Spring arrives and the land smiles

"Thank you, Young Master Luo, for saving my life again." Qingyan nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Your Highness is too kind." Luo Qing took out a bright yellow pill from the medicine box, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Qing Yan.

Qingyan frowned slightly as she looked at the pill, but still swallowed it with water without hesitation.

"A doctor's heart is like a parent's; I only hope that Her Highness the Princess will not let me down." Luo Qing glanced deeply at Qing Yan, packed her medicine box, and left helplessly.

Qingyan watched Luo Qing's retreating figure, raised her eyebrows, and sighed with a pout.

Zhui'er was quick and efficient, and in the time it takes to burn an incense stick, she had made a plate of pearl meatballs without hawthorn. Qingyan ate them and praised them, and Zhui'er also shook off her previous gloom: "Princess, what else would you like to eat? I'll go and make some more for you."

Qingyan watched Sicheng's figure flash by outside the window and patted Zhuier's head: "Make what you're best at."

Zhui'er, having received the order, happily went out. Upon seeing Sicheng at the door, she quickly stepped aside to make way.

Si Cheng thanked Zhui'er, strode into the room, gave Qingyan a simple bow, and then reported: "Princess, His Highness Prince Rui sent a message that Shan Jiuzhou, who serves Prince Jin, went to Qiu Rong overnight."

"Go to Qiu Rong?" Qingyan frowned and pondered, but couldn't figure out the Prince of Jin's intentions for a long time.

Previously, the Prince of Jin used Hai Tu to deal with Qing Yan, but Hai Tu turned against him on the spot. Logically speaking, the Prince of Jin should hate him to the bone. Moreover, Qiu Rong has already submitted to Da Qi. The Prince of Jin has no reason to cooperate with Hai Tu again. So, what is the purpose of sending Shan Jiuzhou to Qiu Rong?

"Is there any other news besides this?" Qingyan was completely puzzled.

Si Cheng shook his head.

"Continue to have a designated person communicate with Lingfeng Pavilion, and report any news immediately," Qingyan instructed.

Si Cheng accepted the order and left.

Meanwhile, in Shengjing, Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan were under house arrest in Xuanhua Palace, where they were also puzzled by Shan Jiuzhou's whereabouts.

As usual, Prince Rui came to Xuanhua Palace every day to exchange information with the two, and the news he brought gave Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan some clues.

"The scouts from the Listening Wind Pavilion reported that although Shan Jiuzhou went to Qiu Rong, he was not heading towards the Qiu Rong royal court. Perhaps the Prince of Jin did not send Shan Jiuzhou to contact the sea chart, but someone else."

"Does Your Highness know who Shan Jiuzhou is in contact with?" Yunxuan asked.

Qing Huan shook his head: "Shan Jiuzhou went into Qiu Rong alone, and his whereabouts were very secretive. The scouts only found out that he went in the southwest direction."

“The southwest is the territory of Haitu’s two uncles, Kunnur and Borbosong,” Ning Yuan said. “As far as I know, Kunnur and Haitu are mortal enemies, while Borbosong is loyal to Haitu. The peace and tranquility in the southwest of Qiurong has been largely due to Borbosong.”

"Send someone to investigate Kunnuer immediately," Qing Huan ordered his attendant, who immediately withdrew.

"We can have someone inform Yan'er about this first, so she can be on guard," Yunxuan suggested.

Qing Huan nodded.

"Kunur?" Qingyan had never heard of this name before. "Sicheng, tell me who this Kunur is."

“Princess, Kunnur is Haitu’s uncle. If we’re talking about their feud, it stems from Haitu’s father, Tat Khan. Tat Khan originally doted on his younger brother and planned for the Khan’s position to pass from brother to brother. However, Haitu was powerful and used just one woman to sow discord between them, causing Tat Khan to make him his heir,” Sicheng said.

"A woman? Then the brothers' relationship is nothing special." Qingyan scoffed, thinking that such people couldn't cause any trouble.

"It is said that this woman looks extremely similar to Kunnur's deceased mother, so there are rumors in the Qiu Rong royal court that Kunnur is actually the son of Tat Khan," Si Cheng continued to explain.

"What?" Qingyan hadn't expected the Qiu Rong royal family to be in such chaos. "Has this been verified?"

"It cannot be confirmed that Kunnur bears some resemblance to both Tat Khan and Haitu, but this does not seem sufficient to prove that they are father and son or brothers."

"Perhaps only the woman who looks similar knows the truth," Qingyan whispered, guessing.

"After learning of this secret, His Highness Prince Rui sent people to investigate. The woman's origins were unknown; she seemed to have appeared out of thin air," Si Cheng replied.

"Such a thing is true!" Qingyan exclaimed in surprise. The Lingfeng Pavilion has always been extremely rich and accurate in its information about the royal families of various countries. If even the Lingfeng Pavilion could not find out, it should not be ignored. This is probably why Qing Huan sent someone to inform Qingyan of this news.

"Sicheng, tell your brother that I will be careful."

Not long after Si Cheng left, Luo Qing came to take his pulse. Upon seeing the medicine box he carried, Qing Yan unconsciously frowned.

Luo Qing naturally noticed such obvious rejection.

Luo Qing's warm fingers pressed on Qing Yan's pulse for a long time, her brows furrowing occasionally.

"Could it be that my condition has changed?" Qingyan asked in a low voice.

Luo Qing's brows remained furrowed, and she did not answer.

"Is there any sign that the condition is worsening?" Qingyan felt a pang of panic.

Luo Qing remained silent.

"Am I about to die?" Qingyan exclaimed in shock.

Luo Qing then withdrew her hand from her pulse and looked up at her: "If you don't want your illness to become terminal and medicine to be ineffective, then you should obediently take all of these, three times a day, three pills each time."

Luo Qing took out a box of bright yellow pills from the medicine box.

"Eat this for three days straight, and sleep for five hours each day. I'll figure out a way to save your life when I get back."

After saying that, he put down the medicine box and left without looking back.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute..." Qingyan held the medicine box in her hand and suddenly realized that Luo Qing was also a person with a temper. But what was going on when he came back?

"Where are you going?" Qingyan shouted at Luo Qing's back.

"I'll go back to Immortal Doctor Valley to find you some medicine."

"Could it be that I'm truly terminally ill?" Upon hearing this reply, Qingyan couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"Zhui'er, go make me something good to eat. I'm going to sleep for a while. Don't let anyone disturb me." Qingyan recalled Luo Qing's deeply furrowed brows and decided that preserving her life was the most important thing; everything else could be dealt with later.

Inside Shengjing City, Yunxuan and Ningyuan had been under house arrest for many days. Emperor Longqing neither announced their release nor their imprisonment, allowing the Censorate to investigate at its own pace. Prince Jin also seemed in no hurry to convict them, leading to much speculation in the court about the fate of the two imperial sons-in-law.

Just after the Censorate had completed its routine search of Yunxuan's Bolanzhai and Ningyuan's Chongyingge, the Longqing Emperor summoned the two men to an audience.

A letter bearing the seal of Kunnur was thrown at their feet, with a section of paper in tiny, neat characters peeking out from the envelope. This letter had been presented to them by the Censorate during the morning court session.

"Incompetent!" Emperor Longqing rebuked.

Upon seeing this, the two quickly knelt down. Yunxuan, who was closer to the letter, quickly picked it up and opened it to read.

The letter stated that Ning Yuan had colluded with Kun Nur to eliminate Hai Tu and establish a new heir. The new heir was naturally Kun Nur, and Kun Nur had promised Ning Yuan that he would help him take full control of the Twelve Vanguard Camps in the capital region. In this way, the Ning family army could become a force in the capital that could control the emperor and command the other lords.

"Your Majesty, this matter must be a frame-up by someone." Ning Yuan knelt up and quickly clarified.

"Who is it?" The Longqing Emperor's question proved that his loyalty to the Ning family army was absolutely unquestionable.

Ning Yuan and Yun Xuan exchanged a glance and respectfully replied to Emperor Longqing, "I recently received intelligence that Prince Jin has sent his strategist Shan Jiuzhou to the southwest of Qiu Rong, which is under the jurisdiction of Kun Nur."

"Are you aware of this news, Qingyan?" Emperor Longqing asked.

"We have already sent word to Her Highness the Eldest Princess," Yunxuan replied.

Emperor Longqing nodded, walked slowly to his desk and sat down. After about a quarter of an hour, he waved for the two men to leave.

Zhang Yinqiu, the eunuch in charge of the case, served Emperor Longqing a cup of tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Emperor Longqing was about to reach for a memorial on the right side of the imperial desk. He immediately stood at attention on the left side.

Emperor Longqing paused his outstretched hand, then withdrew it, glanced at the teacup, picked it up, and took a light sip.

"Yinqiu, tell me, was it right or wrong for me to choose these husbands for Jiaojiao?"

“Her Highness the Princess and General Ning are childhood sweethearts. The Emperor’s bestowal of their marriage is a blessing. Lord Fu is a handsome and talented man, and he and Her Highness the Princess also have a childhood friendship. There will certainly be no barriers between them,” Zhang Yinqiu replied cheerfully.

Emperor Longqing was slightly taken aback. When he bestowed the marriage, he only considered whether the families of the two consorts would be beneficial to Jiao Jiao's position as crown prince. He never thought about their childhood friendship. Now, after hearing Zhang Yinqiu's words, he realized that the marriage had brought unexpected joy. Emperor Longqing was immediately delighted, and the gloom that had worried that the backgrounds of the two consorts would put too much pressure on Jiao Jiao gradually dissipated.

"Yes, these three children have known each other since they were little, and they are all students of Master Yao. They must get along very well now, hahaha." Emperor Longqing laughed loudly.

Zhang Yinqiu also laughed out loud, concealing the worry in her eyes.

The next morning at court, as expected, the Prince of Jin was the first to make a move.

Now that the secret letter bearing the seal of Kunnuer could be presented to Emperor Longqing, Prince Jin naturally stopped hiding it and directly joined forces with other members of Prince Jin's faction in court to demand severe punishment for Ning Yuan and the Ning family army's crimes of treason and collusion with the enemy.

Unsurprisingly, the secret letter was thrown to Ning Yuan's feet by the Longqing Emperor. Ning Yuan calmly picked it up, walked to the center of the court, knelt down, and held the letter high above his head, saying, "This humble general is innocent. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Majesty."

"It's all in black and white, yet you dismiss it with a mere accusation. General Ning, relying on your status, is being far too frivolous." With just one sentence, Official A from Prince Jin's faction implicated the Princess as well.

"The evidence is conclusive. If General Ning has no reasonable explanation and only cries out that he is innocent, how can he convince everyone?" Official B from the Prince of Jin's faction continued to press the issue.

"Although General Ning and Her Highness the Princess are childhood sweethearts and have a deep affection for each other, this is a crime of treason and betrayal. General Ning, do you still want Her Highness the Princess's protection?" As if they were certain that Ning Yuan could not exonerate himself, the official Bing from the Prince of Jin's faction actively tried to link the Princess with treason and betrayal.

Given the current situation, if Ning Yuan fails to produce reasonable evidence, he may not be able to escape unscathed even with the help of the Princess.

"Your Majesty, may I have a look at this secret letter?"

As the third son of the Fu family, Yunxuan's third uncle was about to step forward, Yunxuan had already stood in front of the hall a step ahead of him.