Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Mu Wanning slowly withdrew his wrist, straightened his sleeves, and looked up at Wushuang with a slight twitch of his lips, a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.

Wushuang could see a hint of hostility in her eyes.

"The physician from the Du family still needs to write a prescription for me, and he has to personally check and dispense the medicine. I'm afraid he won't be able to leave for a while."

Her tone was flat, her words soft and indifferent, showing no intention of backing down.

Wushuang frowned and her face turned cold. She was doing this on purpose. Her complexion was rosy and she was full of energy, but she insisted on holding onto the physician. It was clearly a provocation to the princess.

"The concubine seems to be fine, but the Crown Princess is seriously ill. If anything goes wrong, no one can bear the responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanning's smile vanished completely. He slowly rose from the soft couch and walked a few steps to Wushuang.

"Snap—"

Before anyone could react, she raised her hand and delivered a crisp, resounding slap to Wushuang's face.

The force of the blow was so great that half of Wushuang's face went numb, and her ears rang. She suddenly looked up, only to see the woman before her with a cold expression, looking down at her with disdain.

"How dare a mere maidservant be so insolent in front of her master! If you manage to summon the Du family physician today, then the Prince Rui's mansion will truly be devoid of manners."

Wushuang turned his head to look in the direction of Doctor Du. He and Steward Zhou stood aside, not daring to interrupt.

This concubine is so fearless, it must be because the prince's favoritism gives her confidence.

But the princess... can't wait any longer.

She turned around, grabbed Doctor Du's arm, and pulled him outside. Her martial arts skills were superb, and her strength was such that even ordinary martial artists couldn't match her, let alone Doctor Du, who was weak and helpless.

"stop!"

Mu Wanning stepped forward and stood in front of her, his eyes filled with intense anger.

"Please step aside, Consort Mu!"

Wushuang was slapped first, and was now trying her best to restrain herself.

"Keep Physician Du here."

"Get out of the way..."

She pushed her shoulder with just a little force, and Mu Wanning fell to the side.

Wushuang frowned instantly; she hadn't expected her to be so frail.

In a flash, a gust of wind swept in through the doorway. Xiao Ce moved with lightning speed, already close by, and with a long arm outstretched, he steadily caught Mu Wanning. His strength was both steady and gentle, as if afraid that she might stumble at the slightest. Only after Mu Wanning was steady did he slowly help her stand up straight.

The next instant, he looked up at Wushuang and his eyes were cold and sharp. There was no anger in his gaze, only a fierce killing intent.

Having spent years fighting on the battlefield, Wushuang understood this kind of ruthless gaze best. With just one glance, she felt a cold sweat instantly seep down her back.

"Lu Ming! Take him down."

With a cold roar, Lu Ming understood the prince's anger and stepped forward to hold Wushuang down.

She was about to resist, but then seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped, letting Lu Ming hold her hands behind her back.

She glanced sideways and saw Xiao Ce helping Mu Wanning to sit down on the couch, looking at him with concern. It seemed that this concubine was indeed favored.

"Physician Du! Come and take the concubine's pulse."

"A-Ce, I'm fine."

Wushuang frowned as she looked at the concubine who was speaking so gently, unable to figure out which side of her was the real one. Just now she was cold and aloof in front of her, but suddenly she changed her tune when facing the prince.

At this moment, the physician from the Du family reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward and squatting down beside the bed to carefully take her pulse.

"Your Highness, please rest assured, there is nothing wrong with the baby in Consort Mu's womb. Her pulse is slightly restless, probably because she was frightened just now and it aggravated the pregnancy. I will prescribe two doses of a calming and soothing decoction for her, one dose per day."

A fetus? Consort Mu is pregnant? Wu Shuang's eyes widened slightly.

At that moment, she once again received Xiao Ce's icy gaze.

"Who gave you permission to come to Yunqi Academy?"

His voice was soft, yet it carried a strong sense of pressure. Lu Ming and Steward Zhou, who were familiar with Xiao Ce, knew that at this moment, no one could afford to offend the young master.

"The Crown Princess is ill. I have come to fetch Physician Du from the Du family to Yuehua Courtyard."

Wushuang knew that this matter could not be resolved peacefully today, but the princess was still waiting for her, and she could not back down.

"Is this how she told you to hire people?"

"The Crown Princess... "

"Take him away and give him fifty strokes of the cane."

Before Wushuang could finish speaking, Xiao Ce interrupted her. She clenched her jaw, finally understanding that this Prince Rui's heir would not listen to her explanation at all.

"This servant accepts these fifty strokes of the cane. I urge Your Highness to send the royal physician to treat the Princess Consort as soon as possible."

Wushuang stood ramrod straight, without a trace of begging. Despite being dressed as a lowly maid, she exuded a fierce determination to face death.

"Lu Ming".

Wu Shuang did not resist, letting Lu Ming drag her away. Her eyes shone brightly, showing no fear, only a resolute determination as firm as a rock.

Two quarters of an hour later, Wushuang was carried back to Yuehua Courtyard, already unconscious.

Meanwhile, in Yuehua Courtyard, Granny Qi wiped Ling Xi's body twice, but the fever still wouldn't go down, and she was getting so anxious that she couldn't sit still anymore.

When they saw Wushuang being carried back covered in blood and already unconscious, they finally panicked.

Upon hearing Steward Zhou's cold remark that she had offended Consort Mu, Granny Qi instantly understood that they could not rely on the Prince Rui's mansion at all.

There were two lying in the room. Although Granny Qi was extremely anxious, she knew she couldn't lose her composure. She quickly asked Peilan to get some silver and go to the best clinic in Jinling City to fetch a doctor.

Seeing that Wushuang was covered in blood and had a weak breath, and that the princess remained unconscious, Peilan couldn't hold back her tears. But she didn't dare to delay. She clutched the silver tightly and rushed out, crying as she ran.

Pei Lan, her eyes brimming with tears, was seen by several groups of servants along the way, but she didn't care about anything and wiped away her tears without restraint.

In the outer courtyard corridor, she ran into Xiao Ce and Lu Ming again. Pei Lan quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and stood aside with her head down, waiting for them to go first.

Once outside the mansion gate, Lu Ming couldn't resist going forward.

"Your Highness, are you really not going to let Physician Du go to Yuehua Courtyard to take a look? Judging from that girl's appearance, the Princess is probably quite ill."

Xiao Ce narrowed his eyes, a cold, icy undercurrent surging within them.

"No need. This time, let the people of Yuehua Academy know that Yunxi Academy is not to be trifled with."

The next moment, he lifted his foot and continued forward, his steps steady and without the slightest hesitation.

When Ling Xi woke up again, it was the morning of the next day. Her high fever had subsided, but she still felt nauseous and had abdominal pain, and was listless.

At this time, she had not yet noticed that someone was missing from the room. Granny Qi was afraid that she would worry, so she asked everyone to keep the fact that Wushuang had been punished a secret.

For three consecutive days, Ling Xi did not see Wushuang even once, and finally stopped believing their reasons.

After all, Wushuang had said that her brother's task for her was to stay by her side at all times, and even at night, she and Peilan slept together in the side room.

Only after Granny Qi left did she finally manage to get information out of Pei Lan.