Yuanxi was carried all the way and seated on the bed. Watching his mischievous smiling face drawing closer and closer, she shrank her neck and stammered, “You… you haven’t washed your hands yet…”

Xiao Du frowned, glanced at the soil on his hands, and said reluctantly, “Then you sit here and don’t move.”

Having said this, he immediately went to the outer room to wash his hands. When he came back in, he found Yuanxi sitting helplessly on the edge of the bed. Seeing him walking over while reaching into his own clothing, Yuanxi’s face immediately flushed red again. Although the two had been intimate many times, it was still broad daylight after all. Yuanxi couldn’t bring herself to be so bold, her heart beating so fast it nearly burst out. She reached up to cover her cheeks, saying pitifully, “Wait until evening, alright?”

Seeing her like a frightened little animal, Xiao Du couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He gently kissed her fingers and took something from his chest, smiling, “But what if I can’t wait until evening to give this to you?”

Yuanxi blankly moved her palms away, finally understanding she had been teased by him again. She puffed her cheeks and glared at him, then shifted her gaze to look carefully, discovering he held a lifelike carved wooden figure. The little figure had many lines and dots drawn on its body, so she asked in amazement, “What is this?”

Xiao Du smiled, “This is a wooden carved human figure. An old soldier in the army taught me to carve it. The acupoints and meridians are marked on it. I know you love looking at meridian charts most, but looking at drawings on paper can never be as clear as looking at the real thing. And…” He cleared his throat lightly, “This figure is made completely according to my body proportions.”

Yuanxi felt both surprised and delighted in her heart. She quickly took the little figure to examine it, suddenly discovering there was a protruding object between the figure’s legs. While she was observing it with confusion, she looked up to see Xiao Du’s face was also somewhat red, immediately understanding what it was. She instantly blushed crimson and said, “You’re so shameless… why did you make this!”

Xiao Du stiffened his neck, “Didn’t those charts you looked at before all have this too? Rather than looking at other people’s, it’s better to look at mine.”

Yuanxi felt both angry and amused, but ultimately there was more sweetness. She felt awkward both holding and not holding the little figure, so she glared at him reproachfully, “Now you’re even jealous of the people in medical charts?”

Xiao Du seemed somewhat aggrieved, “Who told my wife to always act so knowledgeable? Anyone would feel sour about it.”

Yuanxi didn’t expect he was still bothered by that first night, so she gently leaned close to his ear and said, “Yours is different, yours is more…” The last word was bitten extremely softly, but it was already the boldest thing she had ever said in her life. After saying it, she immediately lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at him.

But Xiao Du heard it clearly, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously stretched into a proud smile. He leaned close wickedly and said, “Why don’t we compare again now?”

Yuanxi didn’t expect him to circle back to this topic. Just as she was about to protest, her lips were blocked by his. Her hands wanted to struggle, but he grabbed them, and finally she could only weakly rest them on his neck. After a long time, he leaned against her ear and said softly, “Don’t move, let me hold you properly.”

His gentle tone made Yuanxi’s heart tremble, and she obediently leaned against him, letting him hold her tightly in his arms like a rare treasure.

Xiao Du embraced her and pointed toward the window, “Let’s go plant that Delicate Yellow properly later. Next spring your window will bloom with a large patch of yellow peonies.” He paused, “If one day I’m not by your side, let these flowers and this little figure keep you company. Just by seeing them, it will be as if I’m still beside you.”

Yuanxi’s heart inexplicably panicked. She turned around to cover his mouth, “I want you to accompany me every day. You’re not allowed to randomly think about leaving me.”

Xiao Du gazed at her intently, something in his eyes she couldn’t understand. After a long time, he sighed, “If one day I have to do something I must do that makes you sad and upset, would you hate me?”

Yuanxi was stunned, seeming to think very seriously, “If that happens, then I won’t pay attention to you anymore.”

Before her words finished, she felt the hand on her waist suddenly tighten, almost strangling her breathless. He bit her earlobe, his voice carrying petulance, “You’re not allowed to ignore me. You can hit me, scold me, punish me however you want, but you’re not allowed to ignore me.”

Yuanxi had never heard him speak in such a tone. Her heart suddenly surged with tenderness, so she responded softly, “Alright, then you’re also not allowed to randomly abandon me or casually deceive me, or I’ll properly punish you.”

Xiao Du reached out to interlock their fingers and lowered his head to kiss her lips…

At that time, they thought everything was just ordinary, always believing it was just childish jokes. No one thought that day would come so quickly.

On this day, Yuanxi was doing needlework in her room. The twin lilies were nearly finished, and looking at the bright flower centers half-open and half-closed blooming on the embroidery hoop, she felt somewhat satisfied and curved her lips. At this moment, the needle suddenly slipped and pricked her finger. The flowing blood dripped onto the nearly finished petals. Yuanxi quickly pressed her fingertip, feeling an inexplicable unease surge through her heart.

Just then, Nanny Li suddenly pushed the door open, shouting anxiously, “Madam, something terrible has happened! The Marquis has had an accident!” Yuanxi abruptly stood up, and the half-embroidered lily fell to the ground. The pain from her fingertip gradually became clear, drilling straight into her heart.

When Yuanxi hurriedly rushed over, she found the room already crowded with people. A white-bearded old man was applying acupuncture needles to the person on the bed. The Princess sat by the bed, holding a handkerchief and continuously weeping. Nanny Yu and Concubine Cai stood nearby, also crying while speaking comforting words.

The Old Marquis stood to one side, seriously instructing Zhou Jingyuan, “You must completely seal off all news from the outside. No one can know that the Marquis has had an accident. From today, no one in the manor is allowed contact with anyone. All supplies brought into the manor must be personally received by you. Absolutely no word can leak out.”

Zhou Jingyuan quickly acknowledged the order and left to handle it. Passing by Yuanxi, he bowed to her, wanting to speak but finally only letting out a long sigh before hurrying out.

Yuanxi felt somewhat unsteady on her feet. She gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly, struggling to move step by step to the bedside. She saw the person who had been laughing and talking with her just yesterday now lying lifeless on the bed, eyes tightly closed, lips dark blue, face completely colorless, with golden needles inserted in his head. Her throat choked, but somehow she couldn’t cry. She only asked with a trembling voice, “What exactly happened to him?” But that voice seemed to float in the air, unclear even to herself.

The Princess was still crying too hard to speak. The Old Marquis sighed, his eyes also somewhat red, and said to Xiao Chun who had already cried into a mess, “You tell the Madam what happened today.”

Xiao Chun fell to his knees with a thud, crying, “I don’t know what happened either. Today when we returned to the manor, the Marquis suddenly collapsed. I don’t know what occurred. It just looks like he was poisoned. But he’s always been very careful—I don’t know where things went wrong!” While worrying his master wouldn’t wake up and fearing that if blame was assigned his own life would be hard to preserve, grief overwhelmed him and he covered his face with his sleeve, wailing loudly.

At this time, the white-bearded old man finally finished his diagnosis and stood up with a grave expression. This old man was named Zuo Qiao, once an extremely renowned imperial physician in the palace who had good personal relations with the Old Marquis. After the late Emperor’s death, he resigned from office and never practiced medicine again. Today, only because the Old Marquis personally went to request him could he be persuaded to come out of retirement.

Seeing Zuo Qiao frowning and sighing, the Princess quickly wiped her tears and grabbed his arm, “Imperial Physician Zuo, what’s wrong with Du’er? When will he wake up?”

Zuo Qiao shook his head, seeming very troubled, “In this old man’s opinion, the Marquis has been poisoned with a chronic toxin. But what specific poison it is still needs to be observed for several more days. However, this toxicity has been invading the body long-term. Initially it wouldn’t be noticed, but once the poison takes effect, I’m afraid…” Seeing everyone’s expressions, he couldn’t continue, but his meaning was clear. The Princess showed a look of despair, staggered back several steps, then rolled her eyes back and fainted. Nanny Yu and the others immediately cried out in alarm and rushed to support her, causing chaos in the room.

The Old Marquis’s hands also trembled somewhat, but he still forced back his grief and said to Nanny Yu and Concubine Cai, “Take the Princess back to her room first. We can’t have another person fall ill.” Then he walked to Zuo Qiao and said with a trembling voice, “Imperial Physician Zuo, please use whatever methods necessary to save Du’er.” He paused, lowering his head somewhat shamefully, “The situation is urgent. Please stay in the manor for several days. Please bear with us.”

Zuo Qiao sighed, understanding what the Old Marquis was worried about, so he didn’t mind being essentially placed under house arrest, “At this point, this old man can only do his best.”

Yuanxi felt her mind buzzing, unable to hear many words clearly. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the person lying there, unable to believe he would just sleep like this. Perhaps this was all just a joke, and the next second he would jump up and tease her for being so easily fooled.

She sat dazedly for a long time, then suddenly said softly, “The Marquis’s face is dirty. Bring me a handkerchief so I can wipe it for him.” Everyone in the room was stunned. Nanny Li quickly wiped the tears from her face, ran out to dampen a handkerchief, and handed it to Yuanxi. Yuanxi lowered her head and carefully wiped Xiao Du’s face, saying as she wiped, “You usually love being clean most. How can you just sleep like this? Once you’re clean, wake up.” As she wiped, her hand suddenly trembled and the handkerchief slipped down. She could no longer hold back and began crying loudly.

None of the people in the room had ever seen the Madam cry like this, and for a moment they all felt heartbroken. The Old Marquis sighed, “You should also take care of your health. Du’er has Imperial Physician Zuo watching over him. You should go back and rest.”

But Yuanxi shook her head, “Please go back first, Old Master. I’ll stay with him until he wakes up.” She wiped the tear stains from her face, showing a stubborn smile, “Don’t worry, he will definitely wake up.” Because he promised he wouldn’t abandon me.

The Old Marquis helplessly shook his head. He wanted to say more, but seeing Yuanxi’s determined expression, he could only let her stay here. Thinking there were still too many matters to handle in the manor, he could only give a few instructions before hurrying away.

Yuanxi turned around and gently grasped Xiao Du’s hand, then got up to straighten his clothes. Suddenly her hand paused—she discovered that the sachet she had personally made that had always hung at his waist was missing. Her heart jumped with alarm, suddenly feeling an ominous premonition.