Seeing him speak thus, Li Jiancheng had no choice but to accept the medicine. Under their watchful eyes, he departed. After Li Jiancheng’s party had walked far away, Li Zhiyun walked to Li Shimin’s side and said gratefully, “Thank you, Second Brother.”

Li Shimin patted his still somewhat tender shoulder and smiled, “Alright, let’s go back.”

What Li Shimin didn’t know was that as he turned to walk back toward the mansion, Li Jiancheng poked his head out from the carriage in the distance, watching his retreating figure with a complex expression…

Now, speaking of Chunxiu’s situation – after she had washed her face with cold water to refresh herself, she went to the music workshop. However, before she even reached the entrance, she encountered Yunyi and Jiang Caiping. If it had been any other day, Chunxiu would have certainly thrown out a few barbs, but this time she was unusually quiet. She hastily glanced at the two women and walked past without saying a single word. Jiang Caiping said in surprise from behind, “What’s wrong with her today? She’s so peaceful?”

Yunyi laughed, “Isn’t it good that she’s peaceful? Or would you rather have a few arguments with her to feel satisfied?”

Jiang Caiping quickly replied, “Of course not. I just find it strange – she’s usually not so well-behaved.”

Yunyi said indifferently, “She must have learned her lesson and is afraid that if she continues being as unreasonable as before, she’ll be demoted to the woodshed again. Now that Jirong isn’t here, no one can help her.”

“That’s true.” As she spoke, Jiang Caiping wrinkled her delicate nose and said, “Speaking of which, Jirong really has great luck. Nothing happened to her despite everything, and now she’s gone to Hedong with the eldest young master.”

Hearing this, Yunyi’s brows darkened, and she said softly, “It’s all because of that Zhang Chenyue.”

Jiang Caiping didn’t hear clearly and casually asked, “What did you say, sister?”

Yunyi came back to herself and smiled, “Nothing. Since the eldest young master has pardoned Jirong, he must have already determined that the poison in the Muscle-Mending Bone-Healing Powder wasn’t administered by Jirong – she was wrongly accused.” Without waiting for Jiang Caiping to speak, she said, “Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s go in quickly.”

That day passed peacefully. After dance practice, Chunxiu followed Jirong’s advice and told Nanny Yang about wanting to share a room with Sun Shi, and the latter readily agreed.

When passing by Yunyi and the other woman, Chunxiu kept her head down and quickly pulled Sun Shi away, as if there were floods and fierce beasts chasing her from behind.

Her behavior stirred a strange feeling in Jiang Caiping’s heart. It seemed like… Feng Chunxiu wasn’t afraid of being sent back to the woodshed, but rather… of Sister Wu. However, she quickly found this thought amusing – it would be a blessing if Feng Chunxiu didn’t bully Sister Wu. Fear Sister Wu? That was simply impossible.

Yunyi beside her was lost in thought. From Feng Chunxiu’s various behaviors today, she had indeed begun to suspect her. If Wu Laosan hadn’t called her away that morning, she would have already killed Feng Chunxiu. What a pity.

Feng Chunxiu had to be eliminated, but… now that she was in the mansion and the other woman was on guard, killing her without anyone knowing would be quite tricky.

While deep in thought, they had already returned to their room. Jiang Caiping looked around and said, “Every time after dance practice, I’m covered in sweat – it’s so uncomfortable. Sister, you rest here for a while. I’ll go heat some water, and then we can bathe together, hehe.”

When Chunxiu returned from delivering the Immortal Jade Maiden Powder to Yuxiu Pavilion, it was already dark. She happened to see Jiang Caiping carrying wooden buckets filled with hot water in and out, knowing they were about to bathe. She glanced casually and headed toward her own room, but halfway there, she suddenly stopped and turned back to walk near Yunyi’s room. Looking around and seeing no one about, she tiptoed to the window, poked a small hole in the window paper, and quietly peered inside.

Jiang Caiping and Wu Meixue shared a room. If the latter was truly connected to the assassin, Jiang Caiping couldn’t possibly know nothing about it – she might even be an accomplice. This was a perfect opportunity to listen to what they said privately. If she was lucky, she might even hear where Shen Yunyi was hiding.

Looking through the tiny hole, the two women had already removed their clothes and were bathing and playing in the water-filled wooden tub. Through the misty steam, she could still see a lifelike plum blossom on Yunyi’s left shoulder. They were discussing trivial matters, and for the moment, nothing seemed unusual.

Just as she was watching intently, someone suddenly patted her shoulder, and at the same time, Zhao Shi’s voice came to her ear: “Chunxiu, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. So you’re here – what are you looking at?”

Chunxiu was shocked and quickly turned to cover Zhao Shi’s mouth, but it was too late. Jiang Caiping’s startled cry came from inside the room: “Who’s outside?”

Chunxiu hastily pulled Zhao Shi toward their room, but it was already too late. Jiang Caiping, with her hair still wet and hastily dressed, opened the door and angrily called out to the two women: “Why were you peeping at sister and me bathing?”

Zhao Shi quickly waved her hands: “I didn’t see anything, it was…”

Chunxiu secretly stepped on her foot and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Who was peeping at you?”

Jiang Caiping said angrily, “You don’t need to deny it. I heard everything just now. Besides, if you weren’t guilty, why did you run as soon as you saw me?”

Chunxiu pretended to be calm and said, “Ridiculous! Which eye saw me running? I just happened to be passing by. As for you…” She stared at Jiang Caiping’s disheveled appearance and laughed behind her hand: “Coming out dressed like that – are you trying to seduce someone?”

Jiang Caiping’s face flushed red with anger, and she pointed at her: “You were clearly peeping! Come on, let’s go to Nanny Yang and get this straight.”

“Ridiculous! What would we tell Nanny Yang? That I was spying on you? Do you think anyone would believe that?” At this moment, Yunyi also came out. Chunxiu’s face changed, and she said uncomfortably, “I still have things to do. I’m too lazy to go crazy with you here.” With that, she pulled Zhao Shi back to their room.

“Stop right there!” Jiang Caiping wouldn’t let it go, and was about to chase after them when Yunyi pulled her back: “Forget it, it was probably just a misunderstanding.”

Jiang Caiping walked to the window without a word and examined it carefully. Sure enough, she discovered that the lamplight from inside the room was shining through a small hole. She immediately pointed to the hole: “Sister, did you see that? What misunderstanding? She was deliberately peeping!”

Yunyi asked in confusion, “But she’s not a man – why would she peep at us?”

“Who knows! And I thought she had changed her ways after being taught a lesson, but it turns out a dog can’t stop eating shit!” The more Jiang Caiping thought about it, the angrier she became. She wanted nothing more than to demand a clear explanation, but unfortunately, Yunyi kept holding her back. “Forget it. Even if we take this matter to Nanny Yang, it’ll just be a confused mess that can’t be explained clearly. Let’s go back quickly – you’re not even wearing your padded jacket. Be careful not to catch cold.”

Under her persuasion, although Jiang Caiping was still indignant, she finally returned to their room. As for Chunxiu, after entering her room, she kept her ear to the window listening to the sounds outside. When she heard Jiang Caiping and the others enter their room and close the door, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in the chair as if completely drained.