Shangguan Ke said with a worried frown, "Actually, the people from the Hundred Flowers Sect also poisoned us back then. We immediately took the antidote pills and were fine. But the Prince has been ill for several days. I don't know if this pill will work for him."
"At this point, we can only try our best. Do you have any more of that medicine?" The Emperor was very interested in his medicine. At his position, he knew he could encounter danger at any time, and these pills would be a great safeguard for him.
Shangguan Ke understood what the Emperor was thinking. He respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, when I was roaming the martial world, I unintentionally saved an elderly man with white hair. In gratitude, that old man gave me a few pills. Now I only have two left. I have carried them with me for many years, thinking they might be useful in emergencies."
After speaking, he took out a small white bottle from his bosom and handed it to the eunuch.
To show his gratitude, the Emperor bestowed many gold and silver treasures upon them as they left the palace.
Shortly after they departed, one of the pills was administered to Prince Xiaoyao. He woke up the next day. Although the poison was dispelled, due to the prolonged period of poisoning, his internal organs had been affected, leaving him quite weak.
The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. At least his life was saved. At the same time, he cherished the remaining single pill in his hand even more.
The now-conscious Prince Xiaoyao understood what had happened to him. He tried his best to recall every detail before his accident. He had a strong intuition that the woman who bumped into him had something to do with it, especially her eyes. They seemed so familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen them before.
It wasn't until the butler informed him that the Emperor had obtained the medicine from Shangguan Ke and Wu Caiwei that he suddenly realized. Those eyes were exactly like Wu Caiwei's.
However, this didn't make sense. Their figures, heights, face shapes, and features were all completely different. He secretly vowed that once he recovered, he would thoroughly investigate this matter. He had suffered so much; it couldn't just be brushed aside.
Unfortunately, a month later, although his body had recovered, a word from the imperial physician plunged his heart into despair. "Your Highness's body has been nurtured, and the poison has been dispelled, but the poisoning damaged his foundation. It is feared he will never be able to stand again."
After saying this, the imperial physician quickly lowered his head, knowing his temper. He had spoken words that were difficult to accept and prepared himself for a reprimand.
"What do you mean by that? Am I to spend the rest of my life in bed?" Prince Xiaoyao's face, which had finally regained some color, turned pale instantly. He looked at the imperial physician in disbelief, hoping he would shake his head and deny his guess.
Unfortunately, he was disappointed. The imperial physician slowly nodded, then, perhaps fearing his words were too harsh, explained, "It's not that severe. If Your Highness wishes to go out, you could use a wheelchair and have someone push you, or be carried."
After a moment of hesitation, the Prince waved his hand, signaling him to leave. As the imperial physician walked out, he couldn't quite believe that he had so easily left the Prince's chambers. Had the Prince changed his ways? Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. Anyway, he had narrowly escaped a disaster today.
He didn't know that as soon as he left, the Prince hurled everything within reach on his bed to the floor. These simple movements exhausted him, leaving him breathless. Overcome with sorrow, he lay on the bed and wept silently.
If they had known it would turn out this way, Wu Caiwei and Shangguan Ke would have been in a much better mood. The antidote pills they presented to the Emperor were made by Wu Caiwei. The story of saving someone was fabricated to inform the Emperor that only two pills were left, so he wouldn't have any other ideas.
Time flew by, and it was suddenly the day of Liu Moran and Gao Xuejuan's wedding. Although Liu Moran was already an official, he came from a poor background with no family fortune. He was still renting his home, and the betrothal gifts he presented were not impressive, representing his utmost effort.
The Gao family had known about her background for a long time and were not surprised. Only the Gao family's illegitimate daughters, who had long disliked Gao Xuejuan's behavior, secretly chuckled.
The next day, Gao Xuejuan was no longer calm. Her mother had summoned her to look at her dowry list. The list only included two courtyards and two houses, with no other items of value. She couldn't believe it and snatched it to read over and over again, ensuring she hadn't misread.
"No matter what, I am Mother's only daughter. Even if you have favorites, you can't favor someone this much. With such a meager dowry list, people would think Father is only a minor official of the sixth or seventh rank," Gao Xuejuan resentfully said to her mother.
Madam Gao blinked, confirming she hadn't misheard. Pointing to her nose, she asked in surprise, "You think I'm not taking this seriously?"
"Isn't it? You are the matriarch, and you are responsible for everything," Gao Xuejuan replied, a little taken aback. Was there more to this story?
"You've wronged me this time. This was your father's instruction. He said our family is prosperous, and we have many daughters. The main portion must be kept for the son. Since you are the eldest daughter and the legitimate daughter, the precedent cannot be set too high. If your dowry is too much, how will we arrange for the others later?" Madam Gao repeated her husband's words verbatim. She didn't object to this, as the main portion of the family's wealth would eventually go to their son.
"The Liu family is already poor. If Father only gives me this little dowry, how will we live in the future?" Gao Xuejuan could see that her mother highly agreed with her father's viewpoint. Unwilling to give up, she wanted to fight for herself.
"You have a house, and he has his salary. This is much better than our situation when your father and I first married. Besides, it's useless to talk to me about this. I don't make the decisions. If you have any issues, go talk to your father." Madam Gao had many other matters to attend to and felt Gao Xuejuan was delaying her. She didn't want to say more.
Gao Xuejuan stomped her foot angrily and stormed off to find Old Master Gao. Old Master Gao said indifferently, "I don't like the Liu family, so I naturally won't give you a large dowry. This is your own choice."
After speaking, he directly called his attendant to escort her out and declared that he would no longer see her.
Standing outside her father's study, Gao Xuejuan's tears flowed uncontrollably. For a moment, she doubted if her choice was correct. However, thinking of Liu Moran's gentleness and affection, she felt that she was at least better off than most women. Many women had never even met their husbands before marriage, and their married lives were unhappy. At least she and Liu Moran were in love.
To save face, on their wedding day, regardless of whether the boxes were empty or not, they prepared a full thirty-six carts of betrothal gifts.
Wu Caiwei and Shangguan Ke, standing on the second floor of the teahouse, watched calmly as Liu Moran, riding a tall horse, grandly escorted the bride into their home, while they contemplated their next scheme.