Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 185 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (89)

However, Lu Liruan went back alone first. After all, she couldn't just take the Third Prince back without saying anything and scare her father, who was already trembling with fear because of what had happened not long ago.

Marquis He'an was slow to realize the seriousness of the situation. He had cooperated fully with his daughter's anxious demeanor that day, but when the Dali Temple led people into the courtyard to search, he finally understood the gravity of the problem.

After her daughter entered the palace, there was no news of her for a period of time.

Marquis He'an dared not inquire about information casually, for fear that his every move would have an impact.

After a period of turmoil in the palace, news soon came that the crown prince had been deposed.

Although he was deposed, the Third Prince did not fall out of favor; it was the Second Prince who did. The change happened in an instant, causing shock throughout the court and the country.

The eldest prince then returned to the palace.

The Empress returned shortly afterward.

This has disrupted the balance that has lasted for so many years, making it impossible for anyone to know what the Emperor is thinking.

Madam Gao rarely even invited people to play cards anymore, using the time she saved to pray to the gods and Buddhas, hoping that Lu Liruan would be safe and sound amidst the turmoil.

“I never see you bowing normally, what’s with this behavior now?” Marquis He’an paced behind Madam Gao.

"Haven't you heard of 'clutching at the last minute'?" Madam Gao turned and glared at him. "You have time to chatter, why don't you come and pray too!"

Marquis He'an opened his mouth, not knowing how to refute Madam Gao, and finally came over in a deflated manner. The two of them began to chant and pray to Buddha together.

I thought I would have to live in fear for a long time to come, but then one piece of good news after another came!

Not only did the emperor reward the third prince, but he also allowed the third prince to leave the palace and establish his own residence!

Since Lu Liruan married into the palace, Marquis He'an and his wife never expected any great fortune, since Ji Shumin's physical condition made it impossible for him to inherit the throne. They only hoped to protect themselves.

Leaving the palace is wonderful! Does that mean my daughter can live outside the palace from now on, and we can see each other more often?

Recently, the sisters Lu Wanyun and Lu Wanqing have started to discuss marriage. The Marquis of He'an and his wife have no other requirements, only that the families be of equal social standing in the capital. It doesn't matter if the families are of lower social standing, as long as their daughters can visit their parents' home often.

Although the Marquis of He'an's family wasn't exactly a desirable household with matchmakers lining up at their door, they were better off than most, and after the news spread, suitors came in droves...

As a result, Mrs. Gao didn't fancy any of them.

This family consists of illegitimate sons. Although their status is comparable to that of the two sisters, they have a harsh stepmother and the master of the house has concubines who are about the same age as them.

That family's youngest son was spoiled rotten by his family. He spent his days philandering and even had an illegitimate child before getting married.

Do you really think the Marquis of He'an's mansion doesn't inquire about any news?

"How about we marry our daughter to a scholar?" Marquis He'an discussed with Lady Gao.

“We can help our daughter, but the thought of the girl I raised marrying into a poor family makes me feel terrible…” Madam Gao pounded her chest and lamented.

While Madam Gao was unwilling, the sisters' biological mother, Aunt Zhao, seemed to have suddenly awakened from her self-pity and began to worry about her daughters' marriages.

She used to sigh and complain in her own yard, but now she's sighing and complaining in the yard with her two sisters.

The two sisters grew up with Madam Gao's straightforward personality. Although they had feelings for their aunt, they were always depressed. So, when Aunt Zhao pulled them aside and said, "Alas, illegitimate children can never compare to legitimate children... Your lives are just as bitter as mine."

The two sisters looked at each other, not understanding what she was thinking after all these years.

Especially after Lu Liruan got married, Lu Wanyun and Lu Wanqing knew that this was the path Lu Liruan chose herself, and she would bear the good and bad herself, so how could she say that she was lucky?

Everything she received was rightfully hers.

The two of them, however, did not have Lu Liruan's mind and ideas; they only wanted to live a smooth and easy life, just like the elders in the Lu family.

Because of self-awareness, one knows one's own limitations and doesn't covet things that are unsuitable or don't belong to oneself. This is the way to truly take control of one's destiny.

The best choice is to focus on what you can control.

But the two of them couldn't say anything, so they could only hide in Madam Gao's courtyard. Madam Gao and Aunt Zhao didn't scheme against each other, and they were too lazy to comfort her. They just needed to take good care of the children.

The two of them were overjoyed when Lu Liruan returned.

"You two don't really miss me, do you? You just want to come here to hide and have some peace?" Lu Liruan sprawled on the bed without any regard for her image, crossing her legs and glancing sideways at her two younger sisters.

“Sister, you’re wronging us. We’ve been waiting for you for ages.” Lu Wanyun raised an eyebrow. “Look, we cleaned all the dust in your room ourselves.”

"We fed Xiao Fu too, look how well he's growing!"

Xiao Fu wobbled over, nuzzling his little head affectionately against Lu Liruan's leg, only to be poked away by Lu Liruan with a slightly disgusted look.

"I'm such a beautiful bird, and you two have almost turned me into a free-range chicken!" As soon as Lu Liruan finished speaking, the bird, which could understand speech and was intuitive, flapped its wings in dissatisfaction and ran to the side with a "whoosh".

Lu Liruan sighed as she watched its angry little back.

"Look how heavy it is. After it takes just two steps, the ground beneath my feet is shaking..."

Xiao Fu landed at Lu Wanyun's feet and turned back to shout at Lu Liruan with dissatisfaction.

Lu Wanqing, who doted on the child, quickly raised her hand to cover the little bird's ears: "Sister, you just got back, why are you talking to Xiaofu like that?"

"Our Xiao Fu is kind-hearted and chubby, Xiao Fu, Xiao Fu, you're our family's lucky star~"

"You're just spoiling it. I don't think it can even fly now!" Lu Liruan was amused by its clumsy appearance.

"I'll feed it less in the future; it's not good for its health. I'll take it back to my place to raise it in a few days."

"Ah? Your Highness, do you not like Xiao Fu?" Lu Wanqing asked cautiously.

Ji Shumin's public image is rumored to be quite poor.

Whether it was intentional or not, although he didn't quite have the image of a monstrous figure capable of stopping a child's crying, Ji Shumin was definitely considered by everyone to be sinister, violent, strange, and unpredictable.

"Hmm...maybe." Lu Liruan pondered for a moment.

"Maybe one day when he's in a bad mood, he'll pluck out Xiao Fu's fur and count it one by one."

Lu Liruan burst into laughter halfway through her sentence.

When she turned her head, she found her two younger sisters looking at her with a tense yet slightly frightened expression...

Lu Liruan: ?

"Seriously?" Lu Liruan was speechless.

Lu Wanqing nodded.

Lu Liruan said helplessly, "His Highness the Third Prince is really not that kind of person. What exactly did you hear?"

“Dad keeps nagging at home every day…” Lu Wanyun muttered.

Everyone in the family was tired of hearing Marquis He'an's constant nagging, and gradually, his two younger sisters came to believe that Lu Liruan was probably not living a very good life.

Otherwise, why would Dad be so worried!

But they overlooked their father, who was a man who worried about everything.

The man, however, was mentioned far more often than Madam Gao. His two sons went to Jiangnan to do business, and his youngest son went to study. Each of them was worth Marquis He'an's attention.

Finally, Madam Gao impatiently stopped him, and the matter was dropped.

It only takes a few days for the cycle to repeat itself.

Lu Liruan sighed: her father was simply worrying too much.

Yet she was deeply moved by the Marquis of He'an's loving fatherly heart, which warmed Lu Liruan's entire body.

Even the Marquis of He'an and his wife did not expect that they would soon meet the Third Prince.

They originally thought that Lu Liruan was deliberately saying nice things about the Third Prince so as not to worry them.

Unexpectedly, this Third Prince was nothing like the rumors. He was strikingly handsome with an aggressive air, and his every move exuded a sense of authority without being overbearing.

His speech was elegant and refined, and he was very polite. Apart from his physical disability, there was not a single fault to be found in him.

He was very gentle to everyone in the Marquis of He'an's mansion, and he and Lu Liruan had an atmosphere and tacit understanding that no one else could penetrate. Anyone could see that the two of them were of one mind and were by no means just pretending to be together.

During the banquet, Marquis He'an witnessed firsthand how his daughter glared at the Third Prince, forcing him to finish all the food in his bowl.

Ji Shumin didn't care at all about having any authority or face in front of outsiders; he never considered these things.

But I thought I could escape Lu Liruan's watchful eye while I was outside today, but who knew it still wouldn't work...

If he were to quit drugs, he would inevitably lose weight. If he were too thin, it would be even more dangerous. Therefore, Lu Liruan set a limit, and Ji Shumin would begin to quit drugs when he reached the required weight.

Ji Shumin was born in the palace and was unaware of folk customs.

Lu Liruan carefully wrote down Ji Shumin's weight on the paper and counted the jin (a unit of weight) on her fingers. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her.

It wasn't a flash of inspiration; it was a sudden surge of wickedness.

Do you know what this looks like?

"Like what?" Ji Shumin asked casually, following her lead.

"When ordinary people celebrate the New Year, they slaughter pigs, so they hope the pigs will eat more and get fatter before the New Year, hahaha!" Lu Liruan laughed so hard she almost fell over.

After leaving the palace, she felt that everything was more interesting than before.

Ji Shumin wasn't annoyed: "Fine, then Li Ruan can wait until the New Year to eat me up."

His tone was indifferent, but his gaze was meaningful as he blatantly looked Lu Liruan up and down.

This calm tone, combined with an aggressive air, creates a strange kind of attraction.

After the meal, the kitchen served a sweet soup made by Madam Gao herself to aid digestion.

When the children were young and growing, they would eat a lot and easily get full, so Mrs. Gao would make this for them.

Madam Gao never lifted a finger, but this sweet soup was taught to her by her mother, and it was the only thing she was good at.

Today, His Highness the Third Prince suddenly came to visit.

"Your Highness, I have made a fool of myself in offering this."

Ji Shumin surprisingly liked the sweet and sour taste. The warm flavor slid down his throat and into his stomach, as if it could relieve the greasiness in his stomach and intestines and dispel the slight nausea he felt after each meal.

Ji Shumin tasted the soup and even discussed the recipe with Madam Gao, which caught Lu Liruan's attention.

The soup is made from hawthorn, pear slices, rock sugar, several sweet herbs, and a few other ingredients that can be added in different ways.

Lu Liruan asked Madam Gao to teach her how to cook it, and Madam Gao wrote down the cooking method and told Lu Liruan to follow it.

Then Lu Liruan chose a day and went into the kitchen to tinker, intending to give Ji Shumin a surprise, but the small kitchen was filled with smoke.

Lu Li, Ruan Lian, and Ji Shumin came to her side without her noticing.

The servants in the kitchen all had miserable faces. What kind of day was it today? The Third Prince and the Third Prince's wife were all crowding into the kitchen. What if they got burned or hurt?

"Hiss—what are you doing here!" Startled by Ji Shumin's sudden pat, Lu Liruan nearly dropped the long spoon in her hand into the pot.

"I just came out of the house and was instantly enveloped in clouds and mist. I thought I was about to ascend to heaven, but it turned out to be Li Ruan cooking something," Ji Shumin said softly.

Lu Liruan: ...

What an outrageous mouth.

"I wanted to surprise Your Highness, but I didn't expect you to come here yourself. It's a good opportunity to try my cooking!"

Seeing that the empress intended to turn off the fire, the kitchen chef rushed over and extinguished the stove.

After the mist and fog dissipated, everyone could finally see what was cooking in the pot.

The sweet soup that Madam Gao used to cook was a light pink color, with a translucent and crystal-clear appearance.

However, Lu Liruan's pot was very murky.

There were also dried black marks around it, and it was unclear what they were.

Lu Liruan leaned in and smelled it, discovering that it still had a slightly sweet and sour taste...

“Li Ruan is indeed exceptionally talented,” Ji Shumin said calmly.

Lu Liruan glanced at him sideways.

Ji Shumin raised an eyebrow and continued, "He is a master alchemist."

Lu Liruan ignored his harsh comments and took out two bowls of black liquid from a small white porcelain bowl.

He handed a bowl to Ji Shumin: "Even if you haven't done anything great, you've still put in the effort. I've been working on this for so long, Your Highness, please give me a taste."

Ji Shumin took the bowl and looked at her with an inquiring gaze, as if asking: Are you sure?

Lu Liruan paused for a moment, silently reciting the ingredient list that Madam Gao had given her. She hadn't added or subtracted anything, so it was clear that these ingredients together wouldn't produce anything that could kill someone.

So Lu Liruan nodded confidently and said to Ji Shumin, "It may not look very appealing, but it tastes alright!"

Just now, in order to let the air out, Lu Liruan ordered the kitchen window to be opened so that the temperature inside and outside could be mixed together, giving it a fairy-like feel.

Like a fairy sitting on a cloud, Ji Shumin obediently sipped the contents of the bowl as if drinking fine wine.

Lu Liruan also drank a bowl herself.

Then, the Third Prince remained calm, swallowed lightly, and went in.

Taking advantage of the foggy environment, Lu Liruan turned to the side and spat out what was in her mouth.

……

Although the Third Prince has a sharp tongue, his actions are both tolerant and supportive, as if his mind and body are not controlled by the same brain.

The Third Prince's Consort herself spoke with great conviction and eloquent words, but in the end, even she couldn't stand what she herself had done.

After vomiting, Lu Liruan glanced at Ji Shumin's face out of the corner of her eye and felt a pang of guilt: People really do depend on what they do.

He loves me so much. He really loves me so much!

Ok.