Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

"This old minister greets the Princess and the Crown Princess."

The physician from the Du family bowed his head and spoke in a very low voice.

Princess Rui sat upright by the bed, releasing her grip on Mu Wanning's hand. Her reddened eyes held lingering worry. Before the physician could straighten up, she asked, her voice trembling with emotion:

"What exactly happened to Wan Ning? He was laughing and talking normally at dinner yesterday, and his complexion was stable. How could he suddenly become unconscious overnight?"

Ling Xi stood quietly to the side and watched, her gaze falling on the physician's face. She saw a troubled look between his brows, his expression hesitant and uncertain, as if he had something difficult to say.

She pondered to herself, assuming that the Du family physician was helpless in treating Mu Wanning's illness, which was why he looked so troubled and dared not speak frankly. After all, it was Lu Baixu who cured Mu Wanning's poison back then.

"Physician Du, there's no need to worry. Just tell the truth. Steward Mu has already gone to invite Imperial Physician Lu."

Ling Xi spoke gently to defuse the situation, her tone calm and composed, concealing the hidden thoughts in her heart.

Upon hearing this, the royal physician looked up, glanced at Princess Rui sitting by the bed, and his brows furrowed even more deeply. He first handed the medicine to a maid beside him, then bowed respectfully and replied in a slow, deliberate voice:

"Your Highness and the Crown Princess, please do not worry. Consort Mu has been suffering from chronic illnesses, her body is weak and her foundation is unstable. In recent days, she has been depressed and worried too much. In addition, she drank strong wine last night, which suddenly depleted her vital energy. She is deficient in both qi and blood, and her mind is unstable, which is why she has fallen into a coma. This old minister has already prescribed a tonic to strengthen her body. Please give it to Consort Mu to drink warm to stabilize her body. After Acupuncture at the Imperial Physician Lu's place, she will need to rest quietly for a few more days and she will gradually recover."

"Acupuncture? Even Imperial Physician Lu hasn't treated her yet, how does Physician Du know he'll administer acupuncture to Consort Mu?"

Ling Xi suddenly felt suspicious. Almost without thinking, she immediately asked a question in return, her words straightforward and without any reservations.

This question came out of nowhere and reached the ears of everyone in the room. Princess Rui's heart sank upon hearing it. She was extremely shrewd and immediately sensed something was wrong. She instantly guessed that Physician Du was hiding something. Her worried expression vanished, and her sharp gaze locked onto Physician Du.

"Physician Du, what exactly is Consort Mu's illness? Did you fail to tell me the truth?"

"This...this..."

Doctor Du felt a pang of panic, and a fleeting look of guilt flashed across his eyes. Although he hid that fleeting tension and panic very quickly, Ling Xi still saw it clearly.

He glanced at her quickly, his expression conflicted, clearly indicating that he had something difficult to say.

Princess Rui naturally took in his hesitant look and understood most of the situation. She then looked up at Ling Xi beside her.

"You can go out first. I have something to ask Physician Du in private."

Ling Xi was surprised to hear this. It was just about Mu Wanning's medical consultation. Could there be some secret that she couldn't hear?

Full of questions, she glanced again at the uneasy-looking physician, Dr. Du. Despite her many doubts, she could only respectfully turn and leave the inner room.

Ling Xi waited in the outer room for a while, but couldn't sit still any longer, so she stood up and paced back and forth. Since Princess Rui hadn't told her to leave, she should probably wait.

The outer room of Mu Wanning's bedroom appears to be used as a study on weekdays. A whole row of bookshelves stands against the wall of the inner room, with stacks of books piled up. On one side of the bookshelves is a pear wood desk, on which are layers of snow-white Xuan paper, with brushes and ink neatly arranged.

She slowly approached and examined it closely. On the table lay an unfinished portrait.

On the Xuan paper, the ink and brushstrokes are just beginning to form, creating a half-finished portrait of a man. His hair is neatly tied up with a jade hairpin, and a few light strokes are added to his forehead, giving him a sense of composure and languor. The outline of his eyebrows and eyes is already clearly defined, with the brushstrokes being clear and vigorous, delicately depicting sword-like eyebrows that slant towards his temples, with sharp and cold brow bones. His eyes are long and deep, and the ink-black eyes are only lightly blurred with a base color, without any pupils, yet they already exude a sense of deep detachment.

The entire painting features meticulously crafted faces, with the background left blank. The ink strokes vary in depth, creating a half-painted, half-blank space. It is evident that the artist put a great deal of care into each stroke, repeatedly blending every detail of the eyebrows and facial features, as if concealing an unspeakable obsession.

Is the person in the painting Xiao Ce?

Ling Xi gently touched the lightly drawn corner of the eye with her fingertips. The rice paper was slightly cool, and the faint, astringent touch of the ink spread through her fingertips.

Her phoenix eyes were long and slightly upturned. Last night, when they were close to me, they lost their usual coldness and sharpness, and were filled with a dreamy and tender feeling after being moved by love.

Who else could it be but Xiao Ce?

Living deep within the courtyard, how could Mu Wanning possibly be meticulously sketching the appearances of other men in her own room?

The next instant, as if burned, her fingertips trembled violently, and she quickly withdrew them. Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, and a dull, heavy feeling spread through her, an indescribable bitterness.

She clenched her hands, a bitter smile playing on her lips. It must have been Xiao Ce's overstepping of bounds last night that had unsettled her.

"Oh no, Your Highness! The Princess Consort...she's fainted!"

……

It was past midnight, and the warm sunlight gently streamed through the latticed window into the bedroom of Zhengyang Courtyard. Wisps of purple smoke curled from the incense burner, filling the room with a tranquil glow.

Lu Baixu sat on the edge of the bed, his expression solemn and composed. He first carefully wiped the silver needles with a clean medicine handkerchief, then laid them out in a gilded medicine tray, categorized by length and thickness. The fine silver needles gleamed with a warm, soft light under the gentle glow.

He leaned closer to the bed, focused intently on sensing the qi, and after a moment raised his hand to pick up a thin needle. He gently rotated his fingertips to find the acupoint, then slightly lowered his wrist, controlling the force just right, and slowly and steadily inserted the needle into the flesh, neither too fast nor too slow.

Once the needle is in place, the needle tip is gently twisted to slowly circulate the Qi and move the needle. The movements are gentle. Then the needles are removed one by one and placed into the acupoints according to the order of the meridians. The long and short needles are arranged alternately in an orderly manner.

Ling Xili stood to the side, quietly gazing at the scene, even unconsciously softening her breathing, afraid of disturbing Lu Baixu.

Two quarters of an hour earlier, in Yunqi Courtyard, she had done the same, silently watching him administer acupuncture to Mu Wanning. Lu Baixu arrived at the Prince Rui's residence in the afternoon; when Steward Mu went there in the morning, he happened to be away.

Ling Xi felt that at this moment, she truly resembled the mistress of the Prince Rui's mansion.

She knew perfectly well that Princess Rui and Mu Wanning wouldn't be happy if they knew she was the one taking care of them, especially Mu Wanning.

But now that the Prince and Xiao Ce are both gone, the two masters of the vast Prince Rui's mansion have fallen ill and become comatose one after another, leaving her as the only one in charge of the mansion.

Whether she likes it or not, she has to stay here.

After Lu Baixu leaves, she still needs to stay by Xiao Ce's mother's bedside and personally serve her medicine. This was something that Granny Qi had quietly instructed her to do earlier; it was the proper custom for the Crown Prince's wife to personally attend to the seriously ill mistress.

Ling Xi then remembered that Granny Qi was unaware of her impending divorce from Xiao Ce. Oh well, she'd tell her brother after everything was settled.

"Your Highness, did you hear what I said?"

Just as he was lost in thought, a gentle voice suddenly broke the silence.