"Wasn't it you?" Nangong Yi blurted out. When he learned that the Chu Princess's difficult childbirth was man-made, his first suspect was Nangong Yu.
"This King is not so shameless as to harm a pregnant woman," Nangong Yu sneered. "This King even suspects you did it."
"I'm not that shameless either!" Nangong Yi retorted. "Could it be the Crown Prince, Elder Brother?"
"Not impossible," Nangong Yu said calmly. "If I am a stumbling block, he will likely not spare you either. Be careful when you are out and about."
"I heard that Yun Di visited the General's mansion daily a few days ago. Man'er must be quite annoyed."
"He doesn't have the time to bother her now," Nangong Yu said faintly, his gaze darkening as it fell upon a certain person.
Nangong Yi followed his gaze and saw Wen Mohan approaching. A schadenfreude smile curved Nangong Yi's lips. He had never found Wen Mohan so pleasing to the eye!
"Minister Wen, over here," Nangong Yi greeted him proactively, drawing him over.
Wen Mohan walked towards them, his gaze falling first on Xiao Man before he bowed to them. "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin, Your Highness Prince Qi."
"Minister Wen must be busy with something. This King will not delay you," Nangong Yu said first.
"Your Highness misunderstands. This subordinate is here to escort his fiancée home," Wen Mohan said with a gentle smile and sincere words, appearing every bit the dutiful gentleman.
Nangong Yi felt the gloom in his chest dissipate and his mood brighten considerably. Finally, someone could annoy Fourth Brother!
Xiao Man and the others were looking at jewelry at the counter. Upon seeing Wen Mohan, Xiao Man simply waved and asked the shopkeeper to bring out another set of hair ornaments for them to look at.
Xiao Man took a fancy to a pair of tassel earrings and immediately picked them up, holding them to Dan Yuyan's ear. "These earrings would suit Sister Dan very well. Let me try them on you."
Dan Yuyan smiled and nodded, allowing Xiao Man to put them on her. Du Yulan continued to select other styles.
"These earrings suit Madam perfectly," the shopkeeper immediately praised. "We recently received a batch of silver ornaments with novel designs and exquisite craftsmanship. Would you noble ladies like to take a look?"
"If the designs are nice, we can certainly look," Du Yulan said immediately. "I prefer silver hairpins."
The shopkeeper promptly brought out a selection of silver ornaments, including hairpins, bracelets, and earrings, all exquisitely crafted. Du Yulan picked up a silver hairpin intricately carved with magnolia flowers, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes.
"This silver hairpin is truly beautiful. Let me put it on for you," Xiao Man praised.
"Thank you," Du Yulan handed the silver hairpin to Xiao Man. Xiao Man expertly secured it for her. "This hairpin looks splendid on the Princess Consort Qi. Don't you think so, Sister Dan?"
"The design of this silver hairpin is novel, and it subtly incorporates the Princess Consort Qi's name. It is indeed beautiful."
"Really?" Du Yulan quickly turned to look at Nangong Yi, only to find him engrossed in conversation with Wen Mohan, completely oblivious to her.
A faint disappointment flickered in Du Yulan's heart. Turning back, she saw Xiao Man suddenly shove her with great force. Caught off balance, she stumbled and fell towards the ground, her first instinct being to protect her belly.
Her body crashed onto the ground, and Du Yulan felt a searing pain in her abdomen. Her vision blurred, and she vaguely heard a cacophony of shouts before everything went black.
Xiao Man steadied Dan Yuyan, who had blocked an arrow for her, and quickly pulled her behind the counter to hide.
"Xiao Man, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Sister Dan is injured." Xiao Man dragged the now unconscious Du Yulan to a corner and hid her as well. "Sister Dan, how are you?"
Dan Yuyan shook her head weakly. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"Hide here and don't come out." Xiao Man picked up an arrow, held it in her hand, and shot it in a certain direction. A thudding sound was heard, followed by several figures clad in black storming into the shop, heading straight for Xiao Man.
"Be careful." Nangong Yu parried an assassin and reached Xiao Man's side.
Xiao Man, wielding a dagger, moved like a phantom, darting into the black-clad figures. With swift strikes, she instantly killed two of them. Nangong Yu's expression changed, and he rushed forward.
"I say, are you trying to die? Others run from assassins, but you charge at them!"
Xiao Man's expression was cold and murderous. Her dagger mercilessly pierced the assassin's neck. In a matter of moments, all the assassins who had broken into the shop were slain.
Seeing that the assassins were dealt with, Xiao Man immediately turned back to the counter to check on Dan Yuyan's injuries.
Nangong Yu turned and saw Xiao Man about to remove Dan Yuyan's clothes. He quickly turned away. "How badly is she hurt?"
"The arrowhead is lodged in her shoulder blade and will take some time to remove. I can't send her back to the Prince's mansion in time, as she's bleeding too fast. I need to extract the arrowhead stuck in her shoulder blade and stop the bleeding as soon as possible."
"What can I do?" Wen Mohan immediately asked.
"Wine, fire, hot water, scissors."
"Immediately." Wen Mohan quickly found the shopkeeper hiding in a corner and asked him for wine, hot water, and scissors.
The shopkeeper quickly gathered the necessary items and brought them over. Xiao Man sterilized her dagger, gave Dan Yuyan a pill, and then handed her a piece of cloth to bite down on.
"It will hurt a lot, bear with it!"
Dan Yuyan slowly nodded. Xiao Man sprayed wine onto the wound, causing Dan Yuyan to gasp in pain. But this was only the beginning. As soon as Xiao Man began to cut, Dan Yuyan couldn't help but tremble. In this state, Xiao Man wouldn't be able to make the incision, and she might even injure the meridians if she moved erratically.
"Get two people to help me hold her down."
Wen Mohan immediately tore a strip of cloth from his sleeve to cover his eyes and fumbled his way in. "Man'er, I can't see. Tell me what to do."
Xiao Man immediately grabbed Wen Mohan's hand and guided it to Dan Yuyan's shoulder. "Hold her down and don't let her move. Nangong Yu, hold her legs."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you pressed her acupoints?" Nangong Yu said, reaching out to press Dan Yuyan's acupoints, but was slapped by Xiao Man midway.
"If pressing acupoints worked, would I be asking you to do this?"
Nangong Yu resignedly held down Dan Yuyan's legs. Xiao Man worked swiftly, cutting open the skin around the wound and carefully removing the arrowhead lodged in her shoulder blade.
Dan Yuyan had already fainted from the pain. Xiao Man quickly applied medication and bandaged the wound. While bandaging, she needed to prop Dan Yuyan up. Xiao Man then asked Wen Mohan to help her lift Dan Yuyan and dress her wound. After a long period of work, it was finally handled.
Xiao Man wiped the sweat from her forehead. "When sending her back, be extremely careful not to bump her wound, lest it split open."
"Understood."
Xiao Man turned around and saw Nangong Yi staring blankly into a corner. She then remembered that Du Yulan had been hidden there. Had she been injured? She hurried over to check.