# Chapter 63
Qi Xiao turned over and sat up. After a pause, he said, "It's nothing serious, really. I didn't leave just to avoid suspicion—I was afraid that once things came out, you'd have a hard time."
Hearing this, Bai Ren felt even more unsettled. He sat up as well, anxious and uneasy. "You... what exactly are you planning to do?"
Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh at Bai Ren's worried expression. "Where did your mind go? Don't tell me you're suspecting me of planning regicide?"
Bai Ren furrowed his brows. "Walls have ears. Don't talk nonsense."
Qi Xiao smiled faintly. "Relax... It's not time to kill him yet. Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I didn't do much—just sent your father a rather special gift."
Bai Ren froze. "My father?"
Qi Xiao's smile turned cold. "The matter of Kang Tai and Qi Hua... my people have been spreading rumors about it, but the Feng family has been working against me, trying to suppress everything. They wanted to hush it up, did they? Fine. I'll make sure this gets reported straight to Lingnan. Let your father see for himself what kind of children he's been doting on all these years."
Bai Ren was speechless. "Report... report it to Lingnan? How did you manage that?"
"Nothing much. I just sent a few people... who posed as representatives of the Feng family to deliver congratulatory gifts to Lingnan. While they were there, they casually mentioned how Kang Tai and Qi Hua had fallen in love at first sight in the Empress's palace." Qi Xiao smiled coldly. "I had them say that the young miss of your prestigious family was quite taken with the Second Prince, and the Second Prince had sworn an oath that he would marry no one but the Lady Kang Tai. The two were deeply in love, inseparable... but unfortunately His Majesty kept delaying the imperial marriage decree. His Majesty wasn't pleased with this match, so as the maternal family, they had no choice but to petition His Highness the Prince. They only asked that the Prince cherish his daughter and submit a petition requesting the Emperor grant the marriage."
Bai Ren swallowed hard. "I imagine... my father probably only heard 'deeply in love and inseparable' and 'His Majesty wasn't pleased with this match.' Did my father nearly die of rage..."
Qi Xiao found Bai Ren's dazed expression endearing. He ruffled Bai Ren's hair and smiled gently. "Relax, he didn't die."
Qi Xiao smiled modestly. "That was my beloved father-in-law after all. How would I dare be so bold? But according to the people who returned... it seems he did fall ill from anger. When he heard those words, he smashed an entire set of tea utensils, cursed out my messenger and drove him away. I hear he then went to visit that beloved concubine of yours, Lady Xia, and gave her quite the tongue-lashing. He accused her of not knowing how to raise children, of producing such shameless creatures."
Bai Ren felt a pang of sympathy. If his father had even scolded Lady Xia, then he truly must have been furious. And understandably so—his unwed sister had traveled all the way to the capital from Lingnan ostensibly to attend a wedding and broaden her horizons by meeting the Empress and princesses. Who could have expected Kang Tai would cause such a scandal? Put kindly, it was love at first sight between Kang Tai and Qi Hua. Put bluntly, the two had disregarded propriety and behaved improperly. The worst part was that the Emperor had no intention of granting the marriage—essentially slapping Kang Tai in the face. She was practically throwing herself at someone who didn't want her.
Bai Ren thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something. "When... when did you send those people?"
Qi Xiao curved his lips into a smile. "Half a month ago, right after the incident occurred. Your father's envoys should be arriving in the capital any day now. When your father disciplines his daughter, he might take out his frustration on you too—charging you with failing to properly supervise. I didn't want you dealing with all that, so I simply brought you out."
Bai Ren couldn't help but laugh. "You... you'd already planned all this half a month ago?"
Qi Xiao smiled but said nothing. Bai Ren sighed softly. "I'm... glad I didn't try to clash with you head-on back then. Otherwise, I don't know what fate would have befallen me."
Bai Ren's casual words took on a different meaning in Qi Xiao's ears. Qi Xiao rolled over and once again pressed himself on top of Bai Ren. He laughed low in his throat. "I actually have some regrets... If only you hadn't been so obedient back then. I could have brought myself to use every trick in the book to deal with you. Perhaps... I would have had you in my hands long ago. Instead of how things are now—holding you all night long and doing nothing but sleep."
Bai Ren's face flushed red. Qi Xiao bit down hard on Bai Ren's lip. "The more I spoil you, the more temperamental you become. One touch and you're crying. Can't take even a hint of pain..."
Bai Ren couldn't help but protest quietly upon hearing this. "I said last night that I'm not afraid of pain..."
Qi Xiao sneered. "Then why are you trembling? Your legs were shaking like a sieve. You know perfectly well that I can't bear to see you in pain..."
"It hurts to tremble, and I can't help it..." The lower Bai Ren's voice dropped, the redder his face became. He murmured, "I didn't do it on purpose..."
Qi Xiao kissed him on the lips. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. If you had been faking the pain... I would have finished you off last night. Alright, let's take it slow. I'll wait until you can handle more..."
"Wait, wait." When he noticed Qi Xiao's hands getting restless again, Bai Ren quickly stopped him. "You had people pretend to be from the Feng family... Did they handle it cleanly? If someone investigates, the consequences would be severe."
Qi Xiao stared at him without a word. Bai Ren grew more worried, his tone becoming more urgent. "Answer me..."
Qi Xiao smiled. "In the past, whenever something happened, you always worried about Roujia first, then thought of yourself. Now... the first thing on your mind is whether it would implicate me."
Bai Ren felt exposed and even more embarrassed. He pretended to be angry. "Why is it so hard to get a straight answer from you? Why bring all that up..."
Qi Xiao's heart felt warm from Bai Ren's worried little expression. He smiled fondly. "Relax. Those people were all new faces. Your father isn't close to the Feng family anyway, so he wouldn't notice anything amiss. And once they finished this mission, I reassigned them to the military. Even if your father later connects with the Feng family and discovers those people weren't from their household, there's no trail to follow. The people are gone, the scene is empty. It was handled rather cleanly."
Only then did Bai Ren completely relax. After thinking it over, he couldn't help but laugh. "When my father sends people... Kang Tai is going to lose so much face this time! Wen Yu will be punished too, ha ha... The Feng family has such bad luck! Every time you cause trouble, you pin it on them..."
Qi Xiao found Bai Ren's gleeful窃喜 expression amusing. An idea crossed his mind. After Roujia's wedding, Wen Yu and Kang Tai would be leaving. What if he dealt with these two on their way back... Qi Xiao shook his head. No. Bai Ren was different from him—small tricks and schemes were fine, but if he actually killed someone, Bai Ren wouldn't be able to remain this happy.
Qi Xiao had no patience to wait for Bai Ren to finish his amusement. He lowered the bed curtains and directly pressed the cheerful Bai Ren beneath him. Soon, ambiguous moans echoed from within the inner chambers.
Outside, Jiang Deqing, who had been standing guard the whole time, saw that the two had finished their serious conversation. He waved for the maids to return to their posts. The head maid in charge heard the sounds coming from inside and blushed. She lowered her voice and asked, "Sir... before dinner last night, His Highness the Crown Prince instructed us to prepare a small bowl of curd cheese for His Highness the Young Prince. But since dinner was prepared on time, it never got served. It's this late now... should we still prepare it?"
"He probably won't want it anymore..." Jiang Deqing hesitated, then shook his head. "No, better tell the small kitchen not to put out the fire, but keep the ingredients ready. Just in case His Highness gets hungry in the middle of the night and you can't prepare anything in time. His Highness wouldn't say anything, but you all know His Highness the Crown Prince's temperament."
The head maid quickly nodded. "Thank you for the guidance, sir. I'll go instruct the cook right away. Fortunately, we have fresh milk and eggs on hand. Whenever it's needed, we can make it."
Jiang Deqing nodded, then added, "The cook here doesn't know, but make sure you mention it—His Highness has a sweet tooth. Add more sugar." The maid acknowledged and left.
Jiang Deqing was getting on in years. Qi Xiao originally didn't want him standing night watch, but he had stayed up until now. Feeling drowsy, he looked around, made a few more instructions to the night-duty maids, then descended.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day, the two didn't wake until late morning.
They had messed around quite a bit the night before, so Bai Ren was still feeling lazy. He yawned and murmured softly, "What time is it now? Must be around the Chen hour..."
Qi Xiao laughed. He lifted the bed curtain to let Bai Ren see the sun's position outside. "It's the Si hour."
Qi Xiao was usually someone who never needed much sleep, but for the past two days, whether due to the physical exertion before bed or some other reason, he too had been sleeping more. He gazed at Bai Ren's sleep-flushed face and sighed softly. "'The hero's tomb is a tender paradise.' The ancients spoke only the truth..."
Bai Ren couldn't help but laugh, but he kept his eyes shut and refused to get up. Qi Xiao pinched Bai Ren's cheek. "I've noticed you've been getting more and more clingy lately..."
Bai Ren felt shy, but still wrapped his arms around Qi Xiao's arm without saying anything. Just as Qi Xiao was about to tease him again, Jiang Deqing's voice came from outside. "Your Highness... a letter from the capital has arrived. Do you wish to read it now?"
Qi Xiao hummed in acknowledgment. Jiang Deqing walked in with a bow. Qi Xiao lifted the bed curtain and took the letter. He tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper, and smiled. "There's more gossip from your household."
Bai Ren immediately opened his eyes. "What happened?"
Qi Xiao smiled faintly. "Your father's envoys arrived in the capital yesterday... They've ordered Wen Yu and Kang Tai to return to Lingnan immediately. Not a moment's delay."
Bai Ren was stunned. "Immediately? Without waiting for Roujia's wedding?"
Qi Xiao shook his head. "It seems your father-in-law can't stand to have these two丢人现眼 continue making fools of themselves here. Officially, they're saying they've found a suitable match for Kang Tai in Lingnan and urgently called her back for an arranged meeting... Whether that's true or not remains to be seen."
Bai Ren blinked. "So they're leaving now?" Qi Xiao smiled. "No. Kang Tai refuses to go."
Qi Xiao didn't want to keep Bai Ren in suspense. He handed the letter over. Bai Ren took it, read it, and couldn't help but laugh. "Kang Tai... She's truly lost all face and dignity..."
The Lingnan envoy who arrived yesterday had delivered the Lingnan Prince's written orders to Wen Yu. Upon seeing the Prince's stern words in the letter, Wen Yu's legs went weak. He didn't dare argue, immediately ordered people to pack, and prepared to submit an audience petition to the Emperor to take his leave. Just as chaos reigned, Kang Tai created an uproar inside. She absolutely refused to return. Kang Tai had somehow gotten wind that the Lingnan Prince intended to marry her off to Lady Xia's nephew. Kang Tai had always despised that Xia family boy. She adamantly refused,死活不肯 return.
Wen Yu was at his wit's end. He coaxed, he scolded—nothing worked. Kang Tai even tried to go to the Princess's residence to find Roujia, begging Roujia to speak on her behalf, causing complete chaos throughout the household. In the end, Wen Yu lost his temper completely and slapped her across the face. He stamped his feet and ordered servants to bind her before she finally quieted down.
Bai Ren felt relieved. He shook his head and smiled. "Well then... it's good that they're leaving. Once they're gone, I can finally feel at ease."
Qi Xiao said nothing, but internally smiled. As if by wishful thinking, those two would soon be departing the Lingnan Prince's residence. Qi Xiao began to scheme quietly. Wen Yu had harmed Bai Ren so many times. He would need to return the favor to be fair.
***
*End of Chapter 63*