historical

Chapter 160 The Shadow in the Palace

After Emperor Zhaoxuan issued orders, everyone seemed relieved but also more worried. Qin Yunuan frowned, and she knew clearly about what Emperor Zhaoxuan planned to do. Undoubtedly, his plan was the best one, because it could not only save lives of officials and nobles but also caused no other trouble. People here all had heard what Guo Shidong said, so they wouldn’t bother to keep it as a secret.

But...

This meant Emperor Zhaoxuan was putting the lives of average people in the Royal City at risk. If Guo Shidong was right about his prediction, countless innocent people would lose their family or die. However, it was not easy to order all residents to leave the Royal City at midnight.

“Third Young Madam, take care of yourself.” Princess Ning was the happiest person after hearing that Qin Yunuan had already been pregnant for one and half a month. She even sent Qingzhu, her close servant girl, to serve Qin Yunuan in order to ensure Qin Yunuan was safe and sound.

Qingzhu supported Qin Yunuan with her hands to help her stand up. Walking towards Qin Yunuan with a smile, Princess Ning said, “Now you are pregnant, so you have to be very careful.”

Qin Yunuan nodded and then took Qingzhu to walk out of the palace gate. As other people did, she also got on a carriage. This was the first time that so many people headed for one destination. As the chief general, Leng Changxi naturally had to lead them in front, so he didn’t stay with Qin Yunuan in the carriage. But he had nothing to worry about because Leng Shuang followed by the side to protect Qin Yunuan.

Putting her hands on the belly, Qin Yunuan remembered what Guo Shidong said and wondered whether she was really pregnant. No, it was impossible. They were walking on a relatively less traveled road. Some residents along the road came out to watch the spectacular march scene while others stayed away from them for fear of annoying the emperor. None of these residents knew it actually was the nobles in Qi that ran away from an earthquake which might not happen. Most people deemed it an unplanned trip of the emperor to the palace for moon appreciation. After all, this happened before.

People who led in front were fast and took no break. People behind, whom Qin Yunuan stayed with, found it hard to catch up with them. At night, it started to rain, and the road got muddy.

Suddenly, the carriage, which Qin Yunuan took, tilted and jolted. Qin Yunuan was scared, but quickly, Leng Shuang comforted her and said, “Don’t be afraid, Third Young Madam. It’s just that the carriage wheels are stuck in the puddle.”

Maner immediately pulled the curtain back and carried Qin Yunuan to step out of the tilted carriage. She opened a cloth umbrella to cover Qin Yunuan who was pale. Seeing this, Manner scolded the carter, “What are you doing? Do you want to frighten our Madam?”

The carter knew Qin Yunuan was good-tempered, and her servant girls wouldn’t bully other people at will because they had an exalted mistress. But it was said that Third Young Madam was pregnant, so they had to be extremely careful. The carter apologized promptly, “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Just now, I saw a shadow. I was afraid to run into someone, so I pulled my strength to hold the rein. I didn’t expect that there was a puddle on the right side. Third Young Madam, please forgive me.”

“A shadow?” Maner was suspicious, “How could be so? I was staring in the front all the time, and I didn’t see any shadow. Aren’t you in a trance so blurring your vision?”

“No, I’m not. I didn’t dare to do so. I really saw a shadow heading for the woods.” The carter explained.

“Fine.” Qin Yunuan subconsciously had a glance at the woods. She saw nothing in the black birch woods from which only some chilly wind blew. “Keep going. We’re already left behind.”

Several servants and eunuchs pulled out the carriage from the puddle to the road together. At that time, Leng Changxi, who rode a tall horse, came back to check what happened. Seeing that Qin Yunuan held the umbrella and stood in the rain, he said worriedly, “What happened? Is everything ok? You are still weak, and you’d better not get wet.” After finishing his sentence, Leng Changxi couldn’t help peeking at Qin Yunuan’s belly. Logically speaking, Qin Yunuan couldn’t be pregnant, but what if there was an exception? Or maybe it was because they had sex frequently? Anyhow, he was always expecting a baby.

Leng Changxi wore a suit of silver armor and a silver helmet. Without an umbrella, the black feather on the helmet, a symbol of General, was already wet. Raindrops fell on his mask and dripped along the mask curve to converge at his chin into a drop which later fell to the ground.

“There are not enough rooms in the palace. As I arranged, you will live near Princess Fu so that you two can take care of each other.” Leng Changxi held the rein tightly and turned around slightly to look at Qin Yunuan. Having a strong waist, he was able to bend down to kiss Qin Yunuan on her forehead.

Qin Yunuan nodded and gave a gentle smile to Leng Changxi who deliberately put her to stay with Yuzhao who was also pregnant, rather than Princess Ning. He must have taken many considerations into account.

Back to the carriage, Qin Yunuan watched that Leng Changxi gradually disappeared in the rain and she even believed that maybe, she really carried a baby now.

The palace was also grand and splendid but supplies there were limited. Besides, so many people had flooded there. As a result, the palace was as noisy as street markets, full of hustle and bustle, although everything went smoothly. Nobles at lower status or from less prestigious families were not taken good care of, but Qin Yunuan was.

It was partly because Qin Yuzhao would look after her in secret, and more importantly, servants all knew Qin Yunuan was the beloved wife of General Leng, and they had spared no effort to sever her.

Before midnight when everyone was worried about whether the earthquake would happen, Qin Yunuan heard a light sound coming from the roof.

“Leng Shuang.” Qin Yunuan called Leng Shuang who guarded at the door and then held her breath, “Listen. Someone is on the roof.”

Just a glance, Leng Shuang understood what Qin Yunuan wanted to express. She leveraged her genuine energy to check whether there were martial arts masters on the roof. Then she shook her head, which meant that she didn’t sense a martial arts master.

Out of a sudden, a loud bang came to them. It seemed that a heavy object had fallen to the ground from the roof. It was especially harsh amid the pitter-patter sound of the rain.

Leng Shuang made a decision quickly. She held the hilt of the sword tied to her waist and rushed out of the room. Qin Yunuan put on a piece of clothes and followed her. She thought Leng Shuang would have a fierce fight with the people falling down. However, when she came out, she saw Leng Shuang standing and pointing to the throat of a man in a singlet who lay on the ground with her sword. The man was covered with mud and was almost wet. He had gray hair and might be in his 50s or 60s. The naughty smile on his face didn’t match his wrinkles, and he looked like an old urchin.

“Who are you? Why do you stay on the room roof under which our Third Young Madam lives at midnight? Who asks you to do so?” Leng Shuang asked many sharp questions but then shut up because of the man’s loud fart.

The fart was not only loud but also smelly. Leng Shuang turned around a little and covered her nose. But the sword was still pointed to the throat of the man.

Qin Yunuan was also sick of the awful smell. The old man, however, stretched and said complacently, “In terms of farts, nobody can compare to me. Give you a piece of advice. Don’t hold yourself back. Just throw up if you want to. If you can’t, I can give you a prescription which allows you to vomit for three consecutive days.”

The old man’s words irritated Leng Shuang who then looked sharper and moved the sword, planning to give a fatal attack to the old man.

“Wait.” Qin Yunuan suddenly had new findings. “Leng Shuang, part his hair and show his face.”

Leng Shuang poked at his hair with a soft sword. The old man was dirty and covered with mud, but his face gradually became clear after being washed by the rain. Seeing the old man’s face, Qin Yunuan was surprised, not suspicious anymore.

“You are a famous doctor, Sun Miaoyang.” Qin Yunuan blurted out. “Leng Shuang, help him up.”

Sun Miaoyang was a household name in Qi, and he was as famous as Gui Lingzi, a well-known augur. However, unlike Gui Lingzi who escaped from the worldly hustle to cultivate himself, Sun Miaoyang, a glutton, traveled around frequently to search for delicacies. In his trip, he would treat patients from time to time and recruit multiple disciples. There were batches of stories about how Doctor Sun cured seriously ill patients. Su Chenghai, Qin Yunuan’s cousin, was one of Doctor Sun’s disciples.

Sun Miaoyang still lay on the ground like a rascal. Supporting his head with his arm and crossing his legs, he smiled at Qin Yunuan, “Little girl. I didn’t expect you to remember me.”

Qin Yunuan was not mad at the casual way how Sun Miaoyang spoke. “Ten years ago, Mr. Sun, you once came to my family and praised Young Master Su who temporarily lived there for his talent. You wanted him to learn from you. I remember this clearly.” Unexpectedly, Su Chenghai, later, really became Sun Miaoyang’s disciple. Nevertheless, Sun Miaoyang had numerous disciples, and it was unknown whether he remembered Su Chenghai.

“You are talking about Chenghai, right?” Sun Miaoyang smacked. “Chenghai is my most talented and hard-working disciple. But he is also the most stupid and spoony one.” When Sun Miaoyang said “spoony,” his eyes twinkled. Su Chenghai’s friends all knew that he had loved Qin Yunuan for over ten years, let alone his master who he stayed with every day.

“I’m sorry for his death.” This was what Qin Yunuan could only say and do.

“No need to feel sorry.” Sun Miaoyang straightened suddenly and ran to Qin Yunuan quickly. He held her hands tightly, “It’s not late. As long as you go with me to a place, you will not feel sorry.”

“Mr. Sun, please don’t.” Leng Shuang stopped him, “Third Young Madam is pregnant. Mr. Sun, you should be careful.”

“Pregnant?” Sun Miaoyang stopped and twisted his wrist to check Qin Yunuan’s pulse. Shortly, he frowned and looked serious.