The invitation from Fenghua Palace to view the flowers was first delivered to Bairen's hands.

After reading the invitation, Bairen said without hesitation: "Tell them to pass on the message, thanking Her Majesty the Empress for her kindness, but Roujia is about to have her engagement ceremony soon and it's really not appropriate for her to go out. As for Kangtai, unfortunately these days she is..."

"Big brother, Kangtai doesn't have any other matters to attend to." Wenyu, upon hearing that someone had come from the Empress' palace, also hurriedly rushed over. Seeing that Bairen was about to decline, he quickly interjected, "Her Majesty the Empress has specially invited the young ladies of our manor. If not even one of them goes... it would be a bit hard to justify, right?"

Bairen turned his head to glance at Wenyu, and said to the old steward: "You may go first."

It wasn't the first or second time that the two young masters of the manor had engaged in such a minor dispute. The old steward didn't dare to say much more, and with a look, led the others away.

Bairen casually placed the invitation on the desk and sat down himself, saying mildly: "When I first came to the capital, I had some friction with the Second Prince. You should know about that, right?"

"I know." Wenyu smiled, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "When Father received the letter, he was truly furious. Fortunately, my mother kept persuading him. Alas, if you ask me, when Big Brother first entered the imperial city, how could he have taken care of everything perfectly? Having a few mishaps is understandable, and it shouldn't implicate our entire princely manor..."

Bairen laughed self-deprecatingly: "In that case, I still have to thank Second Brother... Since you know, it's easier to discuss. The Second Prince is born of Empress Feng, so I don't need to say more, right? Roujia is about to get married. I have no intention of stirring up trouble. Not letting them go is for their own good. Have Kangtai claim illness. Even if Her Majesty the Empress takes offense, I'll bear the brunt of it. You don't need to worry."

Wenyu hurriedly smiled and said: "Big Brother is really overthinking. Although I've only met Her Majesty the Empress twice, I can tell she is a kind person. How could she hold such a grudge? Besides, it's just going to Her Majesty's palace to admire some flowers. Nothing will go wrong."

Bairen looked at Wenyu fixedly and said: "You are determined to let Kangtai go?"

Being stared at by Bairen made Wenyu feel a bit uneasy in his heart, but he still couldn't help saying: "It's not that I want to contradict Big Brother, it's just that... Big Brother is indeed being a bit too cautious. I'll boldly say something that goes against Big Brother's wishes.

"Kangtai came from far away, but after entering the capital, she hasn't had any interactions with people in the imperial city. Big Brother is single-mindedly arranging Sister's marriage and can't be bothered to pay attention to this concubine-born sister, so be it. But now there's a noble person inviting her, and Big Brother still wants to obstruct it at every turn. This... is really a bit too much, isn't it? What's wrong with letting Kangtai meet more noble people and broaden her horizons?"

"I know Big Brother has always looked down on us, despising us for being concubine-born. But in the end, we are still siblings. Why must Big Brother be so ruthless? I dare not say anything about Big Brother humiliating us siblings like this. But if... " Wenyu paused for a moment before saying in a low voice, "If Father hears even a hint of this, and questions Big Brother about it later, wouldn't that make me, as your younger brother, feel uneasy?"

Bairen listened quietly until Wenyu finished speaking, then smiled faintly: "Our own siblings... When you were seven, you deliberately pushed me off a high platform, nearly causing me to lose my life... When I was nine and first learning to ride and shoot, you tampered with the saddle, causing the horse to gallop out of control... When I was twelve, you came up with an even more brilliant idea and actually put an aphrodisiac in my tea cup, hehe...

"As for Kangtai, she was even more capable. At the age of eight, she knew to mix lime into Roujia's face powder. If Roujia hadn't disliked using powder since she was young... Even if it cost me my life, I would have ruined Kangtai's face. Wenyu, is this the affection between siblings that you speak of?"

Wenyu's face alternated between red and white as he forced a laugh: "Big Brother, what are you talking about..."

Having experienced so many of these things since childhood, Bairen's heart didn't stir in the slightest as he brought them up again. He took a sip of tea and slowly said: "There's no need to play dumb. If you don't mention brotherly affection, I can't be bothered to talk about these sordid matters either. Putting that aside, Wenyu... Let's not even talk about whether we, as sons of a feudal king, should casually associate with the powerful figures in the capital. Just considering the matter of you coming to the capital, it hasn't even been half a month. You couldn't have forgotten, right?"

Bairen put down his teacup, stood up, and looked at Wenyu, enunciating each word: "Don't tell me again how hard it was for you to come all this way. Remember clearly, I didn't invite you!"

"You came uninvited, and you still blame me for not putting in effort to introduce you everywhere?" Bairen laughed coldly. "Wenyu... You've learned your mother's tricks well. But you'd better understand this clearly. Think carefully about whose place this is."

These past few days, Bairen had been either busy with Roujia's wedding or preoccupied with Qi Xiao, and hadn't had time to deal with matters within the manor. Today happened to be a good opportunity, so he didn't bother to conceal anymore. Glancing at the invitation on the desk, he said: "If you want to go, then go. If you suffer for it later, don't blame me for not warning you. Remember my words today."

Bairen was about to leave, but he paused, turned his head back and added: "Why you wanted to come to the capital, you and I both know. Now you've also seen clearly the situation here. Go back and discuss it properly with your mother. Think carefully about whether you can still casually provoke me. I have a plan for the matters in Lingnan. We'll leave it at that for the sake of saving face. But if I hear even a hint of rumors about you treating my mother badly..."

Bairen's voice turned ice-cold: "Roujia's marriage has been decided. I no longer have any misgivings. If you happen to infuriate me, then at that time, we'll all perish together. Don't blame me for being ruthless."

With that, Bairen pushed open the door and left. Inside the room, Wenyu's face was pale and he broke out in a cold sweat. It took a while before he came back to his senses...

Outside, the old steward had been listening the whole time. Seeing Bairen come out, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Young master, if Second Young Master still insists on letting Second Young Miss go, should we still prepare the carriage and horses?"

Bairen laughed coldly: "Prepare them. If he wants to court death, no one can stop him."

As Bairen spoke, he walked towards the study. The old steward followed along the whole way. He had heard everything in the main hall just now and felt extremely gratified. He couldn't help but smile and say: "The young prince is becoming more and more formidable. This old servant sees... The young prince's bearing and words just now very much resembled those of His Highness the Crown Prince."

Bairen's steps faltered and he stared blankly for a moment before saying: "You... You said the Crown Prince?"

"Yes." The old steward smiled with satisfaction. "This old servant truly remembers the scene when the Crown Prince came to discipline those restless ones in our manor last time. They say one becomes like the person they learn from. The young prince used to be too proud and was never willing to easily show anger. Being noble is good, of course, but it also makes it hard to subdue people. Now... you have even more of the awe-inspiring air of a princely heir."

After this outburst of anger, Bairen's heart was still cold, but when the old steward suddenly mentioned Qi Xiao, his heart instantly softened a few degrees, and he couldn't help but look at the sun, vaguely hoping that Qi Xiao would still pick him up today...

Bairen's wish didn't go unfulfilled. When it was almost dark, Shunzi came and said that the wedding date had been chosen, and asked Bairen to go over and see if it was suitable. He smoothly took Bairen away.

When they arrived at the Crown Prince's Manor, it was already completely dark. Jiang Deqing personally came out to receive them. As he sent Bairen to the main house, he said in a low voice, "The Crown Prince is not in a good mood today. If his words are a bit harsh, Young Master, please just bear with it considering how the Crown Prince has always doted on you."

Before Bairen could ask why Qi Xiao was in a bad mood, Jiang Deqing had already left. Bairen entered the main house by himself and familiarly turned into the warm room in the inner chamber.

Inside, Qi Xiao was sitting with a cold face. Bairen pursed his lips, slowly walked over and sat down, and said softly, "What's wrong? Is there something going on in the court?"

The Feng family had been in decline since the beginning of the year, and the emperor had been troubled by rumors and had no time to add to Qi Xiao's frustrations. Recently, Qi Xiao had even used the power of the aristocratic families to fill the vacancies in the Feng family's posts with his own people. Everything had been going smoothly, so theoretically... there was no reason for him to be angry.

Bairen carefully looked at Qi Xiao's expression, endured his embarrassment and sat a little closer, placing his hand on Qi Xiao's hand, and said in a low voice, "If it's not some secret matter, can you tell me about it? Although my mind is not as sharp as yours, I can still try to think of a solution for you."

Qi Xiao turned his head to look at Bairen and sneered, "I was just about to ask you. When you were seven years old and were pushed off the high platform, what exactly happened?"

Bairen instantly understood everything and said with a bitter smile, "It's one thing for you to plant spies in my manor, but to say it so blatantly like this... aren't you afraid that I will investigate your people?"

"Don't change the subject. I told you long ago that I have people in your manor." Qi Xiao's phoenix eyes were filled with anger as he said coldly, "First, explain clearly... what did that beast Wenyu say today?"

Bairen had no choice but to explain everything in detail, "It was something that happened when we were young... If I remember correctly, that day we went to play at Little Aunt's house together. For some reason, everyone climbed up to a newly built pavilion in Little Aunt's manor. Because we were going to someone else's house, we didn't bring many servants, and for a moment, there was a lack of supervision, so... it was also my negligence. I was careless for a moment because I was having fun."

Qi Xiao was so angry that his teeth itched. He wished he could tie Wenyu to a cliff and push him down to let him try it too. Bairen knew that Qi Xiao's heart ached for him, and his heart felt warm. He said, "Actually, it wasn't a big deal... Children originally get bumps and bruises. I just scraped a few layers of skin, it was nothing."

Qi Xiao closed his eyes for a moment, "Then what about tampering with your saddle?"

Bairen gave a dry laugh. Being questioned so sternly by Qi Xiao, Bairen almost felt that these were all his own faults. But Qi Xiao was already angry, and Bairen didn't dare to provoke him further.

He honestly said, "At that time, we were just learning horseback archery. When no one was paying attention, Wenyu put two caltrops under my saddle... Fortunately, my horse could endure the pain and just kept running without throwing me off. The martial arts masters also arrived in time, so it was just a false alarm and nothing happened."

Qi Xiao said angrily, "What else did you want to happen?"

Bairen quickly shook his head, "I didn't want anything to happen, really..."

Qi Xiao suppressed his anger, "Also, he put aphrodisiac in your tea cup..."

Bairen inwardly sighed in distress. He had felt good digging up old scores with Wenyu today, but he didn't expect that Qi Xiao would know and make a fuss from beginning to end. Fortunately, Wenyu didn't succeed in this.

Bairen quickly explained, "That day was my father's birthday, and many people came to the manor. I had already been on guard, so I didn't drink that tea... It was a coincidence that Wenyu's cousin drank it instead. Afterwards... let's not talk about that. Later, after a thorough investigation, that drug was found in Wenyu's room. Father severely punished him, and I didn't suffer any loss."

Bairen tried his best to make it sound casual, but Qi Xiao was still on the verge of exploding with anger. He was originally a suspicious person, and now he endlessly questioned, "If he wanted to harm you, why didn't he directly use poison? If he could get this kind of drug, couldn't he find poison? At that time, you were all twelve years old, and Wenyu was already aware of worldly matters. How do you know this beast didn't lose his humanity and intended to..."

"Your Highness..." Bairen had a headache and pleaded repeatedly, "You're really overthinking this... Besides, I also took revenge on him later. Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

Qi Xiao knew that he shouldn't mention Bairen's childhood nightmares anymore, but he just couldn't let it go. Thousands of vicious thoughts flashed through his mind, any of which could make Wenyu wish he was dead. If it weren't for the consideration that Roujia was about to get married, Qi Xiao wished he could directly end Wenyu's life, regardless of whose son he was. What did it have to do with him if a war started with Lingnan?!

Bairen could more or less guess Qi Xiao's thoughts and repeatedly pleaded, "Just let it go for the sake of my sister's upcoming happy event... Or, do you want me to tell you how I've harmed him over the years?"

Qi Xiao had always been lenient with himself and strict with others. Hearing this, he said in confusion, "Isn't harming him what you should do?! Don't tell me that just because you harmed him a few times, all these previous things can be written off?"

This was the first time Bairen had heard such reasoning. He was stunned for a moment, but he still tactfully shook his head, "No... no, it can't."

Only then did Qi Xiao's anger subside a little. Bairen was afraid that Qi Xiao would do something out of hatred, so he quickly changed the subject and said softly, "Have you had dinner?"

Qi Xiao snorted coldly, "After hearing my spy's words, I was so angry that I only ate a few bites..."

Bairen smiled, "What a coincidence, I didn't eat much in the evening either. I've been interrogated by Your Highness for half a day, and my stomach is already empty. Why don't you have them bring up a few plates of snacks, and we can eat a little more, okay?"

Qi Xiao frowned, "What's the use of snacks? Jiang Deqing..."

Jiang Deqing kept responding from outside. Qi Xiao said, "Tell the kitchen to prepare some porridge and some meat and vegetable dishes, not too greasy." Jiang Deqing agreed and left.

Seeing the gloominess between Qi Xiao's brows, Bairen's heart felt warm. He fawningly scooted forward and nestled into Qi Xiao's arms, whispering, "Don't be angry anymore. It hurts my heart when you get angry because of me."

Qi Xiao looked down at Bairen indifferently, "You feel distressed for me?"

Bairen's face turned red as he nodded. Qi Xiao pointed to his own lips and said in a deep voice, "Kiss here."

Bairen had no choice but to endure the embarrassment and lean in for a kiss. Qi Xiao took the lead and kissed him affectionately for a while before letting go. He lingered, kissing Bairen's flushed lips. Bairen was still uneasy and whispered, "You're not angry anymore, right?"

Qi Xiao neither confirmed nor denied, but smiled slyly. "You know how I like to cool down. If you don't want me to be angry, you should show some sincerity, right?"

Bairen had no choice but to bury his flushed face in Qi Xiao's embrace. Qi Xiao held Bairen dotingly, sneering inwardly. He wasn't some kind of saint. So what if he agreed and then went back on his word? He wanted Bairen's benefits, and as for Wenyu... he had to teach him a lesson too.