Beauty fades, bones remain

  Rui Wang Wei Qian was brought here by his servants, and what he saw was Xiao Heng's appearance of being so dissolute. His eyebrows furrowed, although Xiao Heng had always been known for his elegance, he had never seen him in such a state of disarray before. It seemed that this abnormal behavior started after bringing back the name list from Zhu's residence? He touched the folded paper at his sleeve and suddenly felt that he might have done something good.

  He walked to Xiao Heng's side, sat down slowly, picked up a wine jug on one side, and without hesitation, took a sip after Xiao Heng had just drunk. He praised: "Good wine! You little rascal, these days you've been hiding here enjoying the peace, while I'm busy with miscellaneous tasks every day, but not as carefree as you."

  Xiao Heng's rhythm in his hand remained unchanged, and his slightly drunken peach blossom eyes seemed to smile but not quite smiled at Rui Wang, saying: "The humble subject thinks that Your Highness is enjoying himself."

  Wei Qian's eyebrows slightly raised, neither affirming nor denying, listened to him start singing again, unintentionally found a tune, and called over the person in charge of the music house, asking: "Has he been like this lately?"

  The manager self-consciously came to the rescue, with a bitter face complaining: "Isn't that right? Xiao Gongzi has been chanting this Feng Qiu Huang from dawn till dusk, and the girls and young masters in the music hall have to accompany him non-stop. These days have all been spent sighing and complaining, and business hasn't been going well."

  "......May words match virtue, hand in hand we'll go together. Unable to fly, I'm made to perish."

  Xiao Heng was still singing loudly, Wei Qian waved his hand to dismiss the servants and took another sip of wine, sighing: "What a pity, this beauty will soon be left alone in the cold palace walls, it's really a pity."

  The singing suddenly stopped, and Xiao Heng finally focused his attention on Wei Qian, his peach blossom eyes narrowing slightly as he asked: "What do you mean by this?"

  Wei Gan took out a folded paper from his sleeve and put it on the table, "You see for yourself."

  Xiao Heng opened the folded paper and waited until he saw the contents clearly. His face gradually turned gloomy, "Wang Ye, help me out..."

  The Plum Fragrance Courtyard of Zhu's Residence.

  Lanmei was applying medicine to Su Mei, but her mind was on the desk beside her where she had ground ink and picked up a brush to dance across a snow-white sheet of paper, filling a whole page in no time.

  She handed the paper to Duanmei and said: "This is a prescription, you go get the medicine yourself, be discreet."

  She glanced at the girl who had already returned to her usual calm and quiet self, but for some reason, she felt a sense of unease in her heart. She took over the prescription and asked nervously: "Miss, what is this..."

  Yuanni took the secret medicine given to her by Xiao Heng, ignoring Su Mei's surprise and delight, personally applying the medicine to her forehead to clear the swelling. When Lan Mei asked a question, she didn't even lift her head and said: "You don't need to worry about it, just follow my orders."

  "Yes, miss."

  In the evening, Lanmei finally brought back a package of medicine. After dinner, Yuanyi had her decoct it and bring it to his room. He dismissed the servant girls and sat in front of the black, thick medicinal broth on the desk, lost in thought.

  Unexpectedly, after a lifetime, she would use this medicine again. In her previous life, she had only taken one dose, and black spots slowly grew on her face, ruining her flawless complexion, making it mediocre.

  Her slender fingers rubbed the edge of the celadon-gilt bowl, her eyes deep and profound like a pool. She should have made up her mind to drink it long ago, so as not to cause more trouble. It was just a skin bag after all, and in the end, it was still a withered beauty, a pity that she had wasted two lifetimes and still couldn't let go.

  Yuanyi twitched the corner of his mouth, picked up the porcelain bowl, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back to drink. Who would have thought that just as he opened his mouth, his left hand, which was holding the medicine, suddenly felt a sharp pain? His grip loosened, and with a loud crash, the porcelain bowl shattered, spilling the dark liquid all over his chest. Under the oil lamp, the emerald green glass beads sparkled with dazzling brilliance.