Roujia got married, and there was no one else left in the Lingnan Prince's Manor. Bairen also had no reason to keep returning to the manor.

The two had been getting along like a house on fire recently, and Bairen was reluctant to leave. He stayed in the Crown Prince's Manor for two consecutive nights. Every morning, Qi Xiao would go to court and Bairen would go to the Huixin Academy. They would both return to the Crown Prince's Manor before noon.

After having lunch, they would rest together for a while. Sometimes they could fall asleep, and if they couldn't, they would chat and laugh together to while away the drowsiness. After resting through the afternoon, the two would go to the inner study together. Qi Xiao would review official documents, while Bairen would flip through storybooks and write a few large characters if he was in a good mood. They didn't disturb each other.

In the evening, after having dinner together, Qi Xiao would no longer go to the inner study, but would cuddle with Bairen in the bedchamber and joke around.

Even though they were just in a room together with no other entertainment, Qi Xiao never felt bored. Just looking at Bairen, even if he was simply sitting there, was better than being anywhere else. As for Bairen, he was even more attached to Qi Xiao, without a trace of his usual cold demeanor in front of others, and only wanted to be intimate with him.

After dinner that evening, Qi Xiao took out a set of dice cups and dice and placed them on the table. Seeing Bairen's puzzled look, he smiled and said, "Don't tell me you don't recognize them. Didn't you play with them when you were little?"

Bairen shook his head with a smile, "No... I do recognize them, but I really didn't play with them when I was little. Why does Your Highness have these?"

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly, "When I was sixteen, I spent half a year frequenting gambling houses. At that time, the censors even impeached me for it."

Bairen was stunned, "Why did you go to gambling houses for no reason?"

Qi Xiao just smiled without answering. He pulled out a silver money box and casually took a piece of gold leaf and placed it on the table, smiling, "I bet on big."

Bairen immediately perked up, but unfortunately, he never brought money with him when he came to Qi Xiao's place. He searched all over his body and only had a peace lock worn at his waist that could be used as a stake. Qi Xiao smiled and took out a pouch of gold pieces for him. Bairen reached out to take it, but Qi Xiao pulled it back with a smile and said, "I have a count here, a hundred gold pieces, a total of five taels of silver. I'll lend it to you first. What if you lose later and can't pay it back?"

Bairen paused. Qi Xiao chuckled lightly, "Let's make it clear first. If you can't pay back the debt later, you'll have to follow the rules of the gambling house."

Bairen's face turned slightly red. Then he thought to himself that he wouldn't necessarily lose, so he nodded and said, "Alright." With that, he casually grabbed a few gold pieces and placed his bet, saying, "I bet on small."

Qi Xiao nodded, put the dice back into the dice cup, shook it slightly with his hand raised, and kept it covered on the table. He let go of his hand, indicating for Bairen to open it. Bairen smiled and carefully lifted it. There were two sixes and a five, indeed big.

Qi Xiao took the gold pieces on the table and threw them into the silver money box, smiling, "This time, you say first, big or small?"

Bairen also got into the gambling mood and still bet on small. However, he wasn't at ease with Qi Xiao shaking the dice.

He got on the couch, casually placed the teacups and snacks on the small three-drawer table in front of him on the butterfly-shaped side table next to the couch to make room. He also laid a patterned camel wool blanket on the small couch table, took the white jade dice cup from Qi Xiao's hand, shook it back and forth for a long time, put it down and took a look. It was still big!

Qi Xiao slowly pulled the gold that Bairen had bet to his side, smiling, "Still betting on small? I'll let you choose, or you say first."

Bairen's stubborn streak came up and he still bet on small. He shook for a long time, put it down to take a look, and it was still big. After a few rounds, Bairen's pouch was empty. Qi Xiao smiled, "Still want to gamble?"

Bairen slightly frowned and took the dice to examine closely. He also weighed them in his hand, got up to bring over a cup of tea, and put the three dice into the tea one by one. The dice slowly sank, and in the end, the side with six was facing up on all of them.

Bairen smiled at Qi Xiao, "Your Highness, how do you explain this?"

Qi Xiao couldn't hold back his laughter and poured out the tea. He took the dice and said, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. When carving the dots on these dice, the craftsman hollowed out the inside on one side and filled it with mercury. This makes it easy to roll big numbers."

Qi Xiao flipped his hand and handed the other three hidden dice to Bairen, "These three are prone to rolling small numbers. I originally planned to swap them in when you bet on big."

Bairen smiled and sighed lightly, "No wonder they say gambling houses are treacherous. A single die can have such trickery... Speaking of which, why did Your Highness think of playing this?"

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly, "I just told you that I used to frequent gambling houses for half a year. Actually... I had two secret dens set up in the gambling houses. I went there to meet with informants. Later, one of them was exposed by the Emperor, but fortunately, the other one was spared. Since last year, this den has been handling matters in Lingnan for me. Now..."

Qi Xiao placed the dice in his hand into Bairen's palm and smiled, "I'm giving this gambling den to you."

Bairen was startled and hurriedly shook his head, "No, no. Not to mention how much effort Your Highness has put into supporting these people, I have my own spies and informants. It's not good to..."

Qi Xiao smiled and repeated, "Your spies and informants."

Bairen was slightly embarrassed and said in a low voice, "My people, naturally can't compare to Your Highness'..."

Qi Xiao smiled dotingly, "I originally wanted to hand over the contact with the people in Lingnan to you. Firstly, it will be more convenient for you when you want to do something. Secondly, you are originally from Lingnan and know more about the matters there. I'm afraid you'll be much better at discussing many things with them than me. These people are not given to you for nothing. In the future, I will only discuss matters there with you. If anything happens there, you must also tell me everything in a timely manner. Understand?"

Bairen couldn't refuse and had to nod in agreement, but he still felt bad about it in his heart. Qi Xiao smiled faintly and gently caressed the dice in Bairen's hand, saying in a deep voice, "Delicate dice hold red beans, as long as you understand my heart."

Delicate dice hold red beans, do you know this bone-deep longing?

Bairen's heart was so warm that he couldn't bear it. He couldn't help but lean close to Qi Xiao and snuggle into his arms, saying in a low voice, "How much merit did I accumulate in my previous life to be able to meet Your Highness in this life..."

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly and lowered his head to kiss Bairen's lips, smiling, "Alright, don't say these nice things to muddle through. First, let's settle the account from earlier. You just lost that whole pouch of gold, five taels. Lord Prince, pay your gambling debt with your body..."

......

The next day was the day for Roujia to return to her maiden home. The two got up early. Qi Xiao couldn't go with them, so he just instructed Jiang Deqing to prepare a set of headdresses and a few bolts of tribute silk as congratulatory gifts for Bairen to take.

After sending him off, Qi Xiao dismissed the crowd and told Jiang Deqing about last night's matter. Finally, he said, "The people on that side have always been looked after by Shunzi. It just so happens that Bairen is also familiar with Shunzi. In the future, there's no need to change the liaison. Just let Shunzi continue to pass on messages."

Jiang Deqing nodded, hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, this old servant knows that Your Highness dotes on the young prince, and it's fine to give him money, but there's really no need to give these spies to the young prince as well. After all, it took Your Highness many years of effort to cultivate them, and now you're just giving them to the young prince..."

Qi Xiao smiled and shook his head, "I have many hidden dens, I'm not lacking this one. Besides... this time it's not just because I dote on him. You haven't forgotten, right? The news about Wenyu... is about to arrive."

Jiang Deqing paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Your Highness is... is thinking..."

"Shh..." Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "I have never gotten my hands dirty with these sordid matters."

Qi Xiao took a dice from beside the couch and played with it carefully. Last night, Bairen was so moved that he fell asleep still clutching the dice. Qi Xiao knew that Bairen was so happy not because he coveted this gambling den, but because he appreciated Qi Xiao's thoughtfulness for him everywhere.

Qi Xiao sighed softly. Unfortunately, his intentions were not as pure as Bairen thought.

Qi Xiao had received the letter early yesterday morning. Wenyu's matter had already been taken care of. In less than five days, the news would arrive here.

Wenyu had just offended Qi Xiao before, and now that something had happened to him, the first person Bairen would suspect would definitely be Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao had never cared how others viewed him, but when it came to Bairen, Qi Xiao rarely had some misgivings. No matter how bad Wenyu was, he was still Bairen's biological brother. He didn't want Bairen to know that he was the one who did this.

In fact, Qi Xiao also knew in his heart that Bairen was not a hypocritical person. Even if he knew, he definitely wouldn't blame Qi Xiao and would only be grateful. But Qi Xiao still had to be cautious and even more cautious. He had previously set a trap for Kangtai and then harmed Roujia. Fortunately, Bairen had never noticed. But for something that would hurt Bairen's family, Qi Xiao would avoid suspicion if he could.

Wenyu's matter was done by the people from the Confucius Temple. The hidden dens under Qi Xiao had no connection with each other. Even if they fought on the street, neither side would know that they worked for the same master. When the news from that side came out, the people in the den would only know that something had happened to Wenyu.

As for who did it, Qi Xiao was confident that with the methods of the people from Confucius Temple, they wouldn't be able to find out.

Yesterday, Qi Xiao had come clean with Bairen. The people in the den were specifically in charge of matters in Lingnan. When something happened to Wenyu, the first thing Bairen would think of would definitely be that it was done by this side. But Qi Xiao had handed the people over to him. Bairen only needed to ask once to know that it wasn't done by them. In this way, Qi Xiao had completely removed himself from suspicion.

Qi Xiao smiled faintly at Jiang Deqing, "Now you know why I had to let the people from Confucius Temple do this deal when we were at the den, right?"

Jiang Deqing laughed and shook his head with a sigh, "Your Highness truly has good schemes... That casual move back then was actually meant for today..."

Qi Xiao chuckled, "Alright, go and instruct Shunzi to let Bairen take over things on that side early... I'm not just doing it to clear myself. After Wenyu's matter comes out, Bairen's status in the capital will be different. Everyone will look at him like a piece of fat meat. Giving him some people will also put me at ease.

"Secondly, it will also let him gain more experience. It's not spoiling him to keep him like a boy toy. The way of managing a household and the art of commanding people must be taught to him."

Jiang Deqing sighed repeatedly, "For the sake of the young master, Your Highness has exhausted his heart."

Qi Xiao smiled, "No, I enjoy it."