Facing the sudden hug, Shen Yu did not refuse.
She simply reached out and gently rubbed Xiao Biao’s head.
This made Xiao Biao feel very gratified.
Even though Shen Yu didn’t say anything, she felt that this meant Shen Yu had accepted her feelings!
‘Did I succeed? Did I succeed? Pfft! Great, I succeeded! I never thought I wasn’t just pining alone. I like Shen Yu, and Shen Yu likes me too? Otherwise, why would she hug me? Why would she gently touch my head?’
‘Xiao Biao happily talked to herself in her heart. She even started to imagine Shen Yu wearing a phoenix crown and rosy veil for her… it would definitely be beautiful!’
‘According to child psychology, I’ve shown this little girl so much knowledge beyond common sense, which has strongly impacted her worldview. This impact will transform into a strange emotion, especially dependence. To take care of her emotional and mental health, I absolutely cannot push her away. I should even pat her head and comfort her.’
Shen Yu calmly talked to herself in her heart.
She felt her analysis was very reasonable.
She really was a physician with a benevolent heart.
Truly a saint among pediatricians, a director among directors!
“Thank you for being willing to hug me. See you tomorrow.”
Xiao Biao whispered in Shen Yu’s ear.
Perhaps because of her budding romance, her voice carried a hint of joy and excitement.
Shen Yu couldn’t help but nod.
‘Look how happy the kid is, she’s practically beaming.’
‘Beautiful, so sweet, she likes me!’
After seeing Xiao Biao off, Shen Yu returned to the small courtyard of Mu’en Hall.
Suddenly, she remembered something very important.
Where had Cao Xiangning gone?
These past two days, she had been running to the Empress’s place and had completely forgotten about Cao Xiangning.
Cao Xiangning was still recovering in the West Wing!
Thinking of this, Shen Yu hurriedly ran to the West Wing.
But the West Wing was empty, with only a note left behind.
[The refugee problem outside the city is serious. Although my strength is meager, I can still do something. I really can’t bear to stay here and recuperate. Don’t worry about me. —Cao Xiangning]
Shen Yu stared at the note in her hand, completely stunned.
She then looked at the nearby wall, where several chairs were stacked together to form a ladder, reaching the top of the wall.
Was this girl so fierce?
Did she just climb over the wall and run away?
At this moment, Shen Yu’s head was spinning.
This person was a relative of the imperial family, the kind who could call the Empress “sister” upon meeting!
The Empress had already instructed her to take good care of Cao Xiangning and do her best to cure her illness.
Now, she still had no idea how to treat the disease, and the person had run away.
“Sister, I brought Auntie Cao Xiangning some new quilts. They’re red quilts, so pretty. I…”
Yin Qiu walked in carrying two red quilts printed with the character for happiness.
Before she could finish her sentence, she was startled by the scene before her.
Cao Xiangning’s room was empty, and the lunchbox she had passed through the window was completely untouched.
“Sister, where’s Sister Cao Xiangning?”
“She ran out. She said she was going to help the refugees.”
Shen Yu handed the note to Yin Qiu and said helplessly.
“No, impossible! Sister Cao Xiangning promised me she wouldn’t run around.”
“Her promise to you is one thing, what she does is another. Little Yin Qiu is still too naive…”
As Shen Yu spoke, she suddenly noticed something off.
The chairs temporarily stacked by the wall to help Cao Xiangning escape seemed reasonable at first glance, but were actually very problematic.
These chairs were originally in the West Wing and hadn’t been used for a long time, covered in a thick layer of dust.
Shen Yu leaned in and gently touched the chair surface.
Soon, a clear fingerprint belonging to Shen Yu appeared.
With such thick dust, any slight touch would leave a mark.
But why were there so few marks on these chairs?
Only a few of Cao Xiangning’s footprints… but they looked extremely messy.
It was as if someone had taken Cao Xiangning’s shoes and randomly pressed them onto the chairs, with even the depth varying.
The front gate was guarded by the Fenglin Guards.
For Cao Xiangning to get out, she would have had to climb over the wall using these chairs.
But the traces belonging to Cao Xiangning on the chairs were very strange.
At this moment, Shen Yu felt as if possessed by the Death God Elementary School Student.
She subconsciously picked up a chair and looked at it.
There were several fingerprints on the underside of the chair, likely left when someone moved it.
Shen Yu recalled Cao Xiangning’s hands when she held a brush to write—those delicate jade-like hands were even slimmer than Shen Yu’s own.
But the fingerprints left on the side of the chair when it was moved were twice as large as Shen Yu’s, clearly left by a strong man.
Were these chairs deliberately stacked by a strong man for Shen Yu to see?
Had someone else sneaked into the West Wing of Mu’en Hall besides Cao Xiangning?
What were the Fenglin Guards doing?
With them around, not even a bird could fly into Mu’en Hall without being under strict surveillance.
How could they allow a stranger to enter Mu’en Hall?
And into the West Wing, which was not open to the public?
“What’s wrong, sister? Has something happened to Sister Cao Xiangning?”
Yin Qiu asked cautiously.
“When was the last time you saw Cao Xiangning?”
“This, this morning. When I brought Sister Cao Xiangning her meal, I even talked to her. She said she had no appetite today and asked me not to bring her food. I couldn’t persuade her, so I had to do as she said.”
Yin Qiu spoke cautiously, growing more afraid and nervous as she spoke.
She suspected Cao Xiangning’s disappearance was her fault.
“It’s all my fault. If I had insisted…”
“It’s not your fault. Here, take this and go to…”
Shen Yu was about to take out the jade tablet, but stopped mid-sentence, as if thinking or wary of something.
She finally changed her mind.
“Go to the Marquis Wuding’s residence. You should know the way. Have Marquis Wuding notify Marquis Dingyuan Cao Zhen to send people to search. It would be best to also leak the news of Cao Xiangning’s disappearance to the Imperial Palace.”
Shen Yu carefully tied the jade tablet around Yin Qiu’s waist.
As long as she had this, the people hiding in the shadows wouldn’t dare touch Yin Qiu.
But if Yin Qiu went to the Marquis Wuding’s residence for help without the jade tablet, she would likely face great danger on the way.
The other side had suffered a great loss at Mu’en Hall, and this time they were intent on utterly destroying it.
“Tell them that Cao Xiangning didn’t run away on her own. She was taken away, taken from right under the noses of the Fenglin Guards.”
Yin Qiu listened seriously.
She watched as her sister firmly tied the jade tablet to the most conspicuous spot on her waist.
She didn’t understand what her sister meant, nor why she was doing this.
But she listened very, very carefully.
“I remember, sister! Definitely!”
“Hurry back, stay safe. Don’t lose the jade tablet. Once you find Yun Wei, stay close to her. She will protect you.”
Shen Yu patted Yin Qiu’s head and saw her out of Mu’en Hall’s main gate.
The little girl ran very fast, using all her strength, sprinting all the way to the Marquis Wuding’s residence.
The jade tablet tied at her waist was conspicuously visible even in the dim light.
“She’s just a child. This has nothing to do with her. I am also working for His Majesty. Why must you go this far?”
Shen Yu slowly sat back down at the table in the small courtyard.
On the table were still the unfinished tea and a set of silver needles bestowed by His Majesty.
Shen Yu followed what her grandfather and the old man had taught her.
She slowly closed her eyes, her fingers gently tracing the patterns on the table.
Using the wind sounds around her and the tiny vibrations transmitted through the table to her fingertips, she calmed her breath and focused.
Suddenly, clear footsteps sounded behind her.
“What exactly is Shen Yu’s background? We can’t touch her.”
“But it’s not a big problem. Damn, could it be that she’s fallen for Shen Yu?”
“This girl likes women? Fine. If these two beauties get together, it should be quite a sight, haha.”
In the dim, abandoned thatched hut on the outskirts of the city, several tall men faced Cao Xiangning, who was tied up and unconscious.
They were chattering about the contents of her notebook.
“Knowing the court’s recent movements is enough. Time is almost up. We need to return this girl quickly.”
One of the tall men spoke slowly.
His tone was calm, but carried an inexplicable urgency.
The thatched hut was dimly lit, but even in the shadows, they could see he was wearing soft armor.
Soft armor was strictly controlled, especially the lightweight, concealable kind.
Within the capital, only one type of person was permitted to wear it… the Fenglin Guards.
Only a single oil lamp sat on the table, illuminating Cao Xiangning’s notebook spread open on it.
The notebook was full of trivial matters recorded by Cao Xiangning to aid her memory.
Of course, as a relative of the imperial family and someone connected to the current Empress, Cao Xiangning’s notes contained many recent court movements, making it an excellent source of intelligence.
And her strange illness also meant she couldn’t remember anything.
They only needed to imitate Cao Xiangning’s handwriting and add a few strokes to the notebook, and they could rationalize the blank period of Cao Xiangning’s disappearance.
And Cao Xiangning, who could only rely on the content of her notebook to recall who she was, what she had done, and what she needed to do, would believe it unconditionally.
“Not so fast. The court has been making too many moves lately. Our reckless actions last time cost us the initiative. Right now, any little movement at Mu’en Hall could alarm the entire capital. The higher-ups said this time we must be thorough!”
“This dog emperor, what kind of rotten ideas is she thinking? Does she really think we’re just decorations?”
“What use are newspapers? The right to interpret the classics is firmly in our hands. The foundation of everything in the world is defined by us. Relying on these third-rate tabloids… it won’t amount to much. This dog emperor is nothing special.”
“This woman is meticulous. What she lets you see is definitely what she wants on the surface. What she doesn’t want you to see, you won’t see even if you rack your brains.”
“Damn, why is she just like that old fox Shen Qingtian? Good thing we didn’t let that old fox successfully march into the capital back then. Otherwise, if he had ascended the throne, our days might not be as comfortable as they are now.”
“She’s only learned the surface tricks of that old fox. She’s still far from him. Have you recorded everything that needs to be recorded?”
“All recorded. This Shen Yu is really something. A physician from a farming family, knows medicine, can cure the Baisui Jing, and even gained the emperor’s favor?”
“Is that Baisui Jing vaccine really effective? The Empress is promoting it heavily. Should we use this to make some trouble?”
“Alright, time’s almost up. Let’s first dump this girl on the outskirts, then we’ll discuss. Be careful, don’t get caught leaving any evidence.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this many times, never failed.”
The thatched hut was bustling with activity.
Some were organizing the copied content, some were untying Cao Xiangning, and some were discussing whether to simply kill Shen Yu.
Soon, Cao Xiangning was carried out by that tall Fenglin Guard in soft armor whose face was hard to see.
The quiet thatched hut soon started discussing how to deal with Shen Yu.
“Has the carrier pigeon been sent out?”
“Sent out. Don’t worry. The heads of the various families will receive it soon. Once this job is done, where shall we go to have fun?”
“Still thinking about fun? The higher-ups are determined to get rid of Shen Yu. As long as Shen Yu is alive, our work won’t be easy. In my opinion, we should coordinate with the inside contact in the Fenglin Guards, work from inside and outside, and just kill Shen Yu.”
Just as they were discussing, the broken wooden door of the thatched hut was knocked.
The entire hut immediately fell silent.
“Who? Who would come to knock on this door at this hour?”
“N-no idea. Could it be that kid left something behind and came back?”
“I’ll open the door.”
At this time, the faint smell of rain wafted outside the hut, as if it had started to rain.
Each autumn rain brings a chill, and the outside temperature had dropped significantly along with the drizzling rain.
With a creak, the broken wooden door slowly opened.
The tall man who opened the door was immediately stunned.
A torrential downpour, which should not have been possible, suddenly poured down, beating relentlessly onto countless conical hats.
Under the conical hats were faces covered with cloth, their features obscured, but their eyes were full of killing intent, as if they could devour everyone inside with just their gaze.
“Y-you, who are you?”
The black robes, conical hats, covered faces… it was impossible to guess which faction they belonged to.
The leading conical hat person slowly raised a bloodstained cloth sack.
As the sack was gently thrown down, it was revealed to be the head of the Fenglin Guard who had earlier carried Cao Xiangning away.
The head tumbled to the ground and rolled to the foot of the tall man who had opened the door.
The smell of blood spread, and the surrounding atmosphere fell into a deathly silence.
“Want to kill our young lady? You should piss on a mirror and see if you’re worthy.”
The leading conical hat person spoke.
It was a cold female voice, but her words carried immense pressure.
“Y-you… your young lady? Who are you people? Do you know who we’re backed by? Do you know who this person you killed is?”
The man was already frightened by the group of conical hat people, but he still tried to stand his ground, hoping to intimidate them by invoking their backer.
After all, even the esteemed officials in the court had to yield somewhat to the noble families behind them.
These wilderness thugs couldn’t possibly…
“Hmph.”
What the man got was only a light, contemptuous sneer.
“Do you know who we are? Fine… I’ll give you a hint so you can die with clarity. Thirty years ago, during the Longwu Coup, our old master led an army of hundreds of thousands all the way to the capital. The ones he killed the most along the way were you dogs of the noble families.”