Chapter 414: What’s there to talk about?
Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue were both laughing over something when the frost-faced Long Feiye asked, “Gu Beiyue, I heard you asked for a sick leave and went back to your hometown recently?”
Gu Beiyue quickly turned with a bow. “Yes.”
“Where is your hometown?” Long Feiye asked coldly. Han Yunxi grew curious as well. From what she understood, Gu Beiyue had come along with his grandfather to Tianning’s capital city. He probably spend his childhood growing up in Cloud Realm Medical Academy. But he’d never mentioned the origins of his father before.
“In Longxi. This official lost both my parents in childhood, so my paternal grandfather raise me. My ancestral home is in Longxi County, a city adept in medicine. Afterwards, I left with my grandfather and stayed in Tianning from thereon. I returned to Longxi for two reasons this time: one to treat my illness, and then to pay respects to my ancestors.”
Gu Beiyue seemed to know what Long Feiye would ask next, so he simply gave an clear explanation along with his answer. Long Feiye had sent men to investigate these details in the medical academy’s records as well, before verifying the information in Longxi County itself. Although Long Feiye didn’t completely believe Gu Beiyue’s account, he hadn’t found any lies in his testimony so far. If not for that chance movement he caught back in Medical City, he would have abandoned suspicions of this man a long time ago.
Long Feiye nodded and forgo his other questions to asked, “Wangfei, you said that your lordship’s wound needed a re-examination?”
Wangfei? Is he calling for Han Yunxi? For a second, Han Yunxi didn’t react to the name. Long Feiye had always used her full name or nothing at all when he spoke to her in the past. She had been thinking over Gu Beiyue’s origins and how much he must have suffered as a chronic invalid who lost both his parents when young. That’s why she hadn’t even noticed when Long Feiye shot her a look on purpose.
Gu Beiyue was perfectly capable of replying in Han Yunxi’s stead, since the examination pertained to him, but he simply stood dutifully on one side and remained silent. Long Feiye stared at Han Yunxi for a long time before he called her again.
“Han Yunxi!”
Han Yunxi finally reacted. “Your Highness, you called?”
“Does your lordship’s injury require a re-examination?” Despite his unhappiness, he held himself back and asked her again. Gu Beiyue witnessed the entire exchange and only felt that the Duke of Qin’s patience for esteemed wangfei had improved yet again during their long absence. Moreover, esteemed wangfei seemed more easy and carefree in the Duke of Qin’s presence as well.
Re-examination?
After she took off the bandages last time, Han Yunxi was sure that he’d fully recovered. The re-examination part was simply an excuse she’d made up to win over Long Feiye.
“Yes, of course!” she nodded quickly before shooting Gu Beiyue a meaningful glance to play along. “Imperial Physician Gu, His Highness’s injury recovered faster than expected. It was basically fully healed by last month, so I think it’s best if you give a look just in case.”
Gu Beiyue was fully capable of calculating the exact day in which Long Feiye would recover, but in order to hide his medical skills, he’d extended the projected deadline for the recovery rate. He feigned surprise and said, “It was fully healed by last month?”
“Exactly, so you better examine him again,” Han Yunxi said seriously.
Long Feiye was expressionless as he walked to a side room for Gu Beiyue’s re-examination. He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew enough to understand when his wound had recovered. How could Han Yunxi’s little schemes escape his eyes? He had brought up the topic in the first place to change the subject. Now that Lil Thing was back in their hands again and his injury full healed, Gu Beiyue could bid farewell.
Each person in the trio was shrewder than the others. Today was just a small game between them all, but what kind of calculations would play out if they became enemies in the future?
Gu Beiyue studiously examined Long Feiye’s injury before sighing with emotion. “Your Highness has an extraordinary constitution. A recovery like this could be considered a miracle!”
“Didn’t such a miracle come from Imperial Physician Gu’s hands?” Long Feiye retorted.
Gu Beiyue remained unmoved, his expression unchanged as he said modestly, “I dare not accept the honor.”
Long Feiye had always disliked pointless conversation, so he simply stopped talking. As Gu Beiyue withdrew, he did exactly as Long Feiye wished by saying, “Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei, this official shall bid farewell now.”
Before Han Yunxi could speak up, Long Feiye simply waved a hand to show that he could leave. Han Yunxi cradled Lil Thing in her arms and called after him, “Much thanks!”
“Esteemed wangfei is being over polite. This official shall take his leave.”
Gu Beiyue was about to leave when Lil Thing suddenly woke up in Han Yunxi’s arms. Still groggy from sleep, the first thing it saw was Gu Beiyue backing away with his head bowed. The quiet, skinny form of the doctor looked like it was going to disappear forever, leaving Lil Thing with a keen sense of fear. Alarmed, it gave a shrill squeak and threw itself into Gu Beiyue’s arms. The sudden action startled everyone present.
“Lil Thing!” Han Yunxi blurted out. When the sleepy Lil Thing heard the familiar voice, it woke up completely. The sight of Han Yunxi gave it another fright as it began cheeping in earnest. It was a grating, screeching noise that cause Long Feiye to furrow his eyebrows, but unfortunately…nobody was paying him any attention anymore.
Lil Thing looked at Gu Beiyue, then at Han Yunxi, and finally understood what was going on! His Mama Yunxi was back! The gentleman had delivered him home.
Han Yunxi narrowed her eyes and beckoned Lil Thing with her corner. “Come here”!
Lil Thing immediately leaped onto her shoulder and began to nuzzled her face. Mama Yunxi’s finally back. I’ve missed you so much! Han Yunxi took Lil Thing into her hands and pinched its ears, poked its cheeks, and scratched its neck before grabbing its tail. It wasn’t clear whether she was spoiling it or roughing it up, but she was filled with joy.
“Did you miss me?”
“Were you well-behaved? Did you cause any trouble?”
“You didn’t steal anything, right?”
“And you’ve gotten heavier, yes?”
Lil Thing couldn’t understand what Mama Yunxi was saying, but simply cheeped back in response as it rubbed against her fingers. Long Feiye arched an eyebrow as he watched the loving, tender scene without even blinking.
“Esteemed wangfei, it’s possible it caught your scent and woke up ahead of time,” Gu Beiyue said with a smile.
“I’d say it caught whiff of the poisons on me instead!” Han Yunxi grinned back.
So, these two are going to start chatting again? Chu Xifenge and Zhao mama exchanged glances from their positions on the side, their looks filled with meaning. However, Gu Beiyue didn’t continue the conversation.
“It’s good that Lil Thing’s awake. This official still has business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.”
This time, he left for real. Lil Thing watched quietly as he left while curled up in Mama Yunxi’s palm, its eyes fixated on the retreating form long after it had disappeared from sight. It had no idea why it had acted up so suddenly just then. Was it because it was too groggy after waking up? Or was it because it’d learned too many things about that man over the past few months? Is this why their parting felt so miserable now?
Gentleman, Lil Thing really wants to spend more time with you, ah.
After Gu Beiyue left, Long Feiye rose to his feet and strode towards Han Yunxi, causing Lil Thing to catch whiff of another familiar scent. Despite this, it couldn’t recall who the scent belonged to at first thought. It sniffed the air a few times before slowly turning around, only to see Papa Long’s fingers descending upon him like five mountain peaks.
Awroooo….that familiar scent spoke of danger!
Its fur standing on end, Lil Thing immediately sought to flee, but it was already too late. Long Feiye grabbed him by the tail and plucked him up. Lil Thing was so scared that it didn’t dare to make a sound, its head and four limbs obediently drooping towards the ground. Still, it kept darting glances at Han Yunxi for help. Han Yunxi was worried as well, because Lil Thing had yet to fully recover from its injuries.
She was afraid that Long Feiye would toss it aside again, and was about to snatch him back when Long Feiye simply remarked, “Indeed, it’s gotten heavier.”
Huh! He didn’t throw Lil Thing aside!
Han Yunxi nodded her head repeatedly. “Imperial Physician Gu knows how to raise it.”
Long Feiye wanted to say something else, but fell silent. After a while, he returned Lil Thing to Han Yunxi and intoned, “You should let it lose weight. If it’s too fat, it’ll be too heavy to run.”
Han Yunxi burst into laughter, while Lil Thing was moved to the point of tears. It had no idea what Papa Long had said, but it counted its lucky stars that the man hadn’t tossed it out the window again. In his mind, Papa Long had improved for the better!
After Han Yunxi took Lil Thing out of the room, Long Feiye turned to Chu Xifeng and asked, “What’s there to talk about when it’s a rat?”
Chu Xifeng could tell that His Highness had dearly wanted to bring up Lil Thing with esteemed wangfei back then, but didn’t manage to do it.
“Master, that’s a squirrel, not a rat,” Chu Xifeng could only reply.
Long Feiye gave him a cold stare before changing the topic to more serious things. “Have you arranged the men?”
“All according to Your Highness’s directions. Tang Li’s already gone over to act as guard,” Chu Xifeng replied. Mute Granny had arrived in the capital after them and was now residing at the Solitary Enclosure within the city. In the end, Tang Li hadn’t managed to meet with the mysterious black-robed man at all despite waiting for him at the Hidden Pavilion.
“Your Highness, could that black-robed man have died by now? Perhaps the only reason he held out last time was because some miracle pill preserved his heart?” Chu Xifeng surmised.
“Your lordship is more interested in knowing how he figured out Mute Granny was in my hands in the first place!” Long Feiye said coldly. Mute Granny was the Mu Clan’s deepest secret, so it was impossible for Mu Yingdong to divulge the fact with anyone else. Aside from him, it was only Gu Qishao who knew she existed. But there was no way Gu Qishoa knew she was still alive, either! Chu Xifeng had left no loopholes in faking her death.
Moreover, if Gu Qishao really knew the facts, his personality would have ensured he told Han Yunxi long ago. Long Feiye had considered the problem for a long time without finding a satisfactory answer.
“Your Highness, this subordinate’s already checked. Gu Qi Sha still hasn’t returned to Pill Fiend Valley yet, and his whereabouts are unclear,” Chu Xifeng reminded him in a low voice. In his opinion, hiding the facts about Mute Granny from esteemed wangfei was a dangerous decision. If the truth was ever exposed one day, it’d be hard for even His Highness to explain himself. Moreover, it was unlikely His Highness would offer an explanation at all.
Long Feiye pinched his nose and murmured, “Tell Tang Li to keep a close eye on his charge!”
Meanwhile, Gu Qishao was making preparations to leave the Mu Clan’s medicinal fields at long last. That’s right, he and Mu Linger had found the Panoptic Red Lotus!
Although this lotus wasn’t the foremost of treasures located within Mu Clan grounds, it definitely ranked amongst the top ten. Mu Linger handed the plant over to Gu Qishao without a second thought. “Qi gege, take good care of it!”