Chapter 68
The next day, Jiang Deqing knocked on the door of Qi Chi's bedchamber early in the morning.
The sky was just beginning to lighten. Qi Chi gently lifted the blanket, got out of bed, draped a garment over his shoulders, and walked around the screen with a furrowed brow. "What's the matter?"
Jiang Deqing glanced toward the inner room and lowered his voice. "Your Highness, Huo Rong has something he wishes to tell you."
A dark shadow passed through Qi Chi's eyes. He slowly adjusted his clothes. "Take him to the inner study."
Inside the inner study pavilion, after Huo Rong finished his bow and stood up, he spoke in a low voice. "This morning, just as the sky was brightening, someone from the Emperor came to find me. Your Highness knows—three cat meows over the wall is the signal."
Qi Chi had known about this for a long time. Not only did he know, but there were people in the mansion specifically assigned to monitor this signal. Therefore, even if Huo Rong hadn't come to find him, he would have gone to question Huo Rong when someone else brought it up. Fortunately, Huo Rong was sensible enough to report to him voluntarily each time, detailing everything without omission.
The early morning was still somewhat cold. Qi Chi drew his clothes tighter. "What did he order you this time?"
Huo Rong shook his head, hesitated, then spoke quietly. "This time he only asked me a few questions. Honestly... he truly left me completely baffled. I'm afraid my answers may not have been to Your Highness's satisfaction."
Qi Chi shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Just tell me exactly what you said."
Huo Rong nodded. "He first asked about the time Your Highness and the Young Lord went to the estate. This couldn't be hidden from anyone, so I told him everything. Then he asked which day you went, which day you returned, and demanded I specify the exact hour and moment. I reported all of that truthfully as well."
"Then he asked what Your Highness and the Young Lord did for fun at the estate. I casually mentioned a few things—viewing the rapeseed flower fields, appreciating the spring blossoms, and so on. After that, the questions became somewhat... somewhat difficult to speak of openly. He asked whether Your Highness and the Young Lord shared the same room every day. I told him they didn't always stay together—that occasionally when they drank late into the night, they would stay in the same place."
A fierce glint flashed in Qi Chi's eyes. He coldly laughed without speaking. Beads of sweat appeared on Huo Rong's forehead. Gritting his teeth, he continued, "Then... the questions grew increasingly indecent. I told him I serve outside the inner courtyard every day and cannot enter the inner residence, so I'm not particularly clear on those matters. But from what I can see day to day, there really is nothing unusual. He asked whether there were any rumors circulating in the mansion. I told him I hadn't heard of any. Fearing he might suspect me as a mole, I also mentioned a few trivial matters about Your Highness. The strange thing is... usually, no matter what I said about Your Highness, he would interrogate me thoroughly about every detail. But today he didn't—he only pressed for information about the relationship between Your Highness and the Young Lord. In my humble opinion, the Emperor must have learned something and become suspicious, which is why he sent someone specifically to ask."
Qi Chi lightly tapped the desk. After a long moment, he asked, "This time they came, what did they order you to do?"
Huo Rong bowed his head. "He said my godfather had words for me, asking me to try befriending the servant girls in the inner courtyard and see if I could extract some information about Your Highness's inner affairs."
Qi Chi nodded. "Jiang Deqing..." Jiang Deqing hastily stepped forward. Qi Chi said coolly, "Reward him."
When Huo Rong heard this, he松了一口气 and, after kowtowing, took the reward and left.
Jiang Deqing was deeply anxious. He lowered his voice. "What is going on... The Emperor must have become suspicious for certain. How did he find out? Could there be another mole in our mansion? Should this old servant investigate again?"
Qi Chi shook his head. "No need. Didn't you hear what Huo Rong said? Fu Hailu asked him to get close to the girls in my inner courtyard. That shows their hands haven't reached inside yet. All the people in my courtyard were carefully selected and retained—they're all old servants who have been with me. Every one of them can be trusted. No need for suspicion. We would only hurt their feelings and make them feel wronged."
Jiang Deqing was still wringing his hands. "Where did things go wrong exactly?!"
Qi Chi was not particularly worried. He had anticipated this day a long time ago. In the past, he could still use Roujia's marriage as a shield, but at that time he would bring Bairo only three days out of ten at most. Now Bairo was almost inseparable from him. The Emperor was no fool—he would find out eventually. Being able to delay until today was already fortunate. Qi Chi smiled bitterly. Perhaps it was also because the Emperor was overly self-assured, believing he understood his own son's temperament best and would never do something so improper.
Seeing Qi Chi's expression remained calm, Jiang Deqing grew even more anxious. "Your Highness... How should we respond? We must quickly think of a way to dispel the Emperor's suspicions."
Qi Chi leaned against the bolster pillow and shook his head. "No need to panic. At this moment, trying to clear suspicion would only make things worse. There's no point doing something that would backfire. When I originally used Roujia's marriage as a bargaining chip to make a deal with Bairo, I foresaw that this day would come. It's fine... Besides, I'm certain that even if he knows, he will pretend not to."
Jiang Deqing didn't understand. He furrowed his brow. "What does Your Highness mean by that? If the Emperor catches Your Highness's weakness on this matter... won't he immediately make a huge scandal of it?"
Qi Chi shook his head. "Setting aside the fact that being fond of the beautiful is nothing new in our dynasty,公公, didn't you forget? Qi Hua and Qi Qi once even swapped their favorite catamites. I'm certain..." Qi Chi smiled faintly. "He will hold his fire and wait, until I'm about to marry the Crown Princess, and only then will he make it public."
"If he makes a noise about it now, it would damage my reputation, but that's a minor matter. When someone's brings it up during the grand wedding ceremony, a single phrase about youthful ignorance can cover it up. It wouldn't affect the bigger picture. But what if he makes a ruckus right before the wedding?" Qi Chi gave a mocking laugh. "With some embellishment and exaggeration, the girl's family surely wouldn't swallow such an insult. The marriage would fall through, and the fact that I favor men would spread across the entire realm. That is what the Emperor would be most pleased to see. Rest assured... The Emperor's calculations are clearer than mine."
When Jiang Deqing heard this, he became even more anxious. "So you're saying... although there's no immediate trouble, there will certainly be a huge commotion when Your Highness marries the Crown Princess!"
If the Emperor truly wanted to use the matter between His Highness and Bairo as leverage, hoping to ruin His Highness's reputation when the time came for marriage, that would be a different story. Qi Chi coldly laughed. Marry the Crown Princess? Let him wait.
Qi Chi gave Jiang Deqing a reassuring look. "We'll deal with that later. The urgent matter now is to find out how the Emperor learned about my relationship with Bairo. If he gradually pieced it together from minor details, he wouldn't suddenly send someone to inquire. Someone must have told him, or something happened that he learned of. The estate has many people. Investigate thoroughly and find whoever leaked this information."
Jiang Deqing understood this was the most critical matter. He nodded. "Yes... If there truly is such a person, one wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night."
Qi Chi rose and returned to the bedchamber.
Inside the warm alcove of the bedchamber, Bairo was half-asleep. Upon hearing Qi Chi's footsteps, he groggily opened his eyes and asked, "Your Highness? Is something wrong?"
Qi Chi removed his robe and placed it on the small di table beside him, then sat on the couch. He casually said, "Someone from the estate came to ask whether this spring's income should be sent to your residence, or wait until after the summer harvest before transferring it to you. I've ordered that starting today, all the estate's income be sent to your residence. When you return home, remember to check the accounts. The wedding expenses will be substantial. If it's still not enough, remember to tell me."
Bairo was deeply touched. He lowered his voice. "I... I thank Your Highness on behalf of Roujia."
Qi Chi raised an eyebrow, pulled him close, and pinched his cheek. "On behalf of Roujia? Was it for Roujia?"
Bairo's heart warmed. He smiled and nodded. "I know. It was for me."
Qi Chi smiled. "Alright, get up. Didn't you say before falling asleep last night that you wanted to return early today to prepare for the wedding?"
Bairo nodded and lingered with Qi Chi for a while before finally getting up. He slightly leaned over, pushed open the hollowed-out wooden lattice panel in front of the couch, and reached for the clean middle garment in the small cabinet. Qi Chi saw him struggling and turned around to fetch it for him. His gaze inadvertently swept across Bairo's wrist, and his heart suddenly tightened.
Bairo was still unaware. Seeing Qi Chi staring at him intently, he felt somewhat embarrassed. He glanced at his own wrist and smiled. "It's nothing. It'll heal soon."
Qi Chi nodded. "Mm."
After breakfast, Qi Chi ordered Shunzi to prepare the carriage to send Bairo home. The moment the person left, someone from the palace arrived.
Qi Chi was well-prepared. He coolly smiled at Fu Hailu. "What matter requires Lord Fu to personally make this trip?"
Fu Hailu's smile was like that of a Maitreya Buddha statue—warm and seemingly genuine. He spoke politely. "Coming to Your Highness the Crown Prince, how could I presume to call it trouble? Nothing major. A few days ago, didn't Your Highness go to oversee the spring plowing affairs? Being away for so many days, His Majesty was deeply concerned. Just as Your Highness returned yesterday, it happened to be the birthday of the Duke of Huilai. Busy and bustling about, His Majesty didn't have the chance to speak with Your Highness. Therefore, he wishes for Your Highness to enter the palace so the father and son can have a proper conversation."
Qi Chi nodded. "Very well."