Chapter 183: Going Crazy

Prince Yuliu was somewhat surprised to see Princess Lingque wake up so quickly. "Royal Sister, you are awake."

"Mm." Princess Lingque's lips moved slightly.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm alright, though my head hurts a little."

"You sustained an injury to your head; you'll be fine after resting for a while—" Prince Yuliu paused, staring at Princess Lingque suspiciously. "Royal Sister, did you... remember something?"

"Remember what?"

Prince Yuliu pointed to her head. "You were hit on the head by a stone and lost your memory. Have you remembered who I am now?"

Princess Lingque looked at Prince Yuliu with her beautiful eyes, suddenly smiled, and said leisurely, "I didn't forget."

"Didn't forget?" Prince Yuliu frowned in thought, then his eyes suddenly widened. "Royal Sister, you didn't lose your memory?"

Princess Lingque nodded.

Prince Yuliu's thoughts were a bit muddled. "Then why did you say just now that you remembered nothing?"

Princess Lingque arched an eyebrow, a cold smile curling her lips. "I couldn't have taken that hit for nothing. Tell me, Brother, between a version of me that would recover in half a month and a version of me that is injured and amnesiac, which one's demands are easier to satisfy?"

Prince Yuliu's eyes lit up, and he patted Princess Lingque's arm. "Royal Sister, you are truly clever."

It was a good thing this girl had come to Great Zhou; if she were still in Yuliu, she would be someone not to be underestimated.

"Did you start pretending to be unconscious after you first woke up?" Prince Yuliu thought back to Princess Lingque's brief moment of lucidity.

"The first time I woke up?" Princess Lingque thought for a moment before a faint impression surfaced. "That time, I could barely see the people around me; my head was so heavy that I quickly lost consciousness. By the way, Brother, what was my reaction after the accident?"

"The Emperor and Empress Dowager of Great Zhou both sent gifts, and a concubine in charge of the inner palace came to visit. As for the others, they were either nervous or curious, but they were insignificant." Prince Yuliu recounted the reactions of various parties one by one.

"What about that Princess Yi'an?"

"She seemed somewhat frightened; after all, it was her responsibility to host the banquet. Why is Royal Sister paying special attention to her?"

Princess Lingque smiled. "Didn't you say it yourself, Brother? This flower-viewing banquet was her responsibility, and I was accompanied by her the whole time. Speaking of which, my injury was also thanks to Princess Yi'an."

"How so?"

"She was the one who called me over. Thinking back now, it was to stop me from inquiring about a young girl's origins." Princess Lingque recounted the situation at the time. "That young girl called Princess Yi'an 'Sister.' Brother, quietly send someone to look into that girl's identity; there must be something suspicious about this."

Prince Yuliu agreed immediately, and it didn't take much effort to find out.

"Royal Sister, you surely wouldn't guess it, but Princess Yi'an is not the biological daughter of the Emperor of Great Zhou."

"Not biological?" Princess Lingque grew interested. "Brother, tell me, what is the specific situation?"

Prince Yuliu spoke of the information he had gathered. "This Princess Yi'an was originally the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Weiwu's manor, named Kou Jiao. The young girl you mentioned is her biological younger sister, Kou Wan. When Princess Yi'an was very young, she was taken into the palace to be raised by the Empress Dowager of Great Zhou. The Emperor of Great Zhou is filial to his mother, so he bestowed upon her the title of Princess."

Princess Lingque burst into laughter. "Isn't that basically the same as raising a kitten or a puppy?"

No wonder Princess Yi'an was so afraid she would discover the relationship with that young girl; she was acting out of guilt.

Prince Yuliu shook his head. "That's not quite it. I heard the Empress Dowager of Great Zhou truly loves Princess Yi'an. The Marquis of Weiwu's manor is the Empress Dowager's maiden family, and Princess Yi'an is her grand-niece. As for the Emperor, out of respect for the Empress Dowager, he would naturally extend his affection to her as well."

"Is that so?" Princess Lingque toyed with her neatly trimmed fingernails.

After resting for two days, her head didn't hurt as much, giving her the energy to think more deeply.

"It shouldn't be wrong. The Emperor of Great Zhou is extremely filial to the Empress Dowager; even Princess Yi'an's marriage was decided by a single word from the Empress Dowager."

Princess Lingque lifted her eyelids, her gaze rippling. "Who is the Consort?"

"It is last year's top scholar, Yang Zhe. Although Yang Zhe comes from a humble background, he possesses outstanding talent and exceptional looks. I heard he is highly esteemed by high-ranking officials and has a limitless future."

"Did Yang Zhe attend the banquet that day?"

"He did. He also went over when you were injured. I watched closely, and Princess Yi'an seems to have a very good relationship with him."

"Heh." Princess Lingque smiled.

If her initial opposition to Princess Yi'an was merely due to differing stances, she now harbored much more personal emotion toward her: loathing the other for bringing her unprovoked disaster, and disdain for a fake acting like a Great Zhou Princess in front of her.

"Princess, it is time to change your medicine." A maid walked over and reminded her respectfully.

Before the conversation could finish, Princess Lingque asked Prince Yuliu to wait in the outer room. Two maids approached; one began to unwrap her bandages, while the other held the ointment and gauze.

Her long black hair flowed down, and Princess Lingque smelled a faint, strange odor—a mixture of sweat, oil, and the scent of blood.

She hadn't been able to care during the past two days, so she hadn't noticed, but now that her wound didn't hurt as much, the smell emanating from her hair was unbearable.

"Bring me a mirror."

The two maids exchanged a glance but did not move.

Princess Lingque was known to be absolute in her commands before her maids. Her face darkened instantly. "Did you not hear me?"

One maid gathered her courage to advise, "Princess, perhaps it is better to wait until you have fully recovered before looking."

"I told you to bring a mirror, why so much nonsense!" Princess Lingque flared up.

Her wound could not touch water yet, so she couldn't wash her hair, but she at least wanted to see what kind of mess her injury had made.

The maid did not dare to speak again and silently brought the mirror.

The precious glass mirror reflected everything with startling clarity. Princess Lingque took one glance and let out a scream.

Prince Yuliu, who was waiting in the outer room, rushed in. "What happened?"

In her panic, Princess Lingque grabbed a nearby object and threw it. "Get out!"

Prince Yuliu turned and rushed out. Hearing the sound of the object hitting the floor behind him, his expression became somewhat strange.

Even though it was only a fleeting glance, he saw it—there was a bald patch on his sister's head!

Bald!

Inside the room, Princess Lingque was on the verge of a breakdown. "Where is my hair? Where is my hair?!"

"Princess, please calm down. You'll hurt your wound if you pull at it."

"I am asking you, where is my hair?!" Princess Lingque pointed to the most conspicuous spot on her head.

A maid answered tremblingly, "When the imperial physician was treating your wound, he... he cut it off."

Under the murderous gaze of the Princess, the maid almost forgot how to say the word "cut."

After another bout of commotion, the room finally returned to silence. Princess Lingque stared fixedly at the glass mirror, her face so dark it looked as if it could drip water.

After an unknown amount of time, she called out coldly, "Brother."

Prince Yuliu, waiting in the outer room, rushed in impatiently.

He knew that regardless of whether their sibling bond was truly close, he shouldn't adopt a bystander's attitude in a foreign land, but facing his sister with a bald patch on her head, he could not help himself.

(End of Chapter)