Chapter Twenty-Two: Seeking Methods for Health and Longevity

A group of ruffians and troublemakers suddenly tumbled into the private room where the two were seated, fighting and making a commotion. The maid and the young servant were caught off guard, squeezed behind the door, and cried out in pain, attracting a crowd outside who pressed in, eager to witness the spectacle.

Those inside the room and those outside exchanged glances, stunned for a moment.

Qin Yurou abruptly came to her senses, hurriedly pushed Qi Tianyu away, turned to the side, and avoided the prying eyes at the door.

“Who are these people? Throw them out!” Qi Tianyu’s face darkened as he barked sharply at the ruffians crowding the doorway.

“Wait—isn’t that Young Master Qi? How can he be meeting someone in secret at a time like this?” someone exclaimed in surprise. Many in Jiangzhou knew Qi Tianyu.

After that humiliating scandal for men, Qi Tianyu was still meeting a woman in private—how fearless he was!

“Isn’t that the eldest Miss Qin of the Ningyuan General’s Mansion?” Despite Qin Yurou’s swift attempt to hide herself, someone recognized her, and immediately others cried out in shock.

With those two remarks, the crowd at the door erupted in excitement.

The event that had just unfolded was astonishing; everyone had been discussing this marriage for days. Who could have imagined that the once betrothed couple would be found embracing each other—what was going on?

The ruffians who had fallen to the floor clung to each other as they scrambled up, their clothes crooked and disheveled, but their curiosity was undiminished.

“Wasn’t it said that Miss Qin had cuckolded Young Master Qi, and even carried a hidden pregnancy? Could it be that the child is actually his?” one ruffian gaped at Qi Tianyu and then at Qin Yurou, who was turned aside.

“Well… it’s possible!” someone else chuckled, watching the scene unfold.

“Then whose child is it?” another asked, eyeing Qin Yurou’s belly.

The crowd, each adding their own words, grew ever more vulgar and offensive.

At this moment, Qin Yurou was mortified, wishing she could die from shame.

“You… you are outrageous!” Qi Tianyu’s face alternated between blue and pale, his voice raised in fury. He shouted at the young servant who had just squeezed out from behind the door, “Close the door!”

The battered servant and maid hurriedly tried to push the door shut, but the crowd outside only grew larger, jostling to see the drama, their strength too meager to keep the door closed.

Qin Yurou panicked; spotting her veil hat on the floor within reach, she snatched it up and put it on, whispering urgently to her maid Meixue, “Let’s go!”

“If you don’t move aside, you’ll be charged with spreading rumors in court tomorrow!” Qi Tianyu strode forward, angrily shoving a few ruffians aside at the door.

Seeing his genuine rage, the ruffians at the doorway dared not go too far, and squeezed back, creating a narrow passage. Meixue, supporting Qin Yurou, rushed out.

“Isn’t that Miss Qin’s maid?”

“Yes, it is!”

“No doubt about it!” This time, the crowd recognized Qin Wanru’s maid. Qin Wanru had often gone out to play, and many knew her personal attendants.

Overwhelmed by the voices, Qin Yurou dared not linger, hastily descending the stairs. In her rush, the light gauze of her veil caught on something and, as she stepped onto the last stair, the hat fell off.

Beneath the veil, Qin Yurou’s tear-streaked, miserable face was exposed.

Qin Yurou covered her face in shame and fled down the stairs toward the carriage outside, Meixue close behind.

Yet everyone upstairs and downstairs had seen clearly, and laughter erupted.

In a private room window on the third floor, a young boy leaned out, handsome and laughing so hard he rocked back and forth, though he made no sound. He glanced down at the second-floor corridor, where Qi Tianyu, face grim, was stepping downstairs…

“Miss, you wouldn’t believe it—Brother Fengzi says everyone is calling Young Master Qi a turtle now, saying he’s been cuckolded, and yet he’s found embracing Miss Qin. Both are shameless and without dignity!” Qingyue reported, barely able to contain her laughter, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Did everyone see it?” Qin Wanru smiled lightly, setting down her book.

“Yes, everyone saw it! There were so many people upstairs and downstairs, and the veil just fell off at that moment. Even if Miss Qin covered her face, there were too many eyes watching. She’ll never dare go out again!” Qingyue felt vindicated.

In the past, Miss Qin always appeared gentle and kind, but had often schemed against Second Miss behind her back, while Second Miss, sincere and honest, had frequently taken the blame.

“Did you see Brother Baiyu?” Qin Wanru, recalling Qin Yurou’s embarrassment, couldn’t help but smile.

“Brother Fengzi says yes, Young Master Baiyu was on the third floor. After discussing with him, he arranged for someone to burst into the room. Young Master Qi had no idea Miss Qin and Young Master Baiyu already knew about his secret meeting, thinking he was being so discreet!”

Qingyue pursed her lips, about to speak further, when a thought struck her and her smile faded into worry. Looking at Qin Wanru uneasily, she asked, “Miss, Brother Fengzi said he saw Young Master Qi embracing Miss Qin. Has he forgiven her? Did Miss Qin say anything to harm you?”

“It wasn’t me!” Qin Wanru’s gaze fell on the candlestick, pondering. Qi Tianyu was no fool; he wouldn’t stumble twice in the same place. She herself was still young, incapable of such machinations. “It could be Aunt Shui!”

Qin Yurou must have shifted the blame elsewhere for Qi Tianyu to forgive her; it couldn’t have been herself. The only possibility was Shui Ruolan, who had just been embroiled in scandal.

“What should we do? Miss Shui is such a gentle person; will Young Master Qi try to frame her?” Qingyue fretted.

“I’ll go see Aunt Shui tomorrow!” Taking up a small pair of scissors, Qin Wanru trimmed the candle wick, her eyes glinting with depth. Even without today’s events, she would have gone to see Aunt Shui tomorrow, to seize the initiative.

Some things cannot be avoided, so one must face them head-on!

Seeing that it was late, Qin Wanru sent Qingyue off to sleep. Knowing someone might come later, she didn’t allow her to keep watch outside, but told her to return to her own room.

Once Qingyue had left, Qin Wanru remained seated by the lamp, idly flipping through the medical book she’d just been reading. This book had been given to her by Master Mingqiu from Jingxin Nunnery, who hoped she would learn medicine.

But after receiving it, she’d left it aside, uninterested in reading it. Qingyue must have found it somewhere, and now, on a whim, she found herself absorbed in its pages.

The room was quiet, broken only by the sound of the candle flame. A breeze drifted in through the window, pleasant and refreshing. Though autumn had just begun, the daytime heat lingered, but by night, cool winds swept away all the day’s oppression.

Qin Wanru had thought she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the medical book, but to her surprise, she became entranced, so much so that she didn’t notice Chu Liuchen’s arrival. When the candle popped again, she looked up to trim its wick and saw Chu Liuchen seated by the window, startled into standing, her round, watery eyes wide in alarm.

She looked very much like a startled little creature.

“What book is it, that you read so intently?” Chu Liuchen reached out his hand. He wore purple robes edged with black at the collar, lounging in the chair opposite Qin Wanru, his head propped on his hand as he toyed with the broad sandalwood armrest, his posture relaxed and at ease.

Qin Wanru silently handed the medical book over.

Chu Liuchen took it, flipped through it casually, and cast her a sidelong glance. “You want to study medicine?”

“Yes!” Qin Wanru nodded.

“Why?” His voice was gentle.

“To treat the sick!” Qin Wanru replied honestly.

“For whom? Me?” Chu Liuchen’s lips curled into a smile, full of youthful mischief.

Qin Wanru paused, her gaze falling on the seal he was handling in his other hand, and her eyes brightened.

“Is that for me?” Her hand had already reached out.

“This seal looks rather special! Giving it to you like this, I’d be at a loss,” Chu Liuchen said solemnly.

“Then… what do you mean, Your Highness?” Qin Wanru inwardly lamented; would he conjure up some new mischief? “Your Highness, I am only eleven years old!”

Meaning, she was still so young, of little use.

“No wonder you’re so little!” He gave her a disdainful look, then thoughtfully stroked his chin. “You said you want to study medicine? Best you study well, so you can treat my illness someday!”

“Is your illness… difficult to cure?” Qin Wanru’s gaze moved to his pale, thin lips—perfectly shaped, but so pale as to almost seem bloodless. Clearly, his health was poor.

In her previous life, many speculated this prince would not live long, but in the end, he outlived them all.

“It is indeed difficult. Do you have any way to cure it?” Chu Liuchen asked, eyeing Qin Wanru’s rosy lips with interest.

Qin Wanru instinctively shook her head and replied anxiously, “Your Highness jests!”

“Don’t you? Your lips are so vivid; surely you have some secret for health. Teach me how?” Chu Liuchen laughed, his gaze lingering on Qin Wanru’s lips, whose color lent her, even as a young girl, an arresting beauty.

Though still a child, one could already imagine how stunning she would become in the future.

Qin Wanru’s face suddenly turned as pale as snow, yet her lips remained vividly red, as if all traces of blood loss from her earlier injury had vanished.

Her cherry lips trembled, sweat beading on her brow, and in her heart, it felt as if something had been fiercely stabbed, pain making it hard to breathe.

Rosy lips? It seemed a memory was missing, one connected to that vivid lip color—a crime forced upon her, a false accusation.