Su'er's arrival gave Su Bei inspiration. Aren't Gu Rui and Cheng Shi the best friends? If there is anyone in the world that Gu Rui cares about, besides Qin Meizhi, it's probably Cheng Shi.

"How is the prince doing lately?" Su Bei asked hurriedly.

"Him? He's doing fine. He has a good appetite and has gained two or three pounds." Su'er's answer was puzzling.

Su Bei never asked Cheng Shi before, probably to avoid suspicion, but this time his question made people feel confused.

Su Bei rolled his eyes and asked, "Do you know where Gu Rui went?"

"He sent a letter to the prince, saying that he was going to travel..."

As expected...

I should have told this guy the truth earlier! Su Bei frowned, "Then... can we let the prince be sick for a while?"

"Sick? Does Her Majesty want the Prince to claim he is sick and not go out?" Su'er guessed half of it right, but didn't guess the other half.

"I want him to be seriously ill, the kind that is terminally ill!" Su Bei said, and quickly added, "He is pretending to be sick, not really sick."

Su Er was puzzled. "The prince doesn't need to attend court, why is he doing this?"

"It's a secret!" Su Beishen said mysteriously.

Although Su'er didn't figure it out, based on their dealings during this period, Su'er believed that Su Bei must have a reason.

Within half a day, news spread that the Prince of Jingnan had fallen suddenly ill.

Then came the news that the imperial physician went to Prince Jingnan’s palace, and even Prince Zunyi went there. They were all bribed and said that Cheng Shi was terminally ill.

Everyone in the capital believed it, except King Cheng Qiu of Jingnan. He clearly saw Cheng Shi eat two full bowls of rice as if nothing had happened after the imperial physician left.

During this period of time, he was preparing for his wedding, which was originally scheduled for May. However, due to the death of the Concubine Dowager and the three-month mourning period throughout the country, his wedding date was postponed.

I'm so bored! It's quite lively to have someone pretending to be sick in the mansion. Watching people coming and going, I just don't know what Cheng Shi is up to.

He was just bored when he heard someone report that the eldest princess had arrived.

Cheng Qiu jumped up and quickly straightened his clothes.

He hadn't seen Chu Ruzhi for six days, and he couldn't let her see him in his disheveled state.

Chu Ruzhi walked in with a sad face and said, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences..."

Cheng Qiu was stunned, and then he realized that it must be Chu Ruzhi who heard the news that Cheng Shi was seriously ill and came to express his condolences.

This brat really loves his dad! But this excuse is not very good, as it is suspected of deceiving the emperor.

Oh yes!

Thinking of this, Cheng Qiu suddenly panicked. This kid might have gone too far. Although he tricked Chu Ruzhi here, if the emperor knew about it, it would be a capital crime!

Thinking of this, he no longer had the heart to chat with Chu Ruzhi and hurried to Cheng Shi's yard.

As soon as he entered the door, he reached for the stick and beat Cheng Shi when he found it.

Cheng Shi was beaten so hard that he screamed and groaned, which attracted Chu Ruzhi, and Cheng Qiu finally stopped.

"Rebellious son! How dare you deceive the king? I will beat you to death!"

Although he shouted to beat him to death, Cheng Qiu was still restrained in his actions, hitting him in the most critical parts with each stick.

Even so, Chu Ruzhi was still terrified, "Stop beating him! The child is seriously ill, why are you still beating him..."

Before he could finish his words, Chu Ruzhi was stunned.

Only then did she realize that Cheng Shi was clearly alive and well, how could he be seriously ill?

Cheng Qiu used a self-torture tactic, beating Cheng Shi and asking Chu Ruzhi to help plead for him. It was better than being exposed and beheaded later.

This strategy of his was quite effective. Chu Ruzhi knew very well that if he wanted to live a good life with Cheng Qiu, he had to be nice to Cheng Shi.

"Forget it, forget it. The child is naughty and ignorant. I will go to the palace and apologize to the emperor on his behalf." Chu Ruzhi said and turned away.

Cheng Shi was in so much pain, otherwise he could have stopped Chu Ruzhi.

It’s also Su’er’s fault. She pretended to be sad for a whole day and was so tired that she fell asleep.

When Chu Ruzhi entered the palace, the palace gates were almost locked. Chu Younan had of course returned to Kunning Palace to rest. Seeing her so anxious, Chu Younan thought something big had happened.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Chu Ruzhi knelt down as soon as he came in.

Chu Younan was glared at by her, "What crime has my aunt committed?"

"Auntie is here to apologize on behalf of Cheng Shi," Chu Ruzhi said in a deep voice, "He has been without his mother's supervision since he was young, so he is playful and even deceived His Majesty by pretending to be sick. Please forgive him for your sake."

Chu Younan was even more confused, "Facing illness? Everyone in the Imperial Hospital has seen him, and they all said that there is no cure. Even Prince Zunyi said so. How could he be faking illness?"

Su Bei felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, and his toes almost dug a set of Kunning Palace on the ground.

But Chu Ruzhi said, "I saw the child when I went there today. He was alive and kicking. He definitely didn't look seriously ill."

Chu Younan's face darkened, "Someone! Call Xue Guan to see me!"

He didn't say what the matter was, but he pulled Xue Guan out of his bed in the middle of the night, causing Xue Guan to think that something had happened to the emperor.

When he got there, he felt relieved, but Chu Younan almost glared at him, "Tell me! What is the condition of Prince Jingnan?"

Xue Guan said nothing, but just glanced at Su Bei secretly.

Su Bei turned his head away. If this matter is investigated further, Chu Younan will definitely know that Qin Meizhi faked her death, and all the previous efforts will be wasted. What will happen then?

Chu Younan understood that although Xue Guan was the director of the Imperial Hospital, he had to listen to Su Bei. He didn't even dare to accept the money, so he just worked for Su Bei...

He looked at Su Bei, "What's going on?"

Su Bei continued to pick her Kunning Palace without saying anything.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Chu Younan ordered someone to summon Su Xiujie to the palace immediately.

"Don't... don't spread it! I'll just tell you..." Su Bei looked at him guiltily, "But I can only tell you this in private..."

Let's do it in private. We can't read other people's minds.

Chu Younan arranged for Chu Ruzhi to stay in the palace, and then started a private chat with Su Bei.

"Actually, this is what happened..." Su Bei had just thought of an excuse, "I'm studying medicine recently, so I want some medicinal herbs. When Cheng Shi got sick, many people sent him medicinal herbs..."

Chu Younan looked at her calmly, with two words written in his eyes: "I don't believe it."

Right? Only a fool would believe that. If the queen needs medicinal herbs, she can just open the warehouse and get them.

"It's like this..." Su Bei started to make up another story.

But none of the reasons seemed credible, so she made up five or six reasons in a row.

Chu Younan just looked at her without saying a word.

Making up stories is such a tiring job!

Su Bei simply lay down and said directly: "Forget it, forget it, either don't ask, or if you want to ask, you have to agree to one condition of mine!"

Wow! You actually have the guts to threaten the emperor?

Chu Younan narrowed his eyes, "Then tell me."