A piece of Japanese incense

I wanted to explore the secrets of this secret room more deeply and planned to search around again. However, at this moment, Yuyi and Yutuan rushed in and closed the door tightly.

Yuyi covered her mouth with her hands and said nervously, "Girl, something bad is happening! Someone is approaching this way!"

I followed her gaze towards the door and saw Yutuan leaning against the door in panic, looking at me anxiously.

"Miss, how should we deal with this next?"

My mind was instantly in chaos and I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but the hurried footsteps, as powerful and rhythmic as a heartbeat, were getting closer and closer.

"You can't leave now, you guys hide inside first."

I closed the stone wall and my heartbeat quickened.

Listening to the footsteps getting closer, I became more and more nervous, while Yutuan and Yuyi moved the table in front of the stone wall, trying to block it from opening.

However, the stone wall opened as expected.

"Banban!" The visitor was blocked outside the stone wall by the table.

"Manager Wang?"

Wang Qin's eyes flashed with worry, and his fingers unconsciously grasped the edge of the table.

I immediately pointed the hairpin in my hand at Ah Ban's neck and warned him sternly, "Don't come over here!"

Yutuan Yuyi stood in front of me, knees slightly bent, body slightly leaning forward, holding a candlestick and a hairpin in each hand, pointing them at Wang Qin, looking at him vigilantly.

"A tiger father has a dog daughter. Miss Zhi is really smart. You actually found this place."

"Do you know my father?" The hand holding the hairpin was sweating.

"Why, when your father sent you here, he didn't even mention an insignificant person like me?" He pushed away the table that was blocking his way fearlessly and took two steps forward.

"Don't come over here!" I shrank back in fear and looked at Aban nervously, and the hairpin stretched towards his neck again.

"Miss Zhi, if you don't want His Majesty to know that you are pretending to be sick, you should put down the hairpin in your hand."

"It's you!"

"You are the one who delivered the letter to our girl!"

"You didn't listen to my kind advice. Do you think that you three girls are enough to..."

"Don't move! Don't move forward!" I grabbed Ah Ban's neck with one hand and stabbed the hairpin into his skin with the other hand.

Wang Qin's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

"Aban's father turned out to be you." I looked at Aban with lingering fear, "Why do Aban and the Crown Prince look so similar? His pulse is exactly the same as Princess Tingzhu's. Could it be that he is the long-lost grandson of the royal family? What is your plan in hiding him in this underground secret room?"

His face suddenly turned red all the way to his neck, but then he quickly recovered, his face was stern, and his eyes were full of severity.

He laughed awkwardly a few times and said slowly, "Life is like a dream, and one cannot be sure of the next day. Even the nobles cannot avoid worrying about their lives. Yin alone cannot live, and Yang alone cannot grow. False and true, real and fake, why bother asking Miss Zhi about it?"

(What did he mean by that?)

Suddenly, I felt like the pause button was pressed. I was stunned and confused.

"Ahem." Yu Tuan cleared his throat.

I came back to my senses, sat up straight, and looked at Wang Qin with a firm gaze: "Manager Wang, I don't care what Aban's identity is. I have taken his pulse and know that he suffers from a heart disease. I can cure this disease."

He stared at me, his pupils full of confusion, as if he was guessing the truthfulness of my words, which made me feel a little uneasy.

I forced a smile and continued, "I see that your concern for Ah Ban is not fake. We came to Suiyuan unexpectedly and have no intention of disturbing your life. Since we know each other's secrets, why do we have to fight each other? Why not join hands and cooperate with each other?"

"Oh?"

"We have important matters to attend to, and now we are trapped in the Green Water Pavilion, and we are also looking for a way to escape. Since we have discovered the secret passage, I can treat A-pan every day and go out quietly. What do you think?"

He stared at Aban with wide eyes, his facial muscles twitching slightly, and it was obvious that he was thinking intensely in his heart.

"I have also treated the princess for this disease."

His eyes lit up instantly.

I continued tentatively, "The disease is gradually disappearing. Although it has not been cured, the princess is indeed much more energetic."

He opened his lips to speak, and after some hesitation, his eyes moved anxiously across everyone's faces. Finally, his gaze fell on A-Ban, and he said solemnly, "Okay, based on the fate between me and your father, we will make a contract!"

I let out a long breath, my shoulders relaxed, and the hand holding the hairpin slowly dropped.

Yu Tuan hurried forward to support me. Although Yu Yi no longer pointed the candlestick at Wang Qin, she still stood straight beside him.

Aban is still in a coma. This secret room is located deep in the tunnel. It should be difficult for Bugui to reach here. Why has he been in a coma for so long?

I felt his pulse again and found that it was weak and his qi and blood were deficient.

"Manager Wang, does A-Ban have any other illnesses?"

"Yes...it's behind him..."

I felt quite embarrassed and explained apologetically, "I'm really sorry. He entered the Bishui Pavilion by mistake before, and we mistook him for a frivolous person, so... maybe we beat him hard..."

"Don't blame Miss Zhi. My son... My son has suffered from a hidden illness since he was young. He told me that he smelled the fragrance in the girl's room, so he..."

"This room is airtight and stinks. No wonder he came all the way to our room to smell the fragrance." Yu Tuan muttered softly.

Wang Qin ignored her and clasped his hands together and said, "If the young lady can treat the child, I, Wang Qin..."

I quickly stood up to stop him: "What are you doing!"

"My child has a hidden illness that has not been cured for many years. If you don't mind, Miss Zhi, could you please take a look at his back? You will know the answer immediately."

"Of course I don't mind. A doctor is kindhearted. Although my medical skills are not as good as my grandfather's, I have learned them since I was a child. Please rest assured. I will take a look at him first."

I agreed confidently and cut the gauze layer by layer with scissors in hand.

When the last layer of gauze was cut open, Ah Ban's back was finally revealed. The bloody skin was stuck to the gauze and could not be easily separated. It was like a twisted earthworm, winding and tortuous, with varying depths. The edges of the scars were uneven, and the skin and flesh were even turned over in some places.

My expression went from confusion to horror. I couldn't look directly at this heartbreaking sight. How much pain and torture must one have endured to leave such shocking marks?

"How long has he been like this?" I asked.

"It's been eleven years... No matter how time passes, his back remains stubbornly rigid, with no signs of healing..."

"Eleven years?... That's not, from birth..."

Wang Qin nodded and held Aban's right hand.