Chapter 44

That shadowy figure darted across rooftops and walls with effortless grace, far too swift for any ordinary person to keep up. But Tao Chuyi could clearly make out her footwork and mimicked it perfectly, hot on her trail.

The two of them moved with identical agility, neither gaining the upper hand.

Halfway there, Tao Chuyi glanced down and realized they were even higher up than when she had climbed that tree.

At this point, the black shadow slipped into a courtyard residence, and Tao Chuyi followed right behind. She spotted two figures in cloaks, but she couldn’t make out their conversation. As she drew closer, the pair suddenly vanished, leaving behind a pack of snarling, blue-faced monsters.

Tao Chuyi bolted, the monsters giving chase. Midway, they ran into a patrol of Forbidden Army soldiers. What started as her running alone turned into a whole group in hot pursuit.

Right up to the city gates, the monsters refused to advance. Tao Chuyi looked up and saw torches spaced every ten feet, their flames illuminating the entire gate tower.

Tao Chuyi snatched up a torch and hurled it at the monsters, sparking panic in their ranks.

“They fear fire!”

No one knew who shouted it first, but soon countless torches rained down on the horde, forming a ring of fire that trapped the monsters in its glow.

Deep into the night, the Dali Temple Yamen blazed with lights. Tao Siqing had clearly stayed there all along; he’d only just dozed off briefly when the Imperial Guards roused him.

“Any luck? Did you catch the monsters?”

Tao Siqing peered closely and saw that the Imperial Guards had indeed brought in six monsters, matching the portraits exactly.

“Quick, someone light a fire.”

The guards hauled in braziers and set them alight around the monsters, keeping the creatures frozen in place.

“Dad!”

Tao Chuyi came bounding in right after, practically bouncing with excitement.

“I found the monsters! Pretty impressive, huh?”

Tao Siqing hurriedly looked her up and down. “Weren’t you told not to go wandering around outside? How am I supposed to explain this to the Princess?”

Before he could finish, people from the Princess Mansion arrived. Nangong Yunshang rushed over, travel-worn and dusty, but she breathed a sigh of relief once she confirmed Tao Chuyi was unharmed.

“Prince Consort, come here.”

The voice was icy cold. Tao Chuyi thought to herself that her big sister was angry.

She took two steps back, hiding behind Tao Siqing with just half her face peeking out, looking utterly pitiful.

“Sister, don’t be mad.”

Tao Siqing joined in the apologies too. Father and child put on quite the performance begging forgiveness; anyone who didn’t know better might think Nangong Yunshang was some ferocious beast. If word got out, she’d be branded a tigress.

“I’m not angry, Chuyi. Come here.”

Nangong Yunshang repeated herself, her tone softening at last.

Tao Chuyi observed for a long moment, deciding the danger had passed. She darted out from behind her father in an instant, completely forgetting her plea for protection, her eyes fixed only on her sister.

Tao Siqing let out a sigh. A grown daughter couldn’t be kept at home forever.

The coroner braved the risk to examine them and identified three of the monsters as the three missing guards from the Dali Temple. The other three each suffered from severe illnesses, far too advanced for treatment.

The rest was left to the Dali Temple to handle. Tao Chuyi went back to the Princess Mansion with Nangong Yunshang. But the moment they entered the bedroom, Nangong Yunshang wouldn’t let her climb into her own bed.

“Sister…”

Tao Chuyi sat on her little bed, hugging herself and curling into a ball.

Her sister wouldn’t let her cuddle anymore…

Nangong Yunshang turned her back to her. “The rest of the night, you face the wall and reflect on your actions.”

“Oh.”

Tao Chuyi slowly turned around and actually did it, spending the latter half of the night that way.

When morning came, Tao Chuyi was fine, but Nangong Yunshang had fallen ill.

Her constitution was weak, rooted in childhood ailments. She caught chills easily, and even with the weather warming, her fragile body couldn’t withstand it.

The imperial physician took her pulse and prescribed the usual medicines, with a few minor adjustments from before.

Once everyone else had withdrawn, Tao Chuyi stayed alone by the bed, tears still streaking her cheeks.

“Sister, I was wrong. I won’t run off again. Please get better soon.”

Nangong Yunshang slept deeply until noon, waking to faint sobs at her bedside. She knew exactly what was going on.

Opening her eyes, she saw Tao Chuyi’s tear-streaked little face, a mess like a drowned cat.

“It’s got nothing to do with you, sweetie. Don’t cry.”

Tao Chuyi hurriedly wiped her face. “Sister, you’re awake! Are you hungry? Want something to eat?”

Seeing Nangong Yunshang try to sit up, Tao Chuyi quickly stepped in with sharp eyes and nimble hands to help her.

“I am a bit hungry, actually.”

Nangong Yunshang leaned against the headboard, her cheeks still flushed; the fever hadn’t fully broken. She raised a hand to pat Tao Chuyi’s head but let it drop midway.

She was sick now—she didn’t want to pass anything on to Chuyi.

But Tao Chuyi didn’t mind at all. She even grabbed her sister’s hand and placed it on her own head.

Nangong Yunshang couldn’t help laughing. She ruffled her hair gently, her voice weak. “Some porridge will do for me.”

“I’ll go get it!”

Without waiting for Nangong Yunshang to stop her, Tao Chuyi vanished. She soon returned in a whirlwind, bowl in hand.

“Sister! I’m here!”

Mimicking how others had fed her, she scooped up a spoonful of Red Jujube Peony Porridge, blew on it twice, and held it to Nangong Yunshang’s lips. That was how she fed her half a bowl.

Setting the porcelain bowl down, Tao Chuyi frantically searched for a handkerchief. Once she found it, she clumsily wiped the corner of her sister’s mouth.

Nangong Yunshang watched with a smile the whole time. “Our Chuyi is growing up, learning to take care of people.”

Tao Chuyi vowed solemnly, “I’ll take care of Sister from now on. Please don’t get sick anymore, okay?”

Nangong Yunshang gazed at her for a moment, then smiled. “Okay.”

But no matter what promises she made, her health wasn’t something she could control. Nangong Yunshang’s body was like a house patched together from crumbling walls—her vital energy had been damaged too severely, impossible to fully restore.

The Third Princess lay abed for four or five days straight, her recovery agonizingly slow. The entire Princess Mansion was cloaked in gloom, everyone on edge.

On the sixth day of Nangong Yunshang’s confinement, a Physician suddenly appeared at the gates, claiming he could cure the princess’s illness.

No one believed him at first, but in the spirit of treating a dead horse like a live one, they allowed him to diagnose her by feeling her pulse through a silk thread.

The medicine he prescribed underwent rigorous checks—even a test dose on another person—before Nangong Yunshang took it.

To everyone’s astonishment, she was dramatically better the very next day.

Yinghong was overjoyed and, per the princess’s orders, lavished rewards on the Physician.

“Could he really be some folk miracle worker?”

Nangong Yunshang sat before her bronze mirror; the reflection showed her even thinner than before. On the table beside her sat the Ancestral Secret Pill the Physician had offered, said to cure any ailment.

Sadly, there was only one pill, so no one else could test it.

Nangong Yunshang glanced at it and closed the box.

“Sister, I’ll eat it for you.”

Tao Chuyi reached out with both hands, oblivious to the dangers of testing poison.

Nangong Yunshang took her hands. “Be good, we won’t take it. We don’t even know what it is—medicine shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“Your Highness suspects that Physician?”

Yinghong realized suddenly.

Nangong Yunshang’s gaze grew pensive. The man’s background was suspicious, no history to speak of, appearing so conveniently—who knew his true motives?

“Keep him under observation for now.”

After lunch, Tao Chuyi slipped into the kitchen to scrounge some preserved fruits for Nangong Yunshang and unexpectedly ran into the Physician lurking nearby.

“Prince Consort.”

The physician bowed, then chatted idly for a bit.

“Prince Consort, this humble one has a medicine that can make you smarter. Would you be interested?”

Tao Chuyi frowned. “I’m already smart.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

The physician pulled out a white porcelain bottle, no bigger than half a palm.

“But drink this, and you’ll excel in both letters and arms. You’ll be able to protect Her Highness the Princess henceforth, keeping bullies at bay.”

She could protect her sister?

Tao Chuyi hesitated, tempted. By the time she took the bottle, the Physician had already slipped away.

Her sister said not to eat things from strangers.

Tao Chuyi set the bottle on the ground and turned to leave. But after two steps, she doubled back.

If it made her stronger, she could protect her sister.

Tao Chuyi squatted down, staring at the porcelain bottle as she waged an intense internal battle. At last, she steeled herself, uncorked it, and gulped down the contents.

She wanted to get smarter.

After drinking, Tao Chuyi waited happily for the change. Two hours passed with no effect.

Maybe it took until the next day.

She clamped a hand over Fifteen’s muzzle to silence its barks, then sneaked carefully into the study.

Nangong Yunshang was practicing calligraphy. Tao Chuyi tiptoed over and sat quietly, propping her cheeks in her hands until her sister looked up.

“Why didn’t you say something when you came in?”

Tao Chuyi threw herself into her embrace. “Sister, I’m going to get smart.”

Nangong Yunshang didn’t notice anything amiss. “Our Chuyi is already plenty smart.”

Tao Chuyi’s big head nuzzled against Nangong Yunshang, eventually burying itself in the soft spot.

“Tao Chuyi, get up.”

Nangong Yunshang felt a touch of awkward tension—this troublesome kid had picked the worst place.

“Nooo, it’s soft here.”

Tao Chuyi mumbled, nearly suffocating herself but refusing to budge.

Just then, Yinghong entered the study to report, stumbling upon the scene. She promptly bowed her head.

“This servant saw nothing, nothing at all.”

Nangong Yunshang coughed twice, pushing Tao Chuyi away and straightening her clothes.

“What is it?”

Tao Chuyi refused to sit properly, instead clinging from behind, chin resting on her sister’s shoulder.

She wanted to grow right onto her sister.

Nangong Yunshang: “…”

Yinghong glanced up, then ducked her head again. “This servant has learned the Physician’s identity. He’s from Jingzhou and once had an apprentice. That apprentice died later, leaving him alone.”

Someone was nibbling playfully on a lock of Nangong Yunshang’s hair. At the mention of “apprentice,” her mouth popped open, freeing the strand at last.

Nangong Yunshang pried her off and said gravely, “Was that apprentice a woman?”

“That’s right. Rumor has it she’s Physician’s fiancée.”

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Tao Chuyi was unceremoniously chased out of the study.

Unable to hug her sister, she vented her resentment on Fifteen instead, chasing it all over the courtyard.

They wouldn’t play with her? No problem. Tomorrow, she would become super smart—in fact, unbeatable.

Amid Tao Chuyi’s eager anticipation, the first rays of dawn’s sunlight greeted her the next morning.

Liar! Big liar!

Tao Chuyi stormed out of her room in a huff, conveniently swiping the medicinal pill Physician had offered on her way.

A big liar peddling fake medicine.

She hadn’t changed a bit.