Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Ling Xi's eyelashes trembled slightly. Her heart clenched for a moment, but she finally stepped forward and onto the familiar bluestone steps, entering the Chuixing Courtyard again after five years.

As soon as they stepped into the bedroom, a faint smell of medicine wafted towards them. Lu Baixu stood by the bed, eyes lowered in concentration, his fingertips gripping a fine silver needle as he focused on administering acupuncture to the unconscious Xiao Ce. Qin Qi stood calmly at the foot of the bed.

Ling Xi stood by the door, her gaze falling on the three people in front of the bed. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, feeling that the scene before her was extremely familiar, as if she had experienced it before.

"Ling Xi?"

Qin Qi was the first to spot the figure at the door. His eyes widened in surprise, and he paused for a moment before speaking, breaking the silence inside the room.

Lu Baixu, who was administering acupuncture, did not turn his head from beginning to end. His expression remained calm, except for a slight movement in his dark eyes. No one could detect the slightest ripple.

"Why are you here?"

Qin Qi came over from the bedside, his serious expression turning into a gentle smile.

"Just now I saw Vice Minister Lu and Steward Mu hurrying towards Chuixing Courtyard, and I wondered if something had happened to Xiao Ce again, so I followed them to check."

Ling Xi's gaze involuntarily passed over Qin Qi and went straight to Xiao Ce, who was lying unconscious on the bed. He saw that Xiao Ce's eyes were closed, his face was pale, and he still looked extremely weak.

Qin Qi followed her gaze, then turned back and saw the undisguised worry in her eyes. A faint, gentle smile appeared on his lips.

"Don't worry, Yizhi only coughed up a few mouthfuls of stagnant black blood. It looks dangerous, but it's actually a good thing. Bai Xu said that the stagnant blood in Yizhi's body had been blocking his chest and lungs. Now that it's been expelled, the flow of qi in his chest can be cleared, which can actually relieve the hidden danger inside."

Ling Xi looked up and carefully observed Qin Qi's expression. Seeing that his eyes were open and honest, without any concealment, her heart finally settled down a little.

When Ling Xi and Qin Qi turned around again, Lu Baixu had already removed all the silver needles from the bedside and began to neatly pack away the needles. The apprentice who was waiting nearby quickly stepped forward, bowed, took the silver needles and needle case, and carefully wiped and tidied them.

"Bai Xu, how is Yi Zhi?"

Lu Baixu casually dusted off his sleeves, his expression as calm and composed as ever.

"Don't worry, the hidden dangers in Yi Zhi's body have been completely eliminated. After today, his pulse will only become more stable day by day."

Hearing Lu Baixu's words, Ling Xi's tense heart finally relaxed, and she subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief. She was still the same as before; she took Lu Baixu's conclusions as gospel, even though he had lied to her before.

Lu Baixu took in her expression, a faint darkness settling in his dark eyes. His fingers, hanging by his sides, curled slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he finally looked up at her.

"I'm going to the next room to get a prescription for Yizhi's follow-up treatment. Princess, would it be convenient for you to come and fetch it for me?"

"I?"

A hint of confusion flashed across Ling Xi's eyes. Why did she have to go out of her way to fetch the medicine and deliver the prescription? She subconsciously looked up at Lu Baixu, meeting his calm and unwavering eyes. In an instant, she realized that his deliberate actions meant he had something to say to her.

"Okay."

Ling Xi suppressed her surprise and nodded slightly in response. Lu Baixu didn't say another word, turned around and left the bedroom with brisk steps.

When Ling Xi stepped into the room, Lu Baixu was writing a prescription. He lowered his eyes, calm and focused. His gentle and refined appearance was exactly the same as the calm and quiet Lu Baixu in her memory.

"Did you specifically ask me to come here because you have something to say to me?"

Lu Baixu paused slightly, then slowly raised his eyes to look over. In his clear eyes, there was a faint trace of helplessness.

"There were too many people at the Qin residence that day, so today I want to apologize to you. I was the one who lied with Yizhi about your brother's poisoning back then."

Even when apologizing, he maintained his gentle and dignified demeanor. Ling Xi had already guessed that he was going to talk about this, and upon hearing his words, her expression remained largely unchanged.

"It's okay, so many years have passed, I don't care anymore..."

"But I've always cared about it."

Ling Xi looked up at him in surprise. There seemed to be a faint sadness hidden in his deep eyes, which she couldn't understand. After a moment of silence, she gently smiled.

"You are Xiao Ce's friend, so naturally you should help him. Besides, Vice Minister Lu helped me a lot back then, and you were the one who saved my brother. How about we call it even? Vice Minister Lu, there's no need to hold a grudge anymore."

She gazed at him quietly, her eyes open and sincere, but his dark eyes gleamed slightly, concealing a stubbornness that contradicted his usual temperament, and he remained silent for a long time.

"Provincial Secretary Lu?"

"Okay, then let's call it even."

After a long while, he responded in a low voice, then quickly lowered his head and lowered his eyes, continuing with what he was doing. Ling Xi could no longer see the expression in his eyes.

"Princess, please go ahead. I will personally deliver the prescription to Uncle Mu later."

......

When Ling Xi returned to the bedroom, Qin Qi was nowhere to be seen. Butler Mu said that he had gone to the archery hall to check on the children and asked her to look after Xiao Ce for the time being.

Ling Xi was helpless. She instantly guessed Qin Qi's intention, but since Xiao Ce was currently unconscious, she figured it wouldn't hurt to wait there for a while. Little did she know that Qin Qi, after making this excuse to leave, would never return, but instead take Qin Xing directly back to the Qin residence.

After everyone in the room had left, Ling Xi took a closer look at the bedroom she hadn't seen for five years. Just now, her attention had been on Xiao Ce, but now, upon closer inspection, she was suddenly shocked to find that the furnishings were exactly the same as when she left.

The bed curtains were still the same old curtains of smoke and ash. From the wardrobe and table to the incense burner and vase, the size and placement of the items seemed to have never been moved at all.

Suddenly remembering something, she quickly turned and ran to the dressing table. The table was empty, exactly as it had been when she packed up to leave. She paused slightly, then turned and walked to the wardrobe against the wall. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and opened the door. The clothes she hadn't taken with her were still neatly folded and quietly placed in their original spots, as if time had never passed and everything remained frozen at the moment she left.

She slowly turned her head and looked at Xiao Ce, who was lying unconscious on the bed. A dull pain suddenly shot through her heart.

She moved step by step to the edge of the bed and sat down, slowly raising her trembling hand and reaching out to his thin profile, her lips trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"Xiao Ce... if you truly loved me so much, why did you do that back then?"