Chapter 156: Chapter 156: This Is His Taboo; He’ll Kill at the Mention of It

Everyone here, including the trusted aides behind him, knew the truth of what had happened three years ago. Yet Li Yong still insisted on using the word "slumber" to describe her death.

’I have no idea how Xie Jinbai trains his men.’

As she was thinking this, she heard Li Yong begin to briefly report on the events of the past three years.

Three years ago, she had fallen into the water and died completely. Xie Jinbai had held her breathless corpse, simply refusing to accept that she could be dead.

After all, she had been rescued in time, had no chronic illnesses, and every routine pulse examination had shown her to be strong and healthy.

When Doctor Liu arrived, he determined that she had not even died from drowning.

The cause of death was unknown.

It was utterly bizarre.

Xie Jinbai was convinced his wife was not dead.

It became his taboo; he was ready to kill anyone who mentioned it.

So, no one dared to say the word "dead" in his presence.

Throughout Prince Yu’s Mansion, whenever the late Princess Consort was mentioned, the word "slumbering" was used instead.

Over time, after a few years, aside from Xie Jinbai’s close confidants who knew the truth, even some of the servants in the mansion no longer knew whether the Princess Consort was truly dead or merely unconscious.

Rumors swirled inside and outside the Capital City.

The great clans all had their own sources of information, and even the sheltered Shen Hanyue, raised deep within her family’s estate, said that Princess Consort Yu was truly dead.

Xie Jinbai never clarified these rumors, but Prince Yu’s Mansion never held a funeral either.

Thus, whether Cui Lingyao was actually dead or not remained purely in the realm of rumor.

It was just like the case of Li Wanrong. Previously, everyone in the Capital City had thought she was dead. But a few months ago, news came from the Prince Mansion that she had not died, but had merely contracted a terrible illness.

With a precedent like that, Cui Lingyao’s unexpected revival was now much easier to explain to the public.

They could simply say that she had fallen into the water three years ago and had been in a coma ever since.

Now, by a stroke of heavenly fortune, she had woken up.

’How perfectly arranged.’

Cui Lingyao sighed, then asked, "Have you received any news from Pingzhou recently? After I... After Miss Pei died, your master stabbed himself. How is his injury?"

She wanted to know if Xie Jinbai was safe, but to her surprise, Li Yong was alarmed. "The Prince was injured?"

"You don’t know?" Cui Lingyao’s brow furrowed.

It had taken her thirteen days to restore her body. With enough speed, two or three letters could have been exchanged between the two locations in that time. How could Li Yong not know?

Li Yong shook his head. "Given the master’s status, if he were seriously injured, it would likely cause turmoil throughout the imperial court. Why would he specifically inform a subordinate like me in a letter?"

Hearing that his master had once again stabbed himself clean through, Li Yong was overcome with anxiety.

"The affairs in Pingzhou won’t be resolved anytime soon. Does Your Highness wish to go there in person?"

Sending good news by letter is well and good, but it’s nothing compared to the solid reality of seeing you in the flesh. Only by seeing you with his own eyes will he truly be able to rest easy.

Of course Cui Lingyao wanted to go. She missed him, too.

That man’s insight was infuriatingly sharp, leaving her feeling completely exposed before him, with no secrets left. But whenever she remembered her hasty departure that day, and the look on his face, pale with anxiety, Cui Lingyao wanted to see him as soon as possible.

...to comfort him.

Even if things had reached a point where she could no longer play dumb.

Once they met, she would have to explain some of the holes in her story, yet Cui Lingyao was still eager to see him.

But she was equally worried about Chen Minrou.

Cui Lingyao said, "Send someone to Duke Zhao Mansion with a note for their Heir’s wife. Say that I have been recuperating from a long illness and have now recovered, and that I would like to visit her."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Li Yong’s expression falter.

"What is it?"

A thought struck her, and Cui Lingyao frowned. "Did something happen to Minmin?"

"..." Li Yong hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Half a month ago, as the weather turned colder, word came from Duke Zhao Mansion that the Heir’s wife, of the Chen Family, had caught a chill. Her condition has worsened, and in the last few days, they have begun preparing for her funeral."

Great clans placed immense importance on propriety, especially concerning funerary matters.

Unless it was a sudden death, someone like Chen Minrou, who had been bedridden for years and was just clinging to life, would have all the necessary arrangements prepared in advance.

This was to avoid a frantic scramble when the time came, which could lead to mistakes and make them a laughingstock to outsiders.

Mrs. Shen’s funeral had been handled the same way.

Hearing that the Zhao Family was already preparing for Chen Minrou’s funeral, Cui Lingyao shot to her feet. "Prepare the carriage. We’re going to Duke Zhao Mansion."

"But..." Li Yong hesitated, not immediately obeying the order.

Cui Lingyao looked up at him. "Is preparing the carriage so difficult for you?"

"It’s not that," Li Yong explained. "It’s just that the Capital City has been unstable recently. The Prince sent a ’grand gift’ from Pingzhou to the Empress, and Guanju Palace sealed its gates that very day. Furthermore, Marquis Guangping Mansion and several Princes have been implicated in a case of colluding with foreign tribes. They’re at a dead end. If you go out now and they discover you’re alive..."

Those people can’t touch the Prince. If they see that the Princess Consort is still alive, they’ll turn their attacks back on you. What are we to do then?

Li Yong was truly afraid of another incident.

Hearing the words ’grand gift’, Cui Lingyao paused.

She knew, of course, what the ’grand gift’ was.

It was Li Lu’s leg bones.

’The Empress must be losing her mind.’

Just then, a servant arrived carrying a brush and ink.

Li Yong urged, "Your Highness, perhaps you could write a letter first?"

’Nothing in the world is more important than reporting the good news to the Prince.’

Thinking of Chen Minrou, who might already be dead, Cui Lingyao’s hand trembled as she held the brush. She forced herself to write a few words before pausing.

She folded the paper, sealed it, and handed it to Li Yong. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Have someone deliver this to Pingzhou by express horse. I still need to go to Duke Zhao Mansion, so I won’t be going to Pingzhou myself."

’Now that I’m alive, I have to go see Chen Minrou, whether she’s living or dead.’

’If she’s still breathing, I’ll use the Hundred Diseases Pill to save her.’

’And if she’s already dead... I should be there to personally send my friend off on her final journey.’

’I absolutely cannot hide in the mansion out of some ’fear of danger’ and watch the chance to save Chen Minrou slip away.’

Three years ago, upon hearing of her death, Chen Minrou had been so furious she wanted to ride back to the Capital City overnight and demand an explanation from Xie Jinbai.

Later, she developed depression, which was no doubt related to her death.

How could Cui Lingyao bear to fail such devotion?

Li Yong, still unwilling for her to take the risk, tried to persuade her again. "Duke Zhao Mansion hasn’t hung the white funeral banners yet. The Heir’s wife must not have reached that point. Why don’t I go in your place?"

Cui Lingyao shook her head. "If that’s the case, then I have all the more reason to go."

’Chen Minrou isn’t dead yet. If I’m going to save her, I have to race against time.’

’Otherwise, if I miss the chance to save her because I hesitated...’

’That’s something I would never be at peace with for the rest of my life.’

She had also considered giving the Hundred Diseases Pill directly to Li Yong or a maid and having them go save Chen Minrou.

But Li Yong was a man and would not be permitted to enter Chen Minrou’s private chambers, while a maid’s low status could easily lead to complications.

Cui Lingyao feared something might go wrong along the way; she couldn’t feel at ease entrusting the task to anyone else.

No one knew the effects of the Hundred Diseases Pill better than she did. As long as Chen Minrou was still alive, only by being there in person could she ensure the pill actually made it into her friend’s mouth.

Anyone else would hesitate due to various concerns and wouldn’t be able to act decisively.

She absolutely could not entrust this to anyone else.

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