With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

The Empress's words were veiled; ignoring them would seem like tacit agreement, while accepting them would seem more like a guilty conscience.

Pei Jinxuan stood aside, feeling as if he had been bitten by a mad dog.

For a moment, he was speechless.

Consort Chang suddenly raised her tearful eyes, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, it is true that Prince Jing'an and I grew up together, but some things are just rumors. Please do not believe slanderous words."

The Empress sneered.

"Your Majesty the Empress."

At this moment, Lin Ci emerged from behind a pillar and bowed respectfully to the Empress. "Your Majesty is well, and I am exhausted. Prince Jing'an has caught a cold and was just waiting outside the palace for some unknown matter; I'm afraid he is already too weak to continue. Please allow us to rest first, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the Empress's cheeks flushed slightly. She was so focused on angering Consort Chang and picking on her shortcomings that she forgot that if Pei Jinxuan hadn't been blocking her way outside the palace, she and the Crown Prince would have long been at the mercy of Prince Liang.

The Empress realized her words and actions were inappropriate, but she refused to relinquish her imperial dignity. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke, "Prince Jing'an and Lady Lin have both worked hard. Please go to the side hall to rest."

As she spoke, she looked at Consort Chang, her face darkening once more. "As for you, go to the Buddhist hall to copy scriptures and pray for His Majesty's well-being."

Consort Chang, feeling helpless, choked back tears as she expressed her gratitude, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

After the Empress had gone far away, she staggered to her feet. Her skirt, soaked with snow water, clung coldly to her body.

Consort Chang turned to Pei Jinxuan and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Prince Jing'an." Then, her gaze fell upon Lin Ci, and her expression became even more sorrowful, "Thank you, Lady Lin."

Although Lin Ci didn't understand the intricacies of palace life, she could tell that the Empress couldn't stand Consort Chang being favored and was using her position as the head of the six palaces to bully Consort Chang, while also taking the opportunity to reprimand Pei Jinxuan.

In an instant, she felt sorry for Consort Chang. Despite being a consort, she couldn't hold her head up in the deep palace.

As for Pei Jinxuan... it's no different than stepping in dog poop.

"You'd better leave quickly." Pei Jinxuan's tone was quite cold, seemingly intentionally avoiding suspicion. "I will explain things to my brother when he wakes up."

"No..." Consort Chang hurriedly shook her head, her eyes reddening again. "Don't let His Majesty worry about me. His health is already poor. I'll go to the Buddhist hall to copy scriptures and pray for His Majesty... and also for Prince Jing'an."

After saying this, Consort Chang bowed slightly and left. Her delicate figure disappeared into the swirling snow in the blink of an eye, leaving only a line of shallow footprints in the snow.

Lin Ci couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"What's wrong?" Pei Jinxuan turned her head to look at him.

"How pitiful, the favored are pitiful, and the unfavored are pitiful too."

"That's what it's like to be born into an imperial or noble family. You get used to it after a while."

"I don't need to see it." Lin Ci lowered her eyes, turned and walked towards the side hall. "And I don't plan to get used to it."

Pei Jinxuan frowned slightly, then remained silent behind him.

After nightfall, Pei Jinxuan and Lin Ci stayed overnight in a side hall of the palace.

Perhaps because he had exhausted his last bit of energy in the confrontation with the Prince of Liang, Pei Jinxuan caught a fever as soon as he relaxed. He slumped back in his chair, too weak to even open his eyes.

Lin Ci reached out and touched his forehead; it was burning hot.

"I'm afraid the medicine from the Imperial Hospital won't be enough to suppress it." She withdrew her hand, her brow furrowing slightly. "I'll go and get a prescription."

After speaking, she asked the attending eunuch to bring her paper and pen, and wrote down a prescription for dispelling cold and reducing fever, handing it over. "Please have this prescription taken to the Imperial Hospital for decoction."

The eunuch took the medicine with both hands and was about to leave when Lin Ci called him back, smiling gently, "Why don't you get the medicine over here? I'll brew it myself."

The eunuch nodded in agreement and then hurried away.

Lin Ci poured a bowl of hot water, walked to Pei Jinxuan's side, and gently placed the bowl on the small table.

"Drink more water."

"Cold..." Pei Jinxuan murmured softly, his hands tucked into his clothes and his eyes closed, his brows furrowed.

Lin Ci looked at his profile.

The candlelight on the stage, like colorful ink, tinged half of his face with a faint red.

Lin Ci thought of Song Xuan, and her heart inexplicably clenched.

She mistook Pei Jinxuan for him again, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. Her fingertips slid down his eyebrows and eyes, across the bridge of his nose, and finally landed on his soft lips.

Pei Jinxuan didn't open his eyes, his lips twitched slightly, and he gave a weak smile, "I'm sick and weak, yet you still covet my good looks..."

Lin Ci snapped out of her daze, her face flushing instantly. She quickly lowered her hand, her face red, and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about? I checked your breath to see if you were alive or dead!"

Pei Jinxuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping around before settling on her.

He was too weak to speak, so he raised one hand and slowly gestured: "Don't worry, I won't die."

He smiled as his hand fell.

The flickering candlelight slightly dazzled Lin Ci's eyes.

Lin Ci bit her lip, a slight pain reminding her: this person is Pei Jinxuan, not Song Xuan.

Before long, the eunuch brought the medicine, along with a ceramic pot for decocting the medicine and a small charcoal stove, and placed them together under the eaves.

Lin Ci draped a wool blanket over Pei Jinxuan and said in the most ordinary tone, "I'll brew the medicine first, you should rest well."

After saying that, she left.

Pei Jinxuan's gaze remained fixed on her, lingering there, unable to look away.

Before long, a bitter medicinal smell wafted in from the crack in the door.

Pei Jinxuan lazily bent over and straightened up, no longer looking pitiful like before.

His head felt heavy, but his heart was at peace. Perhaps it was because someone was watching over him outside, someone he trusted without any reason.

Meanwhile, Lin Ci was already sweating profusely from the work.

The medicines at the Imperial Medical Academy are all top-grade, but the earthenware pot used for decocting them seems to be malfunctioning, never getting hot. She's been fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan until it's practically smoking, but no flames are appearing.

There's a proper way to prepare medicine. First, you have to bring it to a boil over high heat until the broth is rolling, then simmer it over low heat until all the essence of the medicine is extracted before drinking it. But right now, we can't even get a high flame going, so this medicine will take forever to prepare.

Seeing that she was getting tired of fanning, the young eunuch kindly came over and said, "Why don't you let me do it?"

Lin Ci looked at him, wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled, "No need. If you have time, prepare some porridge for me, the lighter the better."

"Okay."

After the young eunuch finished speaking, he turned and left.

In just a short while, the footsteps returned.

"So fast! What kind of porridge did you prepare?"

Lin Ci raised her head, her voice trailing off.

It turned out to be Consort Chang. She had changed into a plain blue jacket with a dark floral pattern, and she was not wearing any makeup. The tear stains on her face had been wiped away, but the redness at the corners of her eyes had not yet faded.

She stood under the eaves carrying a food box, bathed in the soft light of the palace lanterns on the corners of the eaves.

Lin Ci's hand, which was fanning the stove, slowed down.

Consort Chang smiled slightly, though with a hint of bitterness, "I heard that Prince Jing'an was unwell, so I specially cooked some porridge."

Lin Ci listened, the corridor was quiet, and there was no one else in sight except for the two of them.

Consort Chang really knows how to pick her timing.

"He's asleep." Lin Ci started fanning himself again with the palm-leaf fan, making a crackling sound. The flames finally leaped out from between the embers, desperately licking at the earthenware pot, brewing a pot of bitter water.

"Then I will take the porridge in. Madam Lin, please don't overthink it." Consort Chang's words were loaded with meaning, not wanting Lin Ci to make a fuss.

Lin Ci only cared about her medical skills and Song Xuan's life or death; the rights and wrongs, love and hate in the deep palace had nothing to do with her.

"I'll keep watch on the door, Your Highness, please go ahead." Lin Ci generously let Consort Chang go in by herself.

Consort Chang gave her a look of deep gratitude, turned around, pushed open the door and went in, then quickly closed the door behind her.

Lin Ci continued fanning himself with his palm-leaf fan, pretending to be deaf and dumb.