Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

He walked closer, without exchanging many pleasantries, his gaze calmly settling on Ling Xi's injuries.

"Your Highness, I am Lu Baixu from the Imperial Medical Bureau. If Your Highness does not mind, I will treat your external injuries first."

His voice was gentle yet clear, calm and reassuring. Ling Xi looked up at his handsome face, and her intuition told her that he was someone she could trust.

"Is your carriage here?"

Ling Xi's voice was hoarse and trembling slightly. She had to hide quickly; being stared at by this huge crowd made her feel uncomfortable all over.

Lu Baixu was momentarily bewildered, but still nodded slightly and looked in the direction of his carriage.

"May I borrow your carriage?"

Ling Xi didn't stand on ceremony with him at all and quickly limped towards the direction he was looking at.

Lu Baixu frowned as he watched the woman hurrying toward his carriage. This princess of Chu was truly unconventional.

Lu Baixu followed her into the carriage without a moment's delay. As soon as he sat down, he immediately opened his medicine box with practiced ease.

He first took out a clean strip of cloth and gently wiped away the bloodstains on Ling Xi's left forearm with a light and precise touch.

"It's just some bruises, nothing serious. I will clean and apply medicine for the Crown Princess before bandaging it. Remember, the wound must not get wet in the coming days."

He focused intently on treating patients, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, his innate calmness and restraint shutting out the noise outside the carriage.

Ling Xi quietly lifted a corner of the curtain, and seeing the crowd gradually disperse, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to tear off her veil.

"Thank you very much, Vice Minister Lu, for today."

Lu Baixu looked up as she moved, and was immediately struck by her beauty. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed, perhaps from the tension she had just felt. Lu Baixu felt a slight tremor in his heart, then lowered his eyes and continued with what he was doing.

"It's just my duty."

After the wound on her arm was bandaged, Lu Baixu glanced down at her feet. He had naturally seen her limping over earlier.

"Please extend your right foot, Princess Consort, so that I may examine it."

"Want to see my feet?" Ling Xi pulled her foot back, hesitated for a moment, and then stretched it out.

Lu Baixu neither pulled up her skirt nor took off her shoes and socks. He simply held her calves firmly on his knees, and with his right hand slightly bent, he gently pressed her ankles with his fingertips.

The moment he touched the sore spot, Ling Xi couldn't help but gasp, instinctively pulling her legs back, but he held them firmly, preventing her from moving.

"Don't move."

His tone was calm, but the pressure he applied unconsciously softened as he continued to gently press on the wound. His gaze was lowered, serious and composed, and Ling Xi, embarrassed to move further, could only endure the pain.

After a moment, he released his grip and slowly lowered her legs.

"It's just a common sprain, nothing serious. I have some appropriate external medicine here. Your Highness, please take it back and apply it once in the morning and once at night."

Lu Baixu packed away his medicine box, his expression calm and reliable, showing just the right amount of concern without being overly solicitous.

"Stop using that 'lower official' thing, I'm not your superior. By the way! Is Vice Minister Lu... a friend of Xiao Ce?"

Ling Xi shifted her feet and tentatively asked the question, not expecting an answer. Judging from his personality, he was probably just like Xiao Ce, someone who was difficult to talk to.

"Yes."

"Then I will trouble you to escort me back to Prince Rui's residence today."

Lu Baixu didn't reply, but simply placed the medicine box he had put away aside. Ling Xi interpreted his silence as his agreement.

"Has the Crown Princess offended the Zhuang family?"

"The bookmaker?"

"The carriage that hit someone earlier belongs to the dealer."

Ling Xi gently shook her head. Forget about the dealers; in the entire city of Jinling, besides the people of Prince Rui's mansion, she only knew Xiao Xiao. However, in a flash, she seemed to suddenly remember something, her eyes shining brightly.

"The Zhuang family you're referring to, is it Lord Zhuang of the Dali Temple?"

Lu Baixu nodded slightly; it seemed she had remembered something.

"It seems the Ying family's daughter wanted to marry Xiao Ce as a concubine, but I stopped her, and she's resentful. I really don't understand, what's so good about being someone's concubine?"

Having figured out who the culprit was, Ling Xi suddenly felt much relieved, only to glance at her torn sleeve again.

"It seems the rumors were true; it really is the Crown Princess who is preventing Yi Zhi from taking a concubine?"

Lu Baixu scoffed, thinking that she was no different from any other jealous woman.

"Yi Zhi? Oh, you mean Xiao Ce?"

Ling Xi hesitated for a moment, naturally finding it inconvenient to mention to an outsider that she was helping Xiao Ce and Mu Wanning.

"I, a princess of the Chu Kingdom, have only been in the Prince Rui's residence for half a year, and yet another concubine has entered the household. What has become of the dignity of the Chu Kingdom?"

Lu Baixu looked at the fierceness in her eyes, his gaze darkened, and he said nothing more.

"Young Master, we have arrived at Prince Rui's residence."

The carriage stopped when a sound came from outside.

"I am very grateful to Vice Minister Lu for today. I will definitely repay you with a proper gift another day."

"No need..."

Before Lu Baixu could finish speaking, Ling Xiren had already alighted from the carriage. He watched the slender figure being helped away by a maid, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Ling Xi had just reached the bottom of the steps of the mansion gate when she heard the sound of wheels rolling on the ground behind her.

She instinctively turned around and saw Xiao Ce's carriage parked steadily to the side. The curtain was lifted, and he and Mu Wanning stepped down one after the other. Both of them looked as if they were owed eight hundred taels of silver.

Xiao Ce's gaze fell on Ling Xi, who was being supported by maids on either side, and his eyebrows instantly bulged.

The next moment, his gaze passed over her and looked at the carriage that had just left, a layer of cold, dark color covering his eyes.

Just as Ling Xi was about to curtsy to Xiao Ce to save face, Mu Wanning sped past her.

Ling Xi was caught off guard and rolled her eyes helplessly. Mu Wanning's arrogant attitude was truly unbearable.

Ling Xi turned her head again and saw that Xiao Ce didn't have a good look on his face either. So she simply endured the pain in her feet, straightened her back, and looked at Xiao Ce.

But at that moment, he withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at her, and left, leaving Ling Xi with only an unfathomable back view.

"Do those people from Liang even know what reciprocity means?"

Ling Xi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Xiao Ce and Mu Wanning were both incredibly rude.

"It seems that Consort Mu has truly misunderstood the Princess."

Ling Xi felt that there were more than just one or two people who had misunderstood. There was Mu Wanning, Miss Zhuang, and even Lu Baixu. Judging from the situation, Xiao Ce was probably also mistaken.

……

"Your Highness, the carriage that just brought the Princess Consort back seems to be Young Master Lu's."

Lu Ming followed behind Xiao Ce, who was moving quickly forward, and couldn't help but say something.

Xiao Ce suddenly stopped in his tracks, his deep black eyes surging with an imperceptible undercurrent, the fire hidden between his handsome brows carrying a hint of restrained coldness.

With his excellent eyesight, he immediately recognized that it was Lu Baixu's carriage.

A moment later, he suddenly turned around and strode quickly toward the gate of the mansion. Lu Ming followed behind, completely bewildered.

As they walked to the end of the garden corridor, they could see her being supported by her maid, her steps unsteady.

Xiao Ce paused for a moment, his eyes darkening, before striding toward her.