Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Perrin's face was flushed with nervous excitement, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open.

Ling Xi's hand, which was passing through her sleeve, suddenly paused, but her expression returned to normal.

"Okay, I understand."

"You know? Why isn't the princess shocked at all? That Frostless Poison is incurable."

"There's no solution in Chu, but it might be in Liang. Perhaps Liang has many talented people, including those capable of creating an antidote?"

Ling Xi casually finished dressing and sat in front of the dressing mirror. Although Pei Lan kept talking, her hands were also busy.

"Princess, you guessed right! I heard that the Heir Apparent invited another imperial physician yesterday afternoon. It's said to be the grandson of Physician Lu, and his medical skills are superb, especially in making medicine and detoxifying. Last night, Yunqi Courtyard was as bright as day. The Heir Apparent stayed there all night, not leaving for a moment. Everyone in the manor is whispering that the Heir Apparent really cherishes Consort Mu..."

Perrin probably realized he had said too much and suddenly fell silent.

Ling Xi thought that he had left Yunxi Courtyard for a while and came to Yuehua Courtyard in the middle of the night to ask her for medicine.

For some reason, from the moment Ling Xi gave Xiao Ce the dragon bone last night, she guessed that Xiao Ce would definitely be able to save Mu Wanning.

She clearly didn't know much about him, and their relationship was even worse than that of strangers.

"Princess? It was Pei Lan who said something wrong and upset the princess..."

"It's alright. How could I be upset because of his deep affection for Mu Wanning? There is no affection between me and the Crown Prince."

To be honest, they were enemies, after all, Xiao Ce's elder brother's death...

"Princess..."

Pei Lan was heartbroken. The princess was a precious jewel, pampered and raised in the palm of her hand, possessing the most illustrious family background and the most beautiful face. She had always believed that in the entire city of Ji, and in the entire kingdom of Chu, no young master was worthy of her princess.

Who would have thought that a marriage alliance would lead the princess to marry a man who did not love her? Her life, which should have been brilliant, would probably not be easy from now on.

"Silly Peilan, don't always look so gloomy. If your princess says I'm fine, then I'm fine. Even if I don't marry into Daliang, I might not be able to marry someone who truly cares for me. Look at all those people from Jicheng who came to the Huan Prince's mansion to ask for my hand in marriage. Weren't they all trying to climb the social ladder by attaching themselves to my father? They were all chased away by my father."

"But Princess..."

"No buts, how's the matter I asked you to inquire about going?"

Ling Xi tilted her head and gestured to the gold-inlaid jade hairpin she had just chosen.

"Oh, right!"

"Perrin...you're always so jumpy, you're going to scare me sick sooner or later."

Ling Xi's hand trembled, and she was almost startled by Pei Lan into dropping the hairpin.

"Oh... We haven't seen a single person from Yunqi Academy these past two days. We heard that the young master locked up everyone in Yunqi Academy and started questioning them one by one early this morning."

They started questioning him in the early hours of the morning? It seems Xiao Ce acted quite quickly. It was probably around that time, after confirming that Mu Wanning's poison could be cured, that he was able to extricate himself from the interrogation.

Upon hearing that the poison came from the State of Chu, Ling Xi believed that she should be ruled out as a suspect, unless she, the princess from Chu who came to marry into the state, was a complete incompetent fool.

"However, although I didn't find out about the Yunqi Courtyard, I did find out a big secret about the Prince Rui's mansion."

Perrin suddenly stopped what she was doing, quickly glanced left and right, her eyes shining brightly, which made Ling Xi's expression change as well.

"I've heard that Xiao Mo, the late heir of the Prince Rui's mansion, was not born to the current Princess Rui."

"What?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Ling Xi's eyes, her lips involuntarily parted slightly, and only a stunned expression remained on her face.

"I heard that his birth mother passed away when he was born. Later, the prince married the current Princess Rui, and the eldest son has been raised under her name ever since. If it weren't for the elders in the household, no one would know about this!"

Ling Xi quickly regained her composure. It seemed that Princess Rui truly regarded Xiao Mo as her own son; otherwise, she wouldn't have made things so difficult for him during the tea ceremony on their wedding day because of Xiao Mo.

"Forget it, the matter of Prince Rui's mansion is none of our business, and there's no need to inquire about the matter of Yunqi Academy anymore. Today, give me this hairpin."

Ling Xi handed the jade hairpin to Pei Lan, her eyes now as bright as before.

"Not going to inquire anymore? But what if they pin the blame for poisoning Consort Mu on the princess?"

Pei Lan took the hairpin and carefully put it on Ling Xi. Ling Xi's eyes flickered with thought for a moment, then she slowly shook her head.

"Won't."

Judging from Xiao Ce's reaction last night, he probably no longer doubts him.

"How did the princess know? Yesterday, the princess was so fierce and even wanted to lock the princess in the dungeon."

Ling Xi leaned closer to the bronze mirror and carefully examined her neck, which had been scratched yesterday. There were only a few red marks, and the swelling had subsided. She reached out her finger and gently pressed it, but it still stung a little.

"If they really suspected me, they would have already sent people to surround Yuehua Courtyard."

Ling Xi recalled that yesterday, when Princess Rui said she would lock her in the dungeon, Xiao Ce was anxious to save Mu Wanning, but upon careful consideration, he should not have suspected her at that time.

"That's true."

"By the way, where's Wushuang? Wushuang!"

Wushuang quickly approached from the outer room. When Peilan was serving her personally, she usually stayed in the outer room.

"Princess."

"Does that scar removal medication work?"

"Your Highness, the scar-removing medicine has remarkable effects. The scar should be completely gone within a month."

"It would be good if it could be eliminated."

She originally planned to return Wushuang to her brother once she settled down in Daliang, since her brother had gotten used to having Wushuang by his side over the years.

"Wushuang, given my current situation in Prince Rui's mansion, I'm afraid I can't let you return to Chu anytime soon."

Ling Xi glanced at Wu Shuang, who was standing ramrod straight, and pondered to herself.

"Princess, rest assured, Wushuang will not leave Jinling."

"Not leaving?"

"Yes, the young master said that if I am not summoned back by him, I will stay by the princess's side."

Ling Xi stood up, recalling his brother's words that day. He hadn't said that Wushuang should stay in Liang Kingdom forever, but only that he was temporarily sent to protect her.

She glanced at Wushuang again. Wushuang was one of her brother's confidantes, the same age as her, but she had always followed her. She couldn't very well marry her off to a man from Liang in the future. It seemed she would have to ask her brother's opinion next time.

......

Ling Xi saw Mu Wanning again a month later, and also saw Xiao Ce again after that night.

Because the Prince Rui's Mansion held a full-month celebration for Mu Wanning's child.

Several days in advance, the entire Prince's mansion began to bustle with activity. The bluestone floor was polished until it shone, and the potted plants were replaced with new seasonal flowers, revealing the meticulous care and elegance of the place.

Ling Xi even felt that the Prince Rui's mansion valued this full moon celebration even more than her wedding with Xiao Ce.

The full moon banquet was not attended by many guests, all of whom were close relatives and friends of the Prince's Mansion. They gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves. Ling Xi did not recognize a single person in the room. Only Xiao Xiao, who sat diagonally opposite her, gave her a gentle smile from afar as she took her seat.

She took a sip of warm tea; the tea was refreshing, but it couldn't suppress the utter boredom in her heart.

This banquet was for Xiao Ce and Mu Wanning's child, and had nothing to do with her. As the nominal wife of the heir apparent, she was just a superfluous decoration sitting here.