"Why don't you try it?" Nangong Yu saw Xiao Man merely playing with the wooden hairpin. He immediately took it from her and moved to pin it in her hair. Xiao Man was dressed as a man at the moment, her long hair tied up with a ribbon. Without a second thought, Nangong Yu untied it.
Three thousand strands of dark hair, held in his hands, smooth as the finest silk, slipping away with the slightest carelessness. Nangong Yu fiddled for a long time, then admitted with a hint of frustration, "I don't know how to style a woman's hair."
"It's more convenient to travel dressed as a man," Xiao Man said, immediately gathering her messy hair, replacing the ribbon with a hair clasp, and then pinning the wooden hairpin. "Isn't this fine?"
Seeing this, a pleased smile flickered in Nangong Yu's eyes. "Yes, it's quite suitable for you."
Xiao Man beamed. "Your Highness is very thoughtful. Although this trip to the Wuyue Kingdom didn't yield any other methods for detoxification, I have a conjecture. Whether it can cure the Life and Death Gu within you, I'll have to find an opportunity to test it."
"Don't mention sharing a bed."
"I know, I mean another method," Xiao Man said slowly. "It's just that this method will require some time to experiment."
"What method?"
"I won't tell you for now, lest you be disappointed if it doesn't work. But rest assured, I will definitely not let you die," Xiao Man vowed, patting her chest.
Nangong Yu lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. He suddenly realized that when he was with Xiao Man, his mood was always very relaxed. He didn't have to worry about guarding against schemes and plots, nor did he have to devise ways to scheme against others. Just being by her side inexplicably made him feel at ease.
"What are you smiling at?" Xiao Man asked in surprise.
"Nothing," Nangong Yu looked up at the night sky. Numerous stars twinkled, winking at him, and as he watched them, they too seemed to curiously watch him. "The stars are very bright tonight."
"Yes, the starry sky is beautiful tonight. I wonder what my father and brother are doing, and also..."
Mingyu, are you getting used to it in Yunzhong City?
Nangong Yu didn't know who Xiao Man hadn't mentioned, but he knew this person occupied a significant place in her heart. "Yunzhong City is at the center of the ten border cities. With constant conflict between Yusheng and Yunqi, General Xiao must be strategizing to defeat the enemy."
"What about my father?"
"Your father..." Nangong Yu thought of Xiao Zhen's doting nature. "Your father is likely thinking of you right now, after all, it's your birthday."
Xiao Man suddenly sat up straight. She seemed to have forgotten something. In the past, Xiao Zhen had always celebrated Xiao Man's birthday with her every year. But this year, she was in the Wuyue Kingdom. "Oh no, I completely forgot about this. I've spent every birthday with my father!"
"Then your father... Your father is now most likely in Cangzhou, interrogating your maids."
Xiao Man immediately covered her face with her hands. It was over. Chuxue and the others definitely couldn't fool her father. This was truly the end!
Cangzhou Old Residence.
Xiao Zhen's face was so dark it looked like it could drip ink. He had specifically rushed from the imperial capital to Cangzhou to celebrate Xiao Man's birthday, only to discover upon arrival that the person posing as Xiao Man was actually her maid!
"Where did the young lady go?" Xiao Zhen squeezed the words out from between his teeth.
The maids lowered their heads, not daring to speak. They had no idea where Xiao Man had gone. They only knew she had gone out on urgent business and her return date was uncertain.
"Qiu Tong, where did the young lady go?"
"This servant does not know. The young lady only said she had urgent business to attend to and did not inform us of her destination," Qiu Tong replied, her body trembling. Young lady, where are you? Why aren't you back? If you don't return, we servants will be skinned alive by the general!
Xiao Zhen's expression was difficult to describe. "When did the young lady leave?"
"The young lady..."
"She left two days ago, saying she was going to help a friend..."
*Crack.* Xiao Zhen snatched the teacup beside him and smashed it violently onto the ground, startling the maids. "When exactly did she leave? Do you think this general can't find out? Qiu Tong, tell me, if you speak a single lie, you will be sold immediately!"
Qiu Tong flinched. To speak or not to speak? This was a life-or-death question. If she spoke, the young lady might sell her. If she didn't, the general would sell her. Either way, it was death. She steeled herself, resolving to say nothing!
"You won't speak?" Xiao Zhen laughed in anger. "What a loyal servant! Guards, take this girl..."
"General!" Yingxue quickly looked up. "The young lady... the young lady went out."
"Yingxue..."
"We don't know where the young lady went, but Young Master Dongfang has been protecting her," Yingxue gritted her teeth. "The young lady said she had urgent business to attend to concerning the life and safety of a friend, and had to go. To prevent people from knowing she wasn't in Cangzhou, I had Chuxue disguise herself as the young lady and pretend to be here."
"You don't even ask where the young lady is going?"
"General, the young lady is the master, and we are servants. When does a master tell a servant where they are going..." Yingxue saw that Xiao Zhen's face had darkened to the point of dripping ink and quickly stopped. She inwardly lit a row of candles for Xiao Man, thinking, Young lady, you're finished. The general will probably never let you go out again!
"Did the young lady say when she would return?"
"At the shortest, two months, at the latest, three months," she would return.
"In which direction did she go?"
"West." Xiao Zhen was silent for a moment, then got up and walked out. "Guards, go and find out if the Prince of Qin is in his manor."
"General, is this matter related to the Prince of Qin?"
"For some reason, I have a feeling that Man'er's running away is related to the Prince of Qin." Xiao Zhen rubbed his temples. When he received Xiao Luo's letter, he was told to guard against the Prince of Qin, that the Prince of Qin had sinister intentions and wicked aims. Coupled with the Prince of Qin's handsome appearance, he also feared his daughter would be deceived, which was why he was anxious to return to the imperial capital.
However, after returning to the imperial capital, he didn't see any interaction between them. If there was any, it was that the Prince of Qin had saved Xiao Man's life. But that was not enough for him to entrust his precious daughter to the Prince of Qin!
The hidden guards went to investigate the Prince of Qin's whereabouts, while Xiao Zhen looked to the west. To the northwest of the west was the Western Regions. If he remembered correctly, Wen Mohan, the son of Prime Minister Wen, had gone to the Wuyue Kingdom as an envoy to offer birthday greetings.
And the Wuyue Kingdom was the homeland of the Prince of Qin's birth mother, Consort Xue. Although Xiao Zhen greatly admired the Prince of Qin, he did not wish to entrust his daughter to him. He couldn't let the Prince of Qin know about the secrets Xiao Man held!
The hidden guards quickly returned with news: the Prince of Qin was under house arrest in his manor.
"The Prince of Qin is in his manor?" Xiao Zhen didn't believe it at all. How could the Prince of Qin obediently stay in his manor, contemplating his misdeeds?
Xiao Zhen returned to the imperial capital overnight. On the night of his return, he infiltrated the Prince of Qin's manor and confirmed his suspicions. The Prince of Qin in the manor was just a substitute; the real person was nowhere to be found!