“I do not wish for you to marry the Crown Prince.”

Cui Xinyi froze on the spot, first blank, then confused, and finally looking at Lin Yuanjin in disbelief: “Why?”

She stepped forward a few paces, pressing with questions: “You… you did not say this before.”

“I do not know whether you are aware, His Highness the Crown Prince is willing to grant you the position of Secondary Consort, but according to Father Emperor’s intent, if you enter the Crown Prince’s residence, you would be Cui Cairen.” Lin Yuanjin lifted her eyes and said simply.

This in fact made clear the Emperor’s attitude.

Lin Yuanjin did not think the Emperor would strike his own son over the rank of two concubines, or over her, a Crown Princess with no blood ties, but he would absolutely not be indifferent to the influence of the maternal clan.

“I am not afraid you will share his favor, I only…” Lin Yuanjin’s voice halted, her lips pressed together, and a strong sense of powerlessness suddenly rose in her heart.

Lin Yuanjin wanted Cui Xinyi to have a chance to choose, yet a beat too late she remembered why she herself had had no choice back then.

Could it be that she did not want to?

Lin Yuanjin did not continue. She only shook her head, a faint listlessness rising in her clear, bright eyes.

“This subject daughter does not care about rank!” Cui Xinyi said firmly, her eyes fixed on Lin Yuanjin, sincere and fervent, “This subject daughter has admired Crown Prince gege for many years, feelings whose origin I do not know; as long as I can marry him, this subject daughter is willing to do anything. You need not have any concerns.”

“Is that so, then that is fine.” Lin Yuanjin looked at the pair of eyes before her, burning with admiration, murmured as she nodded, only treating her earlier words as if they had not been spoken, her eyes curving into a smile.

Having something to hope for is always good.

Instead, Cui Xinyi looked at Lin Yuanjin in confusion.

She could not see through this Crown Princess who was younger than herself. Lin Yuanjin had shown the tolerance she ought to show; it seemed she had no selfish desires toward the Crown Prince at all, and even when her elder sister bullied her excessively, she had never lost composure.

At their first meeting, Cui Xinyi had clearly been certain that the way Lin Yuanjin looked at the Crown Prince was filled with wholehearted sincerity; now that the Crown Prince was injured, she did not stay closely by his side, but instead turned and calmly walked out of the hall—Cui Xinyi was no longer so certain.

Her sincerity seemed to appear and disappear at times…?

Before Cui Xinyi could figure it out, the Chief of the Imperial Medical Bureau walked out from the hall. Not noticing them at the side, his expression tense, drenched in sweat, he hurried away.

Nanny Zhang’s expression changed slightly, as if in thought.

Soon, someone from inside the hall came out again to summon.

A palace maid gave a curtsey, lowering her head as she spoke: “Her Majesty the Empress requests that you enter alone.”

“This palace knows.” Lin Yuanjin nodded in response, turned to glance at Cui Xinyi, briefly said farewell, then looked somewhat shyly toward Nanny Zhang, “You may go rest for a while; there is no need to wait for me.”

“This old servant understands.” Nanny Zhang answered with a smile, quietly watching Lin Yuanjin walk into the hall, then without hesitation turned and chased in the direction the Chief of the Imperial Medical Bureau had just left.

The Chief walked faster and faster, in great haste arriving at the Emperor’s study to request an audience.

The Emperor had been waiting for him, having already instructed the eunuch that there was no need to announce him, and to admit him directly.

“How is the Crown Prince?” The Emperor looked at the memorial in his hands and asked without even raising his head.

Though he asked thus, he was not truly worried; though he was no longer in his years of campaigning on horseback, he still had a good sense of measure in his hands. At most, the Crown Prince would have suffered a few superficial injuries, nothing that would harm bones or sinews.

“Your Majesty…” The Chief hesitated to speak.

Hearing his tone, the Emperor felt something was amiss. His thick brows furrowed as he looked at the Chief in confusion: “Do not be mysterious—speak plainly!”

The Chief had composed his wording along the way, yet now with drafts filling his mind, he did not know how to say it, only hesitating: “The Crown Prince seems to show signs of yang deficiency, and must be slowly nourished and replenished.”

The Emperor’s eyes suddenly widened, the brush in his hand flung with a “pa,” ink splattering into a chaotic arc.

What nonsense? Had he really beaten the Crown Prince into something wrong?!

“Yesterday you did not say this!” the Emperor questioned.

The memory of last night’s banquet was still vivid; for this, several heads had already fallen.

The Chief was also on the verge of collapse—let alone him, even the three senior imperial physicians had not reached this conclusion yesterday!

How had it changed overnight!

“Could it be that I beat it out of him?” The Emperor, in his incredulity, actually began to doubt himself, “But I struck his back.”

“This…” The Chief took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat at his temple, choosing his words carefully, “This official believes that Your Majesty’s beating would not have injured his yang essence.”

The Chief had something on his mind and did not dare say more. Just now, after repeatedly taking the pulse, he felt that this condition of yang deficiency did not seem to have appeared suddenly overnight.

But after decades in office, if yesterday’s diagnosis had been wrong, it would be a capital offense; yet the suspicious point was that if it were a misdiagnosis, how could all three have erred at the same time?

In any case, it certainly was not the Emperor’s fault!

The Chief added: “Aside from external injuries, there are also traces of medicine and incense on the Crown Prince’s body.”

“Medicine?” The Emperor’s gaze shifted, calming himself; since it was not his problem, then he could slowly reckon whose problem it was, “Was it the Lin family girl seducing him and administering drugs?”

“It is mainly unclear what medicine the Crown Prince has taken.” The Chief stammered, “If it is something that stirs desire, under normal circumstances it would not be so severe, but it is not certain…”

This sounded as though he himself felt it unlikely, yet he did not state it definitively, which instead aroused the Emperor’s suspicion.

The Emperor had been on the throne for many years and understood the ways of officialdom; many matters were often exaggerated, but they never arose from nothing.

“Yesterday, the three imperial physicians diagnosed the Crown Prince as unharmed.” The Emperor stated flatly.

The imperial pressure descended like nine heavy cauldrons; the Chief instantly broke into a cold sweat, dropping to his knees with his head to the ground: “Your Majesty, yesterday was absolutely true—this official did not misdiagnose!”

“I did not say you were wrong.” The Emperor waved his hand, a heavy gloom settling in his eyes.

Though the Pei family had not stepped forward directly in yesterday’s matter, it was clearly a case of princes attacking one another; the rumor that the Crown Prince was incapable of performing as a man had been too excessive. The Emperor could not understand it no matter how he thought about it—without complete certainty, how would they dare make trouble in public?

Now it seemed there were still many points of doubt.

“What is real cannot be made false, and what is false cannot be made real.” The Emperor looked toward Eunuch Li, already having an idea, “Go, summon Nanny Zhang.”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, Nanny Zhang is already waiting outside.” Eunuch Li greeted with a smile.

“Summon her at once!” The Emperor immediately had him call her in.

Nanny Zhang entered with utmost respect, completed her salute.

“You have come at just the right time.” The Emperor paced a few steps, looked at Nanny Zhang, and gave his instruction with certainty, “I order you, under the pretext of emphasizing the matter of the legitimate imperial grandson, to advise the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and to monitor whether their marital relations proceed smoothly—especially the Crown Prince.”

“This old servant accepts the decree.” Nanny Zhang agreed, though her expression showed a trace of hesitation.

“Do you have something to report?” the Emperor asked in turn.

“Regardless of right or wrong, the Crown Princess is now caught in a dilemma, being troubled by her elder sister and yet not favored by the Crown Prince or the Empress…” Nanny Zhang sighed, “Her disposition is gentle; just now she even tried to advise the Cui family girl.”

“If her heart is pure, what is there to fear? Did I not have you protect her?” The Emperor was unconcerned, a faint trace of hostility hidden beneath his words, “As long as I am here, no one is allowed to bully the Crown Princess I personally bestowed.”

He seemed to be speaking of Lin Yuanjin, yet also seemed to be speaking of someone else.

But no matter what, Nanny Zhang heard what she wanted to hear: “This old servant thanks Your Majesty on behalf of the Crown Princess for your grace.”

And the one they spoke of protecting, after entering Xuanyang Palace, would, as expected, soon face blame.

Lin Yuanjin followed the palace maid into the hall.

Inside Xuanyang Palace, something was unusual—there was a dead silence.

The deeper she went, the more oppressive it felt; there were fewer and fewer attendants. Only a few at the entrance remained, standing like carved stone statues, heads lowered, silent.

Just as Lin Yuanjin stepped over the threshold, a porcelain cup suddenly flew toward her, shattering with a “crack” at her feet, breaking the stillness of the room.

She froze, looking at the Empress in shock, her clear eyes seeming dazed.

The Empress’s chest rose and fell, her eyes red as if she had just wept: “Crown Princess, do you know your sin!”

The Crown Prince had his eyes closed, his pale face tinged with a flush. He leaned weakly against a seat to the side, sweat soaking his collar.