A violent fit of coughing abruptly pulled Baili Qingyang back from his memories to reality.

The porridge and vegetables fed to Gongliang Liao by the servants were all coughed out, and the entire bed instantly became a mess.

The eunuch quickly stopped the Crown Prince from approaching and went forward to check alone, discovering that Gongliang Liao had coughed up blood. He immediately shouted outside:

"Quick, call the Imperial Physician! Sir has coughed blood!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

After barely eating a few bites, Gongliang Liao was overcome by coughing and fainted, looking as if he might breathe his last at any moment, which gave the Crown Prince a fright and made him secretly regret agreeing to the State Preceptor’s suggestion to bring the teacher back.

Qin Yao, crouched in a corner of the Moon Gate, only heard heart-wrenching coughs, then saw Lv Liang rushing out from the courtyard, storming out of Pu Courtyard in a few strides, stirring up a fierce wind.

Soon, Lv Liang brought the Imperial Physician over, and inside the room was a flurry of activity, with the sound of several hurried and sharp breaths, as if he would suffocate if he couldn’t catch his breath at any moment.

Qin Yao felt her heart tighten, thinking she might be unfortunate enough not to see the old man for the last time.

Fortunately, the tense atmosphere inside the room gradually calmed along with steadying breaths.

Gongliang Liao wandered close to death’s door and came back.

The culprit causing this ordeal was a small green bean in the bowl of green bean stewed tofu.

The bean somehow choked into the windpipe, triggering a violent cough, leading to a series of chain reactions.

The good-tempered Crown Prince erupted in anger inside the room, scaring the two servants responsible for serving Gongliang Liao into kneeling on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

But luck did not favor the two servants.

Hiding in the Moon Gate, Qin Yao suddenly sensed a powerful aura. Turning around, she saw a tall man in a black wide robe approaching Pu Courtyard quickly with a grim face.

He looked no more than thirty, exuding gloom, with disheveled hair, flashing past Qin Yao’s eyes with naturally deep, upward-slanting eyebrows, and bloodless lips, permeating an eerie aura.

In short, his mental state appeared quite abnormal at a glance.

Lv Liang saw this person and showed even more respect than when he saw his master, the Crown Prince, immediately cupping his hands in salute, "Lord State Preceptor!"

Sikong Jian didn’t even spare him a glance, striding directly into the room, first swiftly glancing at the bed where Gongliang Liao’s breathing had calmed, then fixing his gaze on the two kneeling servants on the ground.

With a single look, their faces turned instantly pale, pressing their bodies lower, almost touching the floor, terrified.

"Blood should not be seen during the national blessing period. Consider yourselves lucky. Go to Sun Jiang for your punishment," Sikong Jian said coldly to them.

Neither pleased nor angry, but it frightened the two on the floor into kowtowing for forgiveness repeatedly.

Sikong Jian waved a hand, and soon guards rushed in to gag them and drag them out, acting quickly, as if they had done it hundreds of times.

With that, Sikong Jian seemed to notice the Crown Prince was still in the room, lifting his wide robe and kneeling down on one knee,

"This subordinate has been busy blessing the country recently, neglecting the management of the household servants, almost harming the teacher, in violation of Your Highness’s command to take good care of the teacher. Fortunately, the Imperial Physician arrived in time to save him, but the teacher was still frightened. This is all my fault. Please, Your Highness, punish me!"

Just as Sikong Jian’s words fell, before the Crown Prince could say anything, Gongliang Liao on the bed suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

Sikong Jian’s eyelid twitched slightly, ignoring the ambiguous laugh, and continued kneeling properly.

The Crown Prince finally reacted, seeing Sikong Jian’s pale lips and dark circles, not knowing that he had been sleepless for days, praying for the nation’s fortune. With a sigh, he personally helped him up.

"For the prosperity of Sheng Country, the State Preceptor has been tirelessly praying day and night, our gratitude is immense."

"About the teacher’s incident, it is actually my fault for not having the chef prepare the stewed tofu properly. It was my mistake, and the State Preceptor doesn’t need to take the blame for me."

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and the perceptive eunuch tactfully stepped forward,

"Your Highness, the official correspondence left by Your Majesty hasn’t been approved yet. You’ve been out for a while this morning. If you don’t return to the palace, Your Majesty might worry if he can’t find you."

Sikong Jian offered a considerate smile, "Blessings are important, but so is the teacher’s health. From today onward, I will personally oversee everything regarding the teacher’s daily life and meals. Rest assured, Your Highness, such an incident will never happen again."

"As the future Crown Prince, Your Highness should prioritize state affairs. Work is pressing, and it mustn’t be delayed."

The Crown Prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the bed where Gongliang Liao managed a weak smile, signaling not to worry.

"Then I will return for now. I will find time to visit the teacher again," the Crown Prince tenderly instructed, nodded to Sikong Jian, and left with Lv Liang and others.

Sikong Jian escorted the Crown Prince through two gates before returning.

Already, two new servants were cleaning the dirty bedding and clothes of Gongliang Liao, while his confidant Sun Jiang brought the teacher’s medicine, placing it on a small table by the bedside, then beckoned the two servants to leave together, also closing the door behind them.

Now, Qin Yao crouching outside the Moon Gate couldn’t see anything.

But the Inner Strength experts who were guarding around Pu Courtyard and Lv Liang had already left, leaving only Sun Jiang at the door.

This Sun Jiang’s breathing was light, and his footsteps made no sound, indicating he was a top-notch expert.

But encountering Qin Yao, even a hundred top-notch experts were useless.

Qin Yao avoided the patrolling guards of the National Master Mansion, leaping onto the roof from Sun Jiang’s unguarded side.

The midday sun cast Qin Yao’s shadow perfectly over the tiles, merging with her form. In broad daylight, it was inconvenient to lift the tiles to peek inside.

However, being close enough, lying on the roof, she could hear everything inside the house clearly.

Sikong Jian took the bowl of steaming bitter medicine as if it were his own room, comfortably sitting by the bedside, pulling a spoonful of medicine to cool it, bringing it to Gongliang Liao’s mouth, "Teacher, it’s time for your medicine."

After the earlier ordeal, Gongliang Liao was so exhausted that he could only keep his mouth tightly shut, closing his eyes to express refusal.

Sikong Jian pushed the spoon against the old man’s dry, cyanotic lips, unable to pry open the tightly clenched teeth, and laughed angrily,

"Teacher, you know me. If you don’t open your mouth, I will force the medicine down."

Gongliang Liao didn’t react at all, not even a crease in his brow, showing a demeanor of go ahead and pour, old man’s not drinking into this predicament.

Sikong Jian took a deep breath, pushed the spoon further, unable to pry open that mouth, instead spilling the medicinal juice all over Gongliang Liao’s collar.

The freshly changed white inner shirt soaked in a large patch of brown, sticking to the old man’s emaciated chest, ribs protruding visibly.

Qin Yao couldn’t see it, but if she did, she would surely be shocked.

In just three months, how much inhuman torture must a once sprightly and slightly plump old man have endured to become skin and bones?