A Noble Person (Continued)

"Greetings, Princess Zhenning."

Xichun frowned and was about to scold him for his rudeness, but Zhao Huiluan raised a finger to stop her.

"What is that?"

Zhao Huiluan reached for the box of pills in his hand.

Daoist Xuanyi withdrew his hand and took a step back. "Your Highness, these pills are an offering to His Majesty."

Zhao Huiluan looked at his gaunt, rugged face, fell silent for a moment, then waved him inside.

Daoist Xuanyi passed her and went straight into Tianji Hall.

"Your Highness, he..."

Zhao Huiluan raised a finger again, cutting Xichun off. "Don't speak. I need to think."

She did not enter Tianji Hall, but walked slowly along the palace path.

When she had glimpsed his figure from afar just now, he had seemed vaguely familiar. After approaching and taking a closer look, she had suddenly remembered that she had met this Daoist in her previous life.

At the time, she had sneaked into Tianji Hall to surprise her imperial father, only to see another figure behind the yellow gauze. She had quietly hidden to one side.

"Your Majesty, these are today's pills."

"After taking your pills, I do indeed feel refreshed and clearheaded. They work better than Minister Tao's."

Burning with curiosity, Zhao Huiluan had quietly pulled apart a corner of the yellow gauze and seen the Daoist kneeling before her imperial father, both hands raised above his head. Her imperial father had leaned forward, taken a red pill from the Daoist's hands, and put it in his mouth. The Daoist had hurriedly offered him a cup of clear tea with both hands.

Later, from her imperial father's conversation with the Daoist, she had learned that the pills were refined from the menstrual blood of virgin girls.

She had been so disgusted that she had not eaten properly for more than half a month.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Xichun suddenly saw that Zhao Huiluan had gone deathly pale, sweat pouring from her forehead, and was swaying on her feet. She hurried to support her, but Zhao Huiluan pushed her away and ran to the edge of Taiye Lake, where she clutched a willow trunk and retched again and again.

Xichun was terrified and anxiously wanted to summon an imperial physician.

"No need. I'm fine."

"But Your Highness..."

"I just thought of something revolting and couldn't help myself."

"Let's go back to Jade Balance Palace first. We'll come back later..."

She suddenly found even the words "Tianji Hall" revolting.

Back at Jade Balance Palace, Xichun helped her rinse her mouth and change her clothes, then lit some storax incense to calm her mind.

Zhao Huiluan lay on her side on the couch, color gradually returning to her face.

Xichun stood beside her, quietly fanning her. Seeing Nianxia and the other two peeking in at the doorway, she signaled for them to be quiet, then waved a hand to show that Her Highness was fine.

Zhao Huiluan suddenly sat bolt upright.

Xichun jumped in fright.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Zhao Huiluan said urgently, "Xichun, come with me to Tianji Hall!"

"Nianxia, Lianqiu, quickly pack my things. I'm returning to the Imperial College at once."

"Fudong, hurry and tell Brother Yanli to come and pick me up."

In her previous life, she had only felt disgust and had not dared to think too deeply about it.

But as she lay on the couch just now, doubts had sprung up one after another.

The most important question was: where did the virgin girls' menstrual blood used to refine the pills come from?

Though there were many women in the inner palace, and many palace maids were virgins, there were too many eyes and ears there for such a secret matter to be carried out.

That left only one possibility—the virgin girls' menstrual blood came from outside the palace.

Zhao Huiluan suddenly connected this question to the case of the missing girls. No wonder the Wen Faction had shown no reaction at all, even though Rong An and the others had already traced their investigation to officials at court!

It was because they were not afraid at all! They had an even more formidable figure backing them.

Under cover of seeking virgin girls' menstrual blood, they engaged in trafficking, collusion, and bribery.

With backing, they feared nothing!

After taking her leave of the Yongzhao Emperor, Zhao Huiluan sat in the carriage bound for the Imperial College, her face still grim. She kept urging Zhang Yunchi to go faster. Zhang Yunchi did not know what had happened, but he knew she was anxious, so he drove the carriage at breakneck speed.

As soon as they reached the Gate of Assembled Worthies, Zhao Huiluan leaped out of the carriage and ran all the way to the Hall of Exalted Literature. She peered inside, and when she did not see Rong An, she went around the hall and headed straight for the Hall of Reverent Unity to the north.

"Rong An!"

Rong An had just come out of the west wing, and Zhao Huiluan nearly ran headlong into his arms.

"Your Highness?"

Zhao Huiluan looked around and saw no one, then pushed Rong An into the room and shut the door behind her.

She drank the tea Rong An handed her and said, "You can't investigate any further."

"What?"

"The case."

Rong An frowned, baffled. He and his two colleagues had struggled to get this far in the investigation. How could they simply stop?

"Miss Shen told me that behind this case is a noble person who needs..."

He paused, looking at the young girl before him, and swallowed the words "virgin girls' menstrual blood."

"A noble person who needs women's blood to treat an illness. As long as we find out who that person is..."

Zhao Huiluan rose on tiptoe and covered his lips with her hand, shaking her head to signal that he must not say it.

Rong An's eyes filled with even greater bewilderment.

"Rong An, you can't investigate this case any further. If you do, nothing will happen to the Wen Faction. The ones who will suffer will be you and all the innocent women caught up in this case."

Hearing this, Rong An knitted his brows in thought.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered with shock, and he looked back at Zhao Huiluan in disbelief.

Knowing he had worked it out, Zhao Huiluan withdrew her hand, slumped into a chair, and let out a heavy sigh.

Rong An came back to his senses and looked down at the dejected young girl in the chair. He clenched his fists, suppressing the urge rising in his heart to rub her head and comfort her.

Her days studying at the Imperial College began again. Day after day, they were dull and flavorless.

But Wen Yan and his sister and the two Shen girls were nowhere to be seen.

Shen Zhiyao was recuperating at the Shen residence, while Shen Zhiyun stayed home to care for her.

As for Wen Yan, word was that he had gone on a hunger strike to make his resolve clear: he would marry no one but Shen Zhiyao.

For once, Wen Hong hardened his heart and ignored him. He thought that once Wen Yan got hungry enough, he would eat. Who could have known that Wen Yan was serious? Wen Nihe ran to Wen Hong in tears and begged him, saying that even if he had to deceive her brother by agreeing for the time being, they had to get him to eat first.

But Wen Yan could no longer keep anything down.