The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

Since the last palace banquet, Li Muxia has become popular again in the capital.

Recently, a "Who's the Spy" craze has swept through Kyoto. After class, students gather together to play games, and even young ladies from sheltered families no longer go shopping but instead play "Who's the Spy" in groups of three or five.

The Emperor inquired about the banquet with Prince Duan and the Third and Fourth Princesses. The most frequent topic he heard was the "Who is the Spy?" game. Intrigued, the Emperor immediately played a game with the princesses and princes. He was eliminated in the first round. After several rounds, the Emperor figured out the rules of the game. Then, he unleashed a series of four kills. After all, he was in a high position, and his schemes completely overwhelmed them.

At the same time, the Emperor also heard about the affair between Dongfang Jincheng and Li Muxia.

"Li Muxia, this is a difficult situation. The second prince broke off the engagement back then. If I were to grant them a marriage now, I estimate that the old general would be the first to disagree."

The Emperor spoke thoughtfully, then looked at the chief eunuch Dai Lin beside him: "Little Lin, think of a way for me to help that brat Jin Cheng win the heart of the beauty."

While grinding ink for the Emperor, Dai Lin said, "Your Majesty, what good ideas could this servant possibly come up with? However, this servant believes that with Prince Rui's charm, it's only a matter of time before he wins the heart of the beauty. Your Majesty need not worry so much about Prince Rui's affairs."

The Emperor sighed and said, "Alas, he has such a handsome face, yet he hasn't taken a liking to any of the young ladies from noble families. Now, he finally finds one, and it's Li Muxia from the General's Mansion."

After saying that, he shook his head and continued, "Forget it, let's take it one step at a time. I heard that Long Haonan seems to have feelings for Li Muxia as well. He will probably bring up the marriage proposal at the palace banquet. I need to think of a way to refuse without hurting the harmony between the two countries."

Since the Laba Festival banquet, Li Muxia has not left the General's Mansion. Even when people come to see her, she refuses them with various excuses.

These past few days, her mind has been in turmoil. After the old general heard about her relationship with Dongfang Jincheng, he came to talk to her and asked if she liked Dongfang Jincheng. Li Muxia was very conflicted at the time. She knew that she had feelings for Dongfang Jincheng, but she also knew that given Dongfang Jincheng's status, it was inevitable that he would have three wives and four concubines in the future. Even if he himself was unwilling, in order to balance the court and various forces, his harem could not possibly consist of only her.

Honestly, she couldn't bring herself to share her man with anyone else.

So she lied to her grandfather, firmly saying, "I don't like it."

She also said that even if she were to get married in this lifetime, she would never marry into the royal family; her requirements are very simple.

All year round, three meals a day, a lifetime of one love.

Even though you know what your goal is, once someone's heart is captured by another person, it's not so easy to drive them away.

Although Li Muxia had locked herself in the alchemy room these past few days to keep herself busy, the truth is that being busy did help her forget some of her troubles. However, one can't be busy all the time, and when she had free time, the image of Dongfang Jincheng would always appear in her mind.

Just as Li Muxia was in a daze, Li Anran's voice came from the courtyard.

"Sis, sis, are you there?"

Hearing the noise, Li Muxia came out and saw Li Anran rushing in.

"What's wrong? Why are you walking around like that? Be careful."

Li Anran almost tripped, but Li Muxia quickly stepped forward to support her, preventing her from falling.

Before Li Anran could even stand properly, she said, "Sister, the Hu family opera troupe has come to the capital. They will be performing their first show at the Pear Garden this afternoon."

She then took out two tickets and said, "Look, these were sent by the Prince Xian. I heard these tickets are extremely hard to get; many people haven't managed to get them. Sister, hurry up and get ready; let's go together."

Seeing Li Anran's excited expression, Li Muxia realized she hadn't been interested in anything for the past few days and didn't want to go out to listen to the opera.

She refused, saying, "Anran, I don't want to go out today. Go find Lanzhi to keep you company."

Li Anran actually came to find Li Muxia on purpose. She could tell that Li Muxia was not in a good mood these past few days, so she tried to find a way to distract Li Muxia and even asked Dongfang Jincheng for theater tickets.

Upon hearing that Li Muxia didn't want to go, he immediately put the ticket in his hand on the table and said to Chunxing, "Chunxing, go tell Prince Xian to let him go. If my sister isn't going, I won't go either. Just say that I'm going to stay with my sister today."

Upon hearing this, Li Muxia was surprised to find that the Prince Xian was still waiting outside. If he knew that Li Anran had stood him up because of her, wouldn't she become the bad guy who ruined the young couple's date?

He quickly stopped Chunxing and said helplessly, "Chunxing, don't go, I'll go. Okay, you guys wait here, I'll pack up and come out."

Li Anran then stuck out her tongue at Chunxing with a smug look on her face.

When the group arrived at the entrance of the pear orchard, there were already quite a few people queuing up. Upon seeing Dongfang Jinxuan, the owner of the orchard fawned over the group and led them through the back door, thus eliminating the need to queue.

The group was seated in a private booth on the second floor, a spot that offered a panoramic view of the entire first floor.

The waiter served them tea, fruit, and snacks. Li Muxia wasn't particularly interested in opera, but as she watched Dongfang Jinxuan hand the snacks to Li Anran, she suddenly felt a pang of envy for their simple love.

At the same time, she also lamented how bumpy her romantic journey had been.

Just as Li Muxia watched with a doting auntie smile as Dongfang Jinxuan and Li Anran joked and played around like an ordinary young couple.

Suddenly feeling that both of them were looking in his direction, Dongfang Jinxuan stood up, and Li Muxia also looked behind him.

Dongfang Jinxuan: "Third Brother, what brings you here?"

After speaking, he glanced at Li Muxia and Li Anran.

Li Muxia and Li Anran didn't have time to investigate what Dongfang Jin had become; they still had to pay their respects to the prince.

Li Muxia bowed in greeting, but her gaze did not fall upon Dongfang Jincheng.

Just then, a sweet voice came: "Fourth Brother, why didn't you invite us to the show? If I hadn't seen so many people on the street, I wouldn't have known that the Hu Family Opera Troupe had come to the capital."

After speaking, as if only then noticing Li Muxia and Li Anran, he exclaimed, "Who are these two?"

Dongfang Jinxuan then remembered to introduce them to the group.

"These two are young ladies from the Protectorate General's Mansion. This is Miss Li Muxia, and this is Miss Li Anran, the second young lady."

Then, pointing to the woman from before, he said, "This is Ninth Prince's daughter, Princess Xingyue. She just arrived in the capital with her uncle yesterday."