A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

"A concubine?"

Seeing that Qin Suiyou didn't seem to remember such a person, Liu Jia breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "It's Chu Yuning, the eldest daughter of Chief Minister Chu, and Consort Chu."

Qin Suiyou then remembered and nodded with an ambiguous expression, saying, "So it's this person."

"Then...should I go and refuse her?"

"No need, go and invite them over. It's good that Lan Ya brought tea and snacks, so we won't waste them."

Liu Jia and Lan Ya curtsied and withdrew. Liu Jia went to reply to the maid sent by Chu Yuning, while Lan Ya went to inform Du Ruo to come over. She always felt that the concubine's purpose in coming was impure. The emperor was a man, and it was not good to argue with others. Du Ruo was sure to be able to handle it.

Du Ruo arrived quickly, followed by Jin Zhu. As they entered, Qin Suiyou asked, "Why are you here?"

Du Ruo chuckled and said, "Lan Ya rushed over to me in a hurry, saying that I should come and help you. But it's good that she came to me. It would be a breach of etiquette if someone came to pay their respects and there was no one to serve them."

After saying that, Du Ruo and Jin Zhu tidied up the decorations on the table. Seeing the things that Lan Ya had brought earlier, Du Ruo instructed Jin Zhu to get another set.

Qin Suiyou said, "This was just served, we don't need to change it."

“Young master, even if the food is untouched, it will give people the feeling that we are serving leftovers to our guests. You need to make sure that our guests see that we are serving fresh tea and snacks.”

Qin Suiyou was gentle and courteous in his dealings with people, but he was impatient with these minor rules and regulations. Du Ruocai was the "expert" in this regard, so he was happy to have someone handle it for him.

"Alright, but don't waste it. This is something you just made, right? Jinzhu, take it to Lu Xi to solve."

Jinzhu accepted the order and carried the tea and snacks out. After Du Ruo checked the small hall and found nothing amiss, she stood to the right and behind Qin Suiyou.

A moment later, Liu Jia led two beautiful figures over.

The woman, half a step behind Liu Jia, was slender and elegant, with a cool and aloof demeanor. She wore a lake-blue silk dress embroidered with magnolias, her black hair half-tied up with a white jade hairpin, and her hair bun adorned with several gemstone flowers, which perfectly complemented her fair skin. Her whole appearance was simple yet sophisticated.

Chu Yuning walked up to Qin Suiyou and bowed.

"This humble girl, Chu Yuning, greets Your Majesty."

Her steps were light and graceful, and every move she made revealed the upbringing that a daughter of a prominent family should have.

Qin Suiyou responded, "Please get up, Miss Chu, there's no need for such formalities, please sit down."

A glint flashed in Chu Yuning's eyes, then quickly disappeared.

"Thank you, Zhengjun."

Chu Yuning didn't sit down immediately, but took a yellowed, curled booklet from the maid Ling'er.

"This ancient book records unorthodox remedies from the Northern Regions. I hope Your Excellency will not find them offensive."

Qin Suiyou flipped through the book briefly. Hmm... the book is good, and quite valuable, but...

"This is far too precious. If you take it outside and find some knowledgeable doctors, you could easily sell it for a thousand taels of silver."

The fact that she sent such a generous gift suggests that the prime minister's daughter intends to befriend him; however, the importance of such a gift varies from person to person.

Chu Yuning said calmly, "No one in the Prime Minister's residence studies medicine, and my daughter doesn't understand these things very well either. If I take them back, they'll just end up sitting in a box. It's better to give them to you so they can be put to good use."

It seemed that Chu Yuning knew about his treatment of Beitang Yan. Qin Suiyou calmly thanked him and placed the ancient book on the table before inviting Chu Yuning to sit down.

Qin Suiyou then said, "It was only a few days after the wedding that I met Miss Chu for the first time."

Chu Yuning sat upright, meeting Qin Suiyou's gaze without leaning to one side.

"The young master is seriously injured and unconscious. The princess has instructed that there is no need to attend to him. I have no choice but to stay in the courtyard to avoid causing any trouble. However, I thought I should at least get to know him, so I have taken the liberty of coming to pay my respects."

According to the rules, the process of recognizing people should be presided over by Princess An, who is still the head of the household. However, because Qin Suiyou was treating Beitang Yan and Beitang Rui's injuries and illnesses a few days ago, she didn't think of it at all. As a result, she subconsciously ignored other reminders because of Qin Suiyou, so many people in the Prince An's mansion may not recognize the Crown Prince's concubine.

Qin Suiyou smiled and said, "Miss Chu, what are you saying? The Prince An's mansion is not one of those places with strict rules that do not allow people to go out for a walk. Besides, given our current relationship, we still need to visit each other from time to time, so that it doesn't get out and cause outsiders to gossip that the Prince An's son has married a jealous male wife and cannot tolerate the daughter of the Prime Minister at all."

"It was my daughter's fault."

Chu Yuning lowered her eyes and said, "Then I will naturally pay my respects according to the rules in the future. I hope that Your Excellency will not find it troublesome for me."

"There's no need for greetings. My mother is considerate enough not to let us pay our respects every day. I wouldn't dare to overstep her bounds, otherwise rumors would spread that I have no respect for elders. Miss Chu has grown up in Yejing, the most prestigious place in Beiqian, so she should know how powerful gossip can be."

Even though Chu Yuning's personality and temperament were both aloof and calm, she was stunned for a moment by Qin Suiyou's words.

He had initially thought Chu Yuning was intentionally giving him a warning, but now it seemed like he was just reminding her to protect herself. Chu Yuning's mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts, and for once, she couldn't quite grasp the main point of his words.

"Does Your Excellency say this because you have been the subject of rumors before?" Otherwise, why would you emphasize rumors so much?

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Chu Yuning realized that his question was somewhat inappropriate. If there was no problem, it would be fine, but if there was, it would be like reopening old wounds.

Normally, Chu Yuning would not make such a basic mistake. I don't know what came over her today, but she knew she was wrong and had to admit it. She didn't have the common problem of those arrogant young ladies, so she immediately got up and apologized.

"My daughter has spoken out of turn; I beg Your Majesty to punish her."

Qin Suiyou was somewhat surprised. In fact, his previous words did not have any deeper meaning, but he did not expect that the daughter of the prime minister would take it so seriously.

“Miss Chu, you are too kind. Let’s treat each other as equals and be more casual. You don’t need to refer to yourself as ‘my concubine’ to me, let alone talk about punishment or anything like that.”

Chu Yuning stood up. "Thank you for your magnanimity, Zhengjun."

At this moment, Jinzhu brought in tea and snacks.

Qin Suiyou invited Chu Yuning to try it, and Chu Yuning did not refuse. She gracefully tasted a few bites of the peach blossom cake that Du Ruo had just made that morning. The peach blossom cake was made with glutinous rice flour and fresh peach blossoms picked yesterday, mixed with honey. It had a light floral fragrance and was sweet but not cloying.

Then Chu Yuning took another sip of flower tea.

After the flower tea was brewed, Jinzhu quickly cooled it with ice made from Asarum heterotropoides. At this moment, the temperature was just right to drink. It was warm and fragrant with flowers. It flowed slowly into the mouth and then into the stomach, dispelling the chill left after the spring rain and making people feel as if they were in a sea of ​​flowers.

This time, they didn't use the glass tea set. Du Ruo wasn't present when the tea was being brewed, so Jin Zhu didn't dare to touch it.

Food is always a powerful tool for connecting people. After drinking the flower tea, Chu Yuning's smile seemed more genuine, and her aloofness faded somewhat.

"The people at Zhengjunyuan are really good at cooking. After tasting these, I don't even know what the food I used to eat is anymore."

Qin Suiyou felt the same joy as his subordinates being praised.

"The peach blossom cake was made and cooled by Du Ruo this morning, and the flower tea was also prepared in advance and brewed fresh. If you like, I will have someone pack some for you to take home later."

When someone's name was mentioned, Du Ruo curtsied to Chu Yuning.

Chu Yuning nodded in response. She had noticed Du Ruo as soon as she entered, after all, her appearance was far more beautiful than that of the ordinary maids.

Suppressing her other thoughts, Chu Yuning, who had always wanted to befriend Qin Suiyou, did not refuse the gift. Moreover, the tea and snacks were really to her liking, and she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

After restraining herself, Chu Yuning ate half of the peach blossom cake and drank two cups of flower tea before wiping her lips with a handkerchief.

"Masako, actually, I came here today to ask you a question, if I may be so bold as to ask you one more."

"Miss Chu, please ask."

Chu Yuning went over her words in her mind again, and after confirming that there were no problems, she said, "I learned by chance that you are going to heal the young master's injuries. I wonder how successful you are?"

This question was within Qin Suiyou's expectations, and he replied, "Seventy percent."

Chu Yuning was somewhat surprised, "Why would that be..."

"You think it's too low?"

Chu Yuning was a little embarrassed by Qin Suiyou's directness.

"I didn't expect you to be so confident, but it's still better than not being able to think of any way to heal the prince and letting him fall into a coma."

Qin Suiyou laughed and said, "You don't need to comfort me. Beitang Yan's injury was already risky. Originally, I was only 50% sure, but I increased my chances by 20% after observing that his physical condition was very good these past few days."

"Well... can I ask you why you're asking this?"

Chu Yuning remained silent for a while.

"I don't want to marry into the Prince An's mansion; to be precise, I don't want to get married."