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

Tang Ling… Qi Xiao looked at the person beside him. His back was still facing away, so he couldn't make out his face or expression. He occasionally coughed softly, then slowly calmed down. Qi Xiao suddenly smiled silently, shrugged his shoulders, and started drinking instead.

It took Tang Ling a long time to swallow the burning taste on her tongue. She looked at the rabbit meat with envy but didn't dare to eat it anymore. When she turned around, Qi Xiao had already started roasting another piece of rabbit meat, but this time he didn't dare to put chili on it.

"By the way, remember to feed the little white snake for me." Qi Xiao suddenly talked about the little white snake again.

"Oh, okay." Tang Ling agreed, wondering whether she should return the little white snake to him.

The little snake was truly beautiful. Initially, when the incense wore off, it coiled in its bamboo cage, looking rather docile. Later, upon awakening, it straightened itself, tongue lolling, and stretched its neck out, looking menacing. Qi Xiao said the little white snake resembled him: beautiful and venomous, yet he loved it.

"Can you foster the little white snake with me?" Tang Ling didn't want to return it to Qi Xiao, but she was afraid that she would be the one who would be implicated, so it would be quite shameless to say no now.

Qi Xiao smiled: "Okay. But there is a condition."

"what?"

"Hmm... I haven't thought about it yet. I'll tell you when I think of it in the future."

Tang Ling glanced at Qi Xiao and saw that he was concentrating on roasting the rabbit again. She couldn't help but smile and nodded slightly in response, "Okay."

"Why did you agree so readily?"

"Well... I don't worry about having too much debt."

"It's rare that Ziyi still remembers that he owes me so much."

"Isn't this all owed by His Majesty the Ninth Prince?"

"Isn't that my fault?"

"How dare I, Your Highness, please forgive me."

***

"Sir! You have to be careful about what you eat! How much alcohol did you drink tonight? How much spicy food did you eat?! Mutton is also an irritant! How can you not take care of yourself?! Your wound has just healed..."

Tang Ling was very sleepy after supporting his forehead, but Qinglan was full of energy and kept chattering on and on. His words filled his ears and made him dizzy.

"Alright, alright, Qinglan, it's late, go get some rest."

Qinglan applied medicine to the wound on Tang Ling's arm and bandaged it up carefully. Tang Ling had been drinking and eating meat all night, and when he came back he kept scratching his arm. Qinglan knew something bad was going to happen as soon as he saw his face. Sure enough, the wound was red and swollen, and he couldn't help but think about Tang Ling.

"Sir, could you please listen to Qinglan? The wound hasn't healed yet. Forget the mutton, but why did you drink so much wine? Sir, you're not a heavy drinker. And that chili pepper wrapped in three layers of thick rabbit meat, what if it leaves a scar? That kid is going to kill you."

Tang Ling sighed softly, "Qinglan, he's the King of Chu, the Ninth Prince of Chen. I've told you many times to be careful with your words and actions."

"But he has no good intentions towards you, young master."

"He saved me and helped me before, so how could he have any ill intentions?"

Qing Lan lowered her head as she bandaged Tang Ling's wound and whispered, "The way he looked at you, Master, was full of ill intentions."

Tang Ling chuckled: "He's fine."

"Hmm? Young Master, you've had too much to drink. What's so good about him? He fed you medicine in Yongcheng that made you seriously ill for more than ten days. He saved you from the assassin in Lanquan, but you had a high fever at night and almost died. Wasn't it his fault? The wound on your arm is so deep and so long. If he really had good intentions, he would have removed the shackles for you long ago. And Ye Huai, his wounds haven't healed yet..."

"Alright, Qinglan," Tang Ling said with a smile, resting her hand on her forehead. "Qinglan, not everyone in this world has to protect your son like a treasure. Here, I'm not the Marquis of Xun'an. I don't have my father's power and army. I'm just Tang Ling. If he really only cares about appearances and treats me well from the beginning, then he has ulterior motives."

Qing Lan was stunned for a moment, as if he had understood Tang Ling's meaning, but he also seemed to still not quite understand: "Young Master, what do you mean? He used you to return to Yuanjing and bullied us repeatedly along the way. Is that right?"

Tang Ling sighed softly. Qinglan was not stupid, but he was not smart when it came to understanding people's hearts. For many things, if Tang Ling only gave a little hint, Qinglan would not be able to figure it out on his own. He would not be able to understand until Tang Ling explained everything in detail.

But Tang Ling wouldn't speak of Qi Xiao. Previously, Tang Ling had compared Qi Xiao to his father, Marquis Xun'an, admonishing Qinglan to follow the rules, but in truth, Qi Xiao bore no resemblance to his father. The Tang family had been military commanders for generations, holding a preeminent position within the Great Zhou. His father, Tang He, Marquis Xun'an, was the eldest son of the Tang family, raised with the honor and privilege of "Young Marquis." Tang He himself was a driven and accomplished talent, a master of both civil and military skills. From entering the civil service to commanding the army and inheriting the title, his greatest setbacks were probably his wife's early death and his only son's frailty, unable to carry on his father's legacy. His authority, built bit by bit from his Tang family background and his own military and political achievements, created an aloofness that others could not bear to look directly at.

But Qi Xiao only had a flashy title. In the annals of the Chen Kingdom's royal family, Qi Xiao was just a name, a completely insignificant figure. Furthermore, Qi Xiao was young, and even Qing Lan had unconsciously underestimated him, treating him with cold glares when he saw his arrogance. Even now, they still couldn't understand how Qi Xiao's youthful arrogance was all displayed before others' eyes.

Tang Ling said that Qi Xiao was good not because he saved him, but because of other things.

Back in Yongcheng, Qi Xiao schemed against Tang Ling in order to return to Yuanjing. If it were simply to exploit him, Qi Xiao would have been so well-planned that he wouldn't have needed to explain the entire story to him, nor would he have bothered to protect Ye Huai. Qi Xiao, though cunning, was also very open-minded. However, if one were to say he was open-minded, he could also be cunning. He repeatedly tested Tang Ling, insisting she didn't judge him by appearances. He was conceited but not arrogant. This was what left Tang Ling helpless and forced her to admit defeat, and it was precisely this that made him worthy of Tang Ling's hand-painted painting of a galloping horse and a folding fan.

On the way back to Yuanjing, Qi Xiao astounded Tang Ling repeatedly, not only with his martial arts prowess against the assassins, but also with his sharp judgment of the situation and decisiveness. If Qi Xiao truly held the title of prince, how could he have risked his life that night, and why would he have personally guarded Tang Ling all night? Tang Ling, born with a weak constitution, could not blame Qi Xiao.

After arriving in Beijing, Tang Ling finally understood the reason and purpose of Qi Xiao's return. One was for Concubine Lin, and the other was for Bai Liu. Although Tang Ling was not clear about the relationship between Qi Xiao and Bai Liu, he understood Qi Xiao's difficulties.

Qi Xiao was out of favor, and it was already very difficult for him to return to the capital to serve Concubine Lin. Moreover, the two factions in Yuanjing City had been fighting for many years, and there was no place for him to stand. Emperor Chen even intended to push him into the chaos. He had no power and could be crushed to pieces by the two forces at any time.

For Bai Liu, the undertaking was not only difficult but also fraught with danger. After Tang Ling received the two names from Qi Xiao, she wrote back to Zhou to inquire about Bai Liu's situation and requested the Xingluo Guard's secret files. The extent and depth of Bai Liu and the Dingyuan Army's former power implicated the matter, and any investigation would undoubtedly cause unrest within the court. This was a boon for the Great Zhou, but a life-or-death struggle for Qi Xiao.