After sending off all the royal relatives with care, Empress Feng asked Qi Hua to stay behind. Once everything was settled, Empress Feng dismissed the crowd, sat down with her son, sighed and said, "You saw it, right? As soon as your father collapsed, Qi Xiao immediately came forward. These people... most of them are just watching from the sidelines. It's easy to add flowers to the brocade when all is well, but when something really happens, it's hard for them to send charcoal in the snow."

Qi Hua also had an unpleasant meal. Upon hearing this, he said angrily, "Previously, Qi Xiao privately let the King of Lingnan go, which was such a big deal! Aunt merely punished him a few times, and those old fogeys in the royal clan rushed into the palace to plead for mercy as if someone had dug up their ancestral graves. What about now? The third prince is just going along with his mother's act, opposing us and humiliating us to this extent.

"How come no one has come out to uphold justice?! They are not just watching from the sidelines, they are clearly watching which way the wind blows. Mother! What's so good about that sinister Qi Xiao? Why do these people always intentionally or unintentionally side with him?"

Empress Feng felt extremely tired in her heart and sighed softly, "Do you think they are doing it for Qi Xiao? Don't be silly, what they look up to is Qi Xiao's status and bloodline."

Although unwilling, Empress Feng was also very clear in her heart. She gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "How has your father treated them over the years? Hasn't he been generous enough?! Yet these old things still haven't forgotten the kindness of Emperor Wu back in the day. And those wretched women, they secretly compare me to Empress Xiaoxian. They, they..."

Qi Hua shook his head in frustration and said, "Forget it, forget it, Mother, there's no need to mention these things."

Empress Feng took a deep breath, shook her head without thinking further, took Qi Hua's hand and said earnestly, "Did you see your maternal grandfather when you left the palace today? What did he say?"

Qi Hua's face stiffened. For a long time, he said nothing. Empress Feng urged anxiously, "What did he ask you to leave the palace for? Tell me!"

Qi Hua gritted his teeth, turned his head and said, "Grandfather said... to tell Mother to serve His Majesty with peace of mind first. If he can be saved, that's best. If, if..."

Empress Feng was so anxious that her heart ached. She grabbed Qi Hua's hand and shook it, saying, "If it's no use?!"

Qi Hua said resentfully, "If it's really beyond saving, then arrange His Majesty's funeral affairs wholeheartedly, and then... properly handle the matter of the Crown Prince's succession!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Feng's face instantly turned deathly pale. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said sternly, "What nonsense are you talking about?! Let Qi Xiao succeed the throne? What about you? What about me?! When he takes the throne, will there be a way out for us?"

Qi Hua also couldn't understand this point. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "That's what I said too! Qi Xiao is not unaware of what happened before. Once he takes the throne, not to mention whether he will settle old scores, just these things in the past few years are enough for him to kill me several times! Not only do we have to stop him, we even have to pave the way for him. Isn't this digging our own graves?!"

Empress Feng couldn't figure it out at all. After pondering for a moment, she hurriedly summoned the palace maid who had gone out with Qi Hua today and said anxiously, "What exactly did the old master say? Tell me word for word. If you miss a single word, I will skin you alive!"

The palace maid knelt down in panic, trying her best to recall what happened in the past hundred days. She stammered, "The master said... he said, oh right, the master said to tell Your Highness to take good care of His Majesty. The master is also looking for famous physicians outside. We must save His Majesty no matter what..."

Empress Feng was extremely impatient. Doctors from outside? In this vast world, to support one person, could there be better physicians than those in the palace? The emperor's health was clearly not good. How could he be saved? Empress Feng waved her hand in annoyance and said, "Tell me what's next. What if it's not good? What did the master say?"

The palace maid's expression was a bit strange. She hesitated for a moment and said, "The master said, if it's not good... then Your Highness should put on a magnanimous appearance. In front of others, you must never let people feel that Your Highness favors the second prince more. After... after the emperor enters the mausoleum, handle things as they should be handled. In front of others, you must do it perfectly and not let people find any faults."

Empress Feng was stunned. "Father... what's wrong with Father..."

The palace maid continued with a stiff face, "The old master said that the Feng family... has long been powerless to contend with the Crown Prince. Now it's too late to turn the tide. Rather than fighting to the death, it's better to withdraw immediately and be honest like the Xue family. After all, Your Highness is nominally the Crown Prince's birth mother and hasn't made any major mistakes.

"No matter what the Crown Prince has in mind, he can't do much when he first ascends the throne. At most, he will bring down the Feng family and strip the second prince of his real power, leaving Your Highness as an empty figurehead empress dowager. That's about it. Although defeated from then on, at least our lives can be spared."

The palace maid's voice grew smaller and smaller. She said timidly, "As long as Your Highness can be magnanimous in front of others and properly handle the succession matters without causing trouble, everyone will see Your Highness' benevolence. The Crown Prince won't be able to take action."

Empress Feng flew into a rage. "Isn't this anything?! Besides, who said the Feng family is powerless to contend with Qi Xiao?! Father and elder brother have lost their real power, but I'm still here! As long as His Majesty hasn't passed away, I am the rightful Great Xiang Empress! What I want to do, can't I do it?! Besides, what does that parentless thing have? Haha... don't make me laugh. He merely has the support of those royal clan members led by Dunsu and a few old officials who still remember Emperor Wu. So what? Can he mobilize troops or issue edicts?! It's still uncertain who will win. Why is Father so discouraged?!"

The palace maid's heart was filled with bitterness. She couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, based on what this servant has learned recently, the Crown Prince's power is not limited to this. Over the years, the Crown Prince has planted many of his own people in the Three Departments and Six Ministries. There are quite a few on the surface, not to mention those hidden ones.

"Moreover, in the past two years, His Majesty has frequently suppressed our family. We have long been unable to figure out many things. Also... His Majesty fell into a coma at such a time. He had just punished the second and third princes and blatantly promoted the fourth prince. Now everyone in the capital is unsure and acting cautiously, afraid of being mistaken for taking sides. At this time... I'm afraid even our old friends won't be willing to help us anymore!"

Empress Feng seemed to have heard a huge joke. She laughed a couple of times and said, "So what? Should I accept my fate? Happily support Qi Xiao in ascending to the dragon throne? Haha... the Feng family will disappear from then on. I, the empress dowager in name, will have to live at the mercy of others, watching his face. My Hua'er... will probably be granted the title of prince, and then quietly sent to some barren land to be a feudal lord. Haha, hahaha..."

The palace maid kowtowed repeatedly: "Forgive me, Your Highness, these were all the words of the old master, I didn't dare say a single extra word."

Empress Feng laughed incessantly, after a while she collected her expression, waved her hand with a gloomy face and said: "Go... watch your mouth."

The palace maid was covered in cold sweat, kowtowed again and bowed out.

Empress Feng turned to look at the pale-faced Qi Hua, her expression softened, she smiled slightly, lowered her eyes and said slowly: "Good child, your maternal grandfather is already senile, you don't need to pay attention to what he says..."

Qi Hua looked alarmed, and said in a low voice: "Mother Empress... what should we do?"

A hint of cold laughter spilled from the corner of Empress Feng's mouth, after a while she said in a low voice: "Listen less to those words that boost others' morale and diminish your own prestige. As long as the Emperor has not passed away, as long as the new Emperor has not ascended the throne, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious. Don't worry... Mother fears more than you the days of living under his thumb in the future. Mother... will definitely not let him succeed the throne!"

In the middle of the night, two people in the Crown Prince's residence were lazily leaning together eating a late-night snack. Qi Xiao also brought his steamed egg custard to Bairen, and said with a doting smile: "The kitchen maid still remembers your preference, and specially put fruit pulp inside for you."

Bairen smiled, took it and ate it sweetly. Qi Xiao wasn't very hungry, he just accompanied Bairen, eating a little here and there before putting down his chopsticks. After a while, he said in a low voice: "Last month when I asked them to send a letter to Lingnan, didn't I tell you that there was no need to hurry back?"

Bairen blinked: "Wasn't it because I missed you?"

Qi Xiao smiled faintly: "I believe this, but I'm afraid there are other reasons. The King of Lingnan also has quite a few spies in the capital now, right?"

Bairen paused and also put down his chopsticks, took a napkin to wipe his mouth and said in a low voice: "Your Highness... you can't let me be a blind man after all."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Qi Xiao regretted it a little. Seeing that Bairen's expression was not very good, he quickly smiled and said: "I misspoke... Bairen, you know in your heart that I'm not blaming you for placing people in the capital, I just don't want..."

"You don't want me to come and muddy the waters, right?" Bairen interrupted Qi Xiao's words, and looked at him fixedly, "But I'm here. Does the Crown Prince want to punish this king?"

Qi Xiao laughed, and quickly pulled the person over, lowered his head to kiss him on the head and coaxed softly: "Forget it, forget it, I only asked this one question, and you took it seriously and got anxious. My words were inappropriate, I beg the king's forgiveness."

Bairen was still a little angry in his heart, turned his head and said coldly: "I don't dare."

"What do you mean you don't dare, whether it's the Crown Prince or the future Emperor, don't I have to act according to your mood?" Qi Xiao was completely different from the previous family banquet, both gentle and considerate, he smiled and coaxed, "If you're still not over it, just directly assign two people to stay by my side, watching me at all times, I absolutely won't say a word against it, how about that?"

Seeing that Bairen's expression had loosened a bit, Qi Xiao smiled and continued: "If you're still not at ease, then in the future don't go anywhere else, just stay with me day and night, so that I can't hide anything from you no matter what I want to do, okay?"

Bairen couldn't hold it anymore, and complained in a low voice: "Let's talk about serious matters..."

"Isn't this talking about serious matters?" Since going through that previous great chaos, Qi Xiao's temper towards Bairen had improved more than just a little. Not to mention no longer giving Bairen the cold shoulder, as soon as Bairen got serious, Qi Xiao's heart would soften.

Seeing that he didn't like him mentioning this matter, Qi Xiao also stopped talking about it. Anyway, the situation in the capital was still good now, so it was fine for Bairen to stay here for the time being. Qi Xiao smiled instead and said, "Is your Queen Mother still well?"

Bairen nodded, and said in a low voice: "Mother really likes the few paintings from the previous dynasty that you sent, she kept praising them, saying they were thoughtful, and told me to thank you properly."

Qi Xiao frowned slightly, after a while he suddenly smiled and said: "With you coming and going like this... your Queen Mother didn't ask you what was going on?"

Bairen was stunned when he heard this, pursed his lips and said softly: "Mother... although she has a kind nature, she is clear about everything in her heart like a bright mirror. Me being like this... I guess she knows something."

Qi Xiao chuckled: "Did your Queen Mother say anything to you? Told you to get married?"

Bairen shook his head: "Father has only been gone for a little over half a year, what marriage, Mother naturally didn't say these things to me, but... but I always feel that Queen Mother knows something, it's just that before when I was with..."

Bairen suddenly closed his mouth, a little embarrassed. Qi Xiao said coolly: "When you were close with Cen Chaoge."

Bairen instantly felt guilty, and said with an embarrassed smile: "At that time... I also vaguely felt that Mother had noticed, but Mother didn't say anything at that time either. But I know that she had some worries in her heart."

Qi Xiao was silently speechless, and said in a low voice: "Just hope that your Queen Mother can figure it out in the future."

Bairen was a little dazed.

Qi Xiao paused for a moment and suddenly asked, "In the future, if your Queen Mother tries her best to stop our matter, what will you do?"

Bairen blurted out: "I will naturally not part with you."

Qi Xiao's face remained unchanged, but a smile spread in his eyes. Bairen was a little embarrassed, hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "If that day really comes, I will talk to Queen Mother properly, starting from how you wholeheartedly chose a in-law family for Roujia, all the way to how you single-handedly took on heavy responsibilities in Southern Xinjiang, disobeying the imperial edict to let me go, item by item, I will tell Mother everything."

Bairen looked up at Qi Xiao, his eyes clear: "Finally, I will kneel down and beg Mother properly, beg her... not to let me be like Father, marrying a good woman but letting her down for a lifetime."

Bairen's eyes turned red: "Queen Mother saw with her own eyes how I spent the past half year, she... she won't have the heart to let me live that kind of life for a lifetime."

Qi Xiao's heart ached fiercely, he lowered his head and kissed Bairen's lips dotingly, took a deep breath and said: "Don't worry, when the time comes I won't let you be alone. If you kneel, I will also kneel; if you beg, I will also beg. Your Queen Mother is a merciful person, she won't have the heart."

Bairen nodded, like an aggrieved little beast rubbing against Qi Xiao's embrace, and complained in a low voice: "Why are we talking about this?"

Qi Xiao coaxed with a smile: "Not talking about it anymore... good baby, are you done eating? If you're about done, let's sleep. It's my fault for not being considerate and letting you rest well."

Bairen's face turned red, and he suddenly said again: "Also... what exactly is the situation now? Will the Emperor... wake up?"

A hint of fierceness flashed in Qi Xiao's eyes: "He will naturally wake up, but before that... I have to deal with all those who are getting in the way and asking for death, one by one."