Chapter 127 After Marrying the Crippled Prince, Part 7: The Nanmu Coffin

After Lan Yihan visited Yun Chiyi, Yun Chiyi's spirits improved, and she ate a few more bites at dinner.

A few days later, Lan Yihan brought fish soup she had made and visited again.

Everyone in the Prince Cheng's mansion knew how much Lan Yihan loved her daughter. When they saw her carriage arrive, they arranged the steps from a distance and held up a green umbrella to shield her from the scorching sun.

Today, Lan Yihan was followed by a beautiful and graceful maid, who quietly lowered her head and calmly followed Lan Yihan into the backyard of the Prince Cheng's mansion.

Yun Chiyi leaned back in the bamboo rattan chair, basking in the midday sun. She lazily raised her eyelashes and immediately saw the person behind Lan Yihan.

Another maidservant familiarly stepped forward and handed the lotus root and pork rib soup brought from the mansion to Zhenzhen to take to the kitchen to warm it up.

As soon as Zhenzhen left, Yun Chiyi got up.

She helped Lan Yihan sit on the rattan chair, and after confirming that no one was around, she smiled gently at Shangguan Chulan.

Shangguan Chulan lowered her knees and bowed to Yun Chiyi, who quickly supported her slender figure.

The fourth female character in the novel has beautiful features and a graceful demeanor.

She was born into a merchant family, but the family had declined since her father's generation. As a child, she studied medicine under an old doctor. She was very talented and had her own insights into everything. In the original story, she pulled the male lead back from the brink of death several times, making her a highly popular "white moonlight" character.

At this time, Shangguan Chulan had not yet met the male lead. Her daily life consisted of treating the rich and providing free medical care to the poor, and she lived a very frugal life.

Lan Yihan lowered her voice and took the lead in speaking: "It's really unfair to Miss Shangguan, but if it weren't for your status, I wouldn't have been able to bring you in. I'm just a woman with nothing of value, and I only have some jewelry in the room. Please don't find it offensive."

Shangguan Chulan shook her head repeatedly: "Madam, you flatter me. I haven't properly thanked you for helping me out of that predicament that day."

Speaking of this, Lan Yihan sighed and said indignantly, "That scoundrel was too arrogant and let him get away. Miss Shangguan, if you see him next time, just come and find me."

Lan Yihan looked at Yun Chiyi with concern: "Yi'er, Yi'er, did you sleep well last night?"

Yun Chiyi nodded with a faint smile.

"Your Highness, please sit down. Let me take your pulse first."

As soon as Yun Chiyi sat down, she felt Lan Yihan's intense gaze, as if he both looked forward to hearing Shangguan Chulan speak and was afraid of her opening her mouth.

Shangguan Chulan carefully examined Yun Chiyi for a long time, asking her about her daily life. Each time she received Yun Chiyi's affirmation, and with Lan Yihan's explanation, she pursed her lips even tighter.

Lan Yihan gripped the handkerchief tightly and held her breath.

From Lan Yihan's angle, she couldn't see Shangguan Chulan's delicate eyebrows slowly furrowing. Yun Chiyi lowered her eyelashes and pulled Shangguan Chulan behind the screen before anyone could speak.

Shangguan Chulan sighed, secretly glanced outside, and only after confirming that Lan Yihan had not followed did she say softly, "Physical ailments are like drinking water; one knows them all too well. I'm sure Your Highness already knows."

Yun Chiyi gestured for her to speak freely.

Shangguan Chulan clenched her fists: "If you don't get treatment, you only have eight months left to live at most."

Just as the system said, her time was running out.

"Your symptoms are not just a chronic illness; you must have been poisoned before. The toxins have accumulated in your body over time and have invaded your lungs and internal organs."

Yun Chiyi listened quietly, her expression seemingly having seen through life and death.

Shangguan Chulan said, "I dare to say that I have traveled to the Southern Frontier with my master and have seen the locals use Gu worms to extract toxins. However, this is a dangerous practice, and one could easily lose their life if they are not careful. I dare not encourage Your Highness and will follow your wishes."

"Furthermore, raising Gu is not an easy task; it is very difficult to find a Gu worm."

"Yi'er?"

Lan Yihan waited anxiously outside, her head craning in anticipation.

Yun Chiyi agreed without hesitation. Eight months wasn't enough time for her to lower Lin Jinyuan's guard, let alone win him over.

More importantly, since there was a way to save her life, she would never let the opportunity slip by.

If she wants to live, no one can stop her.

She asked Shangguan Chulan to keep this a secret, especially not to reveal a single word to Lan Yihan.

The two stepped out from behind the screen, only telling Lan Yihan that she was weak and would get better with a little care.

Lan Yihan felt relieved. At this moment, Zhenzhen also returned. As soon as she entered the door, the aroma of lotus root and pork rib soup wafted over.

After sitting down, Yun Chiyi eagerly lifted the lid and drank the entire bowl of pork rib soup.

She had eaten a little too much, and she couldn't sleep well all night, tossing and turning until dawn.

-

Later, Lan Yihan would often come to see her, and occasionally she would bring Shangguan Chulan with her.

When no one was around, Lin Jinyuan would call her to his study to read together. Yun Chiyi would always get sleepy halfway through her reading. Once, he lowered his eyebrows and gently tapped her palm with a ruler, saying that she was being lazy and should be punished.

Yun Chiyi has read many books, but only half of them. Sometimes, she deliberately tries to provoke him to see if he will get really angry and show his true colors.

During this time, she also received secret letters from the Prince of Lin, in which he threatened Lan Yihan's life. They both realized that the mother and daughter were now of one mind and each other's Achilles' heel.

Annoyed by the constant nagging, she dug out the brocade pouch and returned an empty shell.

Having received her reply, Prince Lin stopped pressuring her and simply waited for the day Lin Jinyuan would succumb to the poison and die.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Chulan asked someone to search for the Gu worms, but as the weather gradually warmed up and summer arrived in the blink of an eye, there was still no news.

The weather soon turned cool again, and the backyard was full of autumn colors. On a morning covered with dew, Yun Chiyi finally saw the Gu worm.

With black armor and red spots, and long, curled whiskers, the Gu worm, having been confined in the wooden box for too long, would hide in the shadows as soon as it saw the light of day.

Yun Chiyi found it amusing and curled her lips into a smile.

Shangguan Chulan frowned and closed the wooden box with a heavy heart: "Your Highness, I need two hours. No one can disturb me during this time, or the consequences will be unimaginable."

The only news from Prince Cheng's residence was that when the wife of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites came to see the Princess Consort, she suddenly felt dizzy. She was resting in the side room in the afternoon, and the Princess Consort took close care of her, never leaving her side.

The room was quiet. Zhenzhen squatted under the shade of a tree, counting the ants that were moving house.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a teacup breaking inside. She lifted her skirt and wanted to go in, but Yun Chiyi told her to wait outside, so she reluctantly squatted back down.

Her playful double buns hung down beside her ears as she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

Why doesn't the princess want her to serve her? Is there something she didn't do well enough today? Should she change to a different maid to serve her personally?

That's absolutely not going to work!

As Zhenzhen was lost in thought, she saw the sun beginning to set. The sedan chair from the Yun family stopped at the entrance of the Prince's mansion to pick up the First Madam and take her back home.

Before leaving, Lan Yihan called Zhenzhen into the room and told her that Yun Chiyi was tired and that she should sleep a little longer.

She noticed that the princess's face was glowing, and she was sleeping soundly; she would probably be hungry when she woke up.

Having just finished lunch, she instructed the kitchen staff to prepare a pot of old hen soup for dinner, as the prince had instructed. The prince also reminded the kitchen staff to cut off all the greasy fat, as the princess would not have an appetite if it was too greasy.

The prince was deeply devoted to the princess and cared for her with utmost devotion. It was because of his love and care that the princess gradually recovered her health.

Zhenzhen stayed by Yun Chiyi's bedside, praying silently.

Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, may you bless the princess with good health and a long life, and may she never fall ill again.

When Yun Chiyi woke up, Zhenzhen was squatting on the ground, sleeping with her face resting on the edge of the bed.

She intended to pinch her cheek to wake her up, but unexpectedly, her heart clenched and a surge of heat rushed to her head. Yun Chiyi couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood. She tried to cover it with her hand, but the blood still splattered onto Zhenzhen's cheek.

Zhenzhen awoke from her sweet dream to a nightmare that filled her with both fear and apprehension.

The princess lay by the bedside, her frail body like a broken kite, tossed about by the wind and rain. She coughed violently, and blood seeped from her lips incessantly, like a red agate gem with a broken string.

Zhenzhen knelt down with a thud and hugged Yun Chiyi's trembling body: "Your Highness! Don't scare me!"

Yun Chiyi's illness was so dangerous that after the imperial physician Li came, he shook his head. Other imperial physicians were also invited, but after examining her pulse, they immediately picked up their medicine boxes, made all sorts of excuses, and fled the palace as if they were escaping.

Outside, thunder and rain raged, and the sky remained overcast for three days. Yun Chiyi lay in the middle of the brocade quilt, drenched in cold sweat, and several times she seemed to lose her breath.

Zhenzhen's eyes were swollen from crying, and she sobbed, "Your Highness... what should we do!"

Lin Jinyuan's tone was flat, without the slightest fluctuation, as he said, "You can go down now."

Upon hearing this, Zhenzhen was stunned, her mind filled with utter confusion as she closed the door. How could the Prince react so calmly? How could he not be worried? Last time the Princess was ill, the Prince was furious and wanted to punish that quack doctor, Mr. Gao!

At this moment, it probably looked to outsiders as if the princess was just asleep.

The room was dimly lit, and even the candlelight couldn't illuminate Lin Jinyuan's complexion.

He gently squeezed Yun Chiyi's thin wrist and asked her in a soft voice, "Are you going to die? Haven't you seen Prince Lin ascend the throne yet?"

Yun Chiyi was fast asleep and did not respond to his words at all.

He gazed at her face. She was afflicted with illness and frail, yet her face remained captivating. Her serene, arched eyebrows resembled distant mountains, her fair skin and delicate cheeks seemed to be nourished with cream, her nose was small, her lips soft, and her neck slender. He could encircle most of it with one hand.

His slender fingers encircled his fair neck as he touched the spot where he had once bitten someone, a place where scars were rarely left due to his frail health.

Her breath was so weak; it would break if you pinched her too lightly.

"It's good that you've gone this way. I'll burn more paper money for you next year."

Lin Jinyuan stopped and said nothing more.

That night, Lin Jinyuan used warm water to wipe Yun Chiyi's body and changed her into clean undergarments.

After all that was done, the wind and rain stopped.

Lin Jinyuan sat in his wheelchair by the door, and all the maids, servants, and guards in the mansion looked over.

He told Chaosheng, "Prepare a nanmu coffin to be carried to the ancestral hall. The princess prefers soft bedding, so put an extra one inside."

Yes, she even complained about the red dates on the wedding quilt. How could she sleep if it wasn't made more comfortable?

Before Chaosheng could react, Zhenzhen collapsed into the puddle, her legs giving way and tears streaming down her face.

Lin Jinyuan continued, "The princess prefers quiet, so there's no need to make a fuss about the funeral. Let her pass away peacefully."

Zhenzhen cried softly, as if she were in a nightmare.

The faint sound of sobbing could be heard in the courtyard. Inside the soft tent, Yun Chiyi slowly opened her bright eyes. At first, she felt as if she were floating in the air and could not hear the sounds outside.

Gradually, she heard the sound of rain, and she also heard Lin Jinyuan say that he wanted to bury her quietly.

She's not dead yet!

Is he in a hurry?

Yun Chiyi rolled over and fell off the bed. She was not fully conscious, so she was not in pain.

A muffled thud came from behind. Lin Jinyuan stiffly turned his wheelchair around and spun around. A shadow rushed into his arms, knocking him and his wheelchair to the ground. He stared blankly as the person who had come back from the dead sat on him.

She stared blankly, grabbed his collar, and pounded and punched his chest with her other hand.

Lin Jinyuan couldn't get up, so he could only let her run wild. He grabbed her wrist, but she frantically broke free. She had been sick for so long, but she still had strength in her body. His jaw and nose were scratched.

The people in the courtyard gasped.

Has the princess come back from the dead?