Early the next morning, Qin Guan entered the palace as usual to check the Empress Dowager's pulse.
The Empress Dowager appeared no different from usual this day, though her spirits seemed increasingly diminished. After Qin Guan finished taking her pulse, the Empress Dowager didn't inquire about her condition, instead instructing Mammy Chen to retrieve items from the treasury. "I remember the Emperor's favorite inkstones were stored in the treasury—all premium Huzhou Duan inkstones, along with several pieces of pine-soot ink. They've been stored away for so many years I nearly forgot about them. Find them and send them to the Emperor."
Mammy Chen acknowledged with a smile. Qin Guan asked the Empress Dowager, "Why does Your Majesty suddenly think of sending these to the Emperor?"
The Empress Dowager replied cheerfully, "These were things he loved in his youth."
Qin Guan nodded without speaking. The Empress Dowager continued, "He has worked too hard these years, and I, as his mother, haven't properly cared for him."
This seemingly random remark left Qin Guan momentarily puzzled. The Empress Dowager gazed at Yan Sui outside the window and said, "I notice Xiao Jiu enjoys martial arts and sword practice. I plan to hire a great sword master to teach him. What do you think? He's close to you, and now that my health is failing, you must look after him more."
"Don't worry, I also believe Ninth Prince genuinely enjoys it. Teaching him is the right decision."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "That's good. For a child of Xiao Jiu's temperament, having something he loves to do is excellent."
Outside the window, Yan Sui stood in the cold wind, practicing steps as Yue Ning had instructed. Unlike ordinary restless children learning swordplay, his meticulous movements showed genuine dedication to mastering it. With unresolved troubles in the palace and Yan Sui's studies suspended, it would indeed be concerning if he lacked any interests.
The Empress Dowager watched Yan Sui's small figure as if lost in thought.
Soon, Mammy Chen returned, followed by servants carrying two sandalwood boxes. Seeing them, the Empress Dowager's eyes dimmed slightly. "Bring them here for me to see."
Mammy Chen presented the boxes to the Empress Dowager, who opened them to reveal neatly arranged inkstones and carefully wrapped pine-soot ink. Stroking the items, she murmured, "When they began their studies, naturally they needed the finest supplies. These pieces came from the great scholar He Qianshan of Lingnan. I sent them to the Emperor, but he couldn't bear to use them and set them aside. In the blink of an eye, over twenty years have passed."
The Empress Dowager touched the box surfaces, then closed them. After a moment, she suddenly changed her mind. "Never mind. Keep them here with me. Don't send them."
Mammy Chen looked puzzled, while Qin Guan felt uneasy witnessing the Empress Dowager's behavior.
"Why won't Your Majesty send them?"
The Empress Dowager waved her hand dismissively, unwilling to explain. Soon she grew tired, and Qin Guan had to help Mammy Chen escort her to the inner chamber to rest.
After ensuring the Empress Dowager was settled, Qin Guan gave Mammy Chen numerous instructions before taking her leave. Emerging from the main hall, she saw Yan Sui pointing his unsharpened short sword at a young eunuch, commanding, "You, come attack me..."
Hearing this, the eunuch paled instantly. "Ninth Prince, this humble servant wouldn't dare offend you."
Yan Sui frowned. "My short sword isn't sharpened. It won't harm you."
The eunuch looked torn between laughter and tears. "Even if it couldn't harm this humble servant—even if you demanded my life—I wouldn't dare disobey you. I'm afraid of accidentally injuring you."After the young eunuch finished speaking, he looked on the verge of tears. Yan Sui frowned and said, "Even if you hurt me, I won’t blame you!"
The young eunuch knelt with a thud. "Ninth Highness, please don’t make things difficult for this humble servant. I truly dare not."
Yan Sui frowned for a moment. "What if I reward you with a hundred gold pieces? Momma Su isn’t here right now, so no one will dare blame you. Even if Grandmother blames you, I’ll speak on your behalf."
The words "dare not" instantly stuck in the young eunuch’s throat. For an ordinary eunuch, saving up private funds was exceedingly difficult, and now Yan Sui was offering him a hundred taels of gold with a single sentence—his very life wasn’t worth a hundred taels of gold!
The young eunuch held his breath and stared fixedly at Yan Sui. After a long while, his eyes suddenly widened. "Very well, then this humble servant will obey Your Highness."
Yan Sui wrinkled his nose, seeming both helpless and disdainful, then took a step back and assumed a quite proper starting stance. The young eunuch stood up, flexed his fists and feet, but soon felt ridiculous given that Yan Sui only reached his waist. So, with a twist of his wrist, he pretended to be imposing and said, "Your Highness, be careful. This humble servant is about to strike."
With that, the young eunuch made a half-hearted attempt to hit Yan Sui, but his punch merely grazed past Yan Sui’s body without causing the slightest harm.
Yan Sui’s frown deepened instantly. His eyes fixed intently on the young eunuch without uttering a word, making the eunuch break out in a cold sweat.
The young eunuch forced an awkward laugh, shrinking his neck. "Let’s start over. This humble servant will take it seriously."
Yan Sui stepped back again. The young eunuch’s eyes darted, he gritted his teeth, and suddenly threw a fierce punch at Yan Sui. Yan Sui sidestepped, swiftly swinging his short sword. Though the sword was short, the eunuch was already close. Seeing Yan Sui wield the sword, he instinctively dodged, causing his punch to completely miss. However, he soon realized the unsharpened short sword couldn’t harm him, so he threw another punch. This time, Yan Sui didn’t evade. Using his height advantage, he nimbly dodged and then thrust the short sword straight into a spot three inches below the eunuch’s ribs—
A cry of "Ah!" rang out as the young eunuch, both shocked and in pain, clutched his ribs and collapsed to the ground, instantly sweating from the agony. He stared at Yan Sui, who remained calm after succeeding. "Your Highness, you…"
Naturally, he didn’t dare complain. The young eunuch didn’t even dare cry out loudly, only curling up while clutching his stomach and panting heavily.
Yan Sui watched quietly from the side. The maidservants in the distance were startled but didn’t dare approach. It was only then that Qin Guan stepped forward, her own heart filled with surprise.
The spot Yan Sui had struck was the young eunuch’s kidney. If the sword had been sharpened, piercing the kidney would have surely killed him.
Qin Guan didn’t know whether it was an accident or if Yan Sui had done it on purpose.
"Your Highness…"
Qin Guan called out, and Yan Sui turned around in surprise.
Seeing Qin Guan approach, Yan Sui opened his mouth as if to explain but didn’t know what to say.
The young eunuch nearby hurriedly scrambled up and knelt on the ground. Qin Guan glanced at him, then walked up to Yan Sui, crouching down. "Who taught you this?"Yan Sui lowered his gaze, his hand holding the short sword also dropping. His brows were stubbornly furrowed, and after a moment he said, "I heard it once while watching the imperial guards spar in the palace. They said if you want to attack someone's abdomen, the best place to strike is below the ribs on the back."
Then he quickly glanced at Qin Guan and added, "My sword isn't sharpened."
Understanding the situation, Qin Guan looked at the young eunuch whose eyes were red from pain and said, "You may leave."
The eunuch kowtowed and scrambled away. Qin Guan then led Yan Sui to sit in a nearby pavilion. "Your Highness is very skilled to remember something just from occasionally observing others..."
Yan Sui's eyes immediately brightened, staring at Qin Guan as if unable to believe he was being praised.
Qin Guan smiled and smoothed Yan Sui's messy black hair. "Your Highness has natural talent. Since this is the case, you shouldn't waste such gift, just as I excel in medicine. Though your sword isn't sharpened now, you'll have your own fine sword in the future. When that time comes, if anyone dares harm you, you must strike without hesitation as you did today. But you must never become a cruel person, understood?"
Yan Sui's eyes sparkled, his lips curling upward, his whole being radiating youthful vitality. "Good! I promise you!"
Qin Guan chuckled, wiping sweat from Yan Sui's brow, then produced a sugar-dusted chestnut cake from his sleeve. Yan Sui quickly glanced around before unwrapping the oiled paper like he'd found treasure, devouring the sweet cake in a few bites. After finishing, he licked the sugar from his lips like an unsatisfied kitten.
Qin Guan laughed helplessly. "Your Highness is at the age of losing teeth - you shouldn't indulge in sweets."
Yan Sui recently had a loose tooth but disliked others mentioning it. At Qin Guan's words, his cheeks flushed with slight embarrassment. Amused by his reaction, Qin Guan was about to speak when Momma Su appeared. He instructed her to take Yan Sui for water while he departed first.
He hadn't forgotten his appointment with Yan Ze, and it was nearly noon.
Leaving the Longevity and Health Palace, Qin Guan walked straight to beyond Zhengyang Gate. The imperial guards had noticeably increased these days, yet they dared not interrogate Qin Guan too thoroughly upon his appearance.
Once outside the palace, Qin Guan immediately spotted a simple blue-cloth carriage parked beyond the gate, with Tan Xiang standing beside it.
Approaching with Baiying, Tan Xiang said, "Greetings, County Princess. His Highness couldn't come personally, so I'm here to escort you."
Qin Guan nodded. Seeing Tan Xiang had prepared transportation, he sent the waiting Qin Manor carriage back to the Marquis residence and boarded Tan Xiang's carriage instead.
Tan Xiang drove, turning the horse toward the southern city. Though Qin Guan was fairly familiar with the southern districts, Tan Xiang took only small alleys, and soon Qin Guan lost his bearings. Were it not for Baiying's company, he might have felt uneasy.
After winding through southern alleys for nearly half an hour, the carriage gradually halted. Qin Guan lifted the curtain to find they'd stopped before a modest residential compound. The dwelling wasn't shabby - rather, with its white walls and gray tiles, it conveyed simple elegance.
Tan Xiang announced from outside, "County Princess, we've arrived. Please—"
Emerging from the carriage, Qin Guan found the narrow lane quiet and deserted, with no sign of Yan Ze's carriage.
Noticing the half-open gate, Qin Guan knew Yan Ze waited within the courtyard.Qin Guan led Baiying to the door, and Tan Xiang pushed it open.
It was a single-courtyard residence without a spirit wall, featuring only a square flower bed flanked by two large water vats planted with water lilies, now long withered. The main chamber’s door was tightly shut, offering no clue as to whether anyone was inside.
Qin Guan paused mid-step and glanced back at Tan Xiang, who gestured invitingly. "Your Highness, please enter…"
Raising an eyebrow, Qin Guan walked slowly toward the main chamber with Tan Xiang following behind. As she reached to push the door open, her hand hesitated instinctively. For some reason, she sensed no one was inside. With a creak, the door swung open, revealing a dimly lit room sparsely furnished. Against the north wall, what appeared to be a luohan daybed stood.
Tan Xiang, standing behind Qin Guan, said, "What His Highness seeks your help with lies within this room."
After Tan Xiang spoke, Qin Guan asked, "Where is the Crown Prince?"
Tan Xiang replied, "His Highness will arrive shortly…"
Frowning, Qin Guan wondered—why summon her for assistance when he hadn’t even arrived? The room was silent and empty; what exactly did he want her to do?
A sense of caution stirred within her. Gazing at the luohan daybed against the far wall, she stepped inside.
Upon entering, a chill enveloped her—the room clearly lacked human presence and was likely seldom occupied. A quick scan confirmed the austere simplicity of the furnishings, reinforcing her belief that visitors were rare here.
Nothing in the room drew her attention except the luohan daybed, which seemed to conceal something.
Qin Guan approached the daybed. The closer she got, the clearer it became that a piece of white silk covered it, draping over subtle contours yet obscuring what lay beneath. Her frown deepened as she finally reached the daybed’s side.
Though the silk hinted at shapes, the object underneath was not large, almost as if the cloth served merely to shield against dust.
Baiying, behind her, spoke up, "Miss, perhaps this servant—"
As Baiying moved forward, Qin Guan raised a hand to stop her. Squinting, she leaned in, then—with a cold glint in her eyes—unhesitatingly lifted the white silk.
As the cloth fell away, even Qin Guan, accustomed to grand scenes, felt a chill run down her spine. The first thing she saw was a grayish skull. As more of the silk was drawn back, she discerned the thoracic vertebrae, ribs, hip bones, and further down… It was unmistakably a complete human skeleton!
Qin Guan’s pupils trembled, and the white silk slipped from her hand onto the floor.
Staring at the distinctly female skeleton before her, she suddenly understood what Yan Ze needed from her.
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