"Princess Consort, while it is important that Lin Qingquan receives his due punishment, can you please save my elder brother first!"
Xiao Yueying, her eyes brimming with tears, approached Lu Qingwan and tearfully pleaded with her to save him.
Lu Qingwan felt a headache coming on from her crying. "Miss Xiao, please don't worry. I have already sent someone to bring your brother over. If he is still alive, I will not stand idly by and refuse to help..."
As she spoke, the door was knocked. Li Yang hurried to open it. The guards who had slipped away during the chaos had returned.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Your Highness the Princess Consort, Xiao Lingyun has been brought here, but he is dying."
"Elder brother!"
Xiao Yueying, sobbing, rushed to the door. Li Su, annoyed, yanked her away. "Miss Xiao, can you stop crying! Will your crying heal your elder brother's injuries?!"
Xiao Yueying's face stiffened, and she didn't utter another sound, only shed silent tears.
"Quick, bring him in."
Lu Qingwan had the guards place Xiao Lingyun on the couch. As she turned, she subtly gave Li Su a thumbs-up.
Li Su was taken aback for a moment, then pursed his lips and smiled.
A group of people quickly gathered around Xiao Lingyun's couch. Li Yang, looking at the emaciated figure on the couch, his eyes tightly shut and his chest unmoving, furrowed his brows so deeply that a mosquito could have been crushed.
"Princess Consort, is there any hope?"
Lu Qingwan's expression was also not good. After checking Xiao Lingyun's pulse, she directly shook her head. "There is no hope."
"Princess Consort!"
Xiao Yueying fell to her knees with a thud. "My elder brother only ingested too much Netherworld Flower. He was always healthy and strong before. He wouldn't die like this. Please save him, I beg you to save him..."
Fearing that Lu Qingwan would not agree, Xiao Yueying crawled on her knees from the ground, clutching Lu Qingwan's clothes and begging repeatedly.
Lu Qingwan simply shook her head. "His body was already hollowed out by the Netherworld Flower. Lin Qingquan deliberately dosed him with just enough to ensure he would die from the poison by the time we stepped into that private room. Even the greatest of physicians could not save him."
"Impossible!"
Xiao Yueying shoved Lu Qingwan hard. "My elder brother will not die! Don't you have extraordinary medical skills, capable of bringing people back from the dead? You even performed a cesarean section for a birth! My elder brother has only been poisoned by the Netherworld Flower, how can you not save him?..."
The room instantly fell silent. All eyes were on Xiao Yueying.
The sudden quiet startled Xiao Yueying back to her senses. Realizing what she had said, the color drained from her face.
Lu Qingwan sat on the edge of the couch, gazing intently at her.
"I never told you I had medical skills, yet you went to a high-ranking and powerful person like His Highness for help with your brother, and instead kept begging me. I thought it was because His Highness had a fearsome reputation and you were afraid to ask him. Now it seems, Miss Xiao is truly well-connected! You even know about my cesarean section. Did Wu Ying tell you, or do you have spies in the capital city?"
Xiao Yueying's eyes flickered. She dared not meet Lu Qingwan's gaze and stammered, "My younger sister sent me a letter after she escaped, saying she had been saved. The person who saved her had superb medical skills and could even cure the poison of the Netherworld Flower. Perhaps she was afraid I would worry, so she specifically mentioned your cesarean section in the letter, so that I wouldn't worry about her."
"So, before you came to me, you already knew my identity, is that right?"
To have someone she risked exposing Feng Xiwu's identity to save, only for that person to conceal everything and not tell her a single truth, Lu Qingwan felt like a fool, being played for a fool.
Xiao Yueying was still putting on a show of feigning grievance. "No, Princess Consort, I really didn't know..."
"Enough. What happens to you is of no concern to me. Li Yang, take her away and question her thoroughly. We will send her to find Wu Ying after we leave the city."
Xiao Yueying clutched Lu Qingwan's clothes, still trying to argue. Lu Qingwan, disgusted, broke free from her grasp. "I am sparing your life and sending you to see Wu Ying. This is the utmost I can do. Shut up now, and never appear before me again!"
Xiao Yueying was speechless and could not utter another coherent sentence.
Li Yang waved his hand, signaling the guards to take Xiao Yueying out. The guards stepped forward and carried out Xiao Lingyun's body.
Feng Xiwu maneuvered his wheelchair to Lu Qingwan's side, wanting to comfort her. However, Lu Qingwan, her earlier temper towards Xiao Yueying gone, calmly said, "Help me investigate Xiao Yueying. I have a feeling this woman is far more complex than she appears."
"Investigating her is not a problem, but shouldn't you first ask Wu Ying if she actually told Xiao Yueying about your identity?"
If it were indeed Wu Ying who had revealed Lu Qingwan's identity, then it would simply be a matter of a few reprimands and reminding Wu Ying to be more discreet. But if Wu Ying had never spoken of it to anyone, then how Xiao Yueying, all the way in Ye Yu City, knew Lu Qingwan's identity would be worth pondering.
"I will write a letter to Wu Ying now. Find someone to deliver it for me."
She picked up the brush and ink and wrote the letter concisely. Thinking of something, she suddenly picked up the brush and wrote another letter.
Feng Xiwu looked over. "Why are you writing two letters?"
"Secrecy!"
Lu Qingwan mysteriously handed him one letter. "Have someone deliver this one to Wu Ying."
She then rolled up the other letter and reached out to Li Su. "Give me one of those bamboo tubes you use for sending intelligence."
"You even know about this?"
Li Su took a slender bamboo tube from his sleeve and handed it to Lu Qingwan, his tone filled with surprise.
Lu Qingwan wrinkled her nose, unconcerned. "You all didn't avoid me. My eyes are not blind, how could I not know?"
As she spoke, she put the bamboo tube away. Li Su, however, was stunned.
The Regent's Mansion did not appear to be heavily guarded, and they did not deliberately avoid speaking in front of anyone. However, Li Su knew that the Regent's Mansion was outwardly relaxed but inwardly vigilant, with hidden guards everywhere. When outsiders were present, they would not discuss important matters with Feng Xiwu, hence the apparent ease. But Lu Qingwan was an exception. When they first reported matters to Feng Xiwu, they would still try to shield her from it, but Feng Xiwu himself did not. He had never directly said not to guard against Lu Qingwan, but his actions were more effective than his words. They themselves hadn't realized when they started letting their guard down around Lu Qingwan. By the time they did, many of their once-concealed secrets were no longer secrets to Lu Qingwan.
Li Su's daze lasted for a while. When he came to his senses, the arena competition outside seemed to have ended. The sounds of grunting and fighting gradually faded. Lu Qingwan had curled up on the couch and fallen asleep.
Their own Prince stared at the Princess Consort's sleeping face without blinking, like an infatuated man. She dared not disturb them, and silently stood straight, playing the role of a proper background.
There was no curfew on Chongyang Festival, and the fireworks lasted until midnight. At dawn, Ying Yi, who had been missing all night, returned.