Chapter 19: Discussing Our Marriage

Tan Qingjiu had lived two lives, and as a physician, she had encountered all kinds of people. Yet she truly could not fathom what the Prince Duan intended.

“Your Highness, you’ve come all this way—surely not just to tease me with a few words?”

“Tease?” Shen Yingjue echoed the word, his eyes brightening with amusement. “That counts as teasing? Then what about what you did to me yesterday, Divine Physician?”

“Do you know that everyone in my residence, from the steward to the servants, was appointed by His Majesty? Not long after you left yesterday, His Majesty learned that you had pinned me to the ground and laid hands on me.”

Shen Yingjue lounged carelessly against the grand pillow behind him. “Before you came to treat me, you must have heard a few things about me, right? You know His Majesty has fretted endlessly over my marriage. He finally found me a princess consort, but on the wedding night, I had an episode and accidentally… killed her.”

“Now that he’s heard of our… intimate contact, His Majesty will likely summon you to the palace soon to discuss our marriage.”

What on earth?

Tan Qingjiu stared, dumbfounded, disbelief flooding her eyes.

For the first time, the famed Divine Physician doubted her own hearing.

Shen Yingjue seemed to know what she was thinking and nodded. “You heard correctly—our marriage.”

Tan Qingjiu pointed to herself. “I’m twenty-two years old. And I have two children.”

“That’s fine. I’m twenty-five—and a lunatic,” Shen Yingjue said, a smile tugging at his lips. “The one who reported to His Majesty told me that His Majesty thinks we’re a perfect match. Since we’ve already had skin-to-skin contact, we should hurry up and wed.”

“You know, as a madman, I have no right to refuse his arrangements.”

Shen Yingjue saw that Tan Qingjiu still looked utterly lost, as if she didn’t know where she was or what day it was. His smile deepened. “I came today to let you know, so you can prepare yourself.”

As soon as Shen Yingjue finished speaking, something suddenly flew in through the carriage curtain.

A sharp light flashed in Shen Yingjue’s eyes, but he did not dodge, letting the object strike his shoulder.

The thing hit his shoulder and slid off, only to be caught by Shen Yingjue.

It was… a slingshot.

Tan Qingjiu squinted at the sight, and sure enough, Star You’s voice soon sounded from outside the carriage. “Mother, mother, have you seen my slingshot? I was just playing, but I was silly and threw the slingshot instead of the stone.”

Shen Yingjue lowered his head to toy with the slingshot, saying nothing.

Tan Qingjiu opened the carriage door and sighed. “Your slingshot hit Prince Duan.”

“Ah…” Tan Xingyou poked his head inside, his gaze falling on Shen Yingjue, his eyes spinning mischievously. “So this is Prince Duan? He looks truly noble and heroic.”

“Sorry, I don’t know how I managed to throw the slingshot. Did it hurt Your Highness?”

Shen Yingjue chuckled, glanced at Tan Xingyou, then at Tan Qingjiu. “Your son is lively and charming—nothing like you.”

“Not necessarily. I used to be lively and charming as a child.”

“Really?” Shen Yingjue laughed, handing the slingshot back to Tan Xingyou. “I didn’t know you were here, so I didn’t prepare a gift. But I’m sure we’ll meet again soon. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Tan Xingyou, not understanding the implication, nodded eagerly. “Alright, alright.”

What a fool.

Tan Qingjiu sighed, while Shen Yingjue laughed. “After your diagnosis, Divine Physician, I feel much better. Thank you.”

Tan Qingjiu stood, her face numb, nearly grinding her teeth. “Don’t mention it.”

When Tan Qingjiu took Tan Xingyou back to their own carriage, Xingyou turned to Star Qi. “I just met Prince Duan under the pretense of fetching my slingshot. He doesn’t seem as mad or despicable as the rumors say—I think he’s rather refined.”

Tan Xingqi glanced at the somewhat dazed Tan Qingjiu. “Perhaps it’s just that he wasn’t having an episode. Many lunatics seem normal when they’re lucid, but when their illness flares, they’re terrifying.”

“That’s true.” Xingyou nodded. “He wears a mask, so I don’t even know what he really looks like.”

The three returned to the inn, and Tan Qingjiu summoned Qing Dai. “Use our network in the capital—find out everything about Prince Duan, especially regarding his marriage.”

Qing Dai paused. “Prince Duan?”

“Yes, Prince Duan.”

Six years had not only built Tan Qingjiu’s Miraculous Hands Pavilion, but also an unrivaled intelligence network.

By late afternoon, news arrived.

“It’s said that although Prince Duan was granted his own residence early, no one has ever seriously proposed a marriage for him. Few respectable families are willing to marry their daughters to a lunatic.”

“The previous princess consort, who was killed on her wedding night, didn’t come from a noble background. She was a maidservant close to the Empress.”

“The Empress?”

“Yes, the current Empress—not Prince Duan’s mother. Prince Duan’s birth mother was Empress Xian. Not long after giving birth, she requested to be deposed and entered the Cold Palace.”

Tan Qingjiu narrowed her eyes. “She requested to be deposed and entered the Cold Palace? Is there really someone who doesn’t want to be Empress?”

“It’s said that His Majesty had just ascended the throne and his position was unstable. To secure the realm, he took many concubines. Empress Xian and His Majesty were childhood sweethearts, deeply attached. In anger, she quarreled with His Majesty, then requested to be deposed and entered the Cold Palace, taking the infant Prince Duan with her.”

“When Prince Duan was seven, His Majesty remarried. Empress Xian learned of it in the Cold Palace, and went mad—she was deranged for some time and eventually died.”

“Prince Duan was still very young and grew up in the Cold Palace. He had little concept of life and death. He didn’t know Empress Xian had died, only thought she was asleep.”

“That went on for half a month, until one day Prince Duan discovered her corpse had begun to rot, crawling with maggots…”