After seeing off Princess Dunsu, Qi Xiao sat alone in the inner study for a while. Just as he was lost in thought, Jiang Deqing quietly entered and bowed, saying softly, "Your Highness, before Lord Bairen left, he said to remind Your Highness to rest every day after lunch. It's already almost the Wei hour*..."

*T/N: Wei hour is at 1pm.

Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao indeed got up and headed towards the bedchamber. Jiang Deqing followed behind, chuckling softly. Usually, no matter how much he advised, Qi Xiao wouldn't listen. But now, just mentioning Bairenren was enough to make it work.

Outside in the corridor, it was still a bit chilly. Qi Xiao pulled his light fur robe tighter and smiled, "You don't need to secretly laugh at me. It's an old truth that a wife's words carry more weight than a mother's."

Jiang Deqing hurriedly said in trepidation, "I wouldn't dare, Your Highness. Your words... truly flatter this servant."

Qi Xiao paused, casually teasing the silk birds hanging in the corridor, and asked, "What else did he say before leaving?"

Jiang Deqing handed Qi Xiao a small porcelain jar of rice grains and said, "He also said that in early spring when it's alternating between warm and cold, I should be careful not to let Your Highness catch a chill. And to persuade you more - not to let Your Highness drink cold wine or sleep too late."

Jiang Deqing smiled genuinely, "To be honest with Your Highness, before Lord Bairen left, he gave this old servant a full pouch of gold pieces. Eating the lord's food and being loyal to the lord's affairs, this old servant understands the principle."

Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh, "You are indeed honest."

"How would this old servant dare to hide anything from Your Highness? It's just that I appreciate Lord Bairen's kind intentions and can't help but risk annoying Your Highness," Jiang Deqing flattered appropriately. "With Lord Bairen gone, who knows how much he misses Your Highness in his heart? If this old servant can't even handle these small requests well, how could I face Lord Bairen again?"

Jiang Deqing thought for a moment and sighed, "Come to think of it... Your Highness should spend less time in the inner study. Last time when Lord Bairen heard that Your Highness hasn't returned to the bedchamber since the incident last year, he was so distressed. Even if just for Lord Bairen's sake, Your Highness should take better care of yourself."

Qi Xiao fed the birds some food and casually put the rice jar aside, saying softly, "I was just thinking... Nevermind. Eunuch, pass a message to the people in the palace for me, and also let Xi Xiang know to take care of some things."

Qi Xiao entered the inner room and gave some instructions in a low voice. Jiang Deqing was startled, "This... won't this cause chaos?"

Qi Xiao sneered, "I'm worried that they won't be chaotic."

Jiang Deqing felt uneasy and said softly, "Why not wait a bit longer? Wait until... until Lord Bairen returns, so there's someone to discuss with."

Qi Xiao laughed, "I want to take care of this messy business while he's away. You want me to wait for him instead? Alright, go."

Jiang Deqing wanted to persuade further, but since Qi Xiao had made up his mind, he could only agree and leave.

In a side hall of Yonghua Palace, Consort Xue stood by the window, staring blankly at the gloomy sky outside. A court lady beside her, unable to hold back any longer, stepped forward and said softly, "Your Ladyship... what do you really think about what Princess Dunsu said?"

That court lady had been present when Princess Dunsu came to see Consort Xue. Consort Xue relied on her quite a bit. Hearing this, she said in a daze, "I... I'm not sure."

The court lady was anxious and said softly, "How can you still hesitate like this? Look at the situation now. If you wait any longer... I'm afraid Empress Feng will have completely devoured you."

When Consort Xue went to pay respects at Fenghua Palace in the morning, she suffered another round of humiliation from Empress Feng. She had been favored for many years and had imperial sons. She had never suffered such grievances before.

Now that the tide had turned, everyone in the palace wanted to step on her. The usually lively Yonghua Palace suddenly became like a cold palace. Consort Xue's heart couldn't adapt to this change. She said in bewilderment, "If I really listen to her, then... won't my Qi'er have no chance at all?"

The court lady bit her lip and said bitterly, "But you also have to think... if you don't listen to the Crown Prince, how much of a chance will you have?"

Consort Xue frowned in pain, "It's all my fault... Being put on a pedestal this past year made me impetuous and reckless, ruining my son's great prospects in an instant."

Consort Xue wept endlessly. The court lady hurriedly consoled, "Your Ladyship, don't think like that. It's a life-and-death gamble to begin with. Now that you've learned your lesson and withdrawn, it might turn out to be a good thing. At least you've preserved your life, right?"

Consort Xue smiled miserably, "Preserved my life? You think the Crown Prince is a saint? I know about what happened back then. If he succeeds in the future, in order to take revenge, he might just slaughter all of the Emperor's offspring... Father always reminded me not to go against the Crown Prince. There must be a reason for that. Allying with him is just the least bad option."

The court lady kept persuading, "It's still better than no option at all... Your Ladyship, why not send another letter to the Duke? The Duke will surely think more comprehensively than us."

"No!" Consort Xue said sternly, "The previous incident has already implicated Father. I heard Father has fallen ill from the anger I caused him. How can I add to his worries while he's sick?"

The court lady was in a dilemma, "Then what should we do? Your Ladyship, didn't you say... didn't you say the Emperor has that illness? How long can this drag on? When the Feng family gains power in the future, naturally there will be no way out. If the Crown Prince wins and we ignore him now, it will be hard to say what will happen."

Consort Xue was also utterly conflicted. In the end, she still couldn't let go. She kept thinking if there was still some way for her son to turn defeat into victory. But unfortunately, the Heavens were not on her side. Now she had even lost her greatest advantage - the Emperor's favor. What other solution could there be?

Just as the two were hesitating, a young palace maid came running in, stumbling and falling to her knees, crying, "Your Ladyship... something terrible has happened, Your Ladyship..."

The court lady supported Consort Xue and said sternly, "What's so terrible? Speak properly, be careful not to frighten Her Ladyship."

"Yes, yes..." The young palace maid sobbed and choked out, "Just now, we servants were attending to the Third Prince during his afternoon nap. Who knew, the Third Prince had just lain down for a short while when he rolled over and fell to the ground. We servants were startled. We saw the Third Prince vomit a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale white, looking very frightening..."

Consort Xue nearly fainted, screaming, "Why haven't you summoned the imperial physicians?"

"We did, it's no use..." The young palace maid was crying so much she could barely breathe. She sobbed, "As soon as it happened, Sister Feicui went to request Empress's decree to summon the imperial physicians. But, but..."

The court lady was extremely anxious and said angrily, "But what? Tell us!"

The young palace maid wailed, "It's just that the Empress didn't pay any heed and even laughingly asked Sister Feicui, asking... asking what she intentionally ate wrong this time, wanting to harm whom... Your Highness, please be clear, how could anyone want to harm others? Sister Feicui didn't dare say anything and could only kowtow, begging the Empress to save his life.

"The Empress ignored her, saying that now all the imperial physicians are attending to the Emperor in Chengqian Palace and have no time to deal with others putting on an act. Sister Feicui had no choice but to come back and let this servant come beg Your Highness to think of a way. Any later... I'm afraid it will be too late!"

The veins on Consort Xue's forehead bulged as she said through gritted teeth, "Go... take this palace's seal and directly go to the Imperial Physician Courtyard to summon the imperial physicians. This palace wants to see who dares not to come!"

The young palace maid hurriedly agreed, took the consort's seal, and left. Consort Xue's face was ashen as she stiffly said, "After saving Qi'er, just... just go find Princess Dunsu and tell her, this palace... agrees to anything."

A few days later, Qi Xiao looked at Consort Xue's handwritten note and said in a low voice, "Consort Xue truly is sincere, deliberately sending over a weakness to let me understand her true intentions, hehe... she really knows her place."

Jiang Deqing smiled ingratiatingly. Qi Xiao had nearly taken Qi Qi's life this time, but Consort Xue thought it was the Feng family who wanted to make a move. After walking through the gates of hell with her son, Consort Xue immediately made up her mind that she must join hands with Qi Xiao. She wanted nothing else, only begging Qi Xiao to spare her and her son's lives, to spare the lives of the entire Xue family.

Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "She's not losing out in this deal."

Jiang Deqing hurriedly said, "That's right, haha... speaking of which, it's quite funny. Empress Feng insists that Consort Xue is up to no good again, wanting to make the Emperor soften his heart. Consort Xue directly points at Fenghua Palace, saying that Empress Feng wants to kill to silence someone. Each has their own reasoning. Your Highness's method of stirring up chaos is truly great. The Emperor was already mentally weak, and now it's like this, he's completely muddled, and his illness has worsened a few degrees."

Qi Xiao sneered coldly. Jiang Deqing gleefully added, "If the King knew, he would definitely be happy again."

A hint of a gentle smile appeared on the corner of Qi Xiao's mouth as he said softly, "If there are no delays on the road, he should have already arrived in the Lingnan capital by now."

Jiang Deqing nodded with a smile, "That's right. His Queen Mother will probably be startled seeing the King. When he left, he was as thin as paper. Not having seen him for two months, he'll return a changed man, both handsome and well-nourished. The Dowager Princess will be so happy, she'll definitely praise Your Highness for being good at taking care of people."

Qi Xiao smiled slightly, but suddenly thought of something and frowned, "Has Kangtai already arrived in the capital? How is it going?"

Jiang Deqing scoffed and shook his head, "Arrived the day before yesterday. This one is truly formidable. Even with her title of princess abolished, she still wants to put on the airs of a royal highness. After arriving in the capital, she refused to directly go to the Li Manor and insisted on seeking refuge with Princess Roujia, wanting to marry from the He Manor.

"Old Madam He has no opinions of her own. In the end, she's Princess Roujia's younger sister, so she didn't dare refuse. The He son-in-law was in an even more difficult position to speak. Although the name is improper and the words are dishonorable, she's still his own sister-in-law after all. Refusing would seem disrespectful to Princess Roujia, so he was quite in a bind."

Qi Xiao frowned, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? If he's not here and finds out his sister has been wronged, won't he be angry?"

Jiang Deqing laughed, "Your Highness can rest assured, Princess Roujia was not wronged. No one expected that in the end... it was actually Princess Roujia who came out and spoke. The princess had just finished her confinement and was still a bit weak, but her spirit was very good. Upon hearing of Kangtai's intentions, she directly put on a cloak and came out to stand guard at the He Manor, not allowing Kangtai to enter.

"Kangtai had no way to get out of the sedan chair and could only let the wet nurse following her go beg Princess Roujia. No matter how silver-tongued they were, Princess Roujia just wouldn't let them in. Kangtai also got anxious in the end and started cursing from inside the sedan chair, her words very unpleasant to hear. But... she's formidable, and Princess Roujia is even more formidable. She only said one sentence to quell the scene."

Jiang Deqing looked at Qi Xiao and smiled, "Princess Roujia said... if you want to marry, then hurry and go while the Li Manor hasn't gone back on their word. If you don't want to marry, then change course and return to Lingnan. The King's manor may not have anything else, but it can still feed you!"

"Kangtai cursed about how the world has changed. Princess Roujia laughingly replied... the world has changed, it's good that you understand. The current King of Lingnan is my true brother, not yours."