When this news broke, all of Yanbei was in an uproar.

Not long ago, there had been news that Prince Xiao would return to Yanbei to celebrate the Dowager Consort’s birthday. How much time had passed? And now Prince Xiao was seriously injured. As a hostage, Xiao Jingkang had lived in the capital for over ten years – trouble didn’t come early or late, but precisely at this critical moment. Anyone could tell there was something fishy about this.

Ren Yaoqi was visiting Madam Xu Ouyang Shi’s home when she heard this news. Madam Xu had been invited to participate in compiling the musical scores and Yanbei folk songs section of “The Yanshan River Atlas,” and had frequently been calling Ren Yaoqi over to help organize some collected fragmentary scores.

The two were discussing the restoration of a damaged score when Headmaster Xu hurried home.

Though Ren Yaoqi had visited the Xu family quite often recently, this was the first time she had seen Headmaster Xu during broad daylight – he usually stayed at the academy – so she was somewhat surprised.

Headmaster Xu had returned to find Madam Xu, and without regard for Ren Yaoqi’s presence, he directly revealed the news of Prince Xiao’s assassination and serious injuries. This news stunned both Madam Xu and Ren Yaoqi.

“When did this happen? Where did this news come from?” Madam Xu asked urgently.

Headmaster Xu seemed habitually accustomed to discussing everything with his wife, so he replied: “After the Prince was attacked, his people immediately sent word back to Yanbei. I just happened to be at the Prince’s mansion discussing matters with Minister Sheng when I heard about it.”

Madam Xu frowned: “How are the Prince’s injuries?”

Only then did Xu Wanli glance at Ren Yaoqi, pausing before saying: “From the looks of it… I’m afraid the outlook isn’t optimistic.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu also fell silent, though worry was visible between her brows.

Hearing this news, Ren Yaoqi’s heart was in turmoil. In her previous life, Prince Xiao had died suddenly, and everyone had tended to suspect the imperial court was behind his death. But now it was still several years before Prince Xiao died in her previous life – why was this happening at this time?

Ren Yaoqi understood clearly that if Prince Xiao truly died at this time, the upcoming power struggle between Yanbei and the various court factions would probably begin ahead of schedule. First of all, if Xiao Jingkang died, the position of heir to Yanbei Prince’s mansion would trigger a series of major upheavals.

Yanbei Prince only had two legitimate sons: Xiao Jingkang and Xiao Jingxi. With Xiao Jingkang’s death, the heir position would fall to Xiao Jingxi. When Xiao Jingkang was alive, Xiao Jingxi, this sickly second young master, could maintain a low profile. But with Xiao Jingkang gone, could Xiao Jingxi still be as carefree as before? And would his marriage still be under his control? By then, whether it was the imperial court or Yanbei Prince’s mansion, they would all take the position of the heir’s wife seriously.

Madam Xu sighed and turned to Ren Yaoqi: “Let’s stop here for today. I’ll have someone escort you home first.”

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t in the mood to organize musical scores either, so she nodded and left the Xu residence.

The news of Xiao Jingkang’s assassination only became widely known two days later. The people of Yanbei all hoped Prince Xiao would recover, since Second Prince Xiao was in poor health. If Prince Xiao died young, people worried whether Second Prince Xiao could manage. Though the Xiao family still had Xiao Heng’s branch, Prince Xiao and Xiao Jingxi were more well-known than Xiao Jingyue, so people hadn’t immediately considered having Xiao Jingyue become Yanbei’s heir.

Unfortunately, despite the good wishes of Yanbei’s people, Prince Xiao ultimately couldn’t hold on. Half a month after news of Prince Xiao’s assassination reached Yanbei, came the tragic news that Prince Xiao had died from his severe injuries. All of Yanbei mourned deeply.

As Ren Yaoqi had expected, once Xiao Jingkang died, many people began eyeing Xiao Jingxi.

The Yun family was also calculating over this matter at this time.

Originally, the Yun family had already planned to consider the marriage between Han Yunqian and Yun Qiuchen. Once news of Xiao Jingkang’s assassination and death was confirmed, the Yun family planned to change their strategy.

Yun Qiuchen was the candidate for princess consort whom the Yun family had invested great effort in cultivating. If the imperial court hadn’t insisted on arranging Xiao Jingkang’s marriage, Yun Qiuchen would have married Xiao Jingkang. Now that Xiao Jingkang was dead, Xiao Jingxi would naturally succeed to the heir position, and since Xiao Jingxi hadn’t married yet, the Yun family began considering marrying Yun Qiuchen to Xiao Jingxi.

Eldest Madam Yun said, “Mother, Yanbei Prince’s mansion has never relented regarding Tingxiao and the Princess’s marriage. The Prince’s mansion may not intend to marry another Yun family daughter, right?”

Old Madam Yun sipped her tea and said coolly, “Times have changed! With the heir dead, Yanbei Prince’s mansion’s top priority now is to settle Second Prince Xiao’s marriage, otherwise, if the imperial court’s marriage decree comes down first, it will be too late for everything. Looking across all of Yanbei, is there anyone more suitable than Qiuchen? Just wait and see – the Princess Consort will soon invite you for a chat.”

“What about the Han family…”

Old Madam Yun shook her head: “We never formally settled things with the Han family before, so it can’t be said that our Yun family is being fickle. Moreover, even if there’s to be a marriage alliance, it doesn’t have to be Qiuchen. Doesn’t the Han family still have an unmarried daughter?”

“Mother means to have Tingxiao marry Miss Han?” Eldest Madam Yun frowned. “I’ve met that young lady from the Han family several times. Though she could be considered gentle-natured and well-educated, she seems to lack some dignity when matched with Tingxiao, rather small-minded.”

Han You was good in every way, just too shy. She spoke softly and blushed easily. But Yun Wenting was the eldest legitimate grandson who would inherit the Yun family in the future, so Han You’s personality might not be able to handle such situations.

Old Madam Yun said, “If Tingxiao won’t work, isn’t there still Wenfang? Miss Han has a gentle nature – she’d be perfect for that troublemaker Wenfang. But this matter isn’t urgent. If the marriage with Yanbei Prince’s mansion truly succeeds, the Yun family’s future direction might change. Let’s worry about Qiuchen’s matter first – we’ll see about the Han family marriage later!”

Eldest Madam Yun agreed.

After Eldest Madam Yun left Old Madam Yun’s courtyard, she had Yun Qiuchen summoned. Eldest Madam Yun never hid anything from her daughter, and Yun Qiuchen was very intelligent – she could often help Eldest Madam Yun make decisions.

After Yun Qiuchen arrived, Eldest Madam Yun told her about Old Madam Yun’s plans. After hearing this, Yun Qiuchen wasn’t surprised at all. She had been raised from childhood according to princess consort standards – honestly, not becoming Yanbei’s Princess Consort made Yun Qiuchen quite uncomfortable. So Yun Qiuchen didn’t agonize over her and Han Yunqian’s marriage.

Because of Xiao Jingkang’s incident, Ren Yaoqi hadn’t visited Xiao Jinglin recently. Xiao Jinglin had only sent Ren Yaoqi a letter confirming that Prince Xiao’s serious injuries were true. After hearing news of Xiao Jingkang’s death, Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to trouble Yanbei Prince’s mansion further.

The day after hearing news of Xiao Jingkang’s death, Rong Shi sent someone to invite Ren Yaoqi to Prince Xian’s mansion.

Even if Rong Shi hadn’t sent someone to invite her, Ren Yaoqi had planned to visit Prince Xian’s mansion. There were some things she couldn’t ask people from Yanbei Prince’s mansion, but she could ask Rong Shi.

So when Ren Yaoqi saw someone had come to invite her, she went to Prince Xian’s mansion without hesitation.

As soon as she entered, Ren Yaoqi felt an atmosphere in Prince Xian’s mansion different from usual, though she couldn’t specify exactly what. The estate still faintly carried the sounds of opera singing, but while these musical sounds had seemed noisy on previous days, today they made Prince Xian’s mansion seem quiet and empty – those sounds felt somewhat distant.

Rong Shi was in the main room drinking tea while waiting for Ren Yaoqi. When Ren Yaoqi entered, Rong Shi looked up and smiled at her, beckoning her over and saying flatly: “You’re here? Come sit.”

Ren Yaoqi sat down in front of Rong Shi as instructed.

Rong Shi got straight to the point: “You know about Xiao Jingkang’s death?”

Ren Yaoqi nodded, waiting for Rong Shi to continue.

But after Rong Shi took a sip of tea, she didn’t continue with this topic. Instead, she smiled and said, “You did very well with that matter last time.” Rong Shi was referring to the Lin and Lei families joining forces.

Rong Shi set down her teacup and touched Ren Yaoqi’s head. Her hand had just been holding the teacup, so her palm was very warm.

“You’re even better than I imagined. Grandmother can finally rest easy.”

After lowering her hand, Rong Shi picked up a palm-sized carved rosewood box from the kang table and handed it to Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi opened the box to find a pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants inside, somewhat similar to the pair Rong Shi had given Ren Yaohua when she married.

Under the jade pendants were several banknotes. Ren Yaoqi put away the jade pendants and took out the banknotes to look – there were five thousand taels in total.

“These two pairs of jade pendants for you and Yaohua were both bestowed by the late Emperor. After all these years, I only have these two pairs left. Apart from these, I have nothing good to give you girls. Keep the banknotes well. Though I’m giving you more than I gave Yaohua, she shouldn’t mind.”

After saying this, Rong Shi fell silent, slightly lowering her head, lost in thought. Ren Yaoqi watched her but ultimately didn’t speak. Some things didn’t need to be asked – Ren Yaoqi already understood.

Before long, Prince Xian entered from outside. Ren Yaoqi immediately stood to bow and offered him the seat.

Prince Xian nodded and sat beside Rong Shi.

“I’ll have someone invite Mother to come. She hasn’t visited Grandfather and Grandmother for quite some time,” Ren Yaoqi said.

Prince Xian glanced at Rong Shi, but Rong Shi shook her head: “I called you here today just to give you these things. It’s getting late – you should head home early. I won’t keep you for dinner today.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at Prince Xian and Rong Shi, remained silent for a moment, then knelt: “Then granddaughter will kowtow and pay respects on Mother’s behalf.”

Prince Xian and Rong Shi didn’t refuse. After watching Ren Yaoqi finish kowtowing, Rong Shi helped her up.

“Go greet your uncle and aunt, then head home.”

“Yes, Grandmother.” Ren Yaoqi obediently agreed, then turned and left.