"Never mind her," Su Yunmo yawned. "Call Linlang to my room. I have something to ask her."
Green Vine went to call Linlang.
Su Yunmo returned to her room to wait.
A moment later, Linlang arrived. Zi Yuan withdrew, closing the door behind her.
Linlang knelt on the floor. "What does my lady command?"
"How is your injury?"
"Thank you for your concern, my lady. Your subordinate has recovered significantly. If you require my assistance, please do not hesitate to command me."
Seeing that Linlang's breathing was indeed much steadier than before, Su Yunmo was slightly relieved. "I do have something to ask you. Do you know of a special plant in Southern Xinjiang called the Rebirth Flower?"
Linlang replied, "The Rebirth Flower is a sacred object of the Poso tribe. It can only be grown in the lands of the Poso tribe, and every Poso tribesperson is tattooed with the pattern of the Rebirth Flower at birth."
Su Yunmo's eyes lit up.
It really existed!
"Can you go back and collect some for me?"
Linlang was taken aback, slightly surprised by her request, and looked troubled. "My lady, the Rebirth Flower is extinct."
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched. "A sacred object can become extinct?"
Linlang gave a bitter smile. "The essential ingredient for growing the Rebirth Flower is water from the Sacred Spring of Southern Xinjiang. The Sacred Spring belongs to the royal family, and a certain amount is supplied annually. However, for some unknown reason, the royal family suddenly stopped the supply two years ago."
"Since then, the seeds of the Rebirth Flower have become fewer and fewer. Within a year, almost all of them died out. Now, there isn't a single one left."
Su Yunmo's head ached.
To cure Feng Qing'er's illness, the Rebirth Flower was necessary as a medicinal guide. It was difficult to find any other substitute.
"Never mind, then. If it's not available, forget it."
She would have to find another way.
Seeing her troubled expression, Linlang's eyes flickered, and she asked in a deep voice, "My lady, what do you intend to do with the Rebirth Flower?"
If it wasn't the plant itself that was essential, she might have another method.
"Momo? Momo, are you in there?" Su Siyuan came running from outside the courtyard.
Linlang swallowed her words, stood up, and retreated to the side.
As soon as she moved away, Su Siyuan pushed the door open. "Little one, what are you doing alone in here? Look what your third brother brought you!"
He took two candied hawthorn skewers from behind his back as if presenting a treasure. "Ta-da!"
"Thank you, third brother. I was just thinking about candied hawthorn." Su Yunmo took the skewers, her face beaming with joy.
Last time, because of Qianxue, she hadn't managed to eat any. This time, no one would dare to cause trouble.
"Third brother knew you'd like them, so he specifically went to queue up to buy them early this morning." Su Siyuan rubbed his red, cold hands and blew on them for warmth.
"You're injured, so you need to rest well these few days. While taking medicine, you shouldn't eat anything too spicy. Candied hawthorn, being sweet and sour, is perfect to satisfy your cravings."
Su Yunmo took a bite of a candied hawthorn, the syrup sticking to her mouth. "Third brother seems very happy today. Is there any good news?"
Su Siyuan scratched the back of his head, his ears turning a little red. "It's nothing major. Some friends from the martial arts school invited me to dinner."
After the misunderstanding with Su Yinyin was resolved, some of the people who had opposed him at the martial arts school came to apologize.
Furthermore, his martial arts had improved significantly recently, and his master had said that with a few more years of effort, he would surely become a skilled practitioner.
"That's great news. Momo is also happy for third brother."
As long as the second branch wouldn't affect third brother anymore.
Su Siyuan continued, "Oh, right. A friend came to look for you when I returned, so I brought her along."
Su Yunmo was taken aback. "My friend? Who?"
"Of course, it's me." Ye Ningyuan stepped through the doorway, her playful gaze landing on the bed. "Momo, have you missed Sister Ningyuan?"
Su Yunmo's mouth twitched violently.
Linlang, standing by the side, also froze upon seeing the newcomer, then frowned slightly.
As Ye Ningyuan entered, she caught Linlang's gaze and curved her lips, looking back at her. "Oh? Isn't this the maid by the Princess Consort's side? What are you doing here?"
Linlang withdrew her probing gaze, bowed, and said, "Since my lady has a guest, your subordinate will withdraw."
Su Yunmo waved her hand, and Linlang retreated. As she passed Ye Ningyuan, she glanced at her subconsciously, a hint of conflict flashing in her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Su Yunmo pouted, feeling that the candied hawthorn in her mouth no longer tasted sweet.
Ye Ningyuan leaned closer. "Momo seems very unwelcoming. It's not good to burn bridges after crossing them."
Su Yunmo frowned. "When did I ever burn bridges?"
"Oh? You didn't?" Ye Ningyuan glanced at Su Siyuan and deliberately raised her voice. "That day in the palace, who was it that passed the message from the cold palace to me?"
Su Yunmo's eyes darkened.
Su Siyuan took a bite of a candied hawthorn from the little one's hand and asked curiously, "What about the cold palace?"
Ye Ningyuan smiled at Su Yunmo. "Little one, your third brother is asking me. Can I tell him?"
Su Yunmo took a deep breath and gritted her teeth.
"Momo, what is it? Do you have a secret? I want to hear it too." Su Siyuan looked very gossipy.
"It's nothing, third brother. She's just joking." Su Yunmo stuffed one of the candied hawthorn skewers into his hand.
"This one is for third brother. Didn't you say you were going to have dinner with friends? It'll be bad if you're late."
Su Siyuan then remembered. "Oh, okay. I'll leave now. You two enjoy yourselves. Third brother will come to see you again later."
He kissed the little one on the cheek and walked away humming a tune.
Only after his humming had completely faded did Su Yunmo frown and look at the person opposite her. "You're very annoying."
Ye Ningyuan covered her chest with both hands, her face full of feigned sadness. "For Momo to say that, Sister Ningyuan's heart is breaking."
"Momo used me first. I've been so sincere towards you, you should at least say something nice about me, shouldn't you?"
The little girl deliberately had someone pass the message from the cold palace to her, and then the Prince Yu reminded the Empress.
She had calculated that Concubine Qin would definitely summon Lord Qin to the palace, and then with her instigation, the second branch of the Su family and Qin Mingyan could be dealt with together.
Su Yunmo raised her eyebrows and leaned back on the bed. "So you came all this way just to get me to say nice things about you?"
This person was much smarter than she had imagined. Once such a smart person couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, she was a hidden danger.
"Not entirely." Ye Ningyuan walked over on her own and sat on the edge of the bed, squeezing herself next to Su Yunmo. She extended a hand. "I've come to collect my reward."
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes dangerously. "What do you want?"
Finally, they were getting to the main point.
"I helped you with such a big favor, this gift can't be too small." Ye Ningyuan used a finger to lift a strand of Su Yunmo's hair, her face inching closer.
Her voice gradually deepened. "How about... you give me a kiss?"
Su Yunmo: "???"
Ye Ningyuan suddenly smiled, revealing six white teeth. "Kiss my left cheek. I'm not asking for too much, just ten seconds."
Su Yunmo took a deep breath and kicked out with her small foot.