Chapter Twenty-Five
That night, Qi Xiao naturally kept the person by his side. Being in his own mansion was far more comfortable than in the palace. Afraid that Bai Ren would feel embarrassed, Qi Xiao dismissed the maids waiting outside the warm pavilion, leaving only a few guards on night duty in the corridor.
Qi Xiao changed into his sleeping robe and, recalling how Bai Ren had blushed earlier, found it amusing. "When you're in your own mansion, do you also dismiss the maids from night duty? What do you do when you get thirsty in the middle of the night or need to use the chamber pot?"
Bai Ren's face flushed red. "How is that the same? When I'm in my own mansion, there's no one else in my room..."
Qi Xiao couldn't help but burst out laughing. He nodded and said, "The young lord truly has rigorous self-discipline. Excellent... I hope the young lord will stay here more often in the future and serve as a model of a gentleman for me, so I may reflect upon myself..."
Bai Ren glared at Qi Xiao resentfully. They had just... just done that, yet Qi Xiao was deliberately saying these things to provoke him.
Qi Xiao smiled, sat down, and took Bai Ren's hand. "I'm just teasing you. Fine, since there are no maids, let this prince serve the young lord tonight. Whether it's bringing tea and water or..."
Qi Xiao couldn't hold back a low laugh. "Or attending to the young lord's nighttime needs... I'll do everything myself. How about that?"
Bai Ren's face grew even redder. He pulled his hand away and turned his back to Qi Xiao, lying down. Qi Xiao patted Bai Ren's back and laughed. "Don't sleep yet. Holding your breath and falling asleep like this is bad for your health. Get up and chat for a while..."
"About what?" Bai Ren replied coldly. "I can't outtalk the Crown Prince, so why can't I just avoid it?"
Qi Xiao smiled. "Fine, I won't say those things. I'll only say what you want to hear. Is that alright?"
The Crown Prince, so dignified outside and cold to others, was being so gentle with him when alone—without a trace of temper. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved. Bai Ren couldn't help but make a joke in return. "Fine, then why doesn't the Crown Prince tell me a few jokes?"
Qi Xiao was both amused and exasperated by Bai Ren. "Alright. If my jokes aren't entertaining enough, shall I sing for the young lord?"
Bai Ren couldn't help but laugh. Qi Xiao turned Bai Ren around, lowered his head, and kissed him on the lips. He whispered with a light laugh, "Shall I sing the Eighteen Touches for the young lord? Would you like to hear it?"
The warmth from their earlier intimacy was still lingering in his body. Bai Ren couldn't withstand Qi Xiao's teasing and quickly turned his head away. "No... there's no need. Let's stop joking. Let's talk about something serious. Is there really no problem with that coachman? After all, he wasn't originally one of the Crown Prince's people. What if he couldn't withstand the torture and confessed?"
Qi Xiao smiled. "What do you mean 'wasn't originally my person'? He's not my person now either. I'm not afraid of him confessing... He doesn't even know I was the one who instructed him."
Bai Ren's eyes widened. He had assumed all along that Qi Xiao had bribed the coachman. Now he was confused—if there was no bribery, how could the coachman have followed Qi Xiao's orders?
Qi Xiao pulled over a pillow and leaned against it, explaining slowly. "Last year, that man killed a child during a disturbance in the streets. At that time, I had intended to make a big deal out of it and secretly urge the Emperor to punish Qi Hua for poor leadership. But Qi Hua covered it up quickly, and such incidents don't gain much traction, so I let it go. I only thought to keep it for future use. Qi Hua's mansion has my people—people who are truly 'my people.' After the plan was set, I had that person get the coachman drunk and give him some mind-clouding medicine, then sent him off to make deliveries."
Qi Xiao smiled as he watched Bai Ren's serious expression. "Do you remember how those accompanying guards described what happened to you back then?"
Bai Ren nodded. "They said... that carriage came straight at them. They managed to dodge in time, so no one was hurt..."
"That's the account I planned ahead for them to give. It's not the truth." Qi Xiao laughed and gently flicked Bai Ren's nose. "Actually... Shunzi was the one driving to ram his carriage."
"The coachman was extremely drunk and drugged—he knew nothing. He just kept driving. When they reached Ma'er Alley, Shunzi suddenly drove his carriage in front of the coachman's, then jumped out and fled. While the coachman was dazed from the collision, Shunzi erased the original wheel tracks and created fake ones. He also positioned my damaged carriage in just the right spot so it would look like the coachman had suddenly swerved to ram my carriage." Qi Xiao smiled coolly. "At that time, there was no one in Ma'er Alley. They could arrange everything freely. Only after everything was set did Shunzi slap the coachman awake. As for what happened before, only my people know."
"The time was short, so the evidence they created was quite crude. If the officials from the Court of Judicial Review had investigated carefully, they might have found something. But under those circumstances, everyone assumed someone had instructed the coachman. No one would have guessed that we had struck first. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. Perhaps later someone might have suspected, but... Heh, by the time they went to check again, it was already broad daylight. Countless people and carriages had passed over that road. Both carriages had been towed away. The evidence was completely covered up."
Bai Ren never could have imagined that behind such a seemingly simple plan lay such elaborate arrangements. He frowned and thought for a moment. "The coachman was drugged. Can't the Court of Judicial Review detect that?"
"He had alcohol on his breath, so the pulse diagnosis wouldn't reveal anything." Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow with a smile. "You've asked the right question. There's one final effect of that drug. Kiss me, and I'll tell you everything."
Bai Ren's face flushed. He turned his head away. "Forget it. I'm... not that curious."
"The young lord is shy. Very well, this prince will kiss the young lord instead..." Before Bai Ren could dodge, Qi Xiao lowered his head and pressed his lips against Bai Ren's. He laughed softly and whispered, "The knockout drug contained a few extra ingredients. Once ingested, it causes poor blood circulation and blocked meridians. If the person is still drunk, the strong alcohol can temporarily sustain them. But once the alcohol wears off... Heh, that man will die from blood vessel blockage."
Bai Ren's eyes couldn't help but widen. He had grown up in the prince's mansion and considered himself quite knowledgeable about poisons and drugs, yet he had never known there were poisons designed to work in conjunction with strong alcohol. Seeing Bai Ren's utterly astonished expression, Qi Xiao laughed. "What's so surprising about that? There are poisons designed to work with incense, and others activated by charcoal fires. I'll teach you about them gradually."
Something flashed through Bai Ren's mind. He asked, voice hoarse, "Your Highness... tonight, is someone going to visit the coachman?"
Qi Xiao smiled with satisfaction. "Quick learner. Currently, all suspicion points directly at Qi Hua. The only way to clear him would be through the coachman. But during the day, he was so drunk he was unconscious and couldn't be interrogated. At night... Who do you think would be most anxious and迫不及待地 urge the Court of Judicial Review to conduct an overnight interrogation?"
Bai Ren pressed his lips together. "Empress Feng and the Second Prince..."
Qi Xiao smiled coolly. "It wouldn't have mattered if the coachman had died on impact back then. But by keeping him alive, we could frame someone else. Bai Ren... Do you now understand why I warned you earlier not to act rashly out of momentary anger? Our lives are hard. We can't always rely on luck. Everything must be carefully planned before action."
This time, Bai Ren was completely convinced. He lowered his eyes. "Before... I was too naive."
Qi Xiao laughed softly. "You actually did quite well before. You just didn't leave enough room for retreat. Don't worry... I'll be watching over you from now on. I won't let you do foolish things again."
Bai Ren looked up at Qi Xiao. Before, he had only thought that Qi Xiao was the Crown Prince, which was why he could control Bai Ren, why he could mobilize anyone and plan anything. Now, Bai Ren was gradually coming to understand that no one could establish themselves in this court relying solely on their position.
Qi Xiao's thoroughness in handling affairs came half from natural talent and half from being honed on this thorny path.
Seeing the admiration in Bai Ren's eyes, Qi Xiao smiled with affection. "Alright, time to sleep. The Emperor sent someone to check on you today. I told them you were startled and shouldn't receive visitors, so I turned them away. Tomorrow, the Emperor will probably summon you to the palace again. You'll have to put on quite the performance."
Bai Ren nodded and pulled the brocade quilt over himself. Qi Xiao reached up to close the bed curtains, lay down, and pulled Bai Ren into his arms as naturally as could be. Bai Ren opened his eyes suddenly to look at Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao's eyes were still closed as he smiled. "Come on, sleep..."
Bai Ren hesitated but didn't struggle again. He nestled into the crook of Qi Xiao's arm and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.
At the same time, in the rear palace, Empress Feng dropped the teacup she was holding upon hearing the news from the palace attendant. She exclaimed, "What did you say? The... the coachman is dead?"
The palace attendant dropped to his knees with a thud, his face阴沉. "Yes... he's already dead."
Empress Feng was greatly alarmed. "How did he die? Hanged himself... or hit his head against a wall? Or did the Minister of Justice use too harsh methods and he couldn't withstand the interrogation..."
The attendant shook his head bitterly. "No, none of those... After Li Yuanbao died, the blood vessels on his body were swollen and blackened. It was obvious... someone had poisoned him. My lady, after the Earl received the news, he hurried to send someone to ask me whether you had sent anyone to the Court of Judicial Review. I... I..."
Empress Feng closed her eyes and sighed in her heart. Two hours ago, she had indeed sent this attendant to the Court of Judicial Review, ordering the Minister of Justice to conduct an overnight interrogation. She had also had the attendant hint to the Minister of Justice that no matter what methods he used, he must make the coachman implicate someone. The matter had to be framed as someone else attempting to harm through a proxy, and the Second Prince must be shown to have had no knowledge of it.
Empress Feng's older brother, Feng Guozhong, had indeed sent word early in the day, telling Empress Feng to remain still and absolutely not to get involved with the Court of Judicial Review, lest the Emperor become suspicious. Feng Guozhong had earnestly advised Empress Feng, saying the Emperor had no doubts about Qi Hua and telling her to rest assured. But how could Empress Feng listen? She had endured for half a day, too anxious to bear it, afraid that time would bring trouble. She feared that Qi Xiao might get to the Court of Judicial Review first and work with them to frame Qi Hua. In the end, she could no longer restrain herself and sent this servant to deliver the message. Empress Feng was afraid others might get to the coachman first and say something to him. She never imagined someone would use the tactic of "burning the boats"—directly taking his life.
"I didn't dare hide it from the Earl, so I told him what happened. The Earl immediately kicked me and cursed at me for not listening to him, saying at this critical moment we shouldn't be giving others leverage. My lady..." The attendant had a belly full of grievances and wept. "I also told the Earl that I had only met the Minister of Justice once. I never even went to see that coachman. How could they pin the poisoning on me? The Earl got even angrier after hearing that. He gave me several slaps and cursed at me, saying it's all the same thing. I didn't dare say anything else, so I quickly asked the Earl how we could make amends. Not long after, the Patriarch arrived too. He wasn't as panicked. He only told me to tell the Empress that right now, she shouldn't do anything. If the Emperor asks anything, she should tell the complete truth. Under no circumstances should she hide anything."
The attendant looked up at Empress Feng and swallowed. "The Patriarch also said... he wanted me to tell the Empress three times. Right now, don't do anything. Don't do anything. Don't do anything."
These three sentences struck Empress Feng's face like three slaps. Empress Feng swept the gilded tea set off the table, leaned over, and burst into tears.