A few days later, Qi He brought back news—it had worked.
Mingxi perked up. As expected, once Ge Chong found out his brother-in-law was keeping a mistress, he didn’t inform his sister right away. Instead, he went to extort silver from Zhang Pingtai.
Zhang Pingtai gave him hush money to keep things quiet, but Ge Chong gambled it all away and came back for more.
After a few rounds of this, Zhang Pingtai lost patience and tried to silence him for good.
Qi He intervened in secret and saved Ge Chong’s life. Covered in blood, Ge Chong went to his sister and spilled everything about Zhang Pingtai’s affair.
The fire caught quickly.
Too many people were involved. The chief and deputy stewards of Duke Zhen’s estate were both implicated. Zhang Pingtai’s position was lower than Ge Rong’s, and he was also morally in the wrong. He quickly fell from grace.
In this situation, to protect his mistress and their two illegitimate children, Zhang Pingtai had no choice but to seek Bai Zhiwei’s help.
Naturally, Bai Zhiwei returned to the Duke’s estate to protect her trusted aide. Qi He had already arranged for someone to whisper in Liu Huiyue’s ear, convincing her to take her two children and hide in Bai Zhiwei’s residence.
Thanks to Zhang Pingtai’s connection, Liu Huiyue was indeed brought in. Though she was only placed in the outer courtyard, she had at least entered the household.
At this moment, Qi He’s men had also mixed into the chaos.
“A secret passage?” Mingxi and Xiao Muchen looked at each other in shock. They had never expected that.
Qi He nodded. “The entrance is right under Bai Zhiwei’s bed. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to go down and see where it leads.”
Xiao Muchen immediately pulled out a map of the capital. Mingxi instantly understood his intention. The two began searching the map and quickly located Bai Zhiwei’s residence.
It was adjacent to Donghua Palace.
Surprising, yet not entirely unexpected.
Qi He’s expression shifted slightly as he said, “The daughter-in-law of Duke Gao moved out after falling out with her mother-in-law and went to live in her own dowry courtyard. Could it have been a cover from the start?”
“She moved out at the exact time when the Crown Prince was deposed and sent to Donghua Palace,” Mingxi said slowly.
A sharp light flashed in Xiao Muchen’s eyes. “No wonder Tan Yingtai and his daughter took all the blame in order to protect the Crown Prince.”
If the Crown Prince had really been trapped in Donghua Palace, utterly powerless, Tan Yingtai wouldn’t have taken the fall. He must have known what the Crown Prince was doing behind the scenes. To protect the Tan bloodline, he and Tan Jieyu chose to die together.
He hadn’t understood it before, but now it all made sense.
Qi He said, “I’m afraid Gao Zhan is playing both sides. My lord, you must be cautious.”
Xiao Muchen let out a cold laugh. “If that’s the case, it might actually work to our advantage.”
“What does my lord mean?” Qi He’s heart stirred.
“Lure the snake out of its hole.” Xiao Muchen stood up suddenly and smiled at Mingxi. “It was your carefulness that uncovered this secret passage. If not for that, it would’ve taken us much longer.”
“I just felt that Bai Zhiwei’s behavior was odd. I never expected to dig out such a big fish,” Mingxi said, still surprised. “I think if we want to know Gao Zhan’s next move, we might get a lead from Liu Huiyue’s younger sister, Liu Xiangyue.”
Xiao Muchen nodded. “I’ll immediately send people to Dongjiang to investigate Liu Xiangyue. That thread is critical now.”
Mingxi smiled. “Then I’m at ease. I’ll be waiting for your good news, my lord.”
“Alright, leave the rest to me.” Xiao Muchen looked at her tenderly, then left quickly with Qi He.
Mingxi let out a long breath. Just this one secret passage was enough to ensure the Crown Prince’s utter downfall.
But of course, if they could take down Gao Zhan and the others all at once, that would be even better.
While Xiao Muchen secretly sent people to Dongjiang to investigate Liu Xiangyue, he also stirred up the waters in the capital using the Zhang Pingtai scandal, drawing everyone’s attention to the dramatic gossip.
Two stewards alone couldn’t cause such a stir, but dragging Duke Zhen, Bai Zhiwei, and Duke Gao’s household into it made it a spectacle too big to ignore.
Duchess Gao and Bai Zhiwei had long since fallen out. Now that such a scandal broke, she made sure to trample Bai Zhiwei further, going around saying, “Like master, like servant.”
Once that was said, many began speculating that perhaps Bai Zhiwei had her own secrets. The rumors of her former ambiguous relationship with the deposed Crown Prince resurfaced again.
Naturally, that was Xiao Muchen’s doing.
Only if the past was brought back into the public eye would the eventual exposure of the secret tunnel seem plausible.
At Donghua Palace, the deposed Crown Prince flew into a great rage. When Bai Shixi got word of it, she was busy reading and writing with her daughter, ignoring all else.
Unexpectedly, that afternoon, the deposed Crown Prince came to her courtyard.
Bai Shixi was coaxing her daughter to sleep. Seeing him enter with a cold expression, she held her daughter tightly and said gently, “Why has my lord come at this time? Is something the matter?”
The deposed Crown Prince’s face was dark and grim. His eyes didn’t land on Ruian for even a second. That cold gaze frightened the girl, and she clung even more tightly to her mother.
Bai Shixi’s heart tightened. She called Su Ying in, then looked at her daughter and said, “Mother and Father have something to discuss. Will you go next door with Su Ying and rest for a bit?”
Ruian wouldn’t let go of her mother’s sleeve. Bai Shixi gave a small smile, then turned to the deposed Crown Prince. “My lord, I’ll take the child over. She’s timid.”
The Crown Prince shot Ruian a look of disgust. Timid as a mouse—she truly didn’t seem like his child.
Seeing the loathing in his eyes, Bai Shixi felt a flare of fury rise in her chest. She held it back, took her daughter to the next room, and handed her off to Su Ying.
Su Ying, worried, said, “Miss, be careful. His Lordship’s expression doesn’t look good.”
“I know. Just watch over Ruian.” Bai Shixi kissed her daughter, then turned and left.
When she entered the next room, the deposed Crown Prince was sitting on the daybed, holding a small tiger toy she had sewn for their daughter. She walked over calmly and asked, “My lord, is there something you wish to instruct me on?”
“Bai Shixi.”
The deposed Crown Prince had never called her by full name before.
Bai Shixi’s heart trembled slightly, but her expression remained just the right amount of confused.
“Do you know what’s happened at Duke Zhen’s residence?”
Duke Zhen’s residence?
Could it be that Mingxi had really found something? Looks like he was being pressured, and came here to vent.
She shook her head with a bewildered look. “I’ve been confined to Donghua Palace. How could I know what’s going on outside? My lord, has something happened to my family?”
As she spoke, her face paled and her body swayed.
The deposed Crown Prince stared at her. “You and Duan Wangfei get along fairly well. Are you saying she hasn’t contacted you?”
Bai Shixi’s heart jumped, but she gave a helpless smile. “My lord, you must be joking. We’re just sisters-in-law. Besides, ever since she had trouble in the palace, she hasn’t interacted with me.”
By “trouble,” she was referring to when the Empress acted against Mingxi, and He Wanyu took her own life as a result.
She deliberately brought that up. After the mother and son committed such crimes, how could the Crown Prince expect Mingxi to still associate with her?
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to the rest of the book? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
