With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

"what?"

Pei Jinxuan snapped out of her daze, turned around and saw Zhang Niang's reproachful look, quickly let go of her hand, blushed and went out through the curtain.

As expected of someone who had served the late Empress, Zhang Niang was meticulous, knew how to prioritize and act appropriately, and was even more thorough in her thinking than Lin Ci.

Lin Ci had grown up with her master since childhood and had never experienced being pampered by her elders. During this day together, Zhang Niang combed her hair, added clothes for her, and blew on her medicine to cool it down before feeding it to her. Every single thing she did touched the softest spot in Lin Ci's heart.

Pei Jinxuan came over whenever he had a spare moment. When Zhang Niang saw him, she didn't say much, but thoughtfully placed Lin Ci's hand in his palm before quietly stepping away. Pei Jinxuan then acted as her eyes, whispering instructions to be careful as he helped her down the steps, and guiding her hand to touch the edges of the medicine drawer while he helped her get the medicine, telling her which compartment contained angelica and which contained astragalus.

Although Lin Ci was blind, she found that her ears and nose were more sensitive than before. She could tell the quality of medicinal herbs just by smelling them; she could discern the exact temperature of the decoction by listening to the sound through the curtain. When taking a pulse, she used her heart as her eyes, and the pulse under her fingers was clearer and more distinct than before.

When she took Granny Qian's pulse, she not only diagnosed that she was overly frightened, but also detected a very faint trace of residual poison, which was hidden very deeply. If it weren't for her increasingly keen sense of touch after losing her sight, she probably would have missed it herself.

Upon learning that Lin Ci was blind, Princess Yongle cried even more bitterly than Lin Ci herself. Two of her handkerchiefs were soaked with tears, and she pointed at Pei Jinxuan, scolding him fiercely, "That day you told me not to hold you back, and you yourself botched it!"

"What are you dragging down?" Lin Ci asked, puzzled.

Princess Yongle then recounted everything that had happened on the fifth day of the month.

"My brother asked me to accompany my mother on a boat trip on the lake, and he also wanted me to lead her to where the orioles were singing. I found it strange; in the dead of winter, all the willow leaves had fallen, leaving it bare and uninteresting. As the boat sailed over there, by sheer coincidence, it bumped into something. Guess what it was?"

"What?"

"Zhao Fugui! He was already hard when he was pulled out. What bad luck, especially during the New Year! This is the mess my brother asked me to make. Mother was furious and had Sun Huaiyi arrested. I was thinking I'd be rewarded when I got back, but instead, I walked in to find Sister Aci looking like this." She grew angrier as she spoke, then glared at Pei Jinxuan, "Brother, it's all your fault!"

Lin Ci understood. It turned out that Pei Jinxuan had a hidden trick up his sleeve regarding the matter of the real and fake Zhao Fugui that day, having Princess Yongle lead the Grand Princess to witness the floating corpse in the lake. No wonder the Dali Temple had closed Zhao Fugui's case so hastily. With no witnesses or physical evidence left, what was the point of investigating the previous arson case?

As she was thinking, Princess Yongle was still berating Pei Jinxuan, her temper flaring like a lit firecracker, one sentence after another, showing no mercy whatsoever. As the elder brother, Pei Jinxuan had always been the one to discipline his younger sister, never the one to be disciplined. But Princess Yongle went on and on, and he didn't utter a single word in response, accepting the scolding and standing at attention even when he was being beaten.

Lin Ci felt a little sorry for him and smiled to help Pei Jinxuan out of the predicament, saying, "I'm starting to get used to it. There are advantages to not being able to see; I can take a pulse more accurately now."

Princess Yongle assumed she was just trying to find joy in hardship, and her nose tingled with emotion, so she burst into tears again.

Hearing Princess Yongle's cries through the wall, Amo's heart sank even further.

Amo returned to his room and silently began packing his bags.

This journey to the northern frontier is to reunite with Zhang Niang's two general sons, and it's uncertain when they will return. Pei Jinxuan gave him a large sum of travel money, which he put in and then took out, neatly stacking it on the table, feeling truly unworthy of it.

On the fifth day, Pei Jinxuan repeatedly instructed him not to leave Liufang Garden under any circumstances. While fighting with the assassins, he was accidentally struck by two swords, and in that brief moment of distraction, Lin Ci disappeared.

Regardless of the reason, the mistake had been made. Although Pei Jinxuan didn't utter a single harsh word, he felt even worse than if he had been scolded. This kind of bodyguard was truly unqualified. Thinking this, round tears rolled down his dark face.

Why are you crying again?

Suddenly, a head peeked through the window. A pair of large, round almond-shaped eyes sparkled, and the wind made the cheeks as red as ripe apples.

Besides Princess Yongle, who else would be so unruly as to lean on the windowsill?

When Amo saw her, his eyes widened, and he swallowed back his sobs. He then turned his steely body away, his shoulders trembling, and tears continued to fall.

"You're such a crybaby, you've been crying since you were a baby." Princess Yongle walked around the door and followed him, nagging him relentlessly.

Amo vigorously wiped her face with her sleeve, then gestured: "I didn't cry."

"You didn't cry? Then why is your nose so red?"

Princess Yongle tilted her head to look at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Amo's thick eyebrows furrowed into a V-shape, looking pitiful and wronged. As she watched, her own brows furrowed as well.

"Brother Wang didn't blame you, why are you crying?" She unconsciously softened her voice, which was no longer as clear as before.

"It's all my fault for seeing Dr. Lin's eyes." A-Mo gestured, her eyes filled with overwhelming self-reproach. "I never imagined that monk was so treacherous, able to summon so many snakes."

"Who could have imagined this? Just like when you were bitten by a snake last time, Sister Aci and I were busy all night, and no one believed that you were bitten by a snake. Granny Qian said that hundreds of snakes suddenly appeared that day, just hearing about it makes my scalp tingle." As she spoke, Princess Yongle hugged her arms and shivered. "Look, I have goosebumps. That monk was clearly not human."

Mentioning Xuanjing only made Amo more distressed. He had already turned the bamboo groves upside down as Pei Jinxuan had ordered, finding only a bloodstained sword and a large pool of blood seeping into the ground. The monk seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of his body. In all the years he had followed Pei Jinxuan, this was the first time he had encountered such an eerie figure.

"Be extra careful while I'm gone." Amo gestured, then pulled a red brocade sachet from her sleeve. "It contains snake-repelling powder; keep it with you."

Princess Yongle took the sachet, brought it to her nose, and inhaled its pungent aroma mixed with the bitter scent of mugwort, a sensation that went straight to her head. She wrinkled her nose and deftly tied the sachet around her waist.

"I also have something to give you."

She took out a gilded, openwork silver incense ball from her bosom. It was no bigger than a thumb, with a lotus flower pattern made of silver wire as fine as a hair. A tiny silver bell was attached to the top of the incense ball, and it rang with a clear and melodious sound when she shook it. This was the one she had bought when she went shopping in the West Market with Lin Ci last time. She had spent most of the hour choosing it.

Princess Yongle took Amo's hand and tied the incense ball around his wrist.

"I know you're leaving. Who knows when you'll be back? Keep this with you. Look at it when you miss me."

Upon hearing this, two blushes instantly rose on Amo's dark face. He hurriedly turned his head away, burying himself in packing his bags, his ear tips turning as red as if they were about to bleed.

Princess Yongle deliberately walked around to stand in front of him, staring straight into his eyes, and said confidently, "Stop pretending. I know you like me." She then raised her chin slightly, looking extremely proud.

Amo's face turned bright red, and he frantically reached for the teapot on the table, trying to pour himself a cup of water to cover it up. He tried to pour the teapot over and over again, but not a single drop came out. He had no choice but to pick up the cup and gulp down half a cup of the remaining tea, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down several times.

Princess Yongle walked around to him again, put her hands behind her back, and leaned slightly forward. Her round eyes were bright and sparkling, like the brightest stars, shining on Amo.

"I like you too."

Pfft... Amo spat out his tea, spraying it all over Princess Yongle's face.