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

Qi Xiao picked up the teacup, and the tea aroma was very familiar: "Qinxin Tea House's green tea?"

Tang Ling nodded.

"The tribute tea in the palace is not good?"

"It's not that it's bad, it's that it's too good. I just feel that carefully selected, flawless tea lacks some of its natural flavor. Why not leave some regrets?"

"There seems to be a deep meaning in these words."

"That's just what I said."

Qinglan added a set of bowls and chopsticks for Qi Xiao, and stood silently behind Tang Ling, glancing at Qi Xiao from time to time, alert and still holding great hostility towards Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao didn't take it seriously and started eating with his chopsticks. He was indeed hungry and didn't intend to be polite with Tang Ling.

"Qinglan, go tell Zongsheng that the prince is here." Tang Ling ordered softly, sending Qinglan out before saying to Qi Xiao, "Qinglan is young and doesn't know much."

Qi Xiao took a sip of his soup, raised an eyebrow slightly, and nodded. "You're young. It's okay, I'm not that petty." Qinglan was probably around his age, so Tang Ling was referring to him as young. Tang Ling knew Qinglan best. From Yongcheng to Yuanjing, if Qi Xiao was narrow-minded, Qinglan would have been mad at him long ago. Tang Ling's defense came too late and was completely unnecessary, which made Qi Xiao inexplicably unhappy.

Tang Ling smiled, her lips slightly pressed down. He slowly began to understand Qi Xiao's temperament, and could understand the meaning behind his smile and raised eyebrows. The Qi Xiao of today was no longer the Qi Xiao of Yongcheng. He treated Tang Ling as a piece of meat on the chopping board, a meal on the plate. He no longer held her in high regard, and no longer deliberately provoked or manipulated her. It was as if they were already friends.

Qi Xiao felt a little embarrassed when Tang Ling looked at him with a smile, so he asked, "Why did you come to hunt?"

"Your Majesty invites me, I can't refuse."

"You are capable of civil service but not military service, and the world knows it. Your Majesty will not embarrass you."

Tang Ling smiled and said, "I heard about the hunting event at Baiyan Mountain right after arriving in Beijing. If I miss out on such excitement, I might not have another chance, so I wanted to come and take a look."

"If you lose, it will be embarrassing for the Zhou Kingdom. Why bother?"

"I heard that there's a prize for hunting at Baiyan Mountain every year. Whoever wins the prize wins. That means there's only one winner every year. So it doesn't matter if I lose."

Qi Xiao opened his mouth but held back what he wanted to say. Tang Ling was already here, so it would be a waste of time to persuade him that autumn hunting was dangerous. Qing Lan was afraid that he had said enough words of advice. Since Tang Ling had made up her mind, she must have a purpose, so he didn't need to worry about her.

"Come to spy on the military situation of Dachen?"

Tang Ling smiled. "That's an idea I have. I heard that the Imperial Guards, the Five Capitals, and the Five City Guards all have talented individuals participating in the hunt, and there are many talented generals among them. If the peace talks fail, then my Great Zhou can prepare early, right?"

Tang Ling echoed Qi Xiao's words without hesitation, leaving Qi Xiao speechless. The Emperor invited Tang Ling to the Baiyan Mountain Hunting Rally, but was he truly afraid he'd spy on the military? These generals were there to establish their authority over Tang Ling.

Tang Ling raised her eyes and looked directly at Qi Xiao, then slowly said, "I heard that among the Five City Guards there is a captain named Lu Xiulin, who once served under the late Huiyun General Bai Liu. He is quite favored by His Majesty and is a hot candidate for victory in recent years."

Qi Xiao was picking up some food. After hearing Tang Ling's words, he paused and then withdrew his hand and put down his chopsticks.

"Lu Xiulin?" Qi Xiao didn't recognize this Lu Xiulin, but Bai Xiqiao had mentioned him several times. Lu Xiulin had accompanied Bai Liu back to Yuanjing City, and it was Lu Xiulin who personally wrote back to Fenglin Mountain when Bai Liu was in trouble. However, he was subsequently left in Yuanjing, and contact with Bai Xiqiao had ceased. Bai Xiqiao had written to Lu Xiulin but received no reply, as if he were deliberately avoiding the topic.

Qi Xiao had no connections or informants in Yuanjing, so he really didn't know that Lu Xiulin was not only still in Yuanjing, but was even working in the Five City Guards.

Qi Xiao met Tang Ling's smiling eyes. He would not mention Lu Xiulin for no reason.

Tang Ling didn't say a word about Lu Xiulin or Bai Liu. Instead, she shifted the topic and said, "General Lu won a hunting match before, so he'll just be accompanying the emperor this time and won't be participating in person. Otherwise, I'd be very curious. Who would win between you and General Lu? It would be exciting."

"What else do you know?"

"What?" Tang Ling pretended not to understand Qi Xiao's question.

Qi Xiao stared at Tang Ling with a serious expression, no longer joking. Tang Ling smiled slightly and replied, "He was by General Bai Liu's side when he passed away from illness. If there's something you want to know, you'll definitely want to find him, so I've been keeping a close eye on him. When the Dingyuan Army was disbanded, General Bai Liu's close associates have now scattered, and only Lu Xiulin remains in Yuanjing City. We're lucky."

us?

Tang Ling wouldn't help him for no reason, just like Qi Xiao didn't save Tang Ling for no reason. They might be friends, but they were still on opposite sides, far from being close enough to call each other "we."

Qi Xiao looked at Tang Ling coldly: "This matter has nothing to do with you, there is no need to investigate further."

Qi Xiao gave Tang Ling two names at that time, Bai Liu and Cao Weishan. Tang Ling checked both of them, but focused all his attention on Bai Liu. He intuitively judged that Cao Weishan might be useful to Qi Xiao, but not that important. Qi Xiao would ask him to check a dead person who was related to Fenglin Mountain. It must not be a sudden idea, but quite important.

Qi Xiao's reaction at that moment confirmed Tang Ling's guess. Bai Liu's death must have been as simple as it appeared. Qi Xiao was still a child at the time of Bai Liu's death, new to Yongcheng, and shouldn't have had any contact with Bai Liu. But given Qi Xiao's martial arts prowess and his familiarity with Lu Fang, it wasn't impossible that he knew Bai Liu. Tang Ling was curious about the story he was hiding.

Tang Ling's expression remained unchanged, still smiling: "It's just a piece of cake."

Qi Xiao was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief and continued eating. There was no emotion on his face anymore, as if he had suddenly changed his face and become a different person.

Tang Ling had been a great help in finding Lu Xiulin, but Qi Xiao didn't want to involve either Tang Ling or the Xingluo Guard in Bai Liu's affairs. Ultimately, Bai Liu was implicated in Dachen's military and political affairs. With Tang Ling's insight, it wouldn't be difficult to figure out the connection, but Qi Xiao couldn't guess how Tang Ling would use Bai Liu. Bai Liu was dead, but Bai Xiqiao was still alive, and Qi Xiao wouldn't tolerate any mistakes or accidents. Qi Xiao was torn between wanting to use the Xingluo Guard but fearing Tang Ling would be too difficult to control. He needed something else to keep Tang Ling in check.