Since her marriage, she had never actually been to the back mountain, nor did she know what the Prince did here every day.
The mountain breeze whispered, leaves rustled overhead, and the nearly vanished sunset cast its final scattered light through the forest—all things that Ye Ningxin in her previous life had never taken the time to notice or appreciate.
Following the winding mountain path, she hadn’t walked far when she faintly heard the sound of rushing water ahead.
A little further, a waterfall and a hot spring came into view.
And there was her Prince, sitting in the hot spring, leaning against the edge of the pool, seemingly asleep.
The mountain air was a bit cool, and mist rose from the hot spring. A few vines hung down from a crooked-neck tree nearby, blending with the figure in white robes in the pool to form a picturesque scene.
“In such a remote place, there’s actually such a beautiful spot!” Ye Ningxin was first delighted, then sighed. The Prince was too stingy, keeping such a good place all to himself.
A mischievous thought suddenly crossed her mind—she wanted to sneak up and startle him.
As she drew closer, she noticed that the Prince’s condition seemed a bit off.
Though his eyes were closed, his breathing was rapid, and his face was slightly flushed—not like someone sleeping.
Driven by a doctor’s instinct, she hurried forward to examine him.
Oh no, he was having an asthma attack.
What should she do?
In her moment of panic, the medical laboratory deep in Ye Ningxin’s consciousness reappeared. She reached out and easily retrieved an inhaler. Prying open the Prince’s mouth, she sprayed the medication inside. After helping him hold his breath for ten seconds, she felt his breathing gradually return to normal.
That was close! Ye Ningxin sighed in relief. Her Prince had almost passed away.
But asthma shouldn’t cause unconsciousness, and after a while, the Prince showed no signs of waking up.
What was going on?
Placing two fingers on the Prince’s wrist to check his pulse, Ye Ningxin finally realized the severity of the situation.
The Prince was poisoned!
With great effort, she dragged the Prince, still in his undergarments, out of the water. She summoned the latest examination equipment from her laboratory and gave him a full-body scan.
Although his internal organs showed no major issues, the Prince’s entire body seemed like a vessel for poison. The toxicity coursed through his bloodstream but appeared suppressed, unable to invade other organs.
“The unconsciousness must be due to the poison flaring up. Thankfully, so far, only his eyes have been affected by the toxicity.” Ye Ningxin sighed softly.
So the Prince’s blindness wasn’t a congenital disability but the result of poisoning.
Judging by the timeline, the Prince had been poisoned before arriving in this region. Who had such power to target even a royal noble with immense influence? It was truly baffling.
Using an eye instrument to examine the condition of his retinas, Ye Ningxin felt reassured. There was no permanent damage—once the poison was neutralized, the Prince’s vision could be restored.
But this poison wouldn’t be easy to cure.
As the saying goes, all medicine is somewhat toxic. As a doctor, she understood even more the principles of mutual generation and restraint among poisons.
This poison was a blend of several toxins, though its exact composition remained unclear. Given Gu Haoyuan’s current condition, it was evident that someone skilled had suppressed the toxicity in his body. She needed to figure out what methods and medicines that person had used.
The most pressing issue was: Ye Ningxin’s persona as a foolish woman must not collapse!
She was merely a common farm girl with an ordinary background, possessing nothing of value except for being gluttonous and lazy.
If this cunning Prince were to discover that she suddenly knew how to diagnose pulses, treat illnesses, and even knew he was poisoned, wouldn’t he grow suspicious of her identity and then find a way to eliminate her?
Being new to this world, she dared not take that risk.
After selecting the gentlest and most harmless detoxifying injection from the medical room to administer to the Prince, and drawing two vials of his blood for data analysis on the analyzer, Ye Ningxin packed away her various devices and collapsed from exhaustion.
She didn’t want to lie out in the open like this, but the large, living person beside her was simply too heavy to move.
To make matters worse, she soon realized that the medical laboratory had vanished from sight once again.
My arm is still injured! Ye Ningxin let out a wail of despair.
“Who’s there?” The man who had been unconscious for half a day suddenly spoke. Though not fully awake, his voice already carried enough vigilance, and he had already retreated half a meter away.
Though she didn’t know what his life had been like before, for a perfectly healthy person to suddenly lose his sight and then live a life of uncertainty, never knowing where the next meal would come from—she truly wondered how he had adapted to it all.
“It’s me, Prince,” Ye Ningxin quickly replied.
“I noticed you hadn’t returned home for a long time, so I came out to look for you. By chance, I found you unconscious in the hot spring.”
Seeing that the Prince showed no reaction, she continued, “I was afraid something might happen to you, so I dragged you out. But you were too heavy for me to carry you home, so I had no choice but to wait here with you…” Her voice grew softer and softer.
“Oh?” The Prince’s tone carried a hint of doubt.
“Prince, are you alright? How did you suddenly lose consciousness?” Ye Ningxin probed cautiously.
“I’m fine. Perhaps I was too exhausted and accidentally fell asleep.” Stretching his limbs, the Prince swiftly rose to his feet.
“Exhausted… from climbing the mountain?” That excuse was far too flimsy. How could someone who hardly did anything all day collapse from exhaustion? Ye Ningxin couldn’t help but try to find a better explanation for him.
“Yes, that’s right.” This guy really couldn’t be bothered to come up with a proper lie and just went along with it.
“Let’s head back. Once the sun sets, the mist in these woods grows heavy.” Unwilling to dwell on the matter, the Prince abruptly changed the subject.
Fortunately, Ye Ningxin was also worried that the Prince might ask if she had done anything to him. Since the topic had been diverted, neither of them brought it up again.
Originally, she had thought she would need to guide the blind Prince, but once they started walking, she realized he was far more capable than she was.
Along the way, she stumbled and slipped, occasionally even falling flat on her face, while the Prince moved ahead as if walking on level ground. He judged every turn and every step with perfect clarity, never making a mistake.
Only once, when she tripped over a tree root and lunged forward, crashing directly into the Prince’s back, did his steady posture falter slightly. Staggering forward, it took him a moment to regain his balance.
“The Princess Consort possesses quite the strength,” the Prince remarked sarcastically, turning to face her as soon as he stopped.
“Princess… Consort!” In her memory, this was the first time the Prince had addressed her as such!
All the awkwardness from earlier vanished completely after hearing those words.
“Is this a sign of reconciliation? It must be!” Ye Ningxin felt pink bubbles rising in her heart.
The Prince said, “If you’re not feeling well, avoid such mountain paths in the future. After all, if someone of your build were to fall, even two of me couldn’t drag you away.”
After a pause, he added, “I once hunted a bear, but looking back now, it seems even that bear didn’t have as much strength as you.”
Pop! Pop! Pop! The bubbles shattered before they could even float away.