Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

As soon as the twelfth lunar month arrived, the weather turned bitterly cold. Ling Xi was already extremely sensitive to the cold, and even a slight breeze would make her fingertips icy and her whole body stiff.

Unfortunately, in Prince Rui's mansion, only her Yuehua Courtyard couldn't be heated with an underground heating system.

Ling Xi didn't blame anyone, after all, she was an outsider. When she first entered the manor, they hated her to the core.

But she wouldn't let herself get cold. She had already lit charcoal in the room early on. One basin wasn't enough, so she asked Perrin to put in two more. Anyway, she wasn't short of money.

"Princess, I heard that apart from our Yuehua Courtyard, all the other courtyards have underfloor heating, especially Yunqi Courtyard. I heard that Princess Rui sent people to repair their underfloor heating in the winter."

While complaining incessantly, Pei Lan and Granny Qi were checking the items sent by the Prince Huan's mansion.

"There is an infant in Yunqi Courtyard. Princess Rui takes good care of him, so it's nothing serious. I originally read in the 'Records of the Great Liang' that the winters in Liang were not as harsh as those in Chu, so I didn't pay much attention. Who would have thought that it would be colder inside than outside?"

Pei Lan looked up at the bedside, where Ling Xi was reading her brother's letter intently, her brows furrowed.

"What's wrong, Princess? What did the Prince say?"

Ling Xi shook her head with a grave expression.

"My elder brother said that he was afraid we would have difficulty getting used to the damp and cold winter in Liang Kingdom, so he prepared cold chrysanthemum hand cream and face cream for us."

"The Crown Prince prepared things for us too? Waaah, the Crown Prince is so kind to us."

Perrin's eyes sparkled with emotion, and she instantly forgot her earlier complaints.

"I knew it! The young master sent so much hand cream and face lotion; even the princess couldn't use it all by herself. It turns out the young master was thinking of us servants!"

"Okay, Pei Lan Wushuang, take it out and distribute it to everyone."

"Yes, Princess."

Pei Lan beamed and handed the brocade box containing the hand cream to Wu Shuang. As soon as Wu Shuang opened the lid, a familiar fragrance instantly filled the air.

She picked up one of the boxes and sniffed it. Sure enough, it was the same scent—a faint, cool fragrance, pure and not overpowering, subtle yet lingering.

"Let's go, Wushuang!"

Perrin had already reached the door, but seeing that she was still standing there, he turned around and called out.

"Wushuang, did the young master used to send these things to the servants of Qingyu Courtyard?"

Pei Lan only knew that Prince Heng was always very attentive to the princess, but apart from the princess, he rarely saw anyone else with a kind and gentle demeanor.

"I have no idea."

"Don't know? That's understandable. You're just the prince's guard; how would you know these things?"

Wushuang didn't know if the other servants in Qingyu Courtyard had received them, but she had received one last year.

To be precise, these items weren't given to her by the Crown Prince. Last year, when she accompanied him to the military camp, these items were among the luggage the Queen Consort packed for him. However, the Crown Prince said he didn't need them for military campaigns, and since she was the only woman in the army at the time, he gave them all to her.

"What else did the Crown Prince say?"

After Peilan and Wushuang left, Granny Qi saw that Ling Xi still looked worried and couldn't help but frown and ask.

"During the New Year festival, my elder brother will accompany officials from the Ministry of Rites to pay tribute to the Liang Dynasty."

"The Crown Prince is coming?!"

Granny Qi quickly stopped what she was doing, her face turning pale.

"But as a military general, the Crown Prince should not be on the list of envoys."

"My brother must have come for me..."

Ling Xi immediately spread out paper and pen, preparing to reply.

"What is the princess doing?"

"Write back to your brother and tell him not to come."

Her elder brother, being Chu's most capable general, was surely doomed if he came to Daliang. She hastily wrote down a few words, then abruptly stopped, her eyes freezing in panic and urgency.

"At this time... my brother has probably already set off."

Three days later, in the study of Chuixing Academy.

"Your Highness, Ling Heng from the Huan King's mansion is indeed on the list of envoys from Chu. Should we......"

Lu Ming's back was ramrod straight, and although his tone was questioning, his face showed a resolute expression.

Xiao Ce tossed the roster on the table, raised his eyes slightly, his phoenix eyes eerily calm, devoid of any emotion.

"No rush, let's gather our men and have them on standby in Night City first."

"Yes."

Xiao Ce had already seen the letter a few days ago that Ling Heng was coming to Daliang. He just didn't expect that he would dare to appear openly on the delegation's list.

Ling Xi was worried about her brother's situation, and coupled with the sudden changes in temperature over the past few days, she finally caught a cold.

As soon as Xiao Xiao stepped into the gate of Yuehua Courtyard, she heard a violent coughing fit inside. Her heart tightened, and she quickened her pace.

"Why is Sister-in-law Xi coughing? Are you sick?"

When Ling Xi heard the sound, she looked up and saw Xiao Xiao enter the room. She barely managed to steady her breathing, raised her hand and gently pressed her chest. Her face was so pale it was almost transparent.

"It's nothing serious, just a cold."

At this moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly shivered. She subconsciously looked around and saw that although there were several charcoal fires in the bedroom, it was still cold and damp.

"Sister-in-law Xi, you don't have a heating system in your yard?"

Ling Xi remained silent, only gently shaking her head.

"Princess, it's time to take your medicine."

Just then, Perrin brought in steaming hot medicine, along with a chilling sensation.

"Was it prescribed by Physician Du? Physician Du was once a royal physician, and his medical skills are excellent. After one or two doses of medicine, my sister-in-law will surely recover."

"Your Highness, you may not know this, but this medicine was not prescribed by Physician Du. It is a cold medicine that we brought from the State of Chu. However... you have already taken three doses, but your symptoms have not improved at all. On the contrary, your cough has become even more severe."

Pei Lan presented the medicine bowl to Ling Xi and couldn't help but speak on her behalf, her tone tinged with helplessness.

Ling Xi lowered her eyes and looked at the bowl of thick, dark medicine. A few doubts arose in her heart. It was really strange. Could it be that the medicine of their Chu Kingdom could not cure the cold that Liang Kingdom had contracted?

"Why doesn't Sister-in-law Xi go and invite Physician Du? Or is it that Aunt Princess and Brother Ce are still trying to make things difficult for you?"

Xiao Xiao looked around the bone-chillingly cold room, and then at Ling Xi's weak yet determined appearance, unwilling to utter a single word of grievance. A tightness gripped her chest, and her anger surged upwards.

She had witnessed firsthand how they mistreated Ling Xi, confining her to her quarters, locking her in the dungeon, and even when her aunt, the princess, was enraged, she tried to lay a hand on her.

Just as Ling Xi was about to shake her head and explain, she felt an itch in her throat and began to cough even more violently than before, coughing until her whole face turned red, but she still couldn't stop.

"Sister-in-law Xi, please bear with it for a moment, I'll go and get you a doctor."

Xiao Xiao's chest heaved slightly with anger, her eyes filled with indignation on her behalf. She got up and left Yuehua Courtyard.

Ling Xi was coughing so badly that she didn't have time to stop her; she had already vanished without a trace.

Pei Lan hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her princess, and seeing that County Princess Xiao Xiao truly cared about their princess, she was deeply moved.

Xiao Xiao walked very fast, her skirt fluttering, each step revealing an uncontrollable anger, as if she couldn't wait to step into the front yard.