Luo Ye paid no attention to the maidservant as the sedan chair passed by.
Enduring the pain in his arm and leg, Luo Ye felt dizzy from blood loss. To stay alert, he pondered who might have sent the assassin.
Luo Zhan was dead, so it couldn’t be him. Luo Qie was confined in the Grand Ancestral Court, making him unlikely responsible. The other princes lacked the resolve to attempt such an assassination.
If he were to die now, the greatest beneficiary would be his fifth brother, Luo Ding.
Luo Ding had previously arranged a fake assassination, and though no concrete evidence was found, he had lost hope of succession. This attempt might be Luo Ding’s desperate move – if the assassination succeeded, the remaining princes would be too inexperienced to compete.
As Luo Ye finished his reasoning, the imperial physician arrived, alarmed by the blood-soaked clothing. The two stab wounds by Yu Yi were deep and bloody but had not damaged any vital structures. With proper care, he would recover in a month or two.
After treatment, Luo Ye prepared to return to his mansion to recuperate. As the sedan chair passed the hall entrance, he glanced inside. The scattered fabrics and debris had been cleaned, the nanmu coffin restored to its original position on a new long table, with noticeable paint damage on a corner and the lid. Bloodstains remained unwashed, with many maids kneeling and frantically scrubbing the floor.
Luo Ye tilted his head back and looked up at the sky with a cold laugh. So-called “winners become kings, losers become bandits” – whether it was Luo Zhan or Luo Sui, they were all just defeated bandits. As for Luo Ding, he would never give him another chance to assassinate himself.
Shu Lan saw Luo Ye off, returned to her bedroom to change into a new mourning dress, and then went back to the memorial hall, standing with her head lowered beside the coffin.
Yu Yi stood beside Shu Lan, suddenly hearing Meng Qing’s voice in her earpiece: “My lady, is it convenient to talk?” She told Shu Lan and stepped outside to a deserted area, opening the walkie-talkie silently: “I’m out. Go ahead.”
“Where did you hurt Luo Ye? I heard him crying out so miserably,” Meng Qing’s words were filled with schadenfreude.
“His arm and thigh. It’ll take at least a month or two to heal.”
“What a pity I couldn’t see…” Meng Qing sighed: “Luo Ye didn’t punish the people of the Luo Zhan household. After all, he’s someone who’s going to be emperor, and he still has some magnanimity. Since Luo Zhan is dead, he won’t trouble the remaining widows and orphans.”
“I think he’s just putting on a show of magnanimity to win people’s hearts. He’s quite hypocritical and capable of doing anything bad privately if no one knows.”
“My lady’s analysis is truly insightful.”
Yu Yi smiled: “Bootlicker. If you have nothing important to say, I’ll go back to the memorial hall.”
“Wait, my lady. It’s so dark here.”
Yu Yi facepalmed: “…Of course it’s dark inside the coffin.”
“People are coming to pay their respects now. I can’t leave the memorial hall for too long.”
In case something happens and you can’t see it in the coffin, I’ll be here to handle it.”
“It’s fine. Besides Luo Ye, no one else is difficult to deal with. By the way, my lady, you stepped on me earlier when you kicked over the coffin, and it hurt.”
Yu Yi was surprised: “I didn’t step hard.”
Meng Qing: “You’re saying you didn’t, but it’s all bruised.”
Yu Yi: “You said it’s very dark. How can you see it’s bruised?”
Meng Qing: “Open the terminal and take a look.”
Yu Yi knew he was deliberately rambling just to talk more with her, so she said: “I’m not going to keep chatting nonsense. I’m going back to the memorial hall.”
Meng Qing asked: “My lady, what if I need to urinate?”
Yu Yi’s mouth twitched: “…Then hold it.” As she spoke and walked towards the memorial hall, she heard Meng Qing mumbling in her earpiece: “What if I can’t hold it? I’ll have to wear a diaper.”
They had considered this issue last night. Meng Qing hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since then, and his stomach was empty. Yu Yi knew he probably wasn’t actually desperate to urinate but rather feeling hungry. His joking was just to distract from his hunger.
She softly comforted: “Why don’t you sleep for a while? Remember, you can’t come out until tonight.”
“As you say, my lady, I’ll sleep a bit. I’m just worried I’ll snore and scare the people in the memorial hall.”
Yu Yi almost laughed out loud, holding back: “Don’t worry, you don’t snore.”
I’m using Luo Zhan’s body now, not my own. You know I don’t snore, but you don’t know if Luo Zhan snores.”
Yu Yi smiled: “I’m outside watching. If you start snoring, I’ll wake you up.”
“Forget it, I’ll just endure. Playing dead is hard work.”
“My dear, you’ve worked hard.”
“My lady, give me a kiss, and I won’t feel tired anymore.”
Yu Yi looked around, saw no one, and opened her terminal. She sent him a monkey blowing a kiss from the images he had sent earlier.
—
Late that night, Xia Xuan came to replace the guards in the memorial hall. After a while, Yu Yi, Shu Lan, and Xia Zhe came to the memorial hall, dismissed the servants guarding it, closed the door, and gently moved the coffin lid to help Meng Qing out.
Meng Qing had been lying motionless inside all day. With poor blood circulation, his feet were painful when first touching the ground. He leaned on Xia Xuan’s shoulder, frowning and standing in place for a while before he could move slowly. After moving his limbs, Shu Lan handed him a servant’s uniform. Meng Qing changed out of his mourning clothes.
Xia Xuan and Xia Zhe filled water-filled skins of equal weight and placed them in the coffin, then put Meng Qing’s discarded mourning clothes back, covered them with a mourning blanket, closed the coffin lid, with Xia Xuan continuing to guard the memorial hall, waiting to seal the coffin the next day.
Meng Qing returned to the inner chamber with Yu Yi and Shu Lan. Shu Lan, who had long prepared warm porridge, brought it over. She tested the temperature and was about to feed him personally.
Yu Yi, though also feeling sorry for him, could only watch Shu Lan feed him.
Meng Qing casually took the spoon and bowl from Shu Lan’s hand, ate a spoonful, and smiled: “Shu Lan, you’re thoughtful.”
Shu Lan smiled contentedly: “Your Highness has suffered.”
Yu Yi took out a compound vitamin tablet and a small cloth bag, handing it to Meng Qing: “Your Highness, this is a tonic made by my father that can greatly replenish one’s vital energy.”
Meng Qing had not eaten or drunk anything for a day and night. Drinking hot porridge was good for the stomach, but the calories and nutrition were far from sufficient. This tablet could supplement the vitamins and trace elements he needed for a day, and the small cloth bag contained an energy bar that could provide the calories and fiber needed for a meal.
Meng Qing took the small cloth bag, gently squeezing it to know that Yu Yi had placed an energy bar inside. He did not open the bag but put it in his pocket, and swallowed the compound vitamin with porridge.
After eating the hot porridge and resting for a while, he left Luo Zhan’s residence that night under the identity of a bodyguard, accompanied by Xia Zhe to find another place to live in the suburbs.
Shu Lan continued to keep vigil at Luo Zhan’s residence, and Yu Yi also temporarily stayed there to prevent any further accidents.
During these days, Luo Ye did not idle in his own residence recovering from his injury. On the second day after being wounded, he went to the Grand Ancestral Shrine and complained about Luo Ding. Luo Ding was summoned to the Grand Ancestral Shrine for questioning and was then detained there.
