The intermittent coughing could be heard from within the carriage, as if soone was trying to suppress it deliberately. Duan Huaijin’s brows furrowed even tighter.
"It’s nothing, Prince, just a slight cough. You need not worry on my behalf," Ye Qiu’s voice, weak beyond the carriage’s curtain, said.
Listening to her strained tone, Duan Huaijin grew sowhat impatient. Then he recalled the words of a subordinate from before: it was said that his fake Princess Consort had been frail since birth, never ceasing to take dicine over the years, and she was even predicted not to live to her coming of age ceremony. Although she had already disproved that prediction, it was still unknown how many days she had left in the future. Maybe she would suddenly pass away one day.
Thinking of this, his discomfort grew. Knowing full well she had poor health, aware that after the completion of their marriage she would have to start the journey to the Northwest, daring to marry him for the sake of glory and riches—was she really that vain?
Duan Huaijin felt extrely annoyed but still ordered the caravan to stop: "Let’s rest for a while. Qi Feng, go and summon the Imperial Physician." Qi Feng was the subordinate who had inquired about Ye Qiu’s situation that day.
Despite the Emperor’s suspicions, Duan Huaijin was after all a Prince, so there was always an Imperial Physician accompanying the entourage.
Hearing this, Ye Qiu suddenly beca anxious: "Prince, there’s no need, I rely have a minor ailnt, it’s not worth troubling the Imperial Physician, nor stopping the journey specially for ."
"Shut up, I am the Prince, what I say goes," Duan Huaijin growled lowly.
Ye Qiu seed frightened, no longer speaking. Duan Huaijin’s eyes intensely scrutinized the carriage curtain, as if trying to discern sothing unseen.
"Prince, Doctor Li has arrived," Qi Feng reported back.
"Have him check on the Princess Consort, her cough sounds severe." Duan Huaijin inford the caravan to rest where they were, but he did not dismount his horse. As the maid lifted the carriage curtain, his piercing gaze t Ye Qiu’s sowhat agitated eyes.
"Prince, I really am fine, there’s no need for such trouble," Ye Qiu said nervously, looking at him.
Duan Huaijin’s decision was firm, leaving no room for refusal, and he commanded sternly: "Doctor Li, examine the Princess Consort thoroughly."
Unable to refuse, Ye Qiu extended her hand, her little face deathly pale.
For so reason, Duan Huaijin found himself growing reluctant to look, so he turned his head away—hah, just a vain woman, he wouldn’t soften his heart for her.
"This..." Doctor Li took his ti to feel her pulse in silence, then deeply furrowed his brow.
Ye Qiu quickly withdrew her hand, smiling anxiously: "Doctor Li, I, the Princess Consort, am not seriously ill, am I? The Prince is overly concerned. I have always been attended to by Doctor Liu Xu, and there has never been an issue."
Doctor Li received Ye Qiu’s pleading gaze and then tactfully replied: "Reporting to the Prince, the Princess Consort indeed has no serious issue, it’s just that her convalescence from a cold has been disrupted by the journey, causing so discomfort. This humble physician will prescribe so dicine, and she should be fine."
Relieved at this, Ye Qiu let out a heavy sigh. Duan Huaijin narrowed his eyes, his understanding clear.
After Doctor Li left to prepare the dicine, Duan Huaijin also moved to the front of the caravan, and the wet nurse along with two maids seed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Princess Consort, fortunately that physician is a good man; otherwise, shall we send him so silver as thanks?"
"Hmm," Ye Qiu replied absentmindedly, the corner of her mouth twitching involuntarily. Duan Huaijin’s Imperial Physician, why would he help her keep her secret? Was he really just kind? She suspected it was just to hoodwink her; by now, Prince Li must be inquiring about her condition!
Ye Qiu guessed correctly. As soon as Duan Huaijin had left, Doctor Li imdiately reported Ye Qiu’s health condition truthfully.
"Prince, the Princess Consort’s health is indeed not very good."
"What’s so bad about it?" Duan Huaijin asked in a deep voice.
"If I have diagnosed her pulse correctly without any mistake, the Princess Consort has an illness that she has carried since being in the womb. All her internal organs have problems. That she has managed to live until now is truly a miracle," Doctor Li sighed, having encountered such a complicated illness for the first ti.
"Is it that serious?" Duan Huaijin gripped his riding crop tightly.
"The Princess Consort’s condition is only heavier than what I have described. To put it this way, every breath she takes now, she has to endure excruciating pain. Think about how many breaths an ordinary person takes every two hours, it’s hard to imagine how she has borne it. I’m afraid she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep from childhood to this day," Doctor Li said with a profound sigh of regret, genuinely admiring her, "Ordinary n cannot endure such tornt, let alone the Princess Consort, who is a lady. Prince, may I henceforth attend to the Princess Consort and check her pulse daily?"
"Granted."
Duan Huaijin hadn’t expected his faux Princess Consort to be so seriously ill, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit disturbed. He then asked, "With her current condition, can she manage to travel?"
"I’m afraid it’s difficult," Doctor Li shook his head and said, "The Princess Consort’s body is already in ruins. Now, even a minor accident could be fatal to her."
This was all what she had brought upon herself. He was not going to delay his ti for an impostor. Duan Huaijin made up his mind that as soon as Doctor Li had finished preparing the dicine, he would have the caravan continue on imdiately.
And so, they traveled intermittently for five days and finally reached the border of the Northwest, but it was still a three-day journey to Duan Huaijin’s fiefdom. However, once here, they were already in his territory, and even the Holy Emperor could no longer interfere.
Throughout the journey, Ye Qiu was enduring the pain, coughing continuously every day, which deeply alard the surrounding guards, fearing for the life of their new Princess Consort.
"Princess Consort, look, isn’t that the Little Red Bird we saw back then?" Shao Yao said excitedly.
"It’s coming down, it’s flying down," Furong tried to suppress her excitent and spoke softly, afraid of scaring it away.
"It really is." Ye Qiu lifted her hand, and Little Jin landed on the back of her hand, affectionately rubbing against her fingers.
"It’s truly fated. I thought after the eldest... no, the second young miss took it away, it would be gone forever!" The wet nurse looked at how close the Little Red Bird was to Ye Qiu, feeling very happy for her.
Ye Qiu’s brows curved, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards, her whole deanor softened considerably, dispelling so of the gloominess due to her illness.
Duan Huaijin watched her from afar, his heart fluttered, so the version of her not coughing was actually this moving!
Pah! What was he thinking? How could he be moved by an impostor who was both sickly and imnsely vain?
Hmph, to be so delighted over a wild bird, she really hadn’t seen much of the World.
"Accelerate the pace." Duan Huaijin, disliking the smile on Ye Qiu’s face, imdiately commanded the troops to march on after having briefly stopped for a rest.
Seeing the worry between Ye Qiu’s brows, Duan Huaijin felt a bit of schadenfreude, but after his mont of satisfaction, he began to feel a bit of pity.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him lately, why he kept paying attention to an impostor?
This couldn’t go on, he had important things to do, he must not lose focus. From now on, it would be best to stay away from her!
That’s what Duan Huaijin told himself. In the following three days, he indeed did not engage with Ye Qiu at all. Even after arriving back in his estate, he rely had the servants take her to her courtyard without asking another question.
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