The affair between Qi Hua and that palace maid quickly spread, nearly driving the Emperor mad with rage. He wished he could devour Qi Hua and that girl alive, but he knew in his heart that even if he boiled them alive, it would only make the rumors spread more fiercely.

The Emperor's original intention was to secretly execute those who knew about the scandal, trying his best to suppress the matter. Therefore, he did not discuss it with his close ministers after the incident. But now that it had become known to the whole world, there was no use in hiding it anymore. The Emperor summoned a few of his most trusted ministers to the palace to discuss countermeasures together.

The Emperor rubbed his brow wearily and said in a low voice, "You probably all know why I called you here. Tell me, how bad are the rumors outside now?"

A minister hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Your Majesty, the rumors among the people are very unpleasant. They say that..."

The Emperor laughed coldly, "They say that I am licentious and unruly, imitating Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, lusting after my daughter-in-law, right?"

The minister paused and nodded, "Indeed. Now there are even catchy ditties circulating that, although not explicitly stated, borrow from ancient events to subtly satirize Your Majesty."

The Emperor snorted, "So there are other examples besides Emperor Xuanzong? What ancient events? Let's hear it."

The minister sighed, "The New Emperor taking in the Daughter-in-Law."

The Emperor nearly coughed up blood on the spot, his breath caught in his chest. Seeing the Emperor's complexion turn bad, the ministers hurriedly knelt down and advised, "Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance. Please do not be angry. Let's first think about how to respond..."

The Emperor suppressed the surging anger in his chest with great effort. After a while, he said, "You may all rise..."

Another minister looked hesitant and said solemnly, "I dare to ask boldly... What exactly happened yesterday? To be honest, Your Majesty, there are all kinds of rumors outside now. We ministers have also pieced together some information from various sources, but we don't know the inside story. We need to first understand what really happened in order to come up with a strategy."

The Emperor gritted his teeth and recounted the previous events. After hearing it, a minister frowned deeply and said softly, "This matter is clearly the Second Prince's... Forgive me, Your Majesty, it is the Second Prince's fault, so why are all the rumors targeting Your Majesty?"

The Emperor laughed coldly, "I can't figure it out either. The person the Empress prepared for me somehow became Qi Hua's beloved. Judging from the rumors, it seems the two of them are a match made in heaven, and I am the one trying to steal his love."

"For the rumors to spread so quickly, someone must be deliberately directing it, intentionally pointing the spearhead at Your Majesty. What could be the reason?" a minister said slowly. "Forgive me for my impudence, Your Majesty, could this matter have something to do with the Feng family? After all... this way, it kind of absolves the Second Prince."

Another minister next to him hurriedly shook his head, "It doesn't seem like it... The Feng family doesn't have the guts to do this. Besides, this only makes those ignorant commoners think the Second Prince is innocent. Your Majesty will not forgive the Second Prince because of this, so what's the point? Moreover, this was originally a matter that could have been suppressed. Why would the Feng family want to publicize it themselves? The sacrifice would be too great."

"Then... could it be the Crown Prince?" a minister carefully observed the Emperor's expression. "Or could it be Princess Dunsu?"

"I dare say... the Empress is also aware of this matter, and Her Majesty dotes on her child..."

"Princess Dexin was also present at the time..."

The ministers in the hall discussed spiritedly, analyzing in detail all those who knew about the matter. Although everyone had a motive, each also had sufficient reason not to do it. After a messy analysis for half a day, no definite conclusion could be reached.

The Emperor was irritated and said coldly, "Without evidence, what's the use of arguing about this?! First, secretly investigate and slowly trace it back to the source to find the mastermind behind the scenes. The top priority now is how to resolve this incident!"

An old minister who had been silent for a while stepped forward, bowed slowly and said, "Your Majesty, calm your anger. Now... it is not advisable to deal with the Second Prince and that palace maid anymore. Everyone thinks that Your Majesty is stealing someone's beloved by force. If Your Majesty severely punishes the two with thunderous fury now, I'm afraid it will only confirm the previous rumors.

"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty might as well bestow that palace maid to the Second Prince, not mentioning the previous matter, and only say that she was an ordinary female maid beside the Empress. On the 30th, the Second Prince took a liking to her at first sight, so it became a done deal. Leave it at that."

Before the old minister finished speaking, another minister next to him hurriedly shook his head, "This is not comprehensive. Many people in the palace know that the palace maid was to be presented to the Emperor by the Empress. Moreover, there were those royal relatives in the palace yesterday. How can this be concealed?"

The old minister turned his head to look at that minister and said lightly, "Is it more important to stop the wagging tongues of the world or to shut the mouths of those few royal relatives?"

The minister was speechless. The old minister continued, "Once Your Majesty's attitude is set, those who know the previous matter will naturally know what should be said and what should not be said. In this way, the rumors will be defeated without a fight. Although it will still take some time to calm down, it is better than letting the rumors escalate. This method is not perfect, but I can't think of a more appropriate one."

The Emperor sighed deeply and nodded, "Let's do it this way then."

Everyone continued to refine the plan according to the old minister's train of thought, discussing every detail. The Emperor remained silent for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "When this matter subsides... immediately investigate for me. We must find out... who exactly is stirring up trouble for no reason!"

Outside the palace, in the Crown Prince's residence, Qi Xiao closed the door, dismissed everyone, and said in a low, cold voice, "The rumors outside... did you spread them?"

Bairen's thin lips pursed slightly as he gently nodded.

Qi Xiao was furious, trying his best to suppress the urge to take action against Bairen.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Do you have a death wish? Who do you think you are?! As long as the Emperor finds out it was you, he can directly take your life! Don't think that just because he protects you everywhere usually, once it really touches his sore spot, he will deal with you first even if it means going to war with Lingnan!"

Bairen shook his head, "He won't be able to find out... The people who did this for me have already left the city. By the time the Emperor investigates, they will probably have returned to Lingnan. With the people gone, the Emperor will find nothing."

Qi Xiao frowned deeply. This morning, he and Bairen left the palace together. He went to supervise the Ministry of Rites in handling year-end matters, while Bairen returned to the Lingnan Prince's residence to offer sacrifices to his ancestors. In other words... Bairen had released this information early in the morning.

Qi Xiao looked at Bairen in disbelief, "I have already dealt with Qi Hua. What else are you unsatisfied with? Why take the risk to pull this stunt?!"

Bairen looked up at Qi Xiao and said solemnly, "The Second Prince once humiliated me. Although the wound on my neck has healed... I still remember what happened before."

Qi Xiao felt it was simply unbelievable and laughed, "Didn't I avenge you?! Because of the Academy's Alley incident, Qi Hua lost the Emperor's favor in one fell swoop and couldn't recover for half a year. What more do you want?!"

"That was the Crown Prince punishing him. I'm grateful for the Crown Prince's grace, but in the end, it wasn't by my hand." Bairen's tone carried a rare stubbornness. "Even if we don't talk about past matters, just this time, the Crown Prince... I already know, this incident was also aimed at me. Those two maids... were originally kept by Empress Feng to deal with me."

Qi Xiao was speechless. For the first time, he understood the meaning of lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet. When he instructed Jiang Deqing to reveal the past to Bairen, it definitely wasn't for Bairen to take revenge...

Seeing the resentment in Bairen's eyes, Qi Xiao thought of what Princess Dunsu had said to him before... No matter the circumstances, Bairen was the heir of the King of Lingnan, with a noble identity. It was impossible for him to let others bully him. As long as he had the means, he absolutely wouldn't let himself suffer the slightest grievance.

Qi Xiao laughed angrily, "Your Highness is truly valiant... Haha, Your Highness..." Qi Xiao stepped forward and pushed Bairen against the wall, slightly lowering his head to stare fixedly into Bairen's eyes, "I've also humiliated you plenty, schemed against you plenty. This prince would like to ask Your Highness, when Your Highness has grown powerful enough, how do you plan to repay this prince's actions towards you over the past half year? Hmm?"

Bairen was stunned for a moment, a flash of grievance passing through his eyes. He turned his head away without responding. Qi Xiao gave a cold laugh, "Speak. Let this prince prepare, are you planning to send me up the knife mountain or into the oil cauldron?"

Bairen was so angry he kept his head lowered, refusing to look at Qi Xiao's face. Inadvertently, his gaze swept over the jade pendant Qi Xiao always wore at his waist. His eyes instantly reddened as he said hoarsely, "You think I want to harm you? Knife mountain... oil cauldron? The one dying would definitely be me!"

Bairen was used to being forbearing. If Qi Xiao had spoken to him gently as usual, Bairen would have voiced his thoughts. But Qi Xiao had started with harsh words today.

Bairen had a bellyful of words he couldn't say, all stuck in his heart. Now hearing Qi Xiao mention "knife mountain, oil cauldron", his heart ached to the extreme. He grabbed the jade pendant at Qi Xiao's waist and fiercely broke free from Qi Xiao, wanting to leave.

"You rebel!" Qi Xiao originally only had three parts anger, but Bairen's actions now provoked it to ten parts. Earlier he had been careless, allowing Bairen to take advantage of a gap. This time, he pulled Bairen back. His actions were no longer gentle as he picked Bairen up and threw him onto the bed, snatching the jade pendant from his hand with a mocking laugh, "What? You don't want to give it to me anymore? Who do you want to give it to?"

Bairen was furious. He got up, still wanting to snatch it back. But his body was truly frail, without much strength. After a few moves, he was subdued. Qi Xiao tore down the bed curtains into several strips and tightly bound him. Bairen raged, "Qi Xiao! You dare!"

"What do I not dare?!" When bringing Bairen back, Qi Xiao had repeatedly told himself not to truly get angry, just to scare him with a few words to let him know the gravity of the situation. But he hadn't expected the usually docile Bairen to bite today.

Qi Xiao had never been good-tempered. Bairen had provoked him with a few words, making him furious, not to mention Bairen even wanted to take back the jade pendant!

This jade pendant was given to Bairen by the Queen of Lingnan. Bairen had repeatedly told him that even if it shattered, it must not be given to anyone else. Qi Xiao understood in his heart that this was an extremely important item. The Queen of Lingnan's original intention was probably to pass it to the future heir's wife. Qi Xiao accepted this sentiment, but he hadn't expected Bairen to want to snatch it back!

Qi Xiao strenuously suppressed the surging anger in his heart. He was afraid his temper would hurt Bairen, so he simply tied him up to prevent him from further provoking his anger, then pushed open the door to go out and cool off.

Jiang Deqing had been guarding outside the bedchamber. Hearing the earlier commotion, his heart had long risen to his throat. Seeing Qi Xiao come out, he hurriedly bowed and smiled apologetically, "Your Highness, quell your anger. The heir is still a child. Inevitably, some of his words may be inappropriate. Your Highness, please be more tolerant. Don't let anger redden your eyes and truly hurt him. When you turn back, won't you just distress yourself?"

Qi Xiao gave a cold laugh and kept walking forward. Jiang Deqing hurriedly followed, bowing, "Your Highness knows the heir's temperament. He understands everything in his heart, he just can't say it. Your Highness has always been tolerant, how can you not be today?"

Qi Xiao stopped and after a moment, handed the jade pendant he had been clutching to Jiang Deqing. He said coldly, "Go find a few knowledgeable old gentlemen to take a good look at what this thing actually means..." It would be best if it was used to pledge love, otherwise...

Qi Xiao closed his eyes briefly. He went to the study in front, going to find someone to direct the rumors towards the Feng family. No matter what, he couldn't let them investigate Bairen.

At the hour of starting court, Jiang Deqing returned with the jade pendant. Qi Xiao glanced at him and said indifferently, "Did you get someone to understand it?"

Jiang Deqing nodded with a sigh, "It's extraordinary... This old servant originally thought the engravings on the jade were Sanskrit. I found several gentlemen to decipher it, but they all didn't recognize it. Finally, Shunzi found an eighty-some-year-old elder in a pawn shop on Scholar's Alley. Only after asking him did we understand, the characters on it aren't Sanskrit, but talisman scripts. This also isn't a jade pendant. Listening to the elder..."

Jiang Deqing raised his head to look at Qi Xiao, giving a bitter laugh, "A life talisman, a life talisman. The meaning is to bear a decree on behalf of the ruler, using one life to protect another."

"Your Highness, didn't you say this was originally given to the young prince by the Queen of Lingnan? Then it's easy to understand. The Queen cherishes her son, so she wanted to give the life talisman to the young prince. She thought if there was an unforeseen event in the future, she would bear all suffering in place of the young prince. The young prince was unwilling to wear it because of his filial piety, but the young prince gave it to Your Highness... Does Your Highness still not understand what this means?"

Jiang Deqing sighed, "The elder said... with this giving and wearing, the lives of two people are connected. The young prince... is shouldering a life for Your Highness. Sigh... Actually, this old servant has never believed these things, but listening to that elder, the people of the Southern Frontier really believe in it..."

Qi Xiao took a deep breath. Bairen had once told him, if one day he no longer liked it, even if it was smashed and destroyed, it must not be given to anyone else. So, he was afraid of inadvertently shouldering a life for someone else...

At the time, he even teased him, asking him why he didn't wear it before if it was for protection. Bairen smiled without saying a word. Qi Xiao assumed that this was just Bairen's excuse, and that the jade pendant was actually for his sweetheart...

Qi Xiao's throat felt a bit hoarse. He had just asked Bairen if he wanted Qi Xiao to go through trials of fire and water for him. Bairen said if that were truly the case, he would definitely be the first to die...  

Qi Xiao suddenly understood everything.

He wasn't wrong after all - this was indeed Bairen's token of love for him. It's just that other people's love tokens are all precious treasures and wealth, while what Bairen gave him was his own life.

Qi Xiao's eyes reddened. He took the jade pendant and pushed open the door, heading straight for the bedchamber in the heavy snow...