After returning home, Prince Ancheng, Xiao Mingyu, sat in thought for a long while. He still couldn't figure out how his secret had reached Miss Zheng Qian.
Fortunately, she did not seem the sort to blab recklessly; his secret was unlikely to be broadcast to the world.
"Zheng Chi's leg is broken like that… and she really has a method? If so, she's not just a divine doctor, she's a ghost doctor." Xiao Mingyu thought again.
This woman… was formidable.
He was still lost in thought when his young attendant suddenly hurried in:
"Your Highness!"
"Speak."
"The Emperor requests your immediate presence in the palace, Your Highness. You must go quickly!"
A chill ran through Xiao Mingyu's heart.
He had a premonition—it must be about Prince Rui, his uncle.
Xiao Mingyu's father had been the Emperor's full brother, and both he and Xiao Mingyu's late father were born of the palace maid Hu.
When the Emperor ascended the throne, he granted his mother, Hu, the title of Eastern Empress Dowager, and the previous Emperor's consort, Qi, became the Western Empress Dowager.
The Western Empress Dowager Qi was also the mother of Prince Rui, Xiao Zhan.
Though Xiao Zhan was only a few months older than Xiao Mingyu, he held a generation higher rank.
When they studied together in the ancestral school, Prince Rui was aloof, never mingling with others. He would leave as soon as classes ended to train in General Cheng's mansion.
Xiao Mingyu often visited General Cheng's house too—but not for martial training. He came to see Cheng Lanqing, who was a year older than both of them. Both young princes liked her.
However, General Cheng favored Xiao Zhan and betrothed Cheng Lanqing to him. She was skilled in martial arts, stunningly beautiful, and favored by Empress Dowager Qi. After the betrothal, she followed Xiao Zhan to Baiya Town but was captured and abused by the Xiongnu, eventually taking her own life.
Xiao Zhan avenged her, storming the Xiongnu camp with a single gun, capturing the Xiongnu chanyu Hongjiti, and killing four elite generals in one battle, gaining fame overnight.
Rumors said he killed seven hundred Xiongnu soldiers alone, but it wasn't true. He had taken five hundred loyal soldiers to defeat the seven hundred bodyguards of the Xiongnu chanyu.
Even so, Prince Rui's military exploits were respected across the land, yet he never found the woman again.
After Cheng Lanqing's death, Xiao Mingyu had not seen Prince Rui. Whenever the prince returned to the capital to report his duties, Xiao Mingyu avoided him. He did not want to meet him.
But this time, he had heard a secret.
After the spring, the Xiongnu had a new chanyu and were recuperating. The Western Empress Dowager Qi ordered Prince Rui to return to the capital—not only to report duties but also to be married. She commanded that he temporarily leave military affairs, live in the capital for half a year, and marry. He could return to Baiya Town only after his wife became pregnant.
Prince Rui complied.
Yet this time, Xiao Mingyu did not deliberately avoid him. After so many years, he had moved on and no longer held a grudge.
Unexpectedly, he still did not meet Prince Rui.
Later, he heard rumors: some said Prince Rui had fallen gravely ill; others said he was seriously injured; still others claimed he had been attacked by Xiongnu assassins on his way to the capital and had died.
"The Xiongnu secretly brought a shaman to cast a curse on Prince Rui. At that time, Prince Rui fell and never got up," the Second Prince secretly told Xiao Mingyu.
Xiao Mingyu had tried to confirm these rumors several times, but no one knew the truth. The Rui residence was heavily guarded, and the Emperor's orders kept the Western Empress Dowager unaware—otherwise, she would have been enraged.
Now, the Emperor summoned Xiao Mingyu to the palace immediately. He wondered: Could it really be true? Is it for Prince Rui's funeral?
Xiao Mingyu felt a pang of sorrow. Prince Rui was around his age, yet gone so early. All those years of military glory, wasted.
Had he known life would be so short, he would have stayed in the capital, enjoying himself instead of enduring the hardships of Baiya Town.
Meanwhile, Zheng Qian's cat suddenly bristled, ears upright.
Zheng Qian froze. "Ah-Chou, what's wrong?"
The cat leapt from her arms.
She tried to catch it, but it was quick and agile, bounding onto the windowsill and then climbing the wall using the West Mansion's crabapple tree.
"Ah-Chou!" she called.
It paused, looking back at her. From its gaze, she strangely felt a sense of reassurance, as if it was saying: Don't worry, I'll be back.
Before she could react, it disappeared over the wall.
Zheng Qian shook her head in frustration. "This little beast… is it in heat? No, I'll have to neuter it, or it'll keep running off."
Ah-Chou sometimes wandered outside, but usually returned, so Zheng Qian wasn't overly worried.
She locked herself in her room, bolting the door and securing the windows. Then, she activated her space.
With a single thought, she entered her private space, temporarily vanishing from the real world.
This sudden disappearance could easily terrify anyone unaware of her abilities.
She had often disappeared mid-meeting, leaving the generals to panic until she reappeared, giving them quite a shock.
Inside the space, she found a bottle of whiskey she had secretly taken from a general she had served with.
The general loved this strong liquor and always stocked multiple cases. Despite the expensive price, he bought it by the crate.
Zheng Qian and a few vice-generals had often pilfered the bottles, then blamed the general for drinking them all while drunk. He always knew, but never cared.
Zheng Qian sat in her space, sipping whiskey, lost in memories.
Hours passed until a loud banging came from her room—the real world, not the space.
She snapped back, returning from the space, appearing in her room.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Miss! Miss, something's happened!" Hong Luan's voice called from outside.
Zheng Qian immediately rushed to open the door.