Chapter 28: For the Heir's Affairs, Sacrifice One's Life!

In a low-key residence on West Direct Street Hutong, Su Chen was pacing anxiously inside the house.

When he saw Mu Yu enter, he froze, not even bothering to wonder how she had arrived; he was about to say, 'Quack doctor, your timing is perfect,' but in the blink of an eye, someone who shouldn't be here appeared.

Seeing Miss Shen Fourth lift the curtain and enter, Su Chen's eyes widened, his cheek twitched violently, and he hastily swallowed the words on his tongue.

He then looked at Mu Yu, his gaze seemingly asking: 'How did this Fourth Miss also come here?'

Mu Yu didn't blink, even shifting her gaze expressionlessly toward the source of the bloody smell, feigning ignorance as she said, 'Is he the patient?'

Mu Yu was clearly much calmer than Su Chen.

"I invited the Fourth Miss to come," said Ya Niang as she entered behind him.

Ya Niang didn't know Mu Yu; she was only worried about the heir's condition, and upon hearing from the Fourth Miss that Mu Yu was a doctor from Skillful Hand Hall, and coincidentally knowing that Skillful Hand Hall belonged to Xiao Jingyuan, she felt reassured letting Mu Yu come along.

Su Chen almost forgot about this!

Nowadays, all the big and small clinics in Jingcheng are being secretly watched; when the incident happened suddenly, they feared exposing their whereabouts, so they dared not rashly go to Skillful Hand Hall to request help.

Coincidentally, Mu Yu was at Duke Rong's Mansion; no one would have thought that the Fourth Miss of the mansion would have any connection with the heir.

"Quick, quick, quick, please doctor, save my young master!" Su Chen then pretended not to know Mu Yu and led her behind the screen.

Mu Yu said, "Go fetch hot water."

Ya Niang immediately went.

Soon after, Su Chen retreated from behind the screen and bowed to Shen Shuangning: "Thank you, Fourth Miss, for your assistance."

The man before them wore only simple white robes, with a plain ebony hairpin shaped like a brush tip on his head, no other adornments; his features were fairly regular and handsome, his eyes held wisdom, and the tear mole at the corner of his eye was what old folks call an ill-fated sign.

Seeing Su Chen, Shen Shuangning momentarily blanked out.

Su Chen, she recognized him.

He was Xiao Jingyuan's aide-de-camp, also a military advisor, later gaining considerable status in Prince Yan's Mansion, to the point that even the princess consort treated him with courtesy.

After Prince Yan's Mansion rose to prominence, he was a honored guest wherever he went, yet he always dressed in this plain, unadorned manner, constantly appearing indifferent to life and death.

When she first entered the prince's household, she had once encountered some odd looks, worrying that she wasn't as good as Song Xizhi, fearing she would be disliked by the princess consort and the heir, living in constant anxiety; later, Su Chen noticed her helplessness and handed her a silk handkerchief.

He also comforted her, saying, "I believe the heir's consort is a fine person; you need not worry about others' opinions, be thorough in all things—though no one in the world can be as universally beloved as a banknote, I, Su, believe that given time, they will see the consort's virtues."

It was Su Chen's words that dispelled her unease, and thus she held a good impression of him.

However, Su Chen's fate was not pleasant; he was captured by rebels, stuffed into a sack, tied to the back of a cart, and dragged to death alive.

Now seeing him standing well before her, she inevitably felt a tinge of complexity, but this emotion was quickly suppressed; she bowed slightly to Su Chen and said, "I too am allied with the heir, and he once rescued me from danger; knowing he is injured, I certainly cannot stand by idly."

She only hoped that Xiao Jingyuan would wake soon and hand over the remaining potatoes to her.

Su Chen gave a slight nod, then said no more, gazing worriedly toward the heir's direction.

Shen Shuangning had originally wanted to leave first, but seeing Xiao Jingyuan's condition seemed severe, truly fearing he might die just like that, she simply decided to stay.

She watched Ya Niang's frail figure carry out basin after basin of bloody water, doing everything herself, not even having time to wipe the sweat from her cheeks.

Somehow, Shen Shuangning seemed able, through her, to see how Xiao Jingyuan, when wounded abroad in the past, had also been tended to by Ya Niang in the same painstaking, meticulous way.

She had accompanied him to many places, shared life-and-death experiences; these precious bonds might even surpass those of Song Xizhi.

Yet Xiao Jingyuan didn't even give her a title—truly heartless.

When she was the heir's consort, Shen Shuangning had never known of Ya Niang's existence; later, upon reflection, there was a period when Qing Feng seemed to hold a strong grudge against her.

He even said, "If it weren't for you, how would the heir have driven her away? You know nothing, she's better than you......" He didn't finish before Qing Yun stopped him.

At that time, Shen Shuangning didn't know whether the 'her' in Qing Feng's words was male or female; only now did she suddenly realize.

It turned out Qing Feng was speaking up for Ya Niang.

But she had never allowed Xiao Jingyuan to do so.

Seeing Ya Niang's heart wholly set on Xiao Jingyuan, wishing she could suffer in his stead, Shen Shuangning momentarily didn't know what to feel, only able to try not to dwell on the past.

After an unknown amount of time, the teapot on the table was empty; Mu Yu finally emerged from behind the screen, washed her hands, and said, "Rest easy, he won't die. His life is big."

Su Chen let out a sigh of relief.

Ya Niang also showed a faint smile; the tense nerve in her mind finally relaxed, her whole body nearly going limp and about to collapse, but a hand shot out swiftly to steady her.

Ya Niang instinctively leaned into a soft embrace; upon lifting her gaze, her expression was somewhat bewildered.

Shen Shuangning steadied her, then handed her a soft cloth, saying, "It's just sweat; wipe it off."

Ya Niang froze for a moment, then smiled and said gratefully, "Thank you, Fourth Miss."

She took the soft cloth Shen Shuangning offered, slowly wiping the sweat from her neck; the Fourth Miss's soft cloths always carry a fresh magnolia scent, extremely pleasant.

Ya Niang thought.

Su Chen had already gone ahead to inspect the heir's injury.

At that moment, Qing Feng also entered; upon seeing that there were several more people in the room, including Shen Shuangning and A Heng, he seemed frozen in place, face full of doubt and vigilance.

Ya Niang promptly spoke up: "I brought the Fourth Miss here; the duke's mansion just happened to have a doctor from Skillful Hand Hall. This time we owe much to the Fourth Miss's willingness to help."

Mu Yu and A Heng stood at Shen Shuangning's side; Qing Feng's gaze fell on A Heng's face, his cheek twitching slightly.

Who would have thought that last time he stood by while they were left to die, this time they saved the heir?

Qing Feng hesitated a moment, ultimately saying nothing, nor giving Shen Shuangning another glance, and strode straight past her to check on his own master.

Shen Shuangning never crossed the screen to see how the heir's injury was, as if she had come merely to lend a hand and didn't really care whether he lived or died.

After Su Chen emerged, Shen Shuangning rose and said, "Since the heir is out of danger, I will not disturb you further; please, sir, later inform the heir that I have important matters to discuss, and ask him to send someone to Li's Shop to find me once he has recovered."

Having said that, Shen Shuangning was about to leave.

"Wait."

The speaker was Qing Feng, who hurriedly came from behind the screen, saying, "There's another person who's also injured; please, doctor, stay—we are deeply grateful!"

The injured one was Qing Yun, who had originally been tasked with luring away those lurking in the dark, but the opposing side included an archer of extraordinary skill, so Qing Yun was struck by an arrow while fleeing.

That arrow was only half an inch away from taking his life.

Shen Shuangning, holding to the idea of seeing a good deed through to the end, left Mu Yu with them.

At this moment, Qing Yun lay on the stone steps outside, the arrow still embedded in his body; though not much blood flowed, his face had lost all color—if not treated soon, death was certain.

Qing Yun gazed at Mu Yu with a dazed look, opened his mouth and whispered, "Xiao, Xiao Yu..." then fainted, relieved.

That faint utterance of "Xiao Yu" went unheard by Shen Shuangning.

Mu Yu hurriedly said, "Quick, carry him inside!"

The cramped little courtyard was filled with the smell of blood.

At this very moment, Shen Shuangning had only one thought: to serve Xiao Jingyuan, even at the cost of her life.

No way—once I finish this deal with Xiao Jingyuan, I must get rid of him as soon as possible!

Shen Shuangning still couldn't retrieve her sachet.

After leaving that narrow hutong, she thought, "Next time I'll definitely get it back."

Only then did Su Chen belatedly realize, stroking his chin and wondering strangely: that Fourth Miss had never seen him before, so why would she call him "Mister"?

Moreover, she seemed to recognize his appearance?

In the dead of night, Xiao Jingyuan's condition worsened again, he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood; Qing Yun was no better, and Mu Yu, a lone doctor, was already exhausted from trying to save two people from the clutches of Yama.

Fortunately, they all survived unscathed.

Afterward, Mu Yu leaned on the table, facing Su Chen, raised his slightly trembling hand, and said, "The consultation fee—double!"

Su Chen patted her shoulder earnestly and said, "I'll never call you a quack again."

In the blink of an eye, by the next afternoon, Yao Niang went to change Qing Yun's medicine, but Qing Feng stepped forward and blocked her with an outstretched hand.

Yao Niang looked at him, puzzled.

"You're a woman… let… let me do it," Qing Feng stammered.

Yao Niang spoke gently: "I'm used to attending to the Heir Apparent; changing the medicine is nothing—please let me do more for you."

Qing Feng simply snatched the items from her hands and insisted, "I can handle it myself!"

Yao Niang had no choice but to let him have his way.

In his hazy consciousness, Xiao Jingyuan seemed to see images that didn't exist in his memory at all—both strange and familiar.

It was as if he had entered another world where he recognized the familiar Prince Yan's Mansion, yet his quarters were occupied by a woman and left in utter disarray.

As he stepped into the courtyard, every magnolia tree in the garden was in bloom; a breeze blew, scattering petals across the ground, which was actually quite lovely.

The woman beneath the trees turned, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him; she lifted her skirt and ran over, exuberant: "My lord, how did you come back? Look—these are all the magnolias I planted last year; do you like them?"

Her tone was cheerful and expectant, with a hint of nervousness.

Though his heart felt completely calm, seeing her bright eyes made him say, "Lovely."

She then smiled coyly, whispering delightedly: "The princess consort said you never cared for flowers and grasses, and I feared you'd think I was overstepping—I only wanted to add some color here so you'd see them each year when you return, though winter won't do, for the magnolia's bloom is brief; in winter you'll only see me."

He gave no reply.

The woman didn't mind; she leaned into his embrace, arms tightly around his waist, and whispered softly:

"My lord, I miss you so much."

He then, as if spellbound, held her beneath the magnolia tree, plucked the loveliest blossom from her bosom, and let her bloom for him.

For a moment he lost all sense of heaven and earth, knowing only that the magnolia's fragrance utterly captivated him.

Yao Niang noticed he seemed restless in his sleep, so she gently wiped the sweat from his neck with a handkerchief—but just as she was about to pull away, he seized her hand.

"Don't go."

Yao Niang stared for a moment, made no struggle, let him hold her thus; feeling his grip tighten, she couldn't help but whisper softly, "Heir Apparent."

Xiao Jingyuan then woke, his eyes momentarily dazed; he turned his gaze to her and furrowed his brow.

Yao Niang spoke softly: "Heir Apparent, you've awakened."

Xiao Jingyuan immediately released her, made to rise, and asked, "How is it you?"

As it turned out, the person the Heir Apparent had been expecting was not her.

Yao Niang pressed her lips together; the flicker of joy in her heart drained away like a tide. She reached out to steady his seat and said, "I heard Minister Su say you were gravely injured—I couldn't rest easy, so I came to see you."

Not a word mentioned her having tended to him all night.

Qing Feng, who had been standing behind and witnessed all this, could not bear to see Yao Niang humble herself; he immediately said, "From yesterday until now, it has been Yao Niang attending to you, Heir Apparent, and it was her timely summoning of Mu Yu that saved you and Qing Yun."

Su Chen, who had just entered from outside, glanced at Qing Feng but said nothing.

Xiao Jingyuan thanked Yao Niang and then asked what she wanted.

Yao Niang hurriedly knelt, saying, "I want nothing; attending to the Heir Apparent is simply my duty."

"I've said before—no need to kneel, please rise." Xiao Jingyuan spoke, still weak and unable to stop coughing a few times.

Seeing his pallor, Yao Niang quickly rose to find something to do.

But as she approached, Xiao Jingyuan keenly detected her scent and lifted his eyes, asking, "Who else has come?"

Yao Niang explained: "The Fourth Miss of the Duke's Manor, Shen Shuangning, came once. She had originally gone to the Treasure Pavilion to discuss matters with you, but I let slip a word; upon hearing of the Heir Apparent's injury, she came to lend a hand."

As she spoke, Xiao Jingyuan gazed at the embroidered handkerchief pinned at her collar, where a delicate orchid was stitched.

Yao Niang noticed his gaze, lowered her eyes, and realized—she lamented, "This was given to me by the Fourth Miss; I forgot to return it."

Xiao Jingyuan's expression grew somewhat complex.

Even in his dreams, it was her.

How is it her again? Never-ending.