“Which young lady is it?” Xiao Jingxi asked.

“It’s Miss Zhou who came from the capital.”

Madam Xu frowned. “How could she suddenly faint for no reason?”

The guard couldn’t answer this question. After sending the physician over, he roughly inquired about the situation before hurrying back to report to his master.

Although the physician had already boarded the pleasure boat, the vessel gradually began moving toward the shore to dock.

As the host, Xiao Jingxi naturally needed to stay and inquire about the situation. He looked at the people present, then said to Pei Zhiyan, “Shall I have someone escort Master Pei back to the guesthouse first?”

Pei Zhiyan glanced toward the pleasure boat. “I’ll wait until we understand the situation before leaving.” After all, these young ladies had come with him, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave without asking about their condition.

Xiao Jingxi nodded, then looked toward the Xu couple.

Ouyang Shi smiled gently and said warmly to Xiao Jingxi, “The pleasure boat is full of young ladies, and someone has fallen ill. It wouldn’t be quite appropriate for you to go over and look. How about Yaoqi and I go take a look first?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingxi couldn’t help but glance at Ren Yaoqi.

If Ren Yaoqi were merely a young lady of the Ren family, this kind of sick visit would naturally not fall to her. If Yanbei Prince’s Manor had female family members present at this time, that would be ideal, but unfortunately, neither the Princess Consort nor Xiao Jinglin had come. So if Ren Yaoqi went now, she would be representing the stance of Yanbei Prince’s Manor.

However, Ren Yaoqi hadn’t officially married Xiao Jingxi yet, so it might be somewhat awkward for her to socialize with those young ladies on her own. But if Madam Xu accompanied her, that would make things much easier.

Meeting Xiao Jingxi’s gaze, Ren Yaoqi naturally understood what he and Madam Xu meant. She knew Madam Xu had good intentions in wanting to help establish her authority, so she nodded. “Very well, I’ll go take a look with Madam first.”

Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi smiled back at her.

Before long, the pleasure boat docked. After the vessel was secured, Madam Xu and Ren Yaoqi boarded with their maids.

An unfamiliar young lady had been placed on a noble consort’s couch in one of the boat’s rest rooms, her eyes tightly closed and face pale. The physician who had boarded earlier was instructing a servant woman to give her medicine pills dissolved in water. The room was filled with a strong, pungent medicinal fragrance.

Smelling this scent, Ren Yaoqi felt that this young lady probably didn’t have any serious ailment. This type of strongly aromatic medicine was generally used to clear the mind and dispel wind.

Yun Qiuchen, Yan Ningshuang, and several other young ladies surrounded the area, looking at the unconscious young lady with concerned expressions. Seeing Madam Xu and Ren Yaoqi enter, they all turned to look.

Yun Qiuchen immediately came forward. “Madam, Miss Ren, you’ve come?” Her eyes were still focused on Madam Xu, clearly treating her as the primary person.

However, Madam Xu subtly glanced at Ren Yaoqi.

So Ren Yaoqi quickly interjected, “What happened? I heard Miss Zhou suddenly fainted? Is it serious?” With her taking the lead, she immediately became the primary figure with Madam Xu as the accompanying guest.

Yun Qiuchen looked between Ren Yaoqi and Madam Xu, then responded with a proper smile, “I heard that several young ladies caught colds and felt unwell during the journey here. Perhaps they haven’t fully recovered yet. Earlier, Miss Zhao also felt unwell and had already returned.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded and stepped forward, asking the physician with concern, “Physician Liu, how is Miss Zhou?”

Ren Yaoqi didn’t know this physician – she had only learned his name by casually asking a guard when she entered.

The physician was Xiao Jingxi’s man and was quite perceptive. Seeing Ren Yaoqi address him by name, and noticing Madam Xu standing behind her without speaking, he immediately rose and bowed respectfully before answering, “In response to the young lady, Miss Zhou only has a lingering cold. Today, she was exposed to some wind, which caused her to faint. It’s nothing serious. I’ve already had someone give her medicine, and she should wake up shortly. The young lady need not worry.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded and asked a few more questions in a gentle tone, which the physician answered one by one.

The young ladies present noticed how Yanbei Prince’s Manor physician referred to himself as “subordinate” when speaking to Ren Yaoqi, and his extremely respectful attitude. They all felt that although this Miss Ren hadn’t yet married into Yanbei Prince’s Manor, she must be very well-regarded by everyone there. Their feelings were quite complicated. Earlier, Physician Liu’s attitude toward Miss Yun had been much more casual.

Yan Ningshuang’s gaze had been fixed on Ren Yaoqi since she entered, but because she was backlit, her facial expression couldn’t be seen. Ren Yaoqi naturally noticed her stare but pretended not to.

Miss Yun Qiuchen maintained a perfectly appropriate smile throughout, but this flawless smile made it impossible to guess what the eldest miss was truly thinking.

Seeing that her purpose had been achieved, Madam Xu spoke up, “Physician Liu, do you think Miss Zhou should be sent back now, or should she rest here a while longer until she wakes up?”

Physician Liu replied, “It would be better to wait until she wakes up. I’ll give her more medicine in a moment, and it would be best if I could also administer a needle or two.”

Madam Xu looked at Ren Yaoqi again, and Ren Yaoqi nodded. “That sounds good. We’ll wait here then.”

Soon enough, Miss Zhou did indeed wake up slowly, though she was still somewhat dazed, and her complexion remained poor. Physician Liu quickly gave her another bowl of medicine, then took out silver needles to treat her. Before long, Miss Zhou’s color improved.

Madam Xu and Ren Yaoqi went over to see her. Miss Zhou was now fully conscious and explained that she had caught a minor cold during her journey to Yanbei. It had seemed to recover, so she hadn’t thought much of it, but unexpectedly it had relapsed today.

“Speaking of which, quite a few young ladies have indeed fallen ill. Today, Miss Li and Miss Lu didn’t go out due to illness, and now Miss Zhao and Miss Zhou have also fallen sick,” a young lady said quietly.

Hearing this, Yun Qiuchen asked Physician Liu with some concern, “I’ve heard that colds and flu can be contagious. With so many young ladies falling ill, and them all staying in the same place, will there be any problems?”

With Yun Qiuchen saying this, Physician Liu couldn’t help but hesitate. Logically, Yun Qiuchen’s concern made some sense. These young ladies were already weak in constitution – if they kept passing it back and forth to each other, it would never end. However, after glancing at Ren Yaoqi and Madam Xu, his answer remained tactful: “With proper precautions, it shouldn’t be so easily transmitted.”

But Yan Ningshuang spoke up, “So there is a possibility of mutual transmission?”

After thinking it over, Physician Liu nodded.

Yan Ningshuang looked at Ren Yaoqi and said, “In that case, we should probably stay in separate accommodations. After all, the Thousand Gold Banquet hasn’t arrived yet. If we all fall ill now, we might not be able to fulfill the Empress Dowager’s orders. What do you think, Miss Ren?”

Ren Yaoqi considered this and nodded with a smile. “Miss Yan’s concern is very reasonable. I’ll go back and consult with the Princess Consort to see if we can make additional arrangements. All of you young ladies have traveled thousands of miles to come to our Yanbei – you are our honored guests, and we should ensure you receive proper accommodation no matter what.”

Yan Ningshuang said nothing more.

After Miss Zhou rested a bit longer and Physician Liu said she was fine, Ren Yaoqi and Madam Xu arranged for someone to escort Miss Zhou and the other young ladies off the pleasure boat together.

When boarding the carriages, Xiao Jingxi and Pei Zhiyan came over. Although Ren Yaoqi had already sent someone to inform them of the situation, they still inquired about it again in person.

Miss Zhou and the other young ladies left first in carriages, with Yan Ningshuang and Yun Qiuchen walking behind.

Yan Ningshuang looked at Pei Zhiyan, then at Xiao Jingxi. “So Young Master Xiao’s honored guest is Master Pei?”

Pei Zhiyan smiled slightly and said casually, “I became acquainted with Second Young Master Xiao when he visited the capital before. Since two old friends happened to be here today as well, we decided to have a small gathering together.”

Yan Ningshuang’s gaze swept over Ren Yaoqi’s face with seeming casualness, and she smiled with some surprise and curiosity. “Old friends? Miss Ren is one as well? That’s rather unexpected.”

Pei Zhiyan raised an eyebrow, his smile gentle and refined, his bearing elegant. “Miss Ren? Isn’t Miss Ren the host? She was entertaining guests, especially since besides us, there was also Madam Xu as a female family member present on the pleasure boat.”

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but smile. Although Pei Zhiyan might currently only be helping her speak because he found Yan Ningshuang’s rude questioning disagreeable and didn’t want to be dragged down with her, she still felt warmth in her heart.

Yan Ningshuang seemed about to ask something else, but Xiao Jingxi spoke up. “The carriages are here. You young ladies should return to the retreat house first. I’ll have several physicians come check everyone’s pulse later. If anyone is ill, it’s better to treat it early.”

Xiao Jingxi’s voice was gentle, and his face held a smile. Yan Ningshuang looked at him and, perhaps because his smile was too attractive, blushed slightly. Because of that one glance, she seemed reluctant to look away, naturally not analyzing Xiao Jingxi’s words carefully.

But Ren Yaoqi found his words rather strange. Wasn’t Xiao Jingxi essentially calling them all sick? Thinking of how the usually refined and fairy-like Second Young Master Xiao appeared in public, Ren Yaoqi wondered if she might be overthinking it.

Yun Qiuchen smiled and said, “I’ll make a trip to Yanbei Prince’s Manor to report today’s events to the Princess Consort.”

Xiao Jingxi glanced at her, his gentle smile unchanged. “Miss Yun has worked hard today, but you’ve spent so much time accompanying Miss Yan and the others that you must be tired. You should go back and rest first. Madam Xu and Miss Ren can go see the Princess Consort.”