Lady Jiang stayed by her son's bedside in the Wei Manor, feeling both distressed and worried. Wei Ji had been burning with fever all night, and his illness was particularly severe this time, with rashes even appearing on his body. Lady Jiang was so heartbroken that she couldn't bear it, keeping vigil at Wei Ji's bedside all night.

Old Madam Wei also came over after receiving the news, anxiously saying, "What's going on? My dear child, even after taking medicine it's not working. Could he have caught something?"

"I don't know," Lady Jiang stood up to help Old Madam Wei sit down, softly saying, "In the spring, I'm afraid he may have been exposed to some flower pollen. Even the imperial physician can't say for sure. I wiped his body down, but there's no improvement. The fever has subsided a bit though, and he doesn't feel as hot to the touch."

Old Madam Wei was anxious. She walked over to the bed, felt Wei Ji's forehead, and took a closer look at the rashes. She also couldn't tell what was wrong, saying, "Let's change to another doctor. Otherwise, let Zhan'er come back. He can speak up now, so have him request a capable imperial physician to come."

Lady Jiang lowered her eyes and said, "The military is strict, it's not easy to pass messages casually. Let's wait and see."

As the two were talking, the steward came in from outside, saying there was a message from the palace. Lady Jiang's heart sank as she walked out of the inner room and asked, "What is it?"

The steward bowed and said, "The request was submitted. The Bitao Palace in the palace, where the Young Master is on duty... The eunuch in charge there said the prince knows and, out of consideration for the young master, has sent Imperial Physician Zhang from the Imperial Physician Institute to take a look. He said he'll arrive soon."

Lady Jiang felt a moment of panic and said, "Go tell them we dare not trouble the imperial physician and ask him to return."

The steward was stunned and said, "Madam, this is probably not appropriate. The imperial physician is about to arrive, how can we send him back?"

Old Madam Wei heard bits and pieces from inside, and came out supported by the maids, saying, "What are you talking about? We were just worrying about not having a good imperial physician, and now one has come. I know of this Imperial Physician Zhang. He's the head of the Imperial Physician Institute and used to be in charge of taking the Empress Dowager's pulse. His medical skills are excellent and he's not easy to request. Quickly prepare the consultation fee and wrap it nicely."

Lady Jiang could only nod, "Yes, it's just that I'm afraid of troubling the imperial physician."

The steward smiled, "He's about to arrive, so the trouble has already been taken."

Lady Jiang's mind was in turmoil as she nodded, "Yes, that's true." As she spoke, she tightly gripped her handkerchief and went into the inner room.

Before long, Imperial Physician Zhang arrived. He had served two emperors and was now seventy-two years old, with white hair but a youthful appearance, not showing signs of age. Old Madam Wei first exchanged a few pleasantries. Imperial Physician Zhang smiled, "The old madam is too polite. Let me first take a look at Lord Wei."

Old Madam Wei had the steward lead the imperial physician inside. The imperial physician carefully took the pulse, then came out and quietly asked, "Has Lord Wei eaten anything unusual recently that he normally doesn't eat?"

The maid attending to Wei Ji thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, the young master's food and daily items since returning have been the same as usual."

Imperial Physician Zhang nodded, then asked again, "Then from childhood until now, is there anything Lord Wei is intolerant to? For example, during this month, any flowers, grasses, furs, or beef and mutton?"

Lady Jiang's face turned pale. Before she could answer, Old Madam Wei said first, "This child is fine with everything else, but he can't tolerate almonds. Everyone in this household knows and we never let him come into contact with them. Besides, even when this child ate almonds as a child, he only got a fever and never developed a rash."

Imperial Physician Zhang smiled, "The old madam may not know, but if a person has an intolerance to something, the symptoms from a little exposure versus a lot of exposure are quite different. Lord Wei's condition is likely due to inadvertently ingesting almonds."

Old Madam Wei was furious upon hearing this, anxiously saying, "Summon all the cooks for me. Who has been in charge of his meals these past few days?!"

Imperial Physician Zhang did not wish to comment much on the household matters and only said, "Old Madam can rest assured. Although this illness looks frightening, it is not serious. I will write out a prescription. After taking the medicine for a couple of days, he will recover. However, you must be very careful with his diet. These days he needs to avoid certain foods. Things like mutton and alcohol cannot be consumed. Having some plain congee every day will suffice."

Hearing that it was nothing serious, Old Madam Wei felt more at ease and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, Imperial Physician."

Imperial Physician Zhang came out, wrote the prescription, and gave a few more words of caution before leaving. Lady Jiang ordered someone to respectfully see him out, her heart filled with unease.

In the palace, after Chu Shaoling came out from the council hall, Wang Muhan came forward and presented the pulse record written by Imperial Physician Zhang. Chu Shaoling carefully read it, his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed. Contaminated food, exposed to something - what was going on?

Chu Shaoling knew that Wei Ji could not eat almonds. Because of this, the desserts were always prepared with extra care. For fear of any mistakes, there were no almonds at all in the small kitchen of Bitao Palace. Chu Shaoling himself would be cautious, so there was no way the Wei Manor where Wei Ji grew up would make this kind of error.

Chu Shaoling always considered the worst case scenario first. Was someone deliberately trying to harm Wei Ji? Was it Consort Li or Chu Shaoyang?

No, if it were those people, they definitely wouldn't use almonds. Aconite and arsenic would be mild in comparison. His own people were keeping a close watch, so they had no opportunity to make a move. Besides, if it wasn't someone close, they wouldn't know about Wei Ji's almond intolerance. If it wasn't someone Chu Shaoling had offended, then it was someone from the Wei Manor.

Chu Shaoling had investigated. Wei Ming currently did not have any concubines, so there shouldn't be any harem disputes. Wei Ji had a gentle personality, so he shouldn't have offended anyone in the household. Then who could it be?!

Chu Shaoling slowly walked towards Bitao Palace, mentally sifting through all the people he could think of layer by layer. Wang Muhan followed behind, carefully observing his master's expression. He softly said, "Your Highness need not worry too much. Didn't Imperial Physician Zhang say that this illness is not serious?"

Chu Shaoling lightly shook his head. Putting aside the fact that he couldn't tolerate even the slightest injury to Wei Ji, what about next time after the almonds? Chu Shaoling could not allow such a hidden danger to exist by Wei Ji's side.

That's why Chu Shaoling hated it the most when Wei Ji took time off. Anything that could escape his control was intolerable to Chu Shaoling. If he wasn't afraid of hurting Wei Ji, he really wanted to keep Wei Ji trapped by his side forever!

Chu Shaoling had a cold personality, and after being reborn, he became even more indifferent to many things, rarely stirring any ripples in his heart. The few times he became angry were all because of Wei Ji. Wei Ji just had that ability. Even when not by his side, he could easily sway Chu Shaoling's emotions.

If it weren't for fear of drawing attention to Wei Ji, Chu Shaoling would have even wanted to leave the palace right now and go to the Wei Manor to see with his own eyes what exactly was wrong with Wei Ji. Chu Shaoling felt a little regretful in his heart. Why did he have to be so softhearted that day? It was fine to let him go back, but why did he have to allow him to spend the night at home?

Wang Muhan could see that Chu Shaoling was angry. He brought over a cup of tea and probed, "Your Highness, Lord Wei has a good foundation and is at the right age. If he wants to get better, won't it be quick? When Lord Wei is well, he will naturally return to the palace."

Chu Shaoling shook his head lightly, "I'm just worried that there are people with ill designs around him, it may not be a good thing for him to be at the Wei Manor."

Wang Muhan was stunned for a moment and said, "Lord Wei is valued by Your Highness. I think the people of the Wei Manor must be grateful. How could it not be good?" Looking at Chu Shaoling's expression, Wang Muhan persuaded softly, "Your Highness, it's not this old servant being nosy. Since Lord Wei has gained Your Highness's favor, he will definitely face some difficulties in the future. Your Highness can't always be by Lord Wei's side for everything. You should relax. Although Lord Wei is young, this servant has observed that Lord Wei is a person with guts and a tough character. It's just that his good temper doesn't show much. Such a person can't bear great grievances."

Chu Shaoling closed his teacup. He naturally knew all this, so he gave Wei Ji his own private seal. It wasn't entirely to make Wei Ji happy. Chu Shaoling was just afraid that if there was an urgent matter and he wasn't by his side again, that seal could protect Wei Ji a little.

Chu Shaoling's heart moved. That chain...

Chu Shaoling sneered in his heart and said, "Eunuch, go out of the palace and check on Wei Ji for me to see what illness he actually has."

Wang Muhan was stunned and laughed, "How can this old servant be more impressive than Imperial Physician Zhang? How can I see it?"

Chu Shaoling chuckled, "Not necessarily. If you go and say a few words as I instructed, it might be faster than Imperial Physician Zhang's prescription."

That day, Wang Muhan took a few young eunuchs out of the palace to the Wei Manor. When the household heard that the head eunuch of the eldest prince in the palace had come, they panicked. Wei Ming and Wei Zhan were both not there, and Wei Ji was still lying in bed. Old Madam Wei hurriedly called a few men in the family to come out to receive them. Wang Muhan was very polite and said with a smile, "I dare not, dare not. This servant is just here to see Lord Wei. Lord Wei is ill and His Highness is very worried. I dare not trouble the people of the residence. This servant will just take a look, so I can go back and report."

Seeing that Wang Muhan did not sit, they did not dare to insist and quickly led him inside. Seeing the red rashes on Wei Ji's face, Wang Muhan sighed, "How did this happen? Alas, Lord Wei is suffering."

Old Madam Wei had just personally fed Wei Ji medicine. She got up and exchanged a few pleasantries with Wang Muhan. Wang Muhan looked closer and said softly, "Is Lord Wei still asleep?"

Old Madam Wei shook her head, "He woke up for a while just now, took the medicine and fell asleep again. Sorry to trouble you to come all this way. When he wakes up, I'll have him go back and kowtow to His Highness to thank him for his grace."

"I dare not. This servant is also here on behalf of His Highness to take a look." Wang Muhan was old and shrewd. He swept a glance at the inner room and seeing Madam Jiang's pale face, he had a general idea in his heart. He said slowly, "Old Madam may not know, His Highness values and loves talent the most. Both Lord Wei and his brother in the residence are people His Highness will rely on in the future. How could he not be worried?"

Seeing Madam Jiang's expression, Wang Muhan said softly, "His Highness also said that if Lord Wei is still not well, then His Highness can only come and see for himself."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang's body swayed slightly.

Old Madam Wei quickly said, "I dare not, dare not. It would be the death of him."

Wang Muhan chuckled, "Old Madam is too polite. For His Highness's grace, we can only thank him. It's getting late. This servant won't stay long. If it gets any later, I won't be able to return to the palace."

Everyone saw him off. Wang Muhan declined for a long time before leaving.

In one day, the eldest prince sent two groups of people to visit, using both favor and pressure. Madam Jiang had no choice but to let Wei Ji's illness get better. On the second day, Wei Ji no longer had a fever. On the fourth day, the rashes on his body subsided. Seven days later, Wei Ji's illness was completely cured and he was healthy as before. That very day, he returned to Bitao Palace.

Wei Ji was unaware of this secret tug-of-war between Chu Shaoling and Madam Jiang. He only thought that he had accidentally eaten something wrong and wasted these days. Chu Shaoling naturally wouldn't tell him anything. Chu Shaoling fully understood Madam Jiang's thoughts. He also knew what Madam Jiang was worried about. It's just that there are some things that would be useless for him to say now. He would make Madam Jiang put her mind at ease in future.