Ye Tinglan’s clear, cold eyes flickered. Without a hint of hesitation, he parted his lips.
“Qi Xuan, you stay.”
“Your Highness!”
Qi Xuan knelt down in a rush. Before he could say anything else, he looked up and met his Prince’s unyielding gaze.
“Do as the Princess Consort commands.”
His brow furrowed slightly, a sign of the Prince’s displeasure.
Daring not to argue further, Qi Xuan gripped the sword in his hand and could only nod.
“Yes.”
Only then did Feng Yin Wan feel truly relieved.
She had just breathed a silent sigh of relief when, before she could even take a step, she saw Qi Xuan turn his knees and kowtow three times in rapid succession.
He moved too quickly for Feng Yin Wan to react. She froze on the spot.
“You… what are you doing!”
Qi Xuan rose on his own and bowed to her again.
“His Highness’s injuries have not yet healed. As your subordinate, I cannot be by his side. I implore the Princess Consort to please look after him!”
Fearing he would kneel again at any moment, Feng Yin Wan nodded quickly upon hearing his words.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry. This Princess Consort will absolutely not let His Highness take risks easily.”
Qi Xuan nodded and respectfully retreated to the side. “Thank you, Princess Consort.”
It was not until they reached the Jingzhao Prefecture that Ye Tinglan learned how “not easily” she intended to prevent him from taking risks.
Having received no news from Feng Yin Wan for a long time, Zhao Yong had been in a terrible state all morning, rushing about frantically.
Just as he was about to send someone to check again, he bumped into a yamen runner running back in a hurry as he stepped out the door.
“Sir, sir! Prince Mo and the Princess Consort have arrived!”
“What, Prince Mo himself has come?!”
Zhao Yong’s eyes widened at the news, and he quickly scurried outside. “Quickly, quickly, order someone to go out and greet them!”
Feng Yin Wan entered the hall just as Zhao Yong, flustered, was rushing out. Her beautiful eyes narrowed, and her steps paused slightly.
“This subordinate greets Prince Mo and the Princess Consort.”
Seeing that he was about to kneel and pay his respects, Feng Yin Wan waved her hand and quickly stopped him.
“Lord Zhao, this Princess Consort already knows about the matter. Where is Feng Yiyi now? This Princess Consort wishes to see her personally.”
Zhao Yong’s eyes widened even further.
“What… Your Highness wishes to go personally?!”
Ordinary people would flee from the word "malaria" as if it were a plague. How could the esteemed Princess Consort of Prince Mo be rushing towards it herself!
“No need for further discussion. Feng Yiyi is, after all, the illegitimate daughter of the General’s Mansion. This Princess Consort wants to see her alive, and to see her corpse if she is dead.”
She waved her hand and walked directly forward. Zhao Yong’s face turned pale with fear, and he quickly followed with small, hurried steps.
“Princess Consort, absolutely not!”
Even if he were given a hundred times the courage, he would not dare to let Feng Yin Wan enter today!
Feng Yin Wan’s brows furrowed at his words. She turned her head and saw his fearful expression as he looked at Ye Tinglan behind her. She understood immediately.
“No need to worry. His Highness is merely accompanying me. He will wait outside. This Princess Consort will go in alone.”
Prince Mo is not going in?
Zhao Yong was slightly taken aback. Before he could respond, a cold voice tinged with slight anger sounded beside him.
“When did I say I was merely accompanying you.”
This woman was actually thinking of acting alone and leaving him behind!
Feng Yin Wan was already anxious, and now that she was being bothered, she became even more irritated. “Does His Highness truly intend to come in with me?”
Don’t be ridiculous. Ten of her, Feng Yin Wan, put together were not as important as one Ye Tinglan. If something were to happen to this man, the entire Prince Mo’s Mansion and the General’s Mansion would suffer.
Not wanting to say more, she looked directly at Zhao Yong and asked again.
“Where is Feng Yiyi?”
A hint of coldness entered her tone with this question. Zhao Yong was startled and stammered.
“She… she is still in the prison. Without… without your order, this subordinate dared not act rashly.”
“Prison?”
Feng Yin Wan’s brow furrowed completely.
“Malaria is extremely contagious. How could you let her be in the prison? Aren’t you afraid of spreading it to others?”
Before her words had even fallen, she strode forward. Zhao Yong was still stammering when he felt a chill pass by his side. When he came to his senses, he saw Ye Tinglan also following with a somber expression.
His heart immediately sounded the alarm.
“Your Highness, Princess Consort, please wait…”
With the incident that had occurred, the guards of the prison had already been withdrawn. The path was unimpeded, and Feng Yin Wan easily reached the prison gate.
Without any medical disinfectant alcohol, she had to swallow a detoxifying pill, then fold a handkerchief to cover her face before pushing the door open and entering.
Although Zhao Yong was a bit pedantic, he wasn’t entirely foolish. The prisoners in the jail had been moved to the cells near the entrance. Further inside, except for Feng Yiyi and the cell next to hers, all others were empty.
The further inside they went, the more unpleasant the smell became. Feng Yin Wan pressed the handkerchief tighter, but her steps did not slow at all.
Feng Yiyi’s cell door was wide open.
In the dim light, she lay on her side on a straw mat, her face as pale as paper. She looked as if she had fainted.
A cold glint appeared in Feng Yin Wan’s eyes. Just as she was about to step around the vomit on the ground, her wrist was grasped by a firm hand.
The chill beside her suddenly approached, and the next moment, Ye Tinglan’s cold, handsome face came into view.
“How did you get in here?!”
Feng Yin Wan’s mind buzzed. Her heart leaped in alarm.
“Quick, get out! It’s not safe here!”
Regaining her senses, she quickly tried to push him out. However, Ye Tinglan stood as still as a boulder.
“I said I would accompany you inside.”
“But Your Highness also personally promised to obey my arrangements!”
Feng Yin Wan felt that he was acting unreasonably.
She made a gesture as if to pull off her mask and put it on Ye Tinglan, but before she could even raise her hand, her wrist was held.
“I have internal energy protecting me. I don’t need this.”
“Internal energy can protect against germ transmission?”
Feng Yin Wan was half-doubting, but as she met his calm and composed gaze, her heart began to soften.
Alright, she didn’t quite understand the world of the strong.
Just to be safe, she still took out a detoxifying pill and handed it to Ye Tinglan. Seeing him obediently swallow it, she finally felt a little more at ease.
She pulled her wrist free from his large palm, not forgetting to instruct him.
“This Princess Consort needs to take Feng Yiyi’s pulse. Your Highness should wait here and not move around carelessly, especially not enter the prison cell.”
As she spoke, she intended to close the cell door. However, it was stopped by a hand with slender, well-defined knuckles.
Ye Tinglan’s handsome face was grim, a shadow of darkness veiled across it.
“Feng Yin Wan, don’t you understand? I’m not trying to cause trouble, I just want to be with you.”
He was worried about her venturing alone and thus stubbornly wanted to stay by her side.
His dark eyes were deep and discerning, as if they could see through everything. Feng Yin Wan’s heart trembled slightly, and a strange blush crept onto her pretty face, hidden beneath the mask.
“Then… then you can come in, but don’t get close, and don’t touch the filth on the ground.”
She hurriedly threw out this instruction and rushed inside as if fleeing. Behind her, Ye Tinglan’s eyes were fixed on the slender figure, his thin lips curling silently.
“Alright.”