Mingxi wasn’t the type to show mercy. Upon learning Bai Zhiwei had returned to her own residence, she immediately had her agents spread word that Gao Zhan was on the brink of death.
If Gao Zhan was still aligned with the deposed crown prince, then the crown prince would surely try to recover whatever it was Gao Zhan was holding before he died.
Mingxi also sent a message to Xie Muhua, asking her to monitor the crown prince closely and report any suspicious activity.
Upon learning of Mingxi’s arrangement, Xiao Muchen immediately had Gao Zhan “protected,” under the pretense of being gravely injured—he was not to receive any visitors, for fear of mishaps.
Duchess Gao was only concerned with her son’s recovery and trusted the imperial physicians’ words without question.
Only Duke Gao sensed something was off. Although he held a noble title, he had neither the talent for governance nor the ability to lead armies—his prestige was only skin-deep.
But after visiting his son in person and seeing how seriously he was injured and how groggy he still was, he let go of his suspicions.
With Gao Zhan under the care of physicians loyal to Xiao Muchen, all contact with the crown prince was cut off.
If the deposed crown prince grew impatient and tried to reclaim his leverage, he would have to take risks—exactly what they wanted: to lure the snake out of its hole.
And so, the more carefully this trap was laid, the more everything on the surface had to look carefree and ordinary.
Mingxi even hosted a flower banquet at Duan Wang’s residence, inviting many of her close acquaintances—a display of peaceful domestic bliss.
Xiao Muchen continued his regular attendance at court. The emperor had assigned him rotating duties across the Six Ministries, and this time, he brought not just Kang Wang but also Qi Wang along.
It was simply too chaotic in Qi Wang’s residence. Each day, Qi Wang was caught between several troublesome women in the household. He couldn’t bring himself to divorce his main wife—not only was she granted by imperial decree, but he didn’t dare take the initiative to dismiss her. Side Consort Ming was pregnant and couldn’t be reproached, and the newly arrived side consort Zhao was gentle and attentive, making him reluctant to treat her harshly.
The entire residence was in a constant state of uproar, and the light in Qi Wang’s eyes had all but vanished.
Consort De was frustrated with her son’s indecisiveness and scolded him, but to little effect. If Qi Wang had been someone who listened to advice, things between him and his wife wouldn’t have turned out this way.
Though their relationship had improved slightly compared to before, that small improvement only made it harder for Qi Wang to rein her in.
This vicious cycle made Consort De unable to just watch her son sink deeper into the mire, so she sought help from Consort Shu. That was how the scene of Xiao Muchen dragging Qi Wang off to work came about.
Rarely, even the Emperor didn’t comment upon hearing about it—his silence was tacit approval.
At first, Qi Wang had been quite excited—he was finally given a legitimate assignment. But not even half a month in, he was dazed from exhaustion. At night, he even mumbled bureaucratic regulations in his sleep, which enraged Qi Wangfei so much that she kicked him out of bed.
Qi Wang: …
So this is what it means to be ambitious? He suddenly missed the old days.
But he didn’t dare refuse the work, nor could he afford to do it poorly. His fourth brother, with that coffin-face of his, would truly lash out at him without mercy, scolding him publicly in front of other officials and ministers, leaving him with no shred of dignity.
The worst part was—no one had his back.
His mother only resented that he failed to live up to expectations, urging him to learn well from his fourth brother and surpass him so their Royal Father would be pleased.
As for their Royal Father… best not even speak of him.
On the Laba Festival, all households would make Laba porridge. In past years, the Emperor would grant it as a reward to key ministers and his sons. But this year, with the Crown Prince deposed, that honor likely wouldn’t be extended.
The night before, Mingxi received a letter from Xie Muhua. Muhua told her that for several days now, she had noticed the deposed Crown Prince behaving oddly—often sitting alone in his study, staring into space.
Twice, while bringing him medicinal tonic, she noticed two of the guards who usually accompanied him had gone missing.
At the end of the letter, she mentioned that last night, the deposed Crown Prince chose Chen Liangdi to attend him, but for some reason, he sent her away halfway through the night. Jiang Sujie mocked him for it, and the two women ended up brawling like village shrews.
Mingxi discussed the matter with Xiao Muchen.
Xiao Muchen said, “It must be that Bai Zhiwei told him about Gao Zhan. The deposed Crown Prince cannot afford to let Gao Zhan slip from his control. Looks like Gao Zhan has something the Crown Prince needs to stage a comeback.”
“How’s Gao Zhan doing now?” Mingxi asked.
“Sleeping very well every day,” Xiao Muchen smiled.
He didn’t want to sleep, but with the imperial physicians watching, it wasn’t up to him.
The head wound and all that blood had certainly made it look serious.
And since the physician treating him at Duke Gao’s manor was Xiao Muchen’s own man, the condition was whatever they said it was.
Just the phrase “sleeping very well” left Mingxi both amused and exasperated.
“Tomorrow is Laba. From the looks of it, the deposed Crown Prince is running out of patience,” Mingxi said.
Xiao Muchen nodded. He had been leaking tidbits of information little by little. Given how suspicious the deposed Crown Prince naturally was, there was no way he’d let Gao Zhan remain in a coma indefinitely.
“Then tomorrow, let’s put on a good show.”
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Xiao Muchen nodded and squeezed Mingxi’s hand tightly. “Lately, Royal Father has been assigning me more and more duties, and I’ve been rotating through more bureaus. The deposed Crown Prince has long been unable to sit still.”
Mingxi took a deep breath. It was time for a conclusion.
“And the Empress in the palace?” she asked again.
“No rush. Once something happens to the deposed Crown Prince, the Empress won’t stand by and do nothing.”
And once the Empress made a move, it would all be over.
That night, Mingxi had trouble falling asleep—a rare occurrence. Perhaps it was because she had waited too long for this day, and now that it was finally here, she could hardly believe it.
Xiao Muchen, seeing her like this for once, teased, “Why do you look even more nervous than when we got married?”
Mingxi stiffened.
How could it be the same?
When they married, she approached it like a business deal—nothing to be nervous about. It was a partnership, after all.
But now, she was restless because she kept remembering her past life—how difficult and painful it had been. Just when she thought she had made it, she was dealt a fatal blow.
This time, if everything went according to plan, she could finally let go of the emotional burden from her previous life.
In that past life, she had managed to kill Gao Zhan, but she hadn’t had the power to do anything to the Crown Prince. She never thought she’d get the chance to take justice into her own hands in this life.
Her emotions were naturally turbulent.
Xiao Muchen pulled her into his arms. “If you can’t sleep… why don’t we do something else?”
For once, Mingxi didn’t refuse and instead pushed him down.
Xiao Muchen: …
Well, that works too.
Once Mingxi fell asleep from exhaustion, Xiao Muchen gazed at her sleeping face for a long time before finally closing his own eyes.
He had always known that Mingxi was hiding something from him.
But he didn’t want to ask—somehow, he had a strong feeling that if he did, Mingxi would leave him.
It was a strange and powerful intuition.
Pulling her into his arms again, Xiao Muchen finally fell asleep.
So what if she was hiding something? He chose her himself—so long as he was happy, nothing else mattered.
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