Mo Qinghuan returned to the Regent's Mansion. As soon as she stepped in, the butler rushed to greet her.
"Your Highness the Princess, why didn't Bai Ke come back with you?"
Seeing the butler looking so anxious, Mo Qinghuan replied, "I asked Bai Ke to send General Ning Yuan back to his mansion. What's wrong? Has something happened?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, it's Young Master Lu. He's injured. Please go and see him quickly. This old servant has already sent someone to summon His Highness the Regent back." As the butler spoke, he extended his hand to lead the way.
When they reached the courtyard where Lu Zixiu was staying, Mo Qinghuan could see Lu Zixiu sitting at the table from afar.
He had been slashed on his right arm and was struggling to tear off the sleeve of his right - arm clothes.
When he saw Mo Qinghuan approaching, he frowned imperceptibly and his eyes darkened slightly, but Mo Qinghuan still caught it.
She said nothing and asked no questions. Instead, she started to treat his wound.
It was Lu Zixiu who couldn't sit still any longer. "Why don't you ask how I got injured?"
There was still a faint, detached smile on Mo Qinghuan's face. She looked up at him. "It doesn't seem to be my concern. The Regent will ask when he comes, won't he?"
She took out some gauze, alcohol - soaked cotton, alcohol, and a pair of tweezers from the medicine chest.
She picked up the alcohol - soaked cotton to disinfect his wound. The pain made him hiss softly.
After disinfection, she bandaged the wound for him.
She sat opposite him. "Do you have any other wounds on your body? Do you need me to check?"
"Cough, cough—" Lu Zixiu choked twice.
"Does your chest feel uncomfortable?" She pressed two fingers on the position of his chest. "Here? Or here?"
Lu Zixiu grabbed her wrist with his left hand. "I'm fine now. Thank you, Your Highness the Princess."
He emphasized the words "Your Highness the Princess" very strongly. Mo Qinghuan twitched the corner of her mouth. It seemed that he thought she had overstepped her bounds.
Since that was the case, she wouldn't worry about it anymore. It was better to go back and prepare the medicine for the Duchess of the Duke's Mansion.
So, she put the things back into the medicine chest. Just as she turned around, she saw Mu Yanming standing at the door with a dark face.
Mo Qinghuan saw that his complexion was gloomy and he seemed to be in a bad mood. She thought he was worried about Lu Zixiu's injury, so she looked up at him and gave a faint smile. "Don't worry. He's fine." Then she walked outside.
But she was grabbed by the arm by Mu Yanming.
"What's wrong? Is there anything else?"
Mo Qinghuan looked at him in confusion, blinking her eyes.
Mu Yanming's Adam's apple moved. "The messenger said that you were ambushed on the street. Are you injured?"
Mo Qinghuan shook her head. "No. Thanks to Bai Ke's timely arrival, and General Ning Yuan accidentally saved me too."
Hearing the words "General Ning Yuan", Mo Qinghuan felt that Mu Yanming's complexion didn't look very good.
She quickly explained, "Because I was in the carriage of the Duke's Mansion, he thought the person in the carriage was Zhao Yiyi, so he took action."
Mu Yanming nodded. "You go back to your room first. I'll be back later."
Lu Zixiu had been looking at Mu Yanming. When he heard this, he shifted his gaze.
After Mo Qinghuan left, Mu Yanming sat opposite Lu Zixiu, in the position where Mo Qinghuan had just sat.
"Where have you been these days? Why did you come back all injured again?"
Mu Yanming looked into his eyes. According to his current understanding of Lu Zixiu, he shouldn't be the type who would get injured so easily.
After all, he was the heir of the Cloud - Breaking Palm.
Getting injured repeatedly might be a sign of a ruse of feigning injury.
"Your Highness, the Left Prime Minister has already arranged people to enter the General's Mansion and start secretly looking for the whereabouts of the key. These days, I've been keeping an eye on the movements of the two prime ministers. Last night, I finally found something wrong."
Mu Yanming's fingertips gently tapped on the table. Lu Zixiu's eyes fell on his hand. "I found that in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, every three days, a man in a black robe would go to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion at night and stay there for an hour. But so far, I still haven't found out the identity of that mysterious man."
Mu Yanming poured a cup of tea for Lu Zixiu and pushed it in front of him. After Lu Zixiu finished drinking the tea, he continued, "The Left Prime Minister also has his own secrets. According to the spy I arranged in the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, the Left Prime Minister goes to Wanhua Temple once every seven days and chants scriptures there for two hours. Then I arranged someone in Wanhua Temple, and it's true about the Left Prime Minister's matter."
Mu Yanming slightly raised the corner of his lips. Mu Yanming already knew all the information that Lu Zixiu had investigated.
Three years ago, there had been such a person in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. Not only Lu Zixiu, but even Mu Yanming had known about it three years ago, and he still hadn't found out the identity of that person until now.
As for the Left Prime Minister, he had also started this three years ago. Before, he went once every half a month. It was only a year ago that he changed to once every seven days.
Lu Zixiu had gone around such a big circle, but in the end, he still didn't say why he got injured and who he had fought with.
"Okay, I know. But as for you, since you're injured, just recuperate well." He got up and walked outside.
Lu Zixiu looked at Mu Yanming's back and couldn't help but wonder. He had said all the information that Mu Yanming already knew. Why didn't Mu Yanming say anything?!
There must be a rift between them.
He sighed, sat down in front of the writing desk, spread out the paper, and began to sort out the connections among the events he had investigated these days.
This included why there were so many experts hiding in Wanhua Temple, an ordinary temple. Were they silently protecting someone in Wanhua Temple, or had his whereabouts already been exposed?
Mu Yanming returned to the room. Mo Qinghuan was moving the medicine chest.
When she saw him come in, she handed the medicine chest to Dan'er and asked her to put it away.
"How is the Duchess of the Duke's Mansion?" Mu Yanming sat down, didn't look at Mo Qinghuan, and poured tea for himself.
Mo Qinghuan wasn't surprised that Mu Yanming knew about this, but she had always suspected the reason why the Duchess was poisoned.
"Hey, Your Highness, do you think why someone would poison an inner - house lady? The Duke's Mansion has a good family tradition and no concubines. Could it be a political enemy?" She tilted her head to look at Mu Yanming's expression, trying to find some clues from his face.
Unfortunately... Mu Yanming showed no expression!
He just glanced at Mo Qinghuan indifferently and then continued to drink his tea.
After slowly finishing the tea in his hand, he looked at Mo Qinghuan again and then slowly said, "A political enemy? The Duke's Mansion is just a nominal title. It was only because they saved the late Emperor back then that they were granted the title of Duke."
Mo Qinghuan scratched her chin. "So, it's not a political enemy."
"Did they ask you to treat the Duchess and also solve the case?"
Mo Qinghuan gave an embarrassed smile. "Not really. It's just that the imperial doctors have no way to detoxify her. If I help her detoxify, I'm afraid I'll bring trouble to myself."
"Then just find an excuse to decline. Don't go!" Mu Yanming's method was simple and straightforward, but Mo Qinghuan shook her head.
"The Duchess is a nice person. Moreover, as a doctor, one should have a parental heart. How can I stand by and watch when someone is dying?" Just as she was speaking, the gatekeeper came to report.
"Something big has happened in the General's Mansion!!!"