The two of them lay in bed half asleep until the early morning before getting up. The servants Qi Xiao brought with him took over the task of attending to their morning routines. The servants from the Lingnan Prince's manor stood outside the warm chamber, waiting for the two to finish getting ready before entering to serve breakfast.

Yesterday, everyone had just witnessed His Highness the Crown Prince's imposing manner, so this time they served with extra care, afraid that if Qi Xiao was the slightest bit displeased, he would suddenly throw down his soup spoon, overturn the table, and have them all executed as well.

In fact, Qi Xiao was in a very good mood. The breakfast was also very much to his taste, and he had no intention of lashing out at anyone. After finishing breakfast, Qi Xiao washed his hands and sat with Bairen in the main hall, slowly sipping tea.

Qi Xiao swept his eyes around the hall. In just one night, the room had become much neater. Several pots of camellia were in full bloom beside the incense burner, and with the heat from the incense, the entire room was filled with a faint floral fragrance. The furnishings and decorations in the room had also been replaced with a new set. Qi Xiao gave them a cursory glance and nodded inwardly, deeming them barely passable.

Qi Xiao took the blue-patterned celadon tea cup handed to him by the maid, took a sip of tea, glanced at the dozen or so stewards standing in the hall, then turned to Bairen with a smile: "Prince, you are still too young after all, and there is no woman in charge of the household. It's very easy to suffer the same losses I did when I first established my residence.

"I am an outsider, but firstly, I can't bear to see you walk the same old path as I did back then, and secondly, I don't want Princess Roujia to suffer grievances when she enters the capital next year. That's why I overstepped my bounds and said a few extra words yesterday. I hope the Prince won't blame me for meddling too much?"

Bairen quickly shook his head: "Your Highness is being too serious, how could that be."

"That's good then." Qi Xiao placed the tea cup on the table, looked at the stewards in the room and smiled lightly, "Then in the future... when I have free time, I'll come over to your place to sit for a while. If there's anything else I can't stand to see, I'll still have to deal with one or two things."

Bairen instantly understood Qi Xiao's meaning. He was going to play the bad cop for him, and incidentally remind everyone to be vigilant at all times. Bairen almost laughed out loud, but his face remained respectful: "It would be my pleasure, but it would be too much trouble for Your Highness."

Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled: "No trouble at all."

Qi Xiao stood up, and his maids hurried over to drape a cloak over him. Qi Xiao turned to Bairen's old steward with a faint smile: "If there are any more servants who deceive their master... Steward, there's no need to make things difficult. I have a few manors that are short on people. Just send them to me directly. Those who are not afraid of death, come as you please..."

Hearing this, everyone in the room broke out in a cold sweat, but Qi Xiao still had a smile on his face as he left, holding a hand warmer.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the Crown Prince's residence. As soon as Qi Xiao got off the carriage, Jiang Deqing came to greet him, saying anxiously: "Your Highness, yesterday... yesterday Shen Xin was drinking with someone, and after getting drunk, he accidentally... slipped and fell into the Bibo Pond."

Qi Xiao frowned slightly: "Was he rescued?"

Jiang Deqing put on an exaggerated show of fear, lowering his voice and stammering: "No... the Bibo Pond was already frozen over. He fell into an ice hole and there was no way to rescue him. By the time he was fished out... he was already dead."

Qi Xiao nodded and walked inside, slowly saying: "Send someone into the palace to inform them. After all, he was someone bestowed upon me by Imperial Father. We must make things clear."

Jiang Deqing agreed repeatedly. The group walked all the way to Qi Xiao's inner study. After dismissing the maids, Qi Xiao smiled faintly: "Huo Rong's handiwork is quite efficient."

Jiang Deqing nodded with a smile: "Yes, yesterday he drank with Shen Xin all night, and afterwards, who knows how, he quietly finished off Shen Xin. This morning, this old servant personally watched him write a memorial to the Emperor, completely absolving Your Highness and himself."

Qi Xiao nodded. With this, the matter could be considered resolved.

"Your Highness..." Jiang Deqing continued, "Just now, I saw a small sedan chair following behind Your Highness' carriage. Is that..."

Qi Xiao let out a cold laugh: "It's nothing. Find an empty room and let her stay there for now. Don't let her go short on food and clothing. After a year or two, when everyone has forgotten about it, just marry her off."

Jiang Deqing agreed, thought for a moment, then said: "Your Highness... although Your Highness already has several concubines like this on the surface, you still haven't gotten married. These past few days, associating with the Prince like this, what if..."

Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled: "What if?"

"Forgive my impudence, Your Highness." Jiang Deqing bowed slightly, "What if the Emperor finds out... how does Your Highness plan to deal with it?"

Qi Xiao shook his head with a smile: "Do you really think these things can be kept from him? Maybe they can be hidden for now, but after some time... he will definitely find out."

Jiang Deqing frowned: "Is Your Highness not worried?"

"Worried about what?" Qi Xiao laughed first, "What do you think he will do? Summon me to give me a beating and tell me to mend my ways and never get involved with Bairen again? Hehe... I just called him Imperial Father, do you really think he is my father?"

Qi Xiao smiled mockingly: "If he finds out, he will probably be even happier. What he has been most worried about these past few years is that I will marry a Crown Princess with a powerful maternal family and have a legitimate son, thus securing my position as the Crown Prince...

"Now that Bairen and I are close, he can only be pleased. You'll see, in the future, if someone proposes a marriage alliance, he will definitely have others reveal my preference for men, using it to disrupt my marriage. Hehe, those schemes of his..."

Jiang Deqing had been holding back his words for a long time, and today happened to be a good opportunity to bring it up. He couldn't help but speak frankly: "Could it be that Your Highness really isn't in a hurry to discuss marriage? Your Highness is about to come of age. Having a capable maternal family would be of great benefit to you and do no harm."

Qi Xiao frowned and shook his head: "No... not to mention what kind of in-laws I could find with the Emperor and Empress Feng interfering, just talking about getting married..."

Qi Xiao smiled self-deprecatingly and looked up at Jiang Deqing: "You watched me grow up. Do you think I would open my heart to a woman I don't know at all?"

Jiang Deqing was speechless. Qi Xiao scoffed: "That's just it. Even if I do get married, it will just be one more person to guard against, and this person will be in my manor at all times... Forget it, just thinking about it gives me a headache."

Jiang Deqing laughed: "Then is Your Highness not going to take a wife? This... actually, it's not a big deal. At first, you'll be on your guard, but slowly, you'll be able to relax. It's just like with Your Highness and the Prince. When you first started sharing a bed, you still kept a dagger under your pillow, but now..."

"Shh..." At the mention of Bairen, Qi Xiao's face showed a hint of a smile, "Don't bring this up again, be careful he finds out."

Jiang Deqing understood and laughed, lightly slapping his own mouth: "This old servant misspoke."

Qi Xiao knew Jiang Deqing was just worried about him and reassured him with a smile: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. We'll talk about those things later."

Jiang Deqing nodded, thought for a moment and said, "What if... His Majesty finds out about Your Highness and the Young Prince's relationship, and threatens Your Highness with the Young Prince?"

Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh, "Do you think His Majesty would believe that I have true feelings for Bairen? Hehe... In his heart, he's probably more worried about Bairen's safety than I am."

Hearing this, Jiang Deqing also laughed. When Princess Dunsu first learned about this matter, she also thought Qi Xiao was just fooling around. When Jiang Deqing first found out, he also thought Qi Xiao was just bored and teasing Bairen. But now... Jiang Deqing secretly sighed, hoping that he was just overthinking.

Before long, a message came back from the palace. The Emperor reassured Qi Xiao with a few words, telling him not to take it to heart, and ordered him to invite a group of monks to perform an exorcism ritual. Qi Xiao was relieved, as the Emperor had believed Huo Rong's words.

Time flew by, and soon it was the end of the year. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, Qi Xiao got up early to pay his respects to the Emperor and Empress in the palace. Qi Xiao's injury had also healed, and he waited outside Fenghua Palace early with the other princes.

This was the first time Qi Xiao had appeared in front of everyone since being punished by the Emperor. Qi Xiao was used to being domineering, and his prestige was still there. The other princes were afraid of offending him and didn't dare to say much. Qi Xiao was too lazy to pay attention to them.

At the end of the year, Bairen was busy with many things, and Qi Xiao was also restless. Counting the days, it had been more than ten days since Qi Xiao had seen Bairen. He felt a bit empty inside, thinking that he would take a break after paying his respects to the Emperor and Empress to go see Bairen.

Qi Xiao was still lost in thought when Qi Hua approached with a smile and said, "Greetings to the Crown Prince. It's been quite a while since I last saw you, Crown Prince. This younger brother has missed you very much."

Qi Xiao looked up at him and smiled, "Has Second Brother's injury healed well? It takes a hundred days for injured muscles and bones to heal, and it hasn't been that long yet."

Qi Xiao immediately stepped on Qi Hua's sore spot. Qi Hua was furious but forced a smile, "It's already... healed well. I haven't thanked the Crown Prince yet. I heard that the Crown Prince has been getting close to the Young Prince of Lingnan recently. I suppose you've been explaining the previous matter for me, and I wonder... if the Young Prince has been magnanimous enough to forgive me?"

Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "Speaking of which, I have to thank Second Brother. If it weren't for your unpleasantness with the Young Prince that day, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take him to my place to recuperate. As a result... I became familiar with the Young Prince, and now we're about to become in-laws. Hehe... Second Brother, don't worry, the Young Prince has long forgotten about that little matter from before."

Qi Xiao smiled on the surface but not in his heart, "That's the best then."

As they were talking, Princess Dunsu also entered the palace. The Emperor quickly ordered someone to invite Princess Dunsu in. Everyone entered the hall together. After a series of tedious formalities, they took their seats in order. The Emperor looked at Princess Dunsu with a smile, "It's been a few days since we last met, and Imperial Sister's complexion looks even better."

Princess Dunsu smiled gently and turned to look at Empress Feng, "What snacks did the Empress feed His Majesty this morning to make him speak so sweetly?"

Empress Feng laughed, and Princess Dunsu smiled, "There are so many things to do at the end of the year that I can barely keep up. How can my complexion be good? Even if it's really good, it's because I'm coming to see His Majesty and the Empress today, and I'm happy in my heart."

Princess Dunsu had always been good at socializing, and in no time, the hall was lively. When the Emperor asked about He Zichen, Princess Dunsu said, "This child knows that the Emperor has shown him such favor and is grateful for the imperial grace. He has become even more ambitious, and his mother prays for the Emperor every day.

"The whole family is grateful. I also told them to take advantage of the end of the year to tidy up their manor and not to make it look too shabby when welcoming the princess next year, so as not to let down the Emperor's great kindness. It's just..."

Princess Dunsu smiled and said, "It's just that their family has limited means and can't make it look too good. I helped them a little, and it looks barely passable."

The Emperor, being a good person to the end, smiled and said, "How can I let my sister spend money? Leave this matter to the Internal Affairs Department and have them find a suitable house and help with furnishing it."

Princess Dunsu was just waiting for these words and smiled, "Then I'll thank the Emperor on behalf of my nephew for his great kindness."

The Emperor shook his head and smiled. Spending this little money was nothing to him. Speaking of which, the Emperor was also very satisfied with this marriage. Although marrying into the He family would be related to Qi Xiao, it was already the best outcome compared to marrying any of the princes.

The Emperor was different from Emperor Wu. He was not so enthusiastic about expanding territory. Compared to that, securing the throne and governing this land well was what the Emperor really wanted.

He also had self-awareness. He was not good at fighting wars and didn't have many generals he could fully trust under him. Therefore, he was very wary of starting wars. As long as Lingnan got along with him on the surface, the Emperor would not easily touch this area.

He wanted to have a marriage alliance with Lingnan and be on good terms with them, but he didn't want any prince to have such a big help. Letting Princess Roujia marry into a noble family was already the best outcome.

Moreover, this noble family's son was quite destitute and couldn't rise for the time being, which couldn't make the Emperor more satisfied.

Since Princess Dunsu returned to the court, this was the first time she had done something that pleased the Emperor. Therefore, the previous discord between the siblings was swept away, and they became as close as before on the surface.

"By the way, Crown Prince... You can be considered half a matchmaker. After the New Year, when Princess Roujia enters the capital, help keep an eye on the wedding." Princess Dunsu turned to look at Qi Xiao and smiled, "It's a pity that the King and Queen of Lingnan are not allowed to enter the capital. Bairen is young and may not be able to handle such a big event."

Qi Xiao nodded and smiled, "Of course."

Princess Dunsu turned her head and started chatting and laughing with Empress Feng again. Qi Xiao was a little absent-minded. Today was the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year's Eve. After dealing with these people, he still had something to give to Bairen.