On the way back to Lanyu Dian, Song Yunying was still thinking about what her junior sister had said.
Dugu Yu was open-minded, and she wasn’t an ungrateful person either.
After all, in this lifetime, they were allies.
So she personally cooked a table full of delicious dishes.
She remembered that in her previous life, Dugu Yu loved crab roe lion’s head meatballs. Whenever he was present, this dish would always be on the table.
During dinner, Song Yunying deliberately pushed the lion’s head meatballs toward him.
“Try it, I made it myself.”
Dugu Yu noticed her unusual behavior. “Unusual kindness often hides ill intentions,” he remarked.
She got straight to the point. “Your Highness, was it you who asked The Emperor to let me stay in Taiyishu?”
“Just for this small matter?”
She disagreed. “It may be a small matter to you, but it means a lot to me.”
“Don’t overthink it. I was just worried you’d have too much free time in the palace and cause trouble for me, so I found something for you to do.”
Truly proud and stubborn.
“Thank you.”
Gratitude should be spoken aloud—Song Yunying had always been clear about her likes and dislikes.
Dugu Yu looked up and met Song Yunying’s sincere gaze.
He paused his chopsticks, then picked up another lion’s head meatball. “Let’s eat.”
Song Yunying knew she had nothing to repay him with.
“Your Highness, since you’ve helped me so much… I’ll also keep your secret. My lips are sealed.”
With a sharp glance from him, she immediately fell silent.
It was he who wanted to play dumb, yet now that she was willing to unconditionally play along, he acted all high and mighty.
Fine, fine, let him be.
Dugu Yu said quietly, “I’ve already informed my father that from now on, you will be in charge of regulating my health.”
Song Yunying choked on her food. “Me?”
“Unwilling?”
“N-no… not at all.”
“When you saved my elder sister, weren’t you full of ideas?”
Song Yunying was caught off guard. “Your Highness, your body is precious. I’m afraid I might not be up to the task and disappoint The Emperor’s trust.”
After all, in her previous life, because of his hysteria, The Emperor had executed many imperial physicians.
Now she knew his foolishness was fake, but his frailty was real.
She had originally planned to quietly nurse him back to health behind the scenes, but now she was pushed into the spotlight.
It felt somewhat passive.
After all, practicing medicine was a high-risk profession.
If anything went wrong, given his father’s temper, people would be executed again.
Dugu Yu didn’t seem to care. “Just treat me as a last resort.”
She replied seriously, “Ninth Prince, there is actually a certain difference between me and a veterinarian.”
“Can you treat it?”
“Yes.” Song Yunying was quite confident in this regard. “As long as there’s still a breath left, I can treat it.”
Little did she know that what Song Yunying wanted to protect in this lifetime was precisely his life.
Dugu Yu put down his bowl and chopsticks. “Just one condition: never drug me again.”
Song Yunying smiled to hide her embarrassment. “What drug? Your Highness, you speak so strangely.”
His anger froze between his brows.
“Playing dumb, are you?”
“I learned it from you…”
“What did you say?”
She quickly shook her head. “Nothing.”
The air fell silent for a moment.
Song Yunying didn’t know what move he would make next.
He picked up his chopsticks and put them down again, then said calmly, “Considering you saved my sister, I’ll let it go this time. But don’t let it happen again.”
Having narrowly escaped trouble, Song Yunying breathed a long sigh of relief.
She quickly picked up the remaining lion’s head meatballs and put them in his bowl. “Tomorrow, the bride returns to her family. If you’re not feeling well, I can go back alone.”
In her previous life, the two sisters had married on the same day and returned to their families on the same day.
The difference was that Song Yunying and her husband walked hand in hand, while Song Yaoxian not only spent her wedding night alone but also returned to her maiden home by herself.
Back then, Dugu Yu’s excuse seemed to be that he was feeling unwell and unable to leave the palace.
When this spread, many officials’ wives gossiped behind her back—what proper noblewoman had a son-in-law who didn’t accompany her back home?
Wasn’t it obvious that the bride wasn’t taken seriously?
For a time, Song Yaoxian became the laughingstock of Huijingcheng.
Furious, she returned to her maiden home and cried for a long time.
In this lifetime, although Song Yunying’s wedding night also remained unconsummated,
her merit in saving lives meant no one dared to gossip; instead, she was promoted.
If Dugu Yu truly didn’t want to go to the Song family, she wouldn’t force him.
She would speak up for him first, as a way to repay his “favor” of lifting her up.
Then, Dugu Yu said quietly, “How could there be a bride returning home without her husband?”
Song Yunying was surprised. “Didn’t you not want to go?”
“Did I say that?”
Song Yunying paused. “Well, no…”
They say the emperor’s heart is hard to fathom, but it seems a prince’s heart isn’t so easy to grasp either.
“Or is it that you don’t want to go with me?”
Song Yunying quickly denied it. “How could that be? I’d be happy if you went. I’m just worried about your health.”
He looked at her. “Aren’t you here?”
Song Yunying was taken aback.
Coming back to her senses, she felt a warmth in her heart.
This feeling of being needed wasn’t so bad.
The next day, the Song Guogong Fu had everything prepared early, with the entire household on high alert to welcome the noble guests from the palace.
Having weathered the ups and downs of officialdom, Father Song knew the wisdom of having multiple plans.
On one side was his legitimate daughter, on the other his eldest daughter by a concubine.
Whichever daughter gained favor, the Song family would remain unshaken.
The Ninth Prince disliked floral scents, so the red plum blossoms in the courtyard were cut down.
He disliked birds and animals, so the parrots and mynahs in their cages were released.
He disliked noise, so firecrackers were replaced with lanterns.
Song Yaoxian and her husband arrived earlier. Although her father invited them to rest in the front hall and made polite conversation, his mind remained fixed on the outside.
—Until the Ninth Prince arrived, they couldn’t relax for a moment.
Not to mention the banquet, even the finest tea couldn’t be opened first.
Song Yaoxian had arrived early, and by now it was noon. She was so hungry her stomach felt like it was touching her back.
“Father, is the banquet ready?”
“Wait a little longer. Your third sister hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Making so many people wait for her alone—what a show of arrogance.”
Seeing her father’s anxious and uneasy demeanor, Song Yaoxian couldn’t help but feel jealous.
Wasn’t she the daughter her father favored the most? Now that Song Yunying had married the Ninth Prince, did she still have to compete for her father’s affection?
“Father, listen to me. Don’t wait. They definitely aren’t coming.”
“That can’t be. Yesterday, your third sister sent word that they were both coming.”
“Hah, you believe her boasting?”
Song Yaoxian scoffed.
Dugu Yu was famously averse to crowds. Who could possibly persuade him to come?
In her past life, she had knelt before Dugu Yu, begging him tearfully to accompany her back home, just to save face with her family.
Her knees had swollen from kneeling, but all she received was his icy expression and the word “no.”
Song Yunying was merely a daughter of a concubine—what extraordinary ability could she possibly have to move this unmovable figure?
“Master, the Ninth Prince and Third Miss have returned!”
A servant ran into the front hall, panting heavily. “Their carriage has just arrived at the entrance.”
Father Song immediately stood up, straightening his robes. “Quick, quick, come with me to welcome them.”
A half imperial procession, with a six-horse carriage—an honor reserved for the crown prince.
This demonstrates the high status of Dugu Yu.
Apart from the official title, he already possessed everything that a crown prince would have.
No wonder even Father Song, who holds the esteemed title of Guogong, had to show him deference.
Father Song led his family in kneeling and paying respects, saying, "This old minister welcomes the Ninth Highness—"