"There is only one thing for you to do this time when you go to the Changshan Prince Mansion—"

Qin Rong raised their eyebrows, understanding the implication, "Li Xingyuan?"

Li Mu nodded, "When you see him, tell him that the Duke Yan Mansion is arranging a marriage for Miss Tang." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Qin Rong nearly lost their footing, "That’s it?" Wasn’t it about worrying that something might happen to Li Xingyuan?

After all, since Li Xingyuan returned to Zhenzhou, there had been no news from him.

The Princess Changshan had passed over forty-nine days ago; even if Li Xingyuan was in mourning, he shouldn’t be completely out of contact.

Li Mu looked at them nonchalantly, "For the rest, act according to the situation."

Qin Rong only knew that he was someone under the Crown Prince, and seeing him act so commandingly, felt slightly indignant, so they said, "Was it Tang Second Miss who instructed you about the Duke Yan Mansion’s affairs? Why don’t you go yourself?"

"Li Mingyi recognizes me," Li Mu said, "He wants my life."

...

"A beautiful girl about fourteen or fifteen?" Li Mingyi was surprised.

Not Li Mu?

"Yes, an extremely beautiful girl," the subordinate had already emphasized her beauty, yet couldn’t help but emphasize it again, "As soon as she arrived, she inquired about the Princely Heir’s condition, learned that the Heir was seriously ill, and expressed worry."

Li Mingyi pondered, "If the girl requests to visit the Heir, have Consort Zeng accompany her personally."

...

Since Qin Rong was there specifically for Li Xingyuan, they naturally wanted to request to see the Princely Heir.

They were slightly surprised when they saw Consort Zeng.

The Commandery Prince Changshan Li Mingyi had many concubines, but apart from Princess Liang, only a low-status Zeng was elevated to concubine and had borne two sons and a daughter.

Now that the Princess has recently passed, this Consort Zeng has naturally become the first lady of the Prince Mansion’s back courtyard.

Surprisingly, Consort Zeng was not extremely beautiful.

Since she didn’t rely on beauty, she must be even more formidable.

As Qin Rong followed Consort Zeng into the East Garden, they asked with concern, "Is the Princess well?"

Princess Zhen Ding Li Huaiyue was Li Xingyuan’s only full sibling.

If either sibling fared poorly, the other wouldn’t be faring well either.

"The Princess left so suddenly, the Princess is deeply grieved and hasn’t met with guests for a long time," Consort Zeng sighed with sorrow.

Qin Rong also followed, sighing a couple of times.

"I still don’t know how Miss Qin refers to our Heir?" Consort Zeng suddenly turned and asked her.

Qin Rong didn’t answer immediately, slightly lowered her face, her profile ethereally beautiful, yet a tinge of peach blossom pink adorned her jade-like cheeks, beautiful beyond words.

"Just chance acquaintances," she said softly.

Consort Zeng smiled knowingly and led her into the room.

The room was warmed with a charcoal brazier, intensifying the medicinal aroma; Qin Rong subtly sniffed, her face still worried.

Entering the inner chamber, she saw the bed curtains lowered, faintly revealing a person lying motionless on the bed, making it hard to tell if it was Li Xingyuan.

"Li Xingyuan..." Qin Rong seemed to unintentionally call out anxiously.

Consort Zeng’s gaze flickered as she looked at the servants in the room.

"The Princely Heir took medicine at dawn and hasn’t awakened yet," a servant reported.

"Is he seriously that ill?" Just now warm and graceful, Miss Qin’s beautiful eyebrows were now burning with anxiety.

Consort Zeng sighed, "After suddenly receiving bad news, the Princely Heir rushed back without rest, guarding the spirit for seven days and nights, his body couldn’t hold up, and he hasn’t recovered these past couple of months."

Qin Rong’s face turned pale, she bit her lip gently and softly pleaded, "Could I...say a few words alone with the Heir?"

Consort Zeng looked troubled, "This might not be appropriate... and the Heir is asleep, he won’t hear Miss Qin’s words..."

"I just need to say a few words, whether he hears or not," Qin Rong said softly, her eyes filled with a complex blend of vulnerability and resolve.

Consort Zeng was silent for a moment, then turned and left the inner chamber.

Qin Rong listened to the footsteps leaving the room, as if only she and the sleeping Li Xingyuan were left inside.

She waited another moment before walking to the bedside.

Parting the bed curtains, the person lying on the bed, though heartbreakingly haggard, was indeed Li Xingyuan.

She knelt by the bed, gently touched Li Xingyuan’s forehead with a gentle voice, not lowered too much.

"Ah Yuan... I’m afraid I can’t wait three years for you..."

"Ah Xiao says I must tell you myself... I’m going to be proposed for marriage..."

At that, the person on the bed suddenly twitched violently.

Following that—

With a "pop" sound, something fell from under the blanket to the ground.

Qin Rong looked down.

The golden sparrow’s wings were broken, brightly tarnished...

...

"Awake after all?" Li Mingyi’s eyes suddenly turned sharp.

"Yes, that Qin Rong only said two sentences... As soon as she mentioned the marital arrangement, the Heir woke up."

"Where’s Qin Rong?" Li Mingyi frowned and asked.

"I found an excuse to keep her," Consort Zeng said.

Li Mingyi nodded in satisfaction, "Since she’s fond of Xingyuan, it’s only right to leave her to care for him!"

With affection, things become easier to handle.

...

"Li Mingyi is probably planning to keep me as leverage over Li Xingyuan—"

Qin Rong said this while extinguishing the lights in the room.

There were two people outside.

But there were actually two people in the room as well, though not even she could sense Mo Ji’s presence.

"Go back and tell Ah Xiao, Li Xingyuan is afflicted with Ten Fragrance Poison and Soft Muscle Powder; Li Mingyi is likely keeping him to stabilize the Su and Liang families for now, but now that he’s keeping me, he must be about to act, so he better hurry, otherwise I won’t save Li Xingyuan—"

...

"...That day Su Shunqing received a letter from Zhenzhou, and then left the Capital City quietly overnight; she must have gone back to save Princely Heir!"

Tang Xiaobai, although speaking with certainty, was not confident at all about Su Shunqing’s ability to successfully save Li Xingyuan.

Li Xingyuan’s career path had clearly gone off track, and she didn’t dare rely on the protagonist’s aura to guess anymore.

"What’s the big deal about killing Zhao Jing? How could the Commandery Prince punish Li Xingyuan? He’s his own son!" Tang Jiaojiao frowned in disbelief but unconsciously twisted her clothes tightly.

"But that’s not his only son, and coincidentally, the Princess is dead too!"

Tang Xiaobai was already considering the worst-case scenario.

If Zhao Jing had told Li Mingyi that his legitimate eldest son would kill him next year, invade the Capital City, and ascend the throne.

What reason does Li Mingyi have not to strike first?

The Zhenzhou Army that Li Xingyuan would use to storm the Capital City, why couldn’t the father use it too?

"I mentioned it when writing to Ah Xiao—"

"Brother has already left, what can Qin Xiao do?" Tang Jiaojiao interrupted her with a tight face.

Tang Xiaobai, pinching her fingers, felt extremely distressed.

Because of her concern for Father, she was in haste to send her brother to Liangzhou.

Unexpectedly, as soon as her brother left, something happened with Li Xingyuan.

The young master there, after all, doesn’t have a stable foundation, what can he do?

Unless—

Tang Xiaobai’s eyes suddenly lit up, "There’s still Miss Qin, if Miss Qin can go to Zhenzhou—"

"Bang!" Tang Jiaojiao slammed the table and shot her a fierce glance, saying nothing, she ran off like the wind.

"Sister, where are you going?" Tang Xiaobai chased after her at a trot.

The wind carried back Tang Jiaojiao’s muffled response, "...don’t need her, Qin Rong..."