Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

A hint of surprise finally appeared on Xie Bi'an's perpetually icy face: "Your Highness, you're not writing books anymore? You've switched...to studying medicine?"

His Highness usually spends his days writing novels and researching food, drink, and entertainment. Why has he suddenly become interested in the dry and obscure field of medicine?

"Just go when I tell you to. Stop with the nonsense." Li Chengze rolled his eyes. "This prince is here to cultivate his character, understand? Go now!"

"Yes." Although Xie Bi'an had doubts in his heart, he still accepted the order and left.

Li Chengze watched Xie Bi'an's departing figure, a playful smile curving his lips.

He certainly wasn't really going to learn medicine from scratch. The system shop was full of miraculous medicines, and even skill cards for god-level medical techniques. But if he were to use them out of thin air to cure Lin Wan'er's tuberculosis, it would be too shocking and easily arouse suspicion.

Collecting medical books is just a pretext. If Wan'er is truly cured, it can be claimed that the remedy was found in a rare ancient book, or that she is exceptionally gifted and self-taught.

……

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing, dressed in a loose white robe, was reviewing memorials with his head down.

"His Majesty."

A spy responsible for monitoring the Second Prince's residence appeared silently before the imperial desk, knelt down and reported, "His Highness the Second Prince went to the Princess's residence today, had lunch, and returned home. Upon returning, His Highness immediately ordered Xie Bi'an to search the entire city for all kinds of medical classics and ancient books."

Emperor Qing paused slightly in his vermilion brush, raised his head, and a hint of surprise flashed in his deep eyes.

"Medical text?"

Emperor Qing put down his pen, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Ever since this lad established his own residence, he's spent his days either hiding in his house writing novels or scheming about food and drink. He even dared to feign illness to skip my morning court sessions. How come he's changed his ways today, giving up writing books and instead becoming a healer?"

The spy, head bowed, continued his report: "According to the scouts, His Highness the Second Prince encountered Miss Lin Wan'er, who had recently returned to the capital, in the garden of the Princess's residence. After learning that Miss Lin was suffering from tuberculosis, His Highness seemed quite concerned and began collecting medical books upon returning home."

"Oh?"

Emperor Qing raised an eyebrow slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound.

He quickly connected these events in his mind: going to see Yunrui—encountering Wan'er by chance—learning about the illness—collecting medical books.

A moment later, Emperor Qing's lips slowly curled up, revealing a meaningful smile.

"I see."

He turned to look at Eunuch Hou, who was standing to the side, and casually asked, "That Lin Wan'er, I remember she's Yun Rui and Lin Ruofu's child. What does she look like?"

Eunuch Hou bowed quickly, his face beaming with smiles, and said, "Your Majesty, this old servant once caught a glimpse of her from afar. Although the Lin family's young lady is a bit frail, she is exquisitely beautiful, with seven or eight parts resemblance to Her Highness the Princess in her features. When she grows up, she will surely be a stunning beauty."

"Like Yun Rui, right..."

The smile in Emperor Qing's eyes deepened, even carrying a hint of mockery. "No wonder."

He shook his head, laughing and scolding, "That brat, when he was only a few years old, dared to say Yun Rui was beautiful in front of me. When I wanted to reward him, he actually said he wanted to stay at Yun Rui's residence for a while. After he established his own residence, he would run to the Princess's residence every few days. Now that he has seen Lin Wan'er, has he fallen for her and wants to become a lovesick fool, learning medicine to save the beauty?"

Eunuch Hou stood by with a forced smile, not daring to reply, but inwardly he was amazed: The Second Prince is quite bold, but His Majesty doesn't seem angry at all.

Emperor Qing was naturally not angry.

On the contrary, he was very happy.

Since Li Chengze established his own government and military headquarters, he has acted as if he has no desires whatsoever.

Although he was given the power to attend court and participate in government affairs, this boy always stood at the very back, a book tucked into his waistband, looking drowsy. He would slip away as soon as court was over, never forming cliques or seeking power. He was like a slippery ball of cotton, leaving the emperor, who wanted to use the second prince as a whetstone to hone the crown prince, feeling quite powerless.

A chess piece without desires or weaknesses is difficult to control.

But now, this piece has a weakness, and it has something it wants.

"It's good that you like beautiful women..."

Emperor Qing picked up his vermilion brush again and drew a heavy circle on the memorial, his eyes gleaming with calculation. "A man who isn't a bit of a playboy in his youth is wasting his life. If he could really be more ambitious for a woman, it would save me a lot of trouble."

"Send my decree to the Imperial Medical Academy," Emperor Qing ordered calmly. "If anyone from the Second Prince's residence comes to borrow medical books, do not stop them. Let them borrow them. I want to see what tricks this kid can pull."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Hou accepted the order, bowed, and withdrew.

Silence returned to the Imperial Study. Emperor Qing looked at the setting sun outside the window and murmured to himself, "Chengze, Chengze, only when you are willing to enter the game can this chess game truly begin."

On this day, Li Chengze was pretending to read a yellowed copy of "Qianjin Fang" (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold), but his mind was already far away, pondering how to secretly feed Lin Wan'er the "Marrow Cleansing Pill" from the system store.

"Your Highness!"

A guard rushed into the study, knelt on one knee, and announced, "Her Highness the Princess has arrived!"

"Auntie's here?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze tossed the medical book in his hand aside as if it were trash, and it landed precisely on the corner of the desk. He sprang up from his chair, straightening his robes as he strode outside.

As soon as they reached the corridor of the front hall, they saw Li Yunrui leading a small figure slowly towards them.

The little girl was wearing a light pink dress, with two cute buns in her hair, and she was clutching a handkerchief tightly in her hand, timidly looking around.

Who else could it be but Lin Wan'er?

Li Chengze's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

"aunt!"

He first bowed respectfully to Li Yunrui, then his gaze fell on Lin Wan'er beside her. A bright smile spread across his face as he waved enthusiastically, "Sister Wan'er, you've come too!"

Lin Wan'er was clearly surprised by her second cousin's enthusiasm. Startled like a frightened rabbit, she instinctively shrank behind Li Yunrui, revealing only her large, watery eyes as she timidly looked at him and whispered, "Second...Second cousin."

Seeing this, Li Yunrui reached out and gently patted Lin Wan'er's head, his eyes full of affection. He turned to Li Chengze and smiled, "This girl was so bored at home. When she heard I was coming to see you, she kept nagging to come along, saying she wanted to play with you."

"real?"

Li Chengze raised an eyebrow, his gaze mocking as he looked at Lin Wan'er, who was hiding behind Li Yunrui.

Lin Wan'er's face instantly turned bright red. She twisted her handkerchief with her fingers, lowered her head, and dared not look at him. She was obviously a little shy because her mother had exposed her little thoughts, but there was a hint of expectation in her eyes that she kept stealing glances at him.

Seeing this, Li Chengze's smile softened even more. He squatted down, his gaze level with Lin Wan'er's, and said gently, "Since little sister Wan'er wants to play, then your cousin will naturally accompany you to the end."

As he spoke, he stood up, looked at Li Yunrui, and suggested, "Aunt, there's not much to do in this mansion. Why don't we go for a stroll in the streets? I heard that a new restaurant called 'Zui Xian Ju' has opened in the west of the city. Their signature dishes, 'Eight Treasure Duck' and 'Crystal Pork Knuckle,' are excellent. They also have a pastry chef specially invited from Jiangnan who makes an exceptional osmanthus cake."

Upon hearing the words "Eight Treasure Duck," "Crystal Pork Knuckle," and "Osmanthus Cake," Lin Wan'er, who had been somewhat shy, instantly brightened up, her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky. She secretly swallowed, looked at Li Yunrui expectantly, and gently tugged at her mother's sleeve with her small hand.

Li Yunrui could easily see through her daughter's thoughts. She glanced down at Lin Wan'er, whose face was full of longing, and then at Li Chengze, who was full of expectation. She smiled helplessly, a hint of indulgence flashing in her eyes.

"All you ever do is eat."

She gently tapped Lin Wan'er's nose, then looked up, nodded to Li Chengze, and said elegantly, "Since Chengze has said so, then let's go. I'm a little tired anyway, so it'll be good to go for a walk."

"Okay!"

Li Chengze cheered and immediately turned around to instruct his servants to prepare the carriage.