Shao Mingyuan fell silent for a moment, not knowing how to begin.

He had sent people to investigate Miss Li’s life from childhood to the present. Though there were no specific reports yet, his subordinates’ preliminary investigation conclusions were very puzzling—the Miss Li people spoke of was completely different from the Miss Li before his eyes.

His subordinates had even obtained a stack of papers that Miss Li had used for practicing calligraphy last year, and the handwriting on them…

Shao Mingyuan recalled his first impression upon seeing that writing, and his mood was rather indescribable.

If Miss Li had been deliberately concealing her abilities all these years, how had she managed to conceal them to this extent? Moreover, what was the necessity of such concealment?

According to his indirect understanding, though the West Residence of the Li family had always been suppressed by the East Residence, the matriarch Old Madam Deng was a reasonable old lady who wouldn’t be harsh even to an unfavored granddaughter. There was no need for such careful caution.

“General Shao?”

Shao Mingyuan came back to his senses and cleared his throat lightly: “What is it?”

No matter how strange the circumstances he had investigated, he currently had no right to question Miss Li about anything.

“I thought General Shao had something to say to me.”

“Uh, no.” Shao Mingyuan denied, then felt it wasn’t quite appropriate and added remedially: “The weather is nice today.”

Qiao Zhao secretly rolled her eyes: “I’ll stop here then. General Shao, please stay.”

“Miss Li, take care.”

Qiao Zhao curtsied slightly, lifted her skirt to walk to the carriage, greeted Chen Guang, bent down to enter the carriage, and never looked back from start to finish.

Shao Mingyuan also didn’t linger, turning to walk back into the residence.

Chen Guang scratched his head, pulled the reins, and drove the carriage away.

That night, candlelight still burned in Shao Mingyuan’s study.

He took out that family letter and prescription again, placing them side by side as he sat under the lamp, examining them carefully.

The identical brush strokes at the beginning and end—he really couldn’t believe these came from two different people. And the other sheet—

Shao Mingyuan picked up the stack of papers, flipped through them casually, and could only smile wryly.

He could write much better than this when he was seven years old. How exactly had Miss Li managed to write like this?

Shao Mingyuan silently put everything away, blew out the candle, and lay down on the low couch by the window.

Through the window, he could see lush bamboo groves and the deep, starry sky. Sleeping in such a study during summer was quite comfortable.

Yet Shao Mingyuan suffered from insomnia once again.

He tossed and turned, gradually feeling the familiar pain again, though this time the pain was much less severe than usual.

“Is the weather going to change tomorrow?” Shao Mingyuan murmured.

The next morning, Shao Mingyuan opened his eyes, got up from bed, and washed his face with well water, secretly amazed.

Miss Li’s acupuncture treatment for dispelling his poison was incredibly effective. In the past, whenever the weather was about to change, he couldn’t sleep a wink and would endure until morning, covered in cold sweat, his undergarments completely soaked.

This time, though he hadn’t sweated much, Shao Mingyuan still habitually took a bath, then instructed his personal guard: “Go to the Li residence and tell Chen Guang to remember to bring rain gear when going out today. Also, tell him to watch his mouth!”

Chen Guang was leaning lazily against a tree, waiting for Qiao Zhao to come out, when he received the message. He hurried inside to fetch an umbrella, raincoat, and other rain gear, placing them in the hidden compartment by the carriage door. Only then did he belatedly realize: “Wait, the General specially sent someone just to say this little thing?”

Though this carriage looked ordinary, it had cost quite a bit of silver to build, sturdy and stable, ensuring there would never again be an incident like last time when the carriage fell apart in heavy rain. Even if it rained today, Third Miss could stay dry, hiding in the carriage compartment.

Thinking of this, Chen Guang excitedly slapped his forehead.

The General had finally gotten the hint and knew to care about girls!

The more Chen Guang thought about it, the more excited he became, and he couldn’t help but whistle.

Binglu accompanied Qiao Zhao as they walked over and couldn’t help but give him a look: “What’s got you so happy? Look at you grinning from ear to ear.”

Chen Guang was in high spirits and couldn’t be bothered arguing with the little maid, saying cheerfully: “That’s not right—everyone has a mouth full of teeth. Only old ladies and babies don’t have teeth.”

“You—” Binglu glared at Chen Guang, about to say more when Qiao Zhao stopped her.

“It’s getting late. Get in the carriage.”

Chen Guang sang songs all the way while Qiao Zhao and her servant endured the auditory torture.

After getting out of the carriage, Binglu covered her chest and dry-heaved.

Chen Guang was puzzled: “Binglu, I’ve never seen you get carsick before. Did you eat something bad this morning?”

“No.” Binglu shook her head weakly with a pale face, gritting her teeth: “I’m not carsick—I’m song-sick!”

Chen Guang’s face reddened: “That’s just insulting!”

“If you don’t believe me, ask Miss!”

“Third Miss wouldn’t think like you do. Right, Third Miss?”

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Chen Guang, I have a small suggestion.”

“Please speak, Third Miss.”

“Well, in the future, when you’re in a good mood, you could try eating instead.”

Chen Guang immediately deflated, muttering: “The General never complained before.”

Qiao Zhao said no more, looked up at the suddenly darkening sky, and said to Binglu: “Let’s go up the mountain.”

But Binglu didn’t move, tugging at Qiao Zhao’s sleeve and whispering: “Miss, look over there.”

Qiao Zhao looked in that direction and saw an exquisite, spacious carriage approaching, with seven or eight uniformly dressed young men following on both sides.

“Tsk tsk, such grand style. I wonder who’s in the carriage?” Binglu murmured.

Chen Guang stepped forward to shield Qiao Zhao, staring motionlessly at the approaching carriage and saying softly: “Those people don’t look like ordinary guards.”

When the carriage gradually drew near, Chen Guang made a small sound of surprise.

“What did you discover?” Qiao Zhao asked.

“The symbol on that carriage is an iris flower.”

“Princess Zhenzhen.” Upon hearing Chen Guang mention the iris flower, Qiao Zhao immediately knew the identity of the person in the carriage.

Since that rainy day when Princess Zhenzhen was injured, quite some time had passed. However, this was the first time they had encountered each other since the princess’s leg injury. She didn’t know if they had simply missed each other before, or if Princess Zhenzhen had only just recovered from her leg injury enough to leave the palace.

The carriage was before them in the blink of an eye, suddenly stopping in front of Qiao Zhao. The curtain lifted, and a palace maid helped Princess Zhenzhen down from the carriage.

“Greetings to Your Highness, the Princess.” Qiao Zhao and the others paid their respects.

“Rise.” Princess Zhenzhen’s gaze fell only on Qiao Zhao, suddenly breaking into a charming smile: “This palace knows your name now—your surname is Li, and you’re the third daughter.”

Qiao Zhao looked at Princess Zhenzhen.

“Come, let’s talk while walking up the mountain.” Princess Zhenzhen said.

The two walked slowly up the mountain path, followed by their respective guards and maids.

“Miss Li, thank you for what happened last time.”

“I dare not accept Your Highness’s thanks. I’m relieved that Your Highness is in good health.”

Princess Zhenzhen’s gaze moved down to fall on Qiao Zhao’s wrist: “The blood jade bracelet my mother consort gave you—why aren’t you wearing it?”

Having asked this question, Princess Zhenzhen felt rather displeased.