Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Inside the Qin family's dining hall, the entire family sat around a table.

"Yue'er, why did you run off to your uncle's place by yourself last night? You really scared your grandmother."

Madam Qin had only just begun to relax after a whole morning of worry. She had barely touched her breakfast and was now filled with lingering fear as she looked at Ling Yue across from her.

Ling Yue glanced sideways at Ling Xi beside him, noticing her calm expression, then turned back to answer seriously:

"Uncle Rui was seriously injured while saving me. I was worried and couldn't sleep, so I wanted to go see him."

Upon hearing this, Ling Xi and Wu Shuang exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's meaning.

"Mother, our Yue'er knows how to repay kindness. Don't worry. I told you he would be at home and wouldn't get lost."

Yang Luoying had been married for several years, but her cheerful personality remained unchanged. At the dinner table, only she, Ling Yu, and Qin Xing were seriously eating.

Qin Qi's gaze kept falling on Ling Xi, who remained silent across from him, his mind in turmoil.

"Qi'er, how is Yizhi's injury now? Did the royal physician come to check his pulse this morning?"

Just as Madam Qin had finally felt relieved, she began to worry again.

"Don't worry, Mother. The family physician examined him this morning, and Yizhi is no longer in mortal danger."

Qin Qi replied seriously, but his tone was somewhat heavy.

"However, his back already had old and new injuries, and this time his lungs and internal organs were also injured. He will need to rest for at least several months before he can slowly recover."

"An old wound? He already had a wound on his back?"

"yes……"

Qin Qi responded, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over Ling Xi, who sat silently opposite him.

"That's just how Yizhi is. He always keeps everything to himself. Back then, he was seriously wounded in the back and hadn't fully recovered when he rushed to the battlefield. Later, he was shot in the chest by an arrow on the battlefield. Over the years, new wounds naturally piled on top of old ones..."

Ling Yue listened quietly with his head up the whole time. The more he listened, the tighter his brows furrowed. By the end, his face was completely tense.

"So he had old wounds on his chest and back, no wonder... Alas, Yizhi has suffered so much. Qi'er, you must take good care of him. By the way, did the physician say whether he can eat normally? Ask him carefully and then instruct the kitchen..."

"Mother, there's no need to trouble yourself."

Qin Qi interrupted her and said in a low voice.

"Yizhi has already returned to Prince Rui's residence."

"Did you go back?"

Madam Qin's voice suddenly rose, and everyone in the room paused, their hands stopping in their tracks. Even Ling Heng, who had been keeping his head down and silent, looked up.

Ling Xi stared blankly at Qin Qi, her eyes brimming with unconcealed worry.

"Uncle Rui is so badly injured, why are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Ling Yu, with porridge stains still on the corners of his mouth, looked up and asked, his face full of confusion.

Qin Qi raised his hand and gently rubbed the top of his head, a hint of warmth appearing in his eyes.

"Your Uncle Rui probably doesn't want to bother us."

"Yue'er, I'd like to take Yu'er and Yue'er to Prince Rui's residence for a few days. Yizhi is seriously injured and bedridden, and Consort Rui's old illness has relapsed. An'er might be too worried to be alone."

Qin Qi looked at Wushuang, seeking her opinion, but Wushuang turned to look at Ling Xi beside her. Yue'er was going to the Prince Rui's residence; she couldn't make the decision. Ling Xi's lips curled into a bitter smile, and she nodded slightly.

"If Yu'er and Yue'er are willing, then you may take them with you."

Upon hearing his mother's words, Ling Yu's eyes lit up, and he excitedly began to speak:

"I want to go! I've been practicing archery every day lately, and I'm determined to beat Xiao Chen'an this time!"

Qin Qi then turned to look at Ling Yue beside him:

"Yue'er, would you like to come along?"

Ling Yue naturally wanted to go, but he first glanced at Ling Xi's expression. Seeing that she looked calm and without any displeasure, he slowly nodded.

"Um."

"Daddy, we want to go to the stars too!"

Qin Xing immediately pouted, her face full of resentment.

"My dear Xingxing, you are still too young and need to stay with your mother. But it's not appropriate for your mother to stay at your Uncle Rui's house. If you really want to go, your aunt can take you there to play during the day, and you can come back to the manor in the evening, okay?"

"Oh well."

Qin Xing clearly felt that she was being treated differently, her face fell, but then her big eyes lit up again.

"Then I want Aunt Lingxi to take me."

……

The next day, Ling Xi stood quietly at the gate of Prince Rui's mansion, looking up at the magnificent and solemn mansion before her. Her fingers curled up involuntarily, her heart filled with a myriad of complex emotions that she could not calm down for a long time.

Five years ago, on the day she left, she also stared at the gate of the mansion for a long time in the same way. At that time, she was heartbroken and completely severed all ties with the Prince Rui's mansion.

Now, as time has passed, the scene before us seems unchanged. The vermilion gate remains bright, heavy, majestic, and solemn. The warm autumn sun shines on the vermilion door panels, casting a soft glow. In a daze, it seems as if time has never flowed.

What has changed is not the palace itself, but her, and the past hidden within it, a past that can never be revisited.

Her hands, hanging by her sides, trembled slightly. A tightness gripped her chest, and even her breathing became somewhat labored.

"Auntie, let's go inside quickly, I haven't seen Brother An for so long."

Qin Xing gently pulled her slightly cool fingers, shook her little hand lightly, and looked up with a clean and pure little face, urging her softly.

Ling Xi slowly lowered her eyes, concealing the sadness in them. She took a deep breath, then reached out and grasped Qin Xing's warm little hand, a faint, bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Now Yue'er's true identity can no longer be hidden; what she must face, she will ultimately have nowhere to escape.

Ling Xi lifted her foot, stepping into the warm sunlight, and walked step by step toward the vermilion gate that had kept her isolated for five years.

Butler Mu came out to greet them, and upon seeing the newcomer, he froze for a moment. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, took a few quick steps forward, and only after confirming the person's identity did he exclaim in surprise:

"Princess Consort?! Is it really you?"

A faint smile appeared on Ling Xi's face as she calmly looked at him.

"Uncle Mu, I am no longer a member of the Prince Rui's mansion."

Butler Mu immediately snapped out of his daze and awkwardly replied:

"It was this old servant's momentary excitement that caused me to lose my composure. Princess, have you come to see the Prince? The Prince is currently..."

"Uncle Mu, please take me to Zhengyang Courtyard first. I'd like to see Consort Rui first."

Before he could finish speaking, Ling Xi gently interrupted him.

"Also, please send someone to take Xingxing to Young Master Qin's place first."

"Okay...okay, okay."

Butler Mu quickly agreed and stepped aside to lead the way.

On the way to Zhengyang Courtyard, every tree, pavilion, and tower along the way remained exactly as it had been in the past, unchanged in the slightest. Stepping into the garden corridor she had walked countless times before, Ling Xi paused. Outside the corridor, the autumn wind rustled through the layers of sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows that swayed gently. Through the carved windows in the corridor wall, Ling Xi saw the shimmering surface of the lake, where she had once washed her feet and cooled off.

"Princess?"

Butler Mu, seeing that she hadn't followed, turned around to wait. Ling Xi withdrew her gaze and saw that the seemingly endless corridor was empty, without even a single servant in sight. The vast Prince Rui's mansion had clearly lost its former vitality, exuding a faint sense of loneliness and desolation. Ling Xi's gaze swept lightly over the surroundings under the corridor, her heart sinking slightly, and she finally asked softly:

"Uncle Mu, why does the manor look so deserted? Even the servants seem to have decreased significantly?"