After walking out of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Mo Qinghuan looked back, then let out a cold snort.
A Si took the medicine chest and followed behind Mo Qinghuan. Seeing her raising her hand to rub her neck, he thought of his failure to protect her well today. Gritting his teeth, he followed her back to the Prince Regent's Mansion.
Mo Qinghuan thought he was just escorting her back to the mansion, so she didn't think much of it.
After returning to the Prince Regent's Mansion, she went straight to her room, sat down in front of the writing desk, laid out a piece of letter paper, and began to list the poisonous herbs contained in the blood cherry seeds.
Just as she was writing, Dan'er rushed in. Maybe she had run too fast, for when she stopped, she covered her stomach and gasped for breath.
Mo Qinghuan quickly got up, walked to the table, and poured her a cup of tea. "Take your time. What's going on?"
"Miss, A Si is being punished in the Jingting Courtyard! You should go and have a look quickly!" Before Mo Qinghuan could hand out the cup, upon hearing this, her hand trembled and the cup fell to the ground, splashing water on her skirt.
Without waiting to ask what was going on, she had to hurry to the Jingting Courtyard.
From afar, she saw A Si kneeling bare - chested in the courtyard with a straight back.
Two guards on either side were holding boards and carrying out the punishment. Furious, she shouted, "Stop!"
Then she rushed over, snatched a board from one of them, and threw it on the ground.
The two guards looked at each other. Although they looked embarrassed, with Mo Qinghuan standing there, they didn't dare to act rashly for fear of accidentally hurting the princess.
She glanced at A Si. His back was red. Although there were no external skin injuries, she knew that when it came to being beaten with a board, the injury could be either to the bone or the skin. Judging from the heavy blows those two guards had just given, his shoulders and spine must have been injured.
She tried to help him up, but A Si raised his hand to stop her.
"Your Highness, the forty strokes of the board haven't been finished yet!"
Hearing this, Mo Qinghuan covered her mouth in shock. "What! Forty strokes of the board? Does Mu Yanming want to kill you?"
"It has nothing to do with the prince. It was A Si who came to ask for punishment on his own."
She took several deep breaths before finally calming down her emotions. "You came to ask for punishment on your own? Why?"
A Si looked at the ground, and said neither over - bearing nor humble, "This subordinate failed to protect Your Highness well and let Your Highness get injured, so I came to ask for punishment."
Mo Qinghuan looked at the closed door, then tried to help A Si again. "Since you call me the princess, well, I order you to go for a check - up with me right now."
A Si didn't dare to disobey the order and stood up. Mo Qinghuan saw that he remained calm and silent, and she had no idea how badly he was injured. But when he stood up, he let out a muffled groan. She roughly guessed that his injuries must be quite serious.
She supported him and walked out. Suddenly, the door behind them opened. As soon as Mu Yanming opened the door, he saw Mo Qinghuan's hand on A Si's arm.
His eyes darkened, and he said coldly, "What are you doing?"
Mo Qinghuan grabbed Dan'er's hand and let her support A Si. She walked up to Mu Yanming, looked up and stared firmly into his eyes. "Was it your order?"
Mu Yanming didn't look at her. His eyes seemed to be looking at nowhere.
"Mu Yanming!" Seeing that he ignored her, Mo Qinghuan shouted.
The guards in the courtyard held their breaths. They didn't expect this newly - arrived princess to be so brave that she dared to call the prince by his name.
Hearing her call his name, Mu Yanming slowly withdrew his gaze and looked down into her eyes.
Since Mo Qinghuan was raising her head, her neck was exposed. So Mu Yanming caught a glimpse of the blue and purple marks on her neck from the corner of his eye.
His face darkened, and he said coldly, "He failed to protect well. Punishing him according to military law, what's the problem?"
Mo Qinghuan was almost driven mad by him. She raised her hand to cover her chest, trying to calm her emotions. "Fine, it's very good."
She turned around and was about to leave when Mu Yanming grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the study.
Seeing this, Dan'er first helped A Si to the pavilion to rest.
...
"What are you doing! Let me go!" Mo Qinghuan struggled hard, but Mu Yanming's grip was so strong that she couldn't break free. Helpless, she angrily turned her head away.
But Mu Yanming raised his hand and pinched her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
Mo Qinghuan could feel the surging anger hidden in Mu Yanming's eyes at this moment.
But she wasn't afraid. She just looked at him, with deep disappointment in her eyes.
After a long time, the anger in Mu Yanming's eyes faded. His voice was very low and dull. "Why are you angry? Just because I punished A Si?"
Mo Qinghuan turned her head away, being awkward and ignoring him. But Mu Yanming domineeringly pinched her chin and turned her face back to look at him.
"Your Highness, he didn't fail to protect well. Moreover, in order to protect me, he even considered being someone else's hostage. Are you really going to punish such a person? Aren't you afraid of disappointing your subordinates?"
"It's his duty."
Looking into Mu Yanming's cold and emotionless eyes, Mo Qinghuan suddenly felt that she was really crazy to argue with such a person!
She shook off Mu Yanming's hand and turned around to leave, but Mu Yanming pulled her back and pressed her against the door.
"Mu Yanming, don't mess around." She turned her head away, her tone flat without any emotion.
Mu Yanming looked at her dimmed eyes, gritted his back teeth, and finally let her go.
She opened the door and walked out. When she left the Jingting Courtyard, she saw A Si sitting in the pavilion by the lake.
Dan'er had already fetched her medicine chest. She quickly walked over. A thought flashed through her mind. "Activate the Little Doctor Space and conduct a scan."
Dan'er saw Mo Qinghuan staring blankly at A Si, but she didn't dare to ask anything.
A Si also noticed Mo Qinghuan's gaze. He uncomfortably drew back his shoulders, but when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulders, he had to sit back properly.
After the scan was completed, Mo Qinghuan heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his bones and muscles weren't injured.
She reached into the medicine chest, silently recited the names of several medicines for treating bruises and promoting blood circulation in her heart, then took them out of the medicine chest, wrapped them in paper, and handed them to A Si.
"One packet at a time, three times a day."
When A Si took them, he accidentally touched her hand, and his face instantly turned red to the tips of his ears.
Only then did Mo Qinghuan let out a soft laugh. Seeing Mo Qinghuan smile, the big stone in Dan'er's heart finally fell.
"Thank you, Your Highness." He lowered his head.
"A Si, how old are you this year?" Mo Qinghuan suddenly asked out of the blue.
A Si looked up, his bright eyes full of confusion.
Then he reacted and lowered his head again, saying softly, "Replying to Your Highness, I'm seventeen years old."
Mo Qinghuan suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He was still just a child.
"Alright, go back and rest. You don't need to go to the Jishi Hall these days. That Prime Minister Gu is so excessive. I won't treat his daughter anymore!"
A Si nodded and walked step by step towards his residence in the back courtyard.
Bai Ke and Lu Zixiu saw this scene from afar. They glanced at each other and helplessly shook their heads.
Looking at Mo Qinghuan, Bai Ke couldn't help sighing, "They say that a doctor should have a benevolent heart. I think the princess is going to be angry with the prince for a few days this time."
Lu Zixiu also looked over. She was carrying the medicine chest and walking towards the Yanyang Hall. "Hey, I didn't expect the princess to be so considerate of her subordinates. She is indeed more human - like than your cold - hearted prince."
Bai Ke couldn't stand anyone saying a single bad word about Mu Yanming. He raised his hand and patted Lu Zixiu on the shoulder, his tone quite unfriendly. "The prince has had a different experience after all. You can't compare the two."