"Have you seen her appearance?"
Xiao Shan felt the question was flawed. If Qu Linglong had seen her, wouldn't she recognize Xue Niang?
He thought, perhaps he had guessed wrong.
"No."
Xiao Shan's eyes widened. Was she playing games? Had she seen her or not?
"They said the county princess could not be exposed to the wind, and the Prince probably didn't trust me. That's understandable, as my skills are only passable among women physicians, far from those of famous doctors. Prince Ru Nan must have been desperate to ask me to make up the numbers. At that time, I was behind a curtain, and an old嬷嬷 explained everything. I wasn't even allowed to take her pulse."
"You didn't hear her voice?" Xiao Shan pressed.
"No, apart from coughing, she didn't make any sound. Brother Xiao, why are you asking this?" Qu Linglong looked at him doubtfully, then a flash of inspiration struck her, as if she understood. "You don't... you don't think Xue Niang is? No, how could that be? Prince Ru Nan dotes on this daughter like his own eyes, how could he..."
"What if someone used a scheme to switch people, and the Prince didn't know?"
"Who would dare to do such a thing under Prince Ru Nan's nose?" Qu Linglong didn't understand, finding Xiao Shan's words too far-fetched. "A few days ago, I heard a merchant who came to get medicine mention something that happened in the capital, and it suddenly reminded me why Xue Niang looked familiar the first time I saw her."
"Does she look a bit like the Second Prince?"
"The Second Prince? No, I haven't seen the Second Prince. I mean she looks a bit like the Imperial Consort. Her face shape and demeanor are quite similar, especially her mouth."
She had once had the honor of entering the palace to help the Imperial Consort with her health. At the time, she didn't dare to look up much, only stealing a few glances. Therefore, when she first saw Xue Niang, she hadn't recalled it.
Jing Country had only one Imperial Consort, who was Princess Ling Xi's mother, the Empress's own sister.
She resembled both the Second Prince and the Imperial Consort. Could she be related to the Empress?
That day in the palace, was it Xue Niang he had seen?
The person who had stirred his heart twice was actually the same person?
Yes, that made sense. He had always said he was never interested in women, so why did he always feel an impulse when he saw Xue Niang?
So, it was her?
If that were the case, she wouldn't be Princess Ling Yin. But what about the killing Xue Niang mentioned?
"Do you know who Princess Ling Yin's mother is?"
Qu Linglong shook her head.
How would she know that? Ever since she could remember, she hadn't heard of Prince Ru Nan having a Princess Consort.
Xiao Shan quietly went to the county office again and asked Yuan Bufei. The answer he got was that Prince Ru Nan's Princess Consort was also a sister from the Empress's maternal family. However, she died in difficult childbirth after giving birth to Princess Ling Yin.
Prince Ru Nan was a devoted lover and never remarried, only guarding his sickly daughter, only for her to die as well.
One could imagine how pitiful he was.
When Yuan Bufei reached this point, he sighed sentimentally.
Looking up, he saw Xiao Shan's expression was very strange.
"Big Brother?"
Why did he look as if he had been struck? It wasn't his wife who had died.
Xiao Shan rolled his eyes. "Bu Fei, have people in the capital investigate Princess Ling Yin, especially the circumstances of that incident, and how she died afterward."
After saying that, he left as if in a daze.
Yuan Bufei was filled with questions. Why investigate that distant, ill-fated person?
How else could she have died? She must have died of illness or been forced to death by Grand Tutor Lu!
Otherwise, how could Prince Ru Nan and Grand Tutor Lu be irreconcilable?
In the past few days, Xiao Shan's interactions with Xue Niang had been rather intense. Every time he looked at her, he seemed like a wolf eyeing its prey. Perhaps fearing she would be scared, he always looked stealthily, and when Xue Niang met his gaze, he would avert his eyes.
But Xue Niang was sensitive. How could she not feel that gaze, as tangible as heat? Her heart fluttered, and she could only pretend not to notice.
She was afraid he would initiate another sudden verbal confrontation.
She was both afraid and a little bit secretly pleased.
That feeling, compared to simply lying in his arms, seemed to bring more peace, as if the two of them were intimately inseparable.
But tonight was a little different, even though he was trying his best to conceal it.
He still looked at her secretly, but his gaze had a hint of scrutiny, and he would sometimes drift off. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Xue Niang was a little unhappy. She felt that Xiao Shan was a bit distant from her today.
After pouring out the foot-washing water, Xiao Shan came in and saw Xue Niang had changed into her nightclothes and was sitting on the edge of the bed, her fair feet dangling.
Xue Niang carried an inherent nobility. When she sat still, she was a standard young lady from a prominent family, her every move exuding elegance and grace.
But she also had moments of childishness, such as sticking out her tongue when she tasted something new and found it unpleasant.
Like now, dangling her feet, pouting unhappily like a child.
"My dear lady, who has upset you? Hurry up and get on the bed." Xiao Shan grabbed both her feet with his large hands, lifted them, spun them around, and tossed her onto the bed.
Xue Niang's body was forced to spin, her posture quite ungraceful. She felt both ashamed and indignant, especially with her feet still held by him. Her face flushed hotly.
She kicked towards Xiao Shan's chest.
It was too hard, like a wall.
Her kick had no effect on Xiao Shan. During the second kick, he caught her foot again and pressed it firmly against his chest.
His tanned chest formed a stark contrast with her fair feet. In the dim candlelight, he was silhouetted against the light, his face shrouded in darkness, his expression unreadable. Only two "gulp" sounds of swallowing could be heard.
Xue Niang began to feel scared. She exerted force and pulled her foot back. The tall figure still stood like a mountain before the bed, unmoving for a long time.
"You, what's wrong with you tonight? Are you appraising me, planning to sell me?"
Xiao Shan moved, leaning to the side and getting onto the bed. Xue Niang could see his face clearly now, a mix of helplessness and dissatisfaction.
"Don't talk nonsense. I've finally raised you to be so fair and tender. I haven't even tasted what you're like. Who would be willing to sell you!"
This scoundrel, talking nonsense again. She wasn't food, what taste was there to try?
"Give up. You'll only ever be in my hands. Even if your father comes looking for you, I won't let you go."
He narrowed his eyes, resting his arms behind his head, and said half-jokingly, half-seriously.
Father?
Xue Niang thought of the father in her dream, the noble, magnificent, brightly lit palace.
Her heart ached.
She rejected that place, even though compared to here, it seemed like paradise.
"Are you looking for my family?"
Xiao Shan's eyes flickered. "No."
"It's best if you aren't. If I find out, I'll never speak to you again."
Xiao Shan sat up and looked at her seriously. "Xue Niang, are you really unwilling to look for your family? If your relatives treated you very well, and your life was worry-free, incredibly wealthy, and much better than here—"
"Don't! I will remember myself! I don't need your kindness! If you dare to investigate behind my back, I will leave and never see you again!"
Xue Niang yelled at Xiao Shan, then turned her back to him and lay down, her shoulders heaving, appearing to still be full of anger.
Xiao Shan didn't understand why Xue Niang was so resistant to her family. He seemed to have guessed wrong again.
Perhaps her past life hadn't been very good either.