The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

"Your Highness, please don't invite me to the palace banquet three days from now," Luo Qingyan asked tentatively.

The invitation to the palace banquet came out of nowhere and her name was on it. Did Pei Shiyuan send her? Nobody in the palace knows her. Pei Shiyuan didn't say anything, so how did her name end up there?

He has such influence; with just a word, a concubine can attend a palace banquet.

"It's not that I'm telling you to go, it's that your name is on the post, so you have to go." Pei Shiyuan's gaze was distant and deep.

"Ah! Didn't you call me? Then who was it?" Luo Qingyan asked curiously, then glanced at Pei Shiyuan, whose aura was icy and fierce.

Luo Qingyan couldn't help but shiver, and her expression turned serious. It turned out that something bad was going on in the palace, and someone was plotting something.

"It must be Imperial Physician Feng. He must have told the Emperor or someone else, which is how they learned of my existence."

"Summon the physician from the Jiang family."

The physician from the Jiang family arrived shortly afterward.

"Physician Jiang, make my condition look even more serious than before today or tomorrow." Pei Shiyuan's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. No matter who Physician Feng mentioned Luo Qingyan to when he returned, inviting Luo Qingyan was a sign of ill intent. If he noticed that his health had improved, he would definitely make another move.

"Your Highness, it is true that medication can make the condition appear more serious, but it will ultimately harm your body. Moreover, the original cause of your illness is unclear. I am worried that if something goes wrong, problems may arise." The physician of the Jiang family sighed. The prince must be hiding his illness to prevent those with ulterior motives from noticing. It is not easy for him.

"Physician Jiang, please take the medicine. You'll be fine," Pei Shiyuan said firmly.

The physician from the Jiang family nodded helplessly.

"Your Highness, Physician Jiang, could you prescribe some medicine for me? Just say I'm sick and can't attend the palace banquet."

Pei Shiyuan has only just recovered; perhaps we should let her pretend to be sick. Luo Qingyan suggested.

"We both have to go to the palace banquet. How will we know what others are up to if we don't go?"

Pei Shiyuan felt that this was the first time since he fell ill that his opponent had come out into the open, and he wanted to see who was trying to harm the Duke's mansion.

"Your Highness, please take this prescription today. You will feel unwell tonight. I will come at the appointed time to observe your pulse." The physician from the Jiang family finished writing the prescription and left.

Luo Qingyan took the prescription, personally fetched the medicine, and decocted it.

"Your Highness, are you sure you want to drink this?" Luo Qingyan asked, holding the medicine bowl, reluctant to step forward.

"Give it to me." Pei Shiyuan held out his hand.

Luo Qingyan placed the medicine bowl in Pei Shiyuan's palm, her eyes reddening. The seemingly luxurious and wealthy mansion was actually fraught with hidden dangers, a place where one could lose their life in an instant. Life there was suffocating.

The heir to the Duke's mansion bears the weight of the entire household's fate, and the pressure he faces is unimaginable.

Pei Shiyuan drank it all in one gulp and coughed lightly twice.

Luo Qingyan quickly handed over the candy.

Pei Shiyuan waved his hand: "The tailor will come right away and make you a few outfits."

"No need for the young master. The new clothes made of Yun brocade, which were bestowed by the old lady, are worthy of being worn even at a palace banquet. Not to mention the headdress and jewelry, they are sure to be presentable at the palace banquet."

Luo Qingyan said.

"No, I want you to dress like the girls in Drunken Red Mansion or painted boats. Would you be alluring?" Pei Shiyuan said, suddenly feeling nauseous, he frowned and covered his stomach tightly with his hand.

Luo Qingyan's eyes widened. Shouldn't one be dignified when going to the palace? How dare she dress like this?

"If you don't know how, I'll find someone to teach you," Pei Shiyuan said urgently.

"I can, I don't know if I can." Luo Qingyan stammered in surprise.

"Okay, I'll have someone teach you. You must learn it in the next two days," Pei Shiyuan said through gritted teeth as his stomach pain intensified.

Luo Qingyan turned around: "Your Highness, I understand. You want to mislead them and make them lower their guard."

Pei Shiyuan glanced at Luo Qingyan, and with just a tenth of the courage he had for her, that would be enough.

"Young Master, what's wrong? Liuyue, quickly go and fetch the physician from the Jiang family."

Luo Qingyan supported Pei Shiyuan, who was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely.

The physician from the Jiang family rushed over, took his pulse, and said, "Young Master, if you want it to look realistic, you'll have to suffer a bit, like someone who has been tormented by illness for a long time. But judging from your pulse, it looks normal."

An hour later, the pain subsided. Pei Shiyuan was pale and leaned weakly against the couch, looking like a patient who didn't have much time left.

A tailor came to take Luo Qingyan's measurements, and then a woman in her forties named Liu Feng'er took charge of teaching Luo Qingyan.

"Aunt Luo, this is Aunt Liu." Yuan Qing led the people in.

"Hello, Aunt Liu." Luo Qingyan nodded and greeted her.

"Aunt Luo, you're too kind. Let's begin."

Aunt Liu taught me in detail everything from every smile and frown to the way I walked and the way my eyebrows and eyes were drawn.

Although Luo Qingyan's movements were stiff, Pei Shiyuan's face turned red and white in turns.

"Master, let me push you outside for a walk." Yuan Qing wanted to help Pei Shiyuan out of the predicament, but he was too embarrassed to watch this bewitching gesture.

"No need, you can leave, you don't need to come in."

He had to observe; he knew he was blushing, but he had to get used to it. On the day of the palace banquet, he had to be accustomed to these actions.

Yuan Qing had no choice but to leave. "My master isn't that kind of person. It would be too much trouble to force myself to learn."

Two hours later, Luo Qingyan, supporting her lower back, could no longer continue practicing.

"Aunt Luo, we'll continue tomorrow." Aunt Liu bowed to Pei Shiyuan and left.

"Your Highness, I can't go on anymore." Luo Qingyan plopped down on the couch, squeezing next to Pei Shiyuan.

"Come on, practice it for me." Pei Shiyuan felt that he still couldn't control his blushing, so he needed to watch more and get used to it.

Luo Qingyan rolled her eyes and leaned back on the couch, pretending to be dead: "Young Master, I'll rest for a while so you can practice."

Pei Shiyuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"Why do you call her Aunt Liu?" Luo Qingyan changed the subject and asked curiously.

When Yuan Qing called out, it was with a sense of awe and familiarity.

Aunt Liu clearly came from a brothel; is there a story behind this?

"When the rebel army broke through the capital, my father was commanding the battle and couldn't take care of my mother. As a result, a small troop of enemy soldiers sneaked into the manor and captured my mother. Liu Feng'er, who happened to be passing by, saw this. Liu Feng'er insisted that she was the Duchess of the State and took my mother's place. Fortunately, she was later rescued. We respected her and called her Aunt Liu. After that, she left the brothel, and the Duke's manor provided her with a house to live in. The reason she went to the enemy camp in place of my mother was simply because my mother had given her a steamed bun when she was homeless."

Luo Qingyan nodded silently: "So Aunt Liu is such a brave woman."

"So you must study hard tomorrow, and don't make a fool of yourself when you go to the palace the day after tomorrow," Pei Shiyuan said seriously.

"Heh~" Luo Qingyan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" Pei Shiyuan glared at Luo Qingyan.

Luo Qingyan took a breath and sat up straight: "I'm laughing at you. If I learned it, wouldn't you still be exposed? Your Highness, your face was red the whole time. Who would believe you're a womanizing scoundrel? Changing that is harder than me learning the moves."

Pei Shiyuan turned his face away in annoyance. He was as stiff as a crab, yet he still had the nerve to laugh at him.

"Are you angry, Your Highness? You don't need to overcome this problem. Just put some makeup on your face and you can cover it up."

Luo Qingyan clung to Pei Shiyuan's arm playfully.

"Stop talking nonsense and go practice." Pei Shiyuan frowned.

"Oh." Luo Qingyan slowly stood up, a malicious smile appearing on her lips.