Chapter 558 Charlatan

Li Mingshu's carriage was lined with thick furs and felt. Lin Changning wrapped her up tightly and carried her out of the room. Beside her, a group of maids and guards held wooden boards to block the wind, afraid that Li Mingshu would catch a chill.

Charcoal was still burning in the carriage. After carrying the person inside, Changning gently placed her on the couch at the back of the carriage and hurriedly took a hot water bottle from the maid and stuffed it into Li Mingshu's arms.

The carriage was large enough to comfortably seat four people.

Qi Rong no longer cared about the proper separation between men and women. Holding Yue'er in his arms and wearing a cloak, he followed and climbed into the carriage. Outside the carriage, besides the guard driving the carriage, there was also Li Mingshu's personal maid.

Having always taken good care of Li Mingshu, the two closed the small window outside the carriage and sat quietly in front of it. When they heard Lin Changning inside the carriage say "Let's go," the guards quickly had the people in front clear the way and led the horses forward smoothly.

Two teams of guards stood on either side of the carriage, and behind them were seven or eight smaller carriages carrying not only the imperial physicians but also people sent by the emperor and empress.

All this was to ensure that nothing unexpected happened to my daughter on the journey.

Even the food that Lin Changning and the others eat now is carefully prepared and delivered to them in the carriage behind them.

The imperial physician rode in a carriage, taking Li Mingshu's pulse three times a day. Another carriage followed, carrying the medicinal herbs Li Mingshu needed. Qi Rong had another carriage that met the regulations, but worried that Lin Changning wouldn't be able to take care of both of them, so he got into the carriage as well, thinking that he could help take care of Yue'er and lend a hand when Lin Changning was too busy.

Yue'er seemed to realize that her mother was seriously ill, and she had been exceptionally well-behaved lately, helping Lin Changning by bringing her medicine and water, and reminding Lin Changning and Qi Rong to take their medicine and eat every day, even more punctually than the maids.

Feeling the warm air in the carriage, Qi Rong loosened his cloak and looked at Li Mingshu, who was nestled in Lin Changning's arms and lying on the couch. He asked with some concern, "A-Shu? Do you feel unwell anywhere? Should we call the imperial physician?"

Li Mingshu leaned against Lin Changning's chest and smiled gently at Qi Rong, but her voice sounded a little weak: "I'm not feeling unwell, Second Brother."

As she spoke, she leaned back, finding a more comfortable position in Lin Changning's arms. Looking at Lin Changning, who was wearing a black robe, she smiled and said, "It's rare to see Aning wearing such a dark color."

Lin Changning pulled her closer to him: "What? Sister doesn't like black? How about I change her into a brighter color?"

Li Mingshu shook her head and looked at Lin Changning: "I like her. Aning is handsome, and she looks good in any color clothes."

Lin Changning usually wears mostly bright-colored clothes. She thought that Lin Changning was younger than her and had been fighting in the army like a man, so she couldn't use any of the things that girls like. Therefore, she thought of finding some bright clothes for her to wear.

The dark robe looked good on Lin Changning, but the heavy color gave him a more composed and dignified air.

Lin Changning tilted her head slightly, revealing the jade hairpin she used to fasten her hair. This hairpin was a gift from Li Mingshu.

Li Mingshu teased Lin Changning about the hairpin in her hair, "You always refuse to tie your hair up, so why are you using a hairpin today?"

Lin Changning smiled gently: "Naturally, it's for my older sister to see."

Qi Rong watched the two talking, a hint of sadness in his eyes. It was clear that they were both carefully avoiding the topic of Li Mingshu's serious illness. Lin Changning had been frowning every day in front of him, but in front of Li Mingshu, he forced himself to cheer up and make her happy.

Xiao Liu is truly a very sentimental person.

Unfortunately, Li Mingshu soon became sleepy again. After chatting with Lin Changning for a while, she fell asleep in Lin Changning's arms.

The carriage had just reached the outskirts of Taiyuan when a commotion suddenly broke out outside the gate.

"With feet on the ground and head reaching the sky, everyone wants a smooth and peaceful year. Meeting me today is a stroke of luck. Buy a peace charm for a tael of silver, and disaster will stay away and good fortune will come!"

The sound traveled precisely through the noise to the ears of the people in the car. Lin Changning frowned, gently opened the car window a crack, and leaned out to look.

He asked the guards on horseback beside him, "What happened?"

The guard looked up in that direction, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Changning and said, "Reporting to the Marquis, there seems to be a medicine vendor ahead, surrounded by a large crowd."

Lin Changning wasn't interested. After closing the car window tightly, he nodded and said, "Let's keep going."

Just as they were about to move forward, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the guard driving it shouted from outside the carriage: "The Princess's carriage, all bystanders please get out of the way!"

Another guard walked up to the carriage and knocked on it: "Duke, Marquis, there are quite a few people crowding around the medicine vendor in front. We're already trying to disperse the crowd. Duke, Marquis, we may have to wait a little while."

Lin Changning frowned: "Just disperse the people, don't hurt the civilians!"

The guards outside the gate quickly obeyed the order and tried to drive away the crowd of people who had gathered in front of them.

The common people had never seen anything like this before. The people who had just been gathered around the medicine seller scattered in an instant when they saw the hundred guards beside the carriage.

The itinerant doctor selling medicine stretched out his hand, intending to stop people from leaving, but found that he couldn't stop them at all. The people who had just surrounded him asking about the effects of the medicine and wanting to buy medicine and talismans had vanished without a trace.

When they saw the six-horse carriage in front of them, their eyes lit up instantly. It was a huge truck!

These days, not many people can afford to use six horses, especially since they are all Akhal-Teke horses. Moreover, this person actually has a carriage with six horses, which looks quite extraordinary. It even looks much larger than the carriage of the prefect in the city we passed through earlier.

Those who can afford such a carriage are mostly wealthy and powerful. Judging from the nearly one hundred guards around him, he must be a nobleman.

As the doctor was thinking this, he suddenly smelled a medicinal scent wafting from behind on the wind.

After roughly identifying the medicinal herbs, the doctor's eyes lit up, and a plan formed on his shifty-looking face.

He swaggered over to Li Mingshu's car.

"May I ask if the gentleman in the carriage ahead is seriously ill?"

Seeing the doctor approach the carriage, the surrounding guards immediately drew their swords: "Take another step closer, and you'll be killed without mercy!!!"

The doctor hesitated for a moment, glanced at the gilded and jade-inlaid bells hanging on the front of the carriage, gritted his teeth, and moved forward again.

"I see a person in the carriage shrouded in dark energy, who must be seriously ill. I have a way to cure him!"

The guard had long lost his patience. He rode forward on his horse, long sword in hand, and the gleaming blade was instantly pressed against the man's neck.

"Get out of the way! The princess sitting in the carriage is the current crown princess. If you don't want to die, get the hell out of here!"

Hearing what the doctor said, Lin Changning's heart stirred. He opened the car window a crack, and, intrigued, said to the outside, "Let him come over here to talk."