WBSGVS Chapter 187 V2

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The three of them slipped out of the Cold Palace. Before leaving, they had Qingli change into Baizhu’s clothes. Although they were much too big, with a bit of adjusting, they looked passable—this was Xiling’s final insistence.

Along the way, Qingli genuinely acted like she just wanted to consult the doctor, asking him all sorts of questions.

When they arrived at the Imperial Medical Bureau, the young doctor went to fetch the medicine while Qingli trailed behind, pretending to continue her inquiries. Although this wasn’t exactly proper etiquette, the doctor didn’t say anything, likely out of respect for her identity.

The medicine for a simple cold, along with some basic tonics, was easy to gather. Since the young doctor had very limited authority, the process went smoothly. Once the medicine was ready, he just had to register which palace it was for and who would be taking it, and then they could leave.

On the way back, Xiling kept a close eye on Qingli, afraid she’d take off and somehow find the Emperor to complain.

What surprised her was that the little princess stayed obedient the entire time, sticking by her side without even glancing around suspiciously. Every time their eyes met, there was even confusion in Qingli’s gaze, as if she didn’t understand why Xiling was watching her so closely.

That innocent demeanor, and the eager way she had asked to tag along earlier, made Xiling almost start to doubt herself—maybe those terrifying things from last night had all just been a bad dream.

But it was precisely because of this calm that Xiling became even more uneasy.

The young doctor, knowing their setup was rudimentary, had kindly gifted them some tools—strainers for filtering out dregs and even wrote out detailed instructions on how to boil the medicine, just in case she forgot.

When they got back, Xiling went to fetch food from the imperial kitchen while Baizhu started preparing the medicine.

Qingli, meanwhile, quickly returned to her room and carefully unpacked the herbs she’d managed to smuggle from the medical bureau. She wrapped them in torn scraps of cloth and hid them in the run-down little shed behind the main hall.

Once that was done, she let out a long breath of relief. On the way back, she hadn’t dared to look left or right—she’d memorized the route on the way there and just wanted to get back quickly, terrified the herbs hidden in her sleeves or waistband might fall out. That would’ve been hard to explain.

With these medicines in hand, it would be much easier to deal with people like Xiling.

After hiding the medicine, she moved the books she’d stashed earlier to a different hiding spot—she didn’t plan to read them for now. Instead, she returned to her bed to keep her younger brother Sima Yan company. He’d slept most of the previous day.

Sima Yan had grown up in the Cold Palace and had never left this small corner of the palace. He knew very little about the outside world, and his personality was painfully innocent. He was also obedient to a fault—if his sister wasn’t around, he didn’t cry or make a fuss. The moment he saw Qingli, his eyes lit up, and he scurried over, clearly wanting to snuggle into her arms.

But as he got close, something seemed to occur to him. He suddenly pulled back, burrowing into his blanket with a look of disappointment. “I can’t hug you… I’ll get you sick!”

Qingli chuckled softly and pulled him into her arms anyway. He was light and frail—she’d noticed that when massaging his pressure points before—so it didn’t take much effort to lift him. She said gently, “It’s okay, it’s not contagious. I’m taking medicine too.”

Sima Yan visibly relaxed, letting out a sweet smile as he looked up at her and asked quietly, “Jiejie, what did Mom look like when you saw her?”

He hadn’t seen their mother in so long that he could barely remember her face. He’d been afraid his sister had forgotten too, but since she said she saw her yesterday, she must still remember.

“She had big eyes,” Qingli said, “and fair skin…”

The siblings spoke in hushed tones. Sima Yan began to doze off again. Before falling fully asleep, he drank his medicine and ate a bit of food. Then he finally drifted off. Baizhu and Xiling ate after them, each going off to do their tasks afterward.

Qingli was glad to be left alone. After they were gone, she locked the door and went to the back hall, where she sat in the sunlight and read.

Over the next few days, Xiling behaved unusually well. While she was still lazy as always, she delivered the meal box right away, letting Qingli and Sima Yan eat first before she and Baizhu ate.

Seven days passed. Sima Yan had completely recovered from his cold, though he remained physically weak. Qingli had been drinking restorative medicine for several days as well, and the dizzy spells had become much less frequent.

Thanks to regular meals and medicine, the sickly yellow tint on their faces had faded, revealing the fair skin typical of normal children.

To keep Sima Yan from falling sick again, Qingli gave him a daily “mission”—to kick a wooden block from one end of the courtyard to the other to exercise.

She also secretly resumed her martial arts practice at night, using every spare moment to train.

But good times never last. That day, as Qingli was reading, a middle-aged woman’s sharp, commanding voice rang out from outside. It carried the tone of someone used to giving orders: “So, I’ve been gone for a few days. Has anything gone wrong while I was away?”

The two maidservants obediently reported the recent events. When they mentioned the trip to the Imperial Medical Bureau to fetch a doctor, the woman’s tone immediately darkened.

“Xiling, come with me!” she barked.

Xiling’s face fell as she followed her.

Inside, the woman’s raised voice startled Sima Yan, who was in the middle of completing his wooden-block exercise. His expression changed, and he kicked the block away as he ran to hide behind Qingli.

“Jiejie, Mama Dai is back!” he said fearfully.

That meant they’d be forced to eat the food that gave them diarrhea again!

After these past few peaceful days, Sima Yan couldn’t bear the thought of returning to that nightmare. He hadn’t even seen her face yet, but just hearing her voice had him on the verge of tears.