Meng Qing looked down at himself and muttered helplessly: “Seems this soul transfer was a big mistake.”
When Yu Yi returned, Yan Mingchu was already asleep. Mi Yin laughingly asked what she had discussed with Zheng Xin. Yu Yi playfully patted her shoulder, saying: “Stop asking, go rest.”
Chapter 72: Little County Lord (6)
Early one morning, Yu Yi and Mi Yin accompanied Yan Mingchu in his room, playing with origami animals and dolls. Yu Yi adapted a story she had seen in Feng Li’s world and told it to Yan Mingchu. He laughed heartily at the fun parts, taking the origami and mimicking her way of speaking.
Fan Bo happened to enter from outside. While still in the courtyard, he heard Yan Mingchu’s laughter and, standing at the doorway, heard him say: “The big monster looked fearfully at the little mouse and said: ‘So you’re the truly scary animal!’ Hahaha, the big monster, tiger, eagle, and snake are not as smart as the little mouse! Xun Qin, Xun Qin, tell another story, it’s so fun!”
Fan Bo looked at Yu Yi with some surprise.
Yu Yi and Mi Yin hurriedly bowed: “Greetings, County Lord.”
Fan Bo nodded, then looked at Yan Mingchu. The bright smile had vanished, replaced by a timid, small animal-like gaze. His greeting was tiny and trembling. Fan Bo couldn’t help but feel displeased, and his expression darkened.
Yan Mingchu saw his father’s gloomy face and became terrified, not even daring to look at him.
Yu Yi quickly said: “County Lord, the young lord has learned to kick a shuttlecock these days.”
Fan Bo asked in surprise: “Mingchu learned to kick a shuttlecock?”
Yu Yi encouraged Yan Mingchu: “Show the County Lord how well you can do it!”
Mi Yin found a shuttlecock and put it in Yan Mingchu’s hand: “Young Lord, kick it for the County Lord to see.”
Yan Mingchu stood nervously in the center of the room, throwing and kicking the shuttlecock. He only managed two kicks before it fell. He glanced at his father, seeing his expression hadn’t become stern, and felt slightly relieved. He quickly picked up the shuttlecock and tried again.
This time was better – he kicked five times without dropping it. Gradually finding his rhythm, he focused entirely on the shuttlecock. Yu Yi and Mi Yin counted for him. On the eighth kick, he even did a fancy forward and backward scissor move before the shuttlecock finally fell.
He breathed slightly and looked expectantly at his father.
Fan Bo looked at Yan Mingchu and said flatly: “Very good.”
Yan Mingchu laughed happily, joyfully looking at Yu Yi and Mi Yin. Yu Yi returned an encouraging smile, but felt that Fan Bo seemed somewhat distant from Yan Mingchu.
Fan Bo said: “Mingchu, starting tomorrow, a tutor will come to teach you reading and writing at the first hour of the morning. You must study well.”
Yan Mingchu nodded forcefully: “Yes, Father. Mingchu will study hard.”
Fan Bo had come to say this and now prepared to leave. Yu Yi stepped forward and asked: “County Lord, may I ask about the person who poisoned…”
Fan Bo stopped and turned back: “We’ve investigated. The medical officer’s prescription showed no abnormalities, and there’s no proof the medicine was problematic.”
“Wait a moment, Your Highness,” Yu Yi took out a clay pot from her room and inserted a polished silver hairpin into it, “This is the medicinal soup sent from the kitchen.”
After a while, Yu Yi pulled out the silver hairpin and wiped it on a handkerchief, revealing that the part of the pin soaked in the soup had turned slightly dark.
Yan Bo frowned, ordering Zheng Xin, also known as Meng Qing, to pick up the clay pot, and then said, “I will investigate this matter. You just need to take care of the young lord with peace of mind.”
“Yes,” Yu Yi bowed her head and then looked up to see Yan Bo had already walked out the door. Meng Qing, trailing behind the others, held the medicine pot and gestured to Yu Yi that he would handle everything.
Yan Bo had originally thought that Xun Qin’s claim about someone poisoning Ming Xu might not be true.
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After stopping the medication and seeing him recover, it could have been a coincidence. After investigating the prescription from the medical officer and finding everything normal, he had let the matter go. After all, the household of Yan Ming Xu might be jealous of Tong’s favor and might create suspicion over small matters.
But today, seeing poison in the medicine, if Xun Qin was not lying, someone was indeed attempting to harm Ming Xu. Wen Yiniang, who had bribed Ting He to stab the horse, had already been beaten to death. So who had poisoned the medicine? Could it really be Tong? But she clearly knew about that incident and should have no reason to poison him.
Ming Xu – Yan Bo could not help but see a timid little face before his eyes, those bright, expectant dark eyes. Ming Xu looked more and more like her, but there was not a trace of his own appearance on his handsome face. His temperament was completely different, and he had an abnormal toe on his right foot. If he was truly her child with…
Yan Bo did not want to think further, and quietly ordered, “Zheng Xin, find out what poison was used and who administered it.”
“Yes,” Meng Qing took the medicine pot and left.
—
That night, Yu Yi had just settled down when she felt a light vibration on her arm. She raised her arm and saw it was Meng Qing asking her to come out, saying he had something to discuss. She replied: Don’t go out, in case someone sees and becomes suspicious.
Meng Qing replied: “He suspects it, but he doesn’t have concrete proof. It’s all based on his instincts. There are rumors, but nothing substantiated.”
Yu Yi’s expression turned serious. “Rumors can be dangerous. If Yan Bo acts on this suspicion without proof, it could cause chaos.”
Meng Qing nodded. “Exactly. That’s why we need to be careful about how we handle this information. It’s a delicate situation.”
Yu Yi considered this for a moment. “What do you suggest we do? Should we investigate further?”
Meng Qing thought for a moment before responding, “I think it’s best to keep our distance from Yan Bo for now. The more we know, the more risk we take on. Let the situation unfold.”
Yu Yi sighed. “I hate feeling powerless. But I understand your point.”
They shared a moment of silence before Meng Qing said, “Let’s just keep our heads down for now and watch.”
Yu Yi agreed, and they parted ways quietly, both aware of the weight of the secret they carried.
Meng Qing pulled at the corner of his mouth, helplessly saying, “Actually, it’s not that strange. Yan Bo has only a few close guards. I asked Zheng Xin, my good brother. Why didn’t the Junwang consider it serious when the young lord might have been poisoned, only taking it seriously today after you proved there was poison?”
Yu Yi pondered, “Two years ago… the previous Junwang Fei had already been dead for four years. Why would the Junwang suddenly want to investigate her past?”
“Naturally, someone must have revealed this to him. I asked that good brother, and learned that the Junwang was in a good mood that day, but after returning to Ru Yi Yuan, he hurriedly left with a terrible expression. He shut himself in the study for a long time, only calling that guard in at nightfall, ordering him to investigate and strictly forbidding him to tell anyone else. So he originally didn’t want to tell me. I used three bottles of aged fine wine to persuade him, making him swear multiple times not to tell a third person. When making those oaths, he used Zheng Xin’s name…”
Yu Yi asked, “How many points did you spend on those wines?”
Meng Qing waved his hand, “Given our relationship, we don’t need to be so calculative. Let me continue.”
