What a terrible thing!
Shen Cong suddenly looked up, his gaze slightly cold.
"You've taken a liking to Xie Xuanxiao?"
Li Nanke blinked her big, round eyes and nodded shyly.
"Xie Xuanxiao is the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo. In terms of family background, he is a good match for my family. Moreover, my mother and the Duchess of Zhenguo get along very well."
If I marry into that family, there won't be any mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts in the future, right, Ninth Brother?
Shen Cong's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
"Xie Xuanxiao is no good!"
Li Nanke pretended not to understand his expression.
She didn't have the courage to ask Shen Cong directly about his feelings, so she had to try to probe indirectly.
She feigned ignorance, "Why not Xie Xuanxiao?"
“The Xie family is a prestigious family with many rules. You have never been able to stand being restrained. If you marry into the family, you will definitely feel restricted.”
"But the Xie family is a family of generals. The Duke of Zhenguo and his wife both went to the battlefield. They are straightforward and easy to get along with."
Shen Cong frowned.
"Xie Xuanxiao is too rigid in his work and stubborn in his nature. He is not the best choice for a husband."
"But I think he's handsome and dashing, and I'm sure I'll be happy if I marry him."
"Happiness isn't about how good-looking a man is, but about whether he cares about you!"
"Feelings can be cultivated. Even if he doesn't care about me now, I believe he will like me someday!"
Li Nanke rested his chin on his hands, making a solemn vow.
Shen Cong's breath hitched, his eyes narrowed, and he suddenly stared intently at Li Nanke.
"So you insisted on going to Ruzhou this time, is it to see Xie Xuanxiao? And then cultivate a relationship with him?"
Li Nanke blinked, a look on his face saying, "You've caught me."
He denied it verbally, saying, "Oh, it's not entirely because of that."
Shen Cong's face was ashen, and his words were tinged with resentment.
"Li Nanke! Aren't you bothered that he used to like Xue Shu? Don't you mind at all?"
Li Nanke shrugged.
"That's all in the past. Everyone has a past. As long as he only loves me from now on, that's enough."
"How can you guarantee that he will only like you in the future? Xie Xuanxiao is so young and he can provoke Xue Shu. He will definitely be a playboy with three wives and four concubines in the future."
Inside the carriage, Li Nanke pouted dejectedly.
"Then Ninth Brother, help me choose one. Who do you think I can marry to be happy? Who can I marry to guarantee that the other person won't have multiple wives and concubines in the future?"
"I......"
Shen Cong's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.
At that moment, he clearly realized that he did not want Li Nanke to marry any man!
The thought that this little girl who had been with him for seven years might one day be someone else's wife, bear children for someone else, and live a loving marriage with him drove him to the brink of madness with jealousy.
But what right does he have to be jealous?
He's afflicted with a blood curse, and if it can't be broken, he might not even live to be twenty. What right does he have to give her happiness?
A deep, unbearable despair washed over me, and the taste of blood churned in my throat.
He gritted his teeth, swallowed the taste of blood, and then slowly squeezed out a sentence through his teeth.
"If you're in a hurry to get married because you're worried about marrying Shen Xu, there's no need to worry. I'll handle this."
Li Nanke bit her lip.
“If it weren’t for Shen Xu, I would be of marriageable age soon and have to get married eventually.”
Shen Cong clenched the handkerchief that was crumpled in his palm. "Marriage is a major life event. Take your time to choose and select. Don't rush it."
Li Nanke stared at him without moving for a moment.
Her eyes were big and round, so bright that Chen Cong couldn't look directly at them and awkwardly looked away.
A smile flashed across Li Nanke's eyes as she realized that Shen Cong was not entirely indifferent to her.
"Ninth Brother is right."
Shen Cong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second she heard her say, "This trip to Ruzhou is a good opportunity to get to know Xie Xuanxiao better, maybe you'll develop feelings for him."
Shen Cong...
very good!
Xie Xuanxiao will never see her in Ruzhou!
Xie Xuanxiao, who had just arrived in Ruzhou, suddenly felt a chill down his spine and sneezed a series of times.
Who exactly is talking badly about him behind his back?
Meanwhile, at the Luoyang Imperial Palace.
The emperor awoke from his slumber, struggled to sit up, and tried to take the teacup from Ding Wang's hand.
Unexpectedly, his hands trembled so badly that he couldn't hold the teacup at all.
Clang.
The teacup slipped and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Ding Wang immediately bowed and begged for forgiveness, "It was this servant's fault for not carrying it properly, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
The emperor leaned back on the soft pillows, panting heavily.
"Never mind, I know, it's because my hands are weak."
He struggled to raise his hand to his eyes.
In just one month, his hands were reduced to a thin layer of skin covering the bones, with the veins protruding beneath the skin, looking particularly ferocious.
The emperor took a heavy breath and asked intermittently, "Ding Wang, don't you think I'm much weaker this time than before?"
Ding Wang trembled with fright and lowered his eyes, saying, "Commander Qin sent a message back saying that they have already ordered the antidote to be prepared."
"As soon as Consort Chen's child is born, send it over immediately; the antidote will definitely be prepared within five days."
"Hasn't it time for Consort Chen's wedding yet?"
"No, the imperial physician just took my pulse this morning and said it's estimated that it will take more than half a month before it starts."
"Half a month?" The emperor's breathing became even heavier, sounding like a broken bellows.
"I...I'm afraid I can't wait another half a month. I need to find a way to get Consort Chen to give birth as soon as possible, within the next two days."
Ding Wang hesitated, "But the time hasn't come yet... If we start labor early, what if the baby..."
The emperor's eyes widened in excitement, and his voice became shrill.
"But I can't wait any longer. Immediately... administer labor-inducing drugs to Consort Chen, and make sure the child is born smoothly, right now!"
He was panting heavily, his eyes bulging out of their deep-set sockets, like a toad eager to climb ashore.
Ding Wang was so frightened that he immediately lowered his eyes and dared not meet his gaze.
"Yes, this servant will go and make the arrangements immediately."
After leaving the main hall, Ding Wang returned to his room and took out a medicine packet from his bedside table. Inside were four medicine packets.
Three of them were empty, and one contained medicine.
After pouring out the medicine, Ding Wang gently stroked the empty medicine bag and sighed.
"What a terrible thing!"
He then carefully put away the box and went to the imperial kitchen.
The imperial kitchen had a special stove for stewing tonics for Consort Chen. Under the pretext of checking the emperor's dinner, he secretly added labor-inducing drugs to the tonics.
As expected, Chen Meiren started her journey into labor that evening, and blood appeared first.
The midwife and the imperial physician went in, only to find that the time had not yet come, and the baby in Consort Chen's belly was breech, with one leg coming out first.
The midwife turned pale with fright and immediately ordered the imperial physician to administer acupuncture and medicine.
After a whole night of struggling, Chen Mei finally gave birth to the child.
Ding Wang's smile had just begun to curve when he heard the midwife let out a scream.
"Oh my god, the little prince... he..."
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