# Chapter One Hundred and Eight
Although it was deep into the night, Qi Xiao's status was now so special that the elderly minister guarding the ancestral temple dared not turn him away. After a hasty bow, he scrambled to his feet and led Qi Xiao inside. As they approached the main hall's entrance, everyone following Qi Xiao stopped outside, with only one slender figure in a large dark ink-colored hood remaining at Qi Xiao's side. The elderly minister hesitated, but Qi Xiao said calmly, "Never mind. If anything goes wrong, just blame it on me."
The elderly minister repeatedly said he would never dare and, after stepping inside, lit all twenty-odd palace lanterns before retreating out.
Qi Xiao lowered Bai Ren's hood for him, smiling gently: "Let Mother see you."
Bai Ren didn't know why, but simply hearing those words broke something inside him—tears spilled down his face instantly. Qi Xiao lovingly wiped away his tears and softly coaxed him: "Don't cry. Come... kowtow to Mother."
It was Bai Ren's first time visiting the ancestral temple. Looking at the memorial tablet of Empress Xiaoxian, his heart ached unbearably. He drew a deep breath and knelt down beside Qi Xiao, performing the reverent three kneelings and nine kowtows.
Qi Xiao gazed quietly at his mother's tablet. After a long moment, he spoke softly: "Just now, seeing Empress Feng's appearance, I couldn't help but wonder... do you know, at that time, my mother was nearly twenty years younger than Empress Feng. When faced with such a situation... how did she handle it?"
A bitter smile crossed Qi Xiao's face: "Surely not like that woman did..."
Bai Ren pressed his lips together and spoke softly: "Though I never had the fortune to witness Her Majesty Empress Xiaoxian's elegance in her time, based on what the elders have said... she must have passed peacefully, with great dignity."
Bai Ren looked at Qi Xiao, his voice deep: "One only needs to look at the people Your Highness has around you now to know that Empress Xiaoxian did not leave in disarray... She first entrusted Your Highness to Princess DunSu, then arranged all her capable old servants to Your Highness's side, and after that..."
Bai Ren turned away, wiping his tears as his voice choked: "She probably held Your Highness one more time. Kissed you... then smiled her way to the end, following Emperor Wu onward."
Qi Xiao laughed despite himself, reaching up to wipe away Bai Ren's tears, his voice hoarse with laughter: "Why so many tears today? Stop crying... you'll have sore eyes tomorrow if you're not careful."
Bai Ren shook his head, tears falling directly onto Qi Xiao's hands. He drew a shaky breath, his voice raw with grief: "These tears... belong to Your Highness. Twenty years... they were all Your Highness's tears..."
Qi Xiao's eyes burned red. He closed them briefly, then bowed his head to press a kiss to Bai Ren's forehead, his voice rough as he comforted him: "Don't cry..."
Bai Ren nodded repeatedly, but his tears wouldn't stop. Qi Xiao patted his back gently, as if comforting a child, then turned to look at Empress Xiaoxian's tablet. Mother, if your spirit watches from heaven, you've seen all of this, haven't you?
He had wandered through circles and混沌 until this very day. Besides the power he held firmly in his grasp, only this person was real.
Qi Xiao drew a deep breath and spoke softly after a moment: "Bai Ren, there are things I've wanted to say to you for days now. I kept putting it off because I was afraid you wouldn't listen, but now I have no choice but to say them..."
Bai Ren looked up at Qi Xiao, who smiled lovingly at him and slowly said: "Once the arrow is loosed, there's no turning back. With Empress Feng dead, there's no stopping what comes next. I consider myself to have made complete preparations, but... all things have uncertainties. I cannot bet your life on that uncertainty. You..."
Bai Ren looked up at Qi Xiao in a daze, his voice hoarse: "I'm not afraid. Why should you be?"
Qi Xiao's heart clenched painfully. Before he could speak, Bai Ren continued: "You're not Emperor Wu, and I'm not Empress Xiaoxian... You won't die in battle, and I won't follow you in death."
"Shut up!" Qi Xiao's eyes glistened with tears as he shouted sternly, "Don't say such things! Shut up!"
Had it been anyone else receiving such a rebuke from Qi Xiao, they would have trembled in fear. But Bai Ren showed not a trace of fear. He still gazed steadily at Qi Xiao, saying each word distinctly: "I won't leave. I'm staying here, to guard you! To watch you! I want to watch you cut down your enemies one by one. I want to watch you take back everything they stole from you. And I also want to watch you... rule the world and take your seat among the four seas!"
Bai Ren stared at Qi Xiao intensely, his voice firm: "I want to be the first to bow before you and cry out 'Long live Your Majesty.' I want to witness you sit upon that throne with my own eyes. I want to see every single person who was complicit in Empress Xiaoxian's secret death suffer a painful, miserable end."
Bai Ren exhaled softly: "And then... I want to personally tell my people of Lingnan: You may now farm peacefully, weave without worry, because the emperor who sits upon that dragon throne in the capital... your king has meritorious service in raising him to power! He will never impose extra taxes upon you, nor secretly requisition your grain. As long as he reigns for even one more day, there will be no more wars in our Southern Frontier, and the world shall know peace!"
Qi Xiao's fists clenched tight, his teeth gritted hard: "You... aren't you afraid that I..."
"Fear what?!" Bai Ren's tears streamed down. "Mother is watching from above! Tell the Crown Prince—were you afraid back then?!"
Qi Xiao's tears finally overflowed, streaming down his face. Bai Ren's vision blurred, his voice breaking: "After I fled from the Southern Frontier last year, I swore... never again would I leave you alone. This thing about leaving you by yourself—only this once! From now on... no matter what happens, I will never again let you face things alone. If you live, I live... if you die... I will use this life of mine to perish together with them! Then I'll go find you..."
Bai Ren sobbed as if he were a child who had suffered great injustice, his voice raw: "From this day forth, only death shall part us... Crown Prince, you said those words yourself back then. Have you forgotten..."
Qi Xiao pulled Bai Ren fiercely into his embrace, trying hard to hold back his sobs, shaking his head repeatedly: "I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten..."
Bai Ren continued to sob. After a long while, he said: "Besides... it's too late to say any of this now..."
Qi Xiao was stunned. Understanding dawned in his heart—seven or eight parts figured out. He grabbed Bai Ren's shoulder abruptly and demanded sternly: "What message have you sent to Lingnan?!"
Meeting Qi Xiao's overwhelming fury, Bai Ren was unafraid, his voice resolute: "Seventeen days ago, I already sent all the news from the capital to Minister Wu. Now... the fifty thousand troops of Lingnan have completed their mobilization. They've massed at the Southern Frontier... If the emperor isn't afraid of war, then Lingnan isn't afraid either!"
Qi Xiao was furious: "You!"
"Crown Prince, I said it—I'm not Empress Xiaoxian. I am the King of Lingnan." The royal blood inherited from the Dongling ancestors rose slowly in Bai Ren's veins, his noble spirit unyielding. "My man intends to seize the throne. This king will support him with his life, and that's not up for debate."
Qi Xiao was torn between wanting to strangle Bai Ren with his own hands and wanting to crush him into his very being. He gritted his teeth: "Did you never think of Imperial Consort! Why we let you escape back then if not to spare you from ending up like me! An orphan with no mother! And now you're..."
"I already told Imperial Consort before!" Bai Ren's voice cracked as he shouted through tears. "Before I gave the order, I had Shunzi escort Imperial Consort and all the women, children, elderly and infirm in the city southward five hundred li. But Imperial Consort wouldn't go! Shunzi reported back to me that... Imperial Consort said, she had lived foolishly and weakly her whole life. She never fought for me, never struggled for anything. Even this throne and her life were... were things I fought for myself, that you helped me obtain... Now that you're in trouble, it's only right that she repay the favor. As for herself... she's willing to wait quietly in Lingdu for your safe and sound good news."
Bai Ren's tears poured down: "Even my own mother can let go without worry. Why can't you?"
The ten layers of defenses in Qi Xiao's heart crumbled one by one under Bai Ren's relentless assault. Finally, they collapsed entirely. He drew a breath and relented: "I can."
Bai Ren collapsed into Qi Xiao's embrace, weeping loudly.
On the prayer cushions in the ancestral temple's main hall, for the first time, the two men opened their hearts to each other so completely,恨不得 laying bare their very souls to one another. Qi Xiao continuously kissed Bai Ren's tear-streaked face and slowly said: "I've planned everything... After I ascend the throne, I will sign an eternal pact with you. As long as the Xiang dynasty endures, our troops shall never march against the Southern Frontier. In return... the King of Lingnan shall permanently reside in the capital, thereby stabilizing the people's hearts. Is that acceptable?"
Qi Xiao pressed a loving kiss to Bai Ren's forehead: "I will adopt heirs from the imperial clan for you, arrange marriages in the future, binding the Dongling clan and the imperial bloodline together forever, so they can never be separated... I will also have the Lingnan Mansion in the capital beautifully renovated. Once everything is complete, I will issue an edict to bring Imperial Consort here, so you two mother and sons can reunite."
Bai Ren, eyes red, nodded without stopping. Qi Xiao spoke softly: "And then... I want to build you a palace within the palace grounds. It will be grander than Chengqian Palace, more magnificent than Fenghua Palace, so you may stay by my side forever."
Listening to all these plans from Qi Xiao, Bai Ren's heart ached unbearably. He had never known... that Qi Xiao had already planned and prepared all of this for him.
"Your Highness..." Fuzi knocked his head at the hall's entrance, his voice trembling, "Your Highness, forgive me. This servant dares to enter because... something has happened in the palace. The Director of the Imperial Clan Office and several princes of the main family are urgently searching for Your Highness."
Qi Xiao gently pulled Bai Ren's hood back up over his head. The tenderness faded from his face as he said coolly: "What's the rush? Isn't it just that Empress Feng has died?"
Fuzi was stunned, then nodded stammering: "How does Your Highness already know... Ah yes, just an hour ago, Her Majesty the Empress passed away. The people inside say... she hanged herself."
A cold, thin smile crossed Qi Xiao's face: "All parents love their children... what a pity."
Fuzi was completely bewildered, looking at Qi Xiao in confusion. Bai Ren understood in his heart. After a pause, he quietly asked: "Your Highness... will you spare the Second Prince?"
Qi Xiao lowered his head to kiss Bai Ren's forehead and spoke softly: "I have never been a gentleman. Using Qi Huo to threaten Empress Feng was only to torment her. Now that she's dead... I should naturally send Qi Huo on his way too."
Bai Ren's eyes brightened, and he said fiercely with satisfaction: "That's exactly how it should be."
Qi Xiao smiled lightly and rose, helping Bai Ren up as well. He lowered his voice: "I'll send you back to the mansion first, then go to the palace."
Bai Ren frowned: "There's no need to detour for me..."
"It won't delay anything." Qi Xiao cut off Bai Ren's protest. A cold smile played on his lips: "If those people in the palace aren't willing to wait, they don't have to. I don't need their approval."
The only thing he feared was that if he didn't arrive, no one would dare speak a single word.
Bai Ren was completely at ease. He didn't want to worry Qi Xiao, so he nodded: "Alright... Your Highness, send me back to the mansion."
Qi Xiao took Bai Ren's hand and walked out of the main hall. As they crossed the high threshold of the main hall, Qi Xiao glanced back inside... Father and Mother are watching from above. Empress Feng has already gone. Before dawn, I will send Qi Huo after her. The next time I come to this ancestral temple... it will probably be to send the emperor on his way.
Qi Xiao gently squeezed Bai Ren's hand. There was nothing to fear anymore. What he had promised Bai Ren, he would surely do. After this great upheaval passes... they would envy even the immortal couple, no longer longing for anything beyond this moment together.