Seven days later, Prince Rui left the capital by imperial decree to go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings on behalf of the Son of Heaven.

After another half month passed, urgent reports came from the south: Prince Rui had encountered a riot of displaced people on his return journey after the prayers, his current whereabouts unknown, his life or death uncertain.

The entire capital was in an uproar.

Over the past half year, the emperor had been treating Prince Rui as his heir apparent. Sending Prince Rui to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings was meant to add to his political achievements—upon his return, he might well have been named Crown Prince.

Now with Prince Rui’s fate unknown, the position of heir apparent—

Officials and nobles all turned their gazes toward Prince Mu.

Prince Mu was both delighted and somewhat puzzled: “Could it be that Heaven is helping us? The assassins we sent haven’t even acted yet, and that unlucky Fifth Brother has already encountered a riot of displaced people…”

His advisor flattered him: “All things should naturally follow the mandate of Heaven.”

Follow the mandate of Heaven? That meant he was the heir apparent chosen by Heaven’s mandate, the future Son of Heaven.

Prince Mu was so pleased by the flattery that he burst into laughter.

Of course, it was better not to have to act personally—this would save a lot of trouble.

Was there anything more satisfying than wanting to kill someone, only to have them taken by Heaven before you could act?

At the Lan residence, father and son gathered in the study to discuss matters.

“Was that riot of displaced people arranged by you?” Lan Shan asked.

Lan Songquan smiled: “If not by your son, then by whom? Did you expect that fool Prince Mu to send assassins to directly murder Prince Rui? That would draw the attention of everyone under Heaven and might even arouse the emperor’s suspicion. A riot of displaced people is different—with floods and famines occurring in many places now, it’s not at all unusual for displaced people to cause trouble.”

Lan Shan nodded, expressing approval for his son’s methods: “Using this approach is indeed good, but are the people you arranged reliable?”

“Father, rest assured. Your son contacted people from the martial world—it’s just a matter of money for services rendered.”

Though the Lan father and son wielded great power in the court, civil officials were different from military generals. When force was needed to solve problems, those household guards and retainers couldn’t be relied upon.

“Remember to give generous rewards,” Lan Shan instructed.

“Father can rest assured about this.”

Father and son looked at each other and smiled.

Shao Mingyuan had been away from the capital for some time now. For the first time, Qiao Zhao truly understood what it meant for days to feel like years, absentmindedly fidgeting with a bracelet strung with red beans.

A’Zhu stood by the door and sighed softly: “Miss is thinking of Master again.”

“You can tell that, too?” Binglu walked in from outside, asking with a grin.

“‘Delicate dice with red beans embedded, do you know of this bone-deep longing?'” A’Zhu murmured the verse and smiled gently. “Look how Miss plays with that red bean bracelet all day—do you think it’s merely because the bracelet is pretty?”

“Whether the bracelet is pretty or not, I don’t know, and whether red beans represent longing, I don’t understand either, but I have this.” Binglu waved the letter in her hand.

A’Zhu glanced at the envelope and gently pushed Binglu: “Hurry and deliver the letter to Miss.”

Binglu ran in with a grin: “Madam, a letter from Master has arrived!”

Joy burst forth in Qiao Zhao’s eyes. She quickly coughed lightly to cover it and said coolly, “Bring it here.”

Binglu hid the letter behind her back and smiled sweetly: “If Madam gives this red bean bracelet to this servant, then this servant will give you the letter.”

“Daring to bargain with your mistress now?” Qiao Zhao raised an eyebrow but still tossed the bracelet to Binglu. “Take it—it’s nothing special anyway.”

Hmm, it seemed time to marry this girl off and let her taste what it was like to yearn for someone.

Qiao Zhao took the letter and pulled out the paper to read.

“Zhaozhao, my wife: After parting for over a month, I dream of you constantly. I am well in the Northern Territories and will return soon…”

Reading word by word to the end, Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but smile. She picked up her brush to reply, but when she wrote about Prince Rui’s disappearance, she stopped, thought for a moment, crumpled up the half-written letter, and laid out a fresh sheet of paper.

When Shao Mingyuan set out on his campaign, it coincided with Prince Rui leaving the capital. Prince Rui had used past favors to request several personal guards to accompany him for protection.

Shao Mingyuan had once told her that Prince Rui’s southern journey was fraught with danger, and out of various considerations, he would do his best to ensure Prince Rui’s safe return.

Now with Prince Rui’s fate unknown, perhaps things weren’t as simple as they appeared on the surface. To be safe, she’d better not mention this in her letter.

After sealing the finished letter, Qiao Zhao gently caressed the envelope.

“Will return soon,” she wondered if the peach blossoms would have withered by the time he came back.

Just as Prince Rui’s disappearance was causing great waves in the capital, another piece of gossip spread like wildfire. Because it involved people and matters that struck at people’s hearts, it quickly overshadowed the news of Prince Rui’s troubles.

When Li Guangwen happened to hear about it, his face turned iron-blue with anger. He pulled aside Qiao Mo, who had just arrived at the government office, and threw a punch at him.

“Lord Li, what is the meaning of this?” Qiao Mo dodged and asked in confusion.

“You’re still asking me? Haven’t you heard those rumors spreading outside?”

“Rumors?” Qiao Mo was even more puzzled.

Li Guangwen noticed that many colleagues were casting heated glances their way and said coldly: “Come with me!”

In a teahouse not far from the Hanlin Academy, after hearing Li Guangwen’s words, Qiao Mo’s expression turned ice-cold: “How did these rumors start? That person’s heart is truly malicious! Lord Li, please believe me—I and the Marquis’s wife are sworn siblings. Those slanderous rumors are pure fabrication!”

Qiao Mo grew more and more angry as he spoke.

Outside, people were spreading rumors that he and his elder sister had an improper relationship while the Marquis Guanjun was away—this was simply absurd.

As a man, even if such things were proven true, at most, he’d lose his career prospects. But his elder sister, as a woman having such filthy water thrown on her, if there were proper in-laws above, what chance would she have of survival? A letter of divorce would be unavoidable.

Li Guangwen snorted coldly: “I don’t need you to tell me that. I don’t believe you, and I certainly believe my daughter. I’m just asking—you’re a court official now, so why must you insist on living in the Marquis’s residence?”

Qiao Mo could only smile bitterly at Li Guangwen’s question.

After entering the Hanlin Academy as an official, he had originally proposed moving out of the Marquis’s residence to live elsewhere. His elder sister and the Marquis had tried every way to persuade him to stay. Later, the Marquis said to wait until after the mourning period before moving, so the three siblings could spend more time together, and only then did he give up the idea.

He wasn’t without selfish motives—he wanted to use the Marquis Guanjun’s influence to quickly establish himself in officialdom so he could gain the power to contend with the Lan father and son as soon as possible.

Not to mention anything else, with the imperial examinations held every three years, he wasn’t the only young talent. The reason Vice Minister Xu had taken a liking to him was solely because he was the grandson of the late great scholar Qiao Zhuo?

That was probably the only reason. Another reason was that Marquis Guanjun’s closeness to him let the world know that the marriage connection between the Qiao family and the Marquis’s residence hadn’t been severed by Miss Qiao’s departure.

But if he had known that living in the Marquis’s residence would eventually lead to such rumors, he would have rather moved out early.

“You need to move out immediately and stop dragging down my daughter’s reputation!” Li Guangwen said with a stern face.

He had originally thought quite well of this young man and had even regretted not having another daughter. Now it seemed his son-in-law was better after all.

“Lord Li, I can’t move out now—wouldn’t that make people think I have a guilty conscience?”

Li Guangwen was stunned and felt deeply frustrated: “Then what do you plan to do?”