In the warm chamber, there was an eight-panel folding screen with golden birds and flowers. Jiang Deqing responded from behind the screen, unable to see what was happening inside. Even so, he was still so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

In a panic, he tugged at his clothes and accidentally kicked over the small cloisonné screen on the kang bed. Hearing the commotion, Jiang Deqing was startled, thinking something had happened inside. Just as he was about to rush in, he heard Qi Xiao chuckle and say, "Don't come in... I'm just playing with the young prince."

Jiang Deqing instantly understood and knew it wasn't the right time to enter. He continued to stand with his head bowed behind the screen, not daring to say much.

In the inner room, Qi Xiao shook his head and sighed softly, "This screen is a few hundred years old. The craftsmen in my residence used over a hundred taels of pure gold just to reinforce it. Now, you've kicked it into pieces with one foot... Tell me, how should you compensate me?"

Bairen, having just recovered from his shock, was startled again upon hearing that the screen was an antique. He said blankly, "How... how could you just casually place such a thing out in the open..."

Qi Xiao laughed, "What else should I do? I put so much effort into restoring it, wasn't it precisely to use it?"

Bairen suddenly forgot about how Qi Xiao had just been tormenting him on the bed. He sat up and glanced at the screen that had shattered into several pieces on the ground, then turned to look at Qi Xiao with a fearful expression, like a child who had accidentally broken an adult's beloved vase. He said uneasily, "I... I don't know..."

Qi Xiao chuckled and pulled Bairen into his arms to comfort him, "I was just teasing you. If it's broken, it's broken. If it was truly something I cherished, I wouldn't carelessly leave it here. Did you hurt your foot... It's not like Jiang Deqing is an outsider, why are you so afraid of him coming in..."

Bairen looked at the screen on the ground and then at Qi Xiao with unease. He mumbled, "The way you were just now, of course I was scared..."

Qi Xiao knew he had gone too far in bullying him and smiled, "My fault... Jiang Deqing, have someone carry this screen out later and let the craftsmen see if it can still be repaired. If it really can't be fixed, forget it. But if it can be mended, tell them not to be stingy with the gold and repair it well. I still want to use it in the future."

Jiang Deqing quickly agreed. He then heard Qi Xiao whisper something in the warm chamber, and Bairen also softly responded a few times.

The two whispered for quite a while. Jiang Deqing couldn't hear clearly, but it seemed like Qi Xiao was coaxing Bairen, and Bairen sounded very docile. Jiang Deqing recalled how fierce Bairen was when he first arrived at the residence and found it amusing. His master had finally persevered until the clouds parted and the moon appeared.

In the inner room, Qi Xiao straightened Bairen's clothes for him and asked, "What did you say earlier? Say it again."

Jiang Deqing hurriedly repeated it as instructed, "It's already this time, and Princess Kangtai still hasn't left the palace. This old servant still remembers what the scout reported last night, clearly stating that the Second Young Master forbade Princess Kangtai from entering the palace. That's why I felt it was inappropriate and thought about informing the Crown Prince. Should the Crown Prince... send someone to inquire with our people in Fenghua Palace?"

Qi Xiao smiled coldly, "Go ahead and ask... Even if you don't, I can probably guess. Empress Feng is truly grasping at straws now, hoping that Wenyu and Kangtai can stage a comeback. Foolish... She should open her eyes and see that the Emperor is about to lose patience with Wenyu."

Bairen was also very puzzled by this and couldn't help but ask, "Then why has the Emperor never warned Wenyu? Allowing him to associate with the ministers..."

Qi Xiao affectionately took Bairen's hand and gently squeezed it, patiently explaining, "If an outsider came to your home, secretly trying to collude with a traitor within to steal your belongings, what would you do if you were the head of the household?"

Bairen was stunned. Qi Xiao chuckled, "If you immediately strike down the outsider with thunderous fury, that would be considered decisive. But if you do the opposite and feign ignorance... waiting to see which traitor the outsider can collude with, and then punishing them together, that would be the wisest. The Emperor is not a fool. He wants to know what Wenyu covets and wants to see clearly who among those around him is a traitor."

Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "Calling them traitors might be a bit excessive. The Emperor just wants to see who is short-sighted enough to make promises to the illegitimate son of a mere feudal king. They are fools..."

Bairen instantly understood everything and couldn't help feeling a bit of lingering fear. Qi Xiao smiled dotingly, "Don't worry... You'll experience many such things, and when you encounter them in the future, you'll naturally understand. Poor Empress Feng, despite being by the Emperor's side for so many years, she hasn't grasped the Emperor's true thoughts... A complete fool."

Bairen pressed his lips together and said softly, "Then Kangtai going to the palace... Regardless of whether this is Wenyu's intention or not, in the Emperor's eyes, it means Empress Feng has some entanglement with Lingnan."

Qi Xiao nodded, "So there's no need to worry. Things the Emperor doesn't approve of rarely cause big waves. I can roughly guess what intentions Empress Feng and Kangtai harbor, but even if I can't, it doesn't matter. In the end... it will definitely be like trying to carry water in a bamboo basket, all in vain."

In the Lingnan Prince's residence, in Kangtai's courtyard, Wenyu sat in the main seat with a cold expression. The ground was filled with kneeling servants.

Wenyu sneered, "Now you're all too afraid to speak... Hmph, you had the nerve to send the young lady out behind my back? Rascals! With the young prince not in the residence and me not here, you dared to let the Second Young Lady leave! If anything had happened, who among you could bear the responsibility?!"

The crowd was as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to say a word. The more Wenyu thought about it, the angrier he became. He regretted again, feeling that Kangtai was bold but foolish. He should never have agreed to let her come along in the first place.

He only hated that the Lingnan King doted on Kangtai too much, always indulging her whenever she acted coquettishly. His own mother also harbored other intentions, always wanting Kangtai to come to the capital to see what kind of man Roujia had married. Now, instead of witnessing Roujia's joke, he was about to become a joke himself!

Wenyu took a deep breath. Just as he was about to punish the servants, news came from outside that the Second Young Lady had returned to the residence. Wenyu angrily ordered the maidservants to bring her over. After dismissing the crowd, he launched into a furious scolding of Kangtai.

However, Kangtai remained very calm and smiled indifferently, "Why must Brother be like this? I merely entered the palace once. Doesn't Brother want to know what the Empress said to me?"

Wenyu sneered, "I don't want to know. Kangtai... What did I tell you yesterday? Empress Feng is out of favor now. You getting involved with her is just..."

"She is still the Empress." Kangtai, feeling embarrassed by Wenyu's words, coldly interrupted him. "Even a dying insect will twitch, surely Brother understands this principle, right?"

Wenyu laughed, "What does it matter to you if she's stiff or not? After Roujia's grand wedding, you'll return to Lingnan and probably never see her again in your life!"

Kangtai hesitated a few times and lowered his voice, "What if I see her every day from now on?"

Wenyu was stunned for a moment, feeling inexplicably flustered. He stared blankly and said, "What... what nonsense are you talking about?! What do you mean by seeing her every day? What exactly did you go and do today?!"

Kangtai bit his lip, his face flushing red. He said softly, "When I was in Fenghua Palace... I happened to run into the Second Prince who had gone to pay respects to the Empress."

Wenyu's heart sank. He instinctively turned his head to look at the doors and windows, then turned back and said in a low, stern voice, "Are you crazy?! You dare to meet an outside man in private..."

Wenyu's words were harsh. Kangtai's face turned purple as he frowned and said anxiously, "What do you mean by meeting an outside man in private? Didn't you all say that Roujia is engaged to the He family, so we're all relatives now..."

"Relatives my foot!" Wenyu flew into a rage. "What kind of relatives are we after a few twists and turns! Even if the Emperor and Princes call us relatives, that's them elevating us. What are you, that you also dare to call yourself relatives with them?! You better explain to me clearly! What exactly happened today!"

Kangtai had snuck into the palace today, originally only intending to flatter Empress Feng, hoping she could lend a helping hand when arranging her own marriage in the future. But she never expected that after entering the palace, things were completely different from what she had anticipated.

Empress Feng did not invite any other madams or young ladies, only herself alone. Before long, the Second Prince Qi Hua also arrived. She wanted to avoid him at first, but Empress Feng said there was no need. The Second Prince sat down and talked for a long time. After he left, Empress Feng kept mentioning the Second Prince in every sentence.

Even if Kangtai was foolish, she could hear the hidden meaning in Empress Feng's words.

Kangtai still knew her own place. If she married Qi Hua, she definitely could not become the principal wife, but would be a concubine... She naturally was unwilling, but if she could become Qi Hua's concubine, at least in terms of status she could suppress Roujia...

Kangtai's mind was in turmoil. She simply told Wenyu everything in one go. Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, Wenyu's entire face turned pale. Kangtai already felt guilty, and seeing him like this, she became even more at a loss. She said angrily, "You... where's the spirit you had just now when you were lecturing me? Say something!"

Wenyu wished he could swallow Kangtai alive. He said through gritted teeth, "Marriage has always been a matter of obeying the orders of one's parents and the words of the matchmaker. Let's not even talk about whether this marriage is suitable or not... Just seeing how Empress Feng actually discussed these things with you, a maiden in the boudoir, shows that you've been schemed against!"

Kangtai's face turned pale, "How... how is it not right? Besides, although the Empress didn't say it explicitly, you know what she meant..."

"I don't know. I only know that originally Princess Dunsu wanted to ask the Emperor to betroth Roujia to the Crown Prince, but later for some reason changed her mind. But Bairen must have had a hand in this. The Crown Prince is in his prime now, yet Bairen is still unwilling to let his own sister become the Crown Prince's concubine. In contrast, the Second Prince... Do you think it would be a good thing for you to be his concubine?"

Wenyu closed his eyes. "Besides... if this marriage was really suitable and the Emperor agreed, why didn't Empress Feng directly send a message to Father? As long as Father agrees, then this matter could be considered settled. Empress Feng's actions this time must be because she herself is not confident that the Emperor and Father would agree."

Kangtai's mind cleared a bit. She was stunned for a moment and said in a panic, "Then... then I'll never enter the palace again in the future, I just won't see her..."

"Did someone force you to go this time?!" The more Wenyu thought about it, the angrier he got. He wished he could immediately prepare a carriage to send Kangtai back to Lingnan.

"I warned you a thousand times not to act recklessly, but you just wouldn't listen! You had to think you're so clever! I'm laying down the rules today. From now on, you are not allowed to take a single step out of this courtyard! After Roujia's grand wedding, you will immediately return to Lingnan with me!"

Kangtai's eyes suddenly turned red. Wenyu, afraid that she would act coquettishly with him again, coldly said first, "If you don't obey, I will immediately sell off all your maids and old women, leaving you alone in this room. Even if you're angry, endure it for now. When we return to Lingnan, you can complain to Father and Mother however you want!"

After saying that, Wenyu left with a wave of his hand. Kangtai, both ashamed and indignant, buried her face in the embroidered pillow and began to sob.

After Wenyu left Kangtai's room, he immediately disciplined her servants and strictly ordered them not to spread word of today's events, thinking that this would cover it up. Who knew that the wind would not stop even if the tree wanted to be still.

The next day, rumors slowly began to spread from the palace... The second young lady of the Lingnan Prince's Manor and the Second Prince had fallen in love at first sight in Fenghua Palace. After Princess Roujia and Scholar He's grand wedding, they would likely also be betrothed.