Song Yihuan's seemingly casual question was actually a subtle probe.
Upon hearing this, Song Nanxin's heart skipped a beat.
Right! How could she have missed this? She could definitely find a doctor to prescribe some medicine to hold out for these last few days. As long as she could reach the capital safely, everything would be fine.
"Yihuan, my dear sister, quickly disguise me as you. Let me go out to find a doctor in your guise," Song Nanxin pleaded, grasping Song Yihuan's hand tightly. "I truly feel terribly unwell. If I don't take the medicine, I'm afraid I'll be too uncomfortable to sleep tonight, and it will also affect your rest. You don't want that, do you?"
Disguising as her to see a doctor? Well, her elder sister had a smart plan. Did she want to make her bear the stigma of an unwed pregnancy again, just like last time?
The same trick wouldn't work on Song Yihuan. She put on a troubled look and said,
"But sister, the disguise medicine left by 'Baishao' is only enough for one use. If I disguise you this time, what if the heir calls for you to accompany him tonight?"
Song Nanxin's complexion turned extremely pale. "What? Is the disguise medicine almost used up?"
As if afraid that she wouldn't believe it, Song Yihuan took out the medicine bottle in her hand and showed it to Song Nanxin. Seeing that there was hardly any powder left in the bottle, Song Nanxin felt even more desperate.
"Sister, how about I go out myself and invite a doctor to the post - house to feel your pulse?" Song Yihuan suggested.
"The doctors in Xile Town don't know us. They are much safer than the imperial physicians traveling with us. If anyone asks, I can make an excuse for you. When the heir learns that you're unwell, he won't summon you to accompany him at this time. We still have ten days to reach the capital. Once we're there, are we still afraid of not being able to get more of this disguise medicine?"
Song Nanxin thought it was a feasible idea and quickly said, "Good, good, good. Go quickly and come back quickly. It's best not to be later than the Xushi hour."
Song Yihuan nodded, straightened her clothes, put on her veil hat, and then went out.
Song Nanxin sat on the bed, wrapping the quilt tightly around herself, shivering involuntarily.
The reason she wanted Song Yihuan to settle this before the Xushi hour was that after this hour, the beauty - preserving pill she took yesterday would lose its effect. If she couldn't take another pill, the poison in the pill in her body would flare up, and then everything would be exposed.
At this moment, after Song Yihuan went out, she walked straight down the wooden stairs.
The real reason she offered to help Song Nanxin find a doctor in Xile Town was actually for another purpose. The disguise medicine in her hand was indeed almost used up. She wanted to figure out its ingredients while the powder was running out so that she could prepare more. It might come in handy in the future.
She asked the innkeeper at the front desk about the location of the town's medical clinic. Just as she was about to leave, she unexpectedly bumped into Ji Lingchuan when she stepped out of the post - house gate.
"It's so late. Are you still going out?" Ji Lingchuan frowned, his tone sounding a bit displeased.
Meeting Ji Lingchuan suddenly, Song Yihuan wasn't the least bit panicked. She lifted her veil hat, showing her face, and said to him, "My sister is unwell, so I was going to find a doctor in the town to feel her pulse."
She was really kind - hearted.
Ji Lingchuan responded indifferently, "You could just send a maid to do this. Why do you have to go yourself?"
Song Yihuan smiled and said, "The maids should stay to take care of my sister. Actually, I was just looking for you, brother - in - law. It's really not safe for a girl like me to walk alone in the town. I was hoping to ask you for a guard to accompany me."
Calling him "brother - in - law" so smoothly. Ji Lingchuan gave her a deep look and said, "There's no need for others. Since this concerns the heir's consort, I'll go with you."
Song Yihuan said, "Thank you, brother - in - law."
Their conversation wasn't quiet. Many people were coming in and out of the post - house, so they heard what they said. Others didn't think there was anything wrong with the two of them going out alone. Instead, they thought Ji Lingchuan cared a great deal about Song Nanxin, the heir's consort.
Before long, this matter reached the ears of the Princess of Ningqin.
Song Yixuan, who was sitting beside her, had just finished a bowl of lotus - seed soup. After wiping his mouth, the Princess of Ningqin said to Nanny Chen, "That girl Yihuan is really a well - behaved and sensible child. The relationship between the two sisters is better than I thought."
Nanny Chen smiled and said, "Yes. It's really a blessing for the heir's consort to have such a sister to help her."
Most importantly, this sister had no romantic feelings for the heir at all. She always put the heir's consort and her younger brother first. The only time she showed toughness was when she pleaded with the emperor in front of everyone to grant her mother freedom from the status of a slave and allow her to leave the Marquis's mansion. But thinking about the hardships they had endured over the years, no one would think she had gone too far.
On the contrary, people would think she was kind - hearted, with a clear sense of right and wrong and a grateful heart.
The Princess of Ningqin couldn't help but recall the scene during the autumn hunt when Song Yihuan seemed to know every single beast caged around the hunting ground.
Although the fourth daughter of the Marquis's mansion was a concubine - born daughter, she had a good personality and was very smart. If the Marquis's mansion hadn't deliberately suppressed her, with her good memory, she might have become famous in the capital long ago.
But they had never heard of such a person before. They only knew that there was a Song Nanxin in the Ding'an Marquis's mansion, who was very good at her studies and could be regarded as outstanding among women.
Thinking of this, the Princess of Ningqin suddenly stopped what she was doing. Her brows furrowed slightly.
The heir's consort was previously known for her intelligence. But since she married into the Princess of Ningqin's mansion, she rarely showed her intelligence in front of others. On weekdays, she just carried herself with the airs of the heir's consort and a young lady from the Marquis's mansion.
As the future Princess of Ningqin, it wasn't a big mistake to be noble and proud. But now that she thought about it, it always felt a bit strange.
Lowering her eyelashes, a glint of suspicion flashed across the Princess of Ningqin's eyes. She suppressed all her doubts deep in her heart.
The sky had completely darkened. After sunset, the villagers in Xile Town all went back to their homes and closed their doors to rest. The air was filled with the smell of food wafting from the villagers' houses.
Song Yihuan and Ji Lingchuan walked slowly on the town's street. The moonlight stretched their shadows very long. Although there was about an arm's length between them, their shadows overlapped.
Under the moonlight, Song Yihuan's eyes scanned the low - lying houses in the town. There was curiosity and longing in her eyes.
Compared with the deep mansions like the Marquis's mansion and the Princess of Ningqin's mansion, she actually preferred these simple houses, just like Uncle Qi's place. There was no need for a complicated structure. A family could sit under the vine trellis to enjoy the cool in summer and gather around a fire in the yard to keep warm in winter, stealing a moment of leisure in this mundane life. That would be wonderful.
Noticing the longing in her eyes, Ji Lingchuan asked, "Do you like it here very much?"
Song Yihuan replied calmly, "I just think it's full of the hustle and bustle of life. It makes people feel warm."