Chapter 28: Little Prince

Since Yan Huan was given the choice herself, she would definitely discuss it with her family first.

Yan Huan first went to her eldest brother and sister-in-law, as this matter concerned their daughter.

When Yan Jinran and his wife heard Yan Huan ask about Xiyao’s condition, the smiles on their faces couldn’t be concealed.
Xiyao hadn’t had an episode for a long time. Even when she was jumping around, she no longer showed the previous symptoms. Although it was somewhat unbelievable, this was clearly a sign of her condition improving. Therefore, keeping one bottle of the Anjing pills as a precaution was enough; the rest could be given away.

Hearing this, Yan Huan was completely relieved. No matter how much benefit this medicine could bring her, she would prioritize Xiyao’s health and wouldn’t use her life as a bargaining chip.

Zhao Song was also very happy to confirm that Yan Huan had the medicine and could spare a few bottles. However, the group couldn’t stay here any longer, so they had to leave Yan Huan behind. Once things were settled here, the Fourth Prince would send someone to escort her to catch up with the main group.

Originally, Yan Jinzhao was worried about leaving her alone and wanted to go to deliver the medicine himself, but Zhao Song stopped him.

The person the imperial family wanted to see wasn’t someone you could just replace. The Xu family had told the Fourth Prince that the medicine was in Yan Huan’s hands, so only Yan Huan could go.

The family was helpless and had to part ways.

The Fourth Prince’s villa was surprisingly different from what Yan Huan had imagined. It wasn’t much different from an ordinary farmhouse. If it weren’t for the few guards standing outside the door, Yan Huan would have thought she had gone the wrong way.

The guard who received her respectfully led her into the courtyard and then bowed and retreated.

Under a sweet osmanthus tree in the courtyard, a beautiful woman sat on a stone bench, feeding medicine to a child beside her. The child looked about five or six years old. The child frowned and pushed the medicine away. The beautiful woman, with tears in her eyes, softly coaxed, “Hong’er, be good. You won’t hurt anymore after taking the medicine. How will you get better if you don’t drink it?”

The child was at the lively and active age, but he sat there without any vitality, like a dying old man, and even spoke in an old-fashioned manner.

“Mother, please don’t waste any more effort. Your son knows his own body. No matter how much medicine I drink, it’s like filling a bottomless pit.”

“Before, the Anjing pills could at least make me suffer less. Now that the Anjing pills are gone, please let your son go. It’s better to spend more time with my younger brother. He’s still young, and you should care more about him.”

Clearly, his face was pale with pain, but he still advised his mother to take care of his younger brother. Yan Huan’s eyes felt sore. Without waiting for the guard to announce her, she immediately stepped forward and took out the pills.

“Here are the Xu family’s Anjing pills. Please give them to the little prince first.”

Even without any introduction, Yan Huan had already guessed that the beautiful woman in front of her was the Fourth Princess Consort and the child was the little prince.

Before coming, her mind was full of thoughts about how to gain some benefits from the Fourth Prince, but seeing this child at this moment, she put all her interests and calculations aside.

Although the Fourth Prince was just a prince who was about to lose his fiefdom, in this feudal society with clear class distinctions, he was someone at the top of the pyramid. Even without a fiefdom, he was still a prince. Even just his words could make life better for their family in the future.

But seeing the little prince’s pale face and the kind of gaze that seemed to have seen through the world, she felt particularly uncomfortable.

When she was a child in the orphanage, she had witnessed too much darkness and evil in the world, but she hadn’t lost her enthusiasm for it. That was because there were still people who loved her by her side. Mama director of the orphanage and Duo’er had taught her love and giving. She had felt their full love, and naturally, love had also grown in her heart.

She had always believed that love was contagious. She loved this world, and she hoped that others could love it too. But the child in front of her seemed to have already despaired of this world. Perhaps his life was just pain and medicine, and he had never experienced anything sweet.

When Yan Huan handed over the medicine, the Fourth Princess Consort’s expression froze, as if she hadn’t even seen Yan Huan and the others walk in before. Hearing her say that she had Anjing pills in her hand, her eyes were filled with surprise and joy.

She quickly told the maid beside her to take the medicine and instructed, “Take it to be tested. If there’s no problem, quickly give it to the young prince.”

After all, it was something to be ingested, and Yan Huan didn’t find anything wrong with testing the medicine.

But the little prince stopped them and told her to hand the medicine directly to him, “No need. With my body, can it get any worse? I trust her! Besides, my master said that a person’s eyes won’t deceive. Her eyes have no calculation, she won’t harm me.”

He was just a child; did he have to speak so maturely? Although she found it very strange, she felt more pity. What exactly had this child gone through to have such a thorough understanding of life?

The Fourth Prince took the little prince inside to take the medicine, and Yan Huan stood waiting in the courtyard. At this time, Yan Huan finally noticed that there was also a man sitting under the sweet osmanthus tree earlier.

The man hadn’t spoken before, and Yan Huan hadn’t paid much attention. It was only now that she noticed him because she felt his gaze.

The man had a fair and refined appearance, wearing a light green robe with silver bamboo patterns outlined in silver thread on the hem. A dragon-shaped jade pendant hung from his waist. Needless to say, this was the Fourth Prince.

Unexpectedly, this was that somewhat unreliable Fourth Prince. He looked quite alright.

Although unwilling, Yan Huan still performed a kneeling bow, “Greetings, Fourth Prince.”

This wasn’t the modern era, where everyone was equal. No matter how unwilling she was, for survival, she had to lower her noble head. This was reality.

“Rise.”

After Yan Huan stood up, the Fourth Prince said to her with a half-smile, “You so rashly brought out the medicine without taking the opportunity to ask for a favor for yourself. Aren’t you afraid of wasting the Xu family’s painstaking efforts?”

Hearing this, Yan Huan’s heart was greatly shocked, and she hurriedly knelt down again in fright.

It was said that the imperial family was ruthless, and one had to be extremely careful when doing anything for them because they were a group of people who could decide your life and death.

The Xu family’s use of the medicine as leverage was indeed a major taboo in the imperial family, but for the sake of the Yan family, they had chosen to take a risk.

At this moment, Yan Huan naturally couldn’t admit it. As long as she didn’t admit it, the Fourth Prince couldn’t punish the Xu family. After all, the Anjing pills only temporarily relieved the pain, and the subsequent treatment couldn’t be stopped. Therefore, when the Fourth Prince said these words at this moment, it was more of a warning and didn’t mean to blame them.

Yan Huan spoke with her head lowered, her words tinged with fear, “My maternal grandfather often taught that a doctor should have a benevolent heart. Even though it concerns my little niece’s life, the Yan family still decided to send three bottles of medicine to the little prince. I don’t know what the Fourth Prince means by these words?”

The little girl in the Yan family did indeed have a heart ailment. Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince’s inner frustration dissipated somewhat.

However, he had already investigated what the eldest son of the Xu family was doing in Ganzhou. It was clearly not to look for medicinal herbs. He wasn’t making baseless suspicions. However, although he knew the Xu family’s calculations, thinking of that person’s instructions to him, he could only sigh inwardly.