Imperial offspring!

The moment Prince Rui opened his mouth, Physician Li’s head began to throb.

Emperor Mingkang was a fanatical devotee of Taoism, spending his days obsessing over immortality and eternal rule over his kingdom. The palace specially kept a group of Taoist masters to refine longevity elixirs. From a physician’s perspective, he could only sneer coldly—those pills, rather than granting longevity, would be fortunate if they didn’t kill someone.

For this very reason, Emperor Mingkang’s health was poor, and the princes he sired had weak constitutions. Of the dozen or so princes born, only two survived to adulthood: Prince Rui and Prince Mu.

Emperor Mingkang had never established a crown prince. Prince Rui and Prince Mu were similar in age, naturally competing in secret. Prince Rui, being the elder, should have held the advantage, but unfortunately, his body was frail, and like Emperor Mingkang, he struggled with producing heirs. Now in his thirties, he had not managed to keep even one child alive.

Everyone understood clearly that Emperor Mingkang would never establish a prince without heirs as crown prince.

Physician Li’s face turned black as the bottom of a pot.

This wasn’t merely getting entangled in the whirlpool of princes competing for succession—he was standing right in the center, enduring the full force of the storm!

Physician Li turned and began to walk away.

“Please wait, Divine Physician!” Prince Rui bowed deeply. “For the sake of this prince’s sincere invitation, please examine this prince.”

Seeing that Physician Li remained unmoved, Prince Rui added, “Moreover, Divine Physician, you entered the capital without concealing yourself. By now, many interested parties likely already know you’ve entered this prince’s residence. If the Divine Physician were to leave like this, your safety—”

Physician Li’s steps halted. After a long silence, he turned around and said irritably, “So this old man is to stay here?”

Prince Rui was overjoyed and personally went to support Physician Li: “Whichever place the Divine Physician fancies, this prince will immediately have it prepared!”

Physician Li let out a long sigh.

Once you’ve fallen into a pit, climbing out becomes difficult indeed.

All the citizens in the city had gone to watch the triumphant return of the Northern Expedition army. The other streets were cold and deserted, and the Jinlin Guards headquarters near the imperial city was even more desolate—not a soul in sight.

Jiang Yuanchao stopped before the headquarters, straightened his dark robes, and stepped inside.

“Halt! This is Jinlin Guards territory—unauthorized personnel are not permitted to wander about!” The Jinlin Guard at the entrance blocked his path.

Jiang Yuanchao smiled slightly, his lips curved upward: “Unauthorized personnel?”

The subordinate standing behind him immediately stepped forward and barked, “You little brat, you’ve eaten a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall—you don’t even recognize your Lord Shisan!”

“What, Lord Shisan?”

The young Jinlin Guard was still muttering when another guard jumped up: “Oh my, Lord Shisan has returned! Please, please come in!”

Jiang Yuanchao’s lips still carried a smile, but his eyes were ice-cold. As he walked inside, he asked, “Is the Grand Commander in?”

The Jinlin Guard, who recognized Jiang Yuanchao, bowed respectfully: “The old master isn’t here. He came by for a turn today and then returned to his residence.”

Returned to his residence? Jiang Yuanchao pondered for a moment and asked, “Is today Miss Jiang’s birthday?”

The Jinlin Guard nodded repeatedly: “Lord Shisan, your memory is truly excellent. The Grand Commander went home to celebrate the young miss’s birthday.”

Miss Jiang, Jiang Shiran, was the only daughter of Jinlin Guards Commander Jiang Tang. Everyone in the Jinlin Guards knew that Miss Jiang was the apple of Jiang Tang’s eye.

Jiang Yuanchao stopped and nodded slightly: “You attend to your duties. I’ll go to the Jiang Residence first to pay my respects to my foster father.”

After he left with his subordinate, the young Jinlin Guard was still craning his neck to look. The other guard slapped him: “What are you still looking at?”

The young Jinlin Guard, who had joined recently, sighed with admiration: “So that’s Lord Shisan, one of the Thirteen Guardians? He’s so young!”

“Keep your eyes sharp in the future. The Grand Commander values Lord Shisan above all others!”

The young Jinlin Guard felt puzzled: If the Grand Commander valued Lord Shisan so much, why would he send him away for several years? Tsk tsk, the thoughts of adults are truly hard to understand.

Jiang Tang enjoyed the emperor’s deep favor, so his residence was located not far from the imperial city. Jiang Yuanchao instructed his subordinate to buy a set of dolls from Zhenbao Pavilion, then carried them to visit.

“Lord Shisan has returned! Please wait a moment, this servant will go in to announce you.”

Watching the gatekeeper turn and run inside to report, Jiang Yuanchao curved his lips slightly.

In the past, when he was in the capital, he never had to wait for an announcement when visiting the Jiang Residence.

Soon, the gatekeeper came running back: “Lord Shisan, the master requests that you enter!”

Jiang Yuanchao nodded and walked inside. From afar, he saw Jiang Tang standing on the steps, waiting. He quickened his pace, and upon reaching him, knelt on one knee: “This unfilial son Thirteen has returned to kowtow to foster father.”

If not for the man before him, having fallen to the streets as a child, even if he could have survived to now, his life would likely have been as difficult as an ant’s. Toward this foster father, his respect and love were genuine.

The man on the steps was in his early fifties. Due to weight gain, he sported a general’s belly. He walked over and personally helped Jiang Yuanchao to his feet. His expression was stern, but his eyes held warmth: “It’s good that you’ve returned.”

The two walked inside together. From the house flew out a young lady in pink robes, her face bright with a cheerful smile as she rushed toward Jiang Yuanchao: “Thirteenth Brother, you’ve finally returned!”

Jiang Yuanchao imperceptibly shifted his body to avoid physical contact with the young lady, raising the exquisite box in his hand before her: “Fortunately, I made it in time for Ran Ran’s birthday.”

Jiang Shiran cheered and took the gift, opening it in front of both men. Seeing the set of exquisitely crafted dolls inside, though delighted in her heart, she couldn’t help but complain: “Thirteenth Brother, I’m already sixteen years old—I’m not a little girl anymore. Why do you still give me these things?”

Jiang Yuanchao smiled gently: “In Thirteenth Brother’s heart, naturally, I’ve always cherished Ran Ran as a little girl.”

At these words, for some unknown reason, a figure suddenly flashed through his mind.

That one was truly a young girl, yet he always seemed to forget this fact. Perhaps it was because women bold enough to throw fairy balls at the Marquis Guanjun were too rare.

Jiang Yuanchao’s words caused Jiang Shiran displeasure. She stamped her feet and, dropping the line “I’m not a little girl,” turned and ran away.

Jiang Tang felt both helpless and embarrassed. Shaking his head, he said, “Don’t mind that girl, Thirteen. That’s just her temperament.”

“Of course not.” Jiang Yuanchao smiled faintly. Jiang Shiran’s words and actions were like raindrops falling into the ocean—they left not even the slightest trace.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Jiang Tang’s eyes as he ordered: “Follow me to the study.”

The two entered the study one after the other. Jiang Tang put away his smile and assumed a serious expression: “Thirteen, you were stationed in Jia Feng—how did the Qiao family suffer that great fire right under your nose? Was that fire a natural disaster or human calamity?”

“It was Thirteen’s failure to perform adequately. Please punish me, foster father!”

Jiang Tang waved his hand impatiently: “Don’t waste words—speak of the important matters!”

Jiang Tang’s matter-of-fact attitude made Jiang Yuanchao silently breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed that although his absence of several years had inevitably led to some cooling of relationships, his foster father’s feelings toward him hadn’t changed much.

“Foster father, I believe the Qiao family fire was a human calamity!”

“How so?”

“The Qiao family fire was far too sudden. We didn’t monitor any suspicious individuals, but the surviving Young Master Qiao’s movements were quite strange. He didn’t remain to observe mourning, nor did he stay to recover from his injuries. Instead, he took his young sister to visit several family friends and then left Jia Feng. I believe he must know something.”