The mistress who remarried has returned.

The female physician said, "I didn't hear the concubine asking to return to the general's side. I only heard her begging the general to send a doctor to the crown prince."

Liu Shun's heart skipped a beat. "Huh?...You're getting angry over this?"

The female doctor said, "I don't know why the general is angry. Perhaps there are some troubles at court."

Su Yunxi returned to the side courtyard of the Su family mansion, where her mother had prepared a meal to be sent to the Crown Prince.

"Xixi, the meal is ready. Quickly take it to the Crown Prince." Madam Su pointed to the lunchbox on the table. Seeing that her daughter's hands were empty, she said, "Remember to bring another lunchbox when you came back from the East Palace today. Otherwise, you won't have a lunchbox to carry food to the East Palace tomorrow."

"Okay." Su Yunxi went to the table and opened the lunchbox. Inside were steamed buns made of white flour mixed with wild vegetables. "Is there no more white flour?"

Su's mother nodded. "There wasn't enough leftover flour to make steamed buns, so I mixed in some wild vegetables and added a little salt. It's not so bitter or fishy now."

Su Yunxi asked, "Have you and your brother eaten?"

"You've eaten, don't worry. Hurry up and have a couple of bites before heading to the East Palace. The Crown Prince has been kind to the three of us, so we should be grateful now."

Su Yunxi heard her younger brother's stomach rumble and guessed that there wasn't enough flour. They had only made four steamed buns, three of which were given to the Crown Prince and one to Su Yunxi. Her mother and brother were struggling to make ends meet.

Su Yunxi took her steamed bun, broke it in half, and gave it to her mother and younger brother. "I've already eaten. I had some porridge at the General's Mansion. You two have something to tide you over. My father is coming back from out of town later tonight, and I'm going to go ask him for some money."

Mother Su knew that her daughter was asking the eldest son of the General's Mansion to help the Crown Prince. The eldest son had been very good to Xixi in the past, but they had become estranged and cut off all contact after that incident four years ago. She was afraid that the two meals she ate at the General's Mansion would be hard to swallow. "Mother is not hungry. You can save them for lunch, Xixi."

Su Yunxi ultimately did not accept it.

Mother Su understood that this daughter always cared deeply for her mother and brothers, and was the most responsible girl in the world; once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it. So she gently instructed her...

"Xixi, why don't you find somewhere to leave? Don't worry about what my brother and I are going through. Your father is guilty, but your brother and I won't starve. When your brother grows up and can work, your mother will go out with him. Your mother knows how to weave and make clothes, and your brother will be stronger when he's older. He can find something to do, and we'll always find a way to survive."

Su Yunxi patted her younger brother Su Yunze's head. "Yunze needs to study. If he grows up and does manual labor, his life will be wasted."

With a helpless smile, she said, "Besides, even if Mother starts the business again, how much will be taken away by that side? Yunze still has to take the exams and get into the fourth rank or higher."

"What fourth-rank or third-rank?" Su Yunze stood up. "Sister, I don't want to study anymore. Don't go over there to ask for tuition and living expenses. Just take care of yourself and leave. You don't need to worry about anything here anymore. I'm eleven years old this year, I'm already an adult."

Su Yunxi examined her younger brother's handwriting. It was vigorous and powerful, truly outstanding. Just by looking at his handwriting, one could tell that he was a young man of integrity. After all, he had been influenced by Qin Huai for the past few years, and now by the Crown Prince. He had been in contact with the most outstanding people. Qin Huai had once praised her younger brother, saying that he would have a bright future. He said seriously, "If you really care about your older sister, then study hard. Otherwise, all the beatings I've endured will have been for nothing."

As she spoke, she pulled up a section of her sleeve, revealing crisscrossing scars, and showed them to her younger brother. His idea of ​​dropping out of school visibly weakened.

Su Yunxi said softly, "Brother, write."

Yunze finally sat down, picked up half a wild vegetable bun, and began to write as he ate. The slap on his sister's face and the wound on her arm choked him. He clearly understood that without passing the imperial examinations and obtaining some official position, he would have no power to protect his sister.

Why does a person grow up so slowly? When will he be able to grow taller than his father?

Su Yunxi didn't say much to her mother and younger brother before rushing off to the East Palace.

Before they even reached the Crown Prince's sickbed, they heard two guards discussing something in the courtyard, so they listened intently.

"The Crown Prince has been motionless for most of the day. Is he dead?"

"Even if he doesn't die, he'll only be breathing. We'd better hurry and send word to the palace!"

"Once this news of the death is announced, Empress Xiao in the Cold Palace will likely also die suddenly. That would mean two deaths, and the mother and son would both be dead."

Upon hearing this...

Su Yunxi lost her grip on the food box, and it fell to the ground with a thud, scattering three wild vegetable buns all over the floor.

She rushed into the room, her face pale, only to find the prince lying there quietly with his eyes closed, neither coughing nor groaning in pain. His peaceful appearance was as if he had passed away.

"Your Highness." Su Yunxi knelt down beside the bed and gently pushed her husband's shoulder, "Your Highness, wake up."

But no matter how she called out, the Crown Prince did not respond to her, nor did he speak to her gently as he had in previous years, advising her to love herself more.

She remembered the four years after her break with Qin Huai. Thanks to the Crown Prince, she was spared from falling into the hands of the Su family. Her younger brother was able to study, and her mother had the upper hand. She lived a comfortable life. Now, she really couldn't bear to see the Crown Prince looking like he was about to die.

Suddenly, I remembered that when I went to the Yan residence a few days ago to ask for help from the Crown Prince's uncle, Lord Yan was out and not at home. I suppose Lord Yan should be back in a few days.

Su Yunxi knocked on the door of the Crown Prince's maternal uncle, Yan's residence. "Lord Yan, I beg you to spare some time to see me. Lord Yan..."

Before long, Lord Yan came out.

Su Yunxi suddenly knelt on the ground, holding up the cloth used to wipe away the Crown Prince's vomit blood with both hands, and said in a trembling voice, "The Crown Prince... he's probably about to breathe his last."

When Lord Yan saw his nephew vomiting blood and staining the cloth red, he was moved. After all, the son of his own sister was in the Eastern Palace.

After some thought, Lord Yan shook his head. "I have dozens of family members and many relatives by marriage. If I risk my life to deliver the medicine, the Emperor will surely be displeased. If the Crown Prince truly respects me as his uncle, he shouldn't have sent you on this trip. Why harm his own uncle?! He has committed the crime of regicide."

After saying that, Lord Yan ordered someone to close the courtyard gate.

The heavy wooden door slowly closed, and Lord Yan's figure gradually disappeared, shattering Su Yunxi's hopes once again.

Su Yunxi quickly crawled on her knees and knocked on the wooden door. "Lord Yan, you have suffered from chronic stomach problems for many years. Considering that the Crown Prince has been bringing you the best medicines from the palace all year round, please reconsider, Lord Yan. He is your nephew. Do you remember that time when the Crown Prince braved the rain to deliver stomach medicine to you, he fell off his horse and broke his arm?"

The room inside was deathly silent.

Su Yunxi knocked on the door until she was tired and her voice was hoarse before she finally gave up.

Human nature is cold and indifferent, family ties are weak, and when disaster strikes, everyone flies away. This is what happens.

She walked dejectedly in the wind and snow, the faintly breathing Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, her hungry mother and younger brother at home—scenes kept intertwining in her mind.

In the bustling city, they saw Qin Huai and Xue Wenying passing by. The woman smiled sweetly and looked up at Qin Huai, talking to him. It seemed that Xue Wenying needed Qin Huai's help again. She looked serene and content.

Su Yunxi quickly chose another route to avoid appearing before Xue Wenying like a rat crossing the street, lest she be mistaken for a servant again. Once was enough.

The usually strong-willed Su Yunxi finally shed tears.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. She didn't know how long she had walked or where she had ended up. She sat on the stone steps by the roadside, hugging her knees, and sobbing silently.

She let the heavy snow fall on her head and body.

Her tears fell one by one onto the snow, melting it into tiny caves.

How can life be so difficult?

Suddenly, the snow stopped.

The cold and piercing pain from the wind and snow on my face disappeared.

Su Yunxi raised her tear-filled eyes and saw a person standing in front of her, holding an umbrella to shield her from the wind and snow. She couldn't see clearly because of the hazy image. She blinked, and tears fell down before she could see the person in front of her.

Wasn't he accompanying Xue Wenying to the market in the bustling city? How did he find her?

"Qin Huai." Su Yunxi's voice was hoarse as she called out the man's name.

"Have you thought it through?" Qin Huai stared down at her.

The dignity that Su Yunxi had tried so hard to maintain in front of Qin Huai yesterday was shattered by reality. She was unwilling to be humiliated by Qin Huai and, in a fit of pique, refused to sell herself to get medicine.

What use is such a tough backbone when faced with the Crown Prince's life or death?

"Qin Huai, please help me..."