Chapter 57
After dinner, Qi Xiao leaned against the chaise lounge in the warm pavilion, staring blankly into space. Bai Ren, afraid he was still dwelling on what had happened earlier, deliberately changed the subject: "Crown Prince... I heard that during the betrothal ceremony on the girl's side, her family also hosts a banquet and sends out invitations—is that true?"
"What?" Qi Xiao turned to look at Bai Ren. "What invitations?"
Bai Ren smiled: "I'm referring to Roujia's betrothal ceremony. Do I need to send out invitations from my estate? Or does only the He family handle the arrangements?"
Qi Xiao nodded: "You'll need to handle your part too. Don't they have this custom in the south?" Bai Ren shook his head: "There's no such thing as a betrothal ceremony in Lingnan at all. Even the process of comparing birth charts isn't done this way. Instead, the daughter's birth chart is taken to the male family's ancestral hall and placed on the altar for three days. If nothing goes wrong in the household during those three days, it means the girl's fate is compatible with the family, and they can proceed with the marriage."
Qi Xiao laughed: "That is convenient. But what if someone in the male's family wanted to sabotage things and deliberately caused trouble? Wouldn't that ruin a perfectly good match?"
Bai Ren shook his head with a smile: "The person trying to cause trouble would need to be careful. I mentioned my little aunt earlier—she encountered something like this. My little aunt was betrothed as an infant to the current head of the Zhang family. Later, when both of them grew up and the Zhang family came to propose, they took my little aunt's birth chart. It just so happened that my uncle-in-law had a extremely vicious stepmother who didn't want him to marry a princess, so she took some medicine and created a commotion during those days when the charts were being compared."
Qi Xiao chuckled: "And then?"
"Then the head of the Zhang family at the time—my uncle-in-law's father—simply sent that concubine back to her hometown to avoid the misfortune." Bai Ren's smile turned sly. "The Zhang family head had always wanted to form an alliance with our estate through marriage. How could he let such a good match slip away because of that woman's antics? She claimed my little aunt was bringing bad luck, so they simply sent her away—out of sight, out of mind, and naturally out of reach. A few years ago, the old Zhang family patriarch passed away, and that woman couldn't survive in the hometown. My little aunt and uncle-in-law brought her back. She suffered greatly those few years, and when she returned, she was very well-behaved. She never dared mention my little aunt bringing bad luck again."
Qi Xiao's heart stirred. He had truly never heard of such a custom in Lingnan before. The Zhang family head had been willing to send away even his own wife—though a concubine, she was still a proper wife—just so his son could marry a princess. This showed it wasn't anything particularly unusual in Lingnan.
Qi Xiao looked at Bai Ren. If he used this as precedent and planned carefully, perhaps in the future he could bring Bai Ren's mother to the capital as well...
Roujia was already under his protection. The only thing Bai Ren still cared about in Lingnan was the Lingnan Princess Consort. If the Princess Consort could be brought here too, then whether it was Bai Ren or himself, neither would have any concerns about making a move against Lingnan.
But this was easier said than done. There would certainly be many difficulties in actually implementing such a plan. The first obstacle: the King of Lingnan would never agree. Setting aside how much the future marriage might tempt him, just the idea of moving the entire direct lineage to the capital was a serious taboo. Bai Ren was the King of Lingnan's hostage in the imperial city, and wasn't the Princess Consort equally Bai Ren's hostage in Lingnan? Once that trump card was lost, who knew what Bai Ren might do? The King of Lingnan had confidently sent Bai Ren to the capital because he thought Bai Ren had no support. But Bai Ren was no longer the same person. Not only did he maintain a certain understanding with the Emperor, he now had this relationship with himself and had formed a marriage alliance with the He family. His footing was solid. If he somehow persuaded people in the capital, found some pretext, and borrowed a few thousand troops to march back to Lingnan, seizing the King of Lingnan's throne—it wasn't impossible. At the very least, Qi Xiao himself had thought: if in the future he ascended the throne before Bai Ren, the very first thing he would do would be to send troops to the border and secretly force the King of Lingnan to pass the throne to Bai Ren.
Conversely, if he followed his earlier idea and brought the Princess Consort to the capital, truly helping Bai Ren fight his way back and letting Bai Ren successfully inherit the position of King of Lingnan before himself, this would undoubtedly be a tremendous assistance to his own grand plans.
"Crown Prince... Crown Prince?" Bai Ren couldn't help but nudge him when Qi Xiao remained silent for a long while, asking softly, "What's wrong?"
Qi Xiao smiled: "Nothing. I was just surprised to hear of such a custom for the first time. Do you have any ideas about which families to send invitations to? Tell me, and I'll check if anything's been overlooked." This was merely a fleeting thought Qi Xiao had, not yet a carefully developed plan. If the plan couldn't be carried out in the future or failed, it would only make Bai Ren suffer more. Before he had absolute certainty, Qi Xiao wasn't prepared to say a single word to Bai Ren.
Bai Ren didn't suspect a thing. He thought carefully and slowly explained his thoughts to Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao listened with a smile, offering suggestions from time to time.
In the Lingnan Prince's residence, Kang Tai dismissed everyone and whispered urgently: "What's wrong? Wasn't it just that Empress invited us to the palace? Why did you get into an argument with Bai Ren?"
Bai Ren's temperament was always reserved, and he rarely lost his temper. Wen Yu had calculated on precisely this, daring to test the waters step by step. She hadn't expected Bai Ren to suddenly explode at her today. Though it hadn't been in front of others, this kind of thing couldn't be hidden. The shame burned on Wen Yu's face, and she spoke impatiently: "You should be the one talking... it was all for your sake that I got scolded by Bai Ren. Actually... I didn't want you to go to the palace either. Feng Empress has fallen out of the Emperor's favor. There's no benefit to getting close to her. I just couldn't stand Bai Ren's high-and-mighty attitude, so I said a few provoking words. Who knew he'd be like a lit firecracker—angry the moment I touched him, dressing me down right to my face. Hmph... truly, his spine has gotten strong..."
Kang Tai's heart stirred. She hesitated: "It's just a trip to the palace... it can't be that serious, can it? Didn't you say it's just to broaden our horizons? What's the harm?"
Wen Yu waved her hand: "You don't understand. It's true we should build goodwill with various families, but Empress Feng? That's a different story. Ever since Second Prince offended that jinx Bai Ren last year, the entire Feng Empress faction has been unlucky one after another. They still haven't recovered to this day. There's really no need to go out of our way to curry favor with them—wasted effort. My little spats and arguments with Bai Ren aren't anything new. Every day I just make a perfunctory apology and the matter's closed. Treat Roujia the same as before. In the future, she'll be a member of the He family. We can't make enemies of her."
Kang Tai pouted: "After all these years of fighting, you think I can win her over in a day or two and she'll forget everything?"
Wen Yu spoke with frustration at her denseness: "Of course she won't forget. But at least to others, we'll appear harmonious. That's enough. Besides, Roujia isn't like Bai Ren—she's easy to handle. Just do as I say..."
Kang Tai's heart was still set on going to the palace, but unfortunately no matter what she said, Wen Yu refused to allow it. It was getting late, and Wen Yu didn't have the energy to argue with Kang Tai any longer. She just said that if she forbade it, she forbade it, then left. Kang Tai's face turned pale with anger. She lay on the couch but couldn't fall asleep for a long while.
Unlike Wen Yu, Kang Tai had always been assertive since childhood. Whatever she wanted, no matter what method it required, she would find a way to get it.
No matter how Kang Tai denigrated Roujia's marriage, she knew in her heart that Roujia's future would be bright. After staying in the capital for these few days, Kang Tai's horizons had gradually widened. Born and raised in Lingnan, with her father being a local emperor, she had always believed she had already seen all the best things the world had to offer. It wasn't until she came to the capital that Kang Tai understood what it meant to say the world was vast.
Kang Tai wasn't young anymore. She had heard hints from her mother about several prominent families in Lingnan whose matrons had half-heartedly mentioned wanting to propose marriage. Kang Tai had been quite proud of herself back then, but now that she thought about it, it was simply laughable. Roujia was merely marrying a sixth-ranked Hanlin scholar, yet she had become so distinguished—arranged by the Crown Prince and Princess as matchmakers, with the Emperor bestowing the marriage. All the prominent families in the capital came to offer congratulations. From what Wen Yu implied, Roujia would only become more honored in the future. As long as He Zichen was capable, he could even earn a title of honor for Roujia.
Kang Tai bit her delicate cherry lips. If she stayed in Lingnan, she could at best marry a young master from a prominent family—utterly insignificant compared to the great families of the capital! Whether it was to outshine Roujia or to secure a good future for herself, Kang Tai didn't want to return to Lingnan anymore. She couldn't help but think about that invitation again... Roujia had simply caught the favor of the Princess, and that alone secured such an excellent match. If she could gain the Empress's favor... if the Empress arranged a marriage for her, managing everything for her the way Princess Dunsu had for Roujia, then wouldn't rising to glory all come naturally?
Kang Tai's cheeks flushed red. After much deliberation and tossing and turning, she finally called for her nurse in secret, and the two of them whispered in the bedroom until deep into the night.
The next day, in the Crown Prince's residence warm pavilion, Qi Xiao sat on the kang reading documents, while Bai Ren sat cross-legged inside, picking walnuts one by one on the small table. The walnut cracker in Qi Xiao's residence was a small golden kirin. The kirin's mouth was wide open, just the right size for a walnut, and with one press on the kirin's head, *crack*, the walnut shell would shatter into pieces.
Bai Ren simply loved the sound. Qi Xiao happened to want some walnuts, so Bai Ren eagerly took on the task and sat beside Qi Xiao cracking walnuts all morning.
Bai Ren was meticulous. After cracking each walnut, he would carefully peel it, placing the whole pieces on a small plate for Qi Xiao. The smaller fragments he would eat himself. Qi Xiao read his documents while eating the walnut meats Bai Ren had personally shelled, feeling completely at ease.
After working together for a whole morning, both felt quite fulfilled. Qi Xiao finished reviewing and approving the documents, had someone deliver them, then leaned back against the soft pillows and said lazily with a smile: "You've been acting as my proofreader and attendant all morning, Your Highness. What reward would you like?"
Bai Ren weighed the small golden kirin in his hand and smiled: "I don't need anything else. Why not give me this?"
"This kind of trinket, I have tons in the treasury. You can have all of them." Qi Xiao pulled Bai Ren close to his side in one fluid motion, laughing softly, "Material things are too vulgar... Come... I'll give you something no one else has..."
Qi Xiao smiled and kissed him, savoring Bai Ren's warm, soft lips. He gently licked along the seam of Bai Ren's lips. Soon, Bai Ren yielded docilely and parted his lips, letting Qi Xiao conquer and claim.
Qi Xiao had always been the type to push his luck. Since Bai Ren no longer resisted his kisses, he began to think of other things... At some point, Qi Xiao's hand slipped into the wide hem of Bai Ren's clothing. Not knowing where it touched, Bai Ren flinched as if pricked by a needle, his slender waist suddenly jerking violently. Qi Xiao soothed with gentle coaxing while pressing his leg with practiced skill against the back of Bai Ren's knee, pinning the man firmly beneath him. His hands grew even more bold, sliding along Bai Ren's tense waist down further, caressing that tight, smooth skin. Bai Ren could bear it less and less, unable to resist pleading: "Crown Prince... don't... I feel uncomfortable..."
"It won't be uncomfortable in a moment." Qi Xiao dismissed the plea casually, doting: "Be good... let gege love you..." Bai Ren trembled all over. He was terribly afraid. His eyes instantly grew misty. Qi Xiao's heart ached at the sight. He lowered his voice: "Don't be scared... it doesn't hurt, does it? Does it hurt?"
Bai Ren shook his head honestly. It truly didn't hurt, but being pressed beneath Qi Xiao like this, he couldn't help but tremble with tension. Qi Xiao smiled softly. Just as he was about to remove Bai Ren's undershorts, Jiang Deqing suddenly entered the warm pavilion outside, lowering his voice: "Crown Prince, the scout reports that this morning, the second young master of Lingnan Prince's residence went to visit Prince Shun. Whether coincidence or not, less than half an hour later, Princess Kang Tai's sedan chair also left the residence... heading toward the palace."