"Since you have urgent matters, I won't keep you," Leng Jinyu sighed.
Then, Leng Ruoli took out two bottles of antidote pills and two bottles of life-saving pills from her sleeve and gave one of each to the two.
"These are the best medicines I've recently developed. Keep them close to you. They might be useful in moments of crisis. As for their uses, the names and functions of the pills are clearly written on the bottles. Just read the labels when you use them."
Leng Ruoli earnestly cautioned them.
One was her biological elder brother, whom she had only recently reunited with, and the other was considered a good friend. She couldn't be biased and only give life-saving medicine to her elder brother while withholding it from Ming Jiuxiao.
Leng Ruoli mused to herself.
"Alright, elder brother remembers. Thank you, Li'er. Once elder brother has dealt with the Xie family's affairs, I will return to the capital to find you. But while elder brother is away from the capital, you must take good care of Father and protect yourself."
Leng Ruoru suddenly reached out and flicked Leng Ruoli's small nose, a doting smile appearing on his face. His sister was still as adorable as she was when she was young.
"Elder brother, since you've decided to leave the capital tomorrow, shall we find a restaurant tonight for a good gathering?"
Leng Ruoli suggested.
"Okay!"
Leng Ruoru and Ming Jiuxiao nodded in agreement.
Subsequently, they chose the Zui Xian Lou, which was owned by the Cold King's manor, as speaking would be much more convenient on their own turf.
On the other side, Qing Prince's manor.
After being dealt with by Leng Ruoli during the day, Qing Prince was sent back to his manor by a young guard riding a carriage.
His entire body reeked. Unable to care about the pain from his wounds, he ordered the guards and servants in his manor to bring forty buckets of water to bathe him and wash away the foul odor.
As he bathed, he cursed Leng Ruoli, his every word venomous, only stopping when his mouth grew tired.
Later, when he emerged from the bathing room, his face and body were almost stripped of a layer of skin from his vigorous scrubbing, leaving them bright red.
"Leng Ruoli, I will surely make you pay for today's humiliation." Qing Prince gritted his teeth.
Because he had been severely beaten by Leng Ruoli in front of the Anji Tang, losing all face and the dignity befitting a prince, he would absolutely not let Leng Ruoli off the hook.
"Zuo Qing, take my black wood token and summon the ten Eagle Beak Shadow Guards of my mother to kill Leng Ruoli for me."
As Qing Prince uttered these words, his fists clenched so hard they creaked, his face was drawn taut, his lips turned blue, and his eyes seemed to spew fire. He looked utterly deranged.
"Yes, your subordinate obeys!"
Zuo Qing took the order and quickly went to carry it out, afraid that Qing Prince's wrath would spill over onto him.
However, as soon as the unlucky Qing Prince finished giving Zuo Qing his orders, his private parts began to itch and hurt again. Thus, he hurriedly found the ointment he had bought from Leng Ruoli for a hundred thousand yuan and applied it to his afflicted area.
He carefully squeezed a little and applied it to the affected spot, immediately feeling a cool and comfortable sensation.
Despite his anger, he had to admit that the ointment bought from Leng Ruoli was indeed a good product.
Later, the news of Qing Prince being beaten by the Cold Princess Consort at Anji Tang and then thrown into a slop pit spread throughout the capital within a day. In an instant, Qing Prince became the laughingstock of everyone in the capital, from high-ranking officials to commoners, and from then on, he could no longer hold his head up in the capital.
...
Lin Duke's manor, Lin Duke's study.
Upon hearing about Qing Prince's affairs from outside, Lin Duke was furious.
"Qing Prince is truly useless. He can't even defeat a woman, yet he has the nerve to cause trouble on her territory."
Lin Duke's expression was as grim and terrifying as the sky before a heavy rain.
"Elder brother, this Jun Mo Yao is incapable of achieving great things. You don't need to get so worked up."
Lin Zhenfan, sitting in a wheelchair beside him, patiently advised him.
"Yes, elder brother forgot. We have already chosen Prince Ning as our candidate to support."
Lin Duke then replied coldly.
"Elder brother, let's not let eldest sister (the Empress) know about our cooperation with Prince Ning yet, otherwise, she will fall out with us."
Lin Zhenfan reminded Lin Duke.
"Mm, I've already thought about this. However, if eldest sister knows that we are not supporting Qing Prince to become emperor but instead supporting Prince Ning, she will likely hate us to death."
Lin Zhenfei said with a solemn expression.
"Then there's nothing we can do. Who asked her son, Qing Prince, to be so unpromising? Otherwise, we wouldn't have chosen Prince Ning as our puppet for the Lin family. Besides, eldest sister has already lost her authority to command the harem, and the Emperor has harmed her to the point of looking neither human nor ghost. She is of no use to us anymore..." Lin Zhenfan replied with great indifference.
Lin Zhenfei nodded in strong agreement.
At this moment, as the two were engrossed in their conversation, they did not notice a slender figure in the hidden compartment of Lin Zhenfei's study.
The owner of this figure was Madam Tao.
She had intended to sneak into Lin Zhenfei's study to find evidence of his past framing of her father, Tao Zhixing. However, she was discovered by the Lin brothers in the study.
In the critical situation, she had no choice but to hide herself in Lin Zhenfei's study's hidden compartment, silently praying that the Lin brothers would not find her.
Listening to the Lin brothers' conversation from her hiding spot, she dared not even breathe loudly.
However, she had to admit, these two Lin brothers were truly heartless, betraying even their own sister and nephew.
Madam Tao truly witnessed the Lin brothers' sinister and wicked nature.
Thus, Madam Tao stayed in Lin Duke's study's hidden compartment for an hour before the Lin brothers were called out by a guard. Only then did Madam Tao let out a long sigh of relief.
But she still dared not come out, fearing that the Lin brothers might return to the study and catch her, which would be troublesome.
Then, Madam Tao waited in the hidden compartment for another quarter of an hour before daring to leave Lin Zhenfei's study.
However, as soon as she slipped out of the entrance of Lin Zhenfei's courtyard, she ran into Lin Zhenfei. At that moment, she almost jumped out of her skin from fright.
"Little Tao, when did you come to my courtyard?" Lin Zhenfei asked her with a look of confusion.
"Oh... Oh, my lord, your concubine just arrived. Seeing that you weren't in the courtyard, I came out immediately," Madam Tao replied, somewhat nervously, dabbing her lips with a silk scarf.
Although Lin Zhenfei saw that Madam Tao's demeanor was not right, he did not ask further. Instead, he led her towards a pavilion in the garden.
"Little Tao, you are heavy with child now. You cannot be so easily startled as you were just now. It will affect the baby in your belly."
Lin Zhenfei said considerately as he pulled Madam Tao along.
Coincidentally, this scene was precisely witnessed by Lin Duke's wife.