Chapter 83

Mu Qinhan buried his head in her neck, and after a long while asked her again, "Tell me, is that right?"

Mu Yulu turned her head to the side and did not answer him.

He suddenly laughed and said, "If all of this I dreamt of was really just a dream, then you shouldn't be running away from me."

Mu Yulu still had her hand on his chest, but her strength gradually waned, and in the end she could only hold it weakly. She asked him, "What if those dreams were real?"

Mu Qinhan finally released her at this moment. He lay on his side on the bed and then pulled her into his arms even tighter, whispering in her ear, "If none of that was a dream, then I will make it up to you, I will make it up to you with the rest of my life, okay?"

After saying that, he nestled his head against her shoulder and neck, then murmured, "Don't worry, I just want to hold you and sleep. I'll wait for you, until the day you fall in love with me again, and I won't touch you until then..."

Unfortunately, his words did not move her; instead, they aroused her disgust. If he had spared her life in her past life, or told her before she died that he knew her feelings for him, even if it was just a word of comfort, she would not have died with resentment in her heart.

Perhaps she could have fallen in love with him again in her past life, but in this life she has already died once, and she can no longer fall in love with him.

As he spoke, Mu Qinhan's voice became intermittent and gradually indistinct. Mu Yulu was forced to curl up in his arms, listening to his even breathing, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

But she didn't sleep for long before she was awakened by an unbearable burning sensation. She opened her eyes groggily and was shocked to find that the chest against her back was incredibly hot.

Half asleep and half awake, she frowned uncomfortably, instinctively wanting to escape the scorching source, but the arms wrapped around her waist were like burning iron hoops, not loosening but tightening even more.

She finally woke up completely.

Mu Qinhan's breathing behind her became unusually heavy, his rapid breaths spraying onto her neck, bringing a burning sensation. She struggled to pull his hands away from her waist and hesitantly turned to look at him.

Mu Qinhan's eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed. Even in his sleep, he still had the same tension he had during the day. His usually cold and stern face was now flushed with an abnormal redness.

Mu Yulu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently touched his forehead with her fingertips.

The temperature emanating from his fingertips was alarmingly high; he had indeed developed a high fever, and it was quite severe.

It seems the poison he received at the Third Prince's banquet has finally taken effect, and the timing of the onset is consistent with his previous life.

Mu Yulu calmly got out of bed and summoned her personal attendant to fetch the imperial physician from the palace for Mu Qinhan.

The imperial physician on duty rushed to the Prince's residence that night to take his pulse. The diagnosis was the same as in his previous life: he was diagnosed with an acute illness, but the physician was not sure what the illness was.

The room was brightly lit all night. Mu Yulu couldn't hide away in front of everyone, so she had no choice but to stay up with the imperial physicians. They stayed up from dark to dawn.

Finally, they conservatively prescribed a fever-reducing formula for Mu Qinhan, saying that they needed to return to the Imperial Hospital to review the medical records with their colleagues before they could determine what serious illness the prince had and then prescribe the appropriate medicine.

Mu Yulu remained silent to the side.

She knew better than anyone that no matter how much the imperial physicians discussed, they would ultimately come to no conclusion.

Mu Qinhan was poisoned with a rare poison that had never appeared in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom before. Naturally, the imperial physicians could not diagnose it. However, the regent was of high status, so they could neither prescribe medicine indiscriminately nor admit that they could not cure him, otherwise they would face death. Therefore, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and treat him.

However, with such conservative treatment, Mu Qinhan's illness will naturally not get better; it will only get worse day by day.

In his previous life, at this time, Mu Yugang found him a wandering doctor. Although the doctor's treatment was only temporary, it did extend Mu Qinhan's life for a period of time, allowing him to live until the day Liu Wenshuang appeared.

However, the timeline has changed in this life. Mu Yugang is already on his way to exile and cannot hire a traveling doctor for him as he did in the previous life.

Who knows how fate will unfold in this life? Will Mu Qinhan be able to escape this calamity?

Mu Yulu looked down at Mu Qinhan lying on the bed and couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he died from the poison? Would she gain her freedom because of it?

Then she thought again, if he really died like this, wouldn't she become a widow? The Vermilion Bird Kingdom has a tradition of women mourning their husbands for three to five or even ten years. With her status as a princess and the Empress Dowager watching over her in the palace, wouldn't she have to mourn for Mu Qinhan for the rest of her life?

That's terrifying.

After realizing this, she immediately changed from a cold observer to an enthusiastic organizer, posting a notice before the palace could, offering a large reward to find the most famous doctors in the country to treat the prince's illness.

Unexpectedly, Liu Wenshuang came to their door the day after the notice was posted.

Even after two lifetimes, seeing Liu Wenshuang's seemingly harmless face again, Mu Yulu couldn't help but shiver.

What's meant to happen will happen; Mu Qinhan was indeed destined to survive.

Mu Yugang and the Third Prince were dealt with ahead of schedule. At the same time, Liu Wenshuang, who had saved Mu Qinhan's life, also arrived ahead of schedule. According to the trajectory of fate, it would not be long before Mu Qinhan fell in love with Liu Wenshuang and, against all odds, married her as his principal wife.

Mu Yulu stared at Liu Wenshuang's face in a daze, her thoughts wandering. When she came to her senses, she saw that the other woman was still kneeling in the hall, so she quickly went forward to help her up.

This girl is frail. If she kneels for too long and develops some health problems, it's hard to guarantee that Mu Qinhan won't hold her accountable later.

After helping Liu Wenshuang up, she briefly explained the time and condition of Mu Qinhan's illness, and then led her to Mu Qinhan's room in the backyard.

Liu Wenshuang was indeed a qualified physician. Seeing that Mu Qinhan was in such a bad state, she immediately sat down by the bed to take his pulse.

Mu Yulu closed the door and quietly slipped out.

She is no longer the same person she was in her previous life. She no longer loves Mu Qinhan, so it is impossible for her to hate him because of love. She will not hate Liu Wenshuang, say anything sarcastic, or do anything that would disgust Mu Qinhan.

On the contrary, she should treat Liu Wenshuang well and sincerely wish them both well. Perhaps she would be able to gain her freedom when Mu Qinhan falls hopelessly in love with Liu Wenshuang.

Time flows forward steadily, and everything is developing according to the trajectory of the previous life.

Mu Qinhan's high fever subsided on the third day, and he woke up slowly in the middle of the night. The first thing he saw when he woke up was Liu Wenshuang, who was lying on the table watching over him.

For a period of time afterward, Liu Wenshuang took care of Mu Qinhan almost every step of the way, personally overseeing everything from medical treatment and medication to the smallest details like food and drink.

After all, Mu Qinhan was poisoned by a rare poison, and it was no easy feat to pull him back from the brink of death. He would not fully recover without proper care for three to five months. During this period, he was taking various medications and needed to be careful to avoid food interactions. Therefore, in addition to taking his pulse and administering medicine, Liu Wenshuang was also responsible for his daily diet.

The two spent several months together like this.

As the weather grew colder and winter approached, one morning, Tanxiang rushed to Mu Yulu in a panic: "It's terrible, Your Highness! I just saw... I saw..."

She glanced around, pursed her lips, and swallowed back the words she was about to say.

Mu Yulu's heart skipped a beat. She dismissed the rest of the maids in the room and then asked Tanxiang, "What did you see just now? Don't be afraid, I won't tell anyone."

Tanxiang took a breath before saying, "I just saw the Prince come out of Miss Liu's room!"

Mu Yulu was taken aback for a moment after hearing this, then smiled nonchalantly: "Miss Liu is his savior, so it's not surprising that he came out of her room."

Seeing that Mu Yulu didn't take the matter to heart at all, Tanxiang became even more anxious: "But the Prince came back very late yesterday, and someone saw him go to Miss Liu's courtyard as soon as he returned to the manor. Your Highness, you said that the Prince went to Miss Liu's courtyard at night and only came out of her room this morning, doesn't that mean he stayed overnight in Miss Liu's courtyard?"

In the past few months, Mu Yulu and Mu Qinhan have not met many times. At first, Mu Qinhan still came to dine with Mu Yulu every day as usual, but later he gradually stopped coming to dine with her, and later he simply stopped stepping into Mu Yulu's courtyard.

Judging by the time, it had been about twenty days since he had taken the initiative to look for her.

Various rumors had already circulated in the manor, mostly saying that a beautiful young lady named Liu had recently arrived at the palace. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had excellent medical skills. Compared to her, Mu Yulu had no other talents and seemed to have nothing but a pretty face.

So everyone started to speculate that there would probably be a new concubine in the Prince's mansion. Although Mu Yulu's position as the Princess Consort was not yet insurmountable, there was still a long way to go. If that Miss Liu were to conceive the Prince's child before her, then it would be hard to say who would become the Princess Consort.

These rumors, which were quite detailed and detailed, naturally reached Mu Yulu's ears. Tanxiang's anxiety today was also due to these rumors.

All signs indicate that the rumors are not just rumors, and if this continues, Mu Yulu's position as princess is indeed becoming precarious.

But only Mu Yulu knew in her heart that Liu Wenshuang could never become a concubine, and Mu Qinhan would never be willing to let her become a concubine.

Since he stayed overnight in Liu Wenshuang's room last night, he should be coming to discuss giving Liu Wenshuang a title soon.

She had just thought that to herself when Mu Qinhan pushed the door open and walked in the next second.

Upon seeing Mu Qinhan, Tanxiang was startled. Feeling somewhat guilty, she lowered her head, knelt on the ground, and bowed to him.

Mu Qinhan glanced at her and waved for her to leave: "Close the door properly. I have important matters to discuss with the Princess."