The Crown Prince waited impatiently, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop. “Isn’t my royal brother at the residence?”

“Who knows where he wandered off to. Should I call the Prince back to play chess with you?” Princess Consort Jing, seated nearby, smiled gently, though murderous intent churned in her heart.

Everyone gallivanting about, leaving her behind to deal with this wretched Crown Prince.

“No need, I’ll wait for my royal brother.”

Just as they were speaking, Qi Shuo walked in.

“My apologies for keeping Your Highness waiting.”

The Crown Prince fixed his gaze on the approaching young man, set his teacup down on the table with a thud, and stood up. “I was wondering if my royal brother had slipped out through the back gate.”

Qi Shuo smiled. “How could that be? My health has only just improved. If I went out, Mother would be the first to object.”

Hearing these words, a flash of contempt passed through the Crown Prince’s eyes.

This sickly wretch—parents doting on him, even married a stunning beauty for a wife. Not afraid such meager fortune can’t bear such blessings.

“Come, accompany me in a game of chess.” The Crown Prince patted Qi Shuo’s shoulder and headed out first. “The weather’s so nice, let’s not stay cooped up inside. We’ll play in the garden.”

Qi Shuo watched the Crown Prince coldly as he walked ahead, drawing closer and closer to the wall separating them from the General’s Mansion.

Still harboring designs on Ah Hao?

His gaze darkened.

“Your Highness, how about we play at that pavilion over there?”

The Crown Prince halted mid-step. “Oh, very well.”

The chessboard was quickly laid out on the stone table in the pavilion, with fruit and tea set to one side.

The Crown Prince’s mind was clearly not on the game. He casually placed a piece. “I never noticed before—the Prince’s residence is separated from the General’s Mansion by just a single wall.”

“Mm.”

The Crown Prince lifted his eyelids to glance at Qi Shuo. “Then in the future, it’ll be quite convenient for my royal brother to visit his father-in-law’s home.”

“Yes.”

The corner of the Crown Prince’s mouth twitched, the fire of irritation blazing upward in his heart.

Such a boring gourd—he found every strand of hair on him disagreeable!

“Sometimes I truly envy my royal brother, having a childhood sweetheart for a wife.”

Qi Shuo smiled faintly, his voice calm and unruffled. “It was all arranged by our parents through proper matchmaking.”

The Crown Prince grew even more agitated.

The sickly wretch had done nothing, yet obtained what he himself had yearned for!

If it weren’t for this sickly wretch—

The Crown Prince glanced at the serene young man across from him. This thought that suddenly sparked was like a flame igniting dry grass, impossible to suppress.

If Second Miss Lin became a widow before marriage, perhaps by the time he ascended the throne she still wouldn’t be married, and then his chance would come.

The more the Crown Prince thought about it, the more excited he became, his mouth dry. He grabbed his cup and gulped down several mouthfuls of water. The cup emptied, yet the parched feeling still wouldn’t leave him.

Wang Fu, standing nearby, immediately took the teapot from the prince’s residence servant and refilled the cup.

The Crown Prince gulped it down, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“It’s much hotter outside the palace than inside.” The Crown Prince tossed his chess piece aside and stood up.

Qi Shuo coughed lightly and smiled. “Perhaps it’s because I’ve always been frail—I actually find it quite cool in the pavilion.”

“Since my royal brother is unwell, don’t accompany me any longer. Return quickly and rest.” The Crown Prince, eager to return to the palace and enjoy his five-mineral powder, lifted his feet and headed out.

Qi Shuo rose and followed. “I’ll see Your Highness off.”

“No need to be so formal. We’re cousins, not outsiders.”

Despite the Crown Prince’s words, Qi Shuo still escorted him to the mansion gates, watching as the Crown Prince hurriedly boarded his carriage.

The magnificent carriage sped away, the sound of hoofbeats gradually fading.

Qi Shuo stood there for a while, then lifted his feet and walked toward the General’s Mansion.

“The Heir is here!” The gatekeepers at the General’s Mansion beamed with smiles upon seeing Qi Shuo.

This was their own son-in-law.

“Trouble you to announce me. I have something to discuss with Second Miss.”

Qi Shuo waited in the hall for about half an hour before finally seeing Lin Hao.

“I changed clothes, sorry to keep you waiting.” Seeing Qi Shuo for the second time that day, Lin Hao was in very good spirits.

Qi Shuo’s gaze swept over Lin Hao, falling into brief silence.

There doesn’t seem to be any difference.

“What did you need to see me about?” Lin Hao propped one arm on the low table, asking casually.

Qi Shuo’s eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the arm resting before him.

He wasn’t someone without self-control, yet he kept feeling that fragrance so close at hand, making him afraid to even breathe deeply.

Seeing this, Lin Hao didn’t overthink it. Instead, she was pleased. “After bathing, I reapplied floral dew. Is the scent stronger now?”

Qi Shuo breathed a sigh of relief.

So she had freshly applied floral dew—it wasn’t him having wild thoughts.

“Ah Shuo—” Seeing him silent, Lin Hao called out.

Qi Shuo suddenly snapped back to attention. Though his heart pounded like a drum, his face remained composed. “The Crown Prince just left. I discovered he has a problem.”

“A problem?” Lin Hao immediately sat up straight, putting aside her casual manner.

“His body has very likely developed issues…” Qi Shuo carefully recounted the Crown Prince’s reactions during their chess game. “No matter how hot the weather, it shouldn’t cause that kind of reaction. His symptoms seem more like suffering from some illness, or perhaps—”

“Or perhaps what?”

“Or perhaps caused by taking some kind of medicine—”

“Five-mineral powder.” Lin Hao blurted out.

Qi Shuo froze. “What?”

“Ah Shuo, could it be the five-mineral powder that was so popular during the previous dynasty?”

During Emperor Pingle’s two-year reign, foreign relations were weak. Perhaps as an escape or outlet, the atmosphere was far more extravagant and decadent than now, with many aristocrats taking pride in consuming five-mineral powder.

Her first thought went there because Emperor Pingle in exile still couldn’t part with five-mineral powder. When her teacher advised against it, warning of its harmful effects, it repeatedly displeased Emperor Pingle.

Qi Shuo had also heard of five-mineral powder, murmuring, “The Crown Prince’s reactions do indeed resemble those caused by taking five-mineral powder.”

Lin Hao could barely contain her excitement, leaning her head forward. “Taking too much five-mineral powder can be life-threatening. Ah Shuo, does this count as us gaining without effort?”

She had been waiting for the Crown Prince, facing blow after blow, to self-destruct—she never expected him to give her such a tremendous surprise.

“Whether taking this substance will prove fatal depends greatly on individual constitution, but we can be certain the Crown Prince’s fate won’t be pleasant.” Qi Shuo’s tone turned slightly cold. “The current Emperor banned five-mineral powder upon first ascending the throne. For the Crown Prince to obtain this substance, whoever is providing it to him certainly isn’t hoping for his longevity.”

Lin Hao revealed a smile. “Either way, as long as the Crown Prince suffers misfortune, that’s good.”

“Ah Hao, could the person providing the Crown Prince with five-mineral powder be Daoist Master Mingxin?”

The current Daoist Master Mingxin, now disguised as Scholar Wang, was quite the favorite before Emperor Tai’an.

Lin Hao rejected this without hesitation. “Impossible. Daoist Master Mingxin deeply abhors five-mineral powder.”

Qi Shuo thought otherwise. “Daoist Master Mingxin abhors Emperor Pingle’s consumption of five-mineral powder, but what about other people? What about the current Crown Prince, whom Emperor Pingle desperately wanted to eliminate?”

Lin Hao thought carefully, but still shook her head. “Ah Shuo, you’ve never spent time with Daoist Master Mingxin. I feel he’s the type who does some things but not others—otherwise he wouldn’t have ended up nearly killed by the sovereign he loyally served.”

Even if her teacher had escaped, Emperor Tai’an’s side wouldn’t have let him live either. He disregarded his own life to advise Emperor Pingle to abandon restoration purely for the sake of the Great Zhou.

She didn’t believe such a Daoist Master Mingxin would lure the Crown Prince into taking five-mineral powder to achieve his goals, just as she and Ah Shuo wouldn’t either.