In the following days, whenever Chu Shaotao had free time, he would come to Bitao Palace to chat with Wei Ji. Both of them enjoyed martial arts, and they could talk for half a day, starting from whether to use a six-jun bow or an eight-jun bow, all the way to how many soldiers and provisions would be needed if they were to fight in Liaoliang now. When they talked, Chu Shaoling would lean on the couch and read storybooks, occasionally sending for a few plates of snacks and fruits for Qi Yu to eat. The four of them enjoyed themselves.

Chu Shaotao was quite restricted by Prince Rong in his fief, so he felt more at ease when he came to the palace. Chu Shaoling was quite hospitable and even took them to stay at the Qin Prince Manor for a day.

Standing on the Lifelong Companion Building and looking down at the Qin Prince Manor, Chu Shaotao sighed with emotion: "When can I be the master? I must also renovate the prince's Manor to make it so grand." Because Prince Rong had many concubines and illegitimate children, and they couldn't be separated, they were all crowded in the Manor. Each person had to have a courtyard and a string of maids and servants. The once grand Rong Prince Manor was now divided by walls and blocked by doors, making it trivial. Chu Shaotao felt annoyed just thinking about the inner courtyard.

It was no wonder Chu Shaotao was envious. The Qin Prince Manor was half the size of the Rong Prince Manor, but only one or two main masters lived in it. It was really comfortable.

Chu Shaoling held a white jade coiled dragon hand warmer and laughed lightly upon hearing this: "When you can be your own master, I will send the team of craftsmen who built the Manor to your fief to congratulate you."

Chu Shaotao laughed at himself and didn't answer. Qi Yu, who was standing beside him, looked at the three bright characters "Huaji Hall" on the main hall in the distance, lost in thought. He turned his head to look at Wei Ji, who was standing behind Chu Shaoling, and a trace of admiration flashed in his eyes.

In the evening, Chu Shaotao had to return to the palace as usual to attend the family banquet with Prince Rong. However, he left with Qi Yu at the shen hour. Chu Shaoling was too lazy to go back. He only let Wang Muhan send the two back to the palace and bring a message saying that there were matters in the Qin Prince Manor that he couldn't get away from, so he wouldn't return tonight.

In the evening, after Chu Shaoling and Wei Ji had dinner, they leaned on the soft couch in the bedchamber and talked. Chu Shaoling was still flipping through the pages of a storybook, while Wei Ji held a box of melon seeds and ate them. Chu Shaoling deliberately teased him and asked, "Is it delicious?"

Wei Ji honestly nodded: "It's delicious."

Chu Shaoling lowered his head to look at the storybook and said slowly, "It's delicious, but you only know to eat it yourself."

Wei Ji was stunned for a moment. These five-spice melon seeds were specially bought by Chu Shaoling for him to eat. Besides, Chu Shaoling had also eaten them just now. What did he mean?

Chu Shaoling looked up at Wei Ji and said, "I want to eat too." Then he continued reading.

Wei Ji was dumbfounded. He quickly brought the melon seed box to Chu Shaoling and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, please eat first."

Chu Shaoling turned a page and said without raising his head, "Too lazy to crack them myself."

Wei Ji paused for a moment and understood. His face slowly turned red. He hesitated for a moment, cracked a melon seed himself, and held it in his hand, not knowing what to do. Chu Shaoling looked up, his eyes full of laughter, and said, "You can't bear to let me eat it?"

"No," Wei Ji felt a little embarrassed. Looking at Chu Shaoling's smiling phoenix eyes, his heart felt warm. He had to endure his shyness and feed the melon seed to Chu Shaoling's mouth. Chu Shaoling slightly lowered his head and ate the melon seed, then continued reading the storybook and laughed lightly, "It's really delicious."

Wei Ji had to continue cracking melon seeds for His Highness. Chu Shaoling got thirsty and asked for a pot of Liu'an tea. The two moistened their throats. Chu Shaoling said, "What do you think of Chu Shaotao these past few days?"

Wei Ji took Chu Shaoling's teacup and put it back on the small table. He thought for a moment and said, "The young master is straightforward and open-minded. He is a person worth making friends with."

Chu Shaoling nodded, "Compared with my few good brothers, I am actually more familiar with him and trust him more. Because of the Princess Consort Rong, we were also close when we were young, but later, sigh."

Wei Ji hesitated for a moment, but still said, "But I don't understand why the young master hates Prince Rong so much." Hate was an understatement. Every time Chu Shaotao mentioned Prince Rong, he wished he could send him off to the heavens early. Wei Ji really couldn't understand. Chu Shaotao was Prince Rong's legitimate son, and now Prince Rong had even requested the title of heir for him. How could it come to this?

Chu Shaoling sneered, "I actually know a little about this. Chu Shaotao and I have some similar hardships, but I'm luckier than him."

"Princess Consort Rong is my aunt. Back then, the marriage between Prince Rong and Princess Consort Rong was facilitated by the Empress Dowager and my mother. At that time, the power of the Zijun Marquis Manor was even greater than it is now. When Prince Rong heard that he was being sought after by the Empress's maternal family, he was very pleased and always went to flatter the Empress Dowager. After the wedding, Prince Rong and Princess Consort Rong were harmonious for a few years. Although Prince Rong was lustful, he didn't really let Princess Consort Rong suffer. After a few years, because the Emperor neglected my mother and the Zijun Marquis Manor, Prince Rong no longer respected Princess Consort Rong. Later, the Zijun Marquis Manor became increasingly powerless in the court, and some concubines by Prince Rong's side dared to openly disrespect Princess Consort Rong. Naturally, Chu Shaotao felt bad. I understand that feeling."

Wei Ji knew that Chu Shaoling was thinking about his childhood. He put his hand on Chu Shaoling's and Chu Shaoling held Wei Ji's hand and gently rubbed it. He sneered and continued, "This alone wouldn't make Chu Shaotao so anxious for his father to die. You know about the death of Chu Shaotao's wife last year, right?"

Wei Ji nodded, "Didn't Your Highness tell me that day? Because Grand Princess Shuyi and Duke Qi passed away one after another, Chu Shaotao's wife followed them out of grief."

Chu Shaoling sneered, "It's true that Chu Shaotao's wife was overwhelmed with grief, but she was already five months pregnant at that time, and the fetus was stable. She also had her own younger brother waiting for her to take care of him in the imperial city. How could Chu Shaotao's wife leave with such peace of mind?"

Wei Ji was stunned for a moment and exclaimed, "Could it be that someone harmed her?"

"Prince Rong values fame and fortune over family ties. Back then, just because Princess Consort Rong's maternal family was powerless, he treated her coldly in every way. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager, he may not have wanted to choose the Qi'guo Duke Manor as Chu Shaotao's maternal family. He was willing to do so then, but later the Qi'guo Duke Manor fell, and he had other ideas."

"The Qi'guo Duke Manor had already fallen, and it was equivalent to Chu Shaotao marrying a wife who couldn't provide him with any help. How could Prince Rong be willing to let it go? At that time, he already had the idea of choosing another powerful maternal family for Chu Shaotao. The midwives all said that Chu Shaotao's wife was undoubtedly carrying a boy this time. If the child was born, even if Chu Shaotao's wife passed away, Chu Shaotao would have a principal wife and a legitimate son. In that case, how could he marry a legitimate daughter from a noble family again?"

Wei Ji felt a chill in his heart and said in a low voice, "Chu Shaotao's wife and her unborn child... could it be..."

"Yes." Chu Shaoling sneered coldly, "Chu Shaotao knew what kind of person Prince Rong was. Despite taking every precaution, it was a pity that he still couldn't prevent someone from his own house from betraying him. The wet nurse of Chu Shaotao's wife killed two people with a bowl of bird's nest soup. Chu Shaotao knew it was Prince Rong's doing, but what could he do? He was just an heir, and Prince Rong had the final say on all matters in the fief. He could only endure seeing his wife and five-month-old eldest son die like this. How could Chu Shaotao not hate Prince Rong in his heart?"

Wei Ji was hearing such sordid and shameful imperial secrets for the first time, and for a long time he couldn't come back to his senses. He muttered, "How could Prince Rong... this is his own grandson, how could he bear to do it?"

"What's there to not bear?" Chu Shaoling scoffed, "Prince Rong probably has more than a dozen grandsons now. Why would he care about this one? If he can't bear to part with this one, he won't be able to marry into powerful families again. Now, before Chu Shaotao's wife's mourning period is over, Prince Rong is already arranging a new marriage for Chu Shaotao. Back then, when Chu Shaotao was in the palace, he had a frivolous temperament. Now he can restrain himself, thanks to Prince Rong's tempering."

The more Wei Ji thought about it, the more distressed he felt for Chu Shaotao. He said in a low voice, "The heir looks fine usually. Who would have known his heart bears such bitterness."

Chu Shaoling's lips curled in a cold smile without saying anything. Wei Ji thought for a moment and said, "I see that Young Master Qi also speaks little usually. Does he know about these things?"

"I'm not sure about that," Chu Shaoling shook his head, "but I do know he brought Qi Yu with him this time for a purpose. I've told the Empress Dowager and my maternal grandfather to help him this time."

Wei Ji raised his head, "What purpose? Isn't it just to gather in the imperial city?"

Chu Shaoling chuckled lightly and rubbed Wei Ji's head, "Qi Yu is just Chu Shaotao's brother-in-law. Strictly speaking, he's only the grandson of Princess Shuyi. What kind of imperial relative is he? Chu Shaotao came this time thinking of helping Qi Yu inherit the title. Back then, although Duke Qi committed a crime, considering that Princess Shuyi and Duke Qi had both passed away, the Emperor did not revoke Duke Qi's title and still buried him according to the rites of a duke. Since the title remains, it should be fought for."

Wei Ji understood and nodded, "According to the rules, there is still a title to be passed down to Qi Yu."

"I'm afraid it's not certain," Chu Shaoling smiled lightly, "Chu Shaotao dotes on his brother-in-law very much. Because of what happened to Chu Shaotao's wife, he also feels guilty towards him. If he doesn't get at least a marquis title, Chu Shaotao probably won't give up. Speaking of which, Qi Yu is also pitiful. Because his parents died early, he almost left empty-handed. Fortunately, Chu Shaotao took him in and educated him. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to him now. If the matter of inheriting the title succeeds this time, hehe, Qi Yu's uncles will be furious."

Thinking of those people regretting bitterly, Chu Shaoling felt much more comfortable in his heart. This time, helping Chu Shaotao was not only because the two of them were close friends since childhood and Chu Shaotao was loyal to him now, but also for another important reason - Chu Shaoling extremely enjoyed watching those people who liked to kick others when they were down suffer. The more arrogant they were back then, the more miserable he wanted them to be now.

Chu Shaoling thought of Chu Shaoyang, who was under house arrest in Zhaoyang Palace, covered in wounds; Empress Li, who was resentful in Linzhi Palace because of Consort Zhen's favor; Chu Shaoruan, who was eager to perform well in front of the Emperor after repeated setbacks...

Chu Shaoling smiled lightly. Back then, when Empress Ling was neglected, she endured all kinds of humiliations. When she finally couldn't hold on and passed away, Empress Li and Chu Shaoruan were probably enjoying it like this, right? In his previous life, when he was attacked from both sides and stripped of his position as the crown prince, Chu Shaoyang was probably enjoying it like this too, right?

They had enjoyed his mother's countless grievances and his overwhelming resentment back then. Now that times had changed, it was Chu Shaoling's turn to enjoy their misfortunes.

Sensing Chu Shaoling's inner fluctuations, Chu Shaotao's fate was very similar to Chu Shaoling's in many ways. Wei Ji guessed that Chu Shaoling was probably thinking of Empress Ling again. After some thought, he said, "It's important that Young Master Qi inherits the title. The better Young Master Qi does in taking over the family, the happier the late heir's wife will be in the afterlife."

Wei Ji looked at Chu Shaoling with clear eyes and comforted softly, "The better Young Master Qi does, the happier Chu Shaotao's wife will be, and the more miserable those people who snatched his family's property back then will feel. This can also be considered as revenge."

Empress Ling was a taboo subject for Chu Shaoling. Ordinary people didn't dare to mention her, so as not to upset Chu Shaoling. Wei Ji could only comfort Chu Shaoling in this way. Seeing Wei Ji's concerned eyes, Chu Shaoling felt much better in his heart. Wei Ji was becoming more and more considerate.

After some thought, Wei Ji said, "If the matter of inheriting the title succeeds, then Young Master Qi will have to stay in the imperial city for a long time. When the heir returns to his fief, Your Highness can help and support Young Master Qi. He seems to be even younger than me."

"There's no need for me to help," Chu Shaoling chuckled, "Even if he inherits the title, Chu Shaotao will definitely take him back. How could he feel at ease letting Qi Yu establish his own household."

Wei Ji was puzzled in his heart. The Qi family had been in the imperial city for generations. If he had a title again, what reason would there be to continue living with his brother-in-law?

Seeing Wei Ji's dazed look, Chu Shaoling felt amused in his heart. He pulled Wei Ji close and whispered a few words. Wei Ji's eyes widened, and he had an incredulous look, "It can't be? This is..."

"So what?" Chu Shaoling handed the melon seed box to Wei Ji, picked up the hairpin in his hand and continued reading, joking, "Although it can't compare to us, it's also a good match."

Wei Ji thought about the situation these past few days and slowly understood. A couple of days ago, Qi Yu had even unintentionally said to him, "Prince Qin is very tough and unyielding on the outside, not showing any courtesy to anyone, but he is very gentle and protective towards you. Lord Wei is very fortunate." At that time, Wei Ji didn't understand what Qi Yu meant.

Now thinking about it, Chu Shaotao and Qi Yu had probably seen through it long ago, and only he was foolishly unaware of anything. Wei Ji's heart felt sweet, but also a little embarrassed. He hugged the melon seed box in a daze.

Seeing Wei Ji not moving for a long time, Chu Shaoling chuckled and said, "What are you in a daze for? Keep peeling. I just love eating the ones you shell."

Wei Ji came back to his senses and started cracking melon seeds, his face slowly turning red.