In the evening, Qi Xiao accompanied Princess Dunsu for dinner at the Yuxiu Palace. They ate without speaking.

As they finished eating and started drinking tea, Princess Dunsu took the gold-painted celadon tea cup offered by the palace servant, slowly blew on the tea leaves and said softly, "Did you meet Dongling Bairen today?"

Qi Xiao turned his face to look at Jiang Deqing. Understanding his intention, Jiang Deqing stepped forward, bowed, and recounted what happened during the day in full detail, repeating their conversation word for word without any discrepancy.

Princess Dunsu took a handkerchief and pressed it against the corner of her mouth. After a while, she said, "Is he truly indifferent by nature, or is he deliberately avoiding your goodwill?"

Qi Xiao put down his tea cup, shook his head and said, "I can't tell, or perhaps it's a combination of both?"

"It shouldn't be like this... Although he is young, he should understand these principles. He is new here and really needs someone to support him. You are the crown prince..." Princess Dunsu frowned, lowered her voice and said, "Could it be that he knows you are not the emperor's biological..."

"Aunt." Qi Xiao interrupted Princess Dunsu's words, smiled and said, "There are no walls in the world that don't let wind through. Many people know about what happened back then. The Lingnan Prince Manor is not blind or deaf. It's not strange if they found out."

Princess Dunsu sighed softly, "That's what I'm afraid of... If they find out, they might deliberately keep their distance out of worry that you won't be able to smoothly inherit the throne in the future. I'm afraid Bairen already knows. Naturally, he wants to find someone to rely on, but he is more afraid of offending the emperor."

Qi Xiao chuckled, "It doesn't matter. I made it very clear today that I wanted to get close to him. They are probably discussing it right now. Whether he wants my help is up to him... In fact, he has no choice. Apart from me, which prince dares to associate with him? If he ignores me, let's just stay in this awkward situation. Besides... even if he ignores me, it won't affect me marrying the Lingnan Princess..."

"That's true... I'll make some more inquiries. This matter can't be avoided anyway. If the young master really intends to distance himself, then forget it. The Lingnan Princess is not the only one. The illegitimate daughter, Princess Kangtai, is also an excellent candidate, hehe... I just hope that in the future he won't regret not becoming your brother-in-law by marriage."

Princess Dunsu was a cautious person who wanted everything to be perfect, so she had Qi Xiao communicate with Bairen first, but unexpectedly ran into a soft nail. However, it was still fine as it was not related to the big picture. Princess Dunsu looked at Qi Xiao with a loving smile, "Perhaps that's just his personality. To be honest, as a hostage, most of them don't have a good temper."

Qi Xiao smiled without saying anything.

After the evening, the palace was about to be locked. It was inconvenient for Qi Xiao to stay for long, so he left after accompanying Princess Dunsu for two cups of tea. The moon was bright and the stars were few in the evening, with a cool breeze, presenting a different scenery. Qi Xiao did not take the sedan chair, but slowly walked towards the Haiyan Hall along the Thousand Carp Pond. Jiang Deqing speculated that Qi Xiao had a lot on his mind recently and didn't want to sleep early.

He hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness... why don't you let them withdraw first, and this servant will accompany Your Highness for a stroll here?"

Qi Xiao nodded. Jiang Deqing turned around and dismissed all the palace servants. He followed Qi Xiao and walked around the waterside corridor. Qi Xiao didn't speak for a while, then suddenly said, "That Bairen..."

Jiang Deqing didn't expect Qi Xiao to still be thinking about this matter. He smiled, "Your Highness, how could he compare to you? As you said, regardless of the young master's attitude, it won't affect your marriage with the Lingnan Princess."

Qi Xiao wasn't thinking about the marriage with Lingnan at all, but Jiang Deqing misunderstood. Qi Xiao shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing. Forget it. It's late. Let's go back first."

Jiang Deqing quickly agreed and held up the lantern for Qi Xiao to watch his steps. However, he was only looking at Qi Xiao. When getting off the bridge, he stumbled and almost fell. Fortunately, Qi Xiao caught him in time, but the lantern fell into the river. Jiang Deqing immediately knelt down to apologize, "This servant's eyes are dim. This servant..."

"Forget it." Jiang Deqing was the eunuch who served Emperor Wu back then and had been serving Qi Xiao since he was a child. How could Qi Xiao seriously reprimand him? He waved his hand, "Don't bother with these formalities. I'm tired."

"Yes, yes." Jiang Deqing quickly got up, looked around and bowed, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. This servant will go get a palace lantern first..."

Qi Xiao was impatient to wait. He shook his head and said, "The moon is so bright. We can vaguely see clearly. Let's just walk like this..."

Jiang Deqing had just lost his manners and didn't dare to disobey Qi Xiao's intention again. He bowed and supported Qi Xiao off the bridge. The two walked towards the Haiyan Hall. Halfway through, when passing by the sea of bamboo groves, Qi Xiao's footsteps paused. Jiang Deqing looked up in confusion, "Your Highness..."

"Shh..."

Qi Xiao's thin lips pursed slightly. Through the rustling sound of bamboo leaves, he vaguely heard the sound of people talking in the bamboo grove...

Qi Xiao had practiced martial arts since he was a child, and his hearing was better than ordinary people, naturally much better than the aged Jiang Deqing. Qi Xiao signaled Jiang Deqing to keep quiet, and he slowly walked a few steps into the bamboo grove. If he heard correctly, that was Bairen's voice just now...

In the bamboo grove, Bairen pulled someone's sleeve and said in a low voice, "It's okay... He probably just spoke to me on a whim. He is naturally clear about my identity. Why would he bother with me and cause trouble for himself..."

"I heard from my father early on that although the Crown Prince seems ordinary, he is actually a very scheming person." The person pulled by Bairen had his back to Qi Xiao.

He slightly nodded his head and reminded in a low voice, "We can't afford to provoke such a person. It's better to avoid him in the future. I'll go out of the palace to meet them tomorrow... Does the young master have any words to pass on to the Queen?"

Bairen's eyes appeared even more delicate under the silvery moonlight. His eyes were dim, and he shook his head with a bitter smile, "No... There's no need to mention me to Mother in the future. I have now become a discarded pawn. I don't know if I will be able to return to Lingnan in my lifetime. The less you mention me, the less Mother will miss me... As time passes, it would be best if Mother could forget about me..."

The other person's voice rose slightly, unable to bear it, "Young Master, don't belittle yourself. In the future... there will always be a time to meet. Young Master, take good care of yourself, so that the Queen can be at ease."

Bairen nodded wearily, "Don't worry. For the sake of Mother and Sister, I will also take good care of myself... Chaoge, fortunately, I still have you..."

Qi Xiao frowned slightly. A month ago, he had looked through the list of names of the Lingnan entourage. Chaoge, Chaoge... Qi Xiao's heart stirred. Cen Chaoge, the eldest son of the Lingnan Civil Minister, was the study companion of Dongling Bairen.

During the day, Cen Chaoge followed closely behind Bairen. As he was half a head taller than Bairen and had a handsome face, Qi Xiao had some impression of him. However, he never thought that this companion was actually Bairen's secret informant for passing out messages.

Qi Xiao didn't want to startle the grass and alert the snake, and was about to leave when he heard Bairen's hoarse voice, murmuring in a low tone, "If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't be able to hold on..."

Qi Xiao suddenly turned his head and saw that under the night, Cen Chaoge had his arms around Bairen, lowering his head to soothingly kiss his forehead, gently saying, "Don't worry, you just think too much. You're always so tense around me during the day. It's so much better to just let it out like this..."

Bairen's eyes were slightly red, but even in great sorrow, he maintained his composure. He turned his face to the side, wiping away the moisture in his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's go back... Those people will come looking for me if they can't find me in a while..."

Cen Chaoge nodded, leaned in again to kiss Bairen's forehead, then turned and headed west of the bamboo forest. Bairen still stood there, gazing in the direction Cen Chaoge had walked, not knowing how long had passed before he touched the spot on his forehead where Cen Chaoge had just kissed, then turned and headed east towards Zhaode Hall.

To the north of the bamboo forest, through the layers of bamboo leaves, Qi Xiao saw everything. Under the moonlight, Qi Xiao's eyes were full of resentment, the corner of his mouth carrying a trace of a cold smile. Indifferent to others? In a bad mood because he became a hostage? Hehe... He was quite affectionate with Cen Chaoge just now.

Jiang Deqing followed behind Qi Xiao and also understood clearly. He asked in a low voice, "Your Highness... Do you want to order the scouts to investigate?"

Qi Xiao's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. He shook his head, "No need. Go tell my aunt in the morning that I've made up my mind... I insist on marrying Bairen's biological elder sister, Princess Roujia."