Xiao Muchen looked at Mingxi. “Gao Zhan was knocked out and the letter was taken from him. Afterward, we sent him back. He’s not stupid—he must’ve known the letter was tampered with. Yet he still delivered it to Qiping Prefecture as planned. What do you think happened?”
Upon hearing this, Mingxi recalled the aloof way Gao Zhan had acted in her past life—like he was utterly devoted to the Crown Prince. But now, without money greasing the wheels, he probably had far fewer chances to stand out. That lofty air of his had likely vanished.
“If he knew the letter had been tampered with, he must’ve realized someone was targeting the Crown Prince. Yet he still carried on with the mission. That leaves only two possibilities: either he wasn’t entirely loyal to the Crown Prince, or he had a way to save himself.”
As she spoke, Mingxi suddenly remembered Bai Zhiwei. She looked at Xiao Muchen and asked, “Speaking of which, it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Bai Zhiwei. Has she really quieted down?”
That didn’t seem like her nature.
Xiao Muchen looked at her. “I have no idea.”
He had no interest in the affairs of some inner-courtyard woman.
Mingxi, however, was thoughtful. Even though events had already veered far from her past life’s trajectory, a person’s nature didn’t usually change drastically without warning.
She herself had only changed because of the bitter lessons from her previous life.
Someone like Bai Zhiwei—how could she be so easily subdued?
Seeing Mingxi momentarily lost in thought, Xiao Muchen asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“I just find it strange. First, tell me—what’s Gao Zhan’s situation now?”
“Everything’s the same as before since returning from Qiping Prefecture.”
Everything the same?
That meant he had passed the Crown Prince’s scrutiny. But the letter had ended up with the imperial investigators—how had the Crown Prince not suspected him?
Xiao Muchen couldn’t help smiling and said, “The letter was handed over by Madam Zhang Guangan. She offered it in exchange for sparing the Zhang family’s womenfolk.”
Mingxi hadn’t expected that. “So Gao Zhan managed to extract himself cleanly? And the Crown Prince didn’t suspect him? He never reported that the letter had been tampered with—that’s betrayal, isn’t it?”
Xiao Muchen met her questioning gaze and, for some reason, felt like laughing. Mingxi was always sharp, but whenever it came to Gao Zhan, her thoughts tended to go a bit sideways.
Then again, considering what Gao Zhan had done in their previous life, it was understandable that she couldn’t regard him objectively.
“Everyone has selfish motives,” Xiao Muchen said with a cold laugh. “Gao Zhan is just an ordinary man. He made sure to leave himself an escape route.”
Mingxi couldn’t help clicking her tongue in her heart. This ordinary man, in her past life, had helped bring down Xiao Muchen!
But… that was a past life, after all.
Speaking of which, Mingxi also felt a bit guilty. It was because she had once paved the way for Gao Zhan with money that he had been able to rise so smoothly.
In this life, without her assistance, relying solely on his own abilities, he still hadn’t managed to gain a firm foothold in front of the Crown Prince. But even the Crown Prince needed money—otherwise, why would there have been the whole Qiping Prefecture incident?
On top of that, with a troublesome mother and wife dragging him down, his days were certainly lively—unlike in their past life, when he had only longed for his “white moonlight” and worked desperately for success.
Thinking of this, Mingxi’s expression turned slightly cold. Though she had already let go and no longer cared, recalling it occasionally still filled her with anger at her own past foolishness.
“How are you feeling today?” Xiao Muchen, no longer discussing the frustrating matters, looked at Mingxi and asked.
“Better than yesterday. This kind of weakness will probably last a few more days.”
Xiao Muchen pulled Mingxi into his arms. “I should be staying in the manor to accompany you.”
But the current struggle with the Eastern Palace was at a critical moment—he truly couldn’t step away, and guilt lingered in his heart.
Mingxi looked at Xiao Muchen and said seriously, “Once you’re done with all this, then you’ll have time to stay with me.”
Mingxi had never been the complaining type, nor the kind to curse fate. That’s how she managed to endure ten years in her previous life.
Some things are inborn and don’t change. She would never learn the gentle and sweet demeanor of other young women, but because of Xiao Muchen’s sincerity toward her, she was willing to soften a little.
Xiao Muchen paused for a moment, then smiled. This was exactly the kind of thing Mingxi would say.
He held her close and said softly, “Sometimes I think, if you scolded me a bit, I might actually feel better.”
“If I scold you, will you suddenly have more time to accompany me?”
“…Not necessarily.”
“Then what’s the use? Why make things difficult for you? But if you do have the time and still don’t accompany me, then I won’t be polite—I’ll definitely make a fuss with you.”
Xiao Muchen laughed out loud at that, all the gloom in his heart swept away, his mood instantly lightened.
Mingxi thought to herself: He’s actually pretty easy to coax.
And as she thought that, she laughed too.
That smile swept away all the heaviness in the air, leaving her whole body feeling light and relaxed.
By custom, since Mingxi was now pregnant, Xiao Muchen should have moved to live in the front courtyard. But he didn’t want to be apart from her.
Mingxi wasn’t like ordinary women and didn’t mind such things. Since Xiao Muchen hadn’t brought it up, she didn’t ask him to leave either.
But this made Li Mama and Fang Momo anxious—worried that Wangye might not be able to control himself. Wangfei’s body was weak and needed proper care.
Fortunately, the night passed peacefully, and the two old attendants were finally at ease.
The next day, Fang Momo braced herself and reminded Duan Wang.
Duan Wang looked at her and said, “I don’t have time to keep Mingxi company during the day. Am I not even allowed to see my own wife at night? Don’t bring this up again. Rules? In this prince’s manor, I make the rules.”
Fang Momo: …
Fine, if Wangye doesn’t mind hardship himself, why should she play the villain?
Later, Fang Momo couldn’t help but mutter a few words to Li Mama. Li Mama was all smiles—if Wangye and Wangfei were affectionate, she was the happiest of all.
“Sister,” Li Mama said, “our Wangye is a man of great self-control. I think the two of us old folks better not get in their way.”
“You’re right,” Fang Momo agreed. Then she looked at Li Mama and added, “But still, make sure to remind Wangfei not to go too easy on Wangye. Her health comes first.”
Li Mama knew that Fang Momo wasn’t in a position to speak such private matters to Wangfei, so she smiled and agreed.
Later, when she had the chance, Li Mama quietly whispered a few words to Mingxi. Even with her thick skin, Mingxi couldn’t help but blush.
Still, she agreed seriously. No need for the two senior attendants to lose sleep over this—might as well ease their worries.
While Mingxi rested in the manor to nurture her pregnancy, the Eastern Palace was under strict watch. In the palace, Ding Zhao placed the confessions on the emperor’s desk.
The emperor stared at the stack of testimonies for a long time without moving.
Ding Zhao stood beside him with his hands down. Since the emperor didn’t speak, he didn’t say a word either, just waited silently.
After a long while, the emperor reached out, picked up one confession, and began to read.
Ding Zhao lifted his eyes slightly to glance at it, then immediately looked away.
Suddenly, the emperor slammed the document to the floor, looked up at Ding Zhao, and asked in a deep voice, “Is what’s written here true?”
