At this moment, Prince Ling was in his study, discussing with his advisors the matter of returning to the capital to attend the Emperor's birthday banquet.
Last time, several other princes had come to his territory to snatch Song Shuyu, but he had ultimately beaten them to it.
On this trip to the capital, he would inevitably clash with the others.
Therefore, Prince Ling wanted to lay out his plans in advance to avoid falling behind and being put in a passive position.
Just then, the guard at the door reported that the Commandery Princess requested an audience.
Without a second thought, Prince Ling hurled a teacup straight at the door.
"Get lost!"
The guard hastily retreated and closed the door.
Song Shuyu also heard Prince Ling's furious shout.
The shattered porcelain pieces nearly flew into her face.
Song Shuyu was terrified.
With a loud wail, Song Shuyu genuinely burst into tears this time.
Her sharp voice pierced the silence of the night, deafening to the ears.
Inside the room, Prince Ling's personal guard saw that the prince looked like he was about to fly into a rage.
"This subordinate will go out and take a look."
The guard stepped out and was secretly surprised when he saw Song Shuyu standing outside.
He walked back inside and bowed to Prince Ling.
"Your Highness, the person outside is Commandery Princess Funing."
Prince Ling glanced impatiently toward the door and rubbed his temples.
"Why isn't she sleeping at this hour? What is she doing here?"
"This subordinate just took a look. Commandery Princess Funing's cheek is swollen; it seems she was hit by someone."
Prince Ling waved his hand in extreme displeasure.
"Take her to see Princess Consort Ling and let her handle it!"
He was busy and had no time to coax a child!
"Yes!"
The guard walked out and bowed to Song Shuyu.
"Commandery Princess Funing, His Highness asked this subordinate to take you to Princess Consort Ling."
"If you have any matters, Princess Consort Ling will help you handle them."
Song Shuyu looked up pitifully.
"I want to see my adoptive father."
The guard looked troubled. "His Highness is very busy right now; he does not have time to see you."
"His Highness asked this subordinate to take you to Princess Consort Ling."
Song Shuyu bit her lip and shook her head.
"I don't want to go to Princess Consort Ling's place. I just want to see my adoptive father."
"I can wait here."
Song Shuyu spoke in a delicate and pitiful manner.
Left with no other choice, the guard cupped his hands toward Song Shuyu.
"His Highness is inside discussing important matters. Please listen to a word of advice from this subordinate, Princess, and do not cry anymore."
"His Highness dislikes hearing crying the most. If he hears it again, he will lose his temper."
Thinking of the flying porcelain pieces from just a moment ago, Song Shuyu shuddered.
The guard gave a few instructions to the door guards, opened the door, and went inside.
Song Shuyu wanted to leave, but she was unwilling to do so.
She wanted to crouch by the door, but the guards would not allow it.
In the end, Song Shuyu resentfully went to sit in the garden outside.
Prince Ling's discussion did not end until the early hours of the morning.
Everyone was exhausted and left to return to their rooms to rest.
When Prince Ling's personal guard came out, he did not see Song Shuyu and assumed she had lost patience and gone back.
Prince Ling had long since forgotten about Song Shuyu.
He was an ambitious man, and his mind was entirely focused on how to wrest the throne from his many brothers.
The group quickly departed.
No one noticed that in the pitch-black garden, a tiny figure was lying on a stone table, fast asleep.
Song Shuyu had waited and waited until she simply fell asleep.
She didn't even know when the people in the study had left.
The maids in Song Shuyu's room had no idea she had even gone out.
Because Song Shuyu did not like having people keep watch at night, there were no maids in the room.
Just like that, Song Shuyu slept in the garden for the entire night.
In the morning, the maid serving Song Shuyu waited for a long time but did not see her get up.
Only then did she step forward to knock on the door.
After knocking for a while, the maid pushed the door open and walked in.
She searched the entire room but could not find a trace of Song Shuyu.
The maid finally panicked and hurriedly went to report to Princess Consort Ling.
Princess Consort Ling arranged for people to search the manor, and finally, they found Song Shuyu unconscious and running a high fever on a stone bench in the garden.
Although it was spring, the temperature outside at night was still very low.
Wearing only thin clothes and sleeping outside for a whole night, it was only natural that Song Shuyu fell ill.
Upon seeing this, Princess Consort Ling hastily had someone fetch a doctor to examine Song Shuyu.
As soon as the doctor took her pulse, he shook his head repeatedly.
"Evil winds have invaded her body. The Commandery Princess is still young, and with such a high fever, I'm afraid it does not look good."
Princess Consort Ling's heart skipped a beat.
She understood how important Song Shuyu was to Prince Ling, so she quickly sent someone to invite him over.
Hearing that Song Shuyu was unconscious with a high fever, Prince Ling dropped what he was doing and rushed over.
"What exactly happened? She was perfectly fine, how did she catch a cold?"
"Where are the people serving her? How did not a single one of them notice!"
"Drag out everyone who serves the Commandery Princess and give them twenty strokes of the cane!"
Upon hearing the doctor's diagnosis, Prince Ling instantly flew into a rage.
Princess Consort Ling hurriedly tried to stop him.
"Your Highness, the Commandery Princess is still unconscious and needs people to look after her."
"How about we wait until Shuyu wakes up, and then this concubine will handle the matter?"
Prince Ling raised his hand and delivered a harsh slap to Princess Consort Ling's face.
"Is this how you manage the household? The person is missing from her room, and the servants didn't even know!"
"What is the use of keeping such people around?"
"Men!"
Princess Consort Ling clutched her cheek, a flash of hatred darting through her eyes as she looked at Song Shuyu.
She stepped back to the side, no longer daring to interrupt.
Following Prince Ling's orders, the servants who attended to Song Shuyu were quickly dragged into the courtyard and beaten with canes.
Inside the room, the doctor was so terrified that his legs trembled.
"Can you cure her? If not, drag him out and behead him!"
Prince Ling was blunt and direct.
The doctor's legs gave out in fear, and he fell to his knees.
"Your Highness, this commoner will definitely cure the Commandery Princess!"
"Then get up and treat her!" Prince Ling glared fiercely at the doctor.
The doctor scrambled to his feet and took out his silver needles from his medical box.
Holding the needles, the doctor quickly applied acupuncture to Song Shuyu.
Song Shuyu only felt an aching pain all over her body.
Her eyelids felt heavy, and she had no desire to open them.
However, she also felt incredibly hot and intensely thirsty.
"Water! Water!"
She mumbled softly.
Hearing Song Shuyu speak, the doctor was overjoyed.
"Your Highness, the Commandery Princess is awake!"
Hearing a strange man's voice in her room, Song Shuyu forced her eyes open.
Prince Ling restrained the coldness on his face, replacing it with a look of deep concern.
"Shuyu? You're awake?"
Song Shuyu was startled as the face suddenly loomed close to her.
When she saw clearly that the person in front of her was her adoptive father, tears began to stream down her face.
"Adoptive father, am I going to die?"
"I feel so terrible, so terrible!"
The doctor standing to the side hurriedly explained.
"The Commandery Princess has merely caught a cold. The high fever is causing her body to ache."
"This commoner will prescribe two doses of fever-reducing medicine. Once the fever breaks, she will be fine."
This was the first time in Song Shuyu's life that she had fallen ill.
She felt miserable, and she missed her grandmother.
She looked pitifully at Prince Ling.
"Adoptive father, can I see my grandmother? I miss her."
A flash of displeasure crossed Prince Ling's eyes.
