Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

Xiao Qingyin definitely needs to be more cautious. Having lived a lifetime, Xiao Fengyi understands the reasons very well, but she doesn't know why Xuan Hua would say such a thing.

She closed the "Spiritual Essence Essentials" and solemnly asked, "Why exactly was Xiao Qingyin beaten?"

"Second Miss, she... has wicked intentions."

Xuan Hua told Xiao Fengyi about Xiao Qingyin's instigation of Shen Shi and Xiao Qishan to demand the Empress's Phoenix Crown of Yongguo, and that it was because the Old Madam found out about this that the Second Miss was punished with caning.

"So that's how it is? This Xiao Qingyin really is a troublemaker. She deserved to be beaten!" After listening to her story, Xiao Fengyi pursed her rose-like lips, adding a touch of warmth to the rising white smoke.

She stood up and walked to the other woman's side, carefully examining the maid before asking earnestly, "Did that Green Book hit you? Are you alright?"

Touched by the young lady's concern, Xuan Hua quickly shook her head, "Xuan Hua is fine. When Lü Shu was being bossy, I didn't pay any attention to her. Just as she was about to hit me, the old lady's maid appeared and locked her in the woodshed."

This close call brought Xiao Fengyi some relief.

"It's good that Green Book didn't get any advantage from you." After she finished speaking, she felt that Xuan Hua must be feeling a bit down after encountering such an unlucky event, and needed to rest for a while.

"Xuanhua, go back to sleep. You don't need to stay with me."

Xuan Hua, holding the medicine bowl, bowed and said, "Yes, Miss, I'll go back now. Would you like Zi Hua to come and serve me?"

Xiao Fengyi sat back in her armchair, reopened the "Spiritual Essence Essentials," and read it carefully. "No need. She's quite tired too. You two should rest. I can manage on my own."

Seeing the young lady engrossed in her reading, Xuan Hua didn't want to disturb her and slowly left the orange-lit study.

Inside the doorway, Xuan Hua, walking with her head down beneath the plaque, seemed preoccupied, a trace of sorrow beginning to creep onto her forehead.

After thinking it over, Xuan Hua turned around, took small steps to the table, and spoke her thoughts to Xiao Fengyi, who was reading with her eyes down.

"Miss, those master and servant will definitely not let this go. They will surely find a chance to come to Qingya Courtyard and cause us trouble!"

Xiao Fengyi looked up in confusion and asked gently, "Then who will come to Qingya Courtyard to cause trouble? Xuanhua, take your time and tell me, there's no rush."

The words "Don't worry" did indeed soothe Xuan Hua's anxious heart, making her fingers, which were gripping the medicine bowl, relax considerably.

She swallowed hard and told Xiao Fengyi about her worries.

"The Second Miss was beaten by the Old Madam, and Green Book was locked in the woodshed by the Old Madam's maid. The Second Miss's beating is related to your betrothal gifts, and Green Book's locking up is related to me. I'm afraid that... what if the Second Miss holds a grudge and, like last time when she wrongly accused Zi Hua of stealing a handkerchief, breaks into Qingya Courtyard to cause trouble?"

It's really not Xuan Hua's fault for being suspicious; Xiao Qingyin's specialty is making trouble and arguing, and discarding the handkerchief is the best proof of that.

Xiao Qingyin lost the handkerchief, but she tried to frame Zi Hua for it.

Fortunately, the eldest young lady was quick-witted and took the initiative, using a handkerchief to expose the relationship between the second young lady and the seventh prince in public. Otherwise, who knows if they would have gotten entangled with them again.

After hearing Xuan Hua's words, Xiao Fengyi's expression froze. "Xuan Hua, your analysis is correct. She will definitely come to cause trouble, but we shouldn't be afraid. You should go back and rest first. I will arrange the rest."

After Xuan Hua left the study, Xiao Fengyi had no intention of continuing to study the "Ling Su Yao Shu". Instead, she waited for Ye Si to return from the Zhao Wang Mansion to report, and asked Ye Si to send a few spies back to guard Qingya Garden to prevent Xiao Qingyin and Feng Mingjing from launching a sneak attack.

As she waited, Xiao Fengyi still didn't see Ye Si. Instead, she fell asleep crookedly by the table.

As night deepened, she slept soundly in Qingya Courtyard, while Xiao Qingyin's Fuyin Courtyard was brightly lit. The physician instructed the maids to stop the bleeding and reduce inflammation while gazing towards the kitchen.

He said to Madam Shen, "Why hasn't Green Book returned yet? I'm waiting for her to prepare the medicine to bring down the Second Miss's fever."

Xiao Qingyin's entire back was ripped open, bloody and mangled, with not a single patch of intact skin. The wounds became inflamed, causing her to develop a high fever. From daytime treatment until midnight, her high fever persisted, causing great anxiety to the family physician, Madam Shen, and Xiao Qishan.

The physician observed her for a long time and finally diagnosed her condition and prescribed a topical ointment for treating the wound. He also gave her a prescription for reducing fever and asked Lvshu to decoct the medicine, saying that taking one dose would reduce the fever.

This medicine requires a large fire, and the small stove in Fuyin Courtyard is not enough to decoct it. So the prefectural physician asked Lüshu to take the prepared medicine to the kitchen to decoct it and then bring it back.

It's been two hours, and Green Book still hasn't returned.

The physician kept asking at the bedside if the medicine had arrived, forcing Madam Shen, who was accompanying Xiao Qingyin by the bedside, to open the door to inquire.

"Green Book, is it back?"

Several maids, including Qian Shu, sat in the garden of Fuyin Courtyard, pounding medicine for the Second Miss as instructed by the family physician to use for wiping her body.

They were all so busy that they didn't notice when Green Book went out, and of course, they didn't know when she would return.

All of them shook their heads and said, "Madam, we didn't see the Green Book!"

Madam Shen immediately assigned Qian Shu a task: "Qian Shu, stop pounding the medicine for now, go to the kitchen and look for Lv Shu, see why she hasn't come back."

Qian Shu put down the pestle and ran out of Fuyin Courtyard.

Watching Qian Shu's departing figure, Madam Shen kept muttering, "Wouldn't that little hussy, Lü Shu, try to slack off at a time like this?"

In Shen's memory, Lüshu was her daughter's most loyal and diligent maid, which is why her daughter liked her so much.

She knew this was her mistress's life-saving medicine; surely she wouldn't deliberately delay. Why hasn't she returned for so long? Could it be... that something happened and she was held up?

The more Shen thought about it, the more frightened she became. Her pampered hands kept clutching her handkerchief as she gazed in the direction where the smoke from the chimneys was rising.

There was still smoke in the kitchen at this time, so it must be Green Book brewing medicine for Qingyin, right?

His inner anxiety overshadowed his unexpected concern for Xiao Qingyin and his resentment towards the old lady.

"Old woman, it's all your fault. You beat my son under some pretext for a phoenix crown. It must be because of the poisoning of the pine nut cake last time. You're just seeking revenge, but you make it sound so noble that it's for the Duke of Xiao's mansion."

Shen kept criticizing her mother-in-law, and this resentment gradually overshadowed her concern for her daughter.

She was determined to find an opportunity to get revenge on Liu and reclaim all the grievances she had suffered.

"lady!"

Just then, Qian Shu, whom she had sent out to find the Green Book, returned.

In the darkness, the graceful and delicate Qian Shu returned alone, just as she had when she left.

Neither the green book nor the medicine bowl that Shen wanted to see returned to Qingya Courtyard.