Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Lu Ming was lost in thought when a cold, sharp voice suddenly came from behind him. He immediately looked away, lowered his head, and bowed.

Xiao Ce stared coldly at the slender figure being helped away by a maid as she walked further and further away. His eyes were cold and desolate, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Lu Ming hesitated for a moment, but ultimately could not suppress his concerns and asked in a low voice:

"Your Highness, should we... send Physician Du to examine the Princess Consort? She looked very weak just now; she was probably still recovering and then forced herself to stay awake all day at the palace banquet..."

Silence reigned beside the carriage. Xiao Ce withdrew his gaze, his fingertips twitching slightly at his side, but his face remained completely expressionless.

"No need."

After saying that, he walked straight into the mansion gate and never looked back.

Lu Ming stood frozen in place, sighed inwardly, and ultimately dared not say another word.

After that day, Ling Xi's hard-won energy was once again exhausted. She lay on the soft couch in a daze all day long, without even the strength to sit up. She felt cold even wrapped in a thin quilt, and was short of breath and exhausted with the slightest movement.

Ling Xi felt that the Prince Rui's mansion had no need to go to such lengths to confine her, since she couldn't even leave the courtyard anyway.

As the illness recuperated, midsummer arrived in the blink of an eye, and another month passed without anyone paying attention to the patient.

After recovering from her illness, Ling Xi finally regained her former radiant spirit. Her only worry was the scar on Wu Shuang's back. She wanted to find medicine for Wu Shuang, but she couldn't even leave the courtyard.

As time went on, she began to feel that Yuehua Courtyard was still too small. For someone who was to be confined to her quarters, wandering around all day in such a small courtyard would soon become tiresome.

The weather was sweltering. Ling Xi leaned on the railing of the pavilion, idly feeding the koi in the pond, wondering how long until Mu Wanning would give birth. If she didn't give birth soon, she would get sick from being locked up again.

"Princess, Princess!"

After Ling Xi and Wu Shuang recovered from their illnesses, Pei Lan finally returned to her former lively and energetic self.

Ling Xi turned her head and saw Pei Lan running excitedly from the courtyard gate.

Ling Xi pouted, then turned back to continue feeding. Now, she was even less free than Pei Lan.

During this period of time, the people of Yuehua Courtyard have followed Ling Xi's instructions and resolutely avoided associating with other people in the mansion, so no one has caused them any more trouble.

This made Ling Xi think that perhaps the Prince Rui's mansion wasn't really a place that would devour people. As long as she didn't have contact with them, she could live a peaceful life.

But she didn't want to live in captivity any longer.

"Princess! Come and try it. The shopkeeper said it's a special kind of pipa duck from Nanjing. It has white skin and red meat, a rich and mellow aroma, and is refreshing and not greasy."

"A pipa duck?"

"Um!"

The name made Ling Xi think that, like Xiao Ce, it was particularly pretentious! Their Great Liang was really interesting.

Ling Xi casually clapped her hands, picked up the topmost duck leg with her fingertips, took a small bite, and spat it out with a "pfft" after only a couple of chews, throwing the duck leg back into the air as well.

"What's wrong, Princess? Is it not tasty?"

Perrin frowned, feeling that this shouldn't be the case. She had queued for a long time to buy it, and she had heard that this store had been in business for over a hundred years!

"It's not the food's fault, I just don't have an appetite. You can take it and eat it with Wushuang!"

Although Ling Xi had regained her spirits, she was still listless and ate very little, and looked much thinner than when she first arrived.

"Princess... if you continue to have no appetite like this every day, what will become of you? You've become so thin; when you return home, I wonder how distressed the Prince and Princess will be..."

Perrin became increasingly agitated as he spoke, and his previous smiling face quickly turned into a tearful one.

"Good Peilan, you need to change your habit of crying at the drop of a hat. We are in Daliang now, and we can't always be crying like this."

Ling Xi reached out and pinched Pei Lan's chubby cheeks with a look of doting affection.

Moreover, her father and mother couldn't see it. As she gazed at the fish swimming in the pond, she suddenly felt sad.

They will probably never be able to go back.

"By the way, did you find out about the medicine I asked you to find for Wushuang?"

"Oh, I found out! I went to the largest clinic in Jinling today, and an old doctor there told me that this kind of scar removal medicine can't be bought in ordinary clinics. But there's a famous black market on Fengyang Street in Jinling, where you might be able to find it."

"black market?"

"Hmm! I've heard that the black market has rare treasures that are hard to find elsewhere, prohibited items, black files on intelligence, evil medicines and strange objects, stolen goods and secondhand items... it has everything!"

Ling Xi stopped what she was doing, her eyes thoughtful.

That night, she, Wushuang, and Peilan appeared at the Jinling Black Market.

Hidden behind the bustling city, this alleyway is frequented by a diverse mix of people, yet it is quiet and orderly, devoid of the usual clamor of the marketplace. Women wearing cloaks walk slowly and quietly on the street.

It was quite different from the black market she had imagined; it looked much like an ordinary street market.

"Princess...why don't we go back? I'm a little scared..."

Pei Lan followed behind Wu Shuang and Ling Xi, looking left and right, her heart pounding with fear.

"Shh! Perrin! You have to call me Young Master, don't get it wrong."

To avoid any unforeseen complications, the group disguised themselves, but Perrin was still terrified.

"Yes, young master... you're currently under house arrest. We've not only left the courtyard, but we've also come to this black market. What if something goes wrong?"

Ling Xi stopped and flicked the fan in his hand, truly resembling an incomparably handsome man.

"Peerless! Perrin has some doubts about your skills."

Wushuang immediately brandished the silver sword in his hand, his eyes filled with determination.

"With Wushuang here, Young Master... you may do as you please!"

Ling Xi smiled, her fox-like eyes sparkling with a captivating charm.

Ling Xi naturally wouldn't do whatever she wanted. They went straight to the black market pharmacy and asked several people before they finally found it. The door was made of ordinary ebony, with no signboard, only tiny herbal patterns carved next to the door knocker.

The shop is not as noisy as a typical pharmacy; instead, it is filled with a mild and pleasant medicinal aroma that is not pungent but rather calming.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few thin gauze lamps hanging from the beams, casting a faint glow on the rows of dark wooden medicine cabinets. The cabinets contained no broken medicines or coarse herbs, only porcelain bottles and small boxes made of nanmu wood.

A man wearing a mask sat in the hall, obscuring half of his face, but it was still possible to tell that he was a calm and composed young man. When he saw a guest enter, he slightly raised his eyes.

What medicine do you need?

Two quiet assistants stood behind the counter, handling the medicine and weighing it with utmost care, almost like machines.

Ling Xi was stunned. This pharmacy was quiet and respectable, unlike a black market pharmacy at all.

"I've heard you have many expensive medicines that are hard to find on the market. I wonder if you have any good medicine for removing scars and promoting tissue regeneration?"

"Young scholar, get the medicine for these young masters."

There really was one! The group breathed a sigh of relief, none of them expecting it to go so smoothly.

But before the young apprentice could bring out the medicine, an acquaintance arrived.