“Thank you.” Shao Mingyuan took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. His facial expression twisted for a brief moment before quickly returning to normal, and he silently handed the bowl to a nearby personal guard without showing any emotion.

Qiao Zhao reached into her pouch and pulled out a piece of osmanthus candy, placing it in his hand.

Shao Mingyuan was stunned.

“Eating candy will make it less bitter.”

“Uh.” Shao Mingyuan keenly sensed that the young lady before him was not in a good mood. Although he felt it was somewhat embarrassing for a grown man to eat candy in public, he obediently put the osmanthus candy into his mouth.

The sweet taste accompanied by the fragrance of osmanthus spread through his mouth, instantly dispelling the bitter taste of the medicine.

“How childish!” Chi Can was half-dead with anger and glared fiercely at Qiao Zhao.

What kind of physician was this, actually preparing candy for patients?

She had feelings for Shao Mingyuan!

The more Chi Can thought about it, the angrier he became. Unable to do anything to Qiao Zhao, he silently lifted his leg and kicked Shao Mingyuan.

Shao Mingyuan, with osmanthus candy in his mouth: “…”

He silently swallowed the osmanthus candy, looked up at the sky, and said seriously: “Well, it’s already this time—”

“I need to brew another dose of medicine.” Qiao Zhao blocked what Shao Mingyuan was about to say.

It was still early, and when Shao Mingyuan said this, he was trying to dismiss her.

How could she possibly leave at a time like this?

The sweet sensation seemed to still linger in his mouth. Shao Mingyuan silently thought: This must be what they mean by being beholden to someone after eating their food.

“Then I’ll trouble Miss Li.”

“I’ll go prepare the medicine. General Shao and Big Brother Chi can chat slowly.”

Afterward, Qiao Zhao tended to the small stove brewing medicine while pricking up her ears to listen to Shao Mingyuan and Chi Can’s conversation.

Unfortunately, Shao Mingyuan didn’t elaborate on the case of the Qiao family fire, instead turning to ask about Chi Can’s purpose for coming.

Chi Can said: “I estimated that His Majesty would summon Young Master Qiao today, so I came to give you a heads up.”

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but grip the fan handle tightly.

His Majesty would summon Big Brother?

She couldn’t help but look toward Shao Mingyuan.

“Mm.” Shao Mingyuan turned his head, waiting for Chi Can to continue.

When mentioning the current emperor, Chi Can’s tone lacked much reverence, instead carrying an indescribable feeling: “My imperial uncle, well, Tingquan, you’ve been away from the capital for so long you might not know, how should I put it… He’s somewhat different from ordinary people. He dislikes anything that’s not pleasing to look at. So if Young Master Qiao does enter the palace for an audience, it would be best to cover up the disfigured half of his face.”

“Understood.” Shao Mingyuan thought for a moment and instructed his guard, “Go fetch that silver mask.”

The personal guard received the order and left. Soon after, he returned carrying a mask respectfully presented to Shao Mingyuan.

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but look over.

It was a silver mask as thin as a cicada’s wing, with exquisite craftsmanship.

Shao Mingyuan reached out to receive it, holding it in his hand and stroking it as he instructed: “Go invite Young Master Qiao over.”

Before long, Qiao Mo approached, having already regained his calm and composed demeanor.

“Uncle-in-law, the palace might summon you today.”

“Uh.” Qiao Mo’s expression remained calm, then he raised his hand to touch the uneven scars and smiled bitterly: “This appearance of mine would be unsightly, wouldn’t it? That would be great disrespect to His Majesty.”

Hearing this, Qiao Zhao felt as if her heart had been stung by a bee. She quickly lowered her eyes to hide her pained emotions.

“Uncle-in-law, try this.” Shao Mingyuan handed over the silver mask.

Qiao Mo was slightly startled, then accepted it and naturally put it on his face.

Qiao Mo had gentle facial features, while Shao Mingyuan’s face had more defined angles. Watching Qiao Mo put on the mask, Shao Mingyuan studied it for a moment, then reached out and removed the mask.

He applied force with his hands, and with a light sound, the mask was neatly split in two. He then adjusted several places with his fingers before handing it back to Qiao Mo: “Uncle-in-law, try putting it on again.”

Half of the mask perfectly fitted Qiao Mo’s left face, covering the frightening scars.

Half was the silver mask, half was his intact right face, creating a strange kind of beauty instead.

Shao Mingyuan nodded with a smile: “This should work. The mask’s material is special – once it adheres to human skin, it won’t fall off.”

The personal guard nearby grimaced in distress.

Of course, it was special! This mask was made of precious materials, and the general had been wearing it frequently since his teens.

“Indeed, not bad.” The usually picky Chi Can crossed his arms over his chest and reluctantly nodded.

Qiao Zhao said nothing, silently watching.

However, Qiao Mo seemed to pay no attention to Qiao Zhao’s presence, his gaze never once turning in her direction.

A personal guard came running to report: “General, someone from the palace has come with an imperial edict.”

Shao Mingyuan and Chi Can exchanged glances, then Shao Mingyuan turned to look at Qiao Mo: “Uncle-in-law, let’s go out.”

Qiao Mo nodded.

The two walked forward side by side. Qiao Zhao stood in place, watching intently. Chi Can cleared his throat: “What are you looking at? Your eyes are practically glued to them.”

He definitely didn’t want to admit that the moment Qiao Mo put on half the mask, it gave him quite a sense of crisis.

No, he had no sense of crisis. A man’s good looks couldn’t be eaten as food!

“Why isn’t Big Brother Chi following?” Qiao Zhao asked softly.

She could certainly brazenly follow along, but if she did that, big brother would find her even more repulsive.

Haste makes waste. Earlier, she had been too eager to acknowledge Big Brother, which led to the current awkward situation.

“What’s there to see by following? Nothing more than eunuchs singing a few lines and taking Qiao Mo away. I’ve seen this kind of scene countless times.”

“The Emperor—” Qiao Zhao wanted to ask whether that emperor obsessed with pursuing immortality was truly as unreliable as her grandmother had mentioned to her before, but such words were inappropriate to speak directly. She could only start the topic, hoping Chi Can would understand.

Chi Can indeed understand what Qiao Zhao was asking and spoke directly: “Unpredictable moods, changeable as the weather.”

Qiao Zhao: “…”

Fortunately, she wasn’t the type of girl who needed comforting; otherwise, with Big Brother Chi being so direct, he would have scared people to death long ago.

Worry clouds judgment. Although Qiao Zhao was generally able to keep her composure, hearing Chi Can’s words still cast a shadow over her heart.

About two quarters of an hour later, Shao Mingyuan returned.

“He’s gone?”

“Mm.”

Chi Can reached out and patted Shao Mingyuan’s shoulder: “Don’t keep such a stern face. I saw that Qiao Mo looked presentable with the mask on – my imperial uncle won’t find him disagreeable. The Qiao family fire case has been resolved, and the late Master Qiao was a renowned scholar known throughout the land. Summoning him to the palace today already carries the meaning of appeasement, so His Majesty shouldn’t make things difficult for him.”

However, when it came to his imperial uncle’s style, it was truly hard to describe. The man had done plenty of things where he’d punish someone just for displeasing him.

Of course, there was no need to voice such words and add to their troubles. The palace and the outside world were two different realms – no one could interfere with palace affairs, and speaking about it would be pointless.

“Let’s go inside and wait.” After Shao Mingyuan finished speaking, he looked toward Qiao Zhao: “Miss Li, why don’t I have someone—”

“Mm, when the medicine is finished brewing, it’ll be time to eat.”

Shao Mingyuan opened his mouth.

Fine, she still needed to be fed.

Lunch was quite sumptuous, but they had only eaten half when a personal guard came rushing to report: “General, Young Master Qiao has been thrown into the imperial prison!”