After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Jiu Er bowed his head and admitted his mistake, saying, "Your subordinate is incompetent."

For so many years, outsiders have believed that Baili Ce was born to the fourth wife, which shows that Baili Shi kept this information very well hidden.

The fact that Jiu Er was able to find out to this extent has already exceeded his expectations.

"Is there any other news?"

"There's another rumor, but the versions vary, and I don't know if it's true or not."

"speak"

Wang Qingyan wanted to listen, so Jiu Er felt at ease and spoke.

"It is said that when the girl was eleven years old, she got into a fight with some children from her clan, apparently because something was broken."

"As a result, they went too far and injured several children, who were then forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for several days as punishment."

"But she refused to admit her mistake no matter what. Later, the Fourth Master scolded the girl, and only then did she lower her head."

"However, some say that it was one of the children's parents who called the servants... that's why the girl gave in."

"Some even say..."

"What did you say?" Wang Qingyan closed his eyes, his breathing normal.

Jiu Er noticed that his hand across his waist suddenly tightened. "The girl was branded when she was forced to kneel as punishment."

During the long silence, Wang Qingyan did not show any unusual behavior.

"How's it going in the capital?"

But Jiu Er felt a chill run down his spine. "Xue Fengshi went to find several students and the headmaster of Fengheng Academy."

That old man, the headmaster, is indeed quite capable. As for the students...

"Are there any people from the Southwest among them?"

"Indeed, two of them were students from the Southwest and were quite favored by the palace. However, their Mandarin was not good, which often caused some laughable situations."

"In that case, let them go."

Anyway, in places like the Southwest, it takes at least two or three years to get back.

......

Staring at the glass stone until the sun set in the afternoon, Baili Ce still couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

I even made myself hungry.

Unfortunately, the second-in-command, who was a reincarnation of a starving ghost, swept away all the food in her room.

She's been in a bad mood lately, and apart from Wang Qingyan and a few other leaders, no one dares to bother her after mealtime.

Moreover, in order to delay the truth from being revealed, she insisted that Wang Qingyan not send her a maid.

Actually, she just couldn't get used to using other people's maids.

The result was...

"Why did they go so far?" When Wang Qingyan appeared in her room with two dishes and a soup, Baili Ce was lying on the dressing table in a daze.

She turned around and sat down next to him listlessly, saying, "It's not their fault, it was my own choice."

"It's better to suffer once than to be bothered for decades."

Those idiots didn't give her a chance to regret it! They went straight for the kill!

"Then you must not let the wound get wet for the next few days. I will find you some better medicine tomorrow. Just make do with this for today."

Wang Qingyan prepared the food proportions for her and fed it directly to her mouth.

"..." Bai Li Ce, who found it inconvenient to eat by himself, did not open his mouth.

Wang Qingyan scooped out a little less for her, saying, "It's just taking care of a patient, don't overthink it."

Bai Li Ce shook his head. Thinking about it was one thing, but he was mainly too hungry to have any appetite.

"I have something I want to tell you."

Wang Qingyan gave her a fresh spoonful of food, saying, "Eat first, then we'll talk."

"..." Things shouldn't happen more than three times.

If I don't eat now, I'll be being pretentious.

As he finished eating, Wang Qingyan grew closer and closer to her.

Once Baili Ce had finished eating, he even wanted to wipe her mouth.

"I'll do it myself!" Baili Ce quickly grabbed the handkerchief and vigorously rubbed it.

"You..." After rubbing her bowl, Wang Qingyan generously took the bowl and began to eat the remaining half of the food.

This... I can't help but think about it.

But Wang Qingyan ate without any hesitation and was very happy. "I was also hungry all day, please forgive me."

"Then why can't you prepare two bowls?"

Using something that someone else has used is so dirty.

If it were her, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

Baozi, who is a germaphobe, refuses to share tableware.

Even one's own parents are not allowed.

"No problem"

Completely clueless about what she was thinking, Wang Qingyan finished eating, cleaned up the table, and then returned to Baili Ce's room with a pot of hot drinks.

"You can ask now."

clam?

Bai Li Ce was stunned for a moment. What was she about to say?

Oh, right.

She wanted to ask, "Did you really send He Jinzhan and Zhou Tianben back to the capital?"

"Yes," he replied. "This was something they had agreed upon beforehand, so of course he would comply."

Bai Lize was still a little uneasy. "How did you get He Jinzhan to obey you?"

"He was just blinded by greed."

"But hasn't the private army already lost?"

He Jinzhan couldn't possibly keep such an important matter a secret.

Seeing that she had already drunk a glass of cold water, Wang Qingyan gently took the glass from her hand and replaced it with a hot drink.

"News has come from the capital that the entire court is now completely under He Shoufeng's control."

"Consort Xuan returned to the He family a few days ago to take care of her seriously ill mother."

"He Jinzhan's brothers also went to the capital one after another."

"If you were him, what would you do?"

"I can......"

Bai Li Ce suddenly understood, “Keep the matter of the private army being wiped out hidden.”

"Then rush back to seize the last chance to turn the tide, lest power fall into other hands after the deed is done."

Given He Shoufeng's personality, if he knew that He Jinzhan had wiped out the private army, he might just drag him out as a sacrifice.

"What a pity!"

Seeing the cunning in Wang Qingyan's eyes, her expression also became sly. "These messages are all false."

"Not really."

"At least, Consort Xuan did return to the He family."

"I really don't understand this."

No matter how incompetent He Shoufeng is, he can't be completely unprepared. "Isn't she afraid of a fight to the death?"

"Don't worry, it won't happen."

"Our empress is not that simple."

To be precise, in some ways, He Yao is very similar to him, and even more shrewd than Lu Jian.

How could someone like that easily put himself in danger?

It was just going with the flow.

“But if that’s the case… His Majesty will be under a lot of pressure.”

"Ok?"

Bai Lize, who wanted to drink cold water but was glared at by Wang Qingyan, could only take a small sip of the tea he was poured. "...Ginger and brown sugar black tea?"

"Um"

"how do you know......"

"..." The air fell silent.

As a writer once said, when things get awkward, you have to ramble on about random things.

"Would you like to take a walk in the yard?"

"I am a little sleepy."

They both spoke at the same time.

"It's definitely a bit early to go to bed now."

"Then you should rest first."

They answered in unison again.

"..." So both sides became very awkward.

However, the stalemate didn't last long before Baili Ce felt relieved. "The chill has just subsided, so it's good to go for a walk to digest our food."

A bright smile appeared on Wang Qingyan's lips. "Then thank you for your presence."

Compared to the colorful and vibrant gardens in Bailifu, the capital, Wang Qingyan's garden was as elegant as a hermit's abode.

Surrounded by green mountains, with the sound of waves crashing in the bamboo forest.

There was also the gentle murmur of flowing water and the soothing cry of cranes.

Walking on the bluestone path, you can still smell the faint fragrance of plum blossoms.

"Why is there the fragrance of plum blossoms at this time of year?"

"It's not Mei Xiang."

"what is that?"

"follow me"

......