Chapter 218 2/3

A few days passed, and after seeing Li Laogen freely entering and leaving Concubine Liu’s room, Jin Xiaoye wasn’t as afraid of Concubine Liu anymore. Now, she could speak to Concubine Liu with ease.

“Thank you, Madam Li,” Concubine Liu said with a smile.

She knew what kind of shop Jin Xiaoye was opening, and now she could smell the delicious aroma wafting from the basket Jin Xiaoye was carrying… She wanted to try it!

That evening, Concubine Liu tasted the braised dishes from Juewei Zhai during dinner.

The food was excellent, especially the spicy duck, which she particularly enjoyed!

She had heard that the spicy dishes at Qingyun Tower were also delicious. She hadn’t been interested before and hadn’t joined the emperor when he went out to eat there, but now she wanted to try it.

She planned to find some time to visit Qingyun Tower for a meal, taking Qi An with her.

Concubine Liu gave Qi An a bit of braised chicken and then held him until he fell asleep.

Although Concubine Liu enjoyed life outside the palace, she was ultimately a Concubine and couldn’t stay outside the palace indefinitely.

That night, Lu Qingxi sent a message asking her to return to the palace.

Qi Jun had recovered and wanted to see her and Qi An.

Besides, she couldn’t stay outside the palace for too long. If Prince Jin or Prince Yan’s people found out, she might not be in danger, but it would certainly implicate Li Qingzhi and his family.

Early the next morning, Li Qingzhi came to treat Qi An as usual.

He had already healed Qi An’s life-threatening injuries; only the burns on Qi An’s skin and his eyes remained. These wounds couldn’t be healed without revealing his special abilities, which he couldn’t afford to do at this stage.

Li Qingzhi no longer used needles on Qi An. When he examined Qi An, Concubine Liu sat beside them.

After checking Qi An’s pulse, Li Qingzhi told Concubine Liu, “An’an is recovering quickly and is out of danger now.”

“Will his injuries worsen?” Concubine Liu asked.

Li Qingzhi responded confidently, “No, but as for his face and eyes… there’s nothing more I can do.”

“An’an surviving is already a blessing… Mr. Li, I have matters at home and need to return. Will this affect An’an?”

Li Qingzhi knew from her words that Concubine Liu planned to return to the palace. “An’an is much better now. He just needs to rest and recuperate; he doesn’t need to stay here any longer.”

“Thank you, Mr. Li.” Concubine Liu expressed her gratitude and instructed someone to bring out five hundred taels of silver for Li Qingzhi.

“Madam, this is too much,” Li Qingzhi felt a bit embarrassed.

Concubine Liu insisted, “You saved An’an. Even if I gave you fifty thousand taels, it would be deserved.”

In the end, Li Qingzhi accepted the money and watched as Concubine Liu left.

Coincidentally, right after seeing Concubine Liu off, Chang Duan sent a message informing him that the emperor would be dining at Qingyun Tower at noon.

Since guessing the intentions of Concubine Liu and Lu Qingxi, Li Qingzhi had contacted Chang Duan.

He had asked Chang Duan to notify him immediately when the emperor visited Qingyun Tower.

Li Qingzhi wanted to secretly observe the emperor.

To convincingly pose as the emperor’s son, he needed to resemble the emperor.

While he couldn’t make significant changes to his appearance, slight adjustments to his eyes could make a substantial difference.

He planned to use his special abilities to make himself look more like the emperor.

He also intended to learn the emperor’s mannerisms.

After all, some couples grow to resemble each other over time because they adopt each other’s mannerisms.

If he were to impersonate a prince, he had to do it perfectly!

With Concubine Liu gone, Li Qingzhi left the house and, after ensuring no one was following him, headed to Qingyun Tower.

Previously, Feng Da had secretly observed the emperor. This time, Chang Duan found a spot where Feng Da had hidden before, for Li Qingzhi to stay.

“Mr. Li, stay here. You’ll be able to see the emperor from this spot.”

Lu Qingxi always had the emperor’s dining area thoroughly checked by guards, so Li Qingzhi couldn’t get too close. He could only observe from a distance.

“Alright,” Li Qingzhi agreed.

The emperor’s decision to go out today was sudden.

He initially wanted to visit Concubine Liu, but Lu Qingxi advised against it, saying she was still angry. He suggested the emperor buy some gifts to appease her.

Persuaded, the emperor decided to go out to buy gifts for Concubine Liu.

“Your Majesty, we can ask Shopkeeper Duan to prepare a couple of portable dishes for the Concubine,” Lu Qingxi said as they approached Qingyun Tower.

After Qi An’s incident, the emperor had been in poor spirits. Although he managed to cope, his appetite had been terrible, and he ate very little each day.

Lu Qingxi hoped that dining at Qingyun Tower would encourage the emperor to eat more.

“Alright,” Qi Jun agreed. “Let’s trouble Shopkeeper Duan then.”

“It’s an honor for him to cook for you and the Concubine,” Lu Qingxi replied.

As they talked, they walked toward Qingyun Tower.

Li Qingzhi, with his keen eyesight, saw the emperor clearly despite the distance and then turned to leave.

Lu Qingxi sensed something and instinctively looked in a certain direction, but he only saw a figure dressed in a waiter’s uniform.

Not noticing anything amiss, he continued talking to the emperor.

Meanwhile, Li Qingzhi had entered the room where Chang Duan had set up for him to rest, where Feng Da was waiting.

“Mr. Li, did you see the emperor?” Feng Da asked curiously.

“Yes, I did,” Li Qingzhi replied.

Feng Da remarked, “I never imagined the emperor would look like that. He seems so frail, as if he could die any moment…”

Li Qingzhi remained silent. The emperor indeed gave that impression.

He lacked vitality, appearing old and feeble.

He was kept alive by the imperial doctor’ daily concoctions of precious medicines.

Moreover, the emperor had cataracts.

Li Qingzhi, observing from afar, confirmed this. The emperor’s weak body and impaired vision meant his quality of life was poor.

However, as long as the emperor was alive, Li Qingzhi believed he could help him live longer with his treatments.

After Feng Da left, Li Qingzhi stayed in the room, reflecting on the emperor’s appearance.

Though the emperor had aged, his current appearance allowed Li Qingzhi to infer how he might have looked in his youth.

They probably had similar noses. As for other features, Li Qingzhi planned to adjust his eyes and eyebrows.

Adjusting the eyelids was simple, and for the eyebrows, he deduced their shape from both the emperor’s current eyebrows and portraits of the emperor in his youth, planning to replicate them.

Of course, this had to be done gradually and carefully.

Regarding the emperor’s mannerisms, Li Qingzhi decided not to imitate them precisely since the emperor’s current gestures were likely different from his younger self’s.

Instead of mimicking the emperor, it would be more practical to mimic Concubine Liu.

It was rumored that Concubine Liu once had a child who sadly died young.

Besides two princesses, the emperor only had this child.

Thus, Concubine Liu and Lu Qingxi would use this child’s story to find someone to impersonate a prince, making him not only the emperor’s child but also Concubine Liu’s.

Adopting some of Concubine Liu’s mannerisms could also work.

However, he couldn’t imitate her entirely, as that would be too obvious.

He only needed to adopt enough to make the emperor feel a sense of familiarity when seeing him.