stunned. Xia Yunting stood to the side, watching the scene with a somber expression.
"General, what is going on? How did this thing end up in your mansion?" Li Wenxuan asked, somewhat agitated. If the Emperor saw this, it would be a capital offense. Xia Yunting had saved his life, and seeing this scene now, he was more anxious than Xia Yunting.
If no one else was present, Li Wenxuan could have concealed it, but now that Duan Xucheng and Imperial Physician Chen were both watching, it was difficult to act.
"Just because it was dug up in my mansion doesn't mean it belongs to the General's mansion. It must be someone framing me. Lord Li, you must investigate thoroughly."
"This... If you are truly being framed, I will, of course, investigate thoroughly."
Seeing Xia Yunting's calm demeanor, Li Wenxuan was somewhat surprised. Anyone else in this situation would have been terrified, especially since Xia Yunting had only recently been impeached.
"General Xia, you claim to be framed, but where is the evidence?" Duan Xucheng, supporting his master, spoke with renewed confidence.
"General Xia, everything requires evidence. You shouldn't jump to conclusions too soon." Chen Zhongwen, being elderly, originally didn't want to get involved in this matter. However, his disciple had recently been punished for eloping with the Prime Minister's daughter, and his reputation was poor. He was afraid it might implicate him, so he naturally had to protect his own.
"The evidence will naturally appear later. As for Imperial Physician Duan, you only came to the General's mansion once and immediately declared that my mansion possessed contraband. May I ask how you knew? Did you personally search every corner of my back garden?"
"I saw it by chance. The evidence is conclusive now, what else do you have to say? Lord Li. You saw it with your own eyes, and the item has been dug up. Why aren't you sending him for trial? Could it be that because Xia Yunting once saved you, you intend to bend the law for personal gain?"
Many people in the capital knew about what happened at Xia Yunting's wedding. Therefore, Li Wenxuan had always protected Xia Yunting since he entered officialdom. Not only did he tirelessly search for Xia Yunting when he went missing, but he also spoke favorably of him to the Emperor during the previous impeachment.
"General Xia is right. Although the item was found here, it doesn't necessarily belong to General Xia. Look at the soil on the bagua mirror; it seems freshly applied. It might have been buried recently. Who buried it is still unknown. Since General Xia said that evidence would appear tonight, we will wait here. It won't be too late to pass judgment after tonight."
This was a very obvious act of favoritism, but Duan Xucheng was merely an accuser and had no authority to handle the case. He could only swallow his anger.
"Then we will wait," Duan Xucheng said coldly, looking at Xia Yunting. This time, he was determined to bring him down, or he would not be able to avenge the humiliation he suffered last time.