Seeing her agreement, A’Yuan moved a brick behind the bed in the inner room and took out paper and pen that Xiaoying had previously given him, then began writing a letter.

Extremely bored, Xiaoying peered into the open brick wall. Ah, it truly was a hidden world!

This must be where A’Yuan kept his treasures—worn and tattered scrolls, along with some ancient book slips. Picking up any volume, the annotations and comments inside were quite detailed. Judging by the handwriting… it resembled that of Imperial Tutor Master Ge.

Looking at this, the children’s enlightenment books she had brought couldn’t even compare. No wonder the fellow initially didn’t like reading them!

After putting down the books, she looked at the letter he was writing. The calligraphy was bold and powerful… similar to Imperial Tutor Master Ge’s.

How this fellow had pretended before, his hand trembling as if he had had a stroke.

A pitiful, down-and-out prince imprisoned for many years? He had certainly played the part convincingly!

When Xiaoying casually asked, A’Yuan told the truth—his mother and Ge Danian’s wife had been close friends.

A’Yuan had studied with the Imperial Tutor for many years. After his mother’s death, while Emperor Chunde was away at war, he had lived in Imperial Tutor Ge’s home, growing up eating meals prepared by the tutor’s wife, practically the tutor’s half-son.

During those years, Ge Danian probably wouldn’t have feigned drunkenness to hide his knowledge, and should have wholeheartedly taught this Grand Prince, right?

Xiaoying gave a self-mocking smile without speaking, silently looking at the letter.

The content of the letter was concise, with only a few words. Reading it, Xiaoying found some phrases unclear, with marks and dots between characters like military code, probably a cipher only he and the recipient would understand.

But what the letter contained was of no concern to Xiaoying; she wasn’t particularly interested.

After carefully wrapping the letter in oiled paper and putting it away, she chatted briefly with A’Yuan, arranged the details of their plans, and prepared to return the way she came.

At this moment, A’Yuan lowered his head to look at an oiled paper package that had fallen on the courtyard ground—it had dropped during Xiaoying’s struggle with him earlier.

Now that they had finished their business, it was time to feast.

A’Yuan picked up the package and opened it. The roast lamb leg sprinkled with salt and pepper emitted an irresistible aroma.

Just as A’Yuan was about to cut off a slice, the lamb leg was snatched away by Xiaoying.

She waved the lamb leg, flicked her mouth with her hand, and said flippantly: “A mouth full of lies doesn’t deserve to taste meat.”

The Grand Prince looked up at her. His handsome eyes, framed by curved lashes, combined with tightly pressed thin lips, again revealed the pitifulness of a stray dog on the street.

Unfortunately, Xiaoying now saw the ferocious wolf claws beneath the dog’s skin, and the pitiful act no longer worked.

Perhaps knowing he was in the wrong, or out of pride, he didn’t move to grab it back.

She ignored his thoughts, wrapped up the lamb leg, stuffed it into her robe, and left.

Since this was a transaction, it was about fair exchange, not sentiment. She was unhappy about being outmaneuvered today, so he shouldn’t expect to play pitiful and eat lamb leg!

After leaving the abandoned hall, Xiaoying changed her clothes in the study and then strolled in the garden for a while. Encountering a guard with patrol dogs, she took out the lamb leg and gave it to them.

The dog ate happily, gratefully wagging its tail at Xiaoying, circling her feet.

Xiaoying stroked the dog’s head and sighed. She had been too angry earlier and shouldn’t have been so petty.

After all, she was the one who had taught A’Yuan about “the danger of not knowing others,” so it was normal for him to be cautious and withhold information.

Besides, she also had her secrets and hadn’t told him everything!

Although she hadn’t let him eat the lamb leg, she couldn’t delay the task he had entrusted to her.

Xiaoying couldn’t leave the palace to deliver the message, but Uncle Hai could arrange for a familiar shop assistant to handle it when he went out to clean the night soil carts.

Two days later, the assistant hired by Uncle Hai took a carriage to Mount Qiuming.

It was pouring rain, and the mountain was deserted. The assistant thought it would be a wasted trip, but there was someone pouring jars of fine wine into the waterfall.

The assistant delivered the letter, and after reading it, the person wrote a reply—the content similarly encoded, unintelligible to others.

According to the assistant’s report to Uncle Hai, he met an old man wearing a hood to cover his face. After reading the letter, the man suddenly shouted and drew his sword, slicing through a large rock beside the waterfall pool.

Such power was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

Hearing this, Xiaoying raised her eyebrows, first wondering if the person might be A’Yuan’s maternal uncle—General Yezhong?

But Yezhong had recently returned to the capital with his troops. He was already in the city, hosting guests daily, and had even been invited to the palace by His Majesty. He had no time to visit Mount Qiuming!

She had done her part; the rest depended on whether the Grand Prince would keep his promise to help her meet her brother.

Early the next morning, while the palace servants were still asleep, she returned to the courtyard and handed the reply to the Grand Prince, proving she had kept her promise.

A’Yuan carefully read the letter, then tore it to pieces and threw it into a makeshift stove to burn.

He seemed well-prepared. Several of the worn clothing chests had been kicked apart. He turned back to the room, took out a jar with some flammable oil on it.

Curious, Xiaoying asked where he got the oil. He answered briefly as usual: “Rat oil…”

To accumulate so much oil from rats, he was truly talented.

Imprisoned for a full ten years, he must have had many ways to pass the time. What A’Yuan had accumulated was probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Next, the Grand Prince took a somewhat blackened piece of wood, gathered some dry fluff, grabbed a stick, and began skillfully drilling the wood to make fire.

It wouldn’t produce sparks right away, but he seemed practiced at it. Soon, it began to emit a faint smoke.

Xiaoying watched approvingly for a while, then offered the fire striker she had taken from the imperial kitchen to the madman—it would be more efficient.

The Grand Prince glanced at her but didn’t accept her goodwill, stubbornly continuing to rub for sparks.

It seemed he was still quite resentful about having his lamb leg taken away that day.

Xiaoying met his cold response with warmth, but had no choice but to lean against the wall and wait patiently for him to finish.

Finally, a tiny flame rose in his hand. A’Yuan lit a wooden plank, climbed up the wooden chest to the wall, and threw the burning plank into the neighboring courtyard.

Fire in the palace was taboo. The palace had watchtowers to observe smoke and fire in the surroundings.

The rat oil-soaked wood, once ignited, naturally emitted black smoke. Even in daylight, it was particularly conspicuous and would quickly attract attention.

At this time, the people next door had probably just risen for the morning and discovered with horror that the woodpile beneath the courtyard wall was on fire, causing panic.

Someone saw the mad prince throwing firebrands. The mad prince didn’t hide, brazenly clinging to the wall top with a wild laugh.

The Grand Prince living next door was no secret. Everyone in the palace knew he was insane, and arson and murder were normal for him.

The guard captain who reported to the Empress also saw this and was somewhat panicked, as only he knew that the Empress was hiding the lame Crown Prince there, who absolutely must not be discovered.

In the chaos, they could only hurriedly extinguish the fire, while several guards rushed out of the courtyard gate, preparing to go around to the courtyard where the madman was confined, to enter and restrain him before he attracted others in the palace with his fire.

While the courtyard was in disarray, with everyone rushing to the wall to put out the fire, Yan Xiaoying silently descended from the corner of the wall, slipping into the inner hall with cat-like agility.

Feng Qiyuan’s leg injury hadn’t fully healed. He wasn’t allowed to leave his room and was leaning on a crutch, looking out the window.

In a moment of distraction, someone appeared behind him.

Feng Qiyuan was startled and about to cry out when the person promptly covered his mouth, and he heard the visitor say softly: “Don’t be afraid, Crown Prince. It’s me, Xiaoying!”

Seeing that face so similar to his own, Feng Qiyuan was immediately delighted: “So it’s you! Why frighten me like this?”

Xiaoying pulled out an opera script from her robe: “I wrote this in my spare time. I thought I’d bring it to help you pass the time.”

From childhood, Feng Qiyuan had never felt such a connection with anyone.

Mother Empress would never allow him to dabble in opera scripts. Xiaoying dared to bring him one behind Mother Empress’s back, which naturally moved him deeply.

So he was overjoyed and wanted to open the script to read. But Xiaoying held his hand and asked softly: “…If there’s an opportunity, would you like to leave the palace for a while?”

Feng Qiyuan’s eyes brightened at first, but soon darkened: “Even if Father Emperor has deposed me, I am still a prince. This is my home. Without Father and Mother’s permission, I can’t go anywhere.”

Xiaoying knew he still believed the viper of an empress was his birth mother. Revealing the secret of his origins now would likely be too much for her brother to accept and might ruin everything.

So she tempted him like a child who loves mischief, saying softly, “I have an opportunity to take you outside the palace to see the world. After you’ve had enough fun, you can come back. I guarantee no one will discover it.”

“Really?” Now Feng Qiyuan was thoroughly tempted.

These days, he had been confined to the most desolate place in the palace, not even allowed to leave his room. From what Mother Empress said, he couldn’t go anywhere until his leg was completely healed.

But if Xiaoying could take him out to have some fun and return before Mother Empress discovered it, that would be perfect. As for whether Xiaoying had ulterior motives, such thoughts never entered Feng Qiyuan’s innocent mind—she was a stand-in personally found by Mother Empress, so what bad intentions could she possibly have?

So when Xiaoying whispered in his ear, he nodded repeatedly, listening with shining eyes.

How could a child who had lived by the rules all his life resist such an opportunity to break from convention?

But as Xiaoying whispered, detailing her plans, the bold ideas made Feng Qiyuan listen with trepidation, waving his hands repeatedly: “Ah, like that? Let’s… let’s not. If Mother finds out, she’ll skin me alive!”

Xiaoying smiled slightly and didn’t try to persuade him further. Instead, she circled behind Feng Qiyuan and suddenly raised her hand, knocking him unconscious.

While talking with her brother, she had surveyed the room’s furniture and layout. The space under the bed would be a good hiding place.

Just as she had hidden her brother, the door opened, and a guard with a stern expression entered: “Your Highness, this place is not safe. You need to move immediately.”

He mistook Yan Xiaoying for the Crown Prince, not noticing the switch.

Yan Xiaoying hid behind the curtain, standing sideways, and nodded. Then she took a cloak, put it on, covered her head with the hood, and, leaning on a crutch, followed the guard out.

Perhaps fearing that the earlier smoke would attract others, the people in the courtyard didn’t even pack their belongings but escorted the “Crown Prince” out in haste, surrounding him front and back.

They were heading to another secluded palace. Although they walked along the outer palace wall, they happened to pass by a channel that led directly to the palace lake…

The guards in front and behind were busy checking if anyone was around, not particularly wary of the weak, limping Crown Prince.

So when the Crown Prince suddenly broke free from the supporting hands and jumped into the channel, they couldn’t react in time.

By the time they realized what was happening, the Crown Prince had already gone through the palace wall via the channel and into the palace lake. Like a carp entering water, there was a splash, and then no trace…

That day’s string of unexpected events shocked Empress Tang so much that she swayed slightly when standing up, almost tearing apart the guard captain who reported the news.

“The Crown Prince isn’t a fish. What do you mean, no trace? Even if he drowned, his body would float!”