"Alright. I've already sent someone to call the doctor. I'm sure he should be in your courtyard by now."
Just as he said this, the two of them entered the courtyard. The maids were caught off guard by their intimate gestures.
He Rou's personal maid stepped forward with a grim face. As soon as she opened her mouth, the awkward topic from before resurfaced.
"Your Highness, there's always a distinction between men and women. Although the customs in our Great Liang are sometimes simple and the requirements for men and women aren't that strict, your overly intimate behavior with my young lady in public is truly inappropriate. If word gets out, my young lady won't be able to marry into a good family after leaving you."
Hearing what the maid said, He Rou quickly spoke up, afraid of angering the man.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. Yao'er has always been by my side, learning the teachings for women. Her words may not be very pleasant. Please don't take it to heart."
"It's okay. She's just concerned about your safety."
He Rou took the opportunity to tell her maid Yao'er what had happened just now, thus resolving the misunderstanding.
Yao'er bowed her head in shame and apologized.
"I was overthinking, Your Highness. Please don't take it to heart. I was just afraid that my young lady's reputation would be damaged."
"It's fine. By the way, the doctor should be here. Go and bring him here quickly. Your young lady's injury is quite serious this time."
...
Soon, the doctor diagnosed He Rou with a sprain and prescribed some medicine. She would be fine.
Looking at her leg wrapped like a zongzi, she couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
"Your Highness, I just sprained my ankle. The doctor said there's nothing serious. But now you've made it seem like I have some incurable disease."
"You'd better not talk nonsense. Wrapping it like this will make it easier for you to recover. Just tell the servants if you need anything."
"Alright. Then I won't be able to have meals with the Empress Dowager and my sister for a while."
Hearing this, the man suddenly remembered something.
"The Empress Dowager and Lady Hui rarely have meals together. You'd better stay out of their feud in the future. Your father sent you here. I'm sure he doesn't want anything to happen to you. Otherwise, he'll be disappointed."
"Alright."
He Rou lowered her head disappointedly. At this moment, Yao'er spoke up in a timely manner.
"What should we do? My young lady has always liked a lively atmosphere. If she has to eat alone, she definitely won't be used to it. And with her injured leg recently, if she doesn't eat well, it will affect her recovery."
Some words were left unsaid, but the man understood what she meant and quickly said,
"I can have meals with Miss He."
These words brought a glimmer of light to the woman's eyes.
"Really? Isn't it a bit inappropriate?"
"It's not inappropriate at all. In this mansion, my mother and I have the final say. You just rest well. As long as your leg isn't healed, I'll come to have three meals with you every day. Consider it my duty as the host."
With the man's promise, He Rou was as happy as a child.
And the man did as he said. For half a month, he had meals with the woman every day.
During this period, He Hui also received news from her family.
When she saw the letter confirming that her mother and younger brother had indeed died of illness, she subconsciously refused to believe it. She tightly grabbed the person in front of her and questioned,
"Have you investigated clearly? Are you all just perfunctory? How could it be exactly as that little bitch said? Could it be that you've colluded with her? Well! When did you start siding with that little bitch?"
As she spoke, her emotions collapsed. Just as it seemed that the people under her were about to suffer, a warm body suddenly wrapped around her from behind.
The shadow guards took the opportunity to leave and were lucky enough to escape.
She tightly nestled in Qing Bai's arms and just couldn't believe what she saw.
"Mother once said that she would wait for me to go back and make my favorite pastries. She asked me to complete the grand plan and go back to teach my younger brother how to read. Everything was developing in a good direction. Why did such a disaster suddenly befall us? I don't believe this is the truth. There must be someone behind this. Qing Bai, can you help me find out the truth?"
Knowing that she wouldn't easily accept the truth in the letter, Qing Bai comforted her,
"I personally led people to verify the information in this letter. It's definitely correct. I know you're very sad now, but we have to cheer up. Even if we don't help Lord He complete his plan, we can't let these people go."
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman burst into tears. Both of them knew in their hearts that from this day on, everything would start anew.
To cover up those painful truths, the two of them were locked in a passionate embrace, expending all their energy as if it was never enough. He Hui also made a wanton sound as if to attract the attention of others.
Indeed, she did attract attention.
Watching the maid return from the side courtyard, she excitedly stepped forward and asked,
"How's it going? Is it as we guessed at first?"
"Yes, my master is really brilliant. The eldest miss is actually still doing such immoral things with that man. It's really disgusting. And tonight, it seems they don't care about others at all. The sound can even be heard in the next courtyard. Fortunately, there's no one in the surrounding courtyards. Otherwise, there would probably be another joke tonight."
"I knew these two wouldn't break up so easily. People who dared to be together at the risk of their lives in the palace must have some tricks up their sleeves."
"What should we do then? Are we just going to let those two continue like this without completing the master's task?"
"Of course not. He Hui isn't worthy of making me abandon the task. I'll let everyone know about this."
The maid widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Master, do you mean to let the Crown Prince depose Lady Hui himself?"
"Of course. What we did in the He family was all under the table. Father turned a blind eye because he wanted to see who could complete that plan for him. Now that my sister has lost the protection of our father and the Crown Prince, it's easy to take her life at this time. If she completes Father's plan first and goes back to the He family to investigate the death of the mistress, then all of us will be finished. Father won't protect me either."
"Then, master, what should we do next?"
"Come closer."
The mistress and the maid talked in the room for a long time before they separated. But it was not hard to tell from their expressions that they had formulated a flawless plan.
At this time, He Rou wasn't the only one who got the news.
Shi Muyuan hardly slept all night. She was playing chess with herself.