Xianyang Palace.

Li Zhi lay trembling on the bed, looking at Wu Mei with a face full of unease.

"Sister Wu, are you sure Father will come back to see me?"

"Sure!"

"You are the Crown Prince, after all. His Majesty cannot possibly refuse to come when you are ill!"

"I……"

Li Zhi had no confidence in his father at all. Although his father did care about him, his concern was nothing compared to that of his eldest brother and fourth brother, let alone that of his son, Si Zi.

If Father hears that Fourth Brother is sick, he will worry so much that he won't eat dinner!

"But, won't Father Emperor find out if we pretend to be sick?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Mei stroked her chin and pondered for a moment before replying.

"They probably can't tell, right?"

Li Zhi panicked upon hearing this.

"Sister Wu, please don't get me into trouble!"

"If my father finds out I'm faking illness, he'll beat me to death!"

Seeing that Li Zhi was so frightened, Wu Mei immediately chuckled.

"Silly boy, I'm just kidding you. I used to use this trick all the time when I was little. His Majesty definitely won't see through it, hehe!"

"I just don't know when His Majesty will return. If he comes back and finds you've recovered, won't he charge you with deceiving the emperor?"

As soon as Wu Mei finished speaking, Li Zhi jumped out of bed, startling him so much that he quickly asked what was wrong.

What are you doing?

"I'll soak in the water vat again, so that Father won't notice!"

"Ugh, what an idiot!"

"The Hundred Cavalry have been out for half an hour, so His Majesty should be back soon. If you go to soak in cold water now, you might not even dry yourself off before His Majesty catches you red-handed!"

"Come on, lie down obediently, and I'll feed you your medicine!"

"I……"

Li Zhi was initially a little worried, but when he heard that Sister Wu would personally feed him the medicine, he immediately lay down on the bed happily.

"Come on, open your mouth!"

"ah……"

"What do you mean, 'ah'? You think I'm going to look at your tongue? I'm giving you medicine!"

"You idiot, drink less, why are you drinking so fast?"

While Wu Mei was feeding Li Zhi medicine, she suddenly heard a loud, hoarse voice coming from outside the door.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Mei quickly knelt down behind the door.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glanced at Wu Mei with surprise, noticing that she was dressed exceptionally neatly today.

A crimson gauze dress draped over her shoulders could not conceal the low-cut bodice embroidered with peony patterns. Even with her head bowed, it was still dazzlingly bright.

What are you doing here?

"Your Majesty, I heard that the Crown Prince is ill. I was afraid that the palace servants in Xianyang Palace were too lazy to take good care of him, so I came to serve him and administer his medicine!"

"You're so thoughtful..."

"How is the Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has only caught a slight cold. I have just given him medicine, and he should be fine now."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glanced at Wu Mei's chest a few more times before going to the inner room to check on his son's condition.

"Father, please forgive me for being too ill to rise and perform the proper greetings..."

Li Shimin stepped forward and pressed down on Li Zhi, who was trying to get up, while muttering complaints under his breath.

"How could you be so careless and catch a cold?"

"Father, it's probably due to fatigue from the journey..."

Li Shimin became even angrier upon hearing this and sat on the edge of the bed, berating him.

"I originally intended for you to stay in Chang'an to oversee the country, but you insisted on coming. Now look what happened, you've made yourself sick from overwork!"

"However, your health is too poor. You fell ill after just accompanying me on an inspection tour of Zhaoling. How will you govern the country and shoulder the responsibility of our Li Tang dynasty in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi felt a pang of regret.

Would Father Emperor dislike my poor health and make my third brother the crown prince in the future?

It's no wonder Li Zhi was overthinking things; since the Sui and Tang dynasties, being the crown prince had been a high-risk position. Three people had already died before him, and all of them were his relatives.

When Wu Meiniang saw that His Majesty was beginning to doubt the Crown Prince's health, she immediately stepped forward to explain on his behalf.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has examined the Crown Prince and said that he is usually in good health and this is just a minor cold, nothing serious!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was immediately relieved.

"Since there's nothing seriously wrong, Zhinu, you should focus on recovering. There's no need to rush back to Chang'an; you can go back whenever you're fully recovered."

"Your subject will humbly obey Your Majesty's teachings!"

"Father has some matters to attend to, so he must go ahead and attend to them..."

"ah?"

Li Zhi and Wu Mei were both dumbfounded when they heard this. They had gone to great lengths to trick His Majesty into returning, but they never expected that His Majesty would just glance at them and leave.

"Father, what's the rush? Can't you have lunch before you leave?"

"this……"

Seeing the Emperor's hesitant expression, Wu Meiniang also offered her advice.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince was so worried about you last night that he didn't even eat dinner. This morning he had a headache and fever, and hasn't eaten or drunk anything since."

"If Your Majesty is not too busy, why not stay and have lunch with His Highness the Crown Prince before you leave..."

"well!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed inwardly and nodded helplessly.

"Alright, I'll have lunch before I leave!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang immediately ordered the meal to be served.

Li Zhi also struggled to get out of bed, happily preparing to dine with his father.

Before long, lunch was served one after another.

When Li Shimin saw Wu Mei standing to the side, he immediately waved to her.

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