Your Highness, your wife has had her virginity mark applied and married someone else.

Lu Yanzhi's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean?"

"It seems both illusory and real, weak yet strong; clearly a deathly vein, yet teeming with life. How strange, how strange..."

The doctor felt that his medical skills had reached a bottleneck. "We need to find out the specifics before we can know. For now, I'll just rest and recuperate."

Even the most skilled physicians, skilled in observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, dare not presume to be arrogant.

He left the prescription and the ointment and then left.

As the servant went to prepare the medicine, Lu Yanzhi looked at the hideous bluish-purple marks on Shen Mingshu's pale face, his hand holding the ointment clenched tightly and trembled slightly.

What nightmares has she been going through these past few days, and how did she end up in such a sorry state?

Lu Yanzhi's gentle eyes were filled with tenderness as he gently applied the ointment, each stroke filled with care.

"Father... Mother..."

Shen Mingshu was caught in another nightmare, her delicate brows furrowed and fine beads of cold sweat appearing on her forehead.

Lu Yanzhi paused, then quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat. "A-Shu, don't be afraid, I'm here, don't be afraid—"

A clear and gentle voice flowed into Shen Mingshu's heart like a spring.

The surging waves seemed to be soothed in an instant, tears welled up in my nose, and I choked back sobs in my throat.

"I miss you all—I'm so tired, so tired, it hurts so much—"

Shen Mingshu grumbled aggrievedly, like a cub in Lu Yanzhi's hand, clinging to his hand and anxiously expressing her sadness.

"Don't go—I'm afraid, don't keep me here—"

"Ah Shu, I'm here, I've always been here."

Lu Yanzhi gently wiped away the tears from Shen Mingshu's eyes, his knuckles slowly caressing her cold, trembling hand, his breathing light and slow, his voice as soft as if bathed in moonlight.

"Ah Shu, this time, I will definitely protect you well. Even if I can't get close, I will never let you suffer like this again."

……

the next day.

When Shen Mingshu woke up, her mind was still foggy.

The servant brought over the medicine, but Shen Mingshu was still somewhat confused.

"What kind of medicine is this?"

The servant explained, "Your Excellency, you had a fever last night. This is antipyretic medicine prescribed by the doctor. You should be fine after taking one course of treatment."

"fever?"

Since her health deteriorated, Shen Mingshu has rarely had the energy to have a high fever.

With her constitution, it's very difficult for her to recover from a fever.

But I was able to wake up the next day, which I suppose was due to the extraordinary medical skills of the doctor in charge.

Shen Mingshu drank the medicine and prepared to get up.

The servant hurriedly stopped him: "Your Excellency, the doctor here wants you to rest well and not be as busy as you were yesterday."

Shen Mingshu: It's nothing. I still have some accounts to review from yesterday. I'll finish reviewing them this afternoon, and then I need to go home.

"You can rest at home."

The thought of going home touched Shen Mingshu's heart, and she inexplicably felt a surge of strength.

Seeing that she was determined to do so, the servant dared not delay her any longer and could only go and "complain".

When Lu Yanzhi heard Shen Mingshu say she wanted to go home, his heart stirred slightly—he would then help her get home.

……

No outsiders are allowed to enter Qingyun Academy.

Green Ivy waited in the outer hall all day and finally Shen Mingshu arrived, but she still couldn't quite accept Shen Mingshu's official status.

On the carriage.

She gently reminded her, "Young lady, a woman serving as an official is tantamount to deceiving the emperor, and the madam may not be able to accept your choice."

This was a dangerous road, as Shen Mingshu had always known.

However, this matter involves the Lu family, and although Shen Mingshu trusts Lu Yanzhi, she also considered another aspect.

The Lu family is backed by the Emperor, who has given the Lu family his shadow guards. Over the years, the Lu family has been honest and dutiful, focusing on making sharp weapons for the Emperor's use.

But now, the Lu family has a sensitive shadow guard, and the emperor is not only not angry, but also personally bestows a marriage alliance between the Lu and Wei families.

Clearly, the emperor was quite satisfied with the balance between his civil and military affairs.

At this point, the only option is to play it safe.

Using the Lu family to safeguard the family is the safest approach.

Although the marriage was the Lu family's wish, Lu Youyou was, after all, their only daughter. To show the Emperor's favor, he would feel that the Lu family was "wronged" in this way.

To give the emperor a way out, the Lu family dutifully made another mistake to dispel their grievances.

Only in this way can it be perfect.

The mistake cannot be too big or too provocative, nor too small or insincere; in this way, she will surely be useful.

Within the academy, as long as she doesn't commit any major offense, the emperor will likely turn a blind eye to Lu Yanzhi's actions by abusing her power.

As long as Shen Mingshu's identity is not exposed, the Lu family is safe.

Wei Ziye's act of releasing her from the Wei residence was already a violation of the imperial decree. Even if it was for the sake of the Wei residence, he would never allow Shen Mingshu's identity to be exposed outside the Wei residence.

If he's like this, what does Zhang Yu have to worry about?

Shen Mingshu's actions implicated both the Lu and Wei families, while the Zhang family reaped the benefits.

What could Zhang Yu possibly be dissatisfied with?

Shen Mingshu wasn't worried about Zhang Yu, but only about Wei Ziye's obstruction of the family reunion.

After all, if she really became Zhang Yu's adopted daughter or adopted son, then Wei Ziye would have to hold his nose and obediently call her his younger brother or younger sister.

Wei Ziye would never tolerate such disgusting behavior.

He wanted nothing more than to kill her, so how could he let her have this life-saving charm?

"Whoa!"

The horse suddenly neighed, the carriage shook violently, and then the right wheel suddenly sank an inch. Shen Mingshu and Luoluo were caught off guard and the carriage overturned to the right!

"what!"

Shen Mingshu's gaze followed the car's rotation, and she screamed as she hugged Green Ivy.

Fortunately, the rollover was relatively mild, and neither of them was seriously injured.

The guards rushed to the rescue of the two. Green Ivy helped Shen Mingshu up and questioned, "How did you manage to get into that carriage?!"

The coachman pointed shakily at the wheel: "Please forgive me, young lady. The horse was startled and cracked the old wheel. I'll go buy a new one right away. Please wait here for a moment."

"Hurry up and go!" Green Ivy said with a commanding presence; her fifteen-year-old voice already carried a hint of authority.

Shen Mingshu patted the dust off her clothes and walked to the car wheel, puzzled.

"Don't the Zhang family maintain their carriages? How come they're still in use after getting so old?"

Green Ivy was also new to the Zhang family and didn't know much about what was going on at the stables.

She examined the wheel rim, her brow furrowing slightly. "Young lady, it is indeed a crack. It was probably caused by the carelessness of the servants at the Zhang family's stable. I will sell them off when we get back."

Negligence in selling goods is understandable, but what if someone does it intentionally?

Shen Mingshu didn't believe it was such a coincidence. She was fine when she came to the academy, but the crack appeared when she returned to the Zhang family.

Looking in the direction the coachman had gone, Shen Mingshu asked anxiously, "How far are we from the Zhang family?"

Green Ivy hesitated, "We just left the academy not long ago. If we walk, we probably won't be able to get back to the manor before dark."

"..."

The officials came and cleared the road, but Shen Mingshu still hadn't seen the coachman return.

There wasn't even a single passing carriage.

Green Ivy also sensed something was wrong and sent a guard to urge him to return, but the guard who went also did not return.

Seeing that Green Ivy still wanted to send the guards to look for them, Shen Mingshu quickly stopped her: "Don't go. They probably won't be coming back. Rather than waiting here, we should go as far away as possible."

It would take several hours to travel that Shen Mingshu was ill, so it was impossible for her to complete the journey in one go.

Fortunately, there are three days off.

Since we can't finish exploring today, we'll stay at an inn.

Some people told her she couldn't go back, but she insisted on walking back step by step!

At that moment, Green Ivy's eyes lit up.

"Young lady, it's a carriage!"