The Imperial Palace.

Since Song Yanqing visited the Empress Dowager's palace once because of Lu Qiqi, he has never set foot there again.

At that time, the Empress Dowager sat under the pavilion, looking at her great-grandson reading a book in the distance, and showed a melancholy expression.

Seeing the Empress Dowager's expression, the old nanny Ye followed her gaze to the child sitting in the wooden wheelchair and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The eldest prince and his wife died, leaving behind only this child, who has just turned ten. Unexpectedly, he fell from the carriage and ended up with a crippled leg.

The Empress Dowager withdrew her gaze, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Have you sent people to search for Physician Luo? Is there any news yet?"

Song Binyu fell from the carriage half a month after the death of the First Princess.

That very night, the Empress Dowager dispatched people from the Imperial Medical Academy to the First Prince's residence to treat his injuries.

His life was saved, but he could no longer walk.

After thinking for a moment, Granny Ye said, "Doctor Luo once appeared in the border city military camp. When the young master led troops into battle, Doctor Luo treated the wounded soldiers in the wounded soldiers' camp."

However, he left the border town before the new year, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.

The Empress Dowager put down her teacup and asked, "No news from the Shadow Guards either?"

Granny Ye bowed and said, "There has been no news from the Shadow Guards yet."

The divine physician Luo is eccentric and acts strangely, and the places she goes are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Even the Imperial Physician Hua of the Imperial Medical Academy said that finding the Divine Physician Luo was purely a matter of luck.

After all, that Doctor Luo was unconventional. He wouldn't stay in a proper inn, and sometimes he would insist on sleeping in a mountain temple. Even when he was poor and destitute, he would still carry a broken bowl and beg for food with beggars.

Even if such a person were a serious criminal, it would surely take a great deal of effort to find him.

The Empress Dowager sighed, "Binyu is still young; he cannot spend his whole life with that broken wheel."

After a while, she said again, "Continue to have people search for the whereabouts of Doctor Luo. If there are any famous doctors in the countryside, you can invite them to the palace to treat Binyu's leg ailment."

Granny Ye said in a deep voice, "Empress Dowager, please don't worry. The young master knows about this and will surely find a way to resolve it."

As long as she's still around, no matter how far others' reach is, they can't penetrate the Empress Dowager's palace.

The Empress Dowager looked at the person in the wheelchair again, her tone filled with exhaustion and helplessness, "I cannot protect him for a lifetime. I can only do my best to find the best doctors to treat his leg ailment."

"If the Crown Prince has a spirit in heaven, he will surely be grateful to the Empress Dowager," said Granny Ye.

"I hope so."

Watching Song Binyu sitting in his wheelchair reading a book, he looked completely lifeless, not at all like a child his age.

They feared that he might be traumatized by the incident of falling from the carriage and become unwilling to interact with others.

The Empress Dowager then asked, "I remember that every spring, the women of the capital would go on outings to enjoy the spring scenery. Have you heard of any families starting to prepare for such events lately?"

Because Granny Ye was in the palace, the banquets of the female officials and their families outside the palace had no chance of being heard in.

This question really stumped her. "Your Majesty, this old servant knows nothing about the female relatives of officials outside the palace. I will send someone out to inquire."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "Since we don't know what's going on outside, there's no need to go out of our way to find out."

Let's hold a spring banquet right here in the royal gardens.

Let me see what charm Yan Qing has in the woman he likes that makes him yearn for her day and night and rush back to the capital.

This will also allow Binyu to leave the palace and clear his mind.

The news that Song Yanqing had led his army in triumph and returned to the capital a day ahead of schedule was no secret.

Everyone thought he was eager to return home after being away from the capital for so long.

Only the Empress Dowager understood what her grandson was really thinking.

I just want to see the person I'm happy with as soon as possible.

Granny Ye smiled and said, "The young master is a man of strong character, much like the Prince of Libei when he was young."

At this point, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Back then, when the Prince of Libei asked for a wife, it caused quite a stir in the capital."

She looked just like the prince who came to her door to ask for her hand in marriage back then.

Unfortunately, neither father nor son had a lover to grow old with.

The crown prince of yesteryear died young, and now the Princess Consort of Libei has also passed away.

When Granny Ye saw that the Empress Dowager's lips were pursed, she knew that she had thought of something bad.

So she spoke up to comfort her, "Empress Dowager, since we are going to hold a spring banquet, why not send the Crown Prince to the palace?"

Previously, the Empress Dowager thought that Song Yanqing was blaming her for not being able to protect the eldest prince because of the matter, which was why she had been delaying entering the palace.

Soon after, she learned that the emperor had personally dispatched Song Yanqing to assist the Imperial Guards in inspecting the defenses of the capital.

This was to ensure that the Tatars' marriage proposal and peace talks would not cause any trouble.

The grandfather and grandson worked together to crack down on the censors. Song Yanqing did it to vent Lu Qiqi's anger, while the Empress Dowager did it to stand up for Qin Shiyu.

......

After entering the palace, Song Yanqing went directly to the Lin'an Marquis's residence after leaving the Empress Dowager's palace.

By the time he arrived and scaled the wall to enter the mansion, it was already dark.

At that moment, Lu Qiqi had just finished her dinner and was walking into the house.

When she heard the noise by the window, she cleared everyone around her away.

When she opened the window, she saw the figure she hadn't seen for several days.

She playfully scolded, "Are you addicted to climbing through windows?"

As he spoke, Song Yanqing actually demonstrated how to climb out of the window for her.

After climbing through the window, the two were closer together.

Song Yanqing laughed, "If you've already climbed over the wall to meet a beauty at night, what's a little more climbing over the window?"

Lu Qiqi remembered the things in Baozhu Pavilion and asked curiously, "When I went to Baozhu Pavilion that day, Feng Yi ordered people to send a lot of things into the manor. Were those all things you instructed to send?"

With the Shadow Guards around, Song Yanqing knew everything Lu Qiqi did in the new capital.

He took her hand and led her to sit down at the table. "I only just found out about the Baozhu Pavilion incident."

After all, Feng Yi had taken the opportunity to curry favor with him by granting him a seven-day leave.

This was unexpected for Lu Qiqi, who was just wondering whether she should return the items.

She then heard Song Yanqing say, "I was originally planning to take you there myself, but I didn't expect her to go first."

Do you like the items?

Everything was chosen according to my preferences, and each piece was exactly what I wanted.

Lu Qiqi nodded, "Of course I like it."

Song Yanqing stroked her fingers as if they were rare treasures, unwilling to put them down.

Hearing her say she liked it, the corners of my mouth unconsciously turned up.

Having considered that he had climbed over the wall to enter the mansion today, Song Yanqing decided to get down to business, saying, "The Empress Dowager wishes to see you."

Lu Qiqi looked at his serious face and thought something big had happened, but she didn't expect that it was the Empress Dowager who wanted to see her.

Then she realized that this was indeed a big deal.

Everything else was fine, but this was the first time she had ever encountered something as serious as meeting the parents.

She blinked her big eyes. "What do you want me to prepare?"

Seeing her nervous expression, Song Yanqing smiled and comforted her, "There's no need to prepare anything. You're so outstanding and so good, the Empress Dowager will definitely like you."