You don't need to worry about the prince's illness; you should worry about yourself first.
"Look at this, thank goodness I stopped you tonight."
Su Yao opened the note that Liu Ruyan handed her.
The note was thin, with neat handwriting, and each word made Yun Shuyue's head buzz.
She looked down.
In the east courtyard of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's residence, there were eight hidden crossbows, three tripwires, and six servants. The shift change schedule is shown in the attached diagram.
Below that is a line of smaller characters. "By order of the Lady Wang, if any thief enters the courtyard, his life or death will be disregarded."
Yun Shuyue gripped the rim of the medicine bowl with her fingers, her knuckles tightening.
"His Highness saw the way you were eyeing the silver yesterday and guessed what you were thinking."
Su Yao's tone was as flat as if she were reporting an account, "It's His Highness's will that Guard Lin and Murong Xue are protecting you."
"I just didn't expect you to be in such a hurry. But it's a good thing you didn't go; the Lady Wang suffered a loss last time and are thinking about how to deal with you."
Yun Shuyue remained silent.
My throat felt dry, and I looked down at the note again.
Eight hidden crossbows.
Her injuries haven't healed yet; if she sneaks in tonight, the chances of her survival are slim.
The Lady Wang is so ruthless!
After thinking quietly for a moment, Yun Shuyue's voice was a little hoarse.
If I really go tonight...
"Turn into a hedgehog!"
Murong Xue chimed in bluntly and without embellishment, "That scheme set up by Zhao Wuxu and the Lady Wang family was specifically designed for you."
Yun Shuyue closed her eyes briefly.
Having spent so many years in the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office, she thought she knew exactly which courtyard was how many steps wide and which corner was where people were hiding.
She thought her lightness skill was good enough that she could enter and exit without anyone noticing.
She thought the ruthless scholar Zhao Wuxu was nothing more than a spineless coward who used his connections to climb the social ladder.
She thought those three things almost cost her her life.
The candlelight in the main hall flickered.
"Don't be sad, Sister Yue. You risked your life to protect others," Liu Ruyan's voice was gentle. "You're much braver than I was back then, when I only dared to jump into the river."
Yun Shuyue was taken aback.
Although I didn't quite understand the deeper meaning.
But Liu Ruyan said she was "brave".
Something moved in my throat, and my nasal cavity started to feel sore.
He quickly lowered his head and buried his face in the collar of his cloak.
Shen Ling'er brought over another bowl of medicinal soup, which smelled of red dates and ginger.
He handed her the bowl, his voice as gentle as a warm breeze in March.
"His Highness said that the Prince's Palace will take in all the children from Black Wind Stronghold."
She paused, her tone flat, as if she were talking about something trivial.
"There's meat to eat and books to read."
Yun Shuyue held the bowl, her fingers slowly tightening.
There's meat to eat.
There are books to read.
She spent three years in Black Wind Stronghold, and what she thought about for three years was just these two sentences.
Tiedan asked her when she would do something big, and Auntie Zhao said that there was still enough grain for half a month. Old Master Sun's legs were getting worse and worse, and the children had only learned to read halfway when they ran out of paper, so they started using twigs to draw on the mud.
She then made countless trips delivering food, saving up pennies and coins, all with this in mind.
She carried these two things alone for three years, until her chest felt heavy and sometimes she would sit up in the middle of the night by the drafty window, lost in thought, wondering when this road would end.
Now someone casually remarked, "The Prince's Mansion accepted them all."
Yun Shuyue's eyes were burning hot.
I held back for two breaths, but couldn't resist.
Large tears fell into the soup bowl, creating small ripples.
She sniffed hard, turning her face to the side, not wanting anyone to see, but her shoulders still started shaking, shaking more and more violently, until even her breathing was choked with sobs, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
After crying for a while, he hiccuped.
She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve and then burped.
Murong Xue, who was watching from the side, was puzzled and turned to look at Su Yao.
Su Yao continued working on the abacus, her expression unchanged, but she raised her hand and pushed the handkerchief on the table toward Yun Shuyue.
Liu Ruyan stood quietly to the side, not saying a word, but with a very faint smile on her lips.
Xie Wanqing glanced at it and spoke.
"What our Highness wants to do is not only ensure that the children of Black Wind Stronghold have access to education, but also that the entire Yi Prefecture, and indeed the whole world."
Upon hearing this, Yun Shuyue burst into tears and hiccuped again. This time, the hiccup was so loud that it startled even herself, causing her to cover her mouth and freeze for a moment.
Then he burst into laughter through his tears, but then choked on his own tears and started coughing.
Shen Ling'er patted her back gently, her palm against her back.
After coughing, Yun Shuyue sniffed loudly, raised her head, her eyes were red like a rabbit's, and there were two tear streaks on her face, but she suddenly stood up.
The low stool legs scraped against the bluestone floor tiles with a short, sharp sound.
She slapped the table.
"Starting today."
Her voice still trembled with tears, yet she spoke with remarkable clarity, each word distinct and deliberate.
"My life belongs to the prince, and I'll fight you all for that one vow: 'Under the whole world, I'll fight you!'"
The main hall fell silent for a moment.
Su Yao finally stopped using the abacus, looked up, and stared at her.
"The Prince's residence doesn't accept freeloaders."
Yun Shuyue rolled up her sleeves.
"I know kung fu, tracking, eavesdropping, scaling walls, climbing trees, and swimming."
She finished counting in one breath, then raised her chin, "I know better than anyone which alley in Yi Prefecture leads to which place, who's behind which shop, and which official took whose money."
Su Yao moved one of the abacus beads.
"Anything else?"
"And..." Yun Shuyue paused, "And I can endure hardship, I'm not afraid of death, and I can run faster than a horse."
Su Yao put down the abacus, straightened her sleeves, and stood up.
"Alright," she said. "The Prince's Mansion welcomes you."
Yun Shuyue nodded, nodding vigorously.
Her eyes were still red, her nose was red, and a few strands of her hair were messy and stuck to the side of her face, but she looked like she was about to get to work immediately, and her foot had already taken half a step toward the door.
Shen Ling'er reached out and stopped her.
"Finish your medicinal diet first."
Yun Shuyue glanced down at the bowl, picked it up and gulped it down, then shoved the bowl into Shen Ling'er's hands and cupped her hands in greeting.
Shen Ling'er took the bowl, looked her up and down, then looked her up and down again, her mind racing with another set of thoughts.
This girl is skilled in martial arts, kind-hearted, and has been based in Yi Prefecture for many years. She knows more about things than even the secret agents of the Flower-Between Pavilion.
More importantly, her father Yun Zhengze, is the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. If they truly work together in the future, there will be many ways to utilize him.
Most importantly, this girl is all alone and has no ties. If she can truly stay, she will surely be able to help her investigate her parents' wrongful conviction in the future.
Shen Ling'er smiled and raised her hand to stop Yun Shuyue from leaving.
"Wait a minute, little sister."
The Yun Shuyue turned back.
Shen Ling'er handed the medicine bowl to Xie Wanqing, turned around and went into the inner room. A moment later, she brought out a stack of clothes and placed them in front of Yun Shuyue.
The top garment was a light red, fitted, high-waisted dress made of fine Shu brocade satin, with delicate auspicious cloud patterns embroidered at the waist and a light-colored piping around the hem. The workmanship was extremely exquisite.
Below that are two more jackets in the same color scheme, one moon white and the other light apricot, along with matching belts and wristbands, all brand new.
Yun Shuyue stood there, stunned.
"This..."
"From now on, we're all family," Shen Ling'er said casually, handing the clothes to her. "You can't keep dressing like a peasant."
"You can wear men's clothes when you go out, but at home, a girl should still act like a girl."
Yun Shuyue held the stack of clothes, looked down at the light red dress, and didn't know what to say for a moment.
From childhood to adulthood, she wore either the lifeless formal attire of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's residence or the coarse cloth shorts she had to make do with in Black Wind Stronghold.
She hadn't worn a dress of that color since her mother died.
It was a bright, watery red, the kind of color only a living person would wear.