Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Xiao Ce slammed his teacup down, looked up at Ling Xi who was still beaming with joy, and could no longer hide the suppressed emotions in his eyes.

Ling Heng, sitting opposite him, leaned back slightly, a playful smile playing on his lips.

Only Ling Xi was still immersed in the joy of going to Night City with her brother, completely unaware of the undercurrents surging in the hearts of the two men.

"My mother is ill and bedridden today, and my father is unable to attend to her. Therefore, Ling Xi and I will be entertaining General Ling at Chuixing Courtyard. I hope General Ling will not take offense."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Ce looked up at the person opposite him, his tone already colder.

Upon hearing this, Ling Xi also looked at her brother. She understood that her brother would naturally have no objections. If Prince Rui and Princess Rui were to dine at the same table as her brother, the scene would be unimaginable.

However, asking Xiao Ce to dine with his elder brother was also a difficult task for him. After all, just the day before, on New Year's Eve, his brother's birthday, he had gotten completely drunk out of grief.

"Brother, you probably don't know this, but there's a restaurant in Jinling that specializes in Chu cuisine. How about we go today..."

"I certainly don't mind Young Master Xiao's hospitality. Besides..."

Just as she was about to speak up to smooth things over, Ling Heng interrupted her, calmly taking over the conversation. His gaze fell on her, and he spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of meaning.

"From now on, I'm afraid the Crown Prince and my sister and I will rarely have the opportunity to dine at the same table again."

His meaning was so obvious, who wouldn't understand? Ling Xi suddenly realized that she and Xiao Ce would soon be going their separate ways completely.

She should have felt relaxed and relieved, and she did indeed feel genuine joy. However, this joy seemed to be suddenly mixed with an inexplicable melancholy that lingered in her heart.

When the three of them were seated in the dining hall of Chuixing Courtyard, Ling Xi felt a little more uneasy than before. When she looked at her brother and Xiao Ce, they were both more composed than she was, although both of them remained silent.

Just as she was about to speak to ease the tense atmosphere, Xian Yue lifted the curtain and entered, carrying a small jar of wine.

Ling Xi frowned slightly as she looked at the pot of sake that had already been placed on the table.

"Your Highness, Your Highness's Wife, Consort Mu has sent a jar of wine, saying that she is grateful for Your Highness's care yesterday and, having heard of General Ling's visit, is offering this treasured Hibiscus Wine."

Upon hearing this, the three men displayed different expressions.

Ling Heng had assumed that Xiao Ce's concubine would be irreconcilably opposed to Xi'er, but now he was filled with doubt and could not quite discern her intentions.

Ling Xi was even more surprised, not expecting Mu Wanning to so readily send her a thank-you gift. Then she thought, perhaps Mu Wanning didn't want to owe her any favors, or perhaps...

She glanced at Xiao Ce. Could it be that Xiao Ce had already told her about their impending divorce, which was why Mu Wanning's resentment towards her had naturally faded?

"That must be it," Ling Xi thought to herself.

"In that case, let us drink this jar of hibiscus wine that Consort Mu sent us today."

Ling Xi forced a faint smile, her lips twitching slightly. She had already decided to leave the Prince Rui's residence, and there was no need to create further entanglements at the last minute. She still had to give Xiao Ce some face.

"Crescent Moon, let's open a bar!"

"etc."

Xiao Ce pursed his thin lips and interrupted in a deep voice, his brows instantly furrowing with deep suspicion. His sharp gaze fell heavily on the carved wine jar in Xian Yue's arms, his expression solemn, and his aura suddenly darkened.

Ling Xi was slightly taken aback, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. It was just a jar of ordinary wine, yet Xiao Ce looked so grim. Surely, it wasn't that she and her brother weren't worthy to drink the wine Mu Wanning had given them?

"What's wrong?"

For no apparent reason, she thought of his study, which no one else was allowed to enter but which Mu Wanning could come and go as he pleased. Suddenly, she couldn't wait to leave the Prince Rui's mansion, which was so annoying.

Xiao Ce pondered for a moment, then his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and he spoke softly:

"Nothing much, just opening a bar."

……

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the morning mist was still lingering among the pavilions and towers of Prince Rui's mansion, Wushuang rode up at breakneck speed.

Ling Xi was still deeply trapped in a nightmare, in which she witnessed her brother being attacked by assassins while overseeing the construction of the border market in Ye City. He was stabbed straight into the chest by a long sword, a horrifying sight.

She trembled violently, almost screaming in terror. A frantic cry suddenly pierced her dream, abruptly dragging her out of the terrifying nightmare.

"Princess! Something terrible has happened!"

Ling Xi suddenly sat up straight, beads of cold sweat appearing on her forehead, her breathing becoming labored and her heart pounding wildly.

"Princess! Something has happened to the Prince!"

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as Wushuang and Peilan entered the inner room one after the other, both looking more flustered than ever before.

Ling Xi subconsciously turned to the side, still shaken from the nightmare, her heart pounding even harder.

"What happened to my brother?"

A sense of foreboding suddenly filled her heart, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.

"The young master... he's been poisoned!"

These words struck Ling Xi like a thunderbolt, causing her to freeze and instantly clutch the brocade quilt beneath her.

"Poisoning? What kind of poison? Have you called a doctor?"

Her voice carried a hint of lingering fear and helplessness. The moment she finished speaking, she forcefully suppressed her surging panic and forced herself to get out of bed and begin dressing. Perrin quickly rushed to help, and a tense atmosphere suddenly filled the room.

"This morning, the young master vomited blood as soon as he woke up. We immediately called several doctors, but none of them could find anything wrong with him. Now it's the first month of the lunar year, and the doctors who work at the major medical clinics in the city have all gone back to their hometowns for the New Year. We can't find them at all."

"The imperial physician, where is the imperial physician?"

Ling Xi paused in dressing, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, and raised her voice a few decibels.

"I remember that the embassy always had a royal physician on duty."

"The imperial physician Jiang at the embassy has already treated the Crown Prince immediately!"

Wushuang frowned, her tone heavy.

"But after carefully examining the pulse and testing for poison, he spent half an hour trying to find the poison and was unable to administer the medicine."

"Unable to administer the medication?"

Ling Xi froze on the spot, her composure, which she had been maintaining, was about to crumble, and obvious panic and fear welled up in her eyes.

Her brother cannot be harmed in the slightest, absolutely not! She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and quickly straightened her clothes.

"Wushuang, go back to the embassy and keep watch. Don't lose your composure, lest someone else take the opportunity to harm your brother. I'm going to the Lu residence first."

"yes!"

Wushuang dared not delay and turned to leave quickly. She had come to the Prince Rui’s mansion hoping that the princess could invite Imperial Physician Lu.

It wasn't until she boarded the carriage heading to the Lu residence that Ling Xi belatedly realized that the courtyard of the mansion was unusually deserted, and she couldn't even find Xiao Ce in the Chuixing Courtyard.

"Is the Crown Prince not in the residence today?"