Consort Shang laughed coldly: “He is the son of that foolish woman Tang!”

The Crown Prince and the Tang family would always share the same glory and suffer the same losses.

So no matter how virtuous he might be, His Majesty would never allow the Tang family to gain more power.

The greater the Crown Prince’s ambition, the greater His Majesty’s suspicion. How long could the Crown Prince maintain his position?

For now, there was no rush to bring down Feng Qiyuan—Feng Yuan was the biggest stumbling block!

Years ago, she had employed some tactics to try to make Ye Zhanxue’s child lose his status as the legitimate son, giving way to her and Feng Qiting. But what did Feng Yuan’s poisoning have to do with her?

Yet Feng Yuan had joined forces with that slut Anqing to pin this blame on her. If she couldn’t remove the stigma of poisoning, she would have to remain hidden in the Western Palace!

As for who had done it back then, Consort Shang had initially believed it was Empress Tang, but the more she thought about it, the less sense it made.

It was known that when Feng Yuan had his episode, he had nearly strangled Feng Qiyuan, who was alone. No matter how vicious Empress Tang might be, she wouldn’t risk her legitimate son, her lifeline.

The Second Prince was also thinking and asked: “Mother, are you saying there is someone powerful enough to obtain such a drug to harm Feng Yuan?”

Consort Shang slowly replied: “Actually… there is one person!”

“Who?”

“A shameless woman!” Consort Shang said with a cold laugh.

Imprisoned in the Cold Palace for so many days, she had nothing to do but dig up old matters from years past.

The person who had stopped Feng Yuan back then was Princess Anqing, who happened to be passing by. Out of gratitude for saving the Crown Prince, relations between the Tang family and Anqing had greatly improved, with the Tang family eagerly trying to ally with Anqing.

At that time, Mu Shen’s old illness had relapsed, leaving him unable to manage affairs, and Anqing took over the management of the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards for her husband, enjoying a moment of unchecked power.

Thinking this way, the biggest beneficiary of Feng Yuan’s madness years ago was Princess Anqing.

Moreover, wasn’t Feng Yuan poisoned again at Duke Ding’s mansion this time?

That woman who knew how to put on a good show was constantly pouring dirty water on her!

Having identified Princess Anqing’s hand in this, Consort Shang asked her son: “Didn’t the master of Xiaoying Mountain Villa say he had figured out a way to get me out of this confinement? How is it going? Any news?”

Hearing this, the Second Prince quickly took out a porcelain bottle and a wax-sealed letter, whispering: “The people from Xiaoying Mountain Villa said this medicine is similar to Mashi Powder, but they didn’t explain how to save yourself with it. They only said it depends on how you use it…”

Consort Shang took the medicine and laughed coldly: “Well played, Xiaoying Mountain Villa. They engage in the world’s dirtiest business yet are most skilled at using others to kill while keeping their own hands clean!”

With that thought, Consort Shang used a silver knife to open the letter…

As she read it, her eyes grew wider and wider!

The letter was a confession from an old servant of the Tang family, saying that Tang Mi had been involved with a Wei Country student at the academy before entering the palace, and had nearly eloped with that scholar.

The Second Prince was so excited his hands shook: “What a slut! To think she was considered a noble lady of the Tang family, yet had such dealings! Mother, what are we waiting for? Presenting this to His Majesty would surely bring down Imperial Consort Yi!”

Consort Shang glared at him coldly: “Have I taught you nothing? Such a good leverage—you would waste it rather than hold onto it firmly? If you were Imperial Consort Yi, knowing I had this letter, would you dare not obey my every word?”

Looking at the letter, then at the medicine in the porcelain bottle, Consort Shang had a sudden realization, slowly breaking into a smile: “It seems that master is even more impatient than I am. He wants to use my hand to eliminate both Feng Yuan and the Tang family!”

Feng Qiting inexplicably shivered and couldn’t help asking: “Mother, if Xiaoying Mountain Villa harbors aspirations to ride the dragon’s coattails, why would they treat Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother this way?”

Betting on multiple horses was the best strategy for those seeking to follow the ascending dragon!

Consort Shang closed her eyes to rest, slowly saying: “How do you know he hasn’t placed his bets?”

Looking at the situation now, the Grand Prince and the Crown Prince were the clever ones, likely having not swallowed his bait.

Since they couldn’t be used by Xiaoying Mountain Villa, of course, he had to find ways to eliminate them, making the Second Prince’s bet more valuable.

Unexpected that the Crown Prince had returned, and now that master had picked up their mother and son—these discarded chess pieces…

Consort Shang couldn’t help touching her temples. In this situation, if they didn’t seize the opportunity, perhaps the last lifeline would disappear.

It was truly a laborious fate—who knew how many more white hairs would grow at her temples after this ordeal…

The Western Palace was cold and desolate, brewing a scheme to turn the tables.

The Crown Prince’s Chuweng Hall, however, had no shortage of coal fires—the entire hall was warm and cozy.

However, the Crown Prince, perhaps suffering from a hangover, remained in bed even though the sun was already high in the sky.

Jin Zhong stood at the door of the inner hall, craning his neck to peek inside.

There was no solution—the Crown Prince had strange habits, not liking to have eunuchs serve in the inner chambers, and even among palace maids, only allowed Jian Hu to enter.

In the past, Jin Zhong would certainly have felt bitter, suspecting the Crown Prince favored Jian Hu and that he had lost favor.

But now he considered himself and Jian Hu to have gone through hardships together. When he had been so sick, Jian Hu had never abandoned him, showing the little palace maid’s kind heart.

Seeing Jian Hu guarding the inner palace door, Jin Zhong, taking advantage of no one paying attention, pulled out a package of honey chestnut cakes from his bosom for Jian Hu.

“Eat them while they’re hot. These were saved for me by Old Wen from the imperial kitchen!”

Jian Hu couldn’t resist the temptation and ate several pieces.

Just at that moment, Jin Zhong vaguely heard what sounded like operatic female singing, each trembling note resembling the plucking of harp strings.

Jin Zhong instinctively craned his neck and pricked up his ears, trying to hear more clearly. But Jian Hu, quick as lightning, pulled his ear and dragged him down the steps.

“Ouch, ouch, my lady, what are you doing?” Jin Zhong covered his ear canal.

Jian Hu puffed up with anger: “You’re the only one with ears? Why are you trying to listen in? What do you want to hear?”

Jin Zhong wasn’t concerned and had a secretive smile: “Has our Prince finally awakened? Which palace maid is he entertaining?”

Hearing these words, Jian Hu’s face seemed coated with a waxy yellow lacquer as she said sternly: “What nonsense is this? The Prince sleeps alone—what entertainment? What’s in that head of yours!”

Though she spoke firmly, Jian Hu was secretly distressed.

Before, she had thought Yan Xiaoying was a wild girl from outside the palace, lawless and unrestrained, which was somewhat excusable.

But she had never imagined that the truly daring one would be palace-raised.

She didn’t know how or when the Grand Prince had slipped into Chuweng Hall this morning.

The two of them were in the inner chamber, engaged in passionate embraces—certainly enjoying themselves.

But poor, innocent little palace maid that she was, afraid of the affair being discovered and being implicated, she hadn’t even dared go to the latrine, forcing herself to stay put, afraid someone might barge in.

Fortunately, Jin Zhong had come, giving her the chance to raise her voice and scatter the wild lovebirds inside.

At this moment, Xiaoying felt as if she had just completed an entire set of formless boxing exercises—her legs were weak, her fingertips numb, and her forehead and nose tip were damp.

Feng Yuan, afraid she might catch a cold, wrapped them both in the blanket again, then pressed against her cheek with gentle kisses: “In a while, I have to go to the imperial study with Ye Zhong to discuss matters, so I won’t be able to join you for breakfast.”

Besides, he had already somewhat unsatisfactorily sampled what he most wanted to taste.

After the palace banquet yesterday, Xiaoying had inexplicably become jealous and made a scene with him before hurriedly kissing him goodbye.

Feng Yuan didn’t know how Xiaoying felt, but he had been left with a burning heat throughout his body, unable to sleep all night.

Xiaoying finally understood jealousy! This was enough to prove she cared about him, but everything had been too rushed, as if it were a dream he had conjured alone.

He needed to confirm it again, to hear her admit with her mouth that she cared for him, that she couldn’t part from him.

So he had entered the palace very early today, using the excuse of catching up on sleep in his previously vacant chambers, then taking advantage of the palace staff’s inattention, jumped over the wall to Chuweng Hall, finally embracing the soft beauty he had thought about all night.

Then came the careful questioning, employing his skills, asking bit by bit, until the young woman completely lost her resistance, trapped in this tiny corner of the bed…

Now Xiaoying’s hair was disheveled, her pearl-white skin moistened with perspiration, her delicate face like a pearl freshly plucked from an oyster.

Only her lips bore an unnatural redness, having been fiercely sucked by him, a tempting color that made one unable to resist lowering one’s head to press against them again, marking them with one’s scent.

Xiaoying’s rationality had now returned to her empty mind, and she extended her slender white foot to kick Feng Yuan’s face.

“You’re so bold! This is your fourth brother’s bedchamber! Leave quickly!”

Feng Yuan indulgently pinched her face, smiling as he rose: “By the way, I brought you some things. They’re in the box on the table. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring you more.”

Hearing this, Xiaoying curiously stretched her neck and asked: “What things?”

“The profits, Madam Chu sent over. She said the trade route you suggested was extremely smooth, with far fewer intermediaries than before, so she earned quite a lot this time and specifically gave you a larger share.”

Feng Yuan was facing the sunlight from the window, putting on his clothes piece by piece. His slightly bulging arms were full of firm strength, the clearly defined muscle lines narrowing at the waist, and as his long arms moved, his back muscles also naturally and powerfully slid…

Although she had thoroughly enjoyed touching them earlier, looking at them now still made her eye sockets feel hot, somewhat unsatisfied.

She even found herself thinking that, even in middle age, she would urge Feng Yuan to practice martial arts regularly and not become lax.

Such a firm body—if it became pot-bellied in the future due to indulgence in food and wine, it would truly be a waste of heaven’s gifts, an unforgivable sin!

Feng Yuan didn’t know that the young woman beside him was taking visual advantage of him. After dressing completely, he walked over and kissed her again: “Besides the share from Chu Yu, I’ve added some more for you. Being in the palace, having more money at your disposal, will make things more complete. Don’t be stingy when rewarding the servants.”

With that, he strode to a nearby window, leapt out on one leg, and soared away like a hawk in flight, disappearing without a trace.

Xiaoying, wrapped in the blanket, lazily got out of bed and opened the small wooden box to look: Feng Yuan’s definition of “some more” was rather modest—the bright yellow color of the gold bars was truly captivating.

Besides the finger-sized gold bars, there were silver ingots, silver leaves, and silver “melon seeds” convenient for rewarding servants.

Additionally, there were several bank notes with very large amounts, which, when added together, came to an astonishing sum.

Xiaoying had long ago estimated how much profit Chu Yu would make from this business, so most of what was in the box was added by Feng Yuan. There was no help for it—being a prince involved high expenditures, and relying solely on palace allowances would leave one in poverty.

Feng Yuan wasn’t stingy about giving silver, making it convenient for his fourth brother to spend.

His heart was truly generous—giving such a large amount to her, with her bandit background, without fearing she might be greedy and run off with the money!

Speaking of rewards, Xiaoying remembered something she had kept in her heart for a long time.

…

So after Xiaoying was served by Jian Hu, properly washed and dressed, and had eaten breakfast, she found a vacant time to secretly meet with Uncle Hai.

Upon her return to the palace to lure out the big fish who had abducted Feng Qiyuan, she kept a low profile and avoided meeting people.

But since there were still no clues, she might as well move around various parts of the palace, trying to find weaknesses in her opponent, and incidentally see Uncle Hai to inform him of her recent schedule.

When Uncle Hai saw Xiaoying, the toilet he was half-way through scrubbing fell to the ground with a thud, and he anxiously made inarticulate sounds.

He remembered Xiaoying saying before leaving the palace that she would not return once she reached Jiangzhe.

When he heard that the Crown Prince was ill and remaining in Jiangzhe, though anxious, he generally guessed that Xiaoying must have found a way to escape.

But a few days ago, when it was said the Crown Prince had returned to the palace, he couldn’t sleep day or night, yet was unable to see the Crown Prince.

Now seeing with his own eyes the youth’s smiling face, he guessed that the one who had returned must still be that girl.

Xiaoying knew Uncle Hai was worried and immediately comforted him gently: “Uncle Hai, don’t worry, I wasn’t forced to return to the palace. Perhaps before long, I’ll leave completely and never return…”

Uncle Hai shook his head, pointing at the high palace walls around them and mumbling: “A cage… stay too long and you can’t get out…”

His meaning was probably that in these palace walls, beyond the lack of freedom, what was more frightening was how palace intrigue and oppression corroded one’s will.

People who stayed too long, like Uncle Hai, even if they could leave the palace one day, would lose the courage to walk away.

This time, Xiaoying had brought some items for Uncle Hai’s use, along with many small pieces of silver.

She didn’t dare give Uncle Hai whole ingots, even feeling that silver “melon seeds” were too conspicuous, so she had deliberately broken up several ingots into silver fragments to give to him.

The palace was the most status-conscious place, having silver made one’s life easier. Especially for someone of Uncle Hai’s age, if he could find someone to help him, he might be assigned some lighter duties.

The Crown Prince’s daily routine had no intersection with an old eunuch who scrubbed toilets. Xiaoying couldn’t use the Crown Prince’s title to help Uncle Hai, so she gave him more silver to buy some peace and comfort in the future.

“I heard from palace eunuchs that the Coal Fire Department is recruiting recently. The manager in charge is a eunuch named Feng Can. Although he’s greedy, he’s quite kind and not vicious. Use this silver to smooth things over, and you should be able to get a job tending to coal fires. Though it’s still tiring, it’s better than scrubbing toilets. Then I’ll gradually arrange other duties for you.”

Uncle Hai looked at the silver ingots Xiaoying gave him and waved his hands repeatedly, indicating she should keep them for herself.

Xiaoying said, “I have plenty more. Uncle Hai, don’t worry, take them!”

After seeing Uncle Hai, Xiaoying needed to leave the palace on duty.

During the period when the Wei Country envoys hadn’t left, the Crown Prince needed to be responsible for daily communications.

As the youth stood in front of the embassy, speaking with officials, a voice suddenly came from behind: “Crown Prince, may I have a word with you?”

Xiaoying turned to see Huo Buxun standing behind her with a gloomy face.

Xiaoying smiled and stepped aside, away from the crowd, saying: “What instruction does Prince Appease have for me?”

“It was you who stole someone from my hands!” Huo Buxun carefully examined the youth’s face again, then stated with certainty.

Xiaoying pretended not to understand: “What does Prince Appease mean? Who did I steal?”

“…My woman!”

Xiaoying laughed: “I’m sorry, I have never dabbled in women, let alone compete for one with Prince Appease. Could Prince Appease have mistaken me for someone else? After all, my appearance is quite common, and many in the capital resemble me.”

Prince Appease watched her composed and carefree manner, which didn’t seem feigned.

Yet the more he looked at her, the more she resembled the young girl he had seen that day combing Tang Mi’s hair. Could there be such a coincidence, for them to look so similar?

As his thoughts turned, Prince Appease recalled that this Crown Prince was a good archer, and he suddenly wanted to test the Crown Prince’s martial skills.

So he abruptly threw a punch toward Xiaoying’s face.

As a martial artist, the instinctive reaction would be to dodge.

But Xiaoying knew she had fought with Huo Buxun that night, and if she moved, Huo Buxun would recognize her.

The consequences would be too severe!

So she simply gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, preparing to take Prince Appease’s punch.

Unexpectedly, the punch approached but stopped just short.

Xiaoying opened her eyes in surprise to find someone had flashed in front of her to block the attack.

“Duke Ding?” Only to see that Duke Ding had somehow quickly appeared in front of the Crown Prince, blocking the punch for him.

But the Duke’s frail body, after taking this blow, turned alarmingly uncomfortable. After staggering back two steps and being steadied by Xiaoying, he immediately coughed up bright red blood…

Several Dragon Scale Shadow Guards leapt forward, glaring at Prince Appease: “What are you doing? You dare attack our Dafeng Crown Prince and Duke Ding!”

Huo Buxun was somewhat stunned. His punch had been meant to force a defensive move, a test, and hadn’t been full strength.

How was this Duke Ding as fragile as paper, spitting out half a bucket of blood from a mere tap on the chest? Was he trying to extort compensation?

If this caused a major incident, he would be in the wrong… As Prince Appease frowned, the Duke managed to stop his bleeding and weakly prevented his subordinates from taking action: “It’s not Prince Appease’s fault, it’s my frailty.”

Xiaoying had heard before that this Duke Ding was sickly, and seeing it now, it was indeed true. She quickly had Jin Zhong bring tea for rinsing his mouth and ordered someone to summon the imperial physician.

As for Prince Appease, he offered an insincere apology, claiming he was just joking with the Crown Prince and accidentally hit Duke Ding.

After leaving the embassy, Xiaoying personally helped Duke Ding into his carriage, with an apologetic face: “If not for the Duke protecting me, you wouldn’t have been injured like this.”

Duke Ding, with a pale face, smiled gently: “The Crown Prince should know that this is a critical time for peace negotiations between our two countries. We shouldn’t disrupt the bigger picture over small matters. My taking this punch allows both sides to save face. But if you had taken it, the situation would have been uncontrollable… Please don’t publicize this matter…”

His tone was gentle, and although his demeanor was very similar to the elegant Young Master Mu Hanjiang, he lacked the intimidating manner Mu Hanjiang often had when examining people. Instead, he possessed a cultured and soothing quality that naturally made people feel goodwill toward him.