There are no walls that can completely block the wind. In just over ten days, the news of the second prince of the King of Lingnan suffering from a hidden illness spread to the Imperial City. People first sighed with emotion, and then felt extremely fortunate that it happened in Lingnan. The inn where Wenyu stayed was a hundred miles north of Nanjiang. If he hadn't traveled that hundred miles, it would have been unclear in the Imperial City.

Except for the military generals, most people in the Imperial City did not want another war to break out. The current emperor was different from the brilliant and land-hungry Emperor Wu. If one day Nanjiang really started a war, people did not think that the Imperial City could defeat Lingnan. Of course, it was unlikely that Lingnan would march all the way and change the dynasty, but if Lingnan really won, it would be troublesome for them to govern across the river in the south in the future.

Therefore, after finding out that Wenyu's incident occurred after he passed Nanjiang, people put their hearts back in their stomachs and started inquiring about the current situation of the second prince. What exactly was the scene in the room when the servants broke in? What kind of divine medicine allowed the second prince to spend the night with five women? Where was it bought?

After enough inquiries and amusement, people's minds started working again. This highly favored second prince was now "incapable", so the position of the heir to Bairen was secure. No matter how much the King of Lingnan favored the second prince, he could not pass the throne to a son who could not continue the bloodline.

Those who had not taken Bairen seriously before now regretted it. When Bairen was sent as a hostage, everyone thought he was the discarded son of the King of Lingnan and did not bother to associate with him. Now that something had happened to Lingnan's second prince, Lingnan had unexpectedly become Bairen's iron-clad domain.

In an instant, Bairen's status in the Imperial City soared. Many families with eligible daughters were secretly inquiring... Princess Roujia was already married, so shouldn't the heir also take a wife?

Jiang Deqing laughed and talked about the rumors outside. When he got to this point, he bowed to Bairen with a smile and said, "There's another interesting thing. The young prince should still remember, right? The emperor had previously wanted to match the young prince with the granddaughter of Old Prince Hui. At that time, neither side was willing, so the emperor didn't mention it again. Actually, before Old Prince Hui said anything, it was the Princess Consort who was the first to jump out and refuse.

"The Princess Consort ran to the Old Princess Consort and knelt crying for a long time, saying she couldn't bear to part with her youngest daughter and couldn't bear for her daughter to marry far away to Nanjiang. She begged the Old Princess Consort to plead with Old Prince Hui to cancel this marriage. In the past few days, after hearing this news, the Princess Consort's thoughts started moving again.

"While serving the Old Princess Consort, she secretly urged that marrying for peace was an ancient tradition, and as a woman of the imperial clan, she should share the worries of the court. The Old Princess Consort was old and couldn't stand the persuasion, so she really went to Old Prince Hui to mention it."

Jiang Deqing laughed, "After hearing this, Old Prince Hui was so angry he almost fell over. He immediately sent an old maidservant to the Princess Consort's courtyard to scold the Princess Consort harshly. Haha... Old Prince Hui can't be blamed for being angry.

"The emperor had hinted several times before, but Old Prince Hui had brushed it off. If he went to make the request now, not only was it uncertain if it would succeed, he would offend the emperor for no reason and gain a bad reputation for currying favor. How could Old Prince Hui do something so self-defeating?"

Qi Xiao sneered, "She wants to make the request, but it depends on whether I agree or not." After saying that, he gave Bairen a dissatisfied look. Bairen looked innocent and turned to Jiang Deqing, complaining in his heart. It was going well, why bring this up? He could say it and leave, but Bairen was afraid he would be "taught a lesson" by Qi Xiao later because of this.

Jiang Deqing smiled and agreed, "That's right, that's right. If Your Highness doesn't nod, how can it happen? Also... everyone says that Princess Dunsu really has a discerning eye and picked the right treasure. Counting Princess Roujia, the He family has already betrothed two princesses and five commandery princesses. When the young prince succeeds the throne in the future, the He family will be even closer to Lingnan."

Qi Xiao smiled faintly without saying anything. Bairen felt warm in his heart. He didn't feel it before, but recently he heard the phrase "when the heir succeeds the throne" especially often, and he took it especially to heart.

When he succeeded the throne, he could help He Zichen as he wished, he could filially support his mother without any scruples, he could... Bairen looked at Qi Xiao, he could raise an army and march north, using all the power of Lingnan to help Qi Xiao regain the imperial position that originally belonged to him.

After hearing Jiang Deqing's words, Qi Xiao laughed, "There are only these fawning and stepping on others' misfortunes? How pitiful, even if the emperor heard about this, who knows how many useful imperial physicians he would send over. It's really... the fickleness of the world."

Jiang Deqing smiled, "No matter how clearly we know, it's still heard through inquiries. The King of Lingnan didn't send a letter himself, so even the emperor can't directly send people over. He still has to pretend not to know. Anyway, everyone is just watching the show now, no one is hoping for their wellbeing."

Qi Xiao shook his head and smiled, then said again, "What about Shunzi? Didn't you say earlier that the last batch of people from the gambling house had also returned? Did they bring back any news?"

Hearing this, Jiang Deqing immediately perked up. He smiled and said, "Nothing too important. Let me tell Your Highness and the young prince something amusing. The matter between the princess and the Xia family is settled. The Xia family has already sent the betrothal gifts. It's said that they want to hold the wedding before the new year. When Princess Kangtai heard the news in the ancestral hall, she made a big scene. The prince didn't pay attention to her, but who knew... in the evening, Princess Kangtai actually bribed a few old women guarding the ancestral hall and escaped."

"The princess probably watched too many operas and also wanted to imitate Zhuo Wenjun in the song 'The Phoenix Seeks a Mate'. But the prince's manor has layers upon layers of security, how could it be the same as in the operas where you can just climb over the wall and be outside? The princess only bribed the old women in the ancestral hall and had no one to meet her outside. Before she could even exit Chuihua Gate, she alarmed everyone.

"That night there was a huge commotion. When the King of Lingnan came out wearing his clothes and holding a lantern, he saw Princess Kangtai carrying a bundle on her back, leaning on a maid, and still making a fuss. The King of Lingnan was so angry that he slapped Princess Kangtai a few times in front of everyone. It's said he even kicked her a few times. If the concubine hadn't stopped him, he would have punished her according to the family rules."

When it came to Madam Xia, a trace of contempt flashed through Jiang Deqing's eyes: "Not to say it in front of the young prince, but this concubine is truly lacking in decorum. It's said that on that night, in order to absolve the princess, Concubine Xia actually pushed the blame onto the Queen, saying it was because the Queen was negligent in her care that the princess was able to escape.

"Late at night, Concubine Xia knelt on the ground, crying incessantly, kowtowing to the Queen, apologizing non-stop, saying she knew that over these years, because she had gained more of the King of Lingnan's favor, the Queen disliked seeing her. She begged the Queen not to hold a grudge against her and the King for the princess's sake, who was also her own daughter. If something really happened, wouldn't it be the King who would lose face?

"Hehe... Concubine Xia truly has a way with words. In a few sentences, she extricated Princess Kangtai, pointing the spearhead directly at the Queen, and even dragging the King into it, as if the Queen really hated her for being favored and deliberately harmed the princess. What nonsense!"

Bairen closed his eyes, gritting his teeth with a cold laugh: "This is her old trick. Whenever there's something good, she's the first to rush to the front, begging Mother Queen not to forget Wenyu and Kangtai just because they are born of concubines, forcing Mother Queen to favor them a bit to be satisfied.

"If something goes wrong, she immediately shrinks back, saying this is all a matter for the lady of the house to handle, and that she never dares to interfere, pushing all the blame onto my mother. It just so happens that my mother is kind-hearted and soft-faced, and has suffered so many grievances because of this over the years..."

Seeing Bairen's distress for the Queen, Jiang Deqing hurriedly said: "Young Master, don't worry, it's not like that now."

Jiang Deqing smiled at Bairen: "I must say, Granny Yan is capable. Before the King could say anything, she was the first to confront Concubine Xia, asking if it was the Queen who bribed the servants, if it was the Queen who let the princess flee in the night.

"Concubine Xia was speechless and could only shake her head. Granny Yan then asked her, since it had nothing to do with the Queen, why did she come over and throw herself at the Queen's feet? Moreover, the Queen had been recuperating in her own courtyard these days and had handed over the household management. Even if someone was really to be blamed for not watching the door properly, it couldn't be blamed on the Queen."

Jiang Deqing smiled smugly: "The King of Lingnan was originally confused by Concubine Xia, but after hearing these two sentences, he immediately understood. He was about to lash out at Princess Kangtai, and Concubine Xia couldn't care less. She knelt on the ground, tugging at the Queen's hem, crying pear blossom tears, begging the Queen to spare the princess this time for the sake of the princess calling her mother for more than ten years. She also cried, saying that the second young master was now incurably ill, and she had no more hope.

"She begged the Queen not to drive them to desperation... Bah! I must say, Granny Yan is willing to lose face. As Concubine Xia cried, she cried even more fiercely than Concubine Xia. She also knelt at the Queen's feet like Concubine Xia, wailing for the Queen's sake, wholeheartedly for the manor, yet allowing a concubine to humiliate her to this extent. Now that something had happened, instead of thinking of ways to handle it, the manor allowed the concubine to make a scene here, insinuating and scolding.

"She said... one after another, they brought shame to the manor. The Queen never blamed them harshly and always thought of helping to cover up. Yet she was still treated harshly. In that case, she might as well let go and not manage, letting Concubine Xia be in charge, and also let people see how a proper queen is treated in the princely manor."

Jiang Deqing couldn't help but laugh as he spoke: "Over there, Granny became even more unscrupulous, daring to say anything. The King had never heard such words. He was immediately furious and wanted to lash out at Granny, but before he could erupt in anger, Granny Yan started crying again, wailing to the heavens, crying that the Queen had a bad fate, with both children not by her side, allowing people to bully her to this extent. Now she had been angered to the point of being bedridden. If the young master and princess in the capital learned of this, who knows how distressed they would be."

"The King of Lingnan's anger extinguished as soon as he heard this." Jiang Deqing smiled slyly. "The King understood very well. If the young master and princess were dissatisfied with their mother's suffering and really took some 'action', the King probably wouldn't be able to handle it. So he no longer pursued Granny Yan's offense and only had someone properly escort the Queen back, then turned around and kicked Princess Kangtai a few more times. He strictly ordered the princess not to leave her own courtyard again, and also beat and banished to the estate the whole string of maids and old women who helped Princess Kangtai escape."

Jiang Deqing knew what Bairen was most concerned about and smiled: "As for the Queen, she was just a bit frightened and still returned to her own courtyard to 'recuperate'. Young Master, don't worry. Although Granny Yan has a fierce temper, her skill in serving others is first-class. Not to mention arranging soups and waters properly every day, when there's nothing to do, she talks with the Queen to relieve boredom.

"She talks about how the young master here is so illustrious and respected, how Princess Roujia is favored by her husband and loved by her mother-in-law in her husband's family. She picks what the Queen likes to hear and talks day and night. Occasionally, she also advises the Queen to take care of herself and wait to enjoy the great fortune of grandchildren in the future. As a result... it's said that the Queen now eats an extra bowl of rice at every meal."

Bairen was completely at ease. He turned to look at Qi Xiao with gratitude. Jiang Deqing, mission accomplished, smiled and withdrew.