“In that case, I’ll act separately from General Xie. I’ll go to the Crown Prince’s mansion to inform His Highness the Crown Prince, while General Xie contacts his former subordinates. General Fu has also been informed and will certainly be prepared!” Bai Jinxiu was essentially briefing Xie Yuchang, telling him they were on the same side as Fu Ruoxi, so they must not fight each other.

“Understood!” Xie Yuchang stood up, wanting to see Bai Jinxiu off.

“General Xie need not see me off – important matters come first!”

Leaving the Xie mansion, Bai Jinxiu went straight to the Crown Prince’s mansion to request an audience.

The Crown Prince was sleeping peacefully in Hong Mei’s silk-curtained bed when he suddenly heard Quan Yu speaking quietly outside the curtains that Madam Qin requested an audience. The Crown Prince hadn’t yet reacted to which Madam Qin it was and asked irritably: “Which Madam Qin comes to disturb me in the middle of the night?!”

Quan Yu stood outside the exquisitely embroidered light purple bed curtains with lowered eyes, saying quietly: “Your Highness, it’s the cousin of Princess Zhenguo who married Qin Lang, who has a relationship with Princess Zhenguo as close as siblings from the same mother!”

He reminded the Crown Prince that Bai Jinxiu’s relationship with Princess Zhenguo was as close as siblings, hoping to make the Crown Prince take it seriously.

Inside the curtains, Hong Mei’s delicate white arms wrapped around the Crown Prince’s neck, murmuring discontentedly: “What’s wrong with Princess Zhenguo now? Requesting an audience with the Crown Prince without considering the hour – does Your Highness still need rest? Could it be that relying on Your Highness’s favor toward Princess Zhenguo, she treats Your Highness like a servant from her household to be commanded at will?!”

“Don’t make trouble!”

Rustling sounds came from inside the silk curtains, followed by the Crown Prince drawing in a sharp breath and sighing comfortably. Hong Mei had entangled the Crown Prince. Quan Yu frowned, blaming Hong Mei in his heart for not knowing propriety and pestering His Highness. For Madam Qin to come in the dead of night, there must be extremely important matters, but Quan Yu was just a servant… he couldn’t overstep bounds and could only worry anxiously in his heart.

Soon after, he heard the coquettish, soft, reproachful voice of a woman from inside the curtains. Quan Yu had no choice but to retreat outside and wait quietly.

But tonight Hong Mei seemed determined to prevent the Crown Prince from seeing Bai Jinxiu, clinging to the Crown Prince without letting go, with endless variations. The Crown Prince was so pleasured that he completely forgot about Bai Jinxiu, only caring about indulging freely in the warm fragrant softness of the bed curtains.

Quan Yu was extremely anxious but could only stand outside the door listening to the embarrassing sounds from inside.

It wasn’t until the end of the Yin hour that the clouds and rain in the silk curtains finally ceased.

Hearing the Crown Prince call for Quan Yu in a hoarse voice, he quickly entered with young eunuchs carrying washing implements.

Quan Yu placed his whisk in a black lacquered square tray held above a young eunuch’s head, then knelt to place the Crown Prince’s shoes on the footstool beside the bed, serving the Crown Prince in putting on his shoes.

After the Crown Prince put on his shoes and stood up with closed eyes, stepping down from the footstool, Quan Yu quickly gestured to the eunuchs outside the gauze curtains. The eunuchs serving the Crown Prince’s washing bent over and filed in to attend to the Crown Prince.

Hong Mei, wearing only a red silk undergarment embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in water, lifted the bed curtains and leaned against the headboard with infinite charm. Her fair skin showed a pink flush from being loved, as she acted coquettishly: “Your Highness… why is it that every time you hear those four words ‘Princess Zhenguo,’ you accommodate everything… I’m getting jealous!”

The Crown Prince turned to glance at the fair, slender beauty and laughed: “Long hair, short knowledge. Princess Zhenguo and I have a ruler-minister relationship. Even the Crown Princess hasn’t said anything… look at your petty appearance!”

Hearing this, Hong Mei became upset. She stood up and walked behind the Crown Prince, her slender jade-like arms wrapping around the Crown Prince’s narrow waist: “The Crown Princess is virtuous and magnanimous, but Hong Mei is narrow-minded and can only accommodate Your Highness having me alone in your heart!”

“You!” The Crown Prince pinched Hong Mei’s nose tip, seeming quite pleased, smiling as he told Hong Mei to sleep more, then left Hong Mei’s courtyard.

Hong Mei, dressed lightly and wearing only a layer of gauze, stood under the corridor watching the Crown Prince’s palanquin disappear into the distance. The smile on her face immediately darkened as she turned her head to instruct: “Go… send word to Master that Princess Zhenguo’s cousin requested audience with the Crown Prince in the dead of night!”

“Yes!” The maid bowed and hurriedly left.

·

Bai Jinxiu sat in the main hall, gazing at the swaying thirty-six-branched vine pattern lamp, her expression solemn.

She had been waiting for nearly two hours…

She had clearly said there were urgent matters, yet the Crown Prince had not come. She had sent people to urge repeatedly, but heard they were all blocked outside the courtyard by the nanny serving Hong Mei. Those eunuchs who went to report didn’t even get to see Quan Yu.

Bai Jinxiu frowned deeply. This Hong Mei had methods!

She had heard that when Hong Mei first entered the Crown Prince’s mansion, she was carried in by a small sedan chair with only one serving maid beside her. All her possessions together amounted to no more than a small bundle. Who would have thought that now even the nannies in the Crown Prince’s mansion could be used by her?

Bai Jinxiu closed her aching, swollen eyes. Fan Yuhuai’s son Fan Yugan escorting grain supplies… that was suggested by Hong Mei to His Highness the Crown Prince.

On the surface, Fan Yuhuai had sent gifts to Hong Mei, but was this Hong Mei connected to Li Mingrui or Prince Liang?

Originally she had hoped to ask the Crown Prince to send someone with his seal straight to Great Liang before the city gate guard change, so that eldest sister could legitimately lead troops back with the Crown Prince’s seal.

But who would have known…

It seemed that even if this Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would not be a wise ruler.

Bai Jinxiu had just stood up, preparing to have someone announce her again, when she heard commotion outside the main hall of the Crown Prince’s mansion. Bai Jinxiu quickly stood up and saw the Crown Prince holding Quan Yu’s hand as he stepped down from the palanquin. She walked forward with small steps and bowed: “I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

“Madam Qin, please rise quickly!” The Crown Prince gestured for Quan Yu to help Bai Jinxiu up, then asked, “For Madam Qin to come requesting audience in the dead of night, has some great matter occurred?”

Bai Jinxiu looked up at the Crown Prince and spoke directly without concealment: “Your Highness, Prince Liang has colluded with Fan Yuhuai and Li Mingrui – I fear they intend to rebel.”

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince thought he had heard some joke and couldn’t help but chuckle: “Fan Yuhuai… is the hero who saved me and His Majesty during the last Wude Gate rebellion! If you say Li Mingrui wants to rebel… I believe that. But if you say Fan Yuhuai wants to rebel, I cannot agree with that! Could there be some misunderstanding here?”

Bai Jinxiu clenched her fists at her sides and said earnestly to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, have you sent anyone to watch Prince Liang’s mansion? Have any hidden guards returned to report that Li Mingrui and Fan Yuhuai successively entered Prince Liang’s mansion tonight?”

“No…” The Crown Prince entered the main hall with Bai Jinxiu, his expression smiling, still thinking that Bai Jinxiu was worrying unnecessarily.

“Your Highness, my grandmother, Grand Princess, commands a royal hidden guard unit! After the last Wude Gate rebellion, His Majesty was soft-hearted and didn’t deal with Prince Liang. Grandmother worried that Prince Liang would cause trouble again, so she had this royal hidden guard unit secretly monitor Prince Liang! Today, the hidden guards were about to leave the city to report to my grandmother about Fan Yuhuai and Li Mingrui entering Prince Liang’s mansion, but they discovered that the city gate guard had changed. So they came to inform me, asking me to report to the Crown Prince first so Your Highness could be prepared!” Bai Jinxiu spoke steadily.

Only then did the Crown Prince show seriousness: “But the Crown Prince’s mansion’s hidden guards have not reported back…”