She stood up, then bent down to embrace Zhuozhuo…
She stood up, then bent down to hold Zhuozhuo.
Zhuozhuo knew she was coming to pick her up, happily burrowing into Jiang Zhuoying’s embrace…
Feeling the weight in her arms, Jiang Zhuoying clenched her teeth and mustered all her strength to lift this slippery red carp.
The clay vat filled with water was right by the shore. She struggled to move toward the bank.
The water resistance made it hard to advance, while the unbearable weight in her arms made each step laborious.
“Don’t crush Zhuozhuo’s tail fin.”
A cold voice—the slight concern in it clearly wasn’t meant for her.
An appropriately chilly autumn evening breeze swept past, sending a shiver down Jiang Zhuoying’s spine. She couldn’t help but tremble.
The chubby red carp in her arms quivered along with her. Jiang Zhuoying hurriedly held it tighter…
Recalling the eight-character mantra for approaching a certain someone, she suppressed her displeasure and replied in a delicate, gentle tone, “Your Highness, rest assured, this servant would never harm Zhuozhuo.”
“Hmm.” A faint voice carried to her ears by the autumn wind.
She secretly glanced sideways and glared at him before continuing forward…
Finally reaching the shore, Jiang Zhuoying bit her lip, took a deep breath, and in one swift motion lifted the red carp from her arms and tossed it into the clay vat.
With a “splash—” and water spraying everywhere, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
The man immediately spoke up, “Has it been returned to the vat?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Jiang Zhuoying replied in a soft voice.
“Hmm, endure a little longer. Someone will bring you a cloak.”
Jiang Zhuoying: “…”
She would endure!
“Thank you for Your Highness’s concern.”
Jiang Zhuoying answered with delicate timidity.
Soaked garments were truly indecent, so she had no choice but to retreat back into the water.
As dusk approached, the pond grew increasingly icy. Immersed in the water, she couldn’t stop shivering.
Footsteps grew closer in the courtyard, followed by a familiar, sharp voice: “Master, this servant has brought your cloak.”
“Hmm.”
With Chu Yixin’s back turned to the pond, Jiang Zhuoying took the black cloak from him, wrapped herself tightly, and trembling, made her way back to shore.
“Th-thank you, Your Highness. This servant has already wrapped herself in the cloak.”
The young girl’s voice was soft and frail, and upon closer listening, it even trembled, as if she had been chilled by the pond.
Only then did Qi Fan properly glance at her.
The little maid, her hair styled in double snail buns, was wrapped in his black cloak with subtle patterns. Petite and delicate, she resembled a droopy-eared fluffy rabbit, standing on the shore and shivering.
He was tall, and the cloak was far too large for her—a long section dragged on the ground, leaving a conspicuous trail of water stains.
“Take her to change clothes,” the man averted his gaze.
“Yes.” Chu Yixin slightly turned his head but did not directly look at the young lady behind him. “Miss, please follow me.”
He led Jiang Zhuoying into the main room, then found a stack of clothing for her. “There are no women’s garments in this courtyard. This set is newly made—would you mind making do?”
Jiang Zhuoying immediately nodded and gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Eunuch Chu.”
Chu Yixin offered a few more instructions before brushing past her and heading out, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Only then did Jiang Zhuoying reach out to touch the smoke-colored robe placed on the table. The fabric and color were both exceedingly modest.
She held up the robe to gauge its length—it was likely a garment belonging to the Second Prince himself.
The fabric clung to her body, sticky and extremely uncomfortable.
She immediately changed out of her original dress and put on this noticeably oversized men’s clothing.
Chu Yixin had also prepared another dry cloak for her, which she put on as well, wrapping herself up tightly.
It was already late, so it seemed she would be staying for the night.
She wondered which room Eunuch Chu would arrange for her to rest in?
Jiang Zhuoying tiptoed out of the room, mentally rehearsing the tone of her gratitude…
The tall figure still stood beside the pottery vat, apparently still observing Zhuozhuo inside, while Chu Yixin stood behind him holding an oil lamp.
Jiang Zhuoying pinched the edge of her cloak and slowly moved to the front of the pottery vat, then bent down: “This maid has changed clothes. Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Eunuch Chu.”
She kept her eyes slightly lowered, her gaze fixed motionless on the red carp in the pottery vat.
Wasn’t it said that the Second Prince preferred delicate and docile women?
Today she had been extremely docile and delicate, gentle and lovely.
“How did you know there was something wrong with the pond water?” A cold voice rang out above her head.
Jiang Zhuoying was startled and immediately blurted out her prepared explanation: “Reporting to Your Highness, this maid has been learning to raise carp since childhood. Every movement of the red carp has its reason.”
“Just now, Zhuozhuo’s behavior indicated she wanted to escape this pond water. If Your Highness has doubts, you may send someone to investigate.”
As soon as these words fell, movement came from the courtyard entrance.
It was Yu Ji who had brought Physician Wang. As soon as he arrived, the former left again without delay.
Jiang Zhuoying secretly observed Physician Wang, confirming he was the veterinarian from the palace she had seen when she woke up in the vat earlier.
He was also the one who had anxiously accepted the Second Prince’s jade pendant, Physician Wang.
Qi Fan immediately ordered him to thoroughly investigate the pond water and find the reason for Zhuozhuo’s sudden frenzy.
Jiang Zhuoying stood silently to the side, feeling somewhat drowsy.
After all, she had just recovered from a serious illness, and after all the earlier commotion, she was still wearing damp undergarments.
She wanted to lie down and rest.
Just as she was spacing out, a man’s command suddenly sounded beside her ear: “Have someone send her back.”
Jiang Zhuoying jerked her head up: “?”
She had just gone into the water to save Zhuozhuo, looking so pitiful, and now that it was completely dark, this person wanted her to drag her exhausted body back to the residence?
Her guess was correct.
Chu Yixin was already walking toward her with the oil lamp: “Miss, come with me. I’ll have someone take you back to your residence now.”
Jiang Zhuoying frowned – she couldn’t go back at this moment!
If she lost this opportunity, it would be difficult to find another reason to get close to the Second Prince again.
“Miss?” Chu Yixin called out again in a strained voice.
Jiang Zhuoying suddenly staggered, holding her forehead as she looked up: “Eunuch Chu, this maid… this maid feels terribly dizzy. What did you just say…”
With these words, she collapsed sideways, conveniently fainting on the soft grass.
Chu Yixin was taken aback and quickly turned back: “Master, that girl has fainted!”
Jiang Zhuoying kept her eyes closed, quietly waiting for the Second Prince to speak.
But that cold voice never came. She only heard scattered, hurried footsteps surrounding her.
“Master, what should we do? Steward Yu has returned to the separate residence, and we… don’t have a physician here either?”
Jiang Zhuoying was grateful that it was already dark, with poor lighting that made it difficult to see her expression clearly.
It really wasn’t as easy to maintain the facade as one might think…
She soon caught the mingled scent of bitter and sweet agarwood.
It seemed someone pressed a palm against her forehead, followed by the cool, detached voice she had been waiting for: “She’s running a fever.”
A fever? Was she really running a fever? But she was only pretending, wasn’t she?
“A fever?” Chu Yixin exclaimed in surprise, turning around and calling out loudly: “Doctor Wang, if this young lady has a fever, can you treat her?”
Jiang Zhuoying: “?”
She restrained herself from waking up on the spot to refute him. If she remembered correctly, Doctor Wang was a veterinarian!
“Oh dear, Eunuch Chu, please don’t make things difficult for me. How could I possibly treat a person? Hurry and send for the imperial physician!”
Doctor Wang’s shouts came from a distance.
Jiang Zhuoying immediately breathed a sigh of relief…
“Go into the city and fetch a physician.” The man pursed his lips and glanced at Chu Yixin, then scooped the young girl up from the grass into his arms.
As soon as he stood upright, he furrowed his brow.
The person in his arms was petite and delicate, light and soft, emitting a faint, gentle floral fragrance…
The man extended his arms to hold Jiang Zhuoying farther away from himself, his expression growing increasingly stern.
Jiang Zhuoying knew she was being carried into a room and laid flat on a bed.
Unable to open her eyes, her mind grew increasingly hazy, and she truly fell asleep just like that…
By the time she woke up, the sky was already bright.
Jiang Zhuoying opened her eyes, feeling completely drained and weak. She forced herself to sit up and look outside.
Beyond the blurry gauze curtain, a figure drew nearer and nearer, then with a ‘swish~’ sound, the bed curtain was drawn aside.
“Who are you?”
Jiang Zhuoying frowned. Before her stood a woman, but from what she knew, there were no other women in this courtyard.
Her throat was dry and sore, and she coughed several times in succession.
“Young lady, I am a female physician who runs a clinic in Luo Jing. I came here last night. You’ve just gotten over your fever, so feeling weak is perfectly normal. You should rest a while longer.”
Jiang Zhuoying was somewhat surprised. A female physician?
She took the medicine bowl from the woman’s hands, lowered her gaze, and sipped the decoction.
At the same time, she realized that this was a physician the Second Prince had sent for overnight.
In these times, it was already difficult for a woman to study medicine, let alone run her own clinic.
She raised her head and studied the female physician carefully—her features were delicate and beautiful, her aura intelligent and graceful.
“Don’t mind the bitterness of the medicine. Good medicine tastes bitter, so it’s best to drink it while it’s still hot.”
Jiang Zhuoying was momentarily stunned, only then realizing that she had been staring at the woman, lost in thought.
Frowning, she drank the entire bowl of medicine, and a bitter taste immediately filled her mouth.
The medicine bowl was taken from her hands: “Your constitution is still weak. There are six more days’ worth of this decoction, so make sure to finish it all.”
The woman turned to set down the bowl, then picked up a small porcelain jar: “This is a jade skin ointment I formulated myself. I see you still have some slight pockmarks on your body—applying this ointment will help them fade faster.”
Jiang Zhuoying nodded dazedly: “Thank you.”
“By the way, last night I noticed you were still wearing damp undergarments, so I assume you have no suitable clothes to change into. This morning, I went back home especially to fetch a few of my own.”
“They were all made by my own hands and have never been worn. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give them to you.”
Jiang Zhuoying felt a warmth in her heart. She looked at the few pieces of thin fabric in the woman’s hands and thanked her sincerely: “Thank you.”
The woman returned a gentle smile to her. “My name is Liu Zhiyou. You may call me A You.”
“A You, my name is Jiang—”
Jiang Zhuoying paused briefly, then immediately added, “Jiang Zhuo—Jiang as in river, Zhuo as in scorching heat.”
“Mm, A Zhuo, you’re already out of danger. I must hurry back to the city now—there must already be a long queue outside the clinic.”
Jiang Zhuoying nodded repeatedly. “Alright, you worked hard last night. It couldn’t have been easy coming here in the middle of the night.”
Liu Zhiyou paused while packing her medicine chest and turned to give her a faint smile. “It was fine. My husband came with me.”
Author’s Note:
That bastard Qi still has good arm strength.