Cypress Boat Floating

Chapter 144 Another Trip to the Imperial Master's Mansion

When I came to the Xianwang Mansion again, there was no rush, tension, or worry as last night. The Xianwang Mansion was no more chaotic than yesterday. It was quiet at this time, and the servants tried their best to control their voices while walking.

"Don't blame me, Your Highness Prince Qin. Miss Ye cannot bear any sound. She will be frightened and faint if she hears any loud sound. Your Highness, please tell everyone to slow down and control the noise." Huai Xi was leading the way from the front. Naturally, he saw Lu Zhixing's puzzled expression and took the initiative to explain to him.

"How is she?" Lu Zhixing asked. He really didn't expect it to be so serious.

Huai Xi sighed, his expression full of regret: "Poor thing, poor Miss Ye, a good person has become a fool, without consciousness, no response to others talking, but can't stand being frightened. In the morning when Yuqin was feeding Miss Ye, someone outside accidentally dropped a bowl, and Miss Ye fainted on the spot."

"So serious!" Lu Zhixing was shocked.

"His Highness is now in Miss Ye's room, just in front. Your Highness Prince Qin, why don't you wait in your study for a while? I'll go and report to you." Seeing that Ye Jianqing's yard was not far ahead, Huai Xi stopped here.

"No need, I'll go there myself." Lu Zhixing walked towards Ye Jianqing's yard.

The weather today is pretty good. Yesterday's rain washed away some of the heat, and today it is a bit cooler. There are many gardenias planted in Ye Jianqing's yard.

As soon as I entered the yard, a fresh fragrance hit my nose, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. My originally chaotic brain gradually relaxed in the scent of flowers.

Strictly speaking, this was Lu Zhixing's second time entering this courtyard. Last night was his first time. However, he was in too much of a hurry and it was dark last night, so he didn't notice these things. Now that it was bright, he could take advantage of the day to appreciate them.

It’s a pity that the flowers were not properly protected before the heavy rain last night, and some of them are now falling down.

Coming in from the gate and passing by this garden, behind it is Ye Jianqing's boudoir. This courtyard can be said to be the second largest courtyard in the palace.

"This old man is really willing to give." Lu Zhixing thought to himself. At the beginning, Lu Ciqiu arranged all the renovations of the palace by himself. Lu Zhixing asked several times if he wanted to help but was rejected. I think at that time Lu Ciqiu had decided to leave the best position in the palace to Ye Jianqing.

Although Ye Jianqing's yard is not as big as Lu Ci Qiu's, it is warm in winter and cool in summer, which is much more comfortable than Lu Ci Qiu's.

At the beginning, Lu Zhixing was wondering why Lu Ci Qiu did not choose this courtyard and had to go there. Now he thinks it was because of Ye Jianqing.

Lu Zhixing did not continue moving forward, but stopped at the gardenia area. From here he could see Lu Ci Qiu and Ye Jianqing standing at the door of the room.

Lu Ci Qiu supported Ye Jianqing as they stood at the door basking in the sun. It was such a pleasant sight. The sunlight sprinkled on them wantonly, enveloping them.

Although he was standing far away, Lu Zhixing could still see Ye Jianqing's appearance from this angle. She didn't look well.

The person was dazed and stupid. Lu Ci Qiu kept talking but never got a reply. Lu Zhixing didn't know whether she listened or not, but he felt that she didn't. Even though Ye Jianqing didn't hear him, Lu Ci Qiu still insisted on talking. He talked about what happened in the court today, what happened on the way to the court, which stall on the street sold what food today, and what delicious food was made in the mansion today. He told her everything that Ye Jianqing didn't know.

Looking at the two of them like this, one moving and one quiet, Lu Zhixing was reluctant to go up and disturb them.

But he didn't expect that he was just distracted for a moment, and when he looked up again, he saw Ye Jianqing's eyelids drooping, and then the whole person fell backwards. He was frightened and habitually wanted to go forward to help.

But before he stretched out his foot, he saw Lu Ci Qiu holding her in his arms as usual, and the two of them were standing at the door in an embrace.

Lu Ci Qiu, who was originally telling Ye Jianqing everything with great interest, the moment Ye Jianqing fell down, the fake smile on his face disappeared, and was replaced by worry.

He hugged Ye Jianqing tightly and buried his head in her neck. At this angle, Lu Zhixing couldn't see his expression, but he could feel Lu Ci Qiu's sadness.

At this moment, Lu Zhixing knew that he was the one who was really deceived by Lu Ci Qiu.

I still remember that a few months ago, Lu Ci Qiu swore to me solemnly that he would never fall in love with Ye Jianqing, but looking at his current expression, I'm afraid that he has already fallen deeply in love with her and it's impossible for him to just stop loving her.

He watched Lu Ci Qiu pick up Ye Jianqing and carry her into the room. The window in the room was not closed, and the butterflies that had always been playing in the garden now ran to her window and stayed there.

What's the reason? Are you also hoping that she will recover soon?

Lu Ci Qiu tucked in the quilt for Ye Jianqing, and then told something to the maid beside him. Lu Zhixing thought that he was probably telling her to take good care of Ye Jianqing.

Judging from his appearance, he probably came here right after the court session. He hasn't even changed into his court robes. I guess he hasn't even had breakfast yet.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhixing couldn't help but feel a little angry, angry that he didn't care about his own body.

"Second brother." Lu Zhixing knew that Lu Ci Qiu had noticed him a long time ago, but he still wanted to accompany Ye Jianqing, so he waited until Ye Jianqing fell asleep before coming to see him.

Hearing him calling him, Lu Zhixing walked out of the garden. He waited here, waiting for Lu Ci Qiu to come over by himself.

"How is the person?" Lu Zhixing thought of what Eunuch Huaixi had just said, that Ye Jianqing would faint if frightened, and his voice involuntarily became a little lighter. He waited until Lu Ci Qiu came to his side before he asked.

"It's still the same. Yuqin said she woke up in the morning and ate something. When I came back and saw that she was awake, I thought of taking her out to bask in the sun, thinking that maybe this way she could recover better." The two of them walked out, and Lu Ci Qiu talked as they walked.

Lu Zhixing felt distressed when he saw the bruises under his eyes. He had stayed up all night and didn't get much sleep last night. When he came back today, he came straight to take care of her without getting much rest.

"Can you walk?"

"If you hold her hand, she can walk. If you let go, she will just stand there."

"What happened just now? Why did you fall down?"

"She is awake for a short time. She will fall asleep soon after waking up. No matter where she is, whether she is standing or sitting, she will fall asleep immediately." When Lu Ci Qiu said this, he smiled, but there was some bitterness in his smile: "Isn't she just like a little child?"

Lu Zhixing couldn't bear to see his brother forcing himself to smile like this, but he couldn't say anything. He could only repeat the words of comfort he had said in the morning: "Didn't the Imperial Master say that it would be fine after these three days?"

Lu Ci Qiu nodded reluctantly.

The two men walked out of Ye Jianqing's yard. Lu Ci Qiu's yard was opposite Ye Jianqing's yard. The two men stood facing each other, separated by a pond with a pavilion built in the pond.

Lu Zhixing had not come to Prince Xian's Mansion very often, and every time he came, he went straight to Lu Ci Qiu's courtyard. This was the first time he knew that their courtyards were facing each other.

"Your yard is across from her yard." Lu Zhixing mentioned it casually, but he didn't think much of it. Obviously, Lu Ciqiu didn't react either, he just nodded and didn't say much, which made Lu Zhixing feel relieved.

At this point, Lu Zhixing was quite afraid that Lu Ciqiu would think that he was blaming him, or that he was still thinking about breaking them up. Although he really didn't want them to be together, he didn't know if Ye Jianqing would get better now, and it was a bit inhuman for him to bring this up.

"Second brother, please wait for me in the study for a moment. I'll go change my clothes and come back." Lu Ci Qiu seemed to have just noticed that he was still wearing court robes. He took Lu Zhixing to the study, arranged tea, and then left to change his clothes.

Lu Ci Qiu changed his clothes quickly, and with him came a table of breakfast. As early as when he saw him, Lu Zhixing guessed that he must not have had breakfast yet, so he called Huai Xi to ask him. After getting a positive answer, he asked Huai Xi to quickly prepare a table.

Lu Ci Qiu looked at the food in surprise, then looked at his second brother. Judging from his expression, he must have guessed that these foods were prepared by Lu Zhixing, so he said gratefully: "Thank you, second brother. How did you know that my younger brother would have breakfast?"

"You haven't changed out of your court dress until now, so you must have gone to Ye Jianqing's place as soon as you came back. How could you have time to eat if you went to take care of her as soon as you came back? Eat quickly, don't starve." As he said that, Lu Zhixing pushed the dish in front of him towards Lu Ci Qiu.

"What happened yesterday? Why are you like this after returning?" Seeing that Lu Ci Qiu had almost finished eating, Lu Zhixing asked.

You know, Ye Jianqing had been living in her own dark guard camp before. The person who knew her special fate and came to steal her life must have made all the plans. In this case, it is hard not to suspect that the person behind the scenes also knew about his dark guard camp.

If the secret guard camp was discovered and reported to the emperor, given the number of people in the camp, they would be accused of raising private soldiers. He would then die without knowing at whose hands he died.

Therefore, he can only feel at ease after finding out who is behind this.

Lu Ci Qiu put down his bowl and chopsticks, thought carefully for a moment, then slowly told Lu Zhixing about how they left the Dali Temple yesterday and were set up, how the coachman took them to Chunmanlou, how they met Jiang Wanyin at the back door of Chunmanlou, and then went shopping with Jiang Wanyin and encountered a juggling troupe.

Then, following the line of the circus, Ye Jianqing thought of the brothel in Washe, so they went to Washe, where they encountered the play performed by the Liu Family Troupe, met the man who looked very much like Ye Jianqing, were ambushed there, and encountered Liu Miao.

He told Lu Zhixing about every move and every small detail he observed.

"Jiang Wanyin..." Lu Zhixing read the name.

In this whole story, he felt that Jiang Wanyin was the most suspicious.

"Right, Qing'er said the same thing, but Qing'er said something dazedly when she came back yesterday, saying that Jiang Wanyin was from the same place as her and that we shouldn't doubt her."

"I'll send someone to investigate Jiang Wanyin first. You just take good care of her in the mansion these days and wait for my news." Lu Zhixing always felt that there was something in this story that he had not grasped.

How did the person behind the scenes get Ye Jianqing's horoscope and perform the life-stealing ritual? What was this life-stealing ritual all about?

Lu Zhixing felt that he needed to go to the Imperial Master's Mansion again.