Zhou Jin remained expressionless and quickly coaxed the second prince into revealing everything with just a few words.
Heh, suffering severe losses? Unable to indulge in women?
Xu Bao'er had grown bold enough to actually slander him behind his back.
After her little stunt, this matter had probably already spread throughout the palace.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jin was so furious that he laughed instead. The ferocity in his eyes gradually deepened, heralding an impending storm.
“Take it quickly. Imperial elder brother won’t laugh at you.”
“This is all imperial elder brother’s heartfelt concern.”
Under the second prince’s forceful persuasion, Zhou Jin accepted the generously filled packet of medicine.
The second prince failed to notice that the medicine packet had already been crushed inward by Zhou Jin, leaving a large dent.
“Take good care of your health.”
The second prince wore a gratified expression. At last, he was no longer the only sick person. It felt so good to find a fellow patient.
“See the guest out.”
Zhou Jin had no desire to say another word to the second prince. Right now, he could not wait to deal with Xu Bao'er.
There was not a single thing about this woman that did not disgust him.
After seeing the second prince off, the steward, who had witnessed everything, did not dare speak. He had followed the prince for so many years, yet had never seen him this angry.
This Princess Consort of Prince Duan really did not know when to stop courting death.
Even if their prince was impotent, she could not speak of it publicly.
“Princess Consort of Prince Duan, you spent quite a lot of silver at the residence a few days ago.”
The steward took the medicine packet and seized the opportunity to report Xu Bao'er to Zhou Jin. Although that amount of silver was not much for Prince Duan's Residence, no matter how little it was, it was still the prince’s money.
From the bottom of his heart, the steward did not approve of Xu Bao'er. She was utterly unworthy of their brave and battle-hardened Prince Duan, much less worthy of spending their prince’s money.
“Heh, go and see her.”
Originally, Xu Bao'er had always kept to her place. Knowing that her marriage had been obtained through disgraceful means, she had not dared act recklessly.
Ever since that night, Xu Bao'er had become increasingly troublesome.
Zhou Jin was determined to personally humble her arrogance. One day, Xu Bao'er would die by his hand.
Zhou Jin did not even change out of his official robes as he strode toward Xu Bao'er's courtyard. The wind blowing toward him lifted the dark sleeves embroidered with auspicious qilin and cloud patterns.
“Report.”
An urgent voice rang out. A eunuch hurried toward Zhou Jin and blocked his path.
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the emperor decrees.”
“The jiulan mountain bandits are running rampant. Prince Duan is ordered to leave immediately for bandit suppression.”
“Your subject accepts the imperial edict.”
Zhou Jin accepted the imperial edict with one hand, then turned his head toward Xu Bao'er's courtyard, his gaze deep and unreadable.
“Prince Duan, the jiulan mountain bandits massacred an entire village last night. The emperor is furious and has ordered you to depart as soon as possible.”
Seeing that Zhou Jin seemed hesitant, the eunuch hurriedly emphasized the importance of the matter.
Zhou Jin had heard about the jiulan mountain bandits long ago. They were extremely rampant, burning, killing, looting, and committing every imaginable atrocity.
Previously, he had been busy leading troops to war and assumed the Imperial Court would send someone to resolve the matter. Unexpectedly, the several groups sent there had almost all been annihilated.
Jiulan Mountain had treacherous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, while the mountain bandits were fierce and brutal. They truly would not be easy to encircle and suppress.
“Fine.”
Zhou Jin decided to deal with the mountain bandits first and settle with Xu Bao'er after he returned.
Holding the medicine, the steward watched his prince walk away. When he turned his head, he was startled.
In the covered corridor not far away, someone peeked out and watched secretly. She had a hibiscus-like face and a slender willow waist.
Was this not the Princess Consort of Prince Duan?
Could she have heard everything just now?
“Steward, was the prince originally planning to come to my courtyard?”
“Yes. The prince was just preparing to visit the princess consort.”
Seeing the steward’s respectful demeanor, Xu Bao'er knew that although he appeared respectful, he looked down on her in his heart.
It was no wonder. This steward belonged to Prince Duan; it would have been strange if he thought highly of her.
What visit? He had obviously come to settle accounts with her.
Bandit suppression at Jiulan Mountain meant that Zhou Jin would definitely be gone for a long time.
“All right, you may withdraw.”
Xu Bao'er turned and returned to her courtyard, planning to escape immediately.
Watching Xu Bao'er’s departing figure, the steward was actually thinking about how to reduce the princess consort’s monthly allowance.
His prince’s money could not be squandered by this wicked woman.
How could the steward know that Xu Bao'er had just gone to the storehouse to withdraw money—and had withdrawn quite a lot?
Xu Bao'er changed into men's clothing and headed straight for the medical clinic. She had to see whether that boy from foreign territory was still alive.
As soon as she entered the medical clinic, the fragrance of medicine wafted toward her. This was a medical clinic Xu Bao'er had specifically sought out; it was secluded and elegantly decorated.
Countless red sandalwood medicine cabinets held various drugs, while the medicine apprentices busily moved up and down in front of them.
“Young master, you’re here.”
Xu Bao'er was generous with her money, so when the physician at the medical clinic saw her, he immediately came forward.
“How is the person I brought here that day?”
“He’s doing well. He’s resting at the villa now.”
Hearing that he was better but had not fled, Xu Bao'er decided to go see him and find the boy somewhere to go.
As soon as she entered the villa, Xu Bao'er saw the boy from foreign territory from that day. Although he had changed his clothes and tied up his hair with a red cord, those catlike eyes with heterochromia allowed Xu Bao'er to recognize him at a glance.
She had not expected the filthy boy from before to transform into a handsome young man.
His raised Outer Corners of the eyes gave him a hint of cunning and callousness. A small tear mole in the center of his dazzling eyes added just the right touch of gentleness.
He kept watch on Xu Bao'er, studying her for a moment.
It was obvious that the boy had recognized Xu Bao'er as well.
“I am Zhang San.”
Xu Bao'er greeted him first. She could not use her real name—it sounded far too feminine. When traveling the martial world, she used the assumed name Zhang San.
“Jing Lie.”
The boy’s voice was somewhat low, hoarse, and resonant.
Jing Lie. His name was considerably nicer than Zhou Jin’s.
“I saved you that day. Now I want to help you find somewhere suitable to go.”
At first, Xu Bao'er had not intended to save the boy. That changed when she saw him fight desperately for his life.
He had leaped onto Da Wu and tightly strangled his neck. The killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable; he was a ruthless character.
The defiance and ferocity in Jing Lie’s eyes moved Xu Bao'er.
In the boy, Xu Bao'er saw a reflection of herself when she was young.
To survive, one would stop at nothing.
She admired people like that.
Originally, after saving the boy, Xu Bao'er had intended to stop meddling in his affairs. Unexpectedly, the system, which had been pretending to be dead, came back to life.
“Ding-dong, congratulations, host. You have successfully unlocked an important character: Jing Lie.”
“To reward the host for recognizing true talent, one thousand taels of gold are hereby presented.”
The good thing about this system was that its rewards could be taken out of this world.
Since Jing Lie was an important character, she would certainly be able to obtain more rewards from him in the future.
Thinking this, Xu Bao'er took out some silver and said, “I’ll help you register your identity later. Then you won’t be an unregistered person anymore, and you can walk openly through the streets.”
“Thank you, Young Master Zhang.”
The reason Jing Lie had refused to leave was because of his status as an unregistered person. He had finally escaped to the Great Zhou Dynasty, yet because he was unregistered, he could not travel freely.
Now that he had suffered internal injuries, he also needed to recuperate properly and could not use force recklessly.
Besides, the people hunting him were searching everywhere. Clearly, the Young Master Zhang before him could be put to good use.
Xu Bao'er read Jing Lie’s thoughts and did not mind that he wanted to use her.
After all, raising a deadly wild wolf was rather interesting.