After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Xiao Yebai didn't know what the sea Lu Zhiyuan was talking about was, let alone whether there was a sea in Nan Chu.

He was born in the royal court of Southern Chu. Because his mother was a princess sent to marry a foreign ruler, he was bullied. In his memory, he was always held in his mother's arms, with only his eyes showing as he watched his mother being beaten.

He knew that the bullying was tacitly approved by the King of Southern Chu and the royal family of Southern Chu.

His resistance against his mother would only result in more cruel treatment. His mother didn't want anything to happen to him; she only wanted him to survive in the Southern Chu royal court. In the dead of night, his mother would carry him to the courtyard and point out the stars in the sky to him. His mother didn't recognize the stars, but she knew some stories related to them.

He no longer remembers his mother's face or her voice, only the stories she told about the stars.

Later, his mother died and was taken away by palace servants from Southern Chu in a tattered straw mat. His last impression of his mother was her long, messy hair that dragged on the ground.

After his mother died, he was sent to Northern Liang as a hostage and lived in a side hall of the Jinxiu Palace.

He recalled the scenery along the way at midnight, after all, it was the only time he had ever left the palace. However, all he remembered were the curses of his entourage and the times he sneaked out to find dry rations while others were asleep.

He was probably the most useless prince in the world; he devoted all his thoughts and energy to how to survive.

Seeing the slight change in his expression, Lu Zhiyuan belatedly realized that he was a hostage whose movements were restricted, and immediately started to laugh it off.

“My situation is only slightly better than yours. I’ve never seen the sea either. All I know is what others have told me.” Lu Zhiyuan pursed her lips. “I grew up in the villa. Everyone who knows me is guessing when I’ll die. The steward, the nanny, the wet nurse, and even my personal maid all wish for my death.”

Xiao Yebai looked up and glanced at her.

The palace was the most well-informed, especially Consort Jin, who maintained close ties with the Fang family. He had heard Lu Zhiyuan's name from the gossip of the eunuchs and maids and knew quite a bit about her. To his surprise, she recounted her experiences without any reservation, as if she were talking about someone else's affairs.

He looked at her, his deep blue pupils seeming to deepen even further.

“My villa is very close to the temple, and I often sneak out with my master. My master is a beggar, and I’ll tell you his story another day.” She was too lazy to make it up, afraid that it would be different from what she had told before: “I have a friend named Ye Bai. Ye is the Ye of leaf, and Bai is the Bai of black and white. His home is right by the sea. He described the sea to me, saying it looks a lot like the night sky, but it’s not quite the same. I think it’s like your eyes.”

Lu Zhiyuan looked into Xiao Yebai's eyes: "He died. To save me, his last words to me were that if there is an afterlife, he would put the ocean into his eyes so that I could see it anytime, anywhere. Your Highness looks a lot like him. When I saw Your Highness, I thought he had come back."

Lu Zhiyuan's eyes were moist.

Ye Bai died in the sea, and she watched his body sink. The sea was so vast, and he was so small. She desperately tried to hold onto him, but could only watch helplessly as he sank into the deep sea.

Afterwards, she returned to that sea area many times, trying to find his body, but the vast ocean made it no easy task. When she saw Xiao Yebai outside the palace just now, she thought that fate had once again favored her, allowing her Yebai to also transmigrate into the book.

Seeing her slightly red eyes, Xiao Yebai patted himself down, but couldn't find a handkerchief, so he turned his face away.

Lu Zhiyuan took a deep breath and wiped away the marks from the straps with her sleeve.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will not ask the Empress for a marriage decree. A forced marriage will not be happy." Lu Zhiyuan shook her hand: "Your Highness injured my hand, and I still told Your Highness a story without holding a grudge. In exchange, Your Highness must let me take Your Highness's pulse."

Xiao Yebai stood up, but Lu Zhiyuan grabbed his wrist. Looking down, he saw a pair of wet eyes. For some reason, his heart softened.

"Your Highness, please. I finally learned medicine, but I haven't had a single patient since I entered the palace. If this continues, my medical skills will be wasted."

"You have a maid."

"I've taken very good care of the fireflies; they're perfectly healthy."

“Aro.”

“I have already checked for Miss Aro.”

Lu Zhiyuan took out a prescription from her bosom and slapped it into Xiao Yebai's hand. The prescription was warm, carrying her unique herbal scent, which made Xiao Yebai quite uncomfortable. However, Lu Zhiyuan didn't notice at all and continued to explain her diagnosis of A'Luo.

“Miss Aro has a cough. Her symptoms are not obvious when the weather is warm, but they worsen when the weather is cold. This is a problem caused by years of exposure to the cold.”

Xiao Yebai lowered his head. A'luo was the only palace maid still by his side. She was two years older than him and had protected him like a sister and a mother since they left Southern Chu. When he was punished to kneel by Consort Jin, she stayed by his side. Seeing him shivering from the cold, she hugged him and shielded him from the wind and cold with her body.

Consort Jin wanted him dead. The side hall was cold and gloomy, yet no warm clothes or quilts were provided. It was A'Luo who secretly did chores for the masters of various palaces, obtaining rewards from them to make clothes and quilts for him.

He owes no one, except Aro.

His throat felt constricted, and he struggled to speak, "Can Aro's illness be cured? If so, how much money would be needed?"

"Does Your Highness have money?"

One question made Xiao Yebai's face turn pale.

He was a hostage and didn't bring any valuables with him when he came to Beiliang. After arriving in Beiliang, the emperor did give him some rewards, but those things were all taken by Consort Jin. A'Luo hadn't saved much money over the years, and it wouldn't be right for A'Luo to pay for his medical treatment out of his own pocket.

For the first time in his life, Xiao Yebai experienced the embarrassment of being broke.

“Aro not only has a cough, but also a cold ailment and deformed fingers.” Lu Zhiyuan held out her hand: “Her hands are caused by being immersed in cold water for many years. I have medicine here, Your Highness, without needing to pay for it. I can also assure Your Highness that even if I cannot restore Aro to her original state, I can at least alleviate her pain as much as possible. In return, Your Highness will become my personal patient.”

Xiao Yebai reached out his hand.

His pulse was extremely strange, indicating illness, residual poison, and signs of demonic possession after practicing martial arts.

"Your Highness knows martial arts?"

Xiao Yebai withdrew his hand.

"Afraid people will find out? Knowing kung fu isn't something shameful." Lu Zhiyuan grabbed his other hand: "My Lu Yun and Han Ting both know kung fu, but neither of them are like you, practicing to the point of going mad."

As he spoke, he frowned.

“This poison doesn’t seem to be from recent years.” She pounced on him, pried open his eyelids, and examined him closely: “Such beautiful eyes, and they’re from poison? What kind of poison? I want to get poisoned too.”

Xiao Yebai pushed her away: "Miss Lu, I agree to be your patient, but please be mindful of your boundaries."

Lu Zhiyuan pouted: "I'm only eight years old, do you think I'd eat you? Always so proper."

Xiao Yebai couldn't help but cough, but didn't reply.