Chapter 133 Until We Meet Again

Chapter 133: Till We Meet Again

The Princess of Ying'an’s sudden faint drew many eyes. A Chan and Lin Sui watched the commotion for a while, clearly hearing the doctor’s diagnosis.

Lin Sui quietly leaned over to A Chan, "Given the Princess of Ying'an’s temper, expecting her to calm down is probably a lost cause."

A Chan heartily agreed.

However, this was a matter for the Prince of Ying'an’s household, and no concern of outsiders.

Soon, the Prince of Ying'an’s carriage arrived, and he helped the princess inside. As the carriage slowly departed, the household servants placed the coffin onto another cart, driving it out of the city.

The so-called "claiming the body" merely meant providing a coffin and finding a burial plot—tasks the prince and princess certainly wouldn't handle themselves.

As for Xu Zecheng, his relatives had been exiled due to his crimes, and none of his former court allies dared risk the emperor’s wrath to claim his body. Thus, like other executed criminals, his corpse would await unified disposal by the authorities.

When the carriage stopped outside the Prince of Ying'an’s residence, the Prince of Ying'an and his consort, having been informed by servants, were already waiting with the household physician. Seeing the princess alight in good spirits, the Prince of Ying'an finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The household physician took the princess’s pulse, confirming the previous doctor’s diagnosis and advising her to relax. He then prescribed some calming medicine.

Only after the princess was comfortably settled did the Prince of Ying'an and his consort leave the main courtyard.

The prince hadn't walked far before stopping and turning to his consort. "Mother’s health is so frail; how can she endure the hardships of travel? If it comes to it, I’ll beg His Majesty to spare her. The trouble Xin'an caused should be borne by me, her elder brother, not by Father and Mother."

The consort listened in silence until he finished, then finally spoke.

"Don’t you understand, Prince? His Majesty is punishing the prince and princess not because of Xin'an."

"What?" The Prince of Ying'an looked confused.

The consort herself had been equally bewildered until her parents, hearing of the prince’s house arrest, sent her a letter.

After corresponding with her family and recounting the day’s events to her father, she finally grasped the emperor’s true intent upon receiving his reply.

"His Majesty is furious because the prince and princess not only mistakenly identified their own daughter but also refused to repent, even shifting the blame onto Xin'an to shirk responsibility," the consort sighed. "Prince, if you were an outsider, what would you think of such parents?"

The prince was silent for a long time before answering hoarsely, "So His Majesty… was angry because none of us stood by Xin'an that day."

"Precisely. If His Majesty were truly enraged by Xin'an’s actions, he would have sent someone to find her long ago."

"So that’s how it is…"

"The prince and princess’s fault wasn’t in what they did, but in incurring His Majesty’s displeasure. If you plead for leniency now, you’ll only add fuel to the fire."

The prince fell silent, finally abandoning the idea of begging the emperor for mercy.

"There’s one more matter that requires your decision."

Having laid all her cards on the table, the consort decided to resolve all issues at once.

"What is it?"

"Now that Xu Zecheng and Han Xiaotong have both met their end, we must decide what to do with Bao’er."

The Prince of Ying'an’s gaze flickered slightly. He could sense his wife’s reluctance to keep Bao’er, but… he had held the child since birth and doted on her for years. He couldn’t bear to abandon her.

"Bao’er is still too young to understand. With both parents gone and nowhere else to go, why not let her stay? We can give her a separate courtyard and have servants care for her."

This time, he didn’t make a direct decision but framed it as a question.

Seeing his indecisiveness, the consort could only sigh.

When she married him, it was only because he stayed out of politics and lived a life of idle luxury. He had always been easily swayed—what more could she expect?

"The household can certainly afford to feed one more child," the consort said calmly. After all, His Majesty had allowed the household to retain some dignity, and their lives could continue.

Then her tone shifted. "Prince, have you heard the saying that children resemble their parents? Can you be certain she won’t grow up to be like them?"

The Prince of Ying'an immediately hesitated.

The consort pressed on, "Even if there’s only the slightest chance, I dare not keep her in the household. Who knows if she might one day develop the same cruel nature as her parents and harm our own children?"

It wasn’t right to judge a child so harshly, but without strong words, how could she sway the prince?

Though the prince found it hard to forget his years of affection for the fake county princess, he was also horrified by her and Xu Zecheng’s actions.

Whether Bao’er grew up to resemble her father or her mother, it seemed like a terrifying prospect.

"What do you suggest, then?" the prince asked.

The consort shared her prepared solution: "Find a childless couple to adopt her. If you’re unwilling to part with her completely, we can leave them some silver."

"But will Bao’er adjust?"

"She will. Having new parents is far better than having ones who committed grave crimes."

"…Very well."

With the prince’s hesitant agreement, the two parted ways. The consort immediately ordered servants to pack two sets of clothes for Bao’er and send her away.

She had made this decision days earlier and had already arranged for a family—chosen from her wet nurse’s hometown, a few days’ journey from the capital. The family lived in a village, neither rich nor poor.

When Bao’er was carried onto the carriage, she seemed to understand what was happening and tried to escape, only to be held back by the consort’s wet nurse and servants.

Her crying didn't stop, but the consort remained inside the gates, without even looking her way.

As the carriage drove away, the cries finally faded.

In the future, she would have someone check on the child regularly, ensuring Bao’er never left that distant village.

She couldn’t be called cruel—Bao’er’s misfortune lay in having such evil parents.

Once the household gates closed, the consort slowly walked back inside. After Han Xiaotong’s arrest, some of her maids—whose contracts were originally with the household—returned.

From one of them, the consort learned that Che’er had died long ago, as Xu Zecheng visited temples annually on the anniversary of his death to have monks perform rites.

Now that Han Xiaotong’s identity had been exposed, the consort was certain that Che’er’s death was connected to that pair.

Even their executions wouldn’t bring Che’er back.

Unlike those evil parents, she wouldn’t harm a child—this was as far as she would go.

The affairs of the Prince of Ying'an’s household remained unknown to outsiders. After leaving the execution site, A Chan and Lin Sui found a nearby teahouse, where the storyteller was just recounting the face-swapping case.

The two listened for a while until a waiter showed a man and woman to seats at the table beside theirs.

A Chan gave them a brief glance before focusing again on the storyteller’s account of how the impostor County Princess had been exposed at the emperor’s birthday banquet and the emperor's furious reaction.

Whenever the story grew especially entertaining, she popped a hawthorn candy into her mouth.

The hawthorn strips were provided by the teahouse, tart and sweet, quite delicious. When the storyteller paused with "to be continued," A Chan had finished her small plate of hawthorn strips.

Then, her stomach began to ache.

Lin Sui was the first to notice something was wrong and quickly asked, "What's the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"

A Chan nodded, looking miserable.

"Come on, let's get you to a doctor." Lin Sui was well aware of how frail A Chan's health was. If she had eaten something bad, how would she face Hui Niang when they returned?

At that moment, a man at the neighboring table suddenly spoke up, "If you'd like, I can take a look."

Lin Sui turned and was surprised to see it was the same doctor who'd treated the Princess of Ying'an earlier.

"It's you?"

"You know me, miss?" The physician's tone was gentle.

"I saw you treating someone earlier."

"I see." He then turned to A Chan. "May I check your pulse?"

A Chan also recognized him and shook her head, extending her hand.

After checking her pulse, he said, "You didn't eat too much hawthorn, so it's not serious. However, your digestion is sensitive. Try to avoid hawthorn and similar foods in the future. Today, eat bland foods when you get home, and you should recover by tomorrow."

"Won't you prescribe any medicine?" Lin Sui was still uneasy.

The man smiled. "I sense this young lady has some cultivation. She can channel her internal energy to her hands and rub your stomach for about fifteen minutes. That should help."

Lin Sui sighed in relief, and A Chan thanked him, "Thank you, doctor. May I know your name?"

She thought he'd refuse, after he'd turned down the Prince of Ying'an.

To her surprise, he replied readily, "I am Zhu Rong, from Jiaozhou. I specialize in tricky cases."

Jiaozhou? A Chan was surprised. Were this many people from Jiaozhou visiting the capital recently?

Then, she heard him add, "If you ever need me in the future, you can find me in Jiaozhou. I'm well-known there."

His words struck her as odd.

A Chan's gaze flickered toward the blue-robed woman sitting beside the man, who was now looking at her with a gentle smile and a nod.

It dawned on A Chan that in Master Yu's stories, there had been mention of a Renowned Physician.

At the time, she hadn't asked for details, assuming a "Renowned Physician" would be at least seventy years old—after all, most famous doctors in the capital had white beards.

Who knew Jiaozhou's doctors broke the mold?

She blinked twice at the blue-robed woman, who blinked back in response.

Well, now she got why Doctor Zhu was so helpful.

"Doctor Zhu, are you in the capital on business?" A Chan asked casually.

Zhu Rong replied frankly, "I came looking for someone, but ran into a friend on the road."

He wasn't lying—they truly had met on the road. By then, however, Master Yu had already changed her appearance.

Yet he had still recognized her.

"What luck."

"Indeed." Zhu Rong nodded in agreement.

A Chan asked further, "Will you be staying in the capital much longer?"

Zhu Rong shook his head. "We're finished here. We'll be leaving in a couple of days."

"I see... Safe travels, then."

"Thank you."

A Chan turned to the woman beside Zhu Rong and said, "If you're ever back in the capital, you can find me in Changping Lane. Dinner's on me."

"Good. Till next time," the woman replied softly.

The four bid farewell at the teahouse entrance, two going left and two right.

After walking some distance, A Chan said to Lin Sui, "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Lin Sui glanced up at the sky and agreed, "It really is."

By the time they returned to Changping Lane, A Chan's stomach felt better. But Lin Sui followed Zhu Rong's advice and had A Chan lie on her side while she used internal energy to massage her stomach.

After nearly fifteen minutes, the pain was gone. Just as A Chan was about to speak, a ruckus broke out up front.

The two exchanged glances and hurried forward. The noise came from Boss Lü's antique shop next door.

Normally gentle Boss Lü was now brandishing a broom fiercely, driving a man and a woman out of her shop.

Once they were outside, Boss Lü stood at the doorway and flung the broom at the man, who dodged it with a furious expression. "Lü Ruhui, what's this nonsense now?"

"Lord Liu, perhaps your memory is failing in your old age. Let me remind you—on the day of our divorce, I told you never to appear before me again, or I might lose my temper and expose your little meetings with your sister-in-law to the world."

The man's veins bulged on his forehead. "Enough! You're talking nonsense! She's your own sister—why smear your own sister?"

Boss Lü sneered. "Slander? Did you not meet in secret? Did you not conspire together to divorce me?"

"Absolute lies!" The man was shaking with rage, his fists clenched at his sides.

Boss Lü paid no mind to the growing crowd of onlookers. "You know the truth. Oh, and what else was it?" Her gaze shifted to the green-robed woman beside the man, who bore a striking resemblance to her. With a mocking smile, she added, "I recall someone saying, 'Thank goodness she couldn't bear children and left no heirs for the Liu family. At least this way, the separation is cleaner.' Isn't that right, dear sister?"

The exchange was so scandalous that A Chan and Lin Sui craned their necks for a better view.

At this point, the disheveled green-robed woman composed herself and spoke up, "Elder Sister, after all these years, you still love dragging others into your mess. Back then, you stole my marriage, and now that you're unhappy, you're using me to cover your shame?"

She sighed. "But I'm not eighteen anymore. Brother Liu and I grew up together. Meeting by chance in a teahouse after years apart, we merely exchanged a few words—yet in your mouth, it becomes an affair."

"Yes, we did discuss the divorce, but not because of me. Shouldn't you know the real reason? You couldn't conceive, and you mistreated the adopted child. Brother Liu couldn't bear it any longer, so he asked me to relay his message to Father."

The crowd, initially sympathetic to Boss Lü, now eyed her with suspicion. Being infertile was one thing, but mistreating an adopted child was truly cruel.

A Chan and Lin Sui were still torn, eager to see how this would unfold, but Hui Niang, returning from outside, pulled them back inside.