The Emperor had summoned Prince Zhao to appease him. After all, the Xiliang people had nearly crippled him, so it was impossible for him not to harbor some resentment.

Hearing Prince Zhao’s words now, the Emperor felt both relieved and guilty.

"You hold a rather important position in the minds of the Xiliang people. Only you can intimidate them, so I have no choice but to send you."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Your humble servant thought I would be a cripple for the rest of my life. I never expected to have the chance to serve Your Majesty again. It is my honor."

The more he spoke like this, the more the Emperor felt he owed him.

The Emperor said, "When you return, I will reward you handsomely."

He had Prince Zhao stay for lunch in the Imperial Palace before allowing him to leave.

Before he left, the Emperor did not forget to remind Prince Zhao of one thing.

"No matter what the Xiliang people think in private, we must at least appear friendly on the surface." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Li Ji understood. The Emperor was afraid that he would deliberately give the Xiliang Delegation a hard time during their interactions.

After all, he was famous for his bad temper. He could turn hostile in an instant and wouldn’t give anyone face.

If he truly offended the Xiliang Delegation too badly, it would be detrimental to the diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Li Ji said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. Your humble servant knows what’s at stake."

He walked out of Hanzhang Hall, and a guard immediately led a horse forward.

Li Ji mounted the horse and headed toward the palace gates.

On the way, he ran into the Fifth Prince, Li Yan.

Seeing Li Yan’s fake smile, Li Ji knew the man was waiting here for him on purpose.

Li Ji slowed down but did not dismount.

He looked down at Li Yan from his high perch on the horse.

"Fifth Prince, what are you doing here?"

Li Yan said sarcastically, "This is the Imperial Palace. It’s my home. Where else would I be?"

Li Ji raised an eyebrow. "You seem quite angry, Fifth Prince. Who was unlucky enough to provoke you?"

Li Yan seethed.

’I’m the unlucky one!’

’I’m clearly Father Emperor’s son, yet he dotes on an outsider like Prince Zhao, thinking of him for any good opportunity.’

’It’s so unfair!’

Li Yan took a step forward, pretending to stroke the horse’s coat, and hissed in a low, vicious voice.

"Don’t get cocky. Just because Father Emperor is letting you greet the Xiliang Delegation doesn’t mean he’s going to place you in an important position again. You’re doomed to be nothing more than an idle prince for the rest of your life!"

The fact that Prince Zhao’s military authority had been stripped the moment he returned to the capital showed that the Emperor would never give him a chance to reclaim it.

He was doomed to remain this way for the rest of his life.

Any man worth his salt was bound to have ambition.

Li Yan thought his words would surely hit Prince Zhao’s sore spot.

He was already prepared for Prince Zhao to fly into a rage out of humiliation.

However, Prince Zhao burst out laughing. His laughter was clear and bright, sounding genuinely cheerful.

"So, after all that, it turns out you’re just green with envy over the matter of receiving the Xiliang Delegation, Fifth Prince."

"But rest assured, Fifth Prince. The sour grapes you can’t reach, this prince finds quite sweet."

Li Yan’s expression instantly turned ugly.

But Li Ji gave him no chance to retort. He flicked his horsewhip and galloped away, leaving a trail of dust.

He left Li Yan with nothing but the sight of his dashing, departing figure.

Li Yan was so furious his eyes turned red.

...

Early the next morning, Li Ji and Li Hao led their party and set off.

Before leaving, he deliberately took a silk handkerchief from Hua Manman, planning to take it out to touch and look at whenever he missed her.

In exchange, he stuffed his own green sachet into Hua Manman’s hand.

"If you miss me, look at this sachet."

Hua Manman didn’t really want the sachet.

Back when she first made it, she had thought the sachet was quite pretty.

But now that the scoundrel was giving it to her, she suddenly felt it was truly ugly.

’As expected, this sachet only looks right hanging off that scoundrel.’

Li Ji heard her inner thoughts and let out an exasperated laugh.

"This sachet is only in your care temporarily, I’m not giving it to you! Keep it safe for me. If you dare lose it, just you wait and see how I’ll deal with you when I get back!"

Hua Manman grumbled under her breath, "It’s just a sachet. Look how worked up you are."

Despite her words, she carefully put the sachet away.

After seeing Prince Zhao off, Hua Manman suddenly felt the entire Prince Zhao Mansion had become empty. Even when eating delicious food, she felt it lacked some flavor.

Feihua Zhenren noticed her lack of appetite and said with a wide smile.

"The Princess Consort is lovesick."

Hua Manman mumbled, "You’re a Daoist. What would you know about lovesickness?"

Feihua Zhenren replied, "This humble Daoist is getting on in years. Even if I haven’t personally experienced lovesickness, I’ve seen plenty of people who have. And with how distracted you look, you have all the symptoms."

Hua Manman picked up a piece of fried chicken and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You should eat more and talk less, old man."

Staying at home was too boring, so Hua Manman decided to visit Princess Anshun with Feihua Zhenren.

Princess Anshun was already three months pregnant. She looked a little plumper than before, but her belly still showed no curve.

She was delighted to see Princess Consort Zhao and Feihua Zhenren and immediately ordered someone to set up a table under the corridor.

They drank tea while admiring the snow, a truly pleasant and comfortable scene.

However, Lin Qingzhi was extremely worried.

She had previously boasted to the Fourth Prince that Princess Anshun’s baby would surely be gone within a month.

Yet two months had now passed, and Princess Anshun and the baby in her womb were still perfectly fine, with nothing wrong at all.

This was far beyond Lin Qingzhi’s expectations, leaving her extremely anxious.

She paced back and forth in her room, muttering to herself.

"How could this be? It wasn’t like this in my past life. Princess Anshun’s baby was supposed to be lost..."

A maidservant walked in quickly and said anxiously.

"Concubine, the Crown Princess Consort has sent someone to rush us again. We need to pack our luggage quickly. We have to go to the nunnery with the others by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

The Emperor had already issued a decree that all of the former Crown Prince’s concubines, except for the Crown Princess Consort, were to be sent to a nunnery to have their heads shaved and practice monasticism.

The Crown Princess Consort came from a prestigious family and had her maternal clan to rely on. Even if she couldn’t remarry in the future, she could at least live a life free from worries about food and clothing.

But it was different for concubines like Lin Qingzhi.

Without the Crown Prince, they were like rootless duckweed, with no place to land.

Lin Qingzhi refused to accept her fate.

She had finally been reborn after so much difficulty; she wasn’t willing to admit defeat just like that.

Lin Qingzhi squeezed the sachet hidden in her sleeve and gritted her teeth.

’It seems I have no choice but to burn my bridges!’

She had someone send another message to the Fourth Prince, expressing her wish to meet him as soon as possible.

However, when she rushed to the Yu Yang Restaurant, she did not see the Fourth Prince.

The person who came to meet her was Liang Yong.

Liang Yong bowed with a broad smile. "Concubine, our Fourth Prince has been a bit busy lately and doesn’t have time to see you. If you have something to say, just tell this servant. I can relay the message for you."

How could Lin Qingzhi not see through such a perfunctory excuse?

Her heart instantly sank to the depths.

’Is the Fourth Prince planning to abandon me?’