Chapter Fifty-Eight
In the warm pavilion, a gilded eight-panel folding screen painted with birds and flowers stood between the rooms. Jiang Deqing reported from behind the screen, unable to see what was happening inside. Even so, he had worked Bai Ren into a cold sweat. In his flustered state, Bai Ren tugged at his clothing and accidentally kicked the small glazed porcelain screen off the kang bed. Jiang Deqing was startled by the sound and was about to rush in when he heard Qi Xiao laugh twice, saying, "Don't come in... The Young Lord and I are just playing around."
Jiang Deqing immediately understood. He knew he had walked in on the wrong moment and continued standing respectfully behind the screen, not daring to speak.
Inside the room, Qi Xiao shook his head and sighed softly. "This screen is a several-hundred-year-old antique. The skilled craftsmen on my estate used over a hundred taels of pure gold just to reinforce it. And now you've kicked it to pieces with one foot... Tell me, how do you intend to make it up to me?"
Bai Ren had barely caught his breath from the shock when he was alarmed again upon learning the screen was an antique. He stammered, "This... why would you display such a valuable thing so casually..."
Qi Xiao chuckled. "What else should I do with it? I spent so much effort restoring it, only so I could use it."
Bai Ren momentarily forgot that he had just been pressed beneath Qi Xiao on the couch and thoroughly teased. He sat up and stared at the screen shattered into pieces on the floor, then turned to look at Qi Xiao. His expression carried the same fear as a child who had accidentally broken an adult's beloved vase. He faltered, "I... I didn't know..."
Qi Xiao laughed softly, pulling Bai Ren into his arms to comfort him. "I'm teasing. Broken is broken. If it were something I truly treasured, I wouldn't leave it out here carelessly. Does your foot hurt... We're not strangers, why were you so afraid when Jiang Deqing came in..."
Bai Ren glanced awkwardly from the broken screen on the floor to Qi Xiao. He murmured, "You... you were like that just now, of course I was afraid..."
Qi Xiao knew he had really pushed Bai Ren too far this time. He smiled and said, "Blame me... Jiang Deqing, have someone take this screen to the craftsmen later. See if it can be repaired. If it's beyond saving, so be it. But if it can be fixed, tell them not to stint on the gold. Fix it properly—I'll still want to use it."
Jiang Deqing hastened to comply. From inside the warm pavilion, he heard Qi Xiao say a few more words in a low voice, and Bai Ren responded softly twice. The two whispered for quite some time. Jiang Deqing couldn't make out what they were saying, but it sounded like Qi Xiao was coaxing Bai Ren, and Bai Ren was being quite docile. Jiang Deqing recalled how fierce Bai Ren had been when he first arrived at the estate and chuckled to himself. His young master had finally come through the long night to see the dawn.
Inside, Qi Xiao straightened Bai Ren's clothing and asked, "What were we just discussing? Say it again."
Jiang Deqing promptly repeated the words as instructed. "It's this late now, and Princess Kangtai still hasn't left the palace. This old servant remembers last night's scout report—clearly it said the Second Young Master forbade Princess Kangtai from entering the palace. That's why I thought something was amiss and wanted to inform the Crown Prince. Should the Crown Prince... send someone to inquire with our people at Fenghua Palace?"
Qi Xiao's lips curved into a cold smile. "Go ahead and ask... Though I could probably guess even without asking. Empress Feng is desperate now, actually hoping that Wen Yu and Kangtai might help her make a comeback. What a fool... Can't she see that the Emperor is about to have no further use for Wen Yu?"
Speaking of this, Bai Ren was also confused and couldn't help but ask, "Then why doesn't the Emperor ever give Wen Yu a hint? Letting him fraternize with officials as he pleases..."
Qi Xiao held Bai Ren's hand and gently squeezed it, guiding him patiently. "If a outsider sneaked into your household, secretly trying to recruit a traitor within, and together they planned to steal your things—if you were the head of the household, what would you do?"
Bai Ren was startled. Qi Xiao smiled lightly. "Immediately crushing that outsider with thunderous fury would be decisive. But going against the grain, pretending ignorance... waiting to see which traitor the outsider could actually recruit, then punishing them all together—that's the cleverest approach. The Emperor is no fool. He wants to know exactly what Wen Yu is coveting, and more importantly, he wants to see clearly which of the people around him are the real traitors."
Qi Xiao smiled faintly. "Though 'traitor' might be putting it too strongly. The Emperor merely wants to see who is so shortsighted that they'd even curry favor with the son of a prince who holds no fief. What a bunch of fools..."
Bai Ren suddenly understood everything. He couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Qi Xiao stroked his head lovingly and said, "It's nothing... Once you've experienced more of these things, you'll understand naturally when you encounter them again. Poor Empress Feng—after all these years by the Emperor's side, she still hasn't grasped His Majesty's true intentions. What an absolute fool."
Bai Ren pressed his lips together and said quietly, "Then Kangtai going to the palace... whether or not this was Wen Yu's intention, in the Emperor's eyes, it means Empress Feng has some connection with Lingnan."
Qi Xiao nodded. "So there's nothing to worry about. The Emperor doesn't approve of something, and it won't gain much traction. I can more or less guess what Empress Feng and Kangtai are scheming. Even if I couldn't guess, it doesn't matter—in the end, it'll all be drawing water with a sieve."
At the Lingnan Prince's residence, in Kangtai's courtyard, Wen Yu sat coldly in the main seat. A room full of servants knelt on the floor before him.
Wen Yu let out a cold laugh. "None of you dare speak now, do you? Hmph, where's that cleverness you had when you secretly sent the young miss out? You ungrateful wretches! While the Young Master wasn't in the residence and I wasn't either, you actually let the Second Young Miss go out! If anything had happened, which of you could bear the responsibility?!"
Everyone was silent as death, not daring to say a word. Wen Yu grew angrier with every passing thought, and后悔 surged within him. Kangtai was bold but foolish. He never should have agreed to let her come along in the first place. He only wished the Lingnan Prince hadn't doted on Kangtai so much—as long as she pouted, he always gave in. And his own mother had harbored other designs, always wanting Kangtai to come to the capital to see what kind of man Roujia had married. Now look—instead of watching Roujia become a laughingstock, he was about to become one himself!
Wen Yu drew a deep breath. Just as he was about to berate the servants, word came from outside that the Second Young Miss had returned. Wen Yu was furious and ordered the nurses to bring her to him. After dismissing everyone else, he cursed Kangtai soundly. Kangtai remained surprisingly composed. She smiled calmly. "Why must Brother be so agitated? I merely went to the palace for a visit. Don't you want to know what Her Majesty the Empress told me?"
Wen Yu sneered. "I don't want to know. Kangtai, what did I tell you yesterday? Empress Feng has fallen out of favor. Getting involved with her is—"
"She's still the Empress." Kangtai was irritated by Wen Yu's words. She cut him off coldly. "Even a centipede, though dead, can still crawl. Surely Brother understands that principle?"
Wen Yu laughed bitterly. "Whether she's crawling or not, what concern is that of yours? After Roujia's wedding, you'll return to Lingnan and probably never see her again in your lifetime!"
Kangtai hesitated several times, then lowered her voice. "What if I were to see her every day from now on?"
Wen Yu froze. An inexplicable sense of unease gripped him. He stared blankly. "You... what nonsense are you talking?! Every day? What exactly did you do today?!"
Kangtai bit her lip. Her cheeks flushed red as she said quietly, "I was at Fenghua Palace... and happened to encounter the Second Prince who had come to pay his respects to Her Majesty the Empress."
Wen Yu's heart lurched. Instinctively, he glanced toward the doors and windows. Then he turned back, lowering his voice sharply. "Have you gone mad?! How dare you meet a man in private behind closed doors—"
His harsh words made Kangtai's face flush purple with mortification. She frowned and hastily protested. "Meeting a man in private? You all said it yourself—Roujia has married into the He family. We're all family now..."
"Family my foot!" Wen Yu flew into a rage. "A few twisted connections through marriage! What kind of family is that?! And when the imperial family and princes call someone family, it's an honor they bestow. What are you, to claim kinship with them?! Tell me clearly! What exactly happened today!"
Kangtai had slipped into the palace today originally intending only to curry favor with Empress Feng, hoping the Empress might help advance her prospects when it came time to arrange her marriage. But never in her wildest dreams had she expected things to unfold so differently. Empress Feng had not invited any other noble ladies or young misses—only Kangtai. Before long, Second Prince Qi Hua arrived to pay his respects. Kangtai had wanted to withdraw and avoid him, but Empress Feng said there was no need. The Second Prince sat down and they talked for half a day. After he left, Empress Feng kept steering every topic back to the Second Prince. Kangtai might have been naive, but even she could hear the Empress's real meaning beneath her words.
Kangtai did know her own worth. If she married Qi Hua, she would certainly never be his principal wife. Becoming a concubine... she had no desire for that either. But if she could become Qi Hua's side consort, at least her status would overshadow Roujia's...
Kangtai's mind was in chaos. She decided to tell Wen Yu everything. But after she finished speaking, Wen Yu's entire face went pale. Kangtai was already feeling guilty. Seeing him like this, she lost all composure and snapped angrily, "Where's that spirit you had when you were lecturing me just now? Say something!"
Wen Yu wanted to devour Kangtai alive. He gritted his teeth. "From ancient times, marriages have always followed the will of parents and the arrangements of matchmakers. Setting aside whether this match is suitable or not... just the fact that Empress Feng would discuss such things with a young lady of your age tells you that you've been played!"
Kangtai's face drained of color. "How... how is that wrong? Besides, the Empress didn't say anything explicitly, but that was clearly her meaning..."
"I don't know her meaning, and I don't want to know. All I know is that when Princess Dunsu wanted to petition the Emperor to betroth Roujia to the Crown Prince, something changed at some point. But in that affair, it was definitely Bai Ren who made the move. The Crown Prince is at the height of his power now, and Bai Ren still wasn't willing to let his own sister become his side consort. Compared to that, what do you think awaits you as a minor concubine of the Second Prince? Do you think it could be anything good?" Wen Yu closed his eyes. "Furthermore... if this match were truly suitable and the Emperor approved of it, why didn't Empress Feng simply send word to Father? As long as Father agreed, the matter could be settled. The fact that Empress Feng acted this way proves that she herself wasn't confident the Emperor or Father would agree."
Kangtai's mind cleared somewhat. She stared in alarm. "Then... then I'll never go to the palace again. I won't see her."
"Were you dragged there secretly this time?!" Wen Yu grew more furious with every thought. He wished he could immediately send Kangtai back to Lingnan by carriage. "I warned you a thousand times, told you a million times not to act rashly, and you simply wouldn't listen! You had to play the clever one! I'm putting my foot down now—from this day forward, you are not to leave this courtyard for one step! The moment Roujia's wedding is over, you return to Lingnan with me!"
Kangtai's eyes suddenly turned red. Wen Yu, afraid she would start clinging and making a scene as she always did, coldly spoke first. "If you不服, I'll immediately sell off all your maids and servants. You'll stay alone in this room. Even if you have grievances, you'll have to swallow them for now. When we return to Lingnan, you can complain to Father and Mother however you like!" With that, Wen Yu stormed out. Kangtai, mortified and indignant, collapsed onto her embroidered pillow and sobbed bitterly.
After leaving Kangtai's chamber, Wen Yu immediately punished all her servants and strictly commanded that no word of today's events was to spread. He thought this would keep the matter under wraps. But as the saying goes, the tree may prefer stillness, but the wind will not cease. The very next day, rumors began to circulate slowly through the palace...
The Lingnan Prince's residence's Second Young Miss and the Second Prince had fallen in love at first sight in Fenghua Palace. After Princess Roujia and Scholar He were married, the imperial betrothal for them would likely follow soon.