Mistakenly Marked the Madly Beautiful Princess - Chapter 26

“What are you looking at?”

Lu He turned to face Qingniao and countered, “Why are you always staring at me?”

Qingniao sighed. “I’m just bored. I hadn’t planned on accompanying you for this long. The palace sky loses its charm after a while.”

Normally, she could chat with Ling Yue to pass the time, but the person before her had mercifully given the young maid two days off, making these days particularly dull.

Lu He had no patience for the other’s lamentations. Before her lay a pile of books, each worn from frequent handling.

She casually opened one, only to find its contents utterly worthless.

Of course, she hadn’t spared even Qingniao’s private collection, confiscating every last volume.

Qingniao gazed resentfully at the small stack of books and couldn’t help pleading, “I don’t serve in the palace, you can confiscate theirs, but could you return mine?”

Lu He raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Even if you don’t serve in the palace, you’re still a subject of Rong. I have authority over you regardless.”

Qingniao’s expression instantly soured. Her face fell, fine wrinkles deepening into furrows as she muttered under her breath, “Heartless wench.”

“Hmm?”

Qingniao hastily waved her hands, forcing a smile. “I said the Grand Princess is both beautiful and kind-hearted.”

It was clearly a lie, but Lu He had no time to argue. Before leaving, she noticed something else some of these books had been seized from the Emperor’s quarters.

Lately, her attention had been fixated on Ling Yue, leaving less vigilance toward the Emperor. Who would have thought such negligence would lead to this?

A warning was in order.

“Is my elder sister here?”

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the Emperor’s voice sounded from beyond the door.

Qingniao, ever perceptive, opened the door and gave the Emperor a meaningful look. “Your Majesty, the Grand Princess is waiting for you.”

The Emperor’s face visibly paled. Head bowed, she followed Qingniao inside and took a seat, not daring to look up.

To her, the stack of books on the table was no different from a death warrant.

Lu He’s impression of this younger sister was vague, but judging from the memorials she reviewed, the Emperor was too soft-hearted.

In these turbulent times, that could hardly be considered a virtue.

Her eyes cold, Lu He tossed two books at the Emperor. “Explain.”

The Emperor trembled uncontrollably. Knowing lies were futile, she confessed outright: “It was my fault. Punish me, Sister.”

Lu He’s tone remained unreadable. “How should you be punished?”

The Emperor’s voice quivered. “Sister…”

That word reminded Lu He of Ling Yue, and her heart softened unexpectedly.

Now that her health showed signs of improvement, there was no need to be as harsh as before.

With battle looming, she could let this minor offense slide.

Lu He turned away dismissively. After flipping through the books to grasp their contents roughly, she pulled out two and tossed them before the Emperor. “These two are acceptable.”

Before her cold sweat could dry, the Emperor received this unexpected gift from her stern sister. Stunned, she looked up, half-convinced this was a prelude to her dethronement.

Lu He waved a hand impatiently. “Leave. I’ll review your memorials today.”

Realizing she wouldn’t be deposed, the Emperor clutched the two books, overjoyed yet not daring to show it, and withdrew with restrained gratitude.

Qingniao watched the terrified ruler retreat and chuckled. “You were too harsh on her.”

Lu He was speechless; she hadn’t said much at all, nor had she raised her voice.

She couldn’t be bothered to engage further and simply gestured for the palace maids standing by to remove the books.

Qing Niao watched reluctantly as her beloved books were carried away, silently mourning their departure in her heart.

Glancing at the sky outside, Qing Niao felt it was time and patted her clothes playfully, saying with a laugh, “Time to go check on the patient.”

Lu He looked up at her. “How is Ling Ya’s condition?”

Qing Niao was immensely proud of her medical skills. She lifted her chin arrogantly and declared, “For others, it might be a serious matter, but for me, it’s just a bit tricky. I’m off.”

After Qing Niao left, Lu He thought of Ling Yue again, recalling how much the girl cared for Ling Ya. That silly girl would surely be overjoyed to hear this news.

That girl always wore a stern expression, but when things went wrong, she would panic, and in her panic, she would desperately try to find a solution her emotions were always so transparent.

Lu He had observed that Ling Yue wasn’t foolish; she could hide her feelings well in front of others.

So, was it only in front of her, the Eldest Princess, that she behaved this way?

This realization brightened Lu He’s mood considerably, even softening the sternness on her face.

In the empty palace, the woman in white, picturesque as a painting, chuckled softly. “Silly girl.”

Qing Niao walked briskly and soon spotted the emperor ahead.

Lu He might not show the emperor respect, but Qing Niao couldn’t afford to. She stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesty, may you be blessed.”

The emperor knew she was Lu He’s confidante and didn’t dare slight her. “Physician Yun, there’s no need for formalities.”

Qing Niao guessed the reason for her presence Ling Ya had been brought into the palace by the Eldest Princess, likely to recuperate there.

The emperor sighed inwardly at her elder sister’s regard for Ling Yue and envied the bond between the Ling sisters, while she herself didn’t even dare meet her elder sister’s eyes.

Growing curious, the emperor, knowing Qing Niao was also talkative, decided to strike up a conversation.

“How is Ling Ya’s health?”

Qing Niao hadn’t expected her to care, especially since she had seemed resistant to Ling Ya before. But then it occurred to her that the emperor might just be making small talk to avoid an awkward silence.

Still, this emperor was pitiable no attendants accompanied her. But if she had attendants, wouldn’t she lose face?

Qing Niao studied the emperor’s face closely. With such a delicate appearance, the emperor lacked any imposing authority.

But Qing Niao quite liked this adorable child; her own daughter was similarly harmless in appearance.

Missing her daughter, Qing Niao’s tone softened further. “She’s doing well, but the treatment will take a long time perhaps three years.”

The emperor frowned. “Three years?”

Qing Niao, still lost in thoughts of her daughter, didn’t notice the emperor’s unease. She sighed. “Yes, three years. For an illness like this to persist so long, Ling Ya is remarkably resilient.”

The emperor began to suspect her elder sister had deliberately placed Ling Ya in the palace.

A flicker of resentment rose in her heart, and she dropped the subject.

They walked in silence for a while before the emperor returned to her Hall of Mental Cultivation, while Ling Ya’s residence lay further ahead.

Qing Niao watched the emperor’s retreating figure, thought of Ling Ya, and simply shook her head.

She couldn’t help but grumble about Lu He: “You accuse me of meddling and playing matchmaker, but your own schemes are even more unreliable.”

Then, with a swell of pride, she thought, “Seems I’m still the better one.”

Feeling victorious, Qingniao hummed a cheerful tune as she arrived at the temporary palace where Lingya was staying.

After checking Lingya’s pulse, Qingniao smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Miss. Everything is improving.”

It was impossible not to feel excited. Lingya had been frail since childhood, only able to watch other children play and laugh. As she grew older, she couldn’t pursue an official career and could only sit idly, waiting for death.

Everyone said she was the pearl in the palm of the general’s hand, but all Lingya ever felt was loneliness.

She disliked the pitying looks people gave her, but most of the time, no one even remembered her.

Now, everything was about to change.

Lingya didn’t know how to express her gratitude, so she simply said with utmost sincerity, “I can never repay your great kindness. If you ever need anything in the future, no matter how difficult, I will do it for you.”

Qingniao had saved too many people and had grown tired of hearing such words. She merely smiled and said, “I was merely acting on someone’s request. You have a wonderful younger sister.”

“I will remember both you and my sister.”

Seeing Lingya’s determination, Qingniao didn’t refuse. She thought of her own daughter and casually added, “Then, please take care of my daughter.”

Lingya was surprised. Qingniao didn’t seem like someone who had been married. “You’re married?”

Qingniao walked over to another side to copy a prescription for Lingya. Hearing the misunderstanding, she chuckled, “It was a request from a deceased friend. But she became my daughter when she was still in swaddling clothes, no different from my own.”

It seemed she had touched on a painful subject. Lingya covered her mouth, not daring to say another word.

Staying in the palace inevitably made one feel restrained. After a moment of unease, Lingya remembered the snacks outside the palace.

“It tastes sweet, but you’re treating us to just this?”

Wang Lan looked at the sweet soup in her hand with disdain. Compared to her gulping it down, Wen Yuanyuan’s manner of eating was far more elegant.

Ling Yue had also finished her sweet soup. Wiping her hands, she said, “Don’t you understand? It’s the thought that counts.”

Wang Lan didn’t get it. “Cut the nonsense. You’re just stingy.”

Ling Yue wasn’t stingy, she was poor. The eldest princess had given her two days to pack her belongings, but she owned so little that there was hardly anything to pack.

It was just as well. She took advantage of the free time to invite these two out. They were reliable and had managed to get time off.

There was one thing Ling Yue was curious about. Staring at the two for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “I have a friend who said she saw you two in the mountains on the night we were drinking. Is that true?”

Wen Yuanyuan choked on her sweet soup halfway through. She lowered her head and quickly finished the rest.

Wang Lan frowned and whispered, “Slow down.”

Ling Yue felt uncomfortable all over, as if something was off. She blamed it on the sweet soup she’d just finished.

Once Wen Yuanyuan was fine, Wang Lan answered Ling Yue’s question. Clearly, she hadn’t noticed anything and grinned foolishly, “Yeah, I found it strange too. But Yuanyuan said the stars in the mountains at night are beautiful, sparkling.”

After saying this, she looked bashful. Ling Yue felt like her eyes were about to go blind.

Suppressing her discomfort, she couldn’t help but think irritably: The eyes of wild beasts in the mountains at night are also beautiful glowing green.

Who would go to such a dangerous place just to look at stars?!

Wang Lan blushed for a while before realizing something was off. She turned to Ling Yue, who was frowning deeply, and asked sincerely, “Besides the two of us, what other friends do you have?”

Ling Yue: “…”

If she didn’t know that Wang Lan was a bit clueless, she’d suspect this was a deliberate jab.

A magnanimous person doesn’t dwell on the faults of lesser ones, Ling Yue decided to let it go.

She retorted, “Of course I have friends.”

Wang Lan grinned mischievously. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

Wen Yuanyuan had had enough of this guy and promptly jabbed him in the waist with her elbow.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the hint and immediately gave her away, turning to ask, “Yuanyuan, why’d you poke me?”

Wen Yuanyuan covered her face and turned her back, using her actions to draw a clear line between herself and this blockhead.

Ling Yue followed behind them, watching as they bickered and roughhoused all the way.

The sense of satisfaction that everything remained unchanged was something ordinary people couldn’t comprehend.

Soon, she arrived at the entrance of the General’s Manor. After bidding farewell to the two jesters, she was about to step through the gate when hurried hoofbeats sounded behind her.

Ling Yue stopped and turned to find a man hastily dismounting. As soon as he saw her, he dropped to his knees.

“Young Miss, the General has fallen in battle.”

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