The Minister of Ceremonies naturally wouldn’t allow Prince Gong of Xijiang to stay at his residence. After much persuasion and passing the buck to Prince Rui and Prince Mu, Prince Gong of Xijiang moved into Prince Rui’s residence that very day.

Prince Gong of Xijiang was accustomed to a life of luxury and comfort in Xijiang. The long journey to Great Liang had already taken its toll on him, and after the shock of Princess of Xijiang’s death, combined with that midnight terror, he soon fell ill. Moreover, his condition showed signs of gradually worsening.

When the Minister of Ceremonies heard this, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had known that he would rather die than let anyone stay at his residence. This batch of Xijiang envoys seemed cursed—one after another, meeting misfortune. He wouldn’t touch this hot potato.

While the Minister of Ceremonies secretly celebrated, Prince Rui was getting a massive headache.

He knew that nothing good ever came from what his sixth brother pushed onto him! Unfortunately, he wasn’t eloquent, and every time his sixth brother cornered him with words, he always ended up at a disadvantage.

Although Father Emperor had now emerged from seclusion, he had always ignored such mundane affairs and didn’t care where Prince Gong of Xijiang lived. But if the man died of illness in his prince’s residence, Father Emperor would hold him accountable.

Father Emperor hated trouble the most.

Thinking about these matters, Prince Rui couldn’t even eat his meal. He got up and went to Li Jiǎo’s quarters.

When Li Jiǎo saw Prince Rui coming, she was overjoyed and hurried to greet him.

Ever since that day when she had shared a bed with Prince Rui, the prince hadn’t set foot in her quarters even once, keeping her heart constantly on edge. Yet all her treatment had improved greatly compared to when she first arrived at the prince’s residence, and the attention those maidservants and servants paid to her had reached an almost uncomfortable degree.

Li Jiǎo wasn’t stupid. After much thought, she figured out Prince Rui’s true intention.

The prince was hoping she would become pregnant, wasn’t he?

Thinking about how Prince Rui was already in his thirties and his vast prince’s residence didn’t even have a single child, Li Jiǎo’s heart burned with passion.

That day, the prince had been extremely angry, yet he still had people take such good care of her, showing how desperately he wanted a child. She must work hard to conceive!

A mother’s status rises with her child; once she bore the prince’s eldest son, the position of princess consort would be within easy reach.

As soon as Prince Rui entered, his gaze swept around Li Jiǎo’s abdomen.

The imperial physician had said it was still too early to tell whether Lady Li was pregnant, which was truly nerve-wracking.

If Lady Li could become pregnant, that would naturally be wonderful in every way. But if she couldn’t—

Thinking of Li Jiǎo’s scheming against him, Prince Rui felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. When he thought of the imprisoned Marquis Guanjun, he felt even more that the loss outweighed the gain.

He had originally wanted to use Lady Li to establish a connection with Marquis Guanjun, hoping to gain an ally for himself in the future. Who would have thought that Marquis Guanjun would become the son of a criminal in the blink of an eye? He didn’t know how many times his sixth brother had laughed about this behind his back.

“Your Highness, please have some tea.” Li Jiǎo personally brought over tea.

Prince Rui took the teacup and casually set it on the table, asking expressionlessly: “How has your health been these past few days?”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s concern. This concubine is well in all respects, though I don’t know if it’s due to spring fatigue, but I always feel somewhat drowsy.”

Drowsy?

Prince Rui’s heart leaped with joy upon hearing this.

He, too, had been a father before, and because his children had died one after another, he had become increasingly attentive later on, asking the imperial physician many questions about women bearing children.

The imperial physician had mentioned that women would feel extremely drowsy during the first two or three months of pregnancy. Could it be that Lady Li was truly pregnant?

Prince Rui was excited inside, and his face showed several degrees more concern: “Then you should rest well and not overthink things.”

“This concubine will remember Your Highness’s instructions.”

Seeing Li Jiǎo’s compliant behavior and considering that she might very well be pregnant, Prince Rui’s disgust toward her dissipated considerably.

Li Jiǎo looked up at Prince Rui and asked softly: “Has Your Highness encountered some troubling matter?”

“How did you know?” Prince Rui gave Li Jiǎo a cool glance.

Li Jiǎo reached out to place her hands on Prince Rui’s shoulders, massaging them while saying: “This concubine noticed Your Highness’s brow was tightly furrowed, so I thought you must have encountered some troubling matter.”

Listening to the woman’s gentle voice and feeling the comfort of his relaxed shoulders, Prince Rui inexplicably felt an urge to confide. He sighed: “Prince Gong of Xijiang fell ill after moving into our prince’s residence, and his condition worsens daily. Just thinking about this gives me a headache.”

“Prince Gong of Xijiang is ill—hasn’t he summoned imperial physicians to examine him?”

“Of course he has. Even Director Li from the Imperial Medical Bureau came to see him, but there’s still no improvement.”

Li Jiǎo’s eyes darted about, and standing behind Prince Rui, she said softly: “This concubine does have a candidate in mind—”

Prince Rui turned around to stare at Li Jiǎo: “What candidate?”

Li Jiǎo lowered her eyes, her expression compliant: “I wonder if Your Highness has heard that this concubine’s third sister acknowledged Physician Li as her godfather, and Physician Li passed his medical legacy to her.”

Prince Rui’s eyes lit up: “Is this true?”

When he had brought Lady Li into his residence, he had sent people to investigate the Li family’s situation. He had heard that the third miss of the Li residence was rather extraordinary, but he hadn’t believed the claims about her superior medical skills.

How could a girl not yet of age be more skilled than the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau? Just thinking about it seemed impossible. Medical skills weren’t like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—those leisurely artistic pursuits. Could a doctor become a renowned physician without treating hundreds of patients?

However, Prince Rui was now somewhat hesitant.

At a time like this, surely Lady Li wouldn’t dare deceive him? If she were lying, it would be too easily exposed.

“It’s true. The third sister is truly talented. When the youngest son of Earl Changchun’s residence was once simple-minded, the third sister cured him with a single needle. Many people know about this—Your Highness need only send someone to inquire.”

Prince Rui pondered for a while after hearing this.

Li Jiǎo sneered inwardly but showed some difficulty on her face: “It’s just that third sister is rather proud, and she’s also Marquis Guanjun’s fiancée. If Your Highness asks her to come treat Prince Gong of Xijiang, she probably won’t be willing.”

A cold light flashed in Prince Rui’s eyes, but his tone was very gentle: “Third Miss is, after all, a young lady. Having her come to treat Prince Gong of Xijiang would indeed be somewhat inappropriate. How about this—you can say you’re feeling unwell and ask her to come take a look.”

Li Jiǎo laughed secretly.

Would Li Zhao come to see her? What a joke.

But what she wanted was precisely Li Zhao’s refusal, which would surely displease the prince.

The prince naturally wouldn’t do anything to Li Zhao now, but once he ascended to that position in the future, she could whisper in his ear, and she didn’t believe Li Zhao could remain so peaceful then.

Thinking of how Marquis Guanjun had been thrown into the heavenly prison, Li Jiǎo could barely contain her laughter. It was a pity Li Zhao hadn’t married over yet, or she would have had to accompany Marquis Guanjun in the heavenly prison.

“The third sister has always held some prejudice against this concubine. I don’t know if she’ll be willing to come.”

“Let the residence steward make the trip.”

“Yes.”

Qiao Zhao received the invitation personally delivered by Prince Rui’s residence steward and felt puzzled.

Li Jiǎo was unwell and wanted her to come take a look. As a concubine without status in the prince’s residence, the invitation was personally delivered by the steward?

Whether it was the steward personally coming to invite her or considering her relationship with Li Jiǎo, this matter was strange.

Qiao Zhao’s mind raced, and she quickly thought of Prince Gong of Xijiang moving into Prince Rui’s residence and falling seriously ill.

Looking at the invitation from Prince Rui’s residence, Qiao Zhao smiled.

It seemed this was a case of the drunkard’s interest not being in the wine—asking her to examine Li Jiǎo’s illness was false, while examining Prince Gong of Xijiang’s illness was the truth.