Xiao Rong’er sat by Gongsun Liuying’s bedside, holding her daughter’s hand, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
After finally waiting for everyone to leave the room, she could no longer hold back and said, "Is Liuying’s Life Chart unstable again? I knew it. She’s practiced the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles for so many years; how could she possibly make such a mistake?"
Gongsun Yanming remained silent, which was as good as an admission.
Xiao Rong’er exclaimed incredulously, "But that person is dead, isn’t he? Reduced to ashes in the fire, without the slightest chance of survival."
After a pause, her expression grew solemn. "Could someone have used the same method to steal Liuying’s Life Chart?"
Once this thought surfaced, it could no longer be shaken from her mind.
She stood up, clutching her handkerchief tightly, a flash of cold determination in her eyes. "I know who it is—Yan Hanshuang!"
Gongsun Yu was startled.
Xiao Rong’er glanced sorrowfully at her unconscious daughter and said coldly, "It must be her! The events of that year must have come to her attention long ago. Do you remember? Back then, she was the one tasked with hunting down Shang Jiu, and it was she who returned to report that Shang Jiu was already dead. But years later, Shang Jiu reappeared in Prince Chu Mansion at Yumen Pass—The Thousand Mechanism Pavilion trusted her and didn’t hold her accountable for her failure, thinking only that she had been deceived. But now that I think about it, Shang Jiu was likely someone she secretly escorted away all along! That traitor! I should have suspected her earlier!"
Gongsun Yu pondered for a moment and said, "It doesn’t make sense. Elder Yan personally killed her senior sister. If she were a traitor, why wouldn’t she have saved her senior sister?"
Xiao Rong’er analyzed coldly, "Because she couldn’t. The senior sister knew she was doomed and chose to die at Elder Yan’s hands rather than in someone else’s. In doing so, she allowed Yan Hanshuang to use her life to establish herself as trustworthy to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion."
Gongsun Yu hesitated. "Sister-in-law, nothing is certain yet."
Xiao Rong’er snapped impatiently, "What do you mean by ’nothing is certain’? She never once mentioned taking in a disciple, but suddenly she brings one back. The first day in Capital City, that girl bullies Ziyu. Then at Anji Hospital, she impersonates Liuying to treat the commoners. And now, she’s stolen Liuying’s Phoenix Girl Destiny. Are you telling me this wasn’t deliberate? Do you believe that?"
Gongsun Yu turned to Gongsun Yanming. "Elder Brother, Sister-in-law has a point. Could it be that Elder Yan has truly betrayed us? Maybe she wants revenge for her senior sister and that child—an eye for an eye."
A fleeting image of Meng Qianqian brushing past him appeared in Gongsun Yanming’s mind. He said indifferently, "Yan Hanshuang doesn’t have that kind of capability."
Xiao Rong’er’s voice carried murderous intent. "I don’t care whether Yan Hanshuang has the capability or not. The fact is that the people she brought back have harmed Liuying this way! I won’t allow anyone to take what belongs to Liuying! Tell me where the two of them are—I will kill them myself!"
Gongsun Yu quickly intervened. "Sister-in-law, don’t act rashly. Yan Hanshuang and her disciple are in the Imperial Palace. We can’t storm into the palace to kill them! Wait until they return to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion; then we can deal with them at our leisure."
He looked at Gongsun Yanming as he spoke. "Elder Brother, what do you think?"
Gongsun Yanming’s expression turned serious. "Summon the Elders. Let’s go to the deliberation hall."
Gongsun Yu nodded. "Understood, Elder Brother."
After Gongsun Liuying was taken away, the Empress dragged her "ailing" body back to Kunning Palace, while Consort Hu returned to Changchun Palace nursing not only her still-swollen face but also her simmering rage directed at Consort Jiang.
The Princes dispersed in all directions.
Even Imperial Concubine Yu, who had stayed until the end, never got her moment in the spotlight.
By the time Prince Ming entered the palace bearing ginseng as tribute for the Empress, the crowd had already finished the metaphorical melons they were eating.
Prince Ming was utterly bewildered.
What, you’re having all this palace drama without including me?
After undergoing acupuncture, Emperor Liang, drenched in sweat, returned to the Diligent Governance Hall to change his clothes.
The matter of his recurring migraines hadn’t been fabricated. He simply thought it minor enough to endure without much concern.
He also knew such a condition had no permanent cure. The relapses were frequent, the treatment ineffective, and the medicine intolerably bitter.
If it hadn’t been to test Gongsun Liuying’s medical skills, he wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.
However, to his surprise, after the young girl’s acupuncture treatment, the pain genuinely subsided, and his mind felt considerably clearer.
How should he describe it? It was as if he had returned to his youth.
He had always regarded the migraines as a trivial annoyance. Just a headache—he wasn’t afraid of pain and usually endured it.
But in this moment, feeling a long-lost sense of clarity and comfort, he realized how many years he’d gone without living like a normal person.
"Great-Grandfather! Great-Grandfather!"
Treasure Piggy tilted its little head, looking adorably at him.
Emperor Liang picked up the chubby little creature, noticing its eyes were clearer and more vivid than before.
Evidently, the migraines had dulled not only his perception of pain but also his five senses, though he’d chalked it up to simply getting older.