Hearing this transmission, Li Yong almost fainted, completely forgetting to blame Huo Xuan. He quickly called for a palace maid nearby.

"Quick...! Hurry and help this one over to take a look..."

Upon seeing the situation, Liu Yun immediately said, "Your Majesty, please take care of the Empress's condition. I have already sent someone to inform Physician Wen. At this moment, he is waiting at the Dongcuigong Palace."

"Alright, hurry up! What are you all standing there for?!"

Li Yong growled lowly to the guard by his side, "Hurry and take His Majesty the Sixth Prince over there."

The guards looked at each other, because the emperor had not yet made up his mind.

Huo Xuan saw Li Yong's anger and didn't dare to disrespect him any further. He then coldly commanded, "Prepare the carriage to the Eastern Cuigong."

Afterwards, he, along with Li Yong and several personal attendants, headed towards the Dongcui Palace in a grand procession.

This is the sleeping palace from before Huo Lin had his mansion built. As the years pass, it still maintains its original appearance.

Even if no one lived there, eunuchs and palace maidens would still enter daily for cleaning. Even on snowy days, charcoal fires would be lit, keeping it warm as spring.

At this moment, a young man dressed in a navy blue official's robe was sitting beside the bed, examining Huo Lin's pulse. After a moment, his furrowed brow finally relaxed.

"How is the Sixth Prince doing?"

Li Yong walked over and anxiously asked, looking at the pale face of the prince, feeling extremely distressed.

Wen Chaoyuan withdrew his hand and knelt down to report: "To the Emperor and Empress Dowager, the Sixth Prince's body is not seriously injured, just experiencing a slight cold, coupled with the untimely treatment of the wound, causing a slight fever..."

"Once I have finished writing the prescription and you take the medicine as prescribed, you will be fully recovered within three days."

Although Wen Chaoyuan is young, he managed to attain the position of Vice Chief Physician at the Imperial Hospital in just two short years. Therefore, Li Yong was convinced by his words.

Seeing him say this, Huo Xuan also heaved a sigh of relief and sat down next to the bed, keeping watch over Huo Lin together with Li Yong.

"I will go and prepare the medicinal soup."

Wen Chaoyuan kowtowed to the two people, then turned around and left the palace gates.

Lightly touching the cotton gauze on the crown prince's palm, which was oozing with blood, Li Yong turned angrily towards Huo Xuan and said, "You really... why did you force him?"

He didn't want the son of the magistrate, but you forced him into this situation. Now it's not good. He doesn't even know when he will wake up.

"How can I possibly marry into the Ming Mansion?"

Huò Xuán's face grew solemn as he said, "I didn't force him, but in recent years, General Ming Du's power has been growing stronger. He currently commands an army of 30,000 Imperial Guards..."

I must find a way to restrain him in order to confront him on equal footing...

Speaking up to this point, he lowered his gaze: "Ming Xi, the young master of the Ming family, although foolish, possesses a physique different from ordinary people. If he could give birth to a prince for Huo Lin, the influence of the Ming family would be weakened by half."

"I understand everything you've said."

Li Yong couldn't help but sigh: "However, can you honestly say that allowing him to enter the Ming Mansion is purely for the sake of balancing power, without any ulterior motives?"

Seeing her son's rigid expression, she understood in her heart: "What you are doing is nothing more than that obsession in your heart. Why bother torturing Huo Lin like this?"

Huo Xuan tightened his fists upon hearing the words, his gaze fixed on the unconscious Huo Lin who remained silent, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

The freezing cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, constantly swept through the entire imperial city. Under the gloomy sky, the entire city was suddenly covered by the white snow.

In the distant Ming Prefecture, far from the imperial palace, the inconspicuous backyard was engulfed by ice and snow, and several plum trees were covered in a layer of frost.

At present, it was the afternoon, a time for a short rest, but the dilapidated courtyard was filled with the sound of arguing and scolding.

"I allowed you to steal and indulge...! Indulge...!"

I saw a woman dressed in a red velvet coat, holding a bamboo stick, fiercely lashing a young man who was squatting on the ground. "Daring to sneak a bite now! When the Sixth Prince comes to the mansion in the future, are you planning to defy the heavens?!"

The woman's attack was extremely fierce, and the bamboo rod she held was nearly bent.

The young man, battered and powerless to resist, could only huddle and sob, "I didn't steal... I didn't... didn't steal..."

Mingxi's teary eyes were blurred, as she repeated in a broken and intermittent voice. Her robe was torn and tattered, and her once pristine back was now covered in countless bloodstains.

"Madam...! Madam, you can't hit him anymore! If you continue, the young master will be beaten to death!"

Seeing her becoming more and more ruthless, drops of blood stained the white snowy ground. An elderly woman with a disabled leg rushed out of the shabby room and hurriedly blocked Ming Xi, disregarding everything else.

"Get lost!"

The young woman shouted sternly, her hands continuing to move: "If I don't teach him a lesson now! I won't know when he'll climb on top of my head...!"

"Xiang Po, if you obstruct me again, I will strike you along with her!" As soon as the woman finished speaking, the bamboo stick lashed across the old woman's body.

And then came a wave of cries of pain and pleading voices.

Mingxi, who was originally powerless to resist the beating, quickly supported herself with her bruised hand when she saw the old woman behind her being hit.

"Erniang, please don't hit Xiang Mama... If you want to hit someone, hit Xier instead... Don't hit Xiang Mama... Don't hit..."

He was soaked from head to toe in snow and blood, trembling from the cold, but he still stood in front of Shen Xiang.