"Please speak, Your Majesty."

"The Prime Minister's daughter, Qu Qingran, has long admired you. However, I was unaware of this at the time, and due to a series of unfortunate events, I betrothed Qu Qingxi to you, which ruined a good marriage."

"The Prime Minister said that Qu Qingran is making a huge fuss and is determined to marry you. Since Qu Qingxi is already your principal wife, she is thinking of settling for second best and becoming your concubine. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I am unwilling. I have already married the Prime Minister's eldest daughter. How can I marry his younger daughter as well?" He Liufeng looked up at the Emperor.

“There have always been examples of two sisters serving one husband. Qu Qingran is in love with you, and besides, Qu Qingran is also very beautiful.” The Emperor wanted to say more, but He Liufeng interrupted him.

“Your Majesty, I do not like Qu Qingran. No matter how beautiful she is, although my health has recovered quite a bit, I am not fully recovered. I only want a quiet and obedient princess, not a beautiful one.”

He Liufeng sighed softly as he spoke.

"You're not fully recovered? What happened?" the Emperor asked in surprise. "Didn't you say you were completely healed?"

"Your Majesty, that was a message I deliberately released. I just didn't want others to look at me with those pitying eyes anymore. I've had enough of that look." He Liufeng gave a bitter smile and then lowered his head.

Upon hearing He Liufeng's words, the Emperor immediately recalled He Liufeng's painful state after being poisoned, as well as the looks on others' faces when He Liufeng was suffering from the poison, and his heart softened considerably.

"Laifu, summon Physician Chen." The Emperor looked at Laifu, who was standing at the door.

Laifu nodded and immediately turned to leave.

A dark glint flashed in He Liufeng's lowered eyes. He remained silent, seemingly having already given up on his body.

Physician Chen quickly came over, bowed to the two men, and then stood aside.

"Let the prince check how his health is." The emperor waved his hand, then looked at He Liufeng, "After all these years, it is you who have suffered."

Physician Chen nodded and walked to He Liufeng's side, gesturing for He Liufeng to extend his hand, but He Liufeng was somewhat reluctant.

Seeing He Liufeng's hesitation, the Emperor spoke again, "Don't worry, Physician Chen is my man."

With just one sentence, it was clear that no matter what the outcome was today, this matter would not be revealed.

Hearing the Emperor's assurance, He Liufeng reluctantly extended his hand.

Physician Chen took the emperor's pulse for a while, his expression constantly changing. Then he glanced at the emperor and said, "The prince's body still has residual poison, and this poison has already invaded his internal organs. I'm afraid there is no way to cure him."

"What?" The Emperor was so shocked that he stood up abruptly, looking at He Liufeng in disbelief.

"Moreover, Your Highness's health is severely depleted, so you should reduce your sexual activity." Doctor Chen dared not look at He Liufeng's face, and lowered his head to speak softly.

He Liufeng's expression changed drastically. He lost his composure and knocked over the teacup next to him. He stood there, closed his eyes, and then forced a smile. "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

He Liufeng seemed to have been quite devastated.

The Emperor looked at He Liufeng, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, his eyes filled with heartache. In the end, he simply waved his hand and said, "Go down."

After He Liufeng left, the Emperor looked at Physician Chen again, the heartache in his eyes vanishing without a trace, as if it had never existed. "What was the result?"

"Your Majesty, the Prince's health has indeed improved somewhat, but the poison in his body is still present, and his physical condition is severely damaged. Most importantly, I have just discovered something else."

"What?"

“If I am not mistaken, Your Highness’s fertility also has problems,” Physician Chen said, then lowered his head.

"Childbirth? How serious is it?"

"I fear he will not have any offspring."

The Emperor slumped into his chair, remaining silent for a long time. Although he had done it, He Liufeng was still his brother. How could the medicine have harmed his offspring?

He Liufeng's expression was also very unpleasant, and he remained cold-faced even after returning to the Prince's Mansion.

He Liufeng sat in the study for a long time, unwilling to move. He recalled the results of his investigation and still refused to believe that he was in the Imperial Study today.

The emperor refused to believe him and even summoned the imperial physician. What did he want to verify?

Ling Mu also noticed that the prince was in a bad mood, so he went directly to Qing Dai and asked the princess to go over and comfort the prince. Everyone had seen the changes in the prince during this period. The prince liked the princess. If the princess went over and sat with the prince, his mood should improve.

Qingdai also thought Lingmu's idea made sense, so she prepared to go find Qu Qingxi, but on the way she encountered the suspicious Zhang Xueliu.

Qingdai turned and followed Zhang Xueliu in the northwest direction.

Zhang Xueliu proceeded cautiously, constantly looking around. Only when she found no one following her did she continue forward until she reached a pine tree in the northwest corner, where she finally stopped.

He glanced around again, then immediately pulled a small piece of paper from his sleeve, folded it into a small ball, dug up the soil under the pine tree, buried the paper in it, covered it with soil again, and then picked up a small stone from the side and placed it on top.

Zhang Xueliu took two steps back, looked at it again, and only after confirming that there were no problems did she turn around and leave with satisfaction.

Only after Zhang Xueliu had gone far away did Qingdai step forward, dig up the mound of earth, and was about to reach out to take out the paper ball when she remembered something. She then took out a handkerchief from her bosom, used the handkerchief to hold the paper ball, and walked back.

Qingdai subconsciously headed towards He Liufeng's study first, but halfway there she remembered that she was now the princess's person and should go to the princess if there was anything, so she turned around and walked towards Qu Qingxi's courtyard.

Exhausted from a long night's sleep, Qu Qingxi slept until late morning. Just as she finished eating, she saw Qingdai mysteriously walk in.

"What's wrong?" Qu Qingxi glanced at Qingdai, poured herself another cup of tea, took a sip, and suddenly remembered that last night, He Liufeng had used his internal energy to warm the tea for her.

"This tea doesn't taste as good as the tea from last night," Qu Qingxi sighed softly.

"Your Highness, this is a crumpled piece of paper written by Zhang Xueliu." Qingdai waved the object in her hand.

From Qu Qingxi's perspective, Qingdai was holding a handkerchief and shaking it, with a crumpled piece of paper hidden inside. If Qingdai hadn't pointed it out, Qu Qingxi wouldn't have noticed the crumpled paper inside the handkerchief.

"Why are you holding it with a handkerchief?" Qu Qingxi asked casually, not really caring about Zhang Xueliu.

"I was worried that something might have been smeared on this piece of paper, so just in case, I didn't use my hands." Qingdai had encountered many similar situations before. Some secret letters were handled using special methods, and once someone else had tampered with them, they would be easily discovered.

"Smart." Qu Qingxi glanced at Qingdai approvingly, thinking, "It's always better to be safe than sorry."

This is a good habit. In this era where people mainly rely on letters, Qu Qingxi feels that she should also study hard.