But halfway through his words, Duke Ding began to cough violently again, with a stream of bright red blood spilling forth.

It was said that due to an injury in the past, he had developed a habit of coughing up blood, which was also why he had become lax in handling official affairs.

Xiaoying, full of remorse, said: “Young Master Mu has already been seriously injured and remains unconscious after saving me. Duke, if anything happens to you because of this incident, how will I ever explain myself to Young Master Mu!”

Duke Ding smiled faintly: “Both my son and I are Dragon Scale Shadow Guards. Since its inception, the Shadow Guards were established to serve the royal family with unwavering loyalty—Your Highness need not blame yourself.”

Xiaoying insisted: “No, I must escort the Duke home. The embassy matters can be handled by others!”

With those words, she stood up, glanced at Prince Appease, gave a cold snort, and turned to support Duke Ding as they left.

The Crown Prince was determined to accompany him, and since Duke Ding couldn’t refuse, they traveled together in a carriage to the Duke’s mansion.

At the gate, the Duke politely invited the Crown Prince in for tea, and Xiaoying accepted without hesitation.

Hearing that the Duke was injured, Princess Anqing hurriedly came out with her daughter, Mu Yanyan, to greet them.

Seeing her father’s pale face, Yanyan became extremely anxious and quickly ran over to support him: “Father, how do you feel? They say you’ve coughed up blood again!”

“It’s just stagnant blood, nothing to worry about,” Duke Ding reassured his daughter, then said to the Princess: “The Crown Prince is very kind—he insisted on escorting me home. Please brew a pot of my newly acquired Dragon Well tea for His Highness.”

Xiaoying’s purpose for coming wasn’t just to drink tea. She sat down without hesitation and said to Princess Anqing: “The Duke is injured and needs rest. The Princess can keep me company.”

Princess Anqing felt the Crown Prince was too imposing. If he knew the Duke needed rest, why was he still sitting in the mansion instead of leaving?

Duke Ding truly couldn’t hold on any longer and was helped by servants to rest. Mu Yanyan also followed her father to attend to him at his sickbed.

Thus, only Princess Anqing remained in the hall to accompany the Crown Prince.

Princess Anqing ordered all servants to stand far away in the courtyard, then unhurriedly rotated her teacup, occasionally glancing at the Crown Prince.

Xiaoying knew she was probably comparing her to the Grand Prince’s concubine in her mind.

After all, that concubine looked too similar to the Crown Prince.

After she had examined him thoroughly, Princess Anqing finally spoke: “Your Highness must be very busy. Since you’re patiently having tea at my mansion, you must have something to discuss with me, right?”

Xiaoying swirled her teacup: “I believe the Princess might have something to tell me. Since returning from Jiangzhe, from the ambush at Broken Bridge Station to the attack on me and Mu Qing that day, the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards’ involvement is evident everywhere. Princess Anqing, you cannot escape responsibility.”

Princess Anqing replied steadily: “It was my inadequacy that loosened control over the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards, allowing some people to become unbridled. Now Hanjiang is injured and unconscious, and Duke Ding has returned to the capital—all these matters have been handed over to him to handle. As for my failings, once they are investigated, I will naturally report to His Majesty and give Your Highness a reasonable explanation.”

The implication was clear: You, young Crown Prince, don’t have the right to interrogate your royal aunt!

Hearing Princess Anqing push all blame onto subordinates’ dereliction of duty, Xiaoying chuckled: “When I was younger, I didn’t know about Royal Aunt’s deeds. Only as I grew older did I learn a little. Come to think of it, you were born at the wrong time. Although you’re the daughter of Swordmaster Xiao Jiumu, your talent was mediocre, with no aptitude for martial arts. You could only watch as your father took a brilliantly talented female student who inherited his martial arts techniques! And then? This woman wasn’t just gifted in martial arts—she excelled in both civil and military strategies! Add to that her natural beauty, which attracted admirers from all directions. Tell me, what is it like having such a perfect woman by your side? Don’t you feel that no matter what you do, you achieve nothing?”

Princess Anqing’s composed dignity in front of others gradually cracked under Yan Xiaoying’s words.

She glared coldly at Yan Xiaoying: “What does the Crown Prince mean by these words? Are you suspecting I was jealous of Imperial Consort Ye?”

Xiaoying took a sip of tea, making a satisfied sound: “How could I, your junior, know your inner thoughts? I’m just curious why your life’s path seems to always repeat that of Imperial Consort Ye. I heard that years ago, Imperial Consort Ye had her heart set on Duke Ding, which is why even the Emperor’s persistent pursuit of her bore no fruit. But then you suddenly announced your engagement to Duke Ding, and Imperial Consort Ye, seemingly to avoid awkwardness or perhaps out of anger, hastily decided to choose from among her many suitors and married the Father Emperor. Imperial Consort Ye established the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards in her master’s name, and these painstakingly established guards eventually fell into your hands, though you didn’t manage them well… A person of mediocre talent trying to follow in the footsteps of someone with exceptional gifts—you must have lived a very exhausting life, haven’t you?”

The gaze Princess Anqing directed at her became terrifying. If it had been anyone else, they would likely have been dragged to the torture chamber at the Princess’s command.

“Your Highness, where did you hear such absurd claims! The history between Imperial Consort Ye and His Majesty is not something for juniors to discuss recklessly!”

But Xiaoying wasn’t afraid. She stood up, walked over to Princess Anqing, and looked down at her with narrowed eyes: “The taste of being tormented by jealousy is bitter, so you went to all lengths to do certain things. When Imperial Consort Ye was captured, did you have a hand in it?”

Previously, when playing the Crown Prince, she had been cautious and portrayed herself as timid.

But this time was different—she intended to be deliberately provocative to draw the snake from its hole!

Once Yan Xiaoying stopped holding back, that sharpness honed through knife mountains and blood seas came rushing forth, directly targeting Princess Anqing’s throat.

Princess Anqing unconsciously leaned back slightly, but then, realizing she had lost her commanding presence, straightened up and coldly retorted: “Crown Prince, mind your words! Aren’t you afraid I’ll repeat what you’ve said in front of His Majesty?”

Xiaoying casually picked up the teapot, refilled Princess Anqing’s cup, and said with a smile: “I’m not afraid! Because, Princess, you are the most face-conscious woman in the Dafeng court. What I said was too filthy! Coming from your mouth, it wouldn’t be appropriate!”

Princess Anqing was so infuriated by the Crown Prince’s shamelessness that fire seemed to shoot from her eyes: “Since you know it’s so despicable, why slander me like this? These things you’ve said… did the Grand Prince tell you?”

Xiaoying certainly couldn’t tell her that these were details she had slowly extracted from Swordmaster Xiao Tianyang’s mouth, then pieced together through her analysis.

She stood upright and smiled: “How could it be my eldest brother? You, as his aunt, should understand his character—how could he say such things? But I have been to Jiangzhe and heard quite a bit from the servants at Listening Snow Garden and from General Chen’s mouth. It was General Chen who personally told me that you were extremely jealous of Imperial Consort Ye back then, so you instructed him to deliberately delay reinforcements, causing Imperial Consort Ye to fall into enemy hands and suffer all kinds of humiliation!”

“He’s talking nonsense! It was he who, for his selfish interests, wanted to conceal his private sale of military equipment, so he colluded with Gu Zhi and betrayed Ye Zhanxue…”

At this point, Princess Anqing abruptly stopped speaking.

Because she realized she had misspoken. Chen Nuo had long been dead—even if he slandered her, so what? It was all just the Crown Prince’s empty words, so why rush to explain?

It was just that this Crown Prince, who had been weak from childhood, somehow today provoked her with one sentence after another, stirring up all the venom buried deep in her heart. Only this could explain why, when wrongfully accused, she couldn’t control her temper and revealed a corner of the old story.

Seeing her fall silent, Xiaoying smiled and said: “Why has the Princess stopped speaking? As Imperial Consort Ye’s good friend, you kept silent about Chen Nuo’s plot against her, and even stepped forward to shield him from punishment, allowing him to rise steadily to a position equal to General Ye Zhong after committing the crime of failing to provide reinforcements… Princess, how much effort did you expend?”

As she spoke, Princess Anqing’s angry expression gradually calmed, and even showed a hint of composure.

“Crown Prince, have you finished with your conjectures and speculations today? Duke Ding is unwell, and I need to attend to his medicine. I cannot accompany Your Highness any longer—please forgive me!”

With that, the Princess rose without waiting for the Crown Prince’s response and hurried away with a sweep of her sleeves.

Xiaoying watched her retreating figure, slowly drank the last cup of tea, and silently reviewed her conversation with the Princess.

The first half of what she said seemed to have struck at the Princess’s guilty conscience—it appeared Princess Anqing truly harbored deep jealousy toward Ye Zhanxue, her former close friend.

But later, she wasn’t sure what she had said that allowed the Princess to break free from her panic and regain her composure.

Why had she reacted that way? There must have been something incorrect in what Xiaoying said that gave the Princess confidence.

But where exactly had she gone wrong? It seemed she needed to carefully go over everything again.

Outside the hall, behind a wall, someone had been secretly listening to their conversation, and now quietly turned and ran to Duke Ding’s room, reporting everything to the Duke in detail.

By now, the Duke had sent his daughter Yanyan away and was lying alone in bed.

When he heard about the Crown Prince’s aggressive questioning, he couldn’t help but smile and murmur to himself: “This Feng Qiyuan is truly interesting! The Feng family bloodline is unexpectedly extraordinary. A so-called effeminate man whom everyone looked down upon can probe and challenge with just a few words, leaving Anqing unable to defend herself, thrown into confusion… Truly a case of ‘silent until stunning when finally speaking’!”

Thinking of this, he reflected with some regret: It’s a pity that Hanjiang is still unconscious, otherwise, he would surely be able to learn more about this Crown Prince from him.

After that journey to Jiangzhe, Feng Yuan became increasingly difficult to control, and the development of events also grew more unpredictable.

He had calculated everything meticulously, yet there were still oversights.

Mu Shen was now certain that this Crown Prince, who had been playing the fool all along, was the peculiar chess piece he had previously overlooked!

But now that he had noticed it, it became an open move—he wanted to see exactly what tricks this Feng Qiyuan had up his sleeve!

…

When Yan Xiaoying left Duke Ding’s mansion, she saw it was still early. After thinking for a moment, she turned and went to Prince Ruixiang’s mansion.

As brothers, visiting each other outside the palace was not unusual.

Coincidentally, Feng Yuan had also just returned from the palace and was dismounting from his horse.

Xiaoying’s timing was perfect—she happened to see the legendary Ye family cousin.

This sister from a military family had a cultured and charming appearance. As she emerged from her sedan chair, she curtseyed to her cousin: “Mother has prepared a medicinal soup to replenish qi, which can clear toxins and reduce heat. She knows you were poisoned, so she specially prepared extra for you to drink regularly to help expel the toxins.”

As she spoke, she took a food box from her maid’s hands and shyly presented it to Feng Yuan.

Feng Yuan didn’t accept it, nor did he even look at it. He coldly said: “As an unmarried young lady, you frequently come to my gate alone—it will cause misunderstandings and gossip.”

Hearing this, Ye He’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she still gathered her courage and said: “We’re cousins, not strangers. I’m concerned about my cousin—I’m not afraid of others gossiping about me.”

Feng Yuan frowned, somewhat impatiently: “I mean, people will gossip about me. I don’t want to be misunderstood again, so… cousin, farewell!”

Ye He hadn’t expected her cousin to speak so directly. For a moment, she felt awkward, but still managed to say: “Cousin should understand my father’s intentions. He wants to arrange a marriage between us. What is it about me that makes you look upon me unfavorably, treating me like this?”

She thought about how her mother was the daughter of a Hanlin Academy scholar, from a family of distinguished lineage.

Years ago, if Ye Zhong hadn’t had the merit of following the dragon, he wouldn’t have been able to marry her mother.

Now, as the precious daughter of the Ye family, although she came from a military background, she had been nurtured in the literary environment of her maternal grandfather’s family.

When General Ye invited his nephew for drinks, he had earnestly analyzed to Feng Yuan that now that he was rising in influence at court, maintaining a low profile was most important. His future princess consort should not be selected from any factions involved in court politics, to avoid His Majesty’s suspicion.

Rather than that, it would be better to strengthen family ties by marrying his cousin. After all, Ye He’s maternal family was an academic one, not involved in political factions.

But if he married a salt merchant’s daughter from Jiangzhe just to avoid suspicion, it would be too absurd.

According to her father’s meaning, as long as Feng Yuan claimed that the salt merchant’s daughter refused to return to the capital, the imperial decree couldn’t be delivered.

Thus, that absurd bestowed marriage would be nullified, and he could marry Ye He.

Ye He silently agreed with her father’s words.

Previously, like other noble ladies, she had heard stories about her cousin and his reputation for madness, and dared not approach him.

But later, after hearing from her father about the twists and turns, and seeing her cousin visit, observing his strikingly handsome features up close, affection naturally arose in her heart.

Her cousin was born into wealth and nobility, rightfully an imperial legitimate son. To marry a lowly woman whom the world looked down upon would truly evoke pity.

So, after eavesdropping on several conversations between her cousin and her father, when her father inquired about his studies, she was surprised to discover that he had already independently studied many obscure and difficult books. Listening to his sparse yet incisive analysis of current affairs, Ye He truly felt that her cousin was highly talented.

Thus, Ye He increasingly admired Feng Yuan and shyly agreed when her father mentioned the marriage alliance.

However, she hadn’t expected that her cousin would reject her father’s proposal without hesitation, saying only that His Majesty had already arranged a marriage, and he would obey the imperial decree, giving the Yan family girl a proper status.

Feng Yuan’s gentle refusal stirred dissatisfaction in Ye He.

She had heard from ladies of other noble families that the girl looked exactly like the Crown Prince—how could her cousin be so absurd?

It must be as her father said: her cousin, having suffered injustice since childhood, harbored resentment and deliberately chose such a girl to cause trouble for the royal family.

If that were the case, it would be too unfortunate. Ye He felt she should help her cousin, preventing him from going astray and ruining his future.

Feng Yuan, however, couldn’t perceive his cousin’s good intentions.

Feeling he had said enough, he didn’t bother to say another word and turned to stride into his mansion.

But as he turned, he saw Yan Xiaoying crouching at the corner like a street urchin, cracking peanuts with her small eunuch and watching the scene unfold.

He frowned slightly and called out: “Are you going to keep squatting there?”

Xiaoying stood up, brushed the peanut shells from her clothes, then walked over and said: “Eldest Brother, who is this…?”

Ye He had not grown up in the capital, and although she had been there for some time, she hadn’t recognized the Crown Prince before. She only thought that this approaching youth looked rather delicate.

When she heard he was the current Crown Prince, her heart was startled, and she hurriedly curtseyed in greeting.

However, remembering that Feng Yuan’s fiancée was said to resemble the Crown Prince, she couldn’t help but be curious. Taking advantage of the Crown Prince and Feng Yuan’s conversation, she slightly raised her head to observe.

But this glance was significant—she happened to see Feng Yuan lowering his head to speak with the Crown Prince.

Sometimes a woman’s intuition is most piercing. For some reason, the usually cold Feng Yuan’s gaze when looking at the Crown Prince seemed to have been warmed, staring directly at the youth with indescribable eagerness…

Their brotherly affection didn’t appear so terrible. If they were close, why would he insist on marrying a girl who resembled his brother…

Ye He’s heart contracted slightly, not knowing what she had imagined.

As she bid farewell to the two and walked toward her sedan chair, she couldn’t help but look back once more.

The two brothers were walking side by side toward the prince’s mansion.

Feng Yuan kept his head lowered, looking at the youth beside him.

The young Crown Prince must have said something amusing, causing Feng Yuan to reach out as if wanting to pinch the Crown Prince’s face, but as his hand extended, he seemed to realize it was inappropriate and quickly withdrew it.

His tall body unconsciously leaned toward the youth…

He truly looked like an elder brother who doted excessively on his younger brother…

As the “brothers” entered the gate, the younger one was still teasing: “It seems I’ve come at an inconvenient time, interrupting Elder Brother’s detoxification soup. Why did you send your cousin away like that? Shouldn’t you have invited her in to sit for a while?”

Feng Yuan, seeing her mischievous expression, couldn’t resist wanting to pinch her face, but remembering they were at the mansion gates and it wasn’t appropriate, he quickly restrained himself.

But once he had led the Crown Prince into his study and kicked the door shut with his long legs, he couldn’t help pulling the youth beside him into his arms.

“Why have you come here? Did you miss me again?”

They had been together in the palace just that morning, yet this girl had eagerly run to his mansion in the afternoon.

Such a clingy behavior… truly adorable!

Feng Yuan’s brain, usually filled with schemes and strategies, suddenly sprouted romantic poetic lines like “one day apart feels like three autumns.”

However, Xiaoying’s response was quite a mood-killer: “I came to see Young Master Mu. How is he? Has he woken up yet?”

Feng Yuan’s gaze immediately cooled several degrees as he lowered his eyes to look at the young woman, waiting to see if she would reflect on her words and properly correct them.

If she didn’t change her tune and continued to be so concerned about Mu Qing, the rest would be easily handled.

It would simply mean that the next time he fed Mu Qing, he might add a bit of arsenic seasoning, so that next time she wanted to think of him, she could go directly to his grave to pay respects.

Xiaoying, having tasted what jealousy felt like, immediately noticed Feng Yuan’s changed expression and quickly corrected herself: “Of course, I mainly wanted to see you, and only incidentally check on Mu Qing…”

She didn’t dare tell the truth—that what she missed most was the dishes Feng Yuan cooked with his own hands.

But if she angered the cook and upset the vinegar jar, she probably wouldn’t get to eat anything good.