"Brother-in-law, you go back first. After I've settled things in the army, I'll go to the palace to see my aunt."

“No!” Pei Minxue quickly stopped him. “His Highness told me that the fewer people who know about this matter, the more advantageous it will be for Pei Zhi.”

The Empress was Xiao Chengci's mother and Shang Huai's maternal aunt.

For the sake of future stability, once the Empress finds out, she will surely side with the Emperor and execute Pei Zhi to prevent future troubles.

Shang Huai clearly understood as well, "So what am I supposed to do now?"

Shang Huai said anxiously, "I can't mention Pei Zhi in front of the Emperor, and I can't go to my aunt either. What else can I do?"

"As Your Highness commands, be ready at any time. If I have any news, I will immediately send someone to inform you."

Although Shang Huai was somewhat dissatisfied, he could only nod in agreement.

Inside the Eastern Palace, the imperial physician examined Xiao Chengci's injuries, applied medicine, and bandaged his head.

De Shun handed a bowl of herbal medicine to Xiao Chengci, saying, "Your Highness, drink some medicine and you'll feel less pain after a good night's sleep."

"Help me up, I'll go see her."

De Shun quickly advised, "Your Highness, you are so badly injured, you should rest in bed. How can you get out of bed?"

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up." If Xiao Chengci weren't unable to get up, he wouldn't need to waste words with a servant.

De Shun had no choice but to help Xiao Chengci out of bed and help him put on his shoes.

De Shun helped Xiao Chengci into the study, and was then chased away by Xiao Chengci.

Xiao Chengci leaned against the wall, taking a step and then gasping for breath.

Xiao Chengci had never suffered such hardship before.

Xiao Chengci opened the door to the dark room and approached, only to find that Pei Zhi was still sleeping.

Xiao Chengci reached out his hand, afraid that Pei Zhi had stopped breathing.

Xiao Chengci breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that Pei Zhi's breathing had become steady.

Xiao Chengci said with a self-deprecating smile, "You can't die, otherwise my injuries will have been for nothing."

It was impossible for Xiao Chengci to sit down in the place where he was injured.

Without hesitation, Xiao Chengci lay down next to Pei Zhi, turned to the side, and looked at Pei Zhi.

"Once you're better, I'll definitely take my revenge on you. Otherwise, it'll be too much of a loss for me."

Even now, lying here, Xiao Chengci still feels that he must have gone mad.

He actually pushed himself to this point for such a heartless woman.

The Crown Prince's position is unstable, and he is going against his father, the Emperor, who dotes on him.

He was even caned in public.

Xiao Chengci couldn't resist reaching out and pinching Pei Zhi's nose.

Even so, he didn't feel any regret.

He would give anything to have Pei Zhi lying here peacefully by his side.

When Pei Zhi opened her eyes, half-asleep, and saw the person lying next to her, she was almost scared to death.

Xiao Chengci's head was wrapped in gauze, and he also had a strong smell of blood on his body.

Xiao Chengci was in too much pain to sleep, so he could only close his eyes and pretend to sleep.

Upon noticing Pei Zhi's movement, Xiao Chengci immediately opened his eyes.

"You're awake? I'll have someone bring you some food."

Xiao Chengci tried to get up, but accidentally touched his wound, causing him to gasp in pain.

Pei Zhi asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Chengci said casually, "It's nothing, I just got a minor injury by accident."

Pei Zhi asked, "Did you do too many bad things and get assassinated?"

Xiao Chengci is the Crown Prince. How could he have been so careless as to injure himself like this?

Xiao Chengci was amused, but Pei Zhi was furious.

"Can't you say something nice?"

Xiao Chengci struggled to get out of bed.

"Are you alright? You look like you're about to die."

Xiao Chengci's face was too pale, even turning black.

The one faking illness now is probably her, right?

Why does Xiao Chengci's condition seem much more serious than hers?

Xiao Chengci asked irritably, "Can't you wish me well for once?"

“No, what I mean is…” Pei Zhi hesitated for a moment before continuing, “If you’re about to die, could you let me out first?”

"What if I die here? Won't my body rot before anyone finds it?"

Xiao Chengci, holding up the bed curtains, said, "It's one thing for you to curse me, but why are you cursing yourself too?"

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you."

Pei Zhi watched as Xiao Chengci limped away. Xiao Chengci's words sounded far too unbelievable.

It seems that Xiao Chengci is in dire straits even in his own life.

Pei Zhi scratched her head. What happened while she was faking illness?

Wasn't Xiao Chengci an arrogant and domineering crown prince?

Could it be that the country is about to perish? Otherwise, how could Xiao Chengci have suffered such severe injuries?

Pei Zhi stopped thinking about things she couldn't understand; after all, she was practically "dead" anyway.

The commotion outside was irrelevant to her; she should just continue sleeping.

When Xiao Chengci brought in the medicine, he found that Pei Zhi was asleep again. He called her several times, but she couldn't wake up.

Xiao Chengci guessed that Pei Zhi was too tired, so he didn't continue to bother her and let her continue to sleep.

In the days that followed, Xiao Chengci stayed obediently in the Eastern Palace to recuperate.

Confined to the Eastern Palace, the Empress sent people to deliver things to him every day.

No one is allowed to enter the Eastern Palace except for the imperial physicians, not even the Empress.

The Empress also wrote several letters to Xiao Chengci, earnestly urging him to quickly apologize to his father, the Emperor.

Xiao Chengci ignored all of these things.

Because Xiao Chengci had more important things to do.

After three days of treatment, Xiao Chengci's injuries were no longer too painful.

Although Xiao Chengci could not move freely, he could walk on his own without anyone's help.

What worries Xiao Chengci is Pei Zhi's illness.

Xiao Chengci stood by the bed, watching the imperial physician take Pei Zhi's pulse.

"What exactly happened?"

"Didn't you say before that she just had a common cold and would be fine after a few days of rest?"

“She slept all day yesterday and hasn’t woken up yet. She hasn’t eaten or drunk anything for several days.”

The imperial physician was sweating profusely from Xiao Chengci's barrage of questions.

The imperial physician frowned, examining Pei Zhi's pulse again and again.

"Your Highness, this young lady's pulse is very irregular. Forgive my incompetence, but I cannot figure out what is wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Chengci said angrily, "You are the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. If you can't do anything, then who can?"

The imperial physician immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, "Your Highness, please forgive me, but this old minister really has no confidence in treating this young lady's condition."

"Not confident?" Xiao Chengci's face was gloomy. "Tell me honestly, what exactly happened?"

The imperial physician hesitated before saying, "In my humble opinion, this girl has no stomach, no spirit, and no roots."

Xiao Chengci said impatiently, "You're spouting a bunch of nonsense, what do you mean by 'nothing' or 'nothing'? I don't understand!"

"If you need any medicinal herbs, just tell me, and I'll send someone to deliver them to you."

The imperial physician bowed and kowtowed, his tone heavy, "This girl, I reckon, seems to have a true internal organ pulse."

Xiao Chengci angrily retorted, "How dare you!"