Shen Shijiu was startled by the powerful apology. He widened his eyes and looked at the people in front of him.
The man smiled at Shen Nineteen and said, "Young Master, my son did offend me yesterday. He is spoiled by the elders at home. Please don't take it to heart."
In fact, after Pei Zheng vented his anger last night, Shen Shijiu was no longer angry. He even felt sorry for the fat man whose fingers were broken by adults.
"It's okay. I bumped into him accidentally first. I should be the one to apologize..."
"Hey, don't say that. I have heard a little about what he is like outside. I have already taught him a lesson. I promise he won't dare to do it again."
The man was very kind and amiable that year, which made Shen Shijiu feel a little embarrassed.
After saying a lot of apologies, the fat man bowed deeply to Shen Shijiu several times, and then was taken away by the middle-aged man by the collar.
As Shen Shijiu walked towards his own room, he asked the housekeeper Li Yu beside him.
"Butler Li, is the fat man's family very powerful?"
Li Yu gave him a strange look.
As someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion, you can really be said to be walking sideways in this imperial capital. Do you still need to worry about whether other families are powerful or not
But since Shen Shijiu asked, Li Yu patiently told him.
"The young man who looked very majestic just now was a deputy general guarding the border before, under the command of General Zhenyuan Zhao Litang. Later, he came to the imperial capital and became the leader of the imperial guards."
He paused, "As for power, he does have some, which is more than enough to scare the common people, but our Prime Minister's Office still doesn't take him seriously."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Then what about the great general? Is he powerful?"
Li Yu glanced sideways, "Are you talking about General Zhao?"
Shen Shijiu nodded.
Li Yu lowered his voice, "Shh, we are not allowed to discuss that person in the Xiangfu."
Shen Shijiu also asked in a low voice, "Why?"
Li Yu frowned, "Why are you asking so many questions, kid? Just do your job. It's getting late, shouldn't you send medicine to the two princesses?"
Shen Shijiu patted his head and said, "Yes! If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten it!"
He hurried back to the wing room.
Fortunately, Zhou Wu had already prepared the medicine for the second princess Qi Bingzhi and sent it over, so Shen Shijiu went to deliver the medicine to Qi Yirou.
Qi Yiru's knee seemed to be better, but the situation was still worse than before. Shen Shijiu thought of many ways to help her heal her leg, but found that he was still powerless.
It would be great if Master were here, maybe he would have a solution.
Shen Shijiu watched Qi Yiru finish the medicine, then took out some ointment and carefully applied it to the injured knee.
After applying it, he looked up and saw Qi Yirou's eyes flashing with tears.
Qi Yirou turned away awkwardly to wipe her tears. Shen Shijiu quickly looked at the ground, the table and chairs, and then secretly glanced at Qi Yirou out of the corner of his eye.
"What are you looking at? There's sand in my eyes!"
Shen Shijiu muttered, "But there is no sand here..."
"Yes!" Qi Yirou shouted at him, "If I say yes, then yes!"
Shen Shijiu nodded and agreed with her, "Yes, yes, yes, Your Highness the Princess is right, there is!"
Qi Yirou burst into laughter at his sincere tone.
Shen Shijiu couldn't help laughing, and the two of them laughed for no apparent reason for a long time before they stopped.
Qi Yirou asked him, "Aren't you from the Imperial Hospital? How long will you stay in the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
Shen Nineteen said, "I don't know either."
"Then, have you thought of a way to cure the Second Princess's headache?"
When this question was mentioned, Shen Shijiu pouted, his face full of worry, and his chin rested on the table.
"No, it's too difficult, I don't know how to..."
Qi Yirou comforted him, "It's okay. There are so many difficult diseases in the world. Even if you are a ghost doctor, you can't guarantee that all of them can be cured, right? So just do your best and don't be too sad."
Seeing that Shen Jiujiu's little face was still uncomfortable, Qi Yirou simply said, "I'm so hungry. I'll ask someone to bring some cakes. Will you eat with me?" Shen Jiujiu nodded reluctantly.
After a while, the maid who delivered the cakes knocked on the door and brought in a small plate of exquisite pineapple cakes, osmanthus cakes and flower cakes.
Shen Shijiu had never eaten these small cakes before. After eating one piece, he was so attracted by the sweet and sticky taste that he liked it immediately.
Qi Yirou watched him eating happily, temporarily forgetting her troubles, and felt her mood improve.
She asked the little maid, "How is the second princess today?"
The little maidservant said respectfully, "Replying to the Third Princess, the Second Princess is not at home today."
"Not in the mansion?" Qi Yirou was curious, "Where did you go?"
"I followed my Lord, and I left the house not long ago. I heard that I was going to the palace."
Qi Yirou understood, "Okay, you can go down."
-Shen Shijiu, who was eating nearby, had actually kept his ears perked up the whole time and had heard their conversation. He had been holding it in for a long time, but he really couldn't bear it anymore.
"Your Highness, did the Lord go to the palace today?"
Qi Yirou looked at him with amusement, picked up a piece of cake and put it in her mouth, “Didn’t you hear everything? Why are you asking me what to do?”
"Oh." Shen Shijiu's mood obviously dropped again. He frowned and put the cake aside without eating it.
Qi Yirou had no choice but to pick up a piece of cake and stuff it into his hand, “Yes, I went to the palace. Although I went with the second princess, don’t worry, I promise there will be nothing between them.”
Shen Shijiu blinked and looked at Qi Yirou in confusion.
Qi Yirou calmly poured a glass of water, took a sip, and then explained to Shen Shijiu.
"I knew it before. The emperor will hold a banquet in the palace in the next few days and invite all the concubines and ministers of the former dynasty to attend the banquet. The purpose is to welcome the barbarian leader Amul who has come from afar."
"Amul, what a strange name."
"The names of the barbarians are all like this," Qi Yirou said. "This banquet will last for three days, so Master Pei will probably have to go to the palace frequently during these three days. Also, the Second Princess will still attend as the princess and the queen's legitimate daughter."
Qi Yirou looked at Shen Shijiu, "Do you know what this means?"
Shen Shijiu thought seriously for a while, then shook his head, "I don't know."
"Idiot, it means that she is not the wife of Lord Pei, which means that there is no relationship between her, Qi Bingzhi, and Pei Zheng."
Shen Shijiu thought for a long time before finally secretly smiling.
After staying in Qi Yiru's room for a long time, Shen Shijiu finally came out.
After lunch and dinner, he went to deliver medicine to Qi Yirou. He spent the rest of the time staying in his own small courtyard and playing by himself.
Having lived alone in the mountains with his master for three years, Shen Shijiu had already mastered the skill of talking to himself and could make up a long story out of two pieces of foxtail grass.
Then the little black cat unexpectedly came to this courtyard from somewhere, and Shen Shijiu started to play with the kitten, having a lot of fun.
Before going to bed at night, he took a good bath, his whole body was clean and fragrant, he wrapped himself in the quilt and lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the door of the Prime Minister's Mansion opened, and Qi Bingzhi and Pei Zheng returned from the palace.
—As soon as he stepped into the prime minister's residence, Qi Bingzhi covered his face and went back to his own waterside residence while crying.
Before tonight's banquet began, the emperor summoned the two of them for a talk, but Pei Zheng avoided talking about their marriage the entire time.
He had always wanted to have a good discussion with the Emperor about the development of the barbarians in recent years. Seeing that the barbarians were becoming increasingly powerful, some people on the border were getting restless.
However, he reported the matter to the emperor several times, but the emperor did not take it seriously and always changed the topic to marriage.
Pei Zheng was very upset and didn't look happy at all during the entire banquet.
After dismissing the servants around him, Pei Zheng walked alone in the prime minister's residence. After passing through several courtyards, he unexpectedly came to this wing room.
The room was pitch black, and the people inside must have gone to bed long ago.
He reached out, gently pushed the door open, and walked in.
There was indeed a small hillock on the bed not far away. It was quiet and the breathing was so light that no sound could be heard.
Shen Shijiu was very tired after playing during the day and fell into a deep sleep. In his dream, there was a vast expanse of white snow. He was wearing a furry robe and jumping and stepping on the snow like a little white rabbit.
Suddenly he felt someone approaching from behind. Shen Shijiu looked back in the snow, but there was nothing there. However, he felt something heavy around his waist, as if it was holding him tightly somewhere and he couldn't move.
Shen Shijiu whimpered and pouted in a babyish voice, "Ah... it's so heavy... please stop pressing on me... I want to... build a snowman..."
A muffled chuckle came from above his head. Shen Shijiu turned over, smacked his lips, and continued to make a snowman in his dream.
It seemed that he did not sleep very well. When Shen Shijiu woke up in a daze, it was already dawn.
He felt a little tired, his waist and legs were sore, and his arms were too heavy to lift. It was as if someone had rubbed his entire body and he was about to fall apart.
.
Maybe he was tired from dreaming, after all, he had been building a snowman all night.
When he got up to change his clothes, Shen Shijiu saw several suspicious red marks on his body.
His skin is thin and extremely delicate, and it will turn red if you touch it a little.
Maybe he knocked it accidentally while playing yesterday, and Shen Shijiu didn't take it seriously.
He pushed open the door and shivered involuntarily. The weather was indeed getting colder.
Zhou Wu on the opposite side also opened the door and walked out, but when he saw Shen Shijiu, he avoided him directly, always secretly glancing at him intentionally or unintentionally, with a strange and complicated look in his eyes.
After being stared at by him several times, Shen Shijiu finally couldn't bear it anymore. He walked straight to Zhou Wu and looked at him without blinking.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Zhou Wu coughed twice awkwardly, "No, no, no..."
However, in reality, Zhou Wu was so frightened that he was about to explode. No one knew what he saw when he got up early this morning and wanted to go to the bathroom.
He saw Pei Zheng walking out of Shen Shijiu's room.
Thinking back to the black robe that Shen Jiujiu was wearing last time, Zhou Wu felt that he must have known something important, but he didn't dare to say it.
After speaking a few words hurriedly to Shen Shijiu, Zhou Wu left first, using the excuse of going to the Second Princess.
When they arrived at Shuixieju, Qi Bingzhi was still resting and hadn't gotten up, but Xiaomei let Zhou Wu in directly.
"Meet the Second Princess."
"Come in." Qi Bingzhi's voice came from behind the curtain.
Zhou Wu walked in with his head lowered.
After a long time, Zhou Wu came out of Shuixieju. He had already told Qi Bingzhi everything he had seen and his own speculations.
Qi Bingzhi was so angry that he couldn't help but tremble all over, and the words he uttered were full of jealousy and cruelty.
"Shen Shijiu, I will never let you go!"
Then, an imperial edict came from the palace saying that the third princess Qi Yiru's biological mother, Concubine Xi, had died due to a relapse of illness and could not be saved.
As the only child of Concubine Xi, Qi Yiru was taken back to the palace to prepare for her funeral.
The Imperial Medical Bureau was also busy and had to recall one of Shen Shijiu and Zhou Wu.
Qi Bingzhi asked Zhou Wu to go back and leave Shen Shijiu in the prime minister's residence because she still had a score to settle with Shen Shijiu.
Before Zhou Wu left, he stayed in Shuixieju for a long time before reluctantly returning to the palace.
Therefore, the task of regulating Qi Bingzhi's body fell on Shen Shijiu.
He delivered medicine to Shuixie Ju every day, and then would obediently return to his own room. With the kitten to keep him company every day, he was not too bored.
But on this day, Shen Shijiu waited in the courtyard for a long time, but the little black cat did not come to find him. Instead, Xiaomei, the maidservant beside Qi Bingzhi, came.
"Shen Shijiu! Go check on the princess! She's injured! Quick!"
Shen Shijiu quickly took out the medicine box and followed Xiaomei to Shuixieju.
Qi Bingzhi was seen standing on the steps in front of the Shuixie Residence, surrounded by several servants, looking flustered and not knowing what to do.
"People are coming! Get out of the way, get out of the way quickly!"
Xiaomei was shouting in the front, and the others hurriedly made way.
Shen Shijiu walked over holding the medicine box and saw a large pool of blood on the ground.
There were two deep scratches on Qi Bingzhi's wrist, extending all the way up his arm. They looked hideous and blood was still flowing out.
"Look"
When Shen Shijiu heard the kitten's cry, he realized that little Miaowu was being pinned to the ground by two servants, unable to struggle, and there was blood on the kitten's claws.
It looked at Shen Shijiu weakly and helplessly, its eyes full of pleading and asking for help.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and heal the princess!"
Shen Shijiu came back to his senses, quickly opened the medicine box, took out the hemostatic powder and sprinkled it lightly on the wound. Qi Bingzhi was shaking with pain.
Shen Shijiu took out a piece of white gauze and wiped the blood and powder next to it clean for her. Qi Bingzhi frowned tightly.
Seeing this, Xiaomei yelled at Shen Shijiu, "Can't you be gentler? The princess is in so much pain, and you're still using so much force!"
Shen Shijiu pouted in grievance and complained quietly, "I was already very gentle..."
The bleeding from the wound finally stopped, but because the wound was too deep, it would definitely leave a scar.
As soon as these words were spoken, Qi Bingzhi's face changed drastically.
"No! I can't have scars. You have to heal me without leaving any marks!"
Shen Shijiu thought for a long time before saying, "But I don't know how to make this kind of medicine that won't leave scars. Only my master knows how to make it."
"Then find your master!"
"My master, I don't know where she went, and I can't find her..."
Qi Bingzhi turned to look at the quiet kitten. Xiaomei also looked at the cat and said angrily, "It was this ungrateful thing that dared to scratch the princess. The princess was willing to hug it, which was obviously giving it enough face. Could it be that cats are really more noble than humans in this prime minister's mansion!"
"Someone! Throw this cat out immediately. It's an eyesore." Xiaomei said in a bossy tone, looking very confident.
But the servants nearby were in a dilemma. How could they dare to throw the cat away? The master was not around now. If the master found out, they would probably be the ones to be thrown away.
Xiaomei became very angry when she saw that no one dared to take action.
She has been with Qi Bingzhi for so many years. Although Qi Bingzhi was not favored in the palace before, she was the queen's daughter after all, and others respected her no less.
But since coming to the Prime Minister's Mansion, no one really treats the princess as their own. Now no one dares to punish the cat that hurt the princess. Xiaomei walked over and wanted to catch the cat herself. Seeing this, Shen Shijiu became very nervous and quickly took the lead to pick up the little black cat.
The little black cat was scratching around in Qi Bingzhi's arms, but it was extremely obedient in Shen Shijiu's arms. It retracted its sharp claws and rubbed Shen Shijiu's hands with its chubby palms.
"Your Highness, Xiao Miaowu is actually very well behaved. Could you please not throw it away..."
Shen Shijiu looked at Qi Bingzhi with pleading eyes.
Unexpectedly, Qi Bingzhi became even more annoyed when she saw the man and the cat getting along so well. She glanced at Xiaomei, and Xiaomei understood.
"Shen Shijiu, you tricked me into revealing the cat. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't meddle in other people's business!"
Xiaomei wanted to snatch the cat directly from Shen Shijiu's arms, but Shen Shijiu dodged backwards.
"Xiao Miaowu must know that he was wrong. He won't dare to do it again in the future, right, Xiao Miaowu?" Shen Shijiu lowered his head and asked the kitten in his arms.
The little black cat seemed to be intelligent and knew that it was in a very dangerous situation. It fearfully crawled into Shen Shijiu's robe on his chest, hiding his body and leaving only two furry cat ears exposed.
"Look, look, look"
Shen Shijiu raised his head and said, "Listen, this is what it said."
Xiaomei glared at him, "Shen Shijiu! How can you understand what a beast is saying? Stop pretending! You're tricking me to come here!"
As she spoke, Xiaomei approached Shen Shijiu and reached out to grab the two cat ears.
"I understand!" Shen Shijiu protected the kitten's ears and went to ask Qi Bingzhi for help again.
"Your Highness, please let Xiao Miaowu go. Although he is a bit noisy, he won't hurt anyone unless you force him."
Qi Bingzhi raised his injured wrist and looked at Shen Shijiu with eyes as cold as ice.
"Shen Shijiu, what do you mean? Are you saying that I forced a cat to do this? Did I do this just to let it scratch me?"
In fact, Qi Bingzhi did it on purpose. She knew that the cat didn't like to be close to people, but she still deliberately forced it into her arms and even pinched its tail, which really caused the kitten to scratch her severely.
Qi Bingzhi just wanted to see if, in Pei Zheng's eyes, he was not even as good as a cat.
"That's not what I meant..." Shen Shijiu didn't know how to explain for Xiao Mao, but Qi Bingzhi's people still seemed unwilling to give in.
"My Lord loves Xiao Miaowu very much. Your Highness Princess cannot throw it away without permission. What if my Lord comes back and doesn't see Xiao Miaowu and gets angry? We should wait until my Lord comes back."
Shen Shijiu finally figured out that he could pull Pei Zheng out to give him some confidence. He believed that the adults would definitely not want to see little Xi Miaowu being bullied.
Qi Bingzhi indeed looked a little hesitant, and she was weighing in her mind whether or not she should test Pei Zheng in this way.
Seeing that her princess seemed to be at a loss as to what she was thinking, Xiaomei decided to go all out and stepped forward and gave Shen Shijiu a hard push.
"Don't talk nonsense here. In the adults' minds, a princess is of course more important than a cat! If you don't believe me, I can throw it out right now!"
Xiaomei asked the other two to hold Shen Shijiu's arms respectively, then she reached into his arms, grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and pulled it out.
Shen Shijiu didn't know where he got the strength from, but he flexibly pulled out one arm, hugged the kitten's body and took it back.
The cat struggled hard to break free from Xiaomei's hand, and even grabbed Xiaomei with its backhand. Xiaomei took a few steps back in pain.
Unexpectedly, Qi Bingzhi was standing not far behind Xiaomei, and was bumped by Xiaomei. He screamed and fell down.
There were a few steps next to him, which were not very high, but Qi Bingzhi fell down unexpectedly. Not only did he sprain his ankle, but the wound on his arm that had just stopped bleeding was also scratched and started bleeding again.
Everyone was terrified and rushed down to help Qi Bingzhi.
Qi Bingzhi felt pain all over his body, tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at Shen Shijiu with red eyes, which were filled with anger and hatred.
Shen Shijiu was held back again, and no one tried to snatch the cat anymore. The little black cat nestled obediently on his clothes on his chest.
Xiaomei ignored the wound on her hand, walked straight to Shen Shijiu and slapped him hard.
"It's all because of you! You actually caused the princess to fall down the stairs. Shen Shijiu, you are too arrogant. You are just a little apprentice. How dare you treat the princess like this!"
Shen Shijiu's head tilted to the side after being slapped in the face. He felt a burning pain on his cheek, and a five-finger print instantly swelled up on it.
He hadn't reacted yet to what was happening. It was clearly not him who pushed the princess down the stairs. It was Xiaomei who pushed her.
But Xiaomei seemed to have pushed all the blame onto him. She raised her hand high and wanted to slap Shen Shijiu again.
At this time, the housekeeper Li Yu hurried over and shouted to stop them, "Stop it! The master is back!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Zheng walked into the courtyard of Shuixieju.
There was chaos in front of the Shuixie Residence. Qi Bingzhi was supported by someone and stood at the steps in front of the attic, while Shen Shijiu was firmly restrained by several people and stood on the steps with obvious slap marks on his little face.
Pei Zheng walked up the stairs with his hands behind his back, walked up to Shen Shijiu, lifted his chin with his finger, and looked carefully at the mark on his face.
Then he turned around and looked at Xiaomei who was standing next to him with her head down, "Did you hit him?"
Xiaomei sensed the chill emanating from Pei Zheng. She didn't dare to speak and nodded silently.
"look up."
Xiaomei raised her head obediently and then took a deep breath.
Pei Zheng was standing right in front of her, his eyes half-closed in displeasure, looking as cold and handsome as the man in the painting.
No wonder the princess was so obsessed.
The next second, Pei Zheng raised his hand and slapped Xiaomei.
This palm strike did not use internal force, but it was still powerful enough to make Xiaomei fall directly to the ground, spitting out blood.