Shen Xiling actually hadn’t originally intended to ask about this, but hearing him say so was quite unexpected. She asked, “…Young Master is going out right now?”

While she was indeed attached to him and reluctant to see him leave, more than that, she was worried about his health.

Last night he had given her the bed in the inner chamber, and he himself had probably not slept at all through the night. He had just returned from a place with military unrest, had been traveling continuously for days recently, and had just spent a long time maneuvering with that very fierce general—he must already be very tired. But now he was going out again, and she was afraid he was too exhausted…

Hearing Shen Xiling ask, Qi Ying nodded.

Having returned to Jiankang, he naturally needed to enter the palace to meet His Majesty and report on his duties. He had already submitted his request for an audience this morning and was now waiting for His Majesty’s summons. Before entering the palace, he also needed to return to the main residence once more. His father was well-informed and surely already knew about his return to Jiankang last night. If he didn’t go back, it would be difficult to explain.

Moreover, regarding Shen Xiling’s situation, he needed to make proper arrangements at home.

He said to Shen Xiling, “I might return late today, but I will definitely return—eat your meals yourself, don’t wait for me.”

At that time, Shen Xiling actually wanted to ask if he needed breakfast, or if he wanted to rest a bit before going out, but seeing his hurried appearance, she didn’t want to interfere further. Hearing him say he would return today made her feel settled, so she nodded while watching him.

This day happened to be the officials’ rest day, but because Qi Ying needed to enter the palace today, he still changed into official robes. When returning to the main residence, dressed in court attire, he appeared distinguished and handsome, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

Bai Song remained in the carriage while Qing Zhu accompanied him into the mansion.

The steward in the mansion saw Qi Ying had returned and quickly guided him into the residence. As they walked, Qi Ying asked, “Is father in the study?”

The steward respectfully replied that Qi Zhang was in Jiaxitang speaking with Yao Shi. This was common—Qi Zhang doted on Yao Shi, and when official business wasn’t pressing, he would mostly be in Yao Shi’s quarters.

Qi Ying nodded and walked toward Jiaxitang.

After being announced by the servants and entering the room, he indeed saw Qi Zhang and Yao Shi sitting together in the hall chatting. Upon seeing her son return, Yao Shi was overjoyed beyond words. She quickly reached out to beckon him closer, pulling him to look him up and down, her brow furrowing as she repeatedly said he had grown thin.

Whenever Yao Shi saw her son had lost weight, the next step was invariably to scold the Prime Minister. Qi Zhang had long figured out his wife’s temperament and, to spare himself from blame, preemptively coughed and looked at his second son, saying, “Why are you in official robes? Are you entering the palace later?”

This sentence successfully diverted Yao Shi’s attention, making her temporarily forget about pursuing the Prime Minister. She turned back to look at Qi Ying, her brow furrowing as she asked, “What’s this—you’ve just returned and have to enter the palace again? What about lunch? Will you have lunch at home?”

Yao Shi had always been devoted to her children, and Qi Ying knew his mother worried about him. He comforted her, saying, “I’ll enter the palace this afternoon and have lunch at home. Mother, don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Yao Shi’s heart settled somewhat, her expression improving. She held Qi Ying and said, “Then I must personally go make arrangements. Look at you—you’ve only been away for half a month, how did you become so thin? Now that you’re home, you must eat well to recover. This can’t continue.”

Qi Ying agreed to everything, answering yes to whatever Yao Shi said.

Yao Shi glanced at him, knowing he had returned home to discuss official business with his father. Though she felt sorry for him, she also knew her son wasn’t someone others could persuade, and like his father, once official matters occupied his mind, he couldn’t attend to anything else.

Helplessly, she stood and said, “Then you speak with your father first, but you absolutely must stay for lunch at home—no changing your mind.”

Qi Ying smiled at his mother and nodded in agreement.

Yao Shi left with her maids. Qi Zhang watched her go, then gestured for Qi Ying to sit, saying kindly, “I’ve heard about everything in Nanling. You handled this assignment very well.”

Although Qi Zhang had always trusted his second son, he had actually been quite worried about him taking charge of the Privy Council at such a young age. Regarding the Stone City affair, though Qi Zhang hadn’t openly intervened, he had been secretly monitoring the situation’s development, fearing Qi Ying might handle things poorly and cause trouble. He hadn’t expected his second son to be even more outstanding than he had imagined—to handle such a major national crisis with such apparent ease.

Qi Ying took his seat and calmly thanked his father for the praise, then said, “Gu Juhan has not yet withdrawn his troops, so this matter may still have variables. We cannot let our guard down yet.”

Hearing this, Qi Zhang was even more satisfied: neither arrogant nor rash, walking on thin ice—very good.

He said, “Indeed we cannot let our guard down. The Gu family has always been tough—they might turn the tables on us. You must continue paying attention to Zou Qian’s side.”

Qi Ying nodded.

After some consideration, he added, “This morning, Uncle Han came to Fenghe Courtyard.”

Hearing this, Qi Zhang raised his eyebrows and asked, “Han Shousong?”

Qi Ying shook his head: “The General.”

Upon hearing it was that brute Han Shouge, Qi Zhang immediately understood what had happened. He straightened up and asked Qi Ying, “He came to make trouble with you?”

Qi Ying nodded.

Qi Zhang snorted coldly, somewhat angry, saying, “This cousin of Han Shousong’s is truly a model of virtue not matching his position! Such a reckless person occupying the position of General—when will our dynasty’s military affairs ever be straightened out?”

He suppressed his anger, paused, then glanced at Qi Ying and asked, “Were you able to reason with him?”

Qi Ying thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “Uncle now understands my killing of his protégé, but still resists the Privy Council’s warfare prohibition order. Though he agreed with me today, he might change his mind another day. I think father might mention this matter to Uncle Han—family constraints would probably work better than mine.”

Qi Zhang considered for a moment, nodded, and said, “You’re thinking correctly. Your uncle is more sensible than his younger brother—he’ll understand.”

After speaking, Qi Zhang looked at Qi Ying thoughtfully, not for any other reason, but still about his killing of Jiang Yong.

Qi Zhang had long known about Jiang Yong’s death and naturally thought Jingchen had acted correctly. But now with his second son sitting beside him, speaking of this killing so calmly, it still rather surprised Qi Zhang.

He suddenly felt he didn’t fully understand his second son. Such decisive killing—if he weren’t connected to him by blood, he might even… fear him somewhat.

Qi Ying noticed his father’s somewhat strange look and asked, “Father?”

Qi Zhang came back to his senses, shocked to realize he had just shown timidity toward his own son. Feeling ridiculous, he immediately concealed his earlier emotions and sternly shook his head, changing the subject: “It’s nothing. I just heard from your elder brother that you returned home last night, so why did you end up staying at the other residence later?”

Qi Ying sensed the probing look in his father’s eyes but remained unmoved, falling silent for a moment.

“It was about Minister Fang’s daughter,” Qi Ying looked directly at his father with an open expression. “Regarding this matter, I was just about to speak with father.”

Few things within Jiankang could escape the Left Prime Minister’s notice. Qi Zhang had known early on about Miss Fang being expelled by Old Madam Qi, and also knew that Yao Shi had secretly sent her to Fenghe Courtyard. From this, it wasn’t difficult to deduce why his second son had rushed to the other residence overnight.

Frankly speaking, Qi Zhang didn’t care about the orphaned daughter left by Fang Yukai—her life or death seemed insignificant to him. If Qi Ying had intended to conceal this matter, he would have thought his second son had some unusual involvement with this little girl. But now that Qi Ying was being so open about it, it actually made him feel this matter was even more trivial.

Mother was getting confused too, actually thinking there was something between Jingchen and that twelve-year-old little girl—how absurd!

Qi Zhang found it quite uninteresting and casually replied, “Mm, go ahead.”

Qi Ying secretly observed his father’s expression, then looked away and said, “I’ve heard about the dispute between Wenwen and Yao’er. She’s young and doesn’t understand—she indeed did wrong in this matter. But grandmother’s expelling her from the mansion was truly excessive. I cannot fail Minister Fang’s trust, nor can I just watch her drift helplessly.”

Qi Zhang glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and said, “Jingchen, you’re so intelligent—surely you understand your grandmother’s meaning. Why Miss Fang was punished—can’t you see it?”

Qi Ying actually truly hadn’t seen it.

Yesterday when he asked Shen Xiling why grandmother had punished her, the little girl had been evasive and asked him not to question others. When his elder brother wrote, the letter had been vague, leaving him still unable to glimpse the full picture of events. He didn’t know this matter also involved one of his outer garments. Now being questioned by his father, he inevitably showed puzzled expression.

Seeing this, Qi Zhang sighed inwardly that while his second son commanded respect in court, he was after all still young and somewhat inexperienced in matters of romance, failing to see these subtle intricacies. He thus enlightened him: “Your grandmother has always favored her natal family and intends for Rong’er to marry you as wife. Now with this incident, both Yao’er and the Fang girl have been driven from the house—what do you think?”

Though Qi Zhang had never paid attention to these backyard matters, as someone who had long stood in court, he could already see through people’s hearts. Old Madam Qi’s intentions were obvious. As for that Fu family girl, though she thought she had done everything cleverly without leaving traces, at most she could only deceive the old lady—she couldn’t fool his eyes. Just hearing Yao Shi mention it a couple of times, he could understand the whole affair: nothing more than the Fu family girl relying on the old lady’s favor to sweep both Fang Jun and Zhao Yao out of the Qi family—killing two birds with one stone.

Having spoken to this point, how could Qi Ying not understand?

He simply hadn’t expected that Shen Xiling’s punishment and expulsion by grandmother was actually because of him.

For a moment he felt both helpless and amused, and even more sorry toward Shen Xiling. Thinking that little girl’s circumstances were already difficult, and he had intended to protect her, yet ended up causing her to suffer an undeserved disaster because of him.

How hurt she must have felt then.

As for cousin Fu Rong… Qi Ying’s eyes gradually darkened.

With one glance, Qi Zhang knew his second son had figured everything out. He smiled and said, “I know you feel indebted to Fang Yukai and don’t wish to treat his orphan poorly. Bringing her into the family initially was for her own good, and I didn’t oppose it. Your grandmother was somewhat confused, but now that she’s getting older and her health isn’t good, there’s no point in arguing with the old lady anymore. She cannot be brought back—how do you plan to settle her going forward?”

Qi Ying actually had no intention of bringing Shen Xiling back to the main family.

The little girl was troubled and had a sensitive, reticent nature. She wouldn’t say anything, but she would certainly harbor resentment in her heart. Even if she could be understanding about it, there was no guarantee grandmother and Fu Rong wouldn’t bully her again. Even with his protection, she would probably still suffer grievances upon returning to the main family.

She would be safer staying by his side.

Qi Ying sighed and looked at Qi Zhang, saying, “I intend to keep her at Fenghe Courtyard and personally raise her to adulthood.”

Author’s Note: Male lead: None of them are capable, forget it, I’ll raise her myself