As soon as Third Master Ning said this, the officials responsible for the escort all looked over.
Among the crowd, a young man in black fitted attire, with arm guards unique to military officers on his forearms and waist, drew everyone’s attention.
Seeing that all eyes were fixed on him, he stepped forward. “The relay station caught fire yesterday. It burned down to nothing but a hollow shell. Third Master Ning, I don’t know why you insist on going to the relay station, but look at Prince Yan and the others—can they even make it there?”
Third Master Ning turned to look. Xie Ciyuan lay on a stretcher, barely visible, but the members of the Ning family were already utterly exhausted. Old Madame Ning in particular could barely stand.
Third Master Ning slumped forward in defeat and said nothing in the end.
Seeing this, Wang Jingkang cracked his whip with a sharp snap. “Everyone, behave yourselves. One room costs one tael of silver, and food and water are to be bought with money. Everyone gets half an hour to eat. Whoever causes trouble again will get no rest and no food tomorrow at noon!”
The crowd was too tired and hungry to even muster the strength to complain. Looking at the rickety wooden shack before them, they no longer had the heart to turn their noses up at it.
On Prince Yan’s side, to protect Xie Ciyuan, they requested only one room.
Once inside, two guards set the stretcher down on the earthen bed. The guard Xuan Lie took the initiative and said, “I’ll go find some food and water to trade for.”
Yun Jiuqing looked at him suspiciously. “You have money?”
The guard pulled a stack of silver notes from a hidden pocket in his belt—the denominations looked quite substantial.
“Put that away, quick.” Yun Jiuqing gestured for him to stash the notes back, then pried a gold earring from Xie Ciyuan’s hand and handed it to Xuan Lie. “Use this to trade for some dry rations and a few water skins. Don’t get into any conflicts…”
The guards of Prince Yan’s Residence had long known they were to be exiled. Their clothes had been specially altered, and the silver they had hidden away was enough to last the entire journey.
Although Xie Ciyuan had initially clutched the things Yun Jiuqing had snatched into his hand, in truth, no one had actually intended to use a woman’s personal belongings to buy food for a bunch of grown men.
Hearing this, Xuan Lie still hesitated. It was the old steward who saw things more clearly.
“Don’t flaunt your wealth. Everyone saw the Princess’s belongings, so let’s use them for now. Who knows when they’ll stop being the Princess’s.”
Yun Jiuqing nodded vigorously, and only then did Xuan Lie get up and leave.
Yun Jiuqing then directed another guard. “Go find me some wood about this thick and this long. It’s for the Prince’s sake—trust me.”
The guards around Xie Ciyuan didn’t necessarily trust Yun Jiuqing much, but they were smart enough to know this wasn’t the time for internal strife. So they left the old steward and one guard by Xie Ciyuan’s side and went about their tasks.
Yun Jiuqing crouched by the earthen bed and instructed the old steward, “Uncle Yan, I know a bit of medicine. I’ll take this chance to examine the Prince. Please keep watch for me.”
The old steward didn’t move, until the man on the stretcher gave a hoarse order. “Uncle Yan, listen to her.”
Only then did the old steward move to stand behind the door.
It was a clever position—one that allowed him to observe what was happening outside without letting anyone outside see the shadow on the ground and realize someone was peeking from within.
Yun Jiuqing blinked in surprise. Prince Yan’s Residence—even an old man like Uncle Yan was no ordinary person!
She lowered her voice. “Prince, I am Yun Jiuqing. I took your pulse earlier today—you must have noticed, right?”
The man slowly opened his eyes, his brown pupils fixed unblinkingly on her.
Even though he was blind, the way he “looked” at her carried an undeniable authority.
“Everyone in Chu Jing knows that the Commandery Princess Minghui’s daughter is a useless good-for-nothing—unlearned in letters, unskilled in martial arts, without virtue or merit. But no one ever said you knew medicine. Don’t you have anything to explain to me?”
A perfectly handsome man, cursed with a mouth that couldn’t speak a decent word.
If it weren’t for the fact that you’re my ancestor, do you think I’d bother with you?
Yun Jiuqing kept a smile on her face while cursing him out in her heart.
“We’ve been reduced to exile, Prince. What do you have left that anyone would scheme for? Drop the suspicion and the testing. I’ll do my best to heal your body, and you protect me until we reach Bei Huang. A fair trade between free parties—what more do you need to worry about?”
As she spoke, she took hold of Xie Ciyuan’s wrist again.
The journey had been rough and bumpy, so the earlier pulse reading was bound to be imprecise. Now that she had a rare chance, it would be a waste not to take his pulse again.
But even someone as experienced as Yun Jiuqing couldn’t help but exclaim after reading his pulse, “There are foreign objects lodged in your heart and patella. Your lungs are poisoned with a neurotoxic toxin. Even your meridians are full of poison. In this state, how are you still alive?”
The man’s brown pupils widened slightly. Though he fought to remain composed, his surprise showed.
“I was gravely wounded—that’s known throughout the realm. But no one has ever known about the poisoning. Who exactly are you? What do you intend by impersonating that useless girl from the Yun family and coming to my side?”
As he spoke, his hand had already pressed against Yun Jiuqing’s throat.
Yun Jiuqing didn’t see a weapon, but the cool touch told her that this man truly intended to kill her.
She took a deep breath. “I am Yun Jiuqing.
Earlier, Yun Daowei married me off to you to curry favor with the Emperor, and this morning, he severed ties with me as father and daughter to prove his loyalty.
I am alone and helpless in Chu Jing, yet I hold the status of the legitimate daughter of the Yun family. Lady Wang and her daughter will not tolerate me.
I have only one request—take me to Bei Huang and grant me my freedom.”
The cold sensation at her neck did not disappear. The man’s warm breath sprayed against the side of her neck, like a venomous snake, sending chills through Yun Jiuqing’s entire body.
“Even if everything you say is true, how do you explain your medical skills?”
The man leaned in dangerously close. “Don’t forget, Commandery Princess Minghui is my cousin.
I haven’t known you for just a day. Do you think I wouldn’t know whether you know medicine or not?”
Yun Jiuqing’s heart tightened. That was true.
The original owner of this body was not a stranger to Prince Yan, Xie Ciyuan.
But since the lie had been spoken, she had to firmly convince even herself.
So she said calmly, “I am worthless and virtueless—nothing but a despised waste. Even so, Lady Wang and her daughter cannot tolerate me.
Do you think, if they knew that I excel not only in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also possess skilled medical knowledge, I would still be alive?”
A clever lie thrives on being half-true, half-false.
Yun Jiuqing’s words were seven parts truth, three parts falsehood—even Xie Ciyuan couldn’t discern the truth from the lies.
But he hadn’t expected Yun Jiuqing to confess immediately anyway, so he wasn’t disappointed. He took the opportunity to say, “You’ve already taken my pulse. So, can you cure me?”
Instead of answering, Yun Jiuqing asked, “Has Your Highness recently suffered a heavy blow to the head?”
Xie Ciyuan refused to answer.
Yun Jiuqing said coldly, “This question determines the treatment plan I choose for Your Highness’s eyes.
If Your Highness has suffered a heavy blow to the head, then blood stasis in the brain is pressing on the retina, causing temporary blindness.
I only need to use medicine to dissolve the stasis, and Your Highness’s eyes will see light again.
But if it’s another condition, I’ll need to conduct further diagnosis.
As a patient, since you’ve agreed to let me treat you, you should at least cooperate at the most basic level.”