Spring arrives and the land smiles

Qingyan slept for a full ten hours, and woke up just as the sun was rising.

Her body was covered in self-inflicted injuries from when she couldn't bear it anymore, and the pain was still clear. Qingyan moved her stiff body and found herself sleeping naked in Lan Zhen's arms wrapped in a blanket. She immediately shuddered.

"You're awake." Lan Zhen's eyes were clear and her smile was beautiful; it seemed she had been awake for quite some time.

"Your Highness Prince Zhao." Qingyan subconsciously pulled the blanket tighter, and only when she found Lan Zhen fully clothed did she relax her guard.

"She's definitely cuter when she's asleep," Lan Zhen thought with a bitter smile. "It's really heartbreaking that she's so wary and distant as soon as she wakes up."

Lan Zhen sighed helplessly, "I'll go out first."

Despite her disheveled appearance, Lan Zhen didn't try to tease her. Qing Yan was a little taken aback by Lan Zhen's behavior today.

Before Qingyan could figure out what was going on, Lan Zhen had already gone out and called Zhui'er in to serve her.

"Princess—" Zhui'er threw herself in front of Qingyan, "Princess, you're finally awake! You were screaming so pitifully in your room, and they wouldn't let me in. Were they bullying you?"

Zhui'er cried her heart out, filled with righteous indignation. Clearly, neither Luo Qing nor Lan Zhen had told her the truth. This was for the best. The original purpose of sending Yun Xuan away was to keep it from him and prevent him from clashing with Lan Zhen. Now that Zhui'er was unaware, there was one less informant. Otherwise, this little girl would have told everything after being scared by Yun Xuan.

Qingyan patted her hand and comforted her, "It's alright. Young Master Luo was treating my illness, and it hurt a bit when he was giving me acupuncture. You know I'm most afraid of pain."

“But they…” Zhui’er saw that Qingyan was completely naked, hesitated, and quickly dressed her.

Qingyan smiled and continued to deceive her: "You can't wear clothes when performing acupuncture. Don't worry, they are all gentlemen."

Zhuier wiped away her tears and nodded: "Princess, I'll go get you something to eat."

"Ah."

After eating some congee and side dishes, Qingyan felt her strength had recovered somewhat. When Luo Qing came to take her pulse, she no longer frowned deeply.

"How is it?" Lan Zhen asked with concern.

Qingyan also asked with her eyes.

“It’s all right now, but the princess will have difficulty conceiving for the next three years,” Luo Qing said, handing Qing Yan a porcelain-white medicine bottle. “This is Guanyin Pill. Taking it for a hundred days will increase the chances of conception. If I remember correctly, the princess is eighteen years old.”

Wow, Luo Qing, the first disciple of the Immortal Physician, is really dedicated; he even thought of this.

Everyone was concerned about her having a baby, and Qingyan smiled awkwardly: "She's only seventeen at first, no rush."

But the thought of Qingyan having a child for Ningyuan, the concubine she had been longing for, made Lan Zhen's heart ache. Hearing her say there was no rush, she couldn't help but tease her a few times.

"Xiao Yan'er is really kind-hearted. A girl from an ordinary family would already be a mother at this age. Don't let Luo Qing's good intentions go to waste."

"None of your business," Qingyan thought to herself, rolling her eyes at him. "You don't need to worry about it."

As the two of them went along with this, Qingyan, though saying the same thing, had no choice but to accept Luo Qing's medicine bottle: "Thank you, Young Master Luo."

If Lan Zhen doesn't criticize him for a day, he'll start tearing the roof off.

Lan Zhen wasn't angry. He remained as dashing as ever, but the gloom in his heart vanished: this was the way for the two of them to get along harmoniously.

“The princess’s body has been severely damaged by the detoxification and marrow cleansing. I will go and prepare a few more doses of medicine for her to help her recover,” Luo Qing said.

"Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Luo." Qingyan bowed.

Luo Qing nodded in response and took her leave.

Qingyan sent Zhuier to get the medicine with Luoqing, leaving only her and Lanzhen in the room.

"What do you want to ask?" Lan Zhen blinked and asked her, having dismissed her personal maid, she must have something to say.

"Young Master Luo, you deliberately sent him here, didn't you? The magistrate of Sui County, the gifts from the Ghost Doctor, were all arranged by you, weren't they?" Qingyan said bluntly.

"You guessed right, I asked Luo Qing to come and detoxify you. But as for the gifts, I really didn't know anything about them. As for you being poisoned by the Ghost Doctor's Love Potion, that has nothing to do with me either." Lan Zhen didn't hide anything.

"So you're willing to come with me from Yushan back to Nanxia, ​​also so that you'll have a chance to detoxify me along the way?"

“I don’t trust anyone else but Luo Qing, so naturally I have to do it myself.” Lan Zhen smiled nonchalantly.

"Aren't you afraid of your true energy going reversed and you becoming possessed by demons?" Qingyan remembered that when Luo Qing explained the treatment plan to her in detail, he mentioned the dangers suffered by the person who used their true energy to protect her heart meridian.

"It doesn't matter," Lan Zhen said dismissively, still waving her folding fan with her usual alluring charm. "If I were to go mad with demonic possession, I would drag you down with me, and the two of us would become a demon king and demon queen."

"Can't you be serious for once?" It was always the same tone, making Qingyan feel embarrassed.

“Little Yan’er, where am I being improper?” Lan Zhen smiled seductively. “When I was removing the poison, you climbed all over me without any clothes on, but I remained unmoved. I am a proper gentleman.”

Try messing things up, and I'll cut your hair.

Lan Zhen's charm and elegance truly came from his very bones; he could express himself so freely at any time, and Qing Yan couldn't help but admire him.

Although her consciousness was sometimes blurred and sometimes clear during the detoxification process, Qingyan still remembered the general scene. The two of them were so honest with each other, and just thinking about it made her blood rush to her face.

However, thanks to his help, the poison removal was successfully completed. Qingyan bowed to him and said, "Your Highness, thank you."

"Little Yan'er, if you call me Brother Zhen, I'll accept this thank you." Lan Zhen squinted his eyes slightly, a smile playing on his lips.

We really can't be too polite to him.

After a pause, seemingly still unanswered some serious questions, Qingyan continued:

"The fake pregnancy pills are so potent and have such serious consequences. Did you know that beforehand?" If Lan Zhen knew the consequences and still gave her the pills, no matter the reason, Qingyan felt that perhaps she should re-evaluate this person.

Offspring are of paramount importance to everyone, at all times, and especially so in this era. To cause someone to be childless is an act of utter destruction, which is either a sign of deep hatred or a malicious nature.

"Do you really think I'm that bad?" This question made Lan Zhen feel very uncomfortable. "It was my carelessness that led me to be deceived by the Ghost Doctor. The Ghost Doctor said that the side effect of this medicine would only be that your period would be painful for a few more days for a few months after the effects of the medicine wore off. I mentioned this to Luo Qing, hoping to ask him for some medicine to reduce your suffering, since I was the one who started it. I didn't expect the consequences of this fake pregnancy drug to be so serious, so I asked Luo Qing to help you detoxify."

Lan Zhen said this, and Qing Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Luo Qing had already clarified things for Lan Zhen, Qing Yan could only feel at ease after hearing Lan Zhen's answer in person. After all, these were extraordinary times, and if Lan Zhen were a malicious person who would stab her in the back at a crucial moment, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Although I helped you detoxify, you don't need to thank me. Consider it my way of apologizing to you." Lan Zhen stood up dejectedly and was about to leave.

"Hey, you..." Qingyan grabbed him, her hand landing on Lan Zhen's wound. Lan Zhen instinctively protected his arm in pain.

Qingyan was slightly taken aback, then took his arm and rolled up his sleeve to examine him:

Two rows of neat and deep teeth marks, though the wounds were beginning to heal, still looked so gruesome as if a piece of flesh was about to fall off.

"I...bite it?" Qingyan's lips twitched.

"Biten by a dog." Lan Zhen shook off Qing Yan's hand and walked out.

"Um..." Qingyan was embarrassed. "Brother Zhen, thank you."

Lan Zhen stood at the door without turning around, a smug smile on his lips, his words and expression utterly provocative.

"I accepted it."

Hmph, you're getting the benefit and then acting innocent, so pretentious.

After Lan Zhen left, Zhui'er came in with the medicine.

"Put it down for now," Qingyan waved her hand.

“Princess, Young Master Luo said this medicine should be drunk while it’s hot,” Zhui’er said with concern.

Sighing inwardly, Qingyan swallowed the medicine.

Zhui'er handed Qingyan a handkerchief to wipe the remaining medicine from the corner of her mouth: "Princess, Sicheng is back."

"When did you get back?" Qingyan immediately asked seriously.

“Last night at three-quarters past midnight.”

"Let him in quickly." Si Cheng must have brought a lot of news about Qiu Rong from Suizhou, and Qingyan couldn't wait any longer.

"Princess," Si Cheng greeted.

"No need, no need. Quickly tell me about the situation in Suizhou. Has Qiu Rong made any moves?" Qingyan asked urgently.

"The ten craftsmen sent by Qiu Rong do indeed know the art of tempering blades, and they have taught the techniques to the craftsmen in my camp without reservation. However, once our craftsmen leave their guidance, the sabers they make cannot compare with them. I have observed them carefully many times and discovered that when they use the clay tempering method, they secretly add a red powder to the clay they use in a certain proportion. This is the key to tempering the blade."

Si Cheng paused for a moment and then said, "I brought the soil to Shen Ye so that he could study it carefully. Shen Ye is indeed a genius in metallurgy. He already knows that the red powder is rust iron powder. Now the sabers made by my craftsmen can completely rival Qiu Rong's."

Upon hearing this, Qingyan slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "That's wonderful! Did you bring any samples?"

Si Cheng took a short knife from his waist and handed it to Qing Yan: "This was made by Shen Ye himself."

Qingyan examined the short knife closely. The blade gleamed coldly, and the blade was incredibly tough. The edge, obtained through this localized quenching method, had increased both hardness and volume. Despite the high hardness of the blade, it still maintained excellent toughness.

"It is indeed a good knife!"

Qingyan was genuinely delighted, and then asked, "What happened to the ten craftsmen who came afterward?"

"As the princess predicted, these ten people indeed came with ill intentions. Because the sword-tempering technique cannot be done without them, they deliberately delayed the process, only managing to forge a few dozen weapons a day. I have intercepted all the messages they sent out. These ten people are now under strict surveillance and can only work in the sword-making workshop. To avoid arousing Qiu Rong's suspicion, I have sent people to deliver false messages to Qiu Rong regularly under the guise of craftsmen."

"Well done!" Qingyan praised.

Just as she was feeling happy, Zhui'er came to see her outside the door.

"Princess, Cheng Liang has arrived."

"Send it quickly," Qingyan ordered.

Cheng Liang greeted her politely and, without saying much, presented her with a letter, which Qing Yan immediately opened and read.

Ning Yuan's handwriting was powerful and penetrating: Autumn is over, all is well.

All right? Just a few days ago they were at each other's throats, but now everything's fine. Even when lying, they can't come up with a clever idea.

Qingyan clutched the letter in her hand, pondering how she could find out the truth.

Cheng Liang, who was standing in front of him, was indeed an insider. However, Cheng Liang was Ning Yuan's personal bodyguard. Even if he were skinned alive, he probably wouldn't reveal a single word of military intelligence without Ning Yuan's permission. Therefore, if force didn't work, they could only try to trick him.

"Cheng Liang, besides this, does General Ning have any other message for me?" Qing Yan raised the letter, feigning sadness, and then held a handkerchief in her hand as if to wipe away tears.

Cheng Liang hadn't read the letter and didn't know what was going on, so he just blankly answered truthfully, "No."

"Doesn't he have anything to say to me?" Qingyan asked excitedly, slamming the letter on the table.

Cheng Liang shook his head, looking completely bewildered.

"Ugh... You haven't given me any explanation! How am I supposed to live my life from now on?!"

Qingyan suddenly started to sob. She glanced at Cheng Liang and found him looking even more bewildered.

There is a play!

Qingyan continued to lie to him: "Ningyuan promised me he would be fine, how could he go back on his word! He didn't even give me an explanation, waaaah..."