“Miss, you’ve been locked in your room reading since noon, and your stomach has been empty. I asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite snacks. Please eat something.”
“I’m not hungry,” Ning Wanwan replied, not looking up from her books.
“How can the miss not eat anything?”
Zhan Xiang’s question received only the sound of pages turning. Anxious, she looked to Fu Yi for help, but Fu Yi’s helpless expression indicated she had already tried to persuade her.
Illiterate and unable to assist Ning Wanwan with her search, Zhan Xiang and Fu Yi could only wait anxiously until evening. A rumble from Ning Wanwan’s stomach made her realize she was hungry. She hastily ate dinner and then resumed her reading by lamplight.
Si Zhan’s sensitive identity and awkward situation kept him under strict surveillance by the Emperor and Empress Dowager. Ning Wanwan even suspected that the doctors treating him might be their spies or at least under their control.
Therefore, if Si Zhan’s short life was due to poisoning rather than natural weakness, it could arouse the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s suspicions, potentially leading to thoughts of complete elimination. While destiny cannot be violated, poison can be neutralized.
To investigate what poison Si Zhan was suffering from without being discovered, she needed to study medical books and learn medical skills. While she couldn’t become an expert overnight, gaining some understanding was essential.
The most urgent task was to find a way to solve Si Zhan’s inability to take medicine.
At first glance, it was clear that she was more interested in reading romantic novels than studying.
Lu Yixian, a scholar favored by the emperor for his excellent writing, was assigned to the Zishangtang to assist the crown prince and royal family. He had always been somewhat arrogant, disregarding Ning Wanwan, who had entered through connections.
When he noticed her arriving late and secretly reading novels, his disdain for her intensified. He decided to make things difficult for her, hoping to force her to leave the Zishangtang and no longer obstruct his view.
“Since the princess has been in the Zishangtang for some time, why don’t you explain whether the Way or Principle comes first?”
Ning Wanwan, absorbed in the “Essential Prescriptions,” was startled when called upon.
Si Zhan suddenly looked at her, worry flashing in his eyes.
