She refused to marry.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

The night before her wedding, Su Wanwan was very nervous and her heart was pounding with anxiety.

For some reason, there was always a hint of unease mixed in with the joy.

Yet, I didn't know where this unease came from, until everything was settled and there were no more problems.

She fell asleep as soon as she entered Jinxiu Hall.

In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt the bed start to shake.

But I was so sleepy that I couldn't open my eyes.

And so I drifted off to sleep in a daze.

The next day, a blinding light pierced her eyes, and she quickly opened her eyes and sat up. "Chunhua, what time is it?"

But the place before me was not Jinxiu Hall.

Looking around, she saw a person sitting on a table and chair filled with the scent of books—a person who brought tears to her eyes. That person was putting down the herbal medicine in their hand and looking at her tenderly.

"You're awake?" Ying Zheng slowly got up from the chair.

Su Wanwan's mind went blank for a moment.

It's not that the wedding is going to be delayed.

It was Ying Zheng. Why had he become so thin? His lips were no longer bright red; they had turned deathly pale, and his cheeks had lost all color. He looked as white as a sheet of paper.

He looked just like Feng Chenjun when he was in prison.

"What's wrong with you?" Su Wanwan lifted the covers, trying to get out of bed, but her head was spinning, and she collapsed onto the bed, feeling weak all over.

Ying Zheng approached and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sleep a little longer. The effects of the sleeping potion haven't worn off yet."

"Why have you become like this?" A pang of pain flashed through Su Wanwan's heart.

He is sick.

"She got a little hurt." Ying Zheng covered her with a blanket.

"Who hurt you?" Su Wanwan regretted asking as soon as the question left her mouth. There was probably no one else but Feng Chenjun.

"It's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore." Ying Zheng sat down and touched her face. "Seeing you safe and sound puts my mind at ease. Are you hungry? I made dumplings, would you like to try some?"

Su Wanwan pondered who had done this to him.

He's the male lead.

"Why has the Crown Prince returned?" If Ying Zheng has returned, does it mean that the Emperor is no longer safe?

"For you, I want to see you one last time before I leave, so that even after I'm gone, I won't regret it." Ying Zheng picked up the dumplings beside him and gently blew on them.

Su Wanwan smelled the aroma and thought to herself, "This male lead is really stupid."

But I was indeed hungry.

They slowly sat up, one feeding the other dumplings, and the other eating them.

Su Wanwan noticed something was amiss; Ying Zheng's movements were clearly becoming more labored.

There was still some herbal medicine on the table; it must have been his.

"Go and drink your medicine first," Su Wanwan said, pointing to the herbal soup on the table.

"It doesn't matter, it's useless anyway." Ying Zheng continued blowing on the dumplings.

Only after Su Wanwan finished eating the dumplings did he slowly get up, walk to the table, and cough lightly twice.

Then he slowly sat down and drank the medicine spoonful by spoonful.

"Has Prince Changxin arrived?" Su Wanwan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her trembling hands as she held the spoon, feeling a strange pain in her heart.

"On this trip, only the Eleven Guards and Yuan Zijin are with us." Ying Zheng wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

Su Wanwan felt slightly relieved, lay down, and covered herself with the blanket.

Today is the wedding day, and the bride is nowhere to be seen at the Su family home. The mother must be very worried.

The emperor will search the entire capital. If the two of them were to fight, Ying Zheng would suffer a crushing defeat.

"Your Highness, we should leave as soon as possible; it's not safe here."

Ying Zheng walked to the bedside, his eyes filled with joy. "It's alright. I want to stay with you a few more days. I'll be leaving now."

"His Majesty will search the entire capital. I don't want any of you to get hurt," Su Wanwan said, looking at him.

Ying Zheng seemed very weak to her, and she felt that something was off about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It was as if all the energy and spirit of the person had been drained away.

She wanted to ask more questions, but was afraid of causing Yingzheng to misunderstand.

The best course of action is to escape. If the Emperor finds out that it was the Crown Prince who took her away, he will certainly not let the Crown Prince off the hook.

She lay in the room for a while, and the elegant atmosphere inside relaxed her tense nerves a bit.

I had only dozed off for a short while when I heard Ying Zheng cough violently several times, and in between, I heard him almost fall down, barely grab onto something, and get up.

Su Wanwan really couldn't sleep now.

She forced herself to sit up and turned to look at Ying Zheng, who was sitting in a chair, panting.

"What happened? Why are you so weak? Have you summoned a divine physician?" Su Wanwan stood up and walked to his side. "I'm not leaving. Give me the antidote."

"You're getting married, and I kidnapped you. Aren't you angry?" Ying Zheng glanced at her, forced a smile, and took out a medicine bottle from his pocket.

Su Wanwan took it, smelled it, and suddenly became fully awake.

He put the medicine aside. "Of course I'm angry, but you're already here. What's the use of being angry? You're so sick. Go over there and lie down."

"The osmanthus flowers outside the window have started to bloom; come sit with me outside for a while."

Su Wanwan got up and looked out the window. The osmanthus flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom, and Yuan Zijin was standing at the door.

There were two or three people scattered on the roof.

"I'll help you across."

The two left the house. Yuan Zijin saw the commotion, nervously ran over, arranged the recliner, and then silently retreated.

"Wanwan, may I brew some tea?" Ying Zheng lay down.

Su Wanwan sat on the stone table and added charcoal to the fire.

The courtyard fell silent.

Only the occasional flickering of the embers remained.

As she brewed tea, she observed Ying Zheng, who seemed to be asleep.

Looking around again, with Yuan Zijing and the guards there, she knew she couldn't leave.

If the emperor finds them, they won't be able to leave.

The tea is ready.

I poured a glass and wanted to give it to Ying Zheng, but he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

There was no movement or rise and fall in her abdomen.

Turning to look at Yuan Zijing, who kept glancing at Ying Zheng before wiping away her tears.

She couldn't understand it at all. Suddenly, her gaze swept over the side room, where a corner was visible, and there seemed to be a coffin inside.

She seemed to realize something.

"Lu Huai'an?!" She leaned closer and gave him a push.

Ying Zheng's body was ice cold.

"The Crown Prince?"

Ying Zheng remained silent. Su Wanwan rushed to Yuan Zijin, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Yuan Zijin burst into sobs, "Young Master, Young Master is probably not going to make it."

Su Wanwan took two steps back in fright. "How could this happen? He was perfectly fine when I left."

"Young Master took that arrow for you. It was that arrow, coated with poison. The Prince searched for countless doctors, but to no avail. It's already...it's already..." Yuan Zijing choked up, unable to speak.

Su Wanwan ran back into the courtyard, grabbing Ying Zheng's hand, "Lu Huai'an, wake up, look at me, it's me, it's Wanwan, I'll take you to see a doctor, wake up..."

In the courtyard, Su Wanwan cried and shouted.

What did she do? Why did such a good person leave right in front of her?

"Yuan Zijing, come quickly, let's go beg the Emperor, he must have a way." Su Wanwan wiped away the tears blurring her vision. "Yuan Zijing, come here..."

She almost begged.