Chapter 22
In the warm pavilion of the Crown Prince's residence, Qi Xiao ordered someone to bring Bai Ren a bowl of milk custard. Looking at Bai Ren's pallid complexion, Qi Xiao smiled gently. "There, there. You're perfectly fine now. Eat something to calm your nerves. Our mansion's cook makes excellent steamed custard. Have a taste."
A servant girl opened the small food box while another retrieved a colored-glaze palace bowl from within and set it on the low table before Bai Ren. After curtsying, they withdrew. Bai Ren took a silver spoon and tasted it. The milk and eggs used in the steamed custard were fresh that day, the dairy and egg flavors rich and concentrated. The cook had timed the steaming perfectly—the custard was delicate, melting on the tongue. Though Bai Ren had little appetite, he不知不觉地 ate more than half the bowl.
Qi Xiao was pleased to see Bai Ren eating with enjoyment. Smiling, he said, "If you like it, I'll have them make it for you often. One bowl every day, half an hour after dinner. It's good for putting on weight, and helps you sleep better at night..."
Qi Xiao chuckled, remembering what had happened in the carriage earlier. "Then again... Young Lord, you probably don't need it."
Bai Ren thought of what had just occurred and felt somewhat embarrassed. He set down his silver spoon and changed the subject. "What exactly happened with the cart that rammed into us?"
Qi Xiao had intercepted him and switched his carriage earlier—he clearly knew about this beforehand. The collision wasn't an accident. Someone had done this deliberately. The carriage belonged to Qi Xiao, and everyone in the imperial city could see that. So the target... was it Bai Ren they wanted dead, or Qi Xiao?
Qi Xiao smiled faintly. "Shunzi went with them to the Court of Judicial Review. Two of the four guards who followed in the carriage have returned. Listen to what they have to say."
Qi Xiao summoned the men. Soon enough, two attendants arrived with a servant girl. They bowed to Qi Xiao and Bai Ren from behind the screen. Qi Xiao waved his hand. "Rise. Tell the Young Lord everything that happened today, starting from when Jiang Deqing gave you your orders this morning. Don't leave out a single detail."
The men stood. One spoke slowly, "Yes. Early this morning, Chief Steward Jiang came to instruct Shunzi and the rest of us. He said we were to escort the Young Lord back to his residence today, but there would likely be trouble along the way. He instructed Shunzi that after leaving the inner city, we should first go to Cat Alley and wait there for Your Highness to switch the Young Lord to another carriage. After the exchange, we'd continue to the Young Lord's mansion. We were to stay alert, and if anything went wrong, forget about the horses and carriages—just save ourselves. Shunzi and the rest of us are all from the Brave Cavalry Camp, so we weren't afraid."
"We followed Chief Steward Jiang's instructions. After leaving Cat Alley, we headed toward the Young Lord's mansion. Just as we reached the entrance of Book Academy Lane, a cart came barreling out of the lane straight at us. We quickly tried to turn our horses around. Shunzi was bold—he waited until the cart was nearly upon us before leaping from our carriage. He rolled three or four times and managed to dodge it. The two carts collided head-on. The horses screamed, the carriages crashed—it was loud enough that probably half the street heard it. The horses didn't make it, of course. They died on the spot. His Highness's carriage was sturdy, but the other cart smashed it to pieces. We knew something was wrong right then. When the other cart's horse finally stopped thrashing, we went to check. The cart was filled to the brim with unpolished inkstones—had to be two or three hundred jin."
"Then we went after the cart driver. The man reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were glazed. He didn't respond when we identified ourselves, just kept shaking his head. Shunzi slapped him a couple of times but couldn't wake him. Chief Steward Jiang had instructed us that if the attacker was left alive, we should send them directly to the Court of Judicial Review. We were afraid of using too much force and crippling the man, so though we were furious, we refrained from further violence. We tied him up and delivered him."
Qi Xiao chuckled softly. "Do you know whose man this was?"
"We do." The attendant nodded. "Shunzi recognized him. He's a carriage driver from the Second Prince's residence."
Qi Xiao turned to look at Bai Ren, who had his brow furrowed, his eyes showing both shock and hatred. Qi Xiao patted Bai Ren's hand soothingly. Bai Ren immediately pulled his hand back—those attendants were standing just outside the screen, after all.
Qi Xiao stopped looking at Bai Ren and asked the attendant, "Are you certain? You're sure it's someone from the Second Prince's residence?"
The attendant nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. You may not know this, but the man has something of a 'reputation' on the streets. He acts like a bully everywhere. Just last year, he killed someone by trampling them in a crowded market. It caused quite a stir. His mother has some standing in the Second Prince's household, so she pulled some strings at the magistrate's office and paid them a lot of silver. In the end... it was quietly dropped."
Bai Ren's expression remained calm, but he was secretly shocked. As the old saying went, the servants of a prime minister wield the authority of a seventh-ranked official. Today, he had truly seen this in action.
Qi Xiao smiled faintly and said to the attendant, "The Court of Judicial Review may summon you again in the next few days. Stay alert. If they do call you in, just tell them the truth."
The two men nodded their agreement. Qi Xiao ordered someone to bring them a box of small gold ingots as a reward. "Though we were prepared, today's incident was still dangerous. You did well. Divide this among yourselves."
The men hadn't expected such a generous reward. They thanked him profusely and left.
With everyone else dismissed from Qi Xiao's quarters, he turned to Bai Ren with a smile. "Young Lord, tell me—what do you make of today's events?"
Bai Ren drew a deep breath and after a long pause, said slowly, "The other side came prepared. Though that man has a prior record, he happened to ram directly into Your Highness's carriage... If we call it mere coincidence, it would be hard to convince anyone."
"The carriage was Your Highness's, but I was the one inside. Before I left the palace today, I went to pay respects to His Majesty. That wasn't a secret. Anyone with an agenda could find out with minimal inquiry—the time I left the palace, the route I would take, none of that would be difficult to learn."
"The Second Prince was punished with twenty lashes because of me and has lost the Emperor's favor. It wouldn't be strange if he harbors hatred and wants me dead. But..." Bai Ren shook his head. "The Second Prince... he wouldn't be this foolish, would he? The incident in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace just happened. If something were to befall me now, even if it weren't someone from his residence—even if someone else were responsible—everyone would suspect him. Could it be... that he's deliberately framing himself? Planning to claim later that the cart driver was manipulated by someone else? But that still wouldn't clear his name..."
Bai Ren looked up at Qi Xiao. "Since Your Highness was able to intercept me midway, you must have learned of this beforehand. Would Your Highness tell me plainly—who is so desperate to take my life?"
Qi Xiao paused, then shook his head. "I'm not lying to you. I don't know."
Bai Ren's brow creased. Qi Xiao continued slowly, "I'm being honest—I do have informants, but by the time this intelligence reached my people, it had already passed through several hands. The only thing we could confirm was that one of the Second Prince's carriage drivers would be lying in wait on the route from the palace to your residence. But who was actually behind it, we couldn't determine. The path from the palace to your mansion, assuming no complications, would almost certainly go through this route. Before Cat Alley, we were still mostly on official roads with city patrol guards everywhere, so we were safe. I had Shunzi stop in Cat Alley and wait for me to switch you out. After that... you know the rest. As expected, something happened."
The more Bai Ren thought about it, the more his blood ran cold. What had he been doing at that time? He had been sleeping in the carriage!
Chills ran down Bai Ren's spine. He stood up respectfully and bowed deeply. "Today's rescue... I am truly grateful to Your Highness..."
Qi Xiao hurried to help him up, laughing ruefully. "There's no need for thanks. I knew someone was trying to kill you, but I kept it from you to avoid tipping them off. I actually let you travel halfway in danger. You'd be justified in blaming me."
Bai Ren shook his head. "Your Highness had already made thorough preparations, and you came personally to retrieve me. That alone was enough..."
A pang of guilt suddenly struck Qi Xiao's heart. He lowered his eyes and drew Bai Ren into his embrace. Slowly, he said, "Bai Ren... I will never place you in danger again. This time, I was too greedy... I wanted you to encounter a threat, even if it was only an empty carriage. The Emperor has begun to abandon Qi Huai. At this critical moment, whether Qi Huai was actually responsible or not, the Emperor would彻底失望 completely. Over the years, Qi Huai has caused me no end of frustration in his position. When such a perfect opportunity presented itself, I couldn't bear to let it pass... Bai Ren, you understand me, don't you?"
Bai Ren felt somewhat confused. He hadn't suffered any loss today—why was Qi Xiao acting like this...
But hearing such words from someone as cold and detached as Qi Xiao did warm Bai Ren's heart somewhat. He murmured softly, "I understand. Actually, Your Highness could have told me in advance... Empress Feng still has plans for the Second Prince to form a marriage alliance with Lingnan. My intentions align with Your Highness's. If there are methods to suppress the Second Prince that require my assistance, I would not hesitate to face death a thousand times."
Bai Ren paused, then added, "Besides... even if I were to blame someone, it would be the mastermind who ordered my assassination. How could I possibly blame Your Highness?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao closed his eyes. His guilt only grew stronger, and somewhere deep in his heart, an ache was building. He wasn't a good person. In the past, even if he had let someone down, he had never felt this way. But this time, Qi Xiao genuinely felt ashamed. He almost regretted it.
In his heart, Qi Xiao made a silent, bitter vow—using Bai Ren as bait? This would be the very last time.