Luo Ye offered a few soft words of comfort, stayed in the room for a while, and then took his leave.
More people came to the mansion to inquire about the condition or investigate, and even the Empress Dowager came from the palace to visit. The visits only ceased late into the night.
Exhausted by grief and receiving guests, Shu Lan collapsed onto the imperial concubine’s couch outside Luo Zhan’s bedroom. Her nursemaids urged her to rest, but she refused to leave. After lying down briefly, she struggled to get up and wanted to enter the inner room.
Yu Yi supported Shu Lan and whispered in her ear: “Regarding the Prince’s condition, this servant has a secret to tell you.”
At this moment, Shu Lan had no presence of mind and wearily told the nursemaids: “You all step out and wait outside.”
Yu Yi and Shu Lan entered the inner room, closed the door, leaving only the four of them and the unconscious Meng Qing. Yu Yi said: “This concerns the Prince’s life and death, so please do not cry out in shock.”
Due to fatigue, Shu Lan’s reactions had become dull. She stared blankly at Yu Yi, waiting for her to continue. Yu Yi continued in a low voice: “The Prince is actually not injured.”
Shu Lan asked: “Then the Prince’s injury…”
Yu Yi interrupted gently, “His injury is severe, and he needs to rest. We must keep this a secret for now, for his safety and ours.”
Shu Lan nodded, her heart heavy but understanding the gravity of their situation. She was determined to help maintain the ruse for the sake of Luo Zhan and Meng Qing’s future.
As the two women shared a knowing glance, the tension in the room began to ease, even if the underlying fear of their deception lingered.
“
Yu Yi said: “The Prince is not injured. He was pretending to be seriously injured, just to deceive the Second Prince.”
Shu Lan wept with joy, uncontrollably throwing herself onto Meng Qing, hugging him tightly. Unable to cry loudly, she whimpered: “When you were carried back by Xia Yun and Xia Xie, I was so scared. Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were faking the injury? Making me worry for nothing. Your Highness, do you know how heartbroken I was…”
