After making the arrangements, Chu Hengyuan boarded his carriage and headed toward the Imperial Palace. Shortly after it departed, Aran began to regain consciousness.
She snapped her eyes open and sat up abruptly, scanning her surroundings. She realized she was in Chenyang Pavilion, located within Chenyang Courtyard, and when she saw that she had been lying in Chu Hengyuan’s own bedchamber, she was so startled that she tumbled right off the bed.
How did she end up in this place? Aran pondered for a long time but could make neither head nor tail of it. She shook her head, deciding it was best not to dwell on it.
Now, she needed to figure out how to avoid Chu Hengyuan and minimize her encounters with him before she left for the Northwest.
Poor Aran had no idea that the private discussions between her eldest brother and Seventh Brother had effectively cut off her chances of going to the Northwest entirely. Never mind the Northwest; she doubted Chu Hengyuan would even allow her to leave the Capital!
Aran fled Chenyang Courtyard as if she were escaping. This was the territory of that heartless man, after all. Yesterday, she hadn't finished her kneeling punishment, and she had offended Murong Qingyan; she had no idea if he would impose further penalties upon her.
Qingfeng Court was where she and Leng Yi and the others resided. Because she was a woman, she had been assigned a separate room.
Back at her quarters, Aran fetched hot water and clean clothes, preparing to wash up. When she took off her skirt and saw the cloth bandages on her knees, she couldn't stay calm. She had served Chu Hengyuan for years; how could she not recognize his personal belongings?
Could it be that he had carried her to Chenyang Pavilion? Had he been the one to treat her wounds? What was this all about? Where exactly had things gone wrong? She needed to know what had happened after she fainted yesterday. She would go ask Brother Leng Yi as soon as she finished cleaning up.
Once she was washed, Aran knocked on Leng Yi’s door. It was Leng Qi who opened it. "Xiao Jiu, you’re here! Come in, come in. How are your knees? Come, sit down." He walked over to the table and pulled out a round stool for her.
"Eldest Brother, Seventh Brother," Aran said, greeting them first. "I’m already much better, Seventh Brother, don’t worry." She steadied herself on the edge of the table and sat on the stool.
"Xiao Jiu, just rest easy for the next couple of days. We brothers will handle all your chores," Leng Qi said, thumping his chest.
"I’m sorry for the trouble, brothers. I actually came to ask Eldest Brother something: who was it that brought me to Chenyang Pavilion for treatment yesterday?" Aran asked.
"It was the Prince," Leng Yi replied, looking uncomfortable.
"How could it be the Prince? Why would it be him?" Aran blurted out, her face full of disbelief. Had the Prince taken the wrong medicine? If Chu Hengyuan knew she was thinking such things, he would likely be so angry he’d cough up blood!
"I know, I know, Xiao Jiu, it happened like this..." Leng Qi began to recount the events of yesterday with great animation; he had been following the Prince the entire time. However, he didn't dare mention that the Prince had learned of Aran’s desire to go to the Northwest and had already put an end to that idea.
*Pah, pah, pah!* Talk really does invite trouble. He had to learn to keep his mouth shut in the future.
The very thing she feared most came up. Worried that Chu Hengyuan would settle scores later, Aran said, "Eldest Brother, please hurry and propose my transfer to the Northwest to the Prince. If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid the next time I’m injured, it won’t just be my knees."
Leng Yi glared at Leng Qi, signaling that he had caused this mess and should be the one to clean it up—he wasn't going to take the blame for him.
Leng Qi rubbed his nose and said, with a straight face, "Well, Xiao Jiu, about the Northwest... let’s think this over carefully. It’s far away and a desolate, impoverished place. We can’t bear to see you suffering through the wind and rain. Let’s just not go, all right?"
But Aran was determined. She wanted to get as far away as possible—the more remote, the better. How could she not go? "Seventh Brother, please don't try to persuade me. This time, I have made up my mind."