Qu Yi felt she could not bear the kneeling salute from the two, so she hastily moved behind Qu Qing, “hiding” herself.
Qu Qing glanced at her, inwardly sighing, then said to Ling Su and the other, “Rise.”
“Yes,” Ling Su responded properly.
Bai Fu, however, had already jumped up and moved close to Qu Qing, grinning as he said, “Master didn’t expect Little Bai to come too, did you?”
Qu Qing retorted, “What are you doing here?”
“When Master’s letter arrived at the pavilion, Sister Ling had just finished receiving a hundred lashes, covered in blood, unable to even crawl up. I drove her here, which is better than letting her ride a horse on her own.”
Qu Qing then turned to ask Ling Su, “Can you still hold on?”
Ling Su smiled faintly and said, “Little Bai exaggerates too much. It’s just superficial wounds. With careful rest for a few days, they’ll heal almost completely.” After speaking, she handed the bundle she was holding to Qu Qing. “Pavilion Master, this is… Prince Zhen’s skull.”
Qu Qing took it but did not open it immediately, simply placing it casually on the table.
Qu Yi, however, had tightly grabbed Qu Qing’s sleeve the moment she heard the words “skull,” closing her eyes in fright.
Noticing her small action, Bai Fu couldn’t help but tease, “Is this Master’s twin sister? Why is she so timid?”
Hearing this, Qu Yi tightened her grip on Qu Qing’s hand but still hid behind her without reacting.
Qu Qing shot a cold glare at Bai Fu. “If you don’t want to stay here, return to the pavilion immediately.”
Bai Fu hurriedly changed his tone. “Not timid, not timid. It was Little Bai speaking out of turn. Little Bai admits his mistake.”
Qu Qing pulled Qu Yi out from behind her and said sternly, “What are you hiding for? Didn’t you say you wanted to impersonate me? Since I was ten years old, I have been the Pavilion Master of Shumiao Pavilion. Which of the kneeling salutes, flesh and blood, or dried bones have I not seen enough of? If someone bullies you, you must curse back, fight back. Only then will others fear and respect you. Merely shrinking back and enduring will only encourage them to become more aggressive.”
Qu Yi listened attentively, nodding as if she understood.
Bai Fu, however, was confused and interjected, “Master, I was just joking. How could it be that serious?”
Qu Qing was about to scold him further when Qu Yi beside her tugged at her sleeve.
It turned out that Qu Yi sensed Qu Qing still had doubts about her in her words, fearing Qu Qing might change her mind and not let her go to the Crown Prince’s Residence. She resolved to do something to prove herself.
Taking a light breath, Qu Yi stepped forward two paces, pointed at Bai Fu, and said coldly, “I don’t like you. Go kneel over there.”
“Huh?” Bai Fu widened his eyes. What was this situation? He meant no harm!
Bai Fu cast a pleading look at Qu Qing, but Qu Qing didn’t even glance at him, clearly tacitly approving Qu Yi’s actions. Reluctantly, Bai Fu walked to the side and knelt down.
Bai Fu thought that was the end of it, but unexpectedly, Qu Yi was not prepared to stop. She lifted the bundle, took out the skull with both hands, and though her legs were trembling, she gritted her teeth and walked step by step to Bai Fu’s side, saying shakily, “Hold it up. You can only rise after holding it for an hour.”
“Ah…?” Bai Fu looked at the skull, then at Qu Yi, and finally at Qu Qing, shouting loudly, “Master, save me—!”
Qu Qing remained unmoved, even sitting down and calmly taking a sip of tea.
Seeing that no rescue was forthcoming, Bai Fu could only force out a most ingratiating smile, looking pleadingly at Qu Yi. “Pavilion Master sister, Little Bai is the Pavilion Master’s only disciple. Little Bai really isn’t a bad person, and most importantly, although I’m a bit tall, I’m still just a thirteen-year-old child! Little Bai knows he was wrong. You’re not timid at all; you’re braver than anyone. Pavilion Master sister, please be magnanimous and spare me.”
Qu Yi still said coldly, “Take it, hold it up.”
Bai Fu’s face fell as he reluctantly lifted the skull.
“Higher, straighten your arms.”
Bai Fu had no choice but to comply.
“If you keep holding it this high, half an hour will suffice. But if I catch you slacking, you’ll hold it for two hours!”
Bai Fu was on the verge of tears. “Alright, Little Bai won’t dare slack off.”
Qu Yi smiled faintly and turned to look at Qu Qing.
Qu Qing offered no comment, instead continuing her earlier conversation with Ling Su. “The assassination attempt on Prince Zhen has drawn the Crown Prince’s attention. By a twist of fate, the Crown Prince mistook Yi’er for me. Therefore, Yi’er will enter the Crown Prince’s Residence in my stead to reassure His Highness.”
Ling Su was silent for a moment, then spoke bluntly. “This subordinate believes this move is extremely dangerous.”
“Yes, that’s why I’ve thought it over, and the only way I can feel somewhat at ease is for you to disguise yourself as Yi’er’s personal maid and accompany her to the Crown Prince’s Residence to protect her.”
Ling Su hesitated for a long moment before asking, “But my appearance is known to many. Will a disguise be necessary?”
Qu Qing said calmly, “That is not for me to decide, nor should you consider it. It depends entirely on His Highness’s wishes.”
“This subordinate understands. Additionally, there is another matter. Even if Miss Qu Yi can perfectly mimic your demeanor and speech, she has no inner power whatsoever and does not resemble a martial artist.”
Qu Yi explained with a light laugh, “That’s fine. I’ve already explained to the Crown Prince that because the Pavilion Master’s identity must not be revealed, I will not use a single move or technique while in the Crown Prince’s Residence, only acting as a young lady of the inner chambers.”
Ling Su’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she shook her head. “A mere touch of the pulse can reveal whether one possesses inner power. Miss Qu Yi’s method is like covering one’s ears to steal a bell; I fear it won’t deceive anyone.”
Qu Yi said in surprise, “How could that be…”
Qu Qing took a small bottle from her robes and handed it to Ling Su. “These are Qi Suppression Pills. You should know how to use them?”
Ling Su nodded. “A secret medicine of the Pavilion. This subordinate naturally knows how to use it.”
“Pretend that Yi’er takes this medicine daily, and find a way to let the Crown Prince know.”
Ling Su took the bottle and replied, “This subordinate understands.”
Ling Su understood, but Qu Yi did not. She leaned closer to Qu Qing and asked, “Sister, what is this?”
“A poison for martial artists. A small dose can temporarily seal one’s inner power, making them no different from an ordinary person. A slightly larger dose can cause one to lose all inner power. Attempting to break through this poison can result in severe injury at best, or Qi deviation at worst, even leading to shattered meridians.”
Qu Yi’s eyes sparkled as she listened. “What a powerful medicine.”
Qu Qing looked at her and repeatedly cautioned, “In the coming days, spend more time with Ling Su. She has been with me for nearly ten years; our tacit understanding is deep.
Ling Su smiled lightly and said, “Pavilion Master, rest assured, I will definitely protect Miss Qu Yi.”
With all matters settled, the group was about to go together for breakfast when Bai Fu pretended to sob, “Why is everyone leaving? Only Prince Zhen’s skull and I are left!”
Qu Qing turned back and walked up to Bai Fu, picked up the skull, wrapped it in cloth again, and prepared to hand it over to Qu Youyu to report to the Empress Dowager.
Then, she lowered her gaze to Bai Fu, who was kneeling on the ground looking up at her pitifully, and couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s rare for you to be quiet for even a moment. It seems Yi’er’s method is effective. If you misbehave again, you should be punished like this.”
Bai Fu truly felt like “wiping away bitter tears” in his heart, but he hurriedly replied, “Little Bai will change, Little Bai will change—!”
In the following days, Qu Yi followed Ling Su to learn everything about Shumiao Pavilion, from its people to its affairs, in great detail. She even learned quite a bit of martial arts mental methods. Even if she couldn’t use them, she at least needed to understand them and be able to name the moves.
Bai Fu also stayed in the residence. Since the rear courtyard was mostly occupied by girls, he didn’t dare to wander around. Most of the time, he hid in his own room, occasionally going to Ling Su’s place to accompany Qu Yi in flipping through books. Over the course of a few days, he became somewhat familiar with Qu Yi.
Qu Qing found an opportunity to explain everything in detail to Qu Youyu and Du Youxia together with Qu Yi. Apart from being quite worried about Qu Yi’s safety, Qu Youyu had nothing else to say. Du Youxia also no longer objected, only warning Qu Yi not to go see Empress Zhaohe.
Over the past few days, Qu Qing had been busy between Chunjiang Lou and the Qu Family, with nothing major happening except for one interesting incident.
Qu Qing found out that Shang Jieshi was still in Jiangdong. First, she sent someone to throw snakes and scorpions onto his bed, biting him until he fainted, but she didn’t want him dead. Just as he was recovering a bit, someone smeared his clothes with hundred-flower honey. This faint sweet scent was undetectable to ordinary people, but hornets loved the smell. They burrowed into the sedan curtain and stung him until his face swelled like a peach, and they didn’t stop until Shang Jieshi jumped into a lake and nearly drowned.
Shang Jieshi was originally a very spirited person who had never suffered any illness or disaster. These two incidents left a perfectly healthy person half-dead, and he had no interest in sightseeing anymore. As soon as he regained consciousness, he hurriedly made his way back, thinking that he must return home to perform a ritual to ward off bad luck after these strange events.
When Qu Yi heard about these incidents, she laughed uncontrollably. In the end, she was still worried that Qu Qing might act impulsively, so she advised her not to dwell on the matter anymore and not to seek further revenge.
Naturally, Qu Qing wouldn’t listen.
Additionally, before departing, Qu Yi asked Qu Qing for another favor: if possible, she hoped to find the person who had saved her that day so she could properly express her gratitude.
Over the course of several days, Qu Yi practically burned the midnight oil, learning everything about Shumiao Pavilion tirelessly and without rest. By the time the Crown Prince’s Residence sent someone to fetch her, she had two large, dark circles under her eyes and was so drowsy that she was helped into the carriage by Ling Su in a daze.
Qu Qing couldn’t see her off in person, but she was still worried, so she changed into night clothes and quietly followed behind the carriage.
To avoid drawing attention, the Crown Prince deliberately chose the hour of Yin to fetch her. At that time, the sky was still dark, and there were no pedestrians on the street. The Crown Prince’s Residence sent only an ordinary-looking carriage, with nothing else accompanying it.
The carriage departed from Qu Fu, winding through several narrow alleys before merging onto the main road. Soon, it joined the stream of carriages carrying officials hurrying to the morning court. After a while, the carriage came to a stop at the entrance of an alley. The alley was extremely narrow, and several stout locust trees by the roadside blocked it entirely, not allowing a single ray of light to pass through.
Ling Su helped the drowsy Qu Yi out of the carriage. The coachman gestured for them to change vehicles, and Ling Su gave a slight nod, guiding Qu Yi toward another carriage not far away.
Once Ling Su and Qu Yi boarded the opposite carriage, the original coachman raised his whip high and drove the carriage back the way it had come.
Following Qu Qing’s advice, Qu Yi naturally trusted Ling Su completely. Thus, in her groggy state, she allowed Ling Su to lead her onto the second, slightly more luxurious carriage. After the two settled in, the carriage slowly began to move.
Qu Yi had intended to continue catching up on sleep, but Ling Su tugged gently at her sleeve. She slowly lifted her gaze and, by the faint light filtering through the carriage window, saw a handsome man seated on the other side of the carriage. The man, in turn, was looking at her with calm composure.
Qu Yi’s eyes widened instantly. “Crown Prince, what are you doing here?”