Chapter 149: Yes, It Was Me

Seeing this method of treatment, Zhan Li could not help but feel a bit dazed.
Many physicians who had been consulted earlier all insisted that herbal medicine had to be drunk, and some even declared the condition hopeless. How could it be so simple in Qiao Qingyun's hands?
"Many thanks, Princess."
Zhan Li politely bowed to Qiao Qingyun and was about to hand over the silver as payment when Qiao Qingyun refused. "The pills you gave this Palace last time were extremely precious, more than enough to cover today's medical fees. Besides, if anyone falls ill here in the future, you may send them directly to the Taihe Medical Hall. No charge."
With that, Qiao Qingyun gave an instruction to Chun Cheng, who promptly responded, "Yes."
By nightfall, it was once again too late to return to the palace, leaving Qiao Qingyun with no choice but to rest outside for yet another night.
Early the next morning, just as the sun had barely risen and Qiao Qingyun had not yet fully regained her senses, she heard a commotion outside the door.
"What is going on?"
The woman rubbed her eyes and pushed the door open, only to find that Zhen Li had actually managed to stand up and was attempting to walk, though an unmistakable look of rage was plastered across his face.
"What gives you the right to have my mother arrested! Clearly, it was your fault to begin with! Why don't you hurry up and have someone release my mother!"
Zhen Li's words happened to reach Qiao Qingyun's ears.
The woman strode up to Zhen Li, rolled up her sleeves, and let out a sneer. "It was I who had them send your mother to the Prefecture Magistrate's Office."
"What!"
"That's right, it was me."
Qiao Qingyun admitted it without the slightest hesitation, wearing an indifferent expression that made Zhen Li's heart palpitate with fear.
Most cases handled by the Prefecture Magistrate involved the imperial family. If members of the royal family were implicated, the magistrate might show no mercy at all.
However, no matter how Zhen Li looked left and right, he could not tell who among them belonged to the imperial family.
After pondering for a long time, he assumed Qiao Qingyun was just bluffing and burst into a loud laugh. "To think you actually tried to trick me! Quick, tell me where my mother is!"
"Hah..."
Qiao Qingyun cast a sidelong glance at Zhen Li and walked downstairs on her own.
Since Zhen Li had only paid for his medical treatment—whereas someone used to take care of his meals—there was no one to do so now.
Furthermore, going out to buy food required additional spending.
"Hey! Where is my food?"
Zhen Li shouted and made a racket. Zhong Shi gripped his chopsticks tightly, forcefully suppressing the urge to commit murder.

"Your mother only paid for the cost of medical treatment, not for your meals. If you want to eat, you must pay for it yourself."
Qiao Qingyun said unceremoniously.
If Zhen Li had not been involved in yesterday's farce, they might not have bothered dealing with him.
But now, things were different. Yesterday's incident had been taken to the Prefecture Magistrate's Office, and upon returning, Zhen Li had even admitted that he was the one who had sent the old lady to bully Qiao Qingyun.
That being said, treating him this way was already letting Zhen Li off lightly.
"Where on earth am I supposed to get silver! You can't just sit there and watch me starve to death!"
Zhen Li resorted to acting shamelessly. He had done this plenty of times in the past and often managed to cadge free meals, but things were different now.
Every single step he took intensified the pain between his legs.
Right now, he could only rely on crutches to walk step by step.
Xu Lu paid Zhen Li no mind. She picked up a portion of the breakfast, tidied up, and headed upstairs, pushing open the door to the room adjacent to Zhen Li's.
"Hey? Why is she getting food delivered?"
Zhen Li was so furious that smoke practically billowed from his nostrils; he had never witnessed such discriminatory treatment before.
When Xu Lu came back out and saw Zhen Li's baffled expression, she sneered, "Because she paid for it."
With that, she immediately went back downstairs.
By the time Qiao Qingyun was ready to return to the palace, she finally instructed the staff to provide Zhen Li with two meals a day, omitting lunch because midday dishes were too greasy and offered no benefit to his physical recovery.
Even so, Zhen Li still grumbled about Qiao Qingyun's arrangement.
Watching Xu Lu as she stood in the room taking various notes, Zhen Li chuckled, "Your doctor is quite ruthless. When she says I won't get food, she really doesn't give it to me."
"If it weren't for your mother's antics, our teacher wouldn't have been angered to this extent."
Xu Lu snapped right back without hesitation. She never showed mercy to people who pushed their luck after being given an inch.
Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Zhen Li hurriedly lowered his voice and asked, "My mother didn't actually go to the Prefecture Magistrate, did she? You're all just trying to fool me, right?"
"Why would we fool you?" Xu Lu stared at Zhen Li as if looking at a fool. "Plenty of townspeople saw your mother being escorted directly to the Prefecture Magistrate by Zhong Shi himself yesterday."
"Impossible!"
Zhen Li grew agitated once more, slamming his palm against the table and startling Xu Lu, who knitted her brows in annoyance. "What are you shouting for!"
"The Prefecture Magistrate only handles matters concerning the royal family, or cases involving high-ranking officials. Why would they bother with such trivial matters?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Lu finally understood why Zhen Li had been so arrogant and rude. She let out a cold laugh. "I am truly sorry, but the person your mother offended is Princess Qingjun of the imperial court. Our teacher has always disliked drawing attention to herself, only to be bullied by the likes of you to this degree."
"What..."
Upon learning Qiao Qingyun's true identity, the steamed bun in Zhen Li's hand dropped onto the table, and his body trembled slightly.
"And that Zhong Shi who escorted your mother away is the young master of the Lu Kingdom—someone you can afford to offend even less. I advise you to recover from your injuries and leave quickly. Otherwise, if the Princess returns and changes her mind, neither you nor your mother will be able to escape."
Having said her piece, Xu Lu no longer wished to stay in the same room as someone of such meager intellect. She removed the needles and walked out.
Seven consecutive days passed. Zhen Li's condition improved considerably, and he promptly checked out of the medical hall.
At the same time, Ai Qing was finally able to move about outside.
"How are things? Did the child cause you any trouble?"
Ai Qing looked at Xu Lu and the others, her face filled with guilt.
Over the past few days, the baby would wail and fuss every single night, refusing to quiet down no matter how she coaxed him, insisting on being held in someone's arms just to sleep.
After throwing tantrums for days on end, even she could hardly stand it, let alone outsiders.
"It's fine. The baby is too young, and crying a bit is a good sign. There's no need to mind it."
Back in the imperial palace, Qiao Qingyun's prolonged absence over the past few days had worried Yuan Bao and Qing Luo to no end.
Hongying had also returned that very same day.
Taking advantage of the absence of others, she quietly slipped into Qiao Qingyun's bedchamber, sat down beside her, and reported, "Princess, the matter you ordered this subordinate to investigate has been looked into. This Zhan Li goes to another courtyard on the outskirts every single night. However, the guards there are heavily secured, and Hongying did not dare to venture inside rashly for fear of being discovered."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Qiao Qingyun curved the corners of her lips with a look of growing interest.
It seemed her guess was correct: this Zhan Li was no ordinary character.
"Very well, thank you for your hard work. Later, I will fetch two large luminous pearls for you to play with."
Hongying had been coveting the luminous pearls for a long time. The moment she heard Qiao Qingyun was going to reward her with them, she nodded repeatedly and agreed, "Yes, yes!"