Chapter 24: The Sixth Prince’s Private Sanctuary
Almost two weeks passed, and Lin Xueyi spent nearly all of her free time buried in medical books. She filled page after page with notes and often visited Physician Liu whenever she came across something she couldn’t understand.
However, as much as she wanted to devote herself to medicine, she couldn’t ignore her other responsibilities. The King’s birthday banquet was getting closer, and she still knew very little about royal etiquette. To avoid embarrassing herself, she secretly began studying that as well.
Fortunately, Rong Shuyan had several books on royal etiquette in his library. To her surprise, he never questioned why the Princess Consort suddenly wanted to learn something she should have already known since childhood.
Sometimes, Lin Xueyi couldn’t figure out whether Rong Shuyan simply didn’t care what she was doing, or if he was the kind of person who respected other people’s privacy and never liked interfering in their affairs.
"Princess Consort, His Highness would like to see you in his study," a servant said after stopping outside her room.
Lin Xueyi looked up from the book in her hands and tilted her head in confusion. "His Highness wants to see me? Why?"
The servant bowed slightly. "I’m afraid I don’t know, Your Highness."
Truthfully, the servant had been wondering the same thing. What puzzled him even more was how much the Princess Consort had changed over the past few weeks.
She had never thrown stones at the fish in the pond again, nor had she tried to push Rong Shuyan’s wheelchair whenever they happened to cross paths.
It was as if she had become a completely different person.
Sometimes, the servants even joked among themselves that someone must have hit the Princess Consort on the head so hard that it reset her brain.
"Then please tell His Highness that I’ll be there shortly," Lin Xueyi said.
The servant nodded respectfully before leaving.
Lin Xueyi closed the book in her hands and stood up. She gently smoothed the wrinkles from her robe before turning to Mei Lu, who had been keeping her company the entire time.
"Mei Lu, I think His Highness wants to discuss something important with me," she said. "While I’m gone, could you help me tidy up this room?"
She looked around and let out a small, embarrassed smile.
Books were scattered almost everywhere. Some were stacked on the table, some were lying on the floor, and several had even found their way onto her bed because she had been too lazy to put them away after reading.
With the King’s banquet only a few days away, she knew she wouldn’t have much free time left to continue studying.
Since she had to leave anyway, she figured it was the perfect chance to clean up the room or, more accurately, let Mei Lu clean it for her.
"Would Your Highness like me to put the books back on the shelves in their original order?" Mei Lu asked.
Lin Xueyi shook her head. "You don’t have to do that."
After all, Mei Lu wasn’t a librarian. Asking her to put every book back in its exact place would only make things difficult. Besides, she was only organizing the books on the shelves in Lin Xueyi’s chamber, not returning them to the library.
Lin Xueyi looked around at the tall stacks of books scattered across the room.
"Just keep the medical books together and put the etiquette books on a different shelf," she said. "As long as I can find them easily later, that’s enough."
Mei Lu let out a sigh of relief. "I understand, Your Highness."
To be honest, she had been afraid of putting a book in the wrong place and accidentally upsetting the Princess Consort.
Although Lin Xueyi hadn’t lost her temper with her for quite some time, Mei Lu still couldn’t forget how things used to be. In the past, she had been scolded over the smallest mistakes, and the memory of those days still lingered in her heart.
She truly hoped the old Lin Xueyi would never come back.
After giving Mei Lu a few more instructions, Lin Xueyi left her chamber and headed toward Rong Shuyan’s study.
As she walked through the corridors, her mind refused to be quiet.
[Why did he ask me to meet him in his study?]
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. In the novel, Rong Shuyan’s study had always been the most private place in the entire Prince Rui Manor and very few people were allowed to enter.
Even the servants only stepped inside when they were called, and they always left as quickly as possible after finishing their tasks.
It could be said that only Rong Shuyan’s most trusted people were ever allowed to set foot in his study.
[Did I suddenly become one of the people he trusts?!] Lin Xueyi cried inwardly.
But almost as soon as the thought appeared, a much darker possibility crossed her mind. [Or... has his condition gotten so bad that he can’t move around much anymore?]
Then again, if that were the case, Rong Shuyan should have stayed in his bedroom instead.
Her thoughts continued to race as she walked through the manor, one possibility after another filling her mind.
By the time she reached the study, she still hadn’t figured out the reason.
"Princess Consort," Eunuch Shen greeted her, and he opened the door for her.
The moment she stepped inside, she quietly let out a sigh of relief because Rong Shuyan looked perfectly fine.
He was still a little pale, but otherwise, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him.
[Thank goodness...] she thought. [At least he still looks as handsome as usual—I mean, he looks fine!]
His study was basically his office. Although books filled several shelves, the room was also stacked with neatly organized documents. Instead of keeping important files in the library, Rong Shuyan preferred to store them here, where only a handful of trusted people were allowed to enter.
"Your Highness, you asked to see me?" Lin Xueyi said politely.
She remained standing near the entrance, not daring to step any farther without his permission.
[Why does he look even more handsome sitting there?] she wondered.