Chapter 15: The Prince of Jin’s Probe

The winter sunlight filtered through the lattice window, landing on Xia Qiqi’s face and making her nose itch.

"Achoo!"

Xia Qiqi woke up.

"Thank goodness, the young lady has finally woken up."

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Chun Tao’s anxious face. "You scared me to death, miss."

When Prince Jin had carried Xia Qiqi back last night, she had been truly terrified. She had assumed that Xia Qiqi had been caught trying to steal a horse and beaten into unconsciousness.

[Xia Qiqi! You were carried back to your room by Prince Jin!]

What? Prince Jin carried her back?

Wait, wasn't she performing surgery on A-Chi?

Hmm, the surgery was considered quite successful, though she didn't know how A-Chi was faring now. She must have been so exhausted after the operation that she fell asleep in the stables.

Xia Qiqi felt a bit depressed. Her escape attempt had failed, and if she had exposed her identity in the process, it would be a capital offense!

Calm down! She had to figure out how much that scumbag Prince knew.

She looked at Chun Tao and asked, "What did the Prince say?"

Chun Tao tilted her head in thought. "His Highness didn't say much; he only told me to take good care of you, miss."

Xia Qiqi propped herself up. "Does he know who I am?"

Chun Tao brought her a bowl of millet porridge. "The Prince shouldn't know. However, General Yu, who is by his side, did ask me if you were a secret guard in your service."

"You must be starving, miss. I’ve kept the porridge warm for you; eat it while it’s hot."

So, it was General Yu Chi who had helped her find the tools for the surgery!

Xia Qiqi sat up, took the bowl, and after one sip, asked, "How did you answer him?"

Truth be told, this warm bowl of porridge was exactly what she needed. Being served like this really did boost her happiness to the maximum.

Chun Tao smiled faintly. "I told him I didn't know."

Smart! Chun Tao was just a maid; not knowing was the correct response. In this situation, the more one said, the more mistakes one made.

It seemed her plan to escape from Anzhou had failed; she would have to look for another opportunity on the way back to the Prince Jin estate. Fortunately, the safety of her and her dowry was now the responsibility of the Prince's wedding procession. As soon as a suitable opportunity arose, she would run away without hesitation!

She was ravenous, and before long, she had finished the entire bowl of porridge.

Chun Tao packed the bowl into the food box. "Miss, what exactly did you do last night?"

"When I went to the stables, I happened upon a red hare horse suffering from a sudden illness, so I performed emergency surgery on it." Xia Qiqi had been transmigrated for nearly a month, and this was the first time she had used her medical skills. Though it was only a warhorse, it gave her hope for survival after she finally escaped!

"Surgery?" Chun Tao didn't understand.

"Uh, it just means I used these hands to bring a horse back from the brink of death!" Xia Qiqi laughed. "That's all you need to understand."

"Miss, does that make you a deity?" Chun Tao was now completely in awe of Xia Qiqi. Ever since she had been punished by Nurse Wu a month ago and gone hungry for days, she seemed like a different person. She could even save a dying horse with her own hands! She was tempted to beg Xia Qiqi to teach her medicine.

"Miss, could you teach me how to bring things back to life with my hands?" If she succeeded in running away in the future, she couldn't always rely on her mistress to perform surgery to support them.

"This..." Xia Qiqi was taken aback. She had spent sixteen grueling years studying to graduate from veterinary school and earn her license! "It's not that I don't want to teach you, but to learn medicine, one must first learn to read many, many characters."

Right, how could one study medicine without being literate?

"Speaking of which, I find it strange—why are you able to read?"

True! Xia Qiqi didn't know these ancient characters at all, yet after transmigrating, she had no trouble reading them. That was because the original host had been literate! It was said that the original host was just a menial maid and should have been illiterate like Chun Tao. Yet, not only did she possess hidden martial arts skills, but she could also read and write!

It seemed the original host's background was also a mystery. If she had the chance, she would have to find the Master of the Xia Pavilion to solve this riddle; it would be a small comfort to the original owner.

While Xia Qiqi was lost in thought, the voice of Nurse Wu came from outside. "Miss, word has come from His Highness. We are to depart for the Prince Jin estate immediately."

Nurse Wu was more respectful now; she only dared to speak from the doorway since Xia Qiqi hadn't summoned her.

Xia Qiqi asked, "What about the escort party from the manor?"

"They turned back toward the capital at dawn today."

What was going on? Why were both the welcoming and escorting parties in such a hurry?

There was no time to think, and not even a moment to visit the horse she had saved. Xia Qiqi and the other maids and nurses were herded onto the carriages and headed straight for Jin City.

Less than an hour into their journey, the wind picked up, and fine yellow sand filled the air, shrouding the main road in a hazy fog. The caravan slowed down, moving in a tight formation that offered no chance of escape!

[Xia Qiqi! Someone is following us in the shadows!]

Holding Xiao Ai, Xia Qiqi sat in the carriage. She felt as though there were several faint, rhythmic breaths behind her carriage. Could that scumbag Prince really be suspicious of her?

Xia Qiqi lowered her eyes, feigning sleep while calculating rapidly. Jin City was only a few dozen miles away, and beyond it to the west lay Western Yulong, a vital fortress on the border of the Great Liang Kingdom. The Emperor had granted Prince Jin this fiefdom because he held command over the Imperial Secret Service. Only he, the head of the intelligence agency, had the power to guard the western frontier, a gateway teeming with spies from neighboring kingdoms.

These were things Xiao Ai had told her in her spare time. The fact that Prince Jin was the head of the secret service was truly unexpected. Thinking of that sinister silhouette she had seen in Liu Yuanqing’s study, and the people stalking her carriage, Xia Qiqi felt a massive headache coming on.

Running away was impossible for the moment.

Just as she was feeling frustrated, she heard the sharp sound of metal clashing nearby. She tensed up instinctively, her grip on Xiao Ai tightening.

[Meow! Xia Qiqi! Don't fall for it!]
[Be careful, it might be the Prince testing you!]

Right! She was just a delicate daughter of the Prime Minister’s household. She was neither the menial maid Xia Qiqi nor the modern veterinarian Xia Qiqi! She could not make a single suspicious move! From this moment on, she had to be fully aware of her role.

Xia Qiqi relaxed her body and leaned gently against the soft pillow.