Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Cao Weishan was not in Lu Fangjin's sight at all. He did not dare to go near Lu Fangjin's door, so he could only turn and look at the three princes.

Qi Xiao also looked at the fifth and seventh brothers at the same time. He had just arrived and no one in the capital of Manyuan knew him, so Cao Weishan could not rely on him.

The Fifth and Seventh Princes exchanged a glance, and in a flash, as if they had telepathically reached a consensus. Fifth Prince Qi Li said to Cao Weishan, "In Yuanjing, all matters, big or small, are naturally decided by Lord Cao. How dare we, two brothers, overstep our bounds?"

"Fifth brother is right. Lord Cao, Mr. Zhao's injury is the most important thing right now."

Cao Weishan chuckled dryly. "Yes, thank you for your advice, Seventh Prince. I will go and personally check on Young Master Zhao's injuries. I dare not disturb the three princes and General Lu any further, so I will take my leave."

Cao Weishan wasn't stupid. He knew the Fifth and Seventh Princes wouldn't say anything, and they didn't want to get involved in this mess, fearing they'd get tainted. But even if they said nothing, they knew everything. With so many "readers" in Wanqinzhai, Zhao Yi's story would spread throughout Yuanjing in a matter of hours. Who would dare accuse Cao Weishan of trying to smooth things over? Wouldn't that mean he'd be scolding the two princes as well?

Seventh Prince Qi Ting silently glanced at Qi Xiao, his mind suddenly clearing up. He belatedly realized that Qi Xiao had deliberately let Tang Ling and his guards go first, figuring that it would be best if the matter was left unresolved. It seemed he couldn't let down his brother, whom he hadn't seen in years.

The farce finally ended after Cao Weishan left, and everyone dispersed. Lu Fangjin ordered wine and food as if nothing had happened. While listening to music and waiting for Miss July, he kept making trouble between the fifth prince and the seventh prince. No matter what the fifth and seventh princes said to him, he just said one word: "Drink!"

In less than half an hour, Lu Fangjin drank himself to a dark red. The famous general was drunk to the point of losing his shape. He swayed from side to side, leaned forward and backward, and spoke nonsense. In short, the fifth and seventh brothers could do nothing to him.

The four people in the room, each preoccupied with their own concerns, were unable to speak. The atmosphere was eerie, yet they all had to suppress their feelings and pretend nothing was wrong, only to suffer the consequences and torture each other. By the time Miss Qiyue took the stage with her zither, Lu Fangjin had already drunk himself unconscious. The Fifth and Seventh Princes were as pale as frost-bitten eggplants, their faces tinged with blue and purple, the word "depressed" practically written on their foreheads.

Only Qi Xiao was listening to the music attentively and drinking a pot of wine by himself, as if he didn't mind the other three people and was happy alone.

The July girl covered her face with a veil, hiding some of her charming features, revealing her picturesque eyebrows and eyes. Her eyes were full of hidden emotions, and the smile on the corners of her mouth seemed not to be easily seen, making her even more alluring in the haziness.

Miss July's charm was boundless. After Miss July's song, the guests in Wanqinzhai seemed to have their memories washed away. They consciously put Zhao Yi's trouble behind them and were willing to sacrifice their lives just to win a smile from the beauty.

Qi Xiao stared at the beauty on the stage, but his mind was still on Tang Ling. Why was he in Wanqinzhai? Coincidence?

Tang Ling came to Chen and entered Yuanjing. The journey was quite difficult. He was weak and sickly to begin with, and he was repeatedly assassinated. He was either sick or injured. He did not talk about the hardship nor acted pitiful. He just let it go, as if reminding others to pull and manipulate him like a puppet. But Qi Xiao knew clearly that those were both the truth and just appearances. Tang Ling looked weak and innocent, but she saw through everything and worked hard in secret. She would not fight against those she could not defeat, and she could overcome dangers that she could not avoid...

Is it all thanks to Qi Xiao who saved him?

Qi Xiao frowned slightly. He didn't even realize when Tang Ling had plotted against him.

The next day, Qi Xiao slept in and got up at noon. Yangxi Zhai was even quieter than the Prince of Chu's Palace. Qi Xiao stood in the corridor and stretched. He felt quite bored on the second day after arriving in Yuanjing.

"Zongsheng, where is Baixi Bridge?"

"Last night, Master went to Wanqinzhai without him, and early in the morning he said he wanted to go out and play by himself, without us either."

Qi Xiao laughed out loud: "Childish. Where on earth did he go?"

Zong Sheng shook his head: "Said to go around."

"Let him be."

"Master, early this morning, Huaxi Villa delivered a letter."

"where?"

"Mr. Tang Ling sent it here."

Qi Xiao then realized that the west wing of the guild hall actually had an elegant name, Huaxi Villa, and that a "disaster star" Tang Ling lived there. Ha, was she afraid that he would forget about him?

"Is there something?" Qi Xiao glanced at the note handed to him by Zong Sheng and didn't take it.

Zong Sheng had no choice but to take the invitation back: "No, it only invites me to come over during lunch."

Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly: "Invite me to dinner? No."

Qi Xiao had nothing to do in Yangxizhai. After all, they were not in the Prince of Chu's Palace. There were training grounds and horse farms. Even if they did not leave the palace, they would not be idle. Zong Sheng thought that Qi Xiao would be unable to hold back and would want to go out, but Qi Xiao never opened his mouth, which made Zong Sheng very bored following Qi Xiao.

"What are you standing there for? Pack your things."

They had entered Yuanjing City yesterday, wandered around the East Market in the afternoon, and spent most of the night in Wanqinzhai. They returned to the guild hall near the hour of Yin, and their luggage was still piled in the side hall and they had not had time to pack it up.

Qi Xiao said he would clean up and started doing it himself.

"Master, I'll do these things."

"It's okay, I have nothing to do."

When Qi Xiao left Yongcheng, he had instructed to travel light. However, the journey from Yongcheng to Yuanjing was long, and the daily necessities, even if packed, would have filled several large boxes. Qi Xiao was displeased with the sight of these cumbersome items before his departure. However, he was the King of Chu, known for his extravagant and debauched lifestyle, so he had no choice but to load everything up and bring it all to Yuanjing. After last night, Qi Xiao realized that he had brought too little, too little money. Last night, Lu Fangjin alone had consumed over a hundred taels of wine. If it weren't for Lao Wu and Lao Qi, two of his biggest losers, Qi Xiao had no idea how Lu Fangjin would have gotten home. It would be shameful for a great general like Lu to be told that he owed money for wine.

The Prince of Chu's Mansion was not poor. Besides his fiefdom, Qi Xiao had other businesses in recent years and had managed them well. He was one of the richest families in Fuzhou. However, when it came to jewels, gold, jade and precious objects, Fuzhou was far behind Yuanjing. If Qi Xiao wanted to pretend to be extravagant in Yuanjing, he couldn't catch up with the real extravagance of Zhao Yi even if he flattered him. If he continued to pretend, he would probably be imitating the ugly woman, so he had to find another way.

Qi Xiao took out the things in the box one by one, and suddenly got a long and narrow box. Qi Xiao held it in front of him and stared at it blankly.

"Master?" Zong Sheng seemed to have never seen Qi Xiao suddenly become distracted and dazed. The folding fan with the galloping horse picture should be placed in the box.

Tang Ling looked harmless, but she was actually quite cunning. She knew how to "appeal to people's interests." A folding fan and a bag of sugar pills seemed to win their hearts. Now, even Qi Xiao himself didn't know why he was always helping him.

Qi Xiao didn't open the box, and suddenly laughed dryly: "If I had accepted that fan pendant, it would have been worth quite a bit of money. At least I could have treated Lu Fang to a jar of good wine."