Tan Taisi noticed Rong Xun’s dodging movement and simply reached out to wrap an arm around Rong Xun’s waist.
The sudden intimacy left Rong Xun entirely uncomfortable. Reflexively, he threw his arm between himself and Tan Taisi to block any further moves from the man.
“Your Highness.”
Ignoring Rong Xun’s subtle, poking resistance, Tan Taisi lowered his head and murmured softly into Rong Xun’s ear, “Earlier today, your father mentioned that three of your older brothers passed away in their early childhood. Do you know how they died?”
“This. I was still very young back then, how could I possibly know about such things?”
Rong Xun kept his gaze fixed on the small bookshelf, his eyes drifting and uncertain.
Was Tan Taisi testing him right now?
“Is that so? Then at what ages did they pass away?”
“This. I forgot.”
“The Consort’s memory is truly appalling.”
Tan Taisi’s smile gradually grew cold. “Did you really forget?”
“Of course. Does Your Highness remember memories from your own infancy?”
There was no mistake about it. This fellow Tan Taisi was deliberately probing him.
It seemed Tan Taisi had already begun to harbor suspicions regarding his identity.
Rong Xun once again congratulated himself for not agreeing to Rong Huaizhou’s demands.
“I actually do remember things from my infancy.”
Tan Taisi closed in even closer to Rong Xun. He hooked two slender fingers under Rong Xun’s chin and gave a light lift, forcing Rong Xun to face him directly.
“Consort, is your bond with the Marquis’s estate truly that deep?”
Outside the carriage, the cold wind was biting. Withered leaves fell in a rustling cascade, accompanied occasionally by the distant whinny of a horse.
Inside the carriage, Rong Xun was practically pressed flat against Tan Taisi’s body.
Rong Xun stared into Tan Taisi’s face at close range. Their breaths tangled together in an ambiguous haze.
He gazed at Tan Taisi’s long, dark eyelashes and then at his flawless, sculpture-like facial features.
Well, he really was an extraordinarily handsome man.
“Ugh.”
Tan Taisi: “…………”
Rong Xun’s vision grew increasingly blurred. Before losing consciousness completely, the last thing echoing in Rong Xun’s mind was Tan Taisi’s pair of deep, fathomless eyes.
Looking down at the person who had fainted right against his chest, Tan Taisi’s face turned livid.
In all his years, this was the very first time someone had been sickened to the point of fainting just by looking at his face!
He shoved the person aside and disdainfully dusted off his robes.
On the cushioned daybed, Rong Xun lay completely unconscious. His ink-black hair spilled across the back like a splash of ink. Realizing something was off, Tan Taisi leaned in closer to scrutinize Rong Xun’s face.
Rong Xun’s face was flushed with an unnatural redness, and his breathing was somewhat ragged.
Tan Taisi reached out and touched Rong Xun’s forehead.
So hot.
Just how utterly dim-witted could this person be? He had fallen ill with a fever and didn’t even realize it.
“Tang Jiu.”
Tang Jiu brought the procession to a halt and stepped forward to the side of the carriage. “Your Highness, what are your orders?”
“Bring me the Sifu Dan pills you’re carrying, and pick up the pace back to the estate.”
“Understood.”
Tang Jiu handed his medicinal vial to Tan Taisi. Through the gap in the heavy curtain, he caught a glimpse of Rong Xun lying motionless on the daybed. Not daring to delay, he immediately instructed the driver to speed up.
Inside the carriage, Tan Taisi hesitated for a moment before half-embracing the unconscious Rong Xun in his arms. He tipped out a medicinal pill and fed it to him.
The space inside the carriage was limited. Seeing the pitiful, miserable state of the person in his arms, Tan Taisi ultimately didn’t push him away.
The four horses pulling the carriage galloped along the royal road, causing the carriage to sway quite a bit. Tan Taisi had no choice but to hold Rong Xun tighter to prevent him from accidentally tumbling out and dying of a fall right here.
During this quiet stretch of time, Tan Taisi found himself unconsciously appraising Rong Xun.
His consort might be a bit of a fool, but his looks were genuinely not bad at all.
He looked completely different from any of the beauties Tan Taisi had encountered at the border.
He hadn’t noticed it the past few days, but Rong Xun actually had a tiny, delicate mole perched right on the bridge of his nose.
Now that he looked at it, it was rather cute.
Realizing what his mind was wandering to, Tan Taisi abruptly averted his gaze.
Cute? Nonsense, this person is an absolute moron.
The carriage quickly arrived at the gates of Prince Chen’s estate.
Tang Jiu stepped forward to open the gates and lifted the heavy curtains. “Your Highness, we have arrived.”
“Go fetch a physician.”
“At once, Your Highness.”
Receiving his orders, Tang Jiu mounted his horse and galloped off into the distance until he was out of sight.
Wenxi was just about to step forward when he saw Prince Chen hauling a person tucked under his arm.
That was right. He tucked a person under his arm like an object.
The unconscious Rong Xun was carried out of the carriage by Tan Taisi with a single hand. Standing tall and broad-shouldered, Tan Taisi made Rong Xun, a man whose height comfortably cleared the passing mark, look remarkably slender and diminutive by comparison.
“Young Master.”
All the color drained from Wenxi’s face. Ignoring all protocol, he rushed forward, crying out, “Your Highness, what is wrong with the Young Master?”
“Nothing much. He simply caught a chill.”
Carrying Rong Xun with one hand was genuinely inconvenient, so Tan Taisi bent down, scooped Rong Xun up horizontally in his arms, and strode into the estate.
Wenxi anxiously hurried along behind them. “The Young Master has been perfectly fine these past few days. How could he suddenly catch a cold? His health has always been delicate. What if…”
“That is a question I should be asking you people.”
Tan Taisi halted his steps and turned around to look at Wenxi. “Also, from now on, address him as the Consort.”
Though spoken in an entirely ordinary tone, it made the hairs on the back of Wenxi’s neck stand up.
“Yes. This servant will remember.”
Only then did Tan Taisi turn back around and head toward the Southern Courtyard.
Tang Jiu’s speed was remarkable. Within a very short while, he had brought a physician back with him.
“This commoner pays respects to Your Highness.”
The newcomer was a physician with graying hair and a beard. Tan Taisi gave a slight wave of his hand. “No need for formalities. Go examine the Prince’s Consort.”
“Understood.”
Every word and action of this physician carried an air of steady poise. He showed no trace of flustered agitation even in the presence of someone as high-ranking and powerful as Tan Taisi. At a glance, he looked like a physician of vast experience.
He stepped forward and carefully diagnosed Rong Xun’s condition, taking his pulse in silence for a long while without saying a word.
Standing nearby, Wenxi watched with burning anxiety, not daring to voice a question.
Tan Taisi sat at a chair with a cup of tea placed at his elbow, waiting patiently and calmly for the physician to finish his diagnosis.
A cup of tea’s time later, the physician produced a set of silver needles and pricked a few acupuncture points on Rong Xun’s hands. Afterward, he drafted a medicinal prescription and handed it to Tan Taisi.
“Your Highness, have the Consort take the medicine according to this prescription, and he will recover in no time.”
After inspecting the prescription and confirming nothing was amiss, Tan Taisi passed it to Tang Jiu. “Instruct the apothecary to prepare the medicine.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Once Tang Jiu departed, Tan Taisi led the physician to the outer chamber. “How is the Consort’s health?”
“Reporting to Your Highness, the Consort’s condition does not look like a simple case of a feverish cold, yet this commoner took his pulse for quite a while without being able to pinpoint the root cause. It is likely due to this commoner’s shallow learning. Perhaps Your Highness might consider inviting an imperial physician from the imperial hospital to examine the Consort.”
Tan Taisi paused for a moment before asking, “Is the Consort’s condition severe?”
“Your Highness may rest easy on that score. The Consort is currently in no danger. Once the fever breaks, he should be fine. However, the Consort’s constitution is weak, and he requires meticulous care in his daily life. This commoner happens to have a medicinal diet recipe that is exceptionally well-suited for health maintenance.”
With that, the physician retrieved a dietary prescription from his medicine box.
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Tan Taisi summoned Duo Fu. “Have the kitchen prepare meals according to the medicinal diet prescribed by the physician.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Smiling, Duo Fu escorted the physician out.
Tan Taisi turned and walked back into the inner room. Wenxi was busy applying cold compresses to Rong Xun’s forehead. Seeing him enter, Wenxi hurriedly bowed. “Your Highness.”
“Rise.”
Tan Taisi walked straight over and seated himself at a round table nearby, resting one arm on the surface while casting a sideways glance at the unconscious Rong Xun on the bed.
The bright red bedding had not yet been changed, looking somewhat glaring to the eye.
“Is your young master’s health truly that poor?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The Young Master. No, the Consort has had a frail constitution since childhood and frequently falls ill.”
Wenxi reacted quickly, realizing Tan Taisi was addressing him, and delivered an airtight response.
“I have heard that the Marquis and his wife dote on the Consort above all others. How is it that he has been sickly since childhood, then?”
“This.”
Wenxi cast a cautious glance toward the unconscious Rong Xun.
How was he supposed to explain this? He certainly couldn’t tell him that the Rong family had tossed their young master out to live in a remote country estate since he was a child, ignoring whether he lived or died.
“Your Highness is unaware.”
Nurse Wang, who had been hovering quietly in the corner, stepped forward to speak. “The Consort suffers from a congenital deficiency brought with him from the womb. Over the years, no matter how many physicians we have consulted, none could cure it. We can only manage it with delicate care.”
Tan Taisi looked curiously at Nurse Wang. “And you are?”
“Replying to Your Highness, this old servant is a senior maid from the Marquis’s estate who watched the Consort grow up from childhood.”
“So, in other words, you are intimately familiar with everything concerning the Consort?”
“Yes, Your Highness. This old servant understands every single detail.”
Wenxi rolled his eyes furiously in secret. How utterly shameless!
After hearing this, Tan Taisi offered no particular reaction, leaving behind only a brief instruction to take good care of the Consort before turning to leave.
Wenxi and Nurse Wang exchanged a silent look of mutual contempt.
Once Tan Taisi stepped out, he walked straight into the study, where Changji and Changning were already waiting inside.
“Speak. When he returned to the Yong’an Marquis’s estate today, what did he do?”
Changji and Changning nodded, recounting every single detail of the day’s events to Tan Taisi.
A wisp of thin, faint smoke curled upward from the incense burner on the desk, while outside the window, withered leaves rustled in the wind.
Tan Taisi leaned back lazily in his chair, supporting his head with one hand.
“So you are saying you didn’t hear the conversation between the Consort and the Marquis?”
“Forgive us, Your Highness.” Changji cupped his fists and dropped to one knee. “The Marquis deliberately blocked our path. We truly could not get close enough to listen.”
“Never mind, get up. Continue tailing the Consort, but remember to stick to him every single step of the way. If anything unusual happens, report back to me immediately.”
Tan Taisi waved a hand dismissively at the two of them. “Dismissed.”
After Changji and Changning withdrew, Tan Taisi twirled a wolf-hair brush between his fingers, pondering what exactly Rong Xun and Rong Huaizhou had discussed in private.
Then he recalled what the physician had told him, that it wasn’t a simple case of a fever.
Could it be that Rong Xun was harboring some other hidden, incurable ailment that even a physician couldn’t diagnose?
“Your Highness.”
Outside the door, Tang Jiu’s voice interrupted Tan Taisi’s train of thought.
He put down the brush and called out toward the door, “Come in.”
Tang Jiu pushed the door open, stepped inside, and closed it behind him before speaking softly to Tan Taisi, “Your Highness, we have made headway regarding the Consort’s background.”
“What did you find?”
“Nothing else of major consequence, but one thing is certain. The Consort is indeed the Marquis’s son, the seventh young master of the estate.”
“Oh?”
Tan Taisi looked somewhat surprised. Given Rong Xun’s demeanor, he had assumed the fellow was just randomly purchased from somewhere by the Rong family.
To think he really was Rong Huaizhou’s son.
“And what else?”
“Your subordinate also discovered that the Consort is not the biological son of the Marquis’s primary wife. His birth mother was someone else.”
This finding did not particularly surprise Tan Taisi.
If Rong Xun were truly the primary wife’s biological son, someone else would likely have been married off in his place today.
A look of displeasure crossed Tang Jiu’s face. “Your Highness, the Yong’an Marquis’s estate is utterly audacious. They secretly swapped the marriage candidate. They clearly hold Prince Chen’s estate in absolute contempt!”
“Don’t be so dramatic. If they weren’t utterly audacious, would they dare collude in secret with treacherous ministers?”
Tan Taisi tapped his fingers against the tabletop, falling deep into thought before instructing Tang Jiu, “Keep investigating the Consort’s background, especially his ties to the Zhuang family in Yaozhou.”
“This subordinate obeys. However, it may take some time.”
“No rush. Since Rong Huaizhou dared to send him here, he must have put considerable effort into fabricating Rong Xun’s identity. It is only natural that it won’t be easy to uncover. Go on, proceed with caution, and make sure those rats lurking in the dark don’t catch your tail.”
“Your subordinate understands.”
Having reported this matter, Tang Jiu pulled several formal visiting cards from his tunic. “These officials have all submitted visiting cards to the estate. Does Your Highness wish to grant them an audience?”
“No.”
Tan Taisi glanced at the cards in his hand.
A sudden smile touched his lips. “Just tell them that this Prince is newly wed and wishes to spend these few days properly accompanying his consort. All visiting cards sent hereafter are to be declined across the board.”
“Yes.”
“Your Highness.”
After Tang Jiu departed, Changning returned to report. “The Consort has finished taking his medicine and is now awake.”
“Understood.”
Tan Taisi stood up, smoothed his robes, and had just taken a step forward when another voice echoed from outside the door.
“Your Highness, someone has arrived from the palace.”
The messenger was Duo Fu.
Tan Taisi reseated himself and called out toward the exterior, “Come in.”