“Yu’er, look—Prince Chen is six years younger than your imperial uncle, yet he already has two children.”
“And now look at your imperial uncle. He’s already twenty-four, yet still all alone.”
“There isn’t even a single woman in his residence…”
The little emperor immediately spoke up in rebuttal.
“Who told Mother Empress that Imperial Uncle’s residence has no women?”
The Empress Dowager froze. “There are women?”
“Of course.” The little emperor nodded. “There are two women. One surnamed Liu, and the other surnamed Feng. She’s Feng Jingge, daughter of Minister Feng.”
“Feng Jingge?” The Empress Dowager frowned. “I know of the Feng household. Some time ago, didn’t the Regent Prince fall into the water at the Feng residence?”
The little emperor nodded again.
“This Feng Jingge is the one who pushed Imperial Uncle into the water. That’s why Imperial Uncle punished her by making her his personal maid.”
“A personal maid?”
The Empress Dowager looked surprised.
As far as she knew, for all these years, Xiao Jinghan had never allowed any woman within three steps of him.
Because of this, rumors had long spread through the capital that Xiao Jinghan preferred men.
Yet now, he had actually allowed the very woman who pushed him into the water to become his personal maid?
How strange.
The Empress Dowager pressed her lips together thoughtfully, internally weighing whether she should marry Li Xiyue off to Xiao Jinghan—or give that suddenly appeared Feng Jingge to him instead.
Just then, the little emperor spoke again.
“Mother Empress, regarding the matter you mentioned earlier about arranging a marriage for Imperial Uncle, in my opinion, it’s best not to interfere.”
“Imperial Uncle surely has his own plans concerning marriage. If a marriage is arranged rashly, it will definitely make him unhappy…”
The Empress Dowager immediately glared at him in displeasure.
“You’re speaking on his behalf?”
“I’m only stating the facts,” the little emperor replied indifferently. “If Mother Empress isn’t even willing to hear the truth, then I don’t know what else to say.”
The more the Empress Dowager listened, the angrier she became. Waving her hand impatiently, she snapped, “Go, go already! Hurry and leave!”
The moment he heard the word “leave,” the little emperor instantly sprang to his feet.
“Your son takes his leave!”
After speaking, he turned and fled Mingci Palace without a backward glance.
By the time the Empress Dowager reacted, the little emperor had already disappeared.
Unable to hold back, she angrily muttered, “That brat really runs fast!”
After leaving Mingci Palace, the little emperor immediately spotted Eunuch Chen waiting outside.
Eunuch Chen saw him too and hurried over.
“Your Majesty, you’re out!”
After shouting loudly, he quickly lowered his voice and added, “Chu Ning and Xu Shu are waiting for Your Majesty beneath the palace wall!”
Hearing the names Chu Ning and Xu Shu, the little emperor’s eyes lit up. Forgetting about taking the sedan chair, he immediately ran toward the agreed meeting spot.
Eunuch Chen chased after him all the way, whisk in hand.
By the time they arrived, Xu Shu had already grown impatient. The moment he saw the little emperor, he immediately complained, “Big Brother, do you even know what time it is now?”
“Even if you’re the emperor, you still have to be punctual!”
The little emperor looked apologetic.
“Sorry, sorry. I went to pay respects to Mother Empress…”
The moment they heard he had gone to see the Empress Dowager, the expressions of all four people present darkened.
They all knew the Empress Dowager did not treat Xiao Yu well.
Anhao was the first to speak.
“Brother Yu, you went to see the Empress Dowager? Then… she didn’t do anything to you, right? She didn’t bully you?”
“No.” Xiao Yu shook his head. “I wasn’t bullied, but Imperial Uncle might be in danger.”
Chu Ning’s brows furrowed slightly as his gaze settled on Xiao Yu.
“What do you mean by ‘in danger’?” he asked coolly.
The moment Chu Ning spoke, everyone present turned to look at him in shock.
Normally, Chu Ning hardly ever spoke. Yet today, he had actually taken the initiative to ask about the Regent Prince?
The little emperor snapped back to attention and replied, “Mother Empress wants to arrange a marriage for Imperial Uncle.”
“You’d best stay out of this matter.”
Chu Ning’s voice remained calm and cold.
“If you truly can’t refuse, then push Miss Feng out instead. And if even that doesn’t work, just marry her off to the Regent Prince.”
The little emperor looked puzzled.
“Why?”
Chu Ning patiently explained, “The fact that the Empress Dowager came to you about this means she has already discussed the matter with the Regent Prince.”
“But the conversation clearly didn’t go well, or perhaps the Regent Prince became angry.”
“With no other option left, she could only turn to you.”
The little emperor still looked confused.
“But why me?”
Chu Ning did not answer. Instead, he looked toward Xu Shu.
Xu Shu glanced at Anhao, and Anhao glanced at Li Jie.
Finally, the four of them exchanged looks before answering in unison,
“Because you’re the emperor.”
Meanwhile, inside the study of the Regent Prince’s residence—
Xiao Jinghan frowned deeply.
“You’re certain that was my handwriting?”
Feng Jingge nodded heavily.
“Certain. Absolutely certain. One hundred percent certain.”
Xiao Jinghan pressed his thin lips together.
There were countless talented people in the world. Naturally, there were also people capable of imitating handwriting.
He could believe someone copying a few words.
But forging an entire letter so perfectly?
That was nearly impossible.
“Where’s the letter?”
Feng Jingge: “…”
“Brother, didn’t I already tell you? I had Prince Chen hand the letter over to the Jingzhao Prefecture so they could reopen the investigation into the fire at Prince Chen’s residence.”
“There’s no need to investigate. Even if they do, they won’t find anything.”
Feng Jingge grabbed a walnut from the fruit tray. With a crack between both hands, the shell split open.
She took out the walnut meat and casually ate a piece.
“I know what you mean, but making a public investigation is still better than deliberately hiding things.”
Xiao Jinghan nodded in agreement.
“Mhm. My wife is right.”
Feng Jingge: “…”
He had only been normal for a short while before acting up again?
Just as she was about to tell him not to call her “wife,” Xiao Jinghan spoke again.
“My wife, take a look at this.”
From somewhere unknown, Xiao Jinghan produced two letters and pushed them toward her.
The moment Feng Jingge saw the letters, the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Letters…
Letters again…
She really did not want to read them anymore.
Pushing the letters back toward him, she said,
“You talk. I’ll listen.”
“Alright.”
Xiao Jinghan obediently separated the two letters and pointed at each envelope.
“One contains good news. The other contains bad news. Which one does my wife want to hear first?”
Feng Jingge: “…”
“Let’s hear the bad news first.”
Xiao Jinghan said calmly, “The bad news is that Western Ling has publicly announced they’ve already found Xi Liyue.”
“Hm? Isn’t finding Xi Liyue a good thing? Why is that bad news?”
Feng Jingge frowned in confusion.
“If they found Xi Liyue, then they should soon send people to bring her back to Western Ling.”
Xiao Jinghan explained calmly, “The Western Ling princess has already returned to Western Ling and moved into the imperial palace.”
Feng Jingge fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
“So Western Ling found a fake to replace her? The real one is still in Prince Yu’s residence?”
Xiao Jinghan responded with a soft hum.
“Then how are we handling this? Prince Yu is still waiting for Western Ling to come take Xi Liyue away.”
“If news of this reaches him, he’ll probably come knocking again.”
“My wife needn’t worry. I’ve already instructed Ning An to make arrangements.”
“So long as Prince Yu comes looking, everyone will answer with the same story—”
“The Prince is not in the residence. He went out.”
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