"Little Xi'er?"

No matter what Qin Jue said, Xiao Xi'er simply ignored him.

"Cough cough~ I feel so uncomfortable. I'm in so much pain, and Xiao Xi'er isn't even here to comfort me. Sigh."

"Little Xi'er, you don't need to take your medicine. You go out and play with Qin Jingke. Daddy's fine."

Qin Jue, who had no idea what to do, pretended to cough incessantly while covering his mouth, his whole body hunched over. If you didn't know Qin Jue was faking it, you would have thought it was real.

While Xiaoxi was still angry, she secretly glanced at Qin Jue and saw that Qin Jue was indeed coughing with his mouth covered, looking like he was in great discomfort.

He turned around and looked at Qin Jue with concern.

"Daddy, what's wrong? Does Kari feel unwell?"

"Cough cough—, it doesn't feel bad at all. Xiao Xi'er, why don't you take Qin Jingke out to play? Otherwise, this medicine smells too bitter, and you won't feel comfortable smelling it."

Believing Qin Jue's words, Xiao Xi'er quickly took two steps to Qin Jue's side and grabbed his sleeve.

"Father, I'm not going out to play anymore. How are you? Where do you feel unwell?"

Qin Jue, who was squatting down, picked up Xiao Xi'er and said, "It feels much better when Daddy is holding Xiao Xi'er."

"Wow, I'm really awesome!"

And so, Xiao Xi'er was held in Qin Jue's arms and calmed down, making her sickly appearance even more obvious.

Qin Jue and Xiao Liyun were heartbroken. Qin Jingke, standing on the ground, saw Xiao Xi'er looking unhappy and thought he had done something to upset her.

"Sister, did I do something to upset you?"

"Sister, please don't be angry with me, okay?"

Thinking he had done something wrong, Qin Jingke walked up to Qin Jue, reached out, and tugged at Xiao Xi'er's embroidered shoes, looking both aggrieved and worried.

"Huh? I'm not angry with Keke."

"And Keke didn't make me angry."

Qin Jingke, holding Xiao Xi'er's embroidered shoes, immediately broke into a bright and happy smile.

"Then Xiaoxi'er, please drink your medicine obediently."

"No…"

"Cough cough"

Seeing that Xiaoxi refused to drink her medicine, Qin Jue continued his "sick cough".

"Father, you're sick, you need to take your medicine too."

"Father, let's drink our medicine together."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jue's face cracked, but determined to get Xiao Xi'er to take her medicine, he went all out and summoned Sanhezi from outside the hall.

"Sanhezi, bring me my medicine."

"What?"

"Can't you understand me? I ordered you to bring me my medicine."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, this servant will go immediately."

As Sanhezi walked, he wondered, "When did His Majesty start taking his medicine? How come I, his personal eunuch, didn't know? Oh, right, the little princess doesn't want to take her medicine. Could it be that His Majesty is taking it to keep her company?"

That's right, Sanhezi has revealed the truth.

A short while later, Sanhezi brought over a bowl of soup that looked very much like the color of Chinese medicine.

"Your Majesty, your medicine has been brought by your servant."

Give it to me.

He pretended to smell it, then frowned and squinted.

"Sanhezi, why does this medicine smell so bitter?"

"Your Majesty, this medicine tastes bitter."

"This servant believes that Your Majesty will recover after drinking this medicine."

You have to admit, Sanhezi's acting skills are absolutely amazing.

Because there was a bowl of Chinese medicine on the table in front of Xiao Xi'er, and the bitter smell had permeated the entire Yangxin Hall, Xiao Xi'er didn't think that the bowl of medicine in Qin Jue's hand wasn't medicine.

"Little Xi'er, Daddy will drink your medicine with you."

"Look, this is Daddy's medicine. After Daddy finishes his medicine, Little Xi'er will have to drink hers too."

After saying that, Qin Jue put the bowl directly to his lips and gulped it down.

After finishing his drink, his brows furrowed, and he didn't forget to look at Xiaoxi'er, saying, "It's Xiaoxi'er's turn to take her medicine."

Qin Jue put down the "medicine bowl" in his hand and picked up Xiao Xi'er's medicine bowl.

He scooped up a spoonful of medicine and brought it to Xiaoxi'er's lips.

As Xiao Xi'er saw the medicine getting closer, her whole face scrunched up, her expression filled with resistance.

"Little Xi'er?"

Looking at Qin Jue's face, Xiao Xi'er remembered how Qin Jue had drunk the medicine earlier. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

Qin Jue paused in feeding the medicine, seeing Xiao Xi'er's resolute expression as she drank it, he suppressed a smile and continued to feed her the medicine spoonful by spoonful.

Finally, Xiao Xi'er couldn't drink anymore. She shut her mouth, tears streaming down her face, and threw herself into Qin Jue's arms.

"Don't cry, little Xi'er, be good."

"Waaaaah... Daddy... Daddy... I... hiccup... I don't want to... hiccup... I'm not drinking anymore... Waaaaah..."

"Okay, I won't drink anymore, Xiaoxi won't drink anymore."

Seeing Xiao Xi'er crying in his arms, Qin Jue's heart broke. He glanced at the half-bowl of medicine left and thought, "Never mind, Xiao Xi'er has already drunk half of it."

At the same time, he cursed Feng Feng a thousand times in his heart. Couldn't this quack doctor find a way to make the medicine sweeter? Look how bitter Xiao Xi'er is! What a quack!

Little Xi'er, who was crying her heart out, suddenly felt someone pulling her toes.

"Sister, this is candy that Mother gave me."

"Don't cry, sister. I'll give you my candy."

Little Xi'er, still crying, turned her head and looked down, only to see Qin Jingke holding her toes with one hand and raising a candy high in the other.

"Really... really... hiccup... give it all to me?"

"Really, I'll give them all to my older sister. From now on, all of Keke's candy will be for her."

"Sister, please don't cry, okay?"

Qin Jingke, holding the candy, had a serious expression on his face.

Xiao Xi bent down, took the candy from Qin Jingke's hand, opened it, and tasted it in her mouth.

Surrounded by the sweetness, Xiaoxi forgot the bitterness from before.

"Thank you, Keke."

Overjoyed at being thanked, Qin Jingke spun around a few times.

"Wow, my sister likes me! She ate the candy I gave her!"

"Promising..."

Xiao Xi'er didn't understand what was wrong with Qin Jingke, blinking her big eyes. Qin Jue clearly disliked Qin Jingke terribly.

Little Xi'er, who had eaten the candy, smiled happily. A little while later, the medicine took effect, and Little Xi'er began to feel drowsy.

She climbed onto Qin Jue's shoulder and fell asleep. Seeing that Xiao Xi'er was asleep, Qin Jue told Xiao Liyun and her son to leave.

——————

After Xiao Liyun and her son returned to Yingyu Garden, Qin Jingke's face was filled with disappointment.

She asked Xiao Liyun sullenly, "Mother, will I ever see my sister again?"

Xiao Liyun did not answer Qin Jingke's question, but instead asked him a question.

"Does Keke like her older sister?"

"Keke likes her older sister."

"Don't worry, with Mother here, Keke will be able to see her sister."

"Uh-huh"

Little Qin Jingke, knowing he would see Xiao Xi'er again, was no longer disappointed; instead, he began to look forward to seeing her a second time.

Not long after Xiao Liyun sat down, Sanhezi arrived.

"May I ask what brings you to my Cherry Blossom Garden, Third Eunuch?"

Sanhezi respectfully stated the purpose of his visit.

"Your Majesty, this servant has come to collect the Phoenix Seal."

"Liu Si, go and get the Phoenix Seal."

A moment later, Liu Si came out with the Phoenix Seal and reluctantly handed it to Sanhezi.

After receiving the Phoenix Seal, Sanhezi bowed and returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.