Chapter 114

At this moment, Ningfei said softly, "Later, when the Crown Prince sought to marry Miss Rouyi, he was blocked by the civil and military officials. There were rumors that Rouyi was originally a Southern Frontier princess who had infiltrated the Crown Prince's side to restore her country. A group of ministers submitted a memorial to the Emperor, risking their lives to demand that Rouyi be sent to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation."

"Because the Ministry of Justice had previously discovered that Pei Mansion's concubine Liu Yunyan was a Southern Frontier alien who had attempted to steal the military defense map and was executed by slow slicing after being caught, the Minister of Justice at the time proposed that Rouyi be sentenced to slow slicing and executed in public at the vegetable market."

Thinking of her own extremely close experience, Lin Jiaojiao asked eagerly, "Was she really a Southern Frontier alien princess? Was she really executed by slow slicing later?"

"Whether she was a Southern Frontier alien princess is unknown. The slow slicing was not carried out as scheduled," Ningfei shook her head and said, "because someone planted gunpowder in the Ministry of Justice and blew it up directly. Since then, Rouyi's whereabouts have been unknown."

"The Ministry of Justice was blown up?" Although Lin Jiaojiao had experienced the Dali Temple fire, that was arson committed by Xu Xiao to kill her and cover his tracks. That he could do such a thing showed that the Ministry of Justice had a "precedent"!

"Miss Lin, you also see that the bombing of the Ministry of Justice is quite suspicious, right?" The look Ningfei gave Lin Jiaojiao held a trace of expectation, as if she were hoping for an affirmative answer.

Asked this way, Lin Jiaojiao couldn't help but stammer, "I... I don't know the ins and outs of it..."

Ningfei smiled faintly, "Sister Lin, I have heard of your deeds. Now that I think back, if Rouyi were still alive, she might not have had the courage you have to bring the murderer to justice."

"Forget it, Rouyi was destined to have a hard life and shallow blessings; she couldn't protect herself and didn't receive great favor." She sighed helplessly, then looked up at Lin Jiaojiao, her gaze suddenly falling on the jade pendant at her waist: Wasn't that the jade pendant the Emperor wore with him!

She was slightly startled: The Emperor really had fallen for this woman who looked almost exactly like Rouyi!

"Sister Lin, I know you are extremely intelligent. If one day you receive great favor and your rank is above mine, please, for the sake of our past relationship, do not make things difficult for me." Ningfei looked at Lin Jiaojiao as if she had already received great favor!

Hearing this, Lin Jiaojiao was so shocked that she choked on her own saliva, "Cough, cough, cough, Ningfei Niangniang, please don't mock this subject."

"This subject is just a female physician and has no intention of climbing the social ladder," Lin Jiaojiao said, her hands subconsciously covering her chest. Thinking of the experience suffered by that woman named Rouyi, she only felt a sense of suffocation in her heart.

"Ningfei Niangniang, this subject is really unwell today and cannot entertain you properly, nor is it suitable to examine your sprain. I am truly sorry—" Lin Jiaojiao said, bowing slightly to express her apology.

Ningfei Consort was a sensible person and understood the implication of her words, so she went along with it, "Since that is the case, I can only call another Imperial Physician to help treat this sprain. You should rest well. I will have Duruo send some excellent medicinal herbs to you later so you can get better quickly."

At the end, she didn't forget to tease Lin Jiaojiao: "In this Imperial Palace, there is more than just me who is counting on you to treat their illnesses."

As soon as she finished speaking, a strange eunuch's voice came from outside Qingju Pavilion, "Xi Pin Niangniang has arrived—"

Xi Pin Niangniang is here too? Lin Jiaojiao and Qingdai exchanged a glance, unable to hide the surprise in their hearts.

Ningfei Niangniang smiled slightly, "Look, speak of the devil and he shall appear. I won't disturb Sister Lin and Xi Pin's meeting. You are sick today, don't forget to rest well."

After saying this, she signaled the servants beside her to lift the sedan chair, preparing to return to the palace.

Lin Jiaojiao and Qingdai respectfully sent her off from Qingju Pavilion. As soon as they stepped out the door, they saw Xi Pin walking towards them in a rush.

But Xi Pin didn't come by sedan chair; she walked over with big strides, showing no signs of the spotting she had yesterday!

And even less like someone who was pregnant!

Several palace maids and eunuchs behind her were almost chasing her, telling her to walk slower, but Xi Pin didn't listen at all and ran straight into Ningfei Niangniang, who was leaving.

"Greetings, Ningfei Niangniang." After Xi Pin gave a simple concubine salute, she didn't even look at Ningfei and went straight to greet Lin Jiaojiao, "Imperial Physician Lin! I had the cook make hot and sour soup today; it tastes great, so I thought I'd bring some for you to try!"

Lin Jiaojiao was choked by the way she addressed her, "Cough, cough, Xi Pin Niangniang, you had spotting yesterday; you should be lying in bed resting properly—"

"Imperial Physician Lin," Xi Pin touched her lower abdomen and sneered self-deprecatingly, "If someone wants to harm the fetus in my womb, it's useless no matter how much I rest!"

Hearing her words, Lin Jiaojiao thought to herself: This Xi Pin is truly straightforward!

"Xi Pin is joking," Ningfei curled her lips into a faint smile, "The Emperor already punished Yu Fei yesterday; how could anyone harm the fetus in your womb again?"

Xi Pin didn't take her words to heart and instead said: "Ningfei Niangniang, just now when I passed by Wenhua Dian, I saw Grand Tutor Wang hitting the Crown Prince's palm with a ruler. The little Crown Prince was crying with snot and tears. As his mother, shouldn't you go over and take a look?"

"The ancients said, 'If one does not work hard in youth, one will regret it in old age.'" After hearing Xi Pin's words, Ningfei didn't feel anxious but nodded in approval, "The Crown Prince is young and mischievous; if he doesn't do his lessons well, he should be properly disciplined."

"You are quite strict with the Crown Prince." Xi Pin's tone carried a trace of mockery, "Aren't you afraid that when the Crown Prince grows up, he will be estranged from you?"

Lin Jiaojiao didn't want to see Xi Pin making enemies, so she coughed a few more times, and Xi Pin immediately turned her attention back to her!

Xi Pin stepped forward in two or three steps, stretched out an arm, and supported her, "Imperial Physician Lin, yesterday Qin... Let me tell you, when I first saw a bodyguard die beside me as a child, I was just as scared, and I fell ill the next day!"

"In the end, my father dragged me to the battlefield and opened my eyes to see mountains of corpses and seas of blood!" Xi Pin said, supporting Lin Jiaojiao into the room, "When you leave the palace another day, I'll have my father take you to the battlefield to see those mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and you won't be afraid anymore!"

"Ruo'er, hurry up and serve the hot and sour soup to Imperial Physician Lin. I see you coughing here early in the morning; it must be an external cold. Drink the hot and sour soup, and once your body warms up, you'll definitely be half-cured!"

Seeing Xi Pin being so intimate with Lin Jiaojiao, changing from her usual cold and dashing demeanor to more like a passionate swallow fluttering around Lin Jiaojiao, just like she herself had been around Rouyi back then, Ningfei felt a pang of bitterness.

She gave a faint, bitter smile, then signaled the little eunuchs to lift the sedan chair to take her away from here.

Inside the main room of Qingju Pavilion, just as Xi Pin watched Lin Jiaojiao finish a bowl of hot and sour soup, she saw Qingdai leading a little palace maid over. The fiery emotion in her eyes instantly cooled down, "Imperial Physician Lin, why did you pick up such a lowly stray cat or dog to save?!"