Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort...!"

"Has she not returned home yet?"

Xiao Ce paused, closed the book in his hand, and a chill settled over him. He was about to order his men to go to the embassy to find someone.

"No...no, the Crown Princess went straight to Consort Mu's courtyard as soon as she entered the mansion."

"What?"

Xiao Ce suddenly stood up, his dark eyes narrowing, and he instantly understood what she was going to do at Yunxi Academy.

Just half an hour after returning to the manor, I received a message from the embassy that Ling Heng had been poisoned and was in a coma.

He should have been happy or relieved upon hearing the news; in short, he shouldn't have been worried. However, the opposite was true. The first image that automatically popped into his mind was her worried and sad expression.

Before Xiao Ce even stepped into the gate of Yunxi Courtyard, he heard Xiao Chen'an's heart-wrenching cries. His heart clenched, and he quickened his pace instantly. The hem of his black robe swept across the bluestone of the courtyard, bringing with it a gust of cold wind.

"Are you going to hand over the antidote today or not?!"

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Amid the child's cries, he overheard their conversation: one was shouting angrily, the other was calm and indifferent.

Those following Xiao Ce lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to breathe loudly, including Lu Ming. In the past, he would have certainly believed that the Crown Prince would help Consort Mu, but today, he was no longer certain. He had witnessed firsthand the Crown Prince's changing attitude towards his wife these past few days.

Xiao Ce's eyes darkened as he pushed open the door, immediately taking in the tense situation inside.

Ling Xi stood ramrod straight, her whole body radiating an uncontrollable fierce aura, while the newly arrived maid beside her was holding An'er, who was crying and struggling incessantly.

"What are you doing?"

He spoke angrily, his voice not loud, but it carried a strong sense of intimidation, each word uttered with extreme coldness.

Ling Xi suddenly turned her head and saw the cold ferocity in Xiao Ce's eyes. The pressure around him was terrifying. He didn't slow down at all and went straight towards Arno. His dark eyes were filled with a chilling killing intent.

"Who gave you permission to touch An'er?"

His every word was filled with intense malice. An ordinary maid would probably have been terrified and collapsed to the ground by now. But Arno, like Wushuang, was no ordinary maid. She was a top-notch bodyguard personally selected by Ling Heng. She was ruthless enough to kill without batting an eye, and her mere rage and intimidation were not enough to make her lose her composure.

Arno simply held Xiao Chen'an tighter in his arms, subtly taking a half-step back, his gaze fixed on Ling Xi without a trace of fear, awaiting her signal.

"What? Does Your Highness intend to beat my men again, just like before?"

Ling Xi stood in front of Arno, her words resounding with a do-or-die ruthlessness, a mocking smile playing on her lips, her eyes devoid of any of her former restraint and apprehension.

With her brother's life hanging by a thread inside the Wanfang Pavilion, she had long lost the patience to deal with them and didn't care about breaking off relations with anyone in the Prince Rui's mansion.

"Ling Xi..."

Xiao Ce stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling on her. He rarely called her by her name, and those two words just now carried a hint of gritted teeth. To Ling Xi, this sounded like he was putting pressure on her; he had always favored Mu Wanning.

"Xiao Ce!"

Fearing she would lose face, she raised her voice and roared, gathering enough strength so that her clenched fist was already trembling slightly.

"My brother just left Prince Rui's mansion yesterday and fell into a coma this morning from poisoning. Mu Wanning usually treats me like an enemy, so why would she kindly send me a jar of wine to thank me? Tell me, who else could have done it but her?!"

Xiao Ce frowned as he listened to her roar, and quietly looked at Mu Wanning, who was expressionless beside him, and roughly guessed what was going on in his mind.

"Wan Ning, did you do this?"

Mu Wanning remained calm and composed, his eyes revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"The Crown Princess insists that the wine I sent was the problem, so why not bring out the Hibiscus Wine and test it? Besides, is it possible that only the Crown Princess's brother drank this wine?"

Xiao Ce glanced at Ling Xi, remaining silent. Ling Xi felt a surge of anger, assuming he was about to side with Mu Wanning again, just like last year in the garden pavilion, acting without any regard for right or wrong.

"You wouldn't be foolish enough to poison the wine directly. If you really want to find out the truth, there are plenty of ways!"

Her throat tightened slightly, her eyes reddened, and she turned her head to look at Xiao Ce.

"Your Highness only needs to interrogate everyone in the Chuixing Courtyard; how could you not find out the truth?"

Consort Mu Wan Ning curled her lips in disdain, her eyes filled with contempt.

"Does the Crown Princess mean that my people are hidden in the Chuixing Courtyard?"

After she finished speaking, she looked up at Xiao Ce, clearly pushing all the decision-making power onto him.

Mu Wanning knew perfectly well that all the servants in Chuixing Courtyard had served him for many years, and anyone with ill intentions would never be able to stay by his side. Having served in the Prince Rui's residence for many years, she was naturally certain of this.

Xiao Ce himself was equally certain that the people of Chuixing Academy could not possibly betray him.

The hesitation on his face finally slightly annoyed Ling Xi. He really... still only believed Mu Wanning and not her.

She shouldn't have had any hope for him, wasting her breath. A bitter feeling spread through her heart, and in that brief moment, the resentment in her eyes transformed into a sharp and resolute determination.

"Arnold!!!"

"Princess."

"Take the child away from me!"

She gave a stern order, glared at Xiao Ce and Mu Wanning with disdain, and turned to leave.

Perhaps her shouts were too terrifying, because Xiao Chen'an, who had gradually calmed down, started crying loudly again.

"Ling Xi! How dare you!"

Behind her, Mu Wanning screamed angrily and threatened, but Ling Xi ignored her, her eyes growing even colder.

Before she could take a single step, Xiao Ce gripped her wrist tightly. Ling Xi lowered her head to look at the back of his hand, where the veins were bulging, and then looked up.

"Put An'er down."

His face was cold and his tone was already showing some impatience.

"Impossible! Unless Mu Wanning hands over my brother's antidote first!"

At this moment, Ling Xi was filled with nothing but anger and was incapable of obeying anyone's orders, especially Xiao Ce.

He remained silent for a moment, but his grip on her wrist didn't loosen at all, and the two remained frozen in place.

"Put An'er down first. I'll find a way to deal with your brother's poison."

His tone softened slightly, but his face remained cold and hard, showing no sign of emotion.

"Think of a way?!"

She suddenly chuckled, a clear hint of sarcasm playing on her lips, as if his words were an absurd joke.

"What's the difference between the Crown Prince and Mu Wanning? No, it's your entire Prince Rui's mansion, from top to bottom, who doesn't hate my brother? You all wish he were dead! When two countries go to war, lives are lost, and the generals of both countries serve their own masters and defend their own territories. What wrong has my brother done?!"

Ling Xi gave a low, bitter laugh, her laughter filled with a sour feeling, her bright eyes shimmering in the candlelight of the hall.

"You, Xiao Ce! How could you possibly be truly thinking of my brother's best interests..."

Her voice trailed off, her long eyelashes drooped, and the last part of her sentence was almost a murmur, lingering in the air, filled with despair.