Baili Mingxiang and Su Xiaoyu had rushed over joyfully as soon as their masters were back. But the two slowed down when they saw Long Feiye’s chilly form sitting in the courtyard.
Su Xiaoyu glanced at Baili Mingxiang and said harshly, “Baili Mingxiang, when are you getting married? Just seeing you irritates me.”
Baili Mingxiang was both angry and helpless. Despite missing this child who’d been kidnapped for so long, her days had grown difficult with her back. Still, she was going back to the army soon, so she might never see this girl again in her lifetime. For now, she’d put up with her for the new few days. Her words are sharp and so is her heart, but as long as she protects the masters, it’s fine!
“Little Yu’er, you were only eight years old when you entered the Duke of Qin’s estate, right?” Baili Mingxiang asked as she slowed down.
“I’m different from you. I’m going to serve my master for a lifetime. What do you care how old I am?” Su Xiaoyu snapped icily.
“The princess won’t keep you by her side forever. Sooner or later, you’re going to get married,” Baili Mingxiang was telling the truth.
But Su Xiaoyu only raised her voice as she smiled frostily. “Of all the men in the world, I only acknowledge His Highness! But he belongs to my master. I don’t have dog guts like you, so I’ll never get married!”[1]
Baili Mingxiang had no more retorts. She could only treat her as a little girl and stop trying to argue. Su Xiaoyu didn’t say any more, but simply entered the courtyard.
Even if Long Feiye wasn’t around, Baili Mingxiang no longer dared to run circles around Han Yunxi and take her hand. After everything that had happened, they would never return to the past. Thus, Baili Mingxiang knew her only path was to keep walking forward.
Su Xiaoyu simply went to hug her master directly and even copped a feel of her stomach. She was planning to wait on her master and the future young master. Unfortunately, she didn’t dare act too boldly when Long Feiye was around. After politely paying her respects, she withdrew to the sidelines.
“Little Yu’er, come over here so I can tell you somthing,” Han Yunxi wasn’t willing to see little Yu’er go study martial arts, but she still had to ask for her input. Han Chen was no ordinary man, so this was a rare chance for the girl.
After Su Xiaoyu heard everything, her first reaction was, “Master, that means you guys didn’t bring Bai Yanqing back with you?”
This girl. Instead of worrying about other things, she’s more interested in Bai Yanqing.
“You don’t need to worry about Bai Yanqing. Three days later, go to the summit of Clearbreeze Peak. Meet the man and tell him your choice in person,” Long Feiye said coldly.
Su Xiaoyu’s heart was full of words, but she swallowed them back in the face of Long Feiye’s stern expression. “Orders accepted,” she murmured.
She didn’t understand why Han Chen–her master’s father and His Highness’s father-in-law–had taken an interest in her. Was it just because she tried to save Ning Jing? Could he recognize her innate talents from that act? The martial arts in the Mysterious Continent likely differed from Cloud Realm Continent. Did they judge people’s innate talents by sight over there?
Although the princess didn’t harbor many feelings for her father, His Highness’s attitude towards the man was one of respect. How was she supposed to choose?
Baili Mingxiang retreated after paying her respects, but Su Xiaoyu lingered on the sidelines, mind blank. Although she liked martial arts and poison skills, she preferred to stay by her master’s side. If she refused Han Chen, a senior, her days might be difficult. Su Xiaoyu began to ponder how to refuse the man three days later while letting him take her to see Bai Yanqing.
If she couldn’t torture the old man to avenge herself, Ning Jing, and Bai Yuqiao, her hands would itch and her body feel uneasy!
Soon afterwards, Fourth Young Miss Ren arrived. She carefully took Han Yunxi’s pulse.
“Your Highness, please don’t worry. The princess’s pulse is very stable and everything is normal. However, the baby will grow faster from here on, so the princess needs to eat more. She mustn’t starve! And she also needs to maintain daily exercise. Simply taking walks will do,” Fourth Young Miss Ren reported.
“Write up a menu for us later,” Long Feiye replied.
Fourth Young Miss Ren smiled helplessly. “Your Highness, I can only write prescriptions, not menus. The princess had medicine in the maze and most likely took Academy Head Beiyue’s pills as well. She isn’t suffering any ill effects from the near-miscarriage last time, so there’s no need to be particular about her diet. As long as she doesn’t go hungry, it’ll be fine.”
Of all the doctors in the world, Long Feiye probably trusted Gu Beiyue best. Gu Beiyue hadn’t intended to speak up, but saw that Long Feiye was still going to ask questions. He quickly added, “Your Highness, when we go back I’ll personally write up something. I’ll list all the things she can and can’t eat and have Zhao mama make arrangements. She has much more experience than a doctor.”
Long Feiye nodded. “That’s an idea.”
Han Yunxi couldn’t help but feel that her endless days of lobster, chicken, and soup were upon her again. She was even considering hiring people to kidnap Zhao mama so she could hide away until she gave birth.
Fourth Young Miss Ren produced a small booklet and said, “Princess, this is a compilation of all obstetrics knowledge from the medical academy this year. We’re about to spread more copies, but this is the original version. You can leave it as a souvenir as thanks for saving me.”
“No need to be polite,” Han Yunxi said as she opened up the booklet. Inside was a book of common medical knowledg related to pregnancy. Surprised and pleased, she said, “Gu Beiyue, Fourth Young Miss Ren is a rare talent! The medical academy needs people like her.”
In other words, she was hinting for Gu Beiyue to give her a promotion. He smiled and said, “While this subordinate was absent from the medical academy, it was all Fourth Young Miss Ren and Vice Academy Head Shen taking care of things. He too, had no end of praise for her.”
Fourth Young Miss Ren flushed slightly under all the praise before she quickly paid her respects and ran off. She’d known Academy Head Beiyue for a while now, but this was the first time he’d praised her so openly. She was quite happy, but also felt that something was weird.
Han Yunxi and Long Feiye had long sensed the strange atmosphere. Although Gu Beiyue was an easygoing man, he rarely praised others. None of them noticed that Lil Thing had left Gu Beiyue’s arms to chase after Fourth Young Miss Ren. The couple stared at Gu Beiyue until he finally broke into a smile.
“Fourth Young Miss Ren…is truly very good.”
“Very good?” Han Yunxi echoed meaningfully.
Gu Qishao’s voice suddenly piped in. “If she’s that good, then marry her! She’s a disciple you taught, after all. Don’t let your fertile water flow into other people’s fields! Heheh!”
No one needed to look to know Gu Qishao was lounging on the roof this very second. Still, Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue deigned to spare him a glance, only to see that he looked quite energetic and asking for a beating–in other words, his usual self.
Gu Qishao jumped off the roof and sat with them. Before Gu Beiyue could ask, Han Yunxi said, “Gu Qishao, you’re not allowed to go anywhere. Stay in the medical academy so Gu Beiyue can have a good look at you.”
Gu Qishao’s undying body was completely different from Bai Yanqing’s. Unless they figured out what was up, Han Yunxi couldn’t stop worrying. Gu Yuntian should still be alive in the prisons. We should bring him out later so I can interrogate him personally.
“Weren’t we talking about Fourth Young Miss Ren? Why is it suddenly all me?” Gu Qishao quicly changed the subject. “Gu Beiyue, have you taken a fancy to Fourth Young Miss Ren?”
“Qishao, don’t speak nonsense,” Gu Beiyue maintained his smile.
“If you’re a real man, dare to love and admit it, understand?” Gu Qishao yelled. Heaven knows if he meant other things as well.
Gu Beiyue was unruffled as ever. “I neither love nor admit it,” he said.
Long Feiye’s gaze dropped as he focused on drinking his tea, but Han Yunxi only looked at the duo curiously. Soon she was grinning. “Fourth Young Miss Ren…haha, I like her a lot too!”
Gu Beiyue didn’t offer his views, merely smiling slightly.
“Princess, we’ll need to wait for a doctor to give us a diagnosis before acting on Miss Jing’s teeth. I don’t think the medical academy doctors can treat her. But in the western regions of Tianning near Luoshui Prefecture, there’s a famous physician who supposedly treats teeth and makes dental replacements. It’s impossible to invite him here, so we’ll need to bring Miss Jing to him. Shall we wait for her to calm down after a few days before escorting her over?” Gu Beiyue asked.
Now that they were talking business, Han Yunxi stopped smiling. She nodded and said, “As long as it’s treatable, it’s fine if we go ourselves. Ning Jing hasn’t woken up yet, so I’ll tell her about it later.” After some hesitation, she asked, “Gu Beiyue, how about we let Fourth Young Miss Ren examine her?”
Gu Beiyue knew about the medicine Mu Linger had fed Ning Jing to expedite her delivery process. He also concluded that it would be impossible for Ning JIng to give birth again in this lifetime.
“Princess, I’m sorry,” Gu Beiyue felt helpless.
Han Yunxi’s heart clenched. She didn’t sit long, but headed for Tang Li’s courtyad. Close to noon, Ning Jing emerged from the chambers with puffy eyes. Han Yunxi had been waiting for a long time, so she went to see her immediately. “Ning Jing, how’s Tang Li doing?”
Ning Jing was the strongest one of all. Although her eyes were swollen, she had stopped crying.
“He’s the same as before,” she said, “I want to bring him back to the Tang Clan. Our daughter misses us.”
Before Han Yunxi could coax her, Ning Jing added, “Psychological problems must be treated with the heart. I’ll cure him, I definitely will!”
Faced with a woman like her, what else could Han Yunxi say?
“Gu Beiyue found you a dentist at Luoshui Prefecture. How about you two visit him on the way back?” Han Yunxi murmured. “The matter of your teeth will just be between us few. The Tang Clan doesn’t need to know.”
Ning Jing was indifferent. “So what if they now? As if they could fail to acknowledge me, the wife of the clan head?”
Han Yunxi chuckled. She had no worries handing over an insane Tang Li to Ning Jing, but she still had her fears. How easy could Ning Jing pass her days in the Tang Clan with him like this?
After all, Tang Zijin and the other elders weren’t easy to deal with!
Tang Li was Tang Zijin’s heir!
Ning Jing couldn’t have any more children!
Ning Jing was truly underestimating Tang Zijin and simplifying the matter. Han Yunxi could only hope that Tang Li would get well soon!
—
Three days later, Han Yunxi and Long Feiye went to the city gates to see Ning Jing and Tang Li off on their journey to Luoshui Prefecture. Meanwhile, Su Xiaoyu headed for Clearbreeze Peak alone.
—
Author’s Note: The Perplexing Butterfly Illusion will come into use eventually…
1. Once again, if you’d like a sneak peak of what happens to Su Xiaoyu after she grows up (including when she finds out about Bai Yuqiao), I’ve already translated the relevant chapter at this link.
