For the next two days, Brother Bao indeed became a frequent guest at the autumn dark courtyard where Su Xiaoqi was temporarily staying.
Su Xiaoqi led him in playing many games she had played in modern times, making him small building blocks and Rubik's cubes.
Thinking of the problems she had felt in his pulse when she examined him by the artificial lake earlier, Su Xiaoqi spent more than half the night concocting some hawthorn lollipops for him and now presented them to Brother Bao to eat.
"Mmm, this is delicious, so good, Sister Xiaoqi, can I take some of these lollipops back for my mother to eat?"
Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. She thought for a moment and said, "These hawthorn lollipops are specially made by Sister for Brother Bao to eat. Adults don't eat these. If Brother Bao wants to be filial to the Grand Princess, I have some walnut cakes here."
The two, one big and one small, played to their heart's content. When Brother Bao returned, he took the walnut cakes Su Xiaoqi gave him to his mother.
Su Xiaoqi's attentiveness to Brother Bao made even Shen Yun feel jealous.
As soon as Brother Bao was picked up by someone from the Grand Princess's manor, he stared fixedly at Su Xiaoqi and asked in a low voice, "Who is your husband, after all?"
When she returned yesterday, Su Xiaoqi had told him that something was wrong with Brother Bao, that he had been poisoned, and that the poison had been with him since birth. She had accidentally cured him with the spiritual medicine from her space, but he still needed to take a few more doses to clear the toxins. Otherwise, when the toxins accumulated, it would be another big problem. However, she dared not give him medicine openly, so she stayed up all night to make hawthorn lollipops for him. Turning the medicinal liquid into a paste and making it into lollipops, one could not say she was not thoughtful.
"Ah..." Su Xiaoqi didn't understand Shen Yun's train of thought and was somewhat stunned. Shen Yun was just complaining casually; he wouldn't dare to really say it. If he did, Xiaoqi might really get angry with him. However, he thought of a good way to win back his wife.
He indicated that his wounds had improved. They could go to the capital. "Brother He has already arranged the residence; we just need to go over."
After Su Xiaoqi checked and saw that the wounds had healed well, she immediately nodded. She said she would have Guo'er pack their things right away and they would leave the next morning.
She got up to find Guo'er but saw her hurrying over from outside the courtyard, looking terrified. Only when she reached Su Xiaoqi did some color return to her face.
"Guo'er, what's wrong?" Su Xiaoqi asked with concern. Although Guo'er was young, she was very steady. Even when they encountered assassins on the road last time, she hadn't appeared scared. Seeing her like this now, Su Xiaoqi couldn't help but wonder if she had been stimulated by something.
"Mistress, I just saw Miss Zhao outside."
Su Xiaoqi pondered for a moment and said, "Miss Zhao, Zhao Xiaohua?"
Guo'er nodded, "That's right, it was her. She seemed to be with a woman dressed very luxuriously, um, like, like the Grand Princess."
Su Xiaoqi frowned. Zhao Xiaohua's capabilities were growing. Previously, in Zhao Family Village, she had gotten involved with the village head's daughter, Zhao Haie, and tricked her into becoming a concubine in the county yamen's backyard. Then, she had hooked up with Su Yurou, the eldest daughter of the Su family in Mianzhou City. She had originally thought that once they reached the capital, they wouldn't see her again for a while. To her surprise, Zhao Xiaohua, by some unknown means, had managed to connect with another noble lady.
"Where did you see her?" "When I was accompanying Grandma Xu to send Young Master Bao back, she, she was there with the Grand Princess."
Su Xiaoqi was slightly taken aback. For some reason, she always felt that Zhao Xiaohua was targeting her and Shen Yun. However, since the other party hadn't done anything yet, it wasn't appropriate for her to say too much. She could only comfort Guo'er: "It's fine. As they say, every dog has its day, and every cat has its way. Let her do whatever she wants. As long as she doesn't provoke us, we don't need to confront her."
At this moment, Zhao Xiaohua was extremely resentful. She was furious. She had finally managed to follow the Shen family to the capital, live in the Shen residence, and gain the favor of the mistress of the Shen household, coaxing her to bring her to Ganquan Temple to pray for blessings. In fact, praying for blessings here was an excuse. She remembered that at this time in her previous life, a shocking case had occurred here. She had intended to save that person this time. Unfortunately, they had been delayed too long on the way, and she hadn't remembered the exact time. By the time she arrived here, it was already too late.
She learned that this life was different from her past life. That shocking case had not happened. Ganquan Temple was peaceful. Undeterred, she made inquiries from various sources. As a result, no one had drowned in the artificial lake of the temple, let alone the only legitimate son of the Grand Princess's manor. Therefore, the Grand Princess had not, in a fit of rage, ordered soil to be brought from Beiquan Mountain to cover the area, as she had in her previous life. Everything remained as it was originally. Why? Why was it like this? Zhao Xiaohua couldn't figure it out.
Just then, Princess Ning brought her to the Grand Princess's residence. She saw Guo'er. Because she had followed Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun for several days, she recognized the little maidservant who followed Su Xiaoqi. Thinking that Guo'er had come before the Grand Princess, she made a point of inquiring. It was then that she learned that the shocking case that was supposed to happen in her previous life was precisely because the Grand Princess's manor's young son had been pushed into the lake and drowned by his own governess. However, in this life, he was pushed in by the governess but did not drown. And the one who saved him was precisely Su Xiaoqi. Su—Xiao—Qi! Zhao Xiaohua gritted her teeth and uttered her name word by word. If it weren't for her, the person who saved the Grand Princess's manor's young son would have been her. Now, all the rewards Su Xiaoqi received from the Grand Princess's manor should have been hers. Hers! Even Brother Yun was originally hers. It was all because of her, because of her sudden change, that all the uncertainties arose. Late at night, Zhao Xiaohua, filled with resentment, was so angry that her teeth itched. However, she had lived through two lifetimes after all and could control her emotions with ease. She quickly adjusted her emotions and secretly began to scheme in her heart. She refused to believe that she, who was favored by heaven and had been given a second chance at life, couldn't handle a mere Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi, who had already been silently recognized as an opponent, knew nothing of this. She was merely packing her belongings normally, then went to the Grand Princess's residence to bid farewell to Brother Bao. The Grand Princess smiled and said that the abbot master had said that Brother Bao's illness was cured and no longer needed treatment. They would also be returning to the capital tomorrow. Su Xiaoqi was aware of this. Because when she saved Brother Bao in the lake before, she had noticed something was wrong with his body. His skin appeared pale, as if he had some congenital weakness. However, it was actually poisoning from birth. Because she was in a hurry to save him at the time, she had given him the spiritual medicine from her space. Not only had it directly cured the toxins he had brought from his mother's womb, but coupled with the detoxification pills she had placed in the snacks he had eaten over the past two days, his toxins had indeed been completely cleared. Hearing the Grand Princess say this now, she was very happy. In this way, she had helped Brother Bao and lived up to his trust and affection for her. In fact, when she had secretly given Brother Bao medicine behind the Grand Princess's back at the beginning, she had been somewhat apprehensive, not that she lacked confidence. In fact, she had long had some knowledge of the residual toxins in Brother Bao's body. If she remembered correctly, Yu Shi also had that kind of poison. She had also given her spiritual medicine, cured her, and prescribed several doses for her to clear the residual toxins. It was only then that Yu Shi's toxins were completely resolved. Therefore, when she detected that kind of toxin in Brother Bao's body, her first reaction was to save him. Moreover, she was confident enough to save him. It was just that she was worried that the Grand Princess, with her motherly love, would be too concerned about Brother Bao and wouldn't allow her to give him medicine, so she deliberately kept it from her and secretly cleared the toxins for him.
The Grand Princess sighed, "Alas, the abbot master said that his medicine is not very effective. I wonder how Brother Bao got better. Ah, by the way, Xiaoqi, what medicine did you give Brother Bao by the lake last time? I remember Brother Bao seemed to have gotten much better after taking that medicine. Could it be that Xiaoqi, by chance, helped my son once again?" The Grand Princess, having navigated the imperial harem for decades, had witnessed countless struggles for power. But she rarely saw someone like Su Xiaoqi who saved people but was unwilling to say more. Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. She had wondered why the Grand Princess suddenly brought up Brother Bao's health in front of her. It turned out she had already sensed something. She frowned, hesitating whether or not to tell the truth.