Chapter 690: Changing Faces
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Yuwen Chu didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he freed up one hand to pull Mingzhu into his embrace. Mingzhu nestled against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling lazy and unwilling to move. Zhuangzhuang looked at his parents curiously, then reached out his chubby hand, which was wet with saliva, and tugged on Yuwen Chu’s ear.
Yuwen Chu glared at him, but Zhuangzhuang just smiled back at him, oblivious to any worries. This lightened the tense atmosphere slightly. Following Zhuangzhuang’s lead, Mingzhu tentatively reached out and pinched Yuwen Chu’s ear a few times, prompting him to look at her with a sideways glance. She smiled at him, trying to appease him.
After a long silence between them, Yuwen Chu sighed silently and pulled Mingzhu closer, whispering, “I don’t need you to prove yourself in this way.”
Mingzhu pretended to be naive. “Prove what?”
Yuwen Chu stared ahead, his voice heavy. “Yes, I cherish you and hope for the same in return. I want you to have me in your eyes and heart, and only me. But I don’t want you to risk your life for it. Love is involuntary, and having all of you is a dream. But ultimately, it’s to make you happy and content, not to see you struggle, face danger, or even sacrifice your life. So I don’t need you to prove it with your life.”
That’s why in her past life, he silently watched over her without disturbing her, right? Mingzhu looked up at Yuwen Chu and whispered softly, “What I want, as you said, is that I haven’t done anything for you, but you’ve done a lot for me. Perhaps this life has only one chance. Please let me go forward. Don’t stop me. This trip may not be all dangerous. I haven’t traveled far before, so it’s good for me to broaden my horizons.”
“Not to be repeated,” Yuwen Chu’s mood was heavy. The situation had developed to the point where he could hardly control it anymore. Instead of discussing this here with Mingzhu, he decided to think about how to ensure her safety on the road.
Mingzhu teased him, “I have genuine feelings for Your Highness. Are you unhappy? Your constant stern expression makes me very sad.”
Yuwen Chu managed to squeeze out a smile. “Of course, I’m very happy.” Rationally, Mingzhu’s choice was courageous, practical, and commendable. But emotionally, he couldn’t be happy.
The carriage soon arrived at the Fu Mansion. Tang Chunlai was already waiting for them, muttering strangely, “I never thought Jiang Zhouzi would be like this. I always thought he was a weirdo.”
Mingzhu found it strange. “Even if he’s not a weirdo, that’s not something very special, is it? He’s just an ordinary person. Is he worthy of your admiration?”
Tang Chunlai just shook his head. “Wangfei will understand when she meets him.”
Yuwen Chu was only concerned about whether this was the real Jiang Zhouzi and whether there was a trap. “Is he the real Jiang Zhouzi? Do you know what he said?”
Tang Chunlai said, “Absolutely, he is indeed Jiang Zhouzi. What he said can’t be false. There was a legend in the rivers and lakes that Le Zheng, with unrivaled medical skills, made a mistake while treating the Emperor in the past, leading to the extinction of his family. All his students’ writings were destroyed. Years later, a man named Huang Zhong suddenly rose to prominence with unmatched medical skills. It was said that he had obtained the medical book left by Le Zheng. But he soon disappeared again, and a few years later, it was said that he had died, and the medical book had fallen into the hands of another old man from Cangshan.”
Yuwen Chu grew impatient. “These are just rumors. Is there no accurate information?”
Tang Chunlai sighed bitterly. “Jiang Zhouzi was passionate about medical skills throughout his life. Even if it’s fake, he will definitely make this trip. From his appearance, it doesn’t seem like an aimless effort but rather a well-calculated move. He must have been planning it for a long time. If I had known about this earlier, I would have tried it myself.”
Mingzhu immediately glared at him. “What will happen to our highness if you leave?” In such a dangerous situation, what if something else happens and she’s not by Yuwen Chu’s side? What if Tang Chunlai isn’t there? Even if his medical skills are not as good as Jiang Zhouzi’s, it’s still useful in an emergency.
Tang Chunlai cunningly remarked, “If I don’t leave, it’s also possible, but it depends on the Wangfei. If Wangfei really meets that old man from Cangshan and sees that medical book, please be sure to tell me the contents. What I lack is not skills but opportunities! As long as I’m given a chance, I will definitely surpass that pretty boy Jiang Zhouzi and make him forget his own name.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely transcribe a book for you.” Mingzhu had this idea as well. No matter how precious a medical book was, it had to be put to use to truly be valuable. Otherwise, if it was left unused, it wouldn’t serve any purpose, and that would be meaningless.
As they approached, they could hear Fu Mingzheng cursing someone from afar, “Do you dare say you’re not up to something? You don’t even dare to show your face to others. Do you dare say you’re not up to something? What’s the meaning of hiding your head and revealing your tail? Are you planning to deceive people?”
“What’s going on?” Yuwen Chu stopped, as he was always observant. He had already sensed something was amiss about Jiang Zhouzi’s appearance from the conversation between Tang Chunlai and Mingzhu earlier. Now, hearing Fu Mingzheng’s words, he felt even more puzzled and a sense of foreboding arose.
Tang Chunlai, knowing his highness’s thoughts very well and harboring a slight resentment towards Jiang Zhouzi due to their past unpleasant encounters, decided to take the opportunity to retaliate a bit. He said, “Jiang Zhouzi is suspected of fraud. In his early years, he always wore a mask when meeting people, and now he has a different face when he came to see the Wangfei. Just now, when I saw him, I noticed that his complexion was abnormal. Fourth Master used some means to force him to reveal his true face. Your Highness, this man is not only suspicious but also malicious and sinister.”
Yuwen Chu remained silent and walked in first.
Mingzhu was also very curious. There were so many strange things in the martial arts world; it was truly eye-opening.
Upon entering, they saw Fu Mingzheng sitting opposite Jiang Zhouzi with a gloomy expression. Jiang Zhouzi was sitting in the chair, bowing his head motionlessly, looking like he had been caught red-handed. Tang Chunlai cleared his throat and said, “The Regent and the Wangfei have arrived.”
Only then did Jiang Zhouzi raise his head and give a slight smile to Mingzhu.
Mingzhu took a sharp breath. This was a handsome man. Although he was a bit older, he was truly good-looking, with a great temperament, and naturally had a wild look that was quite impressive.
Yuwen Chu glanced at Jiang Zhouzi indifferently, then looked coldly at Mingzhu, pushing Zhuangzhuang into her arms. Mingzhu quickly regained her senses, hugged Zhuangzhuang tightly, and, seeing Yuwen Chu’s expression, immediately turned her face and scolded, “You liar! How dare you deceive me? Tell me, what are you up to?”
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