Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

The master and servants moved slowly along the garden corridor. Wushuang noticed someone approaching and was the first to raise her head.

"The Crown Prince?"

She and Pei Lan bowed to each other, but when they saw him approaching step by step, they assumed he had something to say to the princess, so they consciously took a few steps back.

Ling Xi, looking completely bewildered, naturally thought the same thing, but she couldn't imagine what the man who had just given her the cold shoulder was going to say to her.

She lightly touched the ground with her right foot, supporting her weight only on her left leg, waiting for him to speak.

Xiao Ce stopped less than two feet in front of her, his strange gaze fixed on her face, without saying a word.

"you……"

Before she could even open her mouth, Xiao Ce suddenly moved. In the next instant, without warning, he squatted down, and before she could react, he had already wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up in his arms.

"what!"

Ling Xi gasped in surprise, her body instantly losing its balance in mid-air, and instinctively reached out to grab his collar.

The sudden loss of balance made her heart tremble, so startled that she forgot to speak, only staring blankly at his profile so close to hers.

Xiao Ce remained silent with a cold expression, then turned around steadily with her in his arms and headed towards the end of the corridor.

Perrin stood there, mouth agape, eyes wide with shock.

"Wushuang, why is the young master... hugging our princess?"

Standing ramrod straight to the side, Wushuang's hands hung at his sides, his eyes half-closed, revealing a dangerous aura.

A breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers swept through the corridor. Xiao Ce, carrying Ling Xi, turned the long corridor and stepped into the garden path paved with bluestone slabs, where they bumped into two maids sweeping.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince carrying the Crown Princess at breakneck speed, the two hurriedly dropped their bamboo brooms to the ground, hastily curtsied, and then couldn't help but steal glances at each other, their faces filled with shock and astonishment.

Seeing the two maids' strong reaction, Ling Xi suddenly came to her senses. Her cheeks instantly burned, and almost instinctively she buried her head in Xiao Ce's chest, desperately covering her face, but she couldn't hide her already reddened ear tips.

"Your Highness... why did you bring your Princess back?"

"Yes! It seems the Crown Princess is about to gain favor."

Only after the two men had walked away did the two maids dare to whisper among themselves.

Seeing the person in his arms suddenly bury their face in his chest, Xiao Ce looked down and felt a strange tingling sensation spread through his chest, accompanied by her warm breath.

"Xiao Ce, how about... you put me down?"

Ling Xi spoke in a muffled voice, weak yet pleading, still loosely clutching his collar, her fingertips touching his warm, firm chest, clearly feeling the steady heartbeat transmitted through the fabric.

She looked up and was met with his handsome profile. It wasn't the delicate features of a young boy, but rather a mature and sharp one, with a high nose bridge, stern brow bones, and long eyelashes casting shadows that carried a hint of composure. The setting sun cast shadows on his profile, creating a clear distinction between light and shadow, every inch of his features revealing the restrained and steady nature of a mature man. And at such close range, Ling Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she hastily looked away.

He didn't stop walking, showing no intention of putting her down. Instead, he tightened his grip on her and walked steadily toward Yuehua Courtyard.

When the servants of Yuehua Courtyard saw that their princess was being carried back by the young master, they all had the same reaction as the two maids in the garden.

As Granny Qi watched the young master carry the princess through the door, all her previous speculations and uncertainties suddenly vanished in an instant.

She couldn't possibly be wrong; men in this world are only willing to bow down to women they've taken a liking to, and that's absolutely true.

Just as Xiao Ce placed Ling Xi on the soft couch in the bedroom, a soft "thump" was heard, and a small porcelain bottle rolled off Ling Xi's body, making a crisp sound as it hit the wooden floor.

Just as Ling Xi was about to stand up to pick it up, he had already bent down and squatted down, reaching out to pick up the medicine bottle.

A small, lustrous, turquoise porcelain bottle, with a plain label on the bottle: Amber Ointment.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

She reached out to take it, but he turned the bottle upside down with a flick of his finger, revealing a bright red "Lu" character branded on the bottom.

A chill ran through Xiao Ce's eyes; just as he had expected.

"Was this medicine given to you by Lu Baixu?"

"Um."

Ling Xi nodded frankly, feeling that Xiao Ce was really strange today. One moment he was glaring at her coldly, the next he was carrying her back, and now he seemed to have changed his expression again.

"Today I was almost hit by a carriage on the street and twisted my ankle. I just happened to run into Academician Lu. His medicine is really effective. After applying it to my wound, it didn't hurt much anymore."

As she spoke, she reached into his palm and took the medicine bottle, while gently moving her bandaged arm.

Before she could even tilt her head to take a closer look, her arm suddenly tightened as Xiao Ce grabbed her forearm with such force that he almost crushed her bones.

"Don't you dare mess with Lu Baixu!"

He shouted angrily, his eyes blazing with suppressed rage.

"What are you doing? You're hurting me..."

The wound, which she had just said wouldn't hurt after applying medicine, was suddenly struck by his hard pinch, causing her to break out in a cold sweat and turn deathly pale.

"It hurts... Let go..."

She struggled to pull her hand back, but the pain prevented her from doing so, and her whole body trembled slightly.

Xiao Ce's fingertips stiffened as he noticed the abnormality beneath his palm. He abruptly released his grip, and Ling Xi pulled open her sleeve, revealing a small, glaring patch of bright red blood that had seeped through the gauze wrapped around her arm.

"I just happened to run into your friend. What did I do to deserve this?"

Ling Xi's eyes were already red from the pain, and glistening tears were welling up in them.

"Feel sorry."

His voice was deep and hoarse, his hands hanging at his sides clenched tightly, and then he turned around and strode away.

"Princess, what just happened? The young master's face when he came out was terrifying."

Perrin was originally standing guard outside the door, and when she saw Xiao Ce come out with a gloomy face, she was terrified.

"Who knows? So unpredictable, what a strange person!"

"Oh dear! Princess, is your hand bleeding again?"

Ling Xi slumped down, carefully supporting herself with her arm, not daring to touch the wound. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been most afraid of pain.

"It was Xiao Ce who got it for me!"

"Did the Crown Prince do this? Why would the Crown Prince...?"

"Let's reapply the medicine to the princess first."

Granny Qi came over carrying the medicine box. Just now outside, Pei Lan had already vividly described to her what had happened that day.

"Princess, please don't be angry. As the old woman saw, the young master knew that the princess had twisted her ankle, so he carried her back to Yuehua Courtyard. This shows that the young master also has good intentions towards the princess."

"Granny... if that were really the case, he wouldn't have hurt me just now, and he even told me not to mess with his friends."

"A friend of the Crown Prince?"

The old woman removed the gauze and saw the bloodstains on her princess's arm, and felt a pang of heartache.

"Granny Qi is the same person who helped us out on the street today and applied medicine to the princess. She is Lu, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau."

Peilan, who was helping out, casually replied to Granny Qi's words.