Having reached this point, there was nothing more to discuss.

Feng Yuan stood up with his cold, handsome face and turned to leave.

Xiaoying felt their conversation had broken down and didn’t bother going after him. She just thought about how late it was, and that all the food stalls in the city would have closed.

Although she had eaten some flower cakes, she still wanted something hot to eat. Her recent diligent martial arts practice seemed to have triggered another growth spurt, and Xiaoying was often hungry.

If her stomach grew even hungrier in the middle of the night, would she have to wait until dawn?

As she pondered this, she heard clanging noises from the small kitchen next door.

Xiaoying was curious, wondering what Feng Yuan was throwing around to vent his anger. She got up, pushed aside the door curtain, and peered through the kitchen window.

She saw the tall young man standing somewhat awkwardly in the kitchen, his straight, sturdy waist tied with an apron, sleeves rolled up high, his handsome features softened by the rising steam.

He was skillfully chopping ginger and crushing garlic. In a bowl nearby was marinating meat, and there was a large fish with decorative cuts.

In the long-unused small kitchen, the heat from the burning firewood dispelled the lingering dampness.

Xiaoying couldn’t help but walk in, standing beside Feng Yuan to watch, then asked in astonishment: “You… know how to cook?”

Feng Yuan placed the cut fish into the oil pan, sprinkled vinegar to remove the fishy smell, and replied nonchalantly: “I started helping my teacher’s wife cook when I was eight. Master Ge enjoyed a simple, undisturbed life in his modest household without servants. He would occasionally help his wife with laundry and cooking, having no taboo against a gentleman entering the kitchen.”

It seemed that as Master Ge’s star pupil, his culinary skills were quite refined. He flipped the fried fish with practiced ease, and after adding sauce to the pot and water to simmer, an enticing aroma soon emerged.

The fish bubbled in the iron pot’s broth, and Feng Yuan proceeded to cut sweet peppers to stir-fry with the meat.

When a spoonful of hot oil released the aroma of peppers, Xiaoying felt even hungrier. She temporarily set aside her resolve to maintain distance from him, automatically grabbed bowls and chopsticks, and sat at the table with her face propped up, waiting.

Her stomach was still rumbling, but her thoughts were largely focused on Feng Yuan.

In the rising steam, watching the young man busy yet composed, he momentarily took on an almost immortal air, reducing the cold aura that always surrounded him.

Feng Yuan was handsome, and as a royal son naturally carried an air of nobility. His beautifully shaped long fingers holding vegetables possessed the elegance of one holding orchids.

Yet the Grand Prince that Xiaoying knew could sit calmly in a study calculating power struggles, or don full armor, wield a sharpened sword to face enemies from miles away, and cut open a person’s belly with a backward stroke.

All these established impressions didn’t align with this busy and strikingly handsome young man immersed in cooking steam and kitchen smoke.

When the dishes were ready, Feng Yuan brought out several warmed flatbreads: “Seeing there wasn’t enough time to make rice, I bought these flatbreads when I purchased the meat and vegetables.”

Xiaoying obediently washed her hands, sat at the table, and eagerly tore the flatbread to dip in the fish broth.

The delicious flavor immediately spread in her mouth.

Feng Yuan’s cooking was truly good, not just for show.

She recalled how in the desolate palace, with nothing to his name, he had still managed his bleak and lonely days with pots, bowls, and ladles in orderly fashion.

Perhaps it wasn’t so strange that this wilderness hermit knew how to cook.

If he weren’t a prince, even as the son of a poor family, with such exceptional character and resolve, he would likely have managed a decent life no matter the circumstances.

If his temperament weren’t so gloomy, if he didn’t have such unfortunate experiences in his past, if he didn’t carry so much resentment, he should have been the dream husband that young women would flock to.

Feng Yuan was placing fish in Xiaoying’s bowl when he noticed her sudden thoughtfulness and her slowed movements. He asked, “What is it? Don’t you like it?”

Xiaoying said, “No, it’s not that. It’s neither too salty nor too bland, it’s very good…”

Feng Yuan asked casually: “Then what are you thinking about?”

Xiaoying was wondering what exactly he wanted from her.

Feng Yuan wasn’t like Feng Qiwu, the naive prince who lived freely and simply. His deep scheming was full of ambition to climb up and crush the humiliations of his past.

Now, he walked the edge of various conspiracies, where a slight misstep would plunge him back into the abyss.

So how could Feng Yuan afford to pursue a lady with the same passionate fearlessness as the Third Prince, confidently risking mistakes, and whiling away time in useless romance?

Perhaps her unrestrained mountain spirit seemed fresh to Feng Yuan, momentarily distracting him from his path, causing him to indulge her like this?

But when the words reached her lips, she changed them: “I was just wondering, why did you suddenly decide to cook?”

Since returning to the capital, Feng Yuan should have been extremely busy.

Even before they reached the capital, they had heard rumors spreading throughout the city about Feng Yuan, the Crown Prince, and Mu Hanjiang conspiring to provoke war with Great Wei.

That “master” seemed truly impatient to bring down the useless Crown Prince, creating a great stir this time.

No wonder Princess Anqing had urgently tried to dissuade her son on the road—the long-brewing storms in the capital were indeed headache-inducing!

With Feng Yuan facing these fierce storms, it seemed rather puzzling that instead of returning to the palace, he was here in this small courtyard playing house.

While serving soup to Xiaoying, Feng Yuan lowered his brows and said, “Mu Hanjiang has already taken all the responsibility upon himself. I’m tired of dealing with palace courtesies, so I came out.”

Mu Hanjiang had returned to the capital several days before them and was the first to have an audience with the Emperor. Without changing his expression, he stated that the plan to lure Wei into war was entirely his doing, having nothing to do with the Crown Prince, and that General Chen and the Grand Prince had been deceived by him into rashly dispatching troops.

Because he had established intelligence networks in Wei for so long, his explanation was convincing. Those who wanted to implicate the Crown Prince with the crime of deceiving the Emperor temporarily couldn’t find an excuse.

But many didn’t believe his words. Moreover, regarding the Crown Prince’s fake capture, some witnesses firmly claimed to have seen the Crown Prince in the Grand Prince’s Tingxin Garden during the time of his alleged captivity.

If the Crown Prince’s capture was false, then from the Grand Prince to General Chen who dispatched troops to assist, and even Elder Dong who wrote the letter requesting aid, all would be implicated.

Today in court, the clamor was great.

Some were fanning the flames, using this conflict to bring up Wei’s retaliation and the burning of the courier station, with a clear intention to depose the Crown Prince and send Feng Yuan back to the desolate palace with numerous impeachments.

One can imagine that if Imperial Tutor Ge Danian had also died at the hands of Wei people yesterday, given today’s situation, Emperor Chunde would have had no choice but to depose the Crown Prince and punish his mad son to appease the ministers’ resentment.

Unfortunately for the plotters, this meticulously arranged plan was missing its most crucial element.

Ge Danian had entered the palace yesterday in blood-stained robes, tearfully telling His Majesty that Wei had long harbored evil intentions and had investigated the imperial family’s relatives and connections in thorough detail.

Finally, the Imperial Tutor even questioned His Majesty: with Wei spies embedded throughout Dafeng, could there be Wei agents among those demanding punishment for the Crown Prince and princes?

This made Emperor Chunde extremely uncomfortable!

The sight of Master Ge with disheveled hair and blood stains, having barely escaped with his life, made His Majesty realize that Wei people had likely been operating within Dafeng’s borders for a long time. Even the courier stations had Wei spies, and they knew the residence of a retired Imperial Tutor like Ge Danian in such detail, truly showing the depth of Wei’s intentions.

How could he allow others to sleep soundly beside the imperial bed? If not for the Feng Weipu incident, he would never have known the extent of Wei’s collusion with internal traitors!

In his view, whether it was Mu Hanjiang or this child Feng Yuan, both were better than those useless officials in court who only knew how to stick out their necks to condemn others!

Heaven blessed Dafeng by giving the younger generation courage and wisdom, quite unlike those rigid old officials who occupied positions without contributing.

So the focus on provoking an enemy nation into war was lightly addressed by His Majesty. He merely gave Mu Hanjiang a minor reprimand for acting on his initiative as a military ceremonial officer, reducing his salary for a year as a warning to others.

As for the Grand Prince, who had taken the lead when Wei invaded and killed the famous Wei general Gu Zhi, he naturally had merit, and rewards would be announced on a later date.

Regarding the Crown Prince, he had been kidnapped by Wei people and injured, still unable to return to the capital by boat or carriage, having suffered considerably, too much to be further slandered.

Who in the court didn’t know the Crown Prince’s temperament? How could such a timid person possibly plan all this?

Other ministers felt the Emperor’s judgment was too muddled. Even if Mu Hanjiang was the shadow guard master, his official title was merely a military ceremonial officer.

For a major plan like provoking Wei to attack, how could it succeed without the cooperation of those controlling military power? How could His Majesty believe Mu Hanjiang’s words without further investigation?

But His Majesty was unwilling to continue the discussion. He waved his sleeve, and the witness was charged with slandering the crown prince and immediately dragged out for a fatal beating with heavy sticks.

The crowd finally sensed the changing wind and fell silent, thus ending the court session.

Xiaoying wasn’t surprised at all. While picking up pieces of fish, she said: “These ministers collect their salaries without using their brains! They truly don’t see what His Majesty fears!”

A ruler in his prime years was most wary of adult sons wielding great power and prematurely marginalizing the sovereign.

Although Feng Yuan had acted on his initiative this time, planning such a strategy to lure Wei into war—violating one of Emperor Chunde’s major taboos—if the entire court had praised him and demanded additional titles and rewards for the Grand Prince, His Majesty would have been displeased and suspicious.

But now, with the court full of impeachments and loud condemnations, they had indirectly saved Feng Yuan and Mu Hanjiang.

In His Majesty’s view, though his mad son was bold and arrogant, he possessed the youthful courage and fearlessness of Huo Qubing, and without the ministers’ support, no matter how indulged and daring he became, he would never become a hindrance to the Emperor.

As for Mu Hanjiang, although he had gritted his teeth and taken the blame, someone who understood his character, like His Majesty, certainly knew the truth.

Lord Mu was innocent, truly taking responsibility for the Crown Prince and the prince, fulfilling his duty as a subject and sparing His Majesty from a difficult position.

Xiaoying hadn’t initially understood these matters, but after Master Ge explained them to her, she gradually came to understand.

The thoughts of an emperor were as deep as the sea, and what concerned him was truly different from ordinary people.

With someone like Ge Danian, who understood His Majesty’s temperament, Feng Yuan had passed this crisis with alarm but no danger.

However, Xiaoying hadn’t expected that the usually rule-abiding Mu Hanjiang could bear so much, quietly taking all the blame himself.

So after hearing Feng Yuan’s explanation, she couldn’t help but give a thumbs up: “Young Master Mu, a true man indeed!”

Feng Yuan glanced at her coldly: “The one Lord Mu is risking his life to protect is the Crown Prince of Dafeng—his acknowledged worthy ruler, not a female bandit who has infiltrated the royal family. Why are you so moved?”

Xiaoying didn’t need Feng Yuan’s reminder; she already knew this. But this way, with the Crown Prince avoiding punishment, wouldn’t it anger that mysterious master?

Feng Yuan seemed to have failed all the tests of obedience set by that master.

Would this person now set traps for Feng Yuan?

Feng Yuan gave a cold laugh. Traps? He had likely already begun. This massive wave of condemnation, along with the danger to Master Ge, probably bore his signature.

If Xiaoying hadn’t accidentally saved Master Ge, His Majesty might have truly severely punished him as a warning under the mountain of accusations.

Xiaoying was somewhat worried about Mu Hanjiang: “But how will His Majesty punish Mu Hanjiang?”

“He has temporarily been stripped of his position with the Dragon Scale Shadow Guards and will remain idle at home for a year. As for other punishments, they will likely come to nothing.”

Given the great victory at Feng Weipu, for Mu Hanjiang to receive such punishment made Xiaoying truly feel sorry for him.

With her mouth full of meat, she said indistinctly: “I understand, but you say he’s only protecting the Crown Prince—that’s not right. He’s protecting you, too!”

Feng Yuan didn’t respond, his gaze cold.

Xiaoying found Feng Yuan’s consistently detached attitude toward Mu Hanjiang puzzling: “At the broken bridge, you refused to let go even at the risk of death, showing how much you value him. It seems you care about this childhood friend, yet you’re always so awkward about it. Why?”

Feng Yuan seemed to dislike this topic and stuffed a piece of meat into Xiaoying’s mouth.

“What, are you trying to shut me up? Wherever people go, making more friends is never wrong. You and Mu Hanjiang are as close as brothers; this will help you handle affairs at court in the future…”

Though just casual chat, Feng Yuan’s face darkened, and he put down his chopsticks heavily before walking away without a word.

Xiaoying was caught off guard by his cold shoulder and couldn’t figure out what she had said wrong, even after he left.

In the past, if Feng Yuan had suddenly shown a cold face, Xiaoying would have just clicked her tongue dismissively.

But after their long, cold war, tonight’s atmosphere had been so pleasant. He had spent all that time cooking, barely eaten a few bites, and then slammed down his chopsticks and left with a gloomy face.

This made Xiaoying very uncomfortable!

Fine, was he going to start the cold treatment again? Did he think such tactics could control her?

She also threw down her chopsticks, intending to leave, but ultimately didn’t give up her stomach. After angrily eating a large portion, she prepared to go out for a walk.

But as soon as she stepped out, her nose bumped into what felt like a small wall.

Xiaoying rubbed her nose and looked up to see that the Feng family master had returned.

“Didn’t you leave? What are you doing blocking the doorway?”

Feng Yuan seemed to have calmed his emotions and said softly, “I haven’t finished my meal yet.”

“Oh, then take your time!” The young lady had no intention of waiting on a cold-faced master—go sit elsewhere!

Seeing her about to leave, Feng Yuan grabbed her arm and finally managed to explain: “I wasn’t angry with you, I just couldn’t control my emotions momentarily and went out for a walk!”

Xiaoying looked up at him: “Grand Prince, I know my place. I’m not a confidant you can talk to heart-to-heart, nor do I dare ask you to reveal everything. But your moods always seem to change without reason, which is confusing. You’re not mad, so why do you always act this way?”

Having said this, she tried to shake off his grip to go out for a walk alone.

Feng Yuan’s lips were tightly pressed together. Ten years of solitary living in the desolate palace had cultivated his habit of swallowing and digesting joy, sorrow, and anger alone.

So when he initially had the cold war with Xiaoying, he had also walked alone through the military camp, spending several days by himself in his tent.

After their previous argument, Xiaoying seemed unwilling to reconcile, and he didn’t know how to coax her, resulting in this cold journey.

Today, Feng Yuan had rushed back from the palace specifically to cook for Xiaoying, hoping to ease the tension between them.

Just now, when his emotions suddenly fluctuated, he had followed his habitual impulse to be alone. But after walking two streets, he suddenly remembered that Xiaoying had told him she disliked this behavior.

So he had turned back, only to see Xiaoying angrily preparing to leave.

“Where… are you going?”

Xiaoying replied defiantly: “My foster father said I should return to Jiangzhe to find my father. Since he’s arrived in the capital, I’ll go back!”

Although he knew Xiaoying wouldn’t abandon her foster father and leave alone, her words still choked him with anxiety.

“I forbid you to go back!” He said, lowering his head to embrace her.

Xiaoying’s response was to bite his neck.

Feng Yuan allowed her to bite him, his large hand soothingly stroking her back. Suddenly, he spoke with difficulty: “Mu Hanjiang and I can never be brothers in this lifetime!”

Xiaoying hadn’t expected that the reason for Feng Yuan’s loss of control was this casual remark of hers.

She asked in astonishment: “Why?”

But Feng Yuan hastily closed the topic, leading her back inside and casually asking if she wanted some fruit. He felt he had misspoken and wanted to change the subject.

By now, Xiaoying understood Feng Yuan’s character: anything that disturbed his emotions was not a small matter.

He said he and Mu Hanjiang could never be brothers…

Xiaoying’s mind worked quickly, and she probed: “His Majesty has always been very fond of Mu Hanjiang from the Mu family!”

Emperor Chunde’s favoritism toward Young Master Mu was well-known throughout the court.

After all, Feng Qiyuan had almost been deposed once because he accidentally caused Mu Hanjiang to become lame, tarnishing the young master’s jade-like reputation.

Xiaoying remembered that the Emperor had even built ramps suitable for wheeled chairs beside the stairs in his sleeping palace to facilitate Mu Hanjiang’s movement.

When speaking with Mu Hanjiang, his expression was much kinder than when addressing the several incompetent princes in the palace…

Thinking of this, Xiaoying looked up at Feng Yuan and casually said: “Could he be your brother?”

Originally half-joking with this wild guess, but seeing Feng Yuan’s ice-cold face without a trace of humor, she suddenly realized she had unearthed some shocking royal scandal!

“…Could Mu Hanjiang be the illegitimate son of Princess Anqing and His Majesty?”

Xiaoying was thunderstruck by this revelation, her eyes wide with shock.

Mu Hanjiang was about the same age as Feng Yuan, which meant that if what he said was true, then even before something happened to Consort Ye, Emperor Chunde had engaged in… impropriety with his foster sister, resulting in a secret pregnancy?

Princess Anqing was also Ye Zhanxue’s close friend and sister, making this an utterly shameful betrayal of Ye Zhanxue, who had risked everything for Emperor Chunde.

“Did your mother know about this?”

Feng Yuan slowly pulled out a spine-chilling smile: “Mother left behind a blood-written journal, written on her deathbed, which recorded how people she trusted had joined forces to use and scheme against her. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed that Princess Anqing, who was always talking about palace rules and etiquette, could commit such a despicable act.”

Xiaoying knew that if she hadn’t pressed Feng Yuan so urgently, he probably would never have voluntarily mentioned these dirty matters.

“When did you discover this secret?”

“Before I was confined to Tianlu Palace, that woman Anqing was meeting privately with Feng Qishu in the outer courtyard of the Mu residence, tearfully confessing their deception and betrayal of my mother. Afterward, I found my mother’s journal among her belongings and learned about many of the injustices she had endured.”

That woman, Anqing, Feng Qishu, and Chen Nuo—Mother had recorded in detail all the things these despicable people had done back then.

Regrettably, by that time, she was already terminally ill and physically weak. Even though she had finally understood she had been schemed against, she couldn’t settle all accounts.

Mother had passed away, but he was still here! Every single item in that blood-written journal was engraved in his mind, representing debts that needed to be repaid in this lifetime!

“Then why… did you try to assassinate Mu Shen?”

Feng Yuan was still smiling, but his face now showed a demonic malevolence: “Who said I wanted to kill Mu Shen? I always intended to kill that bastard Mu Hanjiang! Mu Shen feared his son would be heartbroken, so he took the blame himself, saying he had beaten and scolded me, that I sought revenge and accidentally injured Mu Hanjiang.”

When Feng Yuan suddenly learned the truth, he finally understood why Emperor Chunde had always shown such favoritism toward the Mu family’s son.

Meanwhile, he, the true legitimate son of the Feng family, bore the curse of being a bastard because his mother had been slandered.

Unable to vent the fury of knowing the truth, he had gone to Princess Anqing’s door with a knife to settle accounts, but by coincidence, in his anger, he had wounded Mu Hanjiang.

Feng Yuan had finally revealed his past with Mu Hanjiang and could now wait without hope for Xiaoying to denounce him as cold-blooded and brutal.

He was just that despicable a person. At that time, even knowing that Mu Hanjiang wasn’t involved in the previous generation’s grudges, he had still misdirected his anger, wanting to kill his only childhood friend to vent his frustration!