Yingzi stood before Imperial Physician Gu, with Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian flanking the bed on either side, arms crossed, leaning against the frame—however one looked at it, their posture screamed confrontation!
Imperial Physician Gu eyed them warily, thinking to himself—if they were determined to expose the truth, determined to give him trouble, then so be it. Better that than sitting here in dread, trying to guess at their intentions.
But to his surprise, Yingzi simply said, “Imperial Physician Gu, Bai Mengmeng.”
At these words, Imperial Physician Gu’s heart didn’t just skip a beat—it was far worse than that!
They… they were actually looking for Bai Mengmeng!
So it was true! Situ Haonan knew the entire truth!
Yes—Situ Haonan naturally knew everything. Not only did he know, but he intended to spell it out clearly for Imperial Physician Gu!
“Imperial Physician Gu, Bai Mengmeng is the true culprit who tried to assassinate the prince—we can’t simply let her go so easily. Xijing’s Imperial Physicians’ Bureau said that when Prince Yao was sent back to the capital, Bai Mengmeng was sent along too. She should have been taken in by our own Imperial Physicians’ Bureau—where is she now?”
Imperial Physician Gu’s face turned about as bad as it possibly could, staring at Situ Haonan in stunned disbelief.
Situ Haonan knew everything. Situ Haonan was awake. This meant that once Han Ziqing was found and brought back, there would be no room left for any misunderstanding at all!
He’d planned everything out so carefully beforehand—whether Han Ziqing came back or not, he’d had a plan ready for either scenario, even how to deal with Bai Mengmeng, all thought through in advance.
But now, out of nowhere, Situ Haonan had appeared, ruining every single one of his plans!
If Han Ziqing never came back, none of this would matter much. But what if she did come back?
Imperial Physician Gu couldn’t afford to take that risk!
Seeing Imperial Physician Gu frozen in shock, a flash of barely-contained fury crossed Situ Haonan’s eyes, his voice unable to fully mask his anger. “Imperial Physician Gu, where is she?”
Only then did Imperial Physician Gu snap back to himself, crying out in alarm, “What are you saying? Bai Mengmeng, the culprit? How could that be?”
“This young lord saw it with his own eyes—do you think that could possibly be false?” Situ Haonan demanded coldly, the air thick with hostility.
Imperial Physician Gu might not yet qualify as a true old fox, but ginger only grows more pungent with age. He waved his hands hastily. “No, no, no! Master Situ, don’t misunderstand, that’s not what I meant, I just… I just… oh my, how could you possibly expect me to believe Bai Mengmeng is the culprit? Where would she even get the ability to wound Prince Yao? This… this is simply unthinkable! How could this be!”
“Where is she?” Yingzi said flatly, in no mood for further nonsense.
“Her?” Imperial Physician Gu’s face filled with alarm again. “Right! Where is she? Quickly, go ask at the Imperial Physicians’ Bureau—Sha Qiuzi and I have been so consumed with Prince Yao’s condition since returning to the capital, we haven’t had time to think of her at all! Go ask at the Bureau immediately, whatever you do, don’t let her escape!”
If this had happened earlier, perhaps Situ Haonan and the others might have hesitated, unable to tell whether Imperial Physician Gu was putting on an act or being genuine.
They’d always known Imperial Physician Gu held strong opinions against the princess consort, but they’d never have guessed he possessed such deep scheming and calculation—that he would exploit that very misunderstanding to tear Ziqing and Jun Beiyue apart!
But now, things were different!
Imperial Physician Gu had drugged Situ Haonan, meaning to keep him trapped in eternal sleep—why?
Situ Haonan had no quarrel with Imperial Physician Gu whatsoever, and moreover, Situ Haonan was one of Jun Beiyue’s most capable allies!
There could only be one reason: Situ Haonan knew too much, and Imperial Physician Gu wanted him silenced forever.
Facing Imperial Physician Gu’s feigned innocence, Situ Haonan felt utterly disgusted—but without solid proof, he couldn’t expose him outright, or he’d risk being accused of slander himself!
However furious they were, they kept reminding themselves—this was the Da Zhou capital, Jun Beiyue remained unconscious, and all real power currently rested in Prince Baxian’s hands!
Refusing to talk, was he?
Fine. They’d find her themselves!
There was no way Imperial Physician Gu could have hidden her somewhere else entirely!
Everyone knew Jun Beiyue had personally summoned Imperial Physician Gu back from the battlefield to the capital. Though Imperial Physician Gu only held the official rank of court physician, his trust with Jun Beiyue had given him power exceeding even a first-rank official—and now, his influence was confined largely to the capital!
The capital was vast, but finding one person wasn’t truly that difficult.
Damn you, Bai Mengmeng—you’d better be praying to every god you know that we don’t find you!
“Well then… Imperial Physician Gu, you focus on recovering from your injury. We’ll go check the Imperial Physicians’ Bureau ourselves,” Situ Haonan said, deliberately drawing out his words to unsettle Imperial Physician Gu further.
“Yes, go quickly, go quickly, you must find her!” Imperial Physician Gu urged anxiously—though as for that hidden chamber within the Imperial Physicians’ Bureau, he still felt fairly confident.
Once Situ Haonan and the others left, they had no intention of actually going to inquire at the Bureau—naturally, they dispatched shadow guards to search the entire palace, the entire capital.
But there was another matter they needed to discuss carefully as well.
Whether or not to tell Xuanyuan Lige about the Meng Clan.
“I think it’s better not to say anything—this is Prince Yao’s private affair,” Yingzi said flatly. Though he admired Xuanyuan Lige, his loyalties still leaned firmly toward his own master.
Yelu Qianqian pouted, saying nothing, but clearly disagreeing.
Situ Haonan mulled it over for a moment before saying flatly, “Why not just tell him? After all, both matters involve the Meng Clan. I believe Xuanyuan Lige isn’t exactly a gentleman, but he’s certainly no petty villain either—he only wants to find Ziqing, he wouldn’t go so far as to kick Beiyue while he’s down.”
“I agree!” Yelu Qianqian spoke up immediately.
Yingzi looked troubled, but hearing Situ Haonan’s final point, he gritted his teeth and agreed. “Fine. We’ll only mention the Meng Clan—let’s leave out the prince’s actual condition.”
The three of them settled on this plan, hoping only that word would come soon from the Meng Clan’s barrier-masters, and that Prince Baxian would succeed in inviting the Meng Clan’s people over, unraveling the mystery of Prince Yao’s constitution as quickly as possible, so he could finally, finally wake!
Over the following days, aside from visiting Jun Beiyue at Xuanlong Palace, Situ Haonan and the others spent most of their time searching for Bai Mengmeng. Though Imperial Physician Gu was meant to be recovering from his injury, he still made his way to Xuanlong Palace every single day!
Every night, he kept watch alongside Sha Qiuzi, neither daring to sleep—because lately, the frequency of Jun Beiyue’s heart-meridian pulsing had been growing faster and faster!
After the Spring Festival, Da Zhou lay under the lingering chill of early spring, few venturing out at night, the streets and alleys unusually silent. Beyond the city gates, it was even quieter, more desolate still. A father and daughter stood before the long-closed city gates, both gazing up at the towering walls, lost in thought.
This father and daughter were none other than that pair from the Meng Clan who had secretly slipped away, having traveled hard the whole way yet still failing to arrive before the gates closed.
“Papa, should we climb over the wall?” Meng Duo’er asked quite seriously.
“Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?” Old Meng Five shot back. The Da Zhou capital wasn’t somewhere you could just casually climb into.
“Then how about you create a barrier, and we hide out for the night, out of the wind?” Meng Duo’er glanced sideways at him, looking utterly exhausted.
Old Meng Five couldn’t even be bothered to respond to his daughter’s wild idea. Creating a barrier wasn’t nearly so simple—with his own ability, creating even a small barrier would take at least ten days or so. To create a barrier as vast as the Poison Beast World, without exceptional talent, would likely take an entire lifetime.
“Go huddle somewhere else, this is your own fault for walking so slowly.” With that, Old Meng Five headed off toward a sheltered nook nearby—only to discover, upon drawing closer, that a scholarly-looking young man was already huddled there, looking, from the state of him, quite gravely injured!