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

Chapter 176 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (80)

Lu Liruan glanced at the koi swimming happily in the water tank and casually sprinkled some fish food into it.

"Alright, Your Highness, you have a kind heart. These fish are lucky to be with you from now on!"

The renovation of Fengyi Palace was carried out at a rapid pace, and even the Emperor himself came to see it, to show his respect for the Empress who was about to return.

This also sent a signal to everyone in the palace that after the Empress's return, she would certainly not simply be living a life of leisure in the Phoenix Palace.

Many women in the harem were filled with anxiety, but only the newly arrived women who had never seen the Empress and the Dowager Consorts seemed unaffected.

When Lu Liruan went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager asked Lu Liruan with a smile how the construction of her residence outside the palace was going.

"The Third Prince is very attentive; the news has even reached me." The Dowager Consort was clearly pleased with Ji Shumin's affection for Lu Liruan, and pulled Lu Liruan to sit beside her: "Your future days will be bright."

She seemed to be implying something.

Lu Liruan had no idea what the Empress Dowager knew, or what she had told Madam Gao when she summoned her to the palace last time. Lu Liruan still didn't know.

Does Your Highness know that not long ago, the Second Prince even tried to use the Marquis of He'an's residence to deal with her? And how much does Your Highness know about Ji Shumin...?

The Empress Dowager practiced speaking cautiously, sparingly, and prudently. No one could see through her, and no one dared to underestimate her.

"Your Majesty, will the Empress's return to the palace affect you?" Lu Liruan thought for a moment, then asked directly.

The Empress Dowager was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "What does it have to do with me? Who comes and who goes is not something I can control, nor is it something I should care about."

"The Empress is back in the palace, and she's very worried. This is a good opportunity for me to rightfully relinquish my palace duties and stay here in peace!" The Dowager Consort pointed her delicately white finger toward the palace of Consort Rong.

"These days, you've been coming to my palace quite often..." The Empress Dowager shook her head.

"I've seen the Imperial Concubine more often in all the years I've had than these past few days," she said, her tone slightly joking.

Lu Liruan understood. Consort Rong had something to hide and couldn't sit still. In the days before the Empress returned, she was running to the Dowager Consort to find a backer.

The Empress Dowager clearly didn't want to be used as a pawn, so she skillfully deflected the conflict, keeping the situation in check, waiting for the Empress to return so she could hand over the reins of palace affairs and remain uninvolved in either side, living a carefree life in the harem.

"You and Min'er should hurry up. We idle people should all lay low for a while," the Empress Dowager advised gently.

Lu Liruan knew that the Empress Dowager was subtly telling her to stay away from Ji Shumin and avoid getting involved with him.

It seems... there's going to be a major change in the palace!

Lu Liruan became even more curious.

It wasn't just the Empress Dowager who thought of this; in the past few days, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince had gone on a southern tour of the Grand Canal, and the Sixth Prince had claimed illness and kept his distance, clearly not wanting to provoke anyone.

While the princes' wives were talking with Lu Liruan, they winked and made envious faces at her.

"Ah... I also really want to leave the palace. I wonder when Father will allow the princes to establish their own residences." The Fourth Prince's wife sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

Normally in this dynasty, before the death of the previous emperor and the ascension of the new emperor, each of the brothers would be granted the title of king and establish their own residence according to the previous emperor's will.

Ji Shumin was allowed to leave the palace early because he was the subject of speculation in the palace.

"Shh—" The Sixth Prince nudged her, signaling her to be careful what she said. If they all established their own residences, wouldn't that prove the Emperor's...

You can't just say that!

The Fourth Prince's Consort realized what was happening, quickly shut her mouth, and blinked as she looked around.

"Don't worry, nobody's listening to your nonsense!" Lu Liruan comforted her.

Everyone seemed to be on edge.

When Lu Liruan returned, Ji Shumin was sitting by the tank feeding the fish. When he saw Lu Liruan, he glanced at her and looked unhappy.

"What? Did Li Ruan have a good time with someone?" he asked in a sinister tone.

"Where can we go to have fun?" Lu Liruan took a cloak and draped it over him, carefully tying the belt, and casually touched Ji Shumin's exposed wrist.

It was indeed already ice cold.

"Why didn't you wait for me inside?" Lu Liruan handed the clothes she had taken off to Qinghe and pushed Ji Shumin inside.

"Who said I was waiting for you?" Ji Shumin tilted his head back, saying lightly that he hadn't waited for Lu Liruan, but his eyes were fixed on her.

Are you feeling unwell today?

Lu Liruan had figured out his temper. When he became dependent on others and acted strangely, it was mostly because he was feeling unwell.

"Fortunately."

Ji Shumin moved to the couch, curled up and leaned against the side. He was pale and listless, with his jet-black hair hanging loose, making him look like a garish ghost.

The thin skin under his eyes always had a faint, unhealthy bluish tinge.

He took Lu Liruan's hand, pulled her to his side, gazed at her wistfully, and sighed deeply: "Sigh—"

"Why are you sighing?" Lu Liruan was confused by his question.

“I’m suffering here, but Li Ruan doesn’t care at all,” he snorted.

"Did you take your medicine today?" Lu Liruan asked hesitantly, feeling that his illness today was strange and that he was very resentful.

"I won't eat today, and I won't eat tomorrow either," Ji Shumin said listlessly.

His health seemed to have really improved recently, which made Lu Liruan very happy. But when she heard that he was not going to take his medicine, she immediately became anxious: "What are you doing now?"

Ji Shumin glanced at her with a mournful look, his weary eyes in the shadows, as if he had been wronged: "Li Ruan is getting more and more impatient with me these days..."

Lu Liruan was amused by him: "My dear prince, what's wrong with you today? I haven't offended you, have I? I've only been here for half a quarter of an hour, and you've already accused me of several crimes. Please, tell me what I did to offend you?"

"You're not the one who provoked me."

"Hmm? Did the eldest prince just arrive?" Lu Liruan asked subconsciously.

Ji Shumin glanced at Lu Liruan with a half-smile: "You seem to know very well that I find him annoying."

I didn't realize you were so annoyed with him. You two even played a few games of chess just a few days ago.

Lu Liruan disliked Go and usually only played Gomoku with Ji Shumin. Ji Shuqin's Go skills were comparable to hers, and the two were evenly matched.

"My brother, the Emperor, didn't come." Ji Shumin closed his eyes to rest.

"It's just that the thought of seeing the Empress return to the palace in glory the day after tomorrow is very annoying..." Ji Shumin frowned, and fine lines appeared between his brows.

Oh.

Lu Liruan originally thought that Ji Shumin was meticulous in his calculations and that no matter what happened, he would remain calm and unfathomable.

It wasn't until he increasingly revealed his willful, eccentric, crazy, and pretentious nature in front of her that Lu Liruan realized he wasn't completely indifferent; he was just pretending to be composed.

Just like now, he started causing trouble two days in advance because he wanted to see the Queen...

"What does that have to do with you not taking your medicine?"

"If the Empress Dowager sees me full of energy and in high spirits, she won't be able to sleep peacefully," he said sarcastically.

Lu Liruan realized that the Empress was angry with him and deliberately gave him less medicine, just to see Ji Shumin suffer and submit to her.

Thinking of this, Lu Liruan felt her blood rush to her head and could not hide her anger.

"Can't you pretend for a moment?" Lu Liruan touched his forehead and found that he was gradually sweating.

"How could Mother be so careless?" Ji Shumin gritted his teeth, his whole body stiffening to resist the pain of the attack.

"Can you really hold on until then without taking medicine?" Lu Liruan's heart sank. All the joy she had felt that Ji Shumin was getting better vanished. Was Ji Shumin going to be controlled by pills for the rest of his life?

Seeing his condition after he stopped taking the medicine, Lu Liruan felt extremely sorry for him and almost wanted to turn around and leave, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, staring at him without blinking.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Ji Shumin's fingertips trembled slightly as he reached forward. Lu Liruan hurriedly leaned closer to him and felt his cool fingertips gently rubbing her brow.

“I’ve been sleeping on my side these past two nights, so you can sleep peacefully…” He smirked, “Once we get through this, we can finally have some good days.” He murmured.

Lu Liruan knelt on the edge of the bed, grasped his hand, and looked down at him, her voice trembling slightly, without her even realizing it: "How about we try another method..."

"Ok?"

"I'm going to tell the eldest prince everything she's done, so he knows what kind of person the Empress really is! If he cares about you, he'll force the Empress to give him the antidote! Let the Emperor know too! Control the Empress's family and make her talk! Anything is fine, just don't let you suffer anymore!"

Lu Liruan shouted loudly, almost on the verge of tears!

"Heh—" Ji Shumin forced a smile. His eyebrows curved, as if he were showing affection and pity. He put his arm around Lu Liruan and patted her back up and down, bouncing her in his arms like a child.

"Li Ruan is so amazing, she came up with so many ideas," he murmured to her.

Even without Ji Shumin saying it, Lu Liruan knew that what she had just said was all nonsense and had no practical possibility of being put into practice.

They even wanted to stir up trouble and drag Ji Shuqin into this mess.

Having bided her time for many years, how could the Empress be easily threatened? Ji Shumin's attempt to force her will most likely backfire, and in the end, it might even lead to a fight to the death.

Although Ji Shumin didn't say it, Lu Liruan could sense that he didn't want him to tell Ji Shuqin the truth. Perhaps it was because of their shallow brotherhood, perhaps out of pity, or perhaps his pride made him disdain to reopen old wounds.

"Li Ruan... don't feel sorry for me." Ji Shumin touched the corner of her eye and said earnestly and firmly.

"Everything I do, everything I endure, is for the sake of getting what I want, and I will get it. It doesn't matter, it's the path I'm going to take."

He coughed lightly twice, his expression softening even more: "I'm the one who pulled you along with me. You have to watch over me so I can walk better and more steadily. So don't feel sorry for me... Li Ruan, just look at me."

Lu Liruan felt a sudden jolt in her heart, and a strong sense of exhilaration surged up inexplicably.

Ji Shumin never gave up on what he was pursuing for a single moment, and Lu Liruan felt that she couldn't hold him back.

"it is good……"

Lu Liruan squeezed his hand: "I'm watching you, let's move forward together."

On the third day, after the morning court session, the sky was clear and the late autumn sky was vast and boundless.

The deep red palace gates slowly opened, revealing the phoenix chariot procession, under the watchful eyes of everyone:

The Empress has returned to the palace!

Lu Liruan stood in the crowd, not yet able to see clearly, only her eyes were momentarily blinded by the light reflected from the Empress's elegant and luxurious dress, so she bowed to pay her respects.

The Empress of today is worlds apart from the one I met in the mountain temple that day.

But Lu Liruan felt completely calm, without the slightest apprehension or worry about what would happen next.

And continue on the path you are meant to take.

When Lu Liruan looked up, the Empress had already passed by. Looking at Ji Shumin's back in front of her, she seemed to sense something. Ji Shumin turned around, and the two looked at each other from a distance, separated by the crowd.

The Emperor gave the Empress great respect, personally welcoming her at the Phoenix Palace.

The Empress bowed and knelt, and the Emperor personally helped her up: "You've worked so hard all these years, Empress. I am deeply grateful..."

"It is what I should do," the Empress replied politely, showing no trace of the hatred and hysteria she felt when she left the palace years ago. It was as if the two had never had any disagreements.

The Emperor did not stay long. Before leaving, he specifically instructed the brothers Ji Shuqin and Ji Shumin to spend more time with the Empress.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ji Shumin noticed that Ji Shuqin's expression was one of undisguised joy and satisfaction.

Now he can serve his father as his mother instructed, and also stay by his mother's side without worrying about her day and night.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Ji Shuqin turned his head, wanting to speak with his younger brother and ask him to stay and meet their mother.

But he found that Ji Shumin had already left, his wheelchair lying on the gravel path, without even turning his head back.

The strange feeling that Ji Shuqin had suppressed resurfaced uncontrollably once again.

Lu Liruan waited for Ji Shumin at the corner ahead. She thought he would stay and talk to the emperor, but Ji Shumin had just given her a look, meaning that Lu Liruan should wait for him.

"Why didn't you stay?" Lu Liruan adjusted the blanket covering his knees.

“It would make me seem like I’m begging her…” Ji Shumin was already very weak today. He straightened up, said a few words, and then leaned back down, panting.

"Whoever loses their composure first makes the first move. This applies to chess and to strategic games as well." Ji Shumin gestured for Lu Liruan to take him back.

His body endured the pain, but his mind seemed to be separated and remained unaffected.

Sure enough, at dinner time that day, the Empress sent someone to invite Ji Shumin over.

However, Ji Shumin declined the offer, citing physical discomfort.

The next day, after noon, the Empress's people came to invite them again.

"Your Majesty the Empress is concerned about the Third Prince's health. The Third Prince will accompany me to the temple so that Your Majesty can rest assured." The person who came was Granny Ma, who was always by the Empress's side in the mountain temple.

Her face was serious and she rarely smiled.

"Thank you for your trouble, Mother." Ji Shumin said softly, struggling to move into his wheelchair. Lu Liruan went to help him, but Granny Ma intentionally or unintentionally blocked Lu Liruan's hand and pushed Ji Shumin's wheelchair outward.

"Your Highness, please wait. This old servant will take care of the Third Prince." She nodded to Lu Liruan.

Lu Liruan understood that this meant she didn't want to go with them.

In any case, Ji Shumin had long anticipated that he would have to go through this ordeal, and he was prepared for how he would go through it, so Lu Liruan readily let go.

She had to trust Ji Shumin and let him do what he needed to do, instead of stopping him and hindering him...