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Lu Man was worried about He Mingzhu. At thirty-four years old, if she had married Li earlier, with Lu Man’s help in nurturing her health, she could still have a child. Waiting for Lu Fangrong to return from war, like a pesky plaster that couldn’t be shaken off, even if He Mingzhu didn’t forgive him, it would be distasteful.
They all boarded the carriage with several guards on horseback following along, heading to the Tongren Hall together.
Upon arriving at the Tongren Clinic, Lu Man, Xing, and Xiao Xi alighted from the carriage, while Xiao Zhong accompanied He Cheng to the Tongren Pharmacy.
Lu Man instructed Xing and Xiao Xi to wait in the courtyard as she headed straight to the rest area she frequented here.
Given the Crown Prince’s involvement, Lu Man was even more curious about what clues she could unearth regarding He Huang’s involvement. Even if she couldn’t take action now, she was determined to uncover the truth and understand the situation.
She closed and secured the door, checked the window with its intact cream-colored curtains, ensuring it remained closed. Without getting close to the window, the interior could not be seen.
She then pulled a folding screen in front of the window to block any view from outside before approaching the cabinet.
Opening the cabinet door, she carefully inspected it from top to bottom, focusing on the seams, and tapped it, finding nothing suspicious. She proceeded to examine the interior sides of the cabinet, finding no irregularities. Reluctant to dismantle the cabinet unless necessary, as it would attract attention.
Disheartened, she closed the cabinet door, staring at the four-pointed stars on its surface.
These stars were a clear indication to the possessor of the small copper pendant that something was amiss with the cabinet.
Suddenly, a realization struck her – the middle star among the six stars had an indentation, while the star on the small copper pendant protruded, seemingly of the same size.
Swiftly removing the pendant from her neck, she attempted to insert it into the middle of the leftmost star. Failing, she shifted one to the right, still unsuccessful. Moving to the second one on the right, the pendant surprisingly slid in.
Indeed, the mechanism lay here!
Her heart raced up to her throat as she took a deep breath and began to gently rotate the small copper pendant. It wouldn’t turn to the right, so she tried turning it to the left. To her surprise, it moved, causing the middle small star to rotate along with the outer large stars. A faint “click” was heard, and the pendant stopped turning. She carefully pulled the pendant out, causing the small star on the door to come off, revealing a small hole.
Inserting her index finger into the hole, she felt a gap above and touched something paper-like with her fingertip. Switching to her pinky finger, as it was longer and sharper, she slowly extracted a small rolled-up piece of oil paper, about the thickness of a pinky finger and over two inches long.
At that moment, she heard the voices of Manager Li, and Xing outside.
“Is Third Young Madam inside?” inquired Li, his voice reaching her ears.
Xing replied with a smile, “Hello, Manager Li. Third Young Madam suddenly felt a bit dizzy on the way and decided to rest inside.”
Concerned, Manager Li asked, “Should we find a physician to check on her?”
Xing reassured him, “Third Young Madam is a physician herself, there’s no need to find a physician.”
Manager Li chuckled, “True, then please let Third Young Madam rest well. If you need anything, call me from the front.”
As Lu Man heard Manager Li’s footsteps gradually receding, she was sweating profusely. Hastily wiping her brow with a cloth, she eagerly opened the oil paper roll.
Peeling off the outer layer of oil paper, she found a scroll of rice paper inside. Unrolling it, she saw it densely filled with writing that she recognized as He Huang’s handwriting from having seen his notes before.
Though she didn’t fully comprehend the content, she grasped the gist. Shocked by what she read, she discovered that the Crown Prince was indeed born from Concubine Li… Reading it twice, she memorized the contents.
Realizing that she couldn’t do anything about the information at present, she carefully concealed it once more. This hiding spot was truly well-hidden, even she had struggled to find it.
Thinking of hiding something, one would usually consider a partition or a hidden compartment, not a decorative carving on a cabinet door. He Huang must have sensed the abundance of palace secrets and feared for his life, thus creating this clever hiding spot. Lu Man believed this to be the safest location.
She wrapped the paper back up, secured it with the oil paper roll, and carefully inserted it into the small circular hole. Placing the small copper pendant back in the hole and gently turning it to the right, the small star on the door reattached itself.
Feeling relieved, Lu Man moved the folding screen aside and sat down to rest. Despite her suspicions, the revelation still made her heart race and her legs feel weak. She gazed at the six large star patterns, feeling a profound sense of sorrow.
Helpless, dragged into a major event, He Huang left this evidence until his death, spanning three agonizing months. The anticipation of innocence, pleading for divine intervention, led to her, in a different timeline, uncovering this secret as his granddaughter. Given her unique identity, there was a real possibility of unraveling the truth from years past…
After resting for over a quarter of an hour, Lu Man regained her strength and composure. Deciding not to inform Princess Changting immediately—knowing it would only add to her worries—she resolved to wait for Jiang Zhanwei’s return before discreetly seeking out those mentioned in the document. However, their fates remained uncertain.
Leaving the room, she inspected the work area with her two maids, confirming the need for more consultation rooms, as mentioned by Manager Li.
Initially hesitant to relocate due to suspicions of hidden mechanisms behind the large cabinet, now that she had discovered the secret, she agreed to the move. Lu Man informed Manager Li of the relocation plans and promised to visit after the rearrangement.
By mid-afternoon, Lu Man declined Manager Li’s offer of lunch, taking her maids to a restaurant instead.
Despite her extended stay in Dachun, Lu Man had dined at a restaurant only twice: once last year during the New Year with Jiang Zhanwei and the children, and once this year during the New Year with the children, He Mingzhu and He Cheng.
The restaurant was conveniently close to West Street, a mere fifteen-minute carriage ride away from the largest restaurant in town, the Jiahe Restaurant.
Exiting the carriage with her two maids and five guards, Lu Man entered the restaurant, spotting Song Ming and Song Mo leaving, looking content and satisfied, clearly having enjoyed their meal.