On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2252 Exchange of Real and Fake

Reaching the back door, Linlang pushed open the inconspicuous wooden door. Outside was a narrow, quiet alleyway, deserted and deserted.

Manager Qi stepped out of the door with trepidation, and was about to take a step forward when Linlang called out to him.

"Manager Qi, wait a moment."

Manager Qi's heart jumped into his throat again, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Manager Qi slowly turned around, forcing a smile on his face, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

"Miss, is there...is there anything else?"

Linlang stepped forward, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of warning, "My master captured you secretly without alerting anyone or leaving any trace."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and stroked the small curved knife at her waist. The patterns on the scabbard gleamed in the dim light. "After you leave, don't talk about anything related to the Prince's Mansion or your experiences here."

Manager Qi's gaze fell on the curved knife, his face paled, and he nodded hurriedly, his tone extremely sincere: "Don't worry, Miss, and please don't worry, Your Highness!"

I, Qi, keep my word. I guarantee I won't say a word. Just pretend... just pretend I was never here.

"Very well then." Linlang looked at his nervous appearance, her eyes devoid of any warmth. "Then you may leave."

Manager Qi felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He nodded hurriedly, turned around and took two steps back. Only when he saw that Linlang did not stop him again did he dare to turn around.

At first, I walked slowly, but after a few steps, my pace quickened, and finally I almost jogged, disappearing at the end of the road in the blink of an eye.

Linlang watched his hasty retreating figure, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips, before turning back to the courtyard to report.

"Master, he's gone."

Yan Ruyu was standing under the flowering tree, raising her hand to brush away a fallen petal. Hearing this, she nodded slightly: "Send someone to inform Sun Qing that it's time for him to return."

"Yes, I will take care of it right away." Linlang bowed and replied, then turned and quickly left.

Meanwhile, in the fresh produce shop, Sun Qing, disguised as Manager Qi, was sitting behind the counter, pretending to look through the account books.

After being "poisoned," he rested in the room. When he came out, he was very "weak." He was covered with a thin sheet, sat in a large chair, and rarely looked up or showed his face. The shop assistants did not suspect anything.

Suddenly, a customer hurried in, walked to the counter, and said in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, my family needs three servings of the latest medicinal cuisine. Can they be ready within half an hour?"

This was a pre-arranged code—to make him find an excuse to leave.

Sun Qing's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm, frowning slightly as he said, "Okay, no problem."

He instructed his staff to do so, and the guest turned and left.

Sun Qing put down the account book, muttering that he was still weak and his body couldn't take it anymore. He got up, draped a sheet over himself, and slowly moved towards the backyard.

The men didn't pay any attention, assuming he was going back to his room to rest.

Sun Qing passed through the small gate in the backyard, made sure no one was around, then turned into a small alley with light steps and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Not long after Sun Qinggang left, Manager Qi appeared panting outside the back door of the fresh produce shop.

He jogged back, his chest still heaving, his face exhausted, and his clothes covered in dust.

He peeked into the shop and saw that the shop assistants were all doing their jobs and no one was paying attention to him. He breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and quickly walked in.

He went straight to his room in the backyard, and only when he pushed open the door and closed it behind him did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, leaning his back against the door and panting heavily.

Only now did he dare to be sure that he had truly escaped a calamity and had not been silenced by Yan Ruyu.

The room was furnished exactly as it was when he left, and it looked very clean, so it seemed that someone had cleaned it.

He didn't think too much about it. As the tension subsided, he felt dizzy and his stomach started growling at an inopportune moment.

These days, he hadn't eaten or slept well in the dark room of the Prince's Mansion. His body ached and smelled bad, and he was in a sorry state.

If the shop assistants saw him like this, it would inevitably cause controversy.

He walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and called out, "Little Sanzi, come in for a moment."

Soon, a young waiter ran over and asked through the window, "Boss, what can I do for you?"

Manager Qi said in a deep voice, "Go and boil some hot water for me. I want to take a bath. Also, go to the kitchen and see if there's anything to eat. Cook me a bowl of noodles."

"Alright, shopkeeper, please wait a moment, I'll get right on it." Xiao Sanzi replied quickly, turned around and ran out.

Manager Qi walked to the bedside, took off his dirty clothes, and threw them aside, feeling sore all over.

Before long, everything was ready at the water room.

"Shopkeeper, the hot water is here. I've already asked the kitchen to cook the noodles. They'll be ready soon."

"I understand. You may leave now. Do not come in without my permission," said Manager Qi.

Xiao Sanzi nodded, bowed, and withdrew.

Manager Qi walked to the bucket and soaked himself in the hot water. The warm water enveloped his body, dispelling the cold and fatigue of the past few days and washing away the sour smell.

He closed his eyes, leaned against the basin, and let out a long sigh of relief. He felt as if every pore on his body had opened up, and he felt much more refreshed.

After taking a bath, he changed into clean clothes. Just as he finished getting ready, Xiao Sanzi came in carrying a steaming bowl of noodles.

The noodles were cooked to the perfect firmness, topped with a few pieces of greens and a poached egg, and smelled wonderful.

Manager Qi was already starving. He took the bowl and chopsticks and, not caring that they were hot, started eating heartily.

The warm noodles slid down his throat, warming his stomach and gradually clearing his muddled mind.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, he patted his round belly and let out a long sigh.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," Manager Qi replied casually.

The door was pushed open, and Accountant Liu walked in carrying a bowl of medicine.

With a gentle smile on his face and steady steps, he walked to the table and gently placed the medicine bowl on it: "Shopkeeper, the medicine is ready. Please drink it while it's hot."

Manager Qi frowned slightly as he looked at the bowl of dark, medicinal soup on the table, his mind filled with doubts.

Medicine? What kind of medicine did you drink when you were perfectly fine?

Suddenly, he remembered how fiercely Miaoqin had hit Zhou Zhenghang that day, and a chill ran down his spine.

Could it be... that they're going to target him too?

He looked up at Accountant Liu and saw that Accountant Liu's smile was still gentle. For a moment, he hesitated, wondering whether he should drink the medicine.

He quickly made up his mind: "I'm not sick, why should I take any medicine?"

"I just ate a bowl of noodles and I'm still a bit full. I'll drink some more later. You can go now."