Bairen heard the rumor at the Crown Prince's residence and his face immediately changed. Qi Xiao frowned, "Where did this rumor come from?"

Jiang Deqing shook his head, "That's really unclear. There are many people and loose tongues in the palace. We can only hear the rumors, but can't investigate who started them... How could we investigate inside the Forbidden Palace?"

Bairen gritted his teeth, "The day after tomorrow is Roujia's engagement ceremony. What if the He family also hears about it..."

"Don't worry." Qi Xiao patted the back of Bairen's hand reassuringly and said softly, "Zichen is not someone who believes in rumors, and these days Roujia has been staying at the princess's residence. Kangtai's ruined reputation has nothing to do with her."

For young ladies, the most taboo thing is to have these romantic scandals spread. Those stories of love at first sight and happily ever after are good when performed on stage, but become scandals when they happen in one's own family.

It so happens that the reputations of young ladies from the same family are intertwined - glory and damage affect them all. If one's reputation is ruined, it becomes difficult for the other girls to find a match. Fortunately, Roujia is already engaged, and people in the imperial city are generally aware of the conflict between the legitimate and illegitimate children in the Lingnan Prince's household.

They know that Roujia and Kangtai were not raised together since childhood, so the impact is not too great.

Even so, Bairen's face turned pale with anger. Qi Xiao signaled with his eyes for Jiang Deqing to leave, pulled Bairen to sit on the couch and said softly, "The He family hasn't said anything yet, but you're already anxious. Anger hurts the body, have some tea..."

Bairen frowned, "They haven't said anything, but who knows if they mind it in their hearts? Kangtai... I knew she would cause trouble as soon as she came. If I find out that this matter has caused the He family to dislike Roujia, I will definitely..."

"Alright." Qi Xiao chuckled, "I'm not trying to ease your mind, but Madam He likes your sister very much and considers her a lucky star. I'll have someone investigate first to see if this is targeting Roujia... I don't think it is. Everyone knows that both sides are very satisfied with the marriage between Roujia and the He family. This small matter can't possibly make the He family change their mind at the last minute. In my opinion... some people simply couldn't hold back anymore. Roujia's matter was just collateral damage."

Bairen pursed her lips and thought for a moment before realizing, "You mean... this rumor was spread by Empress Feng?"

Qi Xiao neither confirmed nor denied, just smiled faintly, "I only know that with such a rumor spread, it won't be easy for Kangtai to find another family. And using the marriage alliance between Qi Hua and your household to revive the Feng family is exactly what Empress Feng wants to see. Previously, she invited Kangtai into the palace and deliberately arranged for Kangtai and Qi Hua to meet, wasn't it for this purpose?"

Bairen completely understood, "So persuading Kangtai was a pretense, luring Kangtai into the palace to ruin her reputation with this matter, forcing her to marry Qi Hua was the real intention. Empress Feng... is too vicious."

Qi Xiao chuckled, "She's just like a cornered dog jumping over the wall. It's just that this plan probably won't work either."

Bairen looked at Qi Xiao in confusion, "Why won't it work? With such rumors spread, the best way to quell them, for the sake of Second Prince and Kangtai's reputations, is to make the rumors come true."

Qi Xiao shook his head, "I told you the other day, no matter what intentions they have, in the end it will definitely be like trying to carry water in a bamboo basket - all in vain."

"Firstly, the Emperor still detests Qi Hua because of the previous palace maid incident, and he is also suspicious of the Feng family. Why would he be willing to let the Feng family rise again? As long as he says the rumors are unfounded and refuses to grant the marriage, the Feng family currently has no leverage to negotiate with the Emperor.

"Empress Feng can only be anxious. After this incident, not only will she not gain any advantage, the Emperor will probably also harden his heart and give up on Qi Hua completely... Using such tactics on the young lady of someone else's family, how can there be any good outcome?"

Qi Xiao smiled reassuringly, "So in the end, Empress Feng will still be the one to suffer. As for Kangtai... she can only consider herself unlucky."

Qi Xiao's analysis was reasonable and Bairen couldn't find any flaws. He nodded, "It should be like this... I don't care what happens to them, as long as Roujia is fine. She should be fine, right?"

Bairen's mind was full of concern for Roujia, afraid that she would be implicated by Kangtai. He had no thought to carefully consider other matters. Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "When have I ever lied to you? She'll definitely be fine."

Bairen felt a bit better and paused before saying apologetically, "I sent someone to pick up Roujia. The engagement is coming up soon, it's not proper for her to keep staying at the princess's manor. I... I'll go back in a bit too. I don't feel at ease leaving her alone at the manor."

Qi Xiao sighed softly, "You don't feel at ease about her, but you feel at ease about me?"

Bairen couldn't help but smile, "It would be good if you just don't bully others. Do I need to worry about you being bullied?"

He paused and then said, "I'll come back after the engagement ceremony, okay?"

Qi Xiao still looked at Bairen with that ambiguous smile. Bairen had no choice but to lean in and kiss Qi Xiao on the lips, whispering, "I'll come back early."

Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You said it yourself... Jiang Deqing, have Shunzi prepare the carriage and horses, and wrap up that golden Qilin walnut clip to bring back with the young prince."

In Fenghua Palace, the Emperor dismissed everyone and sighed deeply, "Empress... Are you forcing Kangtai, or are you forcing me?"

Empress Feng's face turned pale. She struggled to steady her mind and said softly, "Your Majesty... The rumors outside, they really weren't spread by this wife. This wife is bored in the palace every day and likes Kangtai very much, so I invited her into the palace to admire the flowers and keep this wife company. I didn't expect it to coincide with Hua'er coming to pay respects to this wife. This... this was just a coincidence. I don't know which short-lived person spread such words. This wife is already investigating. Wait until this wife..."

"Empress." The Emperor was impatient to hear Empress Feng ramble on and frowned, "I didn't bring anyone with me today and had your people leave too, because I wanted to hear a few honest words from you..."

Empress Feng laughed bitterly, "Honest words... I'm afraid no matter what this wife says now, Your Majesty won't believe it anyway."

Since the palace maid incident, Empress Feng had suddenly aged a lot, her former brilliance gone, leaving only gloom in her eyes. Seeing his wife in this state, the Emperor also felt some pity, but thinking of the things she had done, his anger was hard to quell. The Emperor closed his eyes, "Then tell me... Kangtai and Qi Hua meeting in your palace, wasn't it arranged by you?"

Empress Feng paused and nodded helplessly. The Emperor then said, "Wanting to betroth Kangtai to Qi Hua, that was also your plan all along, right?"

Empress Feng's tears flowed down as she nodded. The Emperor laughed, "You were afraid I wouldn't agree, so you deliberately spread this rumor, using Kangtai's reputation to force the Prince of Lingnan's manor to agree to this marriage. To save face for everyone, I naturally had to nod, right?"

"No!" Empress Feng suddenly widened her eyes and said sternly, "The rumors were not spread by me! Someone is trying to harm me, it's... it's that bitch Concubine Xue, she can't stand me being favored again... otherwise it's Kangtai! Judging from the situation that day, she was also willing, yes! It must be them..."

The bit of old feelings that had just arisen in the Emperor's heart were shattered by Empress Feng's scream. The Emperor waved his hand wearily, "I didn't come to interrogate today, I originally wanted to... forget it, there's no point in saying more."

The Emperor stood up, looked at Empress Feng with pity, and said in a low voice, "In consideration of our years of marital affection, I have been very tolerant of you, but I didn't expect you to become even more unruly and improper. I'm laying it out for you today, I have plans for Qi Hua's marriage, Kangtai is not a good match, give it up."

Fearing Empress Feng would still pester him, the Emperor frowned and left first. Empress Feng stared blankly at the Emperor's receding figure, unable to come to her senses for a long time.

When the rumors first spread, she actually felt a hidden joy, thinking that this was forcing Kangtai into a corner, and even if it didn't succeed, it would be done.

She didn't expect the Emperor to be so ruthless, completely disregarding face and showing not the slightest affection.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?" Empress Feng's personal maid struggled to help Empress Feng up and advised bitterly, "Your Majesty, don't be sad, wait until the Emperor's anger subsides, and then you can explain to him..."

Empress Feng laughed bitterly, "It's useless now, now... it's really a complete defeat..."

In the study of the Crown Prince's Manor, Qi Xiao gently played with the jade pendant in his hand and laughed softly, "Did she really say that?"

Jiang Deqing nodded, "Before the Emperor could speak, she scolded Concubine Xue harshly, insisting that it was all Concubine Xue's fault, otherwise it was Princess Kangtai herself who spread it. The Emperor couldn't be bothered to say more at that time."

Qi Xiao gently rubbed the runes on the jade pendant and smiled faintly, "Anyone would suspect Empress Feng for this matter. Her constant quibbling will only make the Emperor more disgusted with her... foolish."

Jiang Deqing smiled, "Yes, who would have thought that it was actually Your Highness who spread this rumor. This not only suppressed Empress Feng so she can never turn the tables, but also ruined Princess Kangtai's reputation, avenging the young prince, killing two birds with one stone. Your Highness has a great plan."

Qi Xiao gave Jiang Deqing a reproachful look. Jiang Deqing knew he misspoke and quickly slapped himself, smiling apologetically, "The young prince hasn't been here for two days, so this old servant has let his guard down. It doesn't matter... Your Highness didn't intend to implicate Princess Roujia's reputation, it was just a necessary evil to punish those people."

Qi Xiao snorted, "What necessary evil, if it wasn't for Bairen, what do I care if Roujia lives or dies... Be careful, if Bairen finds out, no matter how well you did before, it will be useless."

Jiang Deqing quickly nodded, "Rest assured, Your Highness."

Qi Xiao looked at the water clock and frowned, "It's already the second watch, why hasn't he come yet? It's just a small engagement, how much effort does it take?"

"You can't blame the young prince for this." Jiang Deqing smiled, "Your Highness didn't go so you don't know, but this old servant heard from the servants who went to deliver gifts to the prince's manor that the Prince of Lingnan's manor was very lively today.

"For a small engagement, with all those people going, the young prince outside and the princess inside, both of them were too busy entertaining. The well-wishers came and went in an endless stream. That He Zichen is really generous, the engagement gifts filled half the courtyard. I heard from the servants of the He manor... that their madam and Scholar He said, the more unsavory the rumors outside, the more they will respect the princess. In this light... the He family are sensible people."

Qi Xiao nodded, then looked outside and said, "Tell the cook to prepare some food first, he must be hungry after being busy all day."

Jiang Deqing replied, "I've already instructed them. The other day, the young prince casually mentioned wanting to eat wonton, so this old servant had the kitchen prepare it. The chicken soup for cooking the wonton has been simmering since noon, using a freshly laid egg from a young hen, stewed well with ginseng for over two hours, fragrant and nourishing. Later, cooking the wonton with this soup, no need to add anything else, the young prince will definitely like it."

Just as they were talking, it was announced that the young prince had arrived. Qi Xiao smiled, "Hearing you say that, even I'm getting a bit hungry. Quickly go and have them prepare it."