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Marquis Xuanping initially thought she was unwilling to speak with him, but gradually he noticed her trembling body and lips drained of color.
"Qin Fengwan?" He asked, looking at her inquiringly.
"You... don't come closer... please." Princess Xinyang practically begged.
Marquis Xuanping had known Princess Xinyang for many years, and he had never seen her act so meekly toward anyone. Strictly speaking, she wasn't exactly acting meekly right now, but she was genuinely pleading with him.
Pleading with him not to get closer.
Do you despise me that much?
Marquis Xuanping fixed his gaze on her, and in a moment, he dismissed that thought. Rather than despise, her reaction seemed more like fear.
Marquis Xuanping couldn't understand what there was to be afraid of. The last time, when she had fallen from the roof on the streets, he had caught her himself, and she had been perfectly fine, hadn’t she?
She had even coldly ordered him to put her down.
Where was that haughtiness now?
Despite having some doubts in his mind, Marquis Xuanping couldn't ignore the fact that Princess Xinyang's condition was far from optimistic. Marquis Xuanping strongly suspected that if he didn't go out now, she might suffocate right there.
Marquis Xuanping descended from the attic.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Yu Jin and Gu Jiao entered the courtyard.
"Lord Marquis." Yu Jin greeted with a bow.
Marquis Xuanping glanced at her and then at Gu Jiao by her side. He said, "The princess is in the attic. She’s injured. Go check on her."
The entire courtyard had only one attic, and upon hearing Marquis Xuanping's words, Yu Jin didn't waste any time and hurriedly took Gu Jiao up to the attic.
Seeing the two of them, Princess Xinyang let out a silent sigh of relief. The suffocating dizziness she had been feeling was finally starting to subside.
"Princess!" Yu Jin knelt beside her, supporting her and allowing her to lean against her.
Gu Jiao proceeded to examine Princess Xinyang's wounds, which were external skin injuries. There were a total of two cuts, one of which was slightly deeper.
Gu Jiao took her little medicine chest from her back basket and used disinfectant to clean the wounds.
Princess Xinyang's complexion was very poor. Gu Jiao initially thought it was due to the pain, but as she disinfected the wounds, she noticed a slight improvement in Princess Xinyang's complexion.
That meant, it wasn't the pain that had her in such a state.
"Is there anything else bothering you, Princess?" Gu Jiao asked.
When she first entered the room, she saw that Princess Xinyang's face was as if she could hardly breathe.
Princess Xinyang was a highly intelligent individual. How could she not understand why Gu Jiao asked this question? She lowered her gaze, and her eyelashes trembled slightly. Shaking her head, she said, "No, I'm much better now."
Gu Jiao finished dressing her wounds and said, "Alright, avoid getting the wounds wet."
After attending to Princess Xinyang's injuries, Gu Jiao carried her down from the attic.
Back in the room, Yu Jin provided Princess Xinyang with clean clothes to change into.
Marquis Xuanping hadn't left. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to visit Princess Xinyang's room.
Gu Jiao left at this time and Yu Jin went to see her off.
Inside the room, Princess Xinyang sat on a soft bed, leaning against a cushion at the head of the bed. She was lazily flipping through a book with boredom.
Her expression had returned to normal, showing no signs of the recent distress.
"Is there something you need?" Princess Xinyang glanced at him and asked nonchalantly.
Well, she was back to her old self, as if nothing had happened.
Marquis Xuanping pulled a chair over and sat down by her bedside, his eyes fixed on her without wavering, "Qin Fengwan, what's the matter with you?"
Princess Xinyang didn't look at him, her gaze remaining on the book of poetry she was flipping through, "What's wrong with me?"
Marquis Xuanping continued to stare at her face, not missing any of her subtle expressions. He spoke firmly, "In the attic, there’s something wrong with you."
Princess Xinyang brushed it off, "I was in pain."
"That’s pain?" Marquis Xuanping furrowed his brow impatiently and pointed at himself, "Do you think that after fighting wars for half a lifetime, I can't tell the difference between pain and fear? You're afraid of me, Qin Fengwan."
Princess Xinyang pressed her lips together.
Marquis Xuanping looked genuinely puzzled, "I haven't done anything to you, have I? Is there a reason to be so afraid of me? You're never scared of me on ordinary days. You’re not afraid right now either, so why were you suddenly so fearful in the attic?"
Seemingly to confirm that she wasn't afraid of him at this moment, he moved a bit closer to her.
Princess Xinyang remained silent.
Marquis Xuanping's gaze shifted from her face to her hands. She was clutching the book, and her knuckles had a faint white hue.
Marquis Xuanping returned to his chair, putting some distance between them.
He couldn't recall doing anything that would make her wary of him. If anything, in their relationship, it was her who was ready to raise the butcher’s knife at him at any moment. It was her who forbade him from touching her, but was still the one to initiate physical contact.
And yet, she was afraid of him, even if only in the attic.
Marquis Xuanping narrowed his eyes and asked seriously, "Has someone mistreated you, Qin Fengwan?"
"I'm tired." Princess Xinyang gently closed the poetry book, giving him a subtle signal to leave.
Marquis Xuanping had more questions, but at that moment, they heard Steward Liu calling from outside the courtyard, "Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis! The Emperor is summoning you!"
Marquis Xuanping sensed the slight relaxation in Princess Xinyang's body when she heard these words.
He looked at her deeply. She raised her chin stubbornly, resolutely holding herself up like a proud peacock, but her slightly trembling eyelashes and bloodless lips betrayed her.
Marquis Xuanping's gaze darkened. He stood up, watching her for a moment, and then turned and left.
Upon entering the palace, Marquis Xuanping received an immediate decree from the Emperor. He was appointed as the Imperial Envoy for a southern expedition, tasked with temporarily assuming the role of Naval Commander of the Nanhai Fleet, with the urgent mission to eliminate the pirates, retake the southern islands, and return them to the empire as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Marquis Xuanping led a force of 500 light cavalry and departed the capital under the cover of night. Chang Jing also accompanied him.
……
After leaving Princess Xinyang's residence, Gu Jiao returned to Bishui Alley in the carriage arranged by Yu Jin.
The house was lively, with neighbors and friends coming over to see the adorable and well-behaved baby. He was truly a cute and beautiful child.
Eunuch Qin and Eunuch Wei also came to visit.
Gu Jiao's visit to the palace was to share the good news with her Grandaunt and the Emperor. However, both of these influential figures had been summoned for an urgent meeting concerning the pirate situation at sea, so they couldn't personally visit Bishui Alley to see the baby. Instead, they sent Eunuch Qin and Eunuch Wei to represent them.
"You've been holding him for half an hour, give me a turn!"
In the west room, Eunuch Qin complained to Eunuch Wei.
Eunuch Wei turned his back, avoiding Eunuch Qin's reaching hands, and said stubbornly, "No!"
He was the one who fought to hold the baby first!
He had snatched the baby from Aunt Liu's hands, and nobody knew what he had sacrificed to achieve that!
"You can hold him next time!" Eunuch Wei firmly refused to let go of the baby.
Eunuch Qin was grinding his teeth in anger.
Brat, after following the Emperor for a while, you've forgotten who the top palace eunuch is, haven't you?
Eunuch Wei didn't care.
He wasn't going to let go, and that was that!
Eunuch Qin couldn't just grab the baby from him either. If he accidentally harmed the child, Empress Dowager Zhuang would surely have his head.
Eunuch Qin tried to entice him, saying, "Let me hold him, and I'll send Dequan over to you for a few days."
Dequan was one of the pet tortoises that Eunuch Qin raised. It was Eunuch Wei's favorite, and he had been eyeing it for a while.
Eunuch Wei replied without thinking twice, "Go away, go away!"
Who wanted your tortoise when he had a baby here to play with?
Moreover, Eunuch Wei's real intention for wanting Eunuch Qin's tortoise wasn’t to play with it but to use it as an ingredient for making tortoise soup!
In the end, Eunuch Qin couldn't snatch the baby away from Eunuch Wei, which gave Eunuch Wei, who had always been pressed by the Renshou Palace, a sense of triumph.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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