When Yuan Qi followed the maid to Sun Changxing's residence, Sun Changxing's head was already wrapped in bandages, and he was lying there quietly. The doctor was whispering something to the Duke of Zhenguo.

Fu sat by the bed and wept uncontrollably.

"This old man is powerless to help; please seek another skilled physician, sir." The old doctor picked up his medicine chest and left. As he passed Yuan Qi, he glanced at him again and stopped to ask, "Young lady, could you sell me one of your medicines?"

Yuan Qi asked him directly, "Thirty thousand taels for one, would you buy it?"

The old doctor was astonished: "It's too expensive, I can't afford it."

He shook his head regretfully: "If the Great Rejuvenation Pill were cheaper, it could save more lives."

Yuan Qi replied, "The materials are rare and hard to find, and they all grow on cliffs and are guarded by birds of prey, which is why they are so expensive."

The old doctor nodded: "No wonder."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo exclaimed, "A single Great Rejuvenation Pill costs thirty thousand taels of silver?"

It hurts! It's not that I can't afford it, it's just that I have too much.

Yuan Qi looked at the Duke of Zhenguo with a half-smile, not responding to his words. Surely the Duke wouldn't renege on his promise?

"What brings you here, Your Excellency?" Yuan Qi glanced back at the maids and servants kneeling in the courtyard, wondering if the Duke of Zhenguo had found anything out.

"I've heard that Miss Seven can communicate with ghosts and spirits. May I have a word with Xiao Er?" The Duke of Zhenguo looked haggard and was in a depressed mood. He hoped to find out who pushed his son or whether his son had indeed fallen on his own by talking to his son's ghost.

Yuan Qi glanced at the boy on the bed, who was sleeping peacefully: "You should investigate yourself, Your Excellency. With your abilities, you will surely be able to find out. It's not that I don't want to help, but your son is not dead, he just can't wake up, so he can't be considered a ghost. If we forcibly summon his soul, given his current condition, I'm afraid his soul will leave his body and he won't be able to return, and your son will die."

The Duke of Zhenguo was astonished: "Is that so?"

He sighed heavily, feeling very regretful. He had heard a lot about Yuan Qi and didn't think Yuan Qi would lie to him.

He bowed to Yuan Qi and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Miss Seven, to make this trip. I will raise the 30,000 taels for the medicine in a couple of days and send someone to deliver it. Please give me some time."

"No problem," Yuan Qi said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

As for other things, like how to take care of the patient, Yuan Qi didn't say, but presumably the senior doctor had already given instructions.

With such an incident at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the guests had no heart to appreciate the flowers. They made excuses to leave right after lunch.

Yuan Qi then followed Xiangli Mingzhu back to the Jiang residence.

The Duke of Zhenguo and his wife, Lady Zhao, had a quarrel over Sun Changxing's matter.

Duke Zhenguo: "Was it a scheme that harmed Changxing?"

Madam Zhao was furious: "There are so many guests today, I'm too busy to deal with them all, how could I have time to harm a child? Besides, we've been husband and wife for so many years, don't you know what kind of person I am?"

...

On the way, Xiangli Mingzhu talked about the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion with Yuan Qi, Jiang Jiulu and Jiang Songlu. The three children listened as gossip and didn't pay much attention.

After listening, Jiang Songlu complained, "Mother, you were talking to the Duchess of Zhenguo, so you didn't see that Sun Chang'an kept chatting with me, asking if I was free in a few days. He wanted to invite me to go hiking together."

Jiang Jiulu was slightly jealous. Although she looked down on Sun Chang'an, he was not good-looking enough, not talented enough, and most importantly, he failed the imperial examination last year and did not have a proper job. Although he was still young, he was too lax and indulgent and did not know how to make progress.

Even so, she still felt a sense of loss. Why was it that she and Jiang Songlu were both illegitimate daughters, yet that good-for-nothing Sun Chang'an tried to please Jiang Songlu but not her?

This made her lose face.

Jiang Songlu noticed her displeasure. Instead of feeling happy, Jiang Songlu felt disgusted: "Mother, that Sun Chang'an is too presumptuous. I've already tried to keep my distance from him, but he doesn't know how to restrain himself and keeps inviting me."

Xiangli Mingzhu also looked down on Sun Chang'an: "If you don't want to go, then don't bother with him. Even if you two are concubine's daughters, we can't marry such an incompetent person. At the very least, we should find someone like your brother."

Jiang Songlu nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right. Even if Second Brother didn't serve as an official in the court, he was still a famous merchant in the capital, and he also had a handsome appearance. Who wouldn't praise him? Third Brother is even better. I heard that a few days ago, the Qin Kingdom sent someone to persuade Third Brother to become the prime minister, but Third Brother didn't agree."

Xiangli Mingzhu hummed in agreement, but she was not very satisfied with Jiang Songlu's words. Logically speaking, with Jiang Junjing and Jiang Junyu's talents, they should have no problem entering the court as officials. However, she had her own selfish motives and was afraid that the two children would achieve more than Jiang Juncai.

She wanted to keep these two children to help Jiang Juncai, and she was determined not to let them surpass him. Furthermore, she wanted their future wives to come from families of high social standing.

Jiang Jiulu, Jiang Junjing, and Jiang Junyu are siblings born of the same mother. Concubine Li often mentioned Xiangli Mingzhu's feelings to her children, so Jiang Jiulu felt disgusted when she heard Jiang Songlu's words, and her face turned ugly.

She is different from Jiang Songlu. Jiang Songlu was raised by Xiangli Mingzhu from a young age, so naturally she considers Xiangli Mingzhu in everything.

Xiangli Mingzhu didn't notice Jiang Jiulu's expression and was only focused on talking to Jiang Songlu: "That's right, no matter what, such a person is not good enough for me. Our Jiang family's son-in-law cannot be a good-for-nothing."

Yuan Qi wasn't interested in these things, but she noticed that Jiang Jiulu's expression was unnatural, so she gently tugged at her.

Jiang Jiulu felt that Yuan Qi was closer to her, and felt a strange warmth in her heart.

She whispered to Yuan Qi, "I also think that Sun Chang'an is no good. You don't know, Sun Chang'an is all smiles and fawning. He's not only trying to please me and Sixth Sister, but also Ninth Master. I just don't see how someone like him can write any good poems. I don't know how Ninth Master, who always has such high standards, could have fallen for someone like him."

Jiang Jiulu's mention of this only heightened Yuan Qi's vigilance. Could it be that Xiangli Youming was after her? She remembered that Xiangli Youming had invited Xiangli Mingzhu to take the three of them to the Xiangli family home.

Ugh, I've already rejected him, but he still won't give up...

Yuan Qi was also quite speechless.

That's all...

Yuan Qi knew that he was destined for a marriage in this life, and there was no way to avoid it.

Back at the Jiang residence, a woman dressed in green was waiting anxiously at the gate, though it was unclear who she was waiting for.

As soon as Yuan Qi got out of the carriage, he saw that another carriage from the Jiang residence had also stopped, and Jiang Junjing got out of the carriage.

The girl in green stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Junjing, saying, "Young Master Jiang, I am Zheng Hongxiu's maid. Our young lady sent me to invite you for tea."

Jiang Junjing frowned slightly. Recently, Xiangli Mingzhu had arranged a marriage for him, and Zheng Hongxiu was his newly engaged fiancée.

Could it be that you don't like him?