Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine's Daughter

Chapter 251 Falling in love with a heart pain

After a muffled plop, Zhu Quan’s voice sounded, “Is it okay to leave him here? Will he remember that we have been in his courtyard and gossip everywhere after he wakes up?”

Qi Xuanyu pondered, “Chuan has already had the ability to control Luo Baiqian’s words, acts and thinking ability to a certain extent and can keep his mouth shut. Let’s go, My Lord. Let’s sit in the main hall of the outer courtyard. Madam Luo will hold a banquet. Do you intend to disclose your identity?”

Zhu Quan paused and said, “My Eldest Sister has three daughters. Her second daughter, Xiancao, is about the same age as Yiyi. Did Lord Yan give Yiyi’s jade to Xiancao?” He Danggui frowned for the title “Yiyi”. Zhu Quan called her at random.

“What?” Qi Xuanyu was surprised, “Are you going to help He Danggui get her jade back? What reason are you going to use to ask for it? Or will you go to Princess Lin’an’s Mansion to steal it in the middle of the night?” He Danggui didn’t know whether Zhu Quan nodded or appeared positive expression on his face. Anyway, Qi Xuanyu raised his voice, “My Lord, you must be crazy. It has not been figured out that you and the Second Princess Ningguo belong to one family yet. Now you even want to go to Princess Lin’an’s Mansion to be a thief? Moreover, it’s just an excuse for Lord Yan to ask for jade. He may think the jade is a treasure and want to keep it for himself. He might not really intent to give it to Infanta Xiancao as a birthday gift. How duplicitous Lord Yan is. Don’t you know the most?”

There was silence for a while, which made He Danggui suspect if they had left Qi Lu Yard. He Danggui did not know whether Meng Xuan’s “eavesdropping skill” was practiced on people or places. Could the skill only let her eavesdrop on the conversations in the Lu Qi Yard? Or could it follow Zhu Quan to conduct “mobile eavesdropping”? Why Meng Xuan had not come back yet? She was so anxious, because she hadn’t heard enough yet.

Getting up from the bed and tiding up her clothes, He Danggui thought about whether she would wait outside Qi Lu Yard for prying into information or not.

Suddenly, Qi Xuanyu spoke again, “The emperor handed over the ear and eye of the Imperial Court in Jianghu, ‘Changye Tower’, to Lord Yan to take care of, which showed how much the emperor likes Lord Yan. As far as I know, at the beginning, the emperor’s favorite Gezhu (the head of an organization) of the Changye Tower was the emperor’s eldest grandson. After all, it was more reassuring to hand over the organization directly under the emperor power to the heir to the throne. We all know that the emperor’s ideal successor is his eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen. However, Lord Yan could find a way to poach Changye Tower’s force, as well as the related Imperial Guard, Dongchang organization and Xichang organization. So, in my opinion, our most difficult opponent is not the young phoenix Zhu Yunwen, but the old phoenix Zhu Di. My Lord, the emperor’s condition is getting worse and worse recently. Should you consider carefully to take Wuying Tower’s power back to the capital partially?”

“Little… little portrait!!!” Zhu Quan, who had not spoken, suddenly shouted, “Xuanyu, you have the little portrait of Yiyi, right? You must be carrying it with you all the time to miss my Tenth Sister!”

Qi Xuanyu gasped in a startled voice, as if he was grabbed by his collar and unable to breathe. He cried, “My Lord, loose me and let me talk. What’s wrong with you!” Then, He Danggui heard sounds of puffing and the rustling of clothes. Qi Xuanyu said, “Here, I just take it with me. It can’t be given to you. You need to give it back to me after you see it, or I won’t listen to your instructions to open a Wu Yi Tang.”

He Danggui was surprised by Qi Xuanyu’s attitude towards Zhu Quan. His attitude was not like the respect that the subordinates showed to the higher authority. She didn’t notice it originally, but it was very obvious when Qi Xuanyu just mentioned the Tenth Princess and satirized Zhu Yuanzhang. It seemed that Qi Xuanyu and Zhoushi were different from others, and Qi Xuanyu was not purely loyal to Zhu Quan.

In the silence, Zhu Quan’s breathing changed from heavy to light. And then Qi Xuanyu said in a doubtful voice, “What the hell is wrong with you? You said you had a lovesickness that as long as you don’t see the portrait of He Danggui, there will be a pain in your chest. Is it true? Are you confused by her attractive appearance so that you will only marry her? But what a strange illness it is!”

Zhu Quan’s muffled voice sounded, “This is a problem that I suffered from three years ago. At first, I was not used to it. I still tried to treat the chest pain, to be precise, the heart pain. Later, I found out that how painful I felt every time when the illness attacks, and then how comfortable I would feel after the illness. Even the exchange of internal force was much smoother. Gradually, I got used to this kind of pain, and even slightly enjoyed the sweet feeling of nervousness. Moreover, my internal force can nearly reach the limit, and I need to thank He Danggui to some extent.”

His voice gradually changed from repression to calm, and what he called He Danggui also changed to her full name again, which was totally different from just now.

While He Danggui was thinking, Meng Xuan also stood at the door with a food box, wondering, “What is going on with Lord Ning? Xiaoyi, do you know why he has a heart pain? Why does this happen? Hasn’t he been already with you?” Wasn’t the heart pain just for a loser like him?

He Danggui shook her head and didn’t speak. She remembered the words Ning Yuan said to the assassin three years ago, “She is my woman.” Then she thought of the painting he left behind, as well as the poems and dolls in the cave. She was still at a loss.

Meng Xuan put plates of dishes and steamed buns on the table, took out a soup cup from the bottom layer of the food box, poured out a small bowl, and called He Danggui, “Come over and taste the soup. Other dishes are all found in kitchen, while the soup is what I made for you. It is appetizing and refreshing, not greasy. It is suitable for a person with weak spleen and stomach. I make it for my grandmother every year when I go home during the holidays.”

He Danggui shook her head and did not speak. Originally, she thought that Zhu Quan might take a little pity on her. Therefore, she wanted to be on hunger strike so that he could not bear it and could ease the coercion against her. Then he would ask Zhoushi to leave with his bride price. In this way, she could get a chance to let Bai Yangbai propose a marriage. But now, it seemed that when Zhu Quan mentioned her, he gritted teeth in exasperation. He was not as friendly as Ning Yuan, and also not as affectionate as Bai Yangbai and Zhoushi described. Could it be that not only did she hate Zhu Quan, but Zhu Quan also regarded her as an enemy?

Meng Xuan ripped off He Danggui’s veil and wanted to take her to eat something. But when the veil was uncovered, he was shocked. It was not because of her beauty, but the pale and bloodless cheeks and lips. He blurted out, “The reason why you have been smearing the yellow powder is to cover your pale face. Xiaoyi, what’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Qi Xuanyu asked in a puzzled tone, “Give the little portrait back to me, and I will take your pulse.”

Zhu Quan’s voice was also puzzled. “Why are you so nervous? Isn’t it just a piece of paper?” Without a response, he sneered, “My Tenth Sister has been dead for more than ten years. She was already a useless person. However, Xuanyu, you kept her reincarnation portrait for three years. This is not a good sign. In my impression, you are not so stubborn. To avoid you coveting the beauty and forgetting your ambition, I will tear the portrait.” Then, he teared it up.

Qi Xuanyu yelled. “Whoosh!” “Clash!” The voices of fighting with internal force sounded for a while. Then... there was no sound.

He Danggui listened anxiously for a long time. There was really no sound! She asked Meng Xuan in haste, “What’s the matter? Why does it break off all of a sudden! I could hear nothing!”

Meng Xuan said innocently, “That’s it. The eavesdropping skill has the defect. Come on, have some soup!”

He Danggui stamped her feet and said, “Quickly! Practice the eavesdropping skill again! I haven’t heard enough yet!”

Meng Xuan pointed to the table with food and said, “If you eat half of it, and I will practice it again. Anyway, they will fight for a long time. Taste my soup. If you like it, I will make it every day.”

He Danggui sat down anxiously and took a sip with a spoon. Certainly, the soup was refreshing, but was not brackish. She guessed that Meng Xuan had forgotten to add salt. But she didn’t want to ruin his kindness, so she complimented, “It’s delicious. It’s the most delicious soup that I’ve ever drunk. Can you practice the eavesdropping skill again now?”

Meng Xuan sat down to prepare dishes for her, and explained with a smile, “When I took the pulse for you just now, I found that you are fire excess from yin deficiency, including stomach-fire and heart-fire hyperactivity. Yin is water, and yin deficiency means the shortage of water, which leads to fire excess. At this time, whether thinking about things or doing things, you are very sluggish and get half the result with half the effort. Salt is mild for normal people, but it is hot for people with stomach fire. If you eat too much, it will be just like adding fuel to the fire. Therefore, I didn’t add it in the soup. Just drink it and I will make salted soup when you get better. How is my pulse? Master He, please correct me!”

The gentle and rational voice made He Danggui calm down gradually. She drank more and said with a smile, “The physician cannot treat himself or herself, no matter how excellent he or she is. The physician cannot tell what disease he or she gets by taking pulse for himself or herself when he or she is sick. Seventh Childe, although your pulse is slow, you figure out my disease this time. The soup can be regarded as the right medicine. Thank you. But I am very anxious. Can you practice the eavesdropping skill quickly? What Lord Ning and others said are very important to me.”

Meng Xuan didn’t tell her until she drank half bowl of soup, “Sorry, there is a restriction on the use of it. It can be used once a month only, and the today’s quota has been used up.”

“What?” He Danggui loosened the spoon, “Then I will go back to Qi Lu Yard to eavesdrop!”

Meng Xuan calmed her, “Don’t worry. I will take you there as long as you eat more. Then I will help you with my internal force. We could hear their voice thirty zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) away from them. They will never discover it. Xiaoyi, are you really the reincarnation of the princess? What do you plan to do with... Lord Ning?”

He Danggui ate as fast as she could, and said vaguely, “What can I do? You have heard how abnormal he is. He is a big shot who can’t be offended. I am his prey now. What can I say confidently?”

“Abnormal?” Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows, “What does it mean?”

The word “abnormal” was Qing’er’s special language. Qing’er usually said the word all the year round. So now, not only He Danggui but even many people in Luo’s Mansion all learned to use this word. For example—

“Ah, you are abnormal. Do not touch it. Do not do that in such a hurry. At least enter the yard!”

“What are you afraid of? Let alone the Su Mei Yard, no one even dare to approach the neighborhood. Didn’t you heard that there was a maid hanging there yesterday morning? It’s Gan Cao, serving Madam Luo.”