The next day, Jiang Deqing knocked on the door of Qi Xiao's room early in the morning.

As the sky was just beginning to brighten, Qi Xiao gently lifted the covers, got out of bed, put on a robe, and came out from behind the screen with a frown, asking, "What's the matter?"

Jiang Deqing glanced at the inner room and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, Huo Rong has something he wants to tell you."

Qi Xiao's eyes darkened. He slowly put on his robe and said, "Take him to the inner study."

In the inner study, after Huo Rong paid his respects and stood up, he said in a low voice, "Early this morning, just as the sky was getting light, the Emperor's people came to find me. Your Highness knows that three meows through the wall is the secret signal."

Qi Xiao had known about this for a long time. Not only did he know, but there were also people in the manor specifically monitoring this signal. Even if Huo Rong didn't come to find him, when others mentioned it to him, he would still go ask Huo Rong.

Fortunately, Huo Rong was sensible enough to take the initiative to report to him every time, without omitting any details.

It was still a bit cold in the early morning. Qi Xiao pulled his robe tighter and asked, "What did he instruct you to do this time?"

Huo Rong shook his head and hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "This time he only asked me a few questions. To be honest... it really confused me. I'm afraid my answers may not be to Your Highness's liking."

Qi Xiao shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Just tell me the truth."

Huo Rong nodded, "He first asked about the time when Your Highness went to the manor with the young prince. This can't be hidden from people, so I told him everything. That person then asked which specific day you went, which day you returned, and wanted me to clarify every detail of the time. I answered truthfully."

"Then he asked what the young prince and Your Highness did for fun at the manor. I casually mentioned a few things like viewing the rapeseed flower fields and admiring the spring blossoms. After that, it became a bit... unspeakable. He asked me if Your Highness and the young prince stayed in the same room every day. I replied that you weren't always together, and occasionally when you drank late into the night, you would stay together."

A flash of viciousness passed through Qi Xiao's eyes. He let out a cold laugh but didn't say anything.

Beads of sweat appeared on Huo Rong's forehead as he gritted his teeth and continued, "Then... the questions became even more unbearable. I replied that I served outside every day and couldn't enter the inner courtyard, so I wasn't very clear about the details. But from what I could see on a daily basis, there didn't seem to be anything unusual.

"He then asked if there were any rumors in the manor. I said I hadn't heard of any. Fearing he would become suspicious, I mentioned a few trivial matters about Your Highness. The strange thing is... usually, no matter what I say, as long as it's about Your Highness, he would interrogate me in great detail. But today he didn't.

"He only kept asking about matters between Your Highness and the Crown Prince. In my humble opinion, I'm afraid the Emperor has learned something and become suspicious, which is why he sent someone specifically to ask about it."

Qi Xiao lightly tapped on the table and said after a while, "What did they instruct you to do this time when they came?"

Huo Rong nodded, "That person said my adoptive father had a message for me, telling me to try to get close to the maids in the inner courtyard and see if I could extract any information about Your Highness's private matters."

Qi Xiao nodded and said, "Jiang Deqing..."

Jiang Deqing hurriedly stepped forward. Qi Xiao said indifferently, "Reward him." Upon hearing this, Huo Rong let out a sigh of relief, kowtowed, accepted the reward, and left.

Jiang Deqing was extremely anxious and said in a low voice, "What does this mean... The Emperor must be suspicious. How did he find out? Could there be other insiders in our manor? Should this old servant investigate further?"

Qi Xiao shook his head, "No need. Didn't you hear what Huo Rong said? Fu Hailu instructed him to get close to the maids in my inner courtyard, which shows that their hands haven't reached inside yet. The people in my courtyard have all been carefully selected and have been with me for a long time. Each of them can be trusted. There's no need for suspicion and risk disheartening them."

Jiang Deqing still lamented, "Where exactly did things go wrong?!"

Qi Xiao, however, was not very anxious. He had anticipated this day long ago. Previously, he could use Roujia as a shield, but at that time, he would bring Bairen over at most three out of ten days. Now, Bairen was practically inseparable from him.

The Emperor was not a fool. He would find out sooner or later. Being able to delay it until today was already fortunate. Qi Xiao smiled in self-mockery, probably because the Emperor was too arrogant. He thought he knew Qi Xiao's temperament best and believed Qi Xiao would never do something so outrageous.

Seeing Qi Xiao's calm expression, Jiang Deqing couldn't help but urge anxiously, "Your Highness... how should we deal with this? We need to quickly think of a way to divert the Emperor's suspicions."

Qi Xiao leaned against the pillow and shook his head, "There's no need to rush. Trying to dispel suspicions at this point will only make things worse and be counterproductive. There's no need to do unnecessary things. When I used Roujia's marriage as a bargaining chip with Bairen, I had already anticipated that this day would come. It's fine... Besides, I'm certain that even if he knows, he will pretend not to know."

Jiang Deqing didn't understand and frowned, "Your Highness, what do you mean by that? If the Emperor seizes on this weakness of yours... won't he be eager to make it known throughout the court?"

Qi Xiao shook his head, "First of all, let's not mention that male favorites are not a new thing in our dynasty. Have you forgotten? Qi Hua and Qi Qi even exchanged their favored catamites before. I dare say with certainty..." Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "He will definitely hold back and not reveal it until I marry a Crown Princess."

"If he makes a fuss about it now, it will damage my reputation, but it's a small matter. When someone brings it up on the day of my grand wedding in the future, a simple 'youthful ignorance' excuse can cover it up. It won't hinder the important event. But what if he waits until the wedding is imminent to stir things up?"

Qi Xiao let out a mocking laugh, "Embellishing the story with exaggerations, the bride's family certainly won't be able to tolerate it. At that time, the engagement will be called off, and my preference for male favorites will be known throughout the world. That's what the Emperor would like to see. Don't worry... the Emperor's scheme is clearer to me than it is to him."

Hearing this, Jiang Deqing became even more anxious, "In that case... although there's no immediate concern, there will definitely be a huge commotion when Your Highness marries the Crown Princess!"

If the Emperor really wanted to use his relationship with Bairen as a trump card, intending to ruin his reputation when he got married, so be it. Qi Xiao let out a cold laugh. Marry the Crown Princess? Let him wait and see.

Qi Xiao gave Jiang Deqing a reassuring look, "We'll talk about that later. The most pressing matter at hand is to figure out how exactly the Emperor found out about Bairen and me. If he merely pieced it together from subtle clues, he wouldn't suddenly send someone to ask. Someone must have told him something or some incident made him aware. The manor is vast. Investigate thoroughly and find the person who leaked the information for me."

Jiang Deqing also knew this was of utmost importance and nodded, "Yes... if there really is such a person, it's truly unsettling."

Qi Xiao got up and still headed towards the bedroom.

Bairen was half asleep in the warm room of the dormitory when he heard Qi Xiao's footsteps. He drowsily opened his eyes and asked, "Your Highness? Is there something the matter?"

Qi Xiao took off his robe and placed it on the small butterfly table nearby. He sat on the couch and casually said, "The people from the manor asked whether the spring harvest revenue should be sent to your place now or wait until after the summer harvest. I instructed them to send all the manor's income to your manor starting today. When you return to your manor, remember to count it. Weddings are costly, so if it's still not enough, remember to tell me."

Bairen was extremely grateful and said softly, "I... I thank Your Highness on behalf of Roujia for your kindness."

Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows, pulled Bairen over, pinched his face and said, "On behalf of Roujia? Am I doing this for Roujia?"

Bairen felt warmth in his heart, smiled and nodded, "I know, it's for me."

Qi Xiao smiled, "Alright, get up. Didn't you say last night before going to bed that you wanted to return to your manor early today to prepare for the wedding?"

Bairen nodded and cuddled with Qi Xiao for a while before getting up. He slightly leaned over, pushed open the carved panel in front of the couch, and took clean inner clothes from the small cabinet. Seeing that it was difficult for him, Qi Xiao turned around to get them for him. His eyes inadvertently swept over Bairen's wrists, and his heart trembled.

Bairen was still unaware. Seeing Qi Xiao staring at him intently, he felt a little embarrassed and said with a smile, "I'm changing clothes."

Qi Xiao smiled dotingly, "Go ahead and change. Is there any part of your body I haven't seen?"

Bairen's face turned slightly red. He was thin-skinned after all. Seeing that Qi Xiao had no intention of avoiding him, he could only turn around and change his clothes.

After Bairen finished dressing, Qi Xiao called the maids in. The maids had been waiting outside the door for a long time. Hearing Qi Xiao call them, they entered one after another and attended to Qi Xiao and Bairen as they washed up. Qi Xiao was calm, but his eyes kept falling on Bairen.

When Bairen was washing his hands and face, Qi Xiao instantly understood what had gone wrong.

The two ligature marks were not very noticeable, and compared to the injuries Qi Xiao had inflicted on Bairen during their previous quarrel, they were nothing. Therefore, neither of them paid much attention. Bairen didn't feel any pain, so Qi Xiao didn't apply medicine for him, thinking it would heal in a few days. But unexpectedly...

Qi Xiao sighed inwardly. He had been living too smoothly recently. As the saying goes, "Success is due to careful planning, while failure is due to carelessness." Han Wengong*'s words were indeed correct.

*T/N: Han Wengong is a famous scholar from the Tang dynasty.

Seeing Qi Xiao constantly looking at him, Bairen also became a little suspicious. He glanced at his wrists and smiled, "It's okay, it will heal soon."

Qi Xiao nodded, "Mm."

After finishing breakfast, Qi Xiao instructed Shunzi to prepare a carriage to send Bairen back to his residence. As soon as Bairen left, someone from the palace arrived.

Qi Xiao was prepared. He smiled faintly at Fu Hailu, "What matter requires Eunuch Fu to personally make this trip?"

Fu Hailu smiled like a Buddha and politely said, "Coming to Your Highness, how dare I say it's a bother? It's nothing major. Your Highness went to supervise the spring plowing some days ago and was gone for many days. The Emperor was very concerned.

"Yesterday, you had just returned but had to attend Prince Hui's birthday celebration, so you were busy and the Emperor couldn't talk much with you. Therefore, the Emperor wants you to enter the palace so that father and son can have a good chat."

Qi Xiao nodded, "Alright."