"I just heard on the road that someone saw a concubine from the Prince Regent's mansion having an affair, and she was discovered by that person's wife. Now she's been stripped naked and thrown at the Prince Regent's mansion, and people are already gathered." Xie Jin couldn't help but smile as he spoke.
Ruan Xi's eyes widened, "Oh my, so it's the Prince Regent's woman who had an affair!"
"What?!" Zhan Ming's face changed, dark as a thundercloud.
Zhan Tianye spoke coldly, with no expression, "What kind of behavior is this!"
These four words were like a slap in Zhan Ming's face.
Zhan Ming had intended to slap Zhan Tianye, but he never expected that a slap would land squarely on his own face.
He immediately turned to look at the people behind him.
Those behind him dared not breathe.
"Prince Regent, you should hurry back and take a look! The commotion is too big! They say that the Prince Regent has several other concubines who are also involved with men outside, and many wives have come knocking! Now the rumors are all sorts of wild tales. Even I, someone who has seen a lot, nearly had my eyes pop out." Xie Jin, enjoying the spectacle and not wanting to miss an opportunity to stir the pot, added more fuel to the fire.
Even with Zhan Ming's thick skin, he couldn't stay any longer. He quickly left with his men.
Ruan Xi watched Zhan Ming's somewhat hasty retreat and his face immediately sank, "Is the Prince Regent so bored he has nothing better to do?"
After speaking, he looked at Zhan Tianye again, "Yun Shu is saving Ji Rong."
Then, he hurried towards the room.
He pushed open the tightly closed door.
The room was inexplicably silent.
Qin Yiqing, who had been weeping and begging Ji Rong not to leave, was slumped by the bedside. Whether she had fainted from grief or…
Ruan Xi frowned, sensing something was wrong, and rushed towards the bed.
He questioned Yun Shu, who stood by silently, "Ji Rong, he…"
Yun Shu looked at Zhan Tianye, who had appeared at the doorway.
Their eyes met.
She answered Ruan Xi first, "He's not dead yet."
Zhan Tianye's dark eyes flickered, his gaze swept towards the bed, and he saw Ji Rong lying there, pale and motionless.
Xie Jin quietly asked Zhan Tianye, "King Ye, what's going on?"
He had heard about Ji Rong and had even wanted Ji Rong to divine for him, to see if he would have a prosperous future. Now Ji Rong was lying on the bed, looking in a very bad state?
"Not, not, not dead?" Ruan Xi was stunned, shocked, and a beat too slow to react.
"At the last moment, I forcibly inserted needles. Perhaps it worked, but he's unconscious now." Yun Shu explained concisely.
Ji Rong's condition had been extremely precarious earlier.
Ruan Xi recovered his senses, swallowed the grief stuck in his throat, and then pointed at Qin Yiqing, who was slumped by the bed in an unclear state, "What about her? What's her situation?"
"Yiqing was overwhelmed with emotion, and on top of that, she was drunk. She's fainted. Have someone carry her to the adjacent room to continue sleeping. As for Ji Rong, have someone take good care of him. Perhaps… he still has a chance to wake up." Yun Shu said.
She wasn't entirely sure.
Based on Ji Rong's words before he lost consciousness, his life was nearing its end. No amount of skill or medicine could extend his life.
Yet, he still had a breath left.
And it was unknown how long this breath would last.
She could use various methods to keep him alive.
Perhaps, his fate was not to die?
For a moment, questions filled her mind.
"I was so scared. Thankfully, thankfully, Ji Rong is still alive." Ruan Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
Yun Shu glanced at Ji Rong and Qin Yiqing, then walked out of the room.
Xie Jin, being tactful, saw that Zhan Tianye wanted to speak with Yun Shu alone and quickly went to chat with Ruan Xi.
Under the tree.
Yun Shu was silent for a moment.
It was Zhan Tianye who spoke first, "What illness does Ji Rong have?"
Yun Shu shook her head, "It's not an illness."
Zhan Tianye's eyes tightened. Not an illness?
"He reversed fate for too many people and did many things that penetrated heavenly secrets, so his life has reached its end," Yun Shu said again.
Her tone was cool, yet exceptionally gentle.
Zhan Tianye had seen the unrestrained and flamboyant Yun Shu, the Yun Shu with a bright smile, the focused and confident Yun Shu when saving lives, the extremely lazy Yun Shu, but it was the Yun Shu before him, carrying a trace of sadness, that tugged at his heartstrings.
What's more, her words led him to guess some things.
Ji Rong had put effort into his and Yun Shu's wedding.
Yun Shu hid her emotions quickly. In a blink, she collected her thoughts and looked into the distance, remembering what she had heard in the room earlier, "The Prince Regent's concubines all had affairs?"
Was it too coincidental?
Zhan Tianye curled his lips and smiled, "Yes, indeed."
If it wasn't true, he would make it true.
Since Zhan Ming liked to speak of others' impropriety, he would make these words follow Zhan Ming like a shadow.
Yun Shu's eyebrows twitched, and she immediately understood.
"Xie Jin brought back some news," Zhan Tianye added.
Yun Shu's heart stirred, "News about the Prince Regent?"
"Xie Jin found out he was very close with the Empress Dowager five years ago," Zhan Tianye said thoughtfully.
Yun Shu heard "five years ago" and suddenly remembered that Yun Yueyin had meticulously entered Zhan Ming's embrace four years ago. And the year before Yun Yueyin and Zhan Ming were together, Zhan Ming seemed to have been away from the capital.
The Empress Dowager had also left the capital for several years.
During these years, they were close. Could it be…
Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled that the Empress Dowager had been pregnant within a few years, and that child couldn't possibly be Zhan Ming's. Zhan Ming lacked the capability.
For a moment, her doubts deepened.
She always felt she had overlooked something.
"These matters are too old; they will require more time to investigate clearly," Zhan Tianye said gently.
Yun Shu nodded.
...
The next day.
Yun Shu went to Ruan Mansion again.
Upon arriving at Ruan Mansion, Qin Yiqing was already keeping vigil by Ji Rong's bedside.
Seeing Yun Shu arrive, Qin Yiqing quickly stood up, her swollen red eyes looking towards her.
"Yun Shu, Ji Rong still hasn't woken up. I just checked his breath; he's still alive."
Yun Shu hummed and walked over, feeling Ji Rong's pulse. It was the same as yesterday, with no improvement. She handed over a bottle of medicine, "Give him one pill every day."
"Okay, I'll give him one now." Qin Yiqing fumbled with the bottle.
Yun Shu immediately took Qin Yiqing's hand, "Don't panic. Can you put it in his mouth tonight?"
"Okay. Yun Shu, when will he wake up? I wonder if he can hear me," Qin Yiqing asked with red eyes. xxs one
Yun Shu looked at her deeply and smiled, "He can hear, and he can even feel. Yiqing, take care of yourself."
After comforting Qin Yiqing, Yun Shu immediately rushed back to the General's Mansion.
On the way, she learned that the Empress Dowager had sent someone to pick up the three little ones to the palace.
It was said that some of the Geng family's grandchildren had also entered the palace today. The Empress Dowager, for some unknown reason, had a change of mind.
She said that the Prince Regent's three sons were very intelligent and wanted some of the Geng family's grandchildren to learn from them.