Keep your voice down. Are you trying to look glamorous dressed as a forced lover?

Ji Mingzheng didn't actually want to compete fairly with Wen Sheng.

Because he knew that once the so-called competition began, even if it was fair, the loser would always get hurt and bleed.

Even if you win, you will still get hurt and bleed.

But he had no way out; he could no longer abandon His Highness, so he had no choice but to agree.

Only if she agrees will Wen Sheng continue to pursue happiness.

He changed the subject: "General Tang, what business does Your Highness have with you? Why are you here again?"

His tone was somewhat aggrieved: "Wen Sheng, you don't know, Consort Song actually asked me why General Tang still came to see Your Highness. He just wanted to know why I haven't suppressed Tang Fei yet, but Tang Fei is not so easily dealt with."

Tang Fei is not Shen Lue. His change in status has far-reaching consequences, and it is not so easy to resolve.

If things go wrong, it could not only affect the relationship between His Highness and Prince Heng, but could even impact the defense of the Northwest.

"It seems they're talking about the Heng Prince's residence. Lately, he's been using that as an excuse to see Your Highness."

Given Tang Fei's current status, marrying a noblewoman wouldn't be out of the question, but he's set his sights on Li Qingyan.

Because Li Qingyan had asked him to provide the latest information, he kept finding excuses to see Li Qingyan. He frequently went to the palace, and even if he didn't go to the palace on a particular day, he would still write letters and send gifts. Li Qingyan, who was sitting in the East Palace, was always able to get the latest gossip about the Heng Prince's Mansion.

For example, the fake heir actually laid a hand on Cai, the wet nurse, in order to stay in the Prince Heng's residence.

And when he laid a hand on Cai's wet nurse, he was "coincidentally" caught by her grandfather.

Tang Fei came to report in person, and when he talked about this matter, he couldn't hide the smile on his lips: "My grandfather doted on the fake prince the most, always saying that he was a little lucky star. He took him by his side since he was a child, and the fake prince did seem to have some good luck. So even though he knew that he was not his biological son, he couldn't bear to send him away."

"He was still arguing with his mother, wanting to send the fake prince away so he could go with her."

"My grandfather didn't like me because he fell and almost broke his leg the night I was recognized. He felt that I brought bad luck and disaster, and said he didn't want to acknowledge me and insisted on keeping the fake heir."

Li Qingyan clicked his tongue in amazement. This was a real-life version of the story of the real and fake princes—truly fascinating!

"My mother was a dutiful daughter and couldn't do anything about my grandfather, so she temporarily kept the fake prince and deliberately showed him the scene of the fake prince being silenced."

"My grandfather's expression at that time was incredibly interesting. He couldn't believe that the child he had loved and raised could be so cruel, such an ingrate, and he struggled with this."

"And then?"

As Li Qingyan pressed for answers, anxiety returned.

She destroyed two of the female protagonist's allies, and she also passed the fourth level. Qiu Nanzhu also said that the emperor was recovering well and might wake up at any time.

But the emperor just wouldn't wake up.

As the emperor's death date in the original book drew ever closer, she grew increasingly anxious. Tang Fei's story served as a moment of relaxation for her, a chance to shift her focus.

Tang Fei had already noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Hearing that Li Qingyan had been frequently staying by His Majesty's side lately, he guessed that Li Qingyan was trying to cheer her up because the emperor was anxious. He had completely forgotten about the idea that family scandals should not be aired in public, and even deliberately used an exaggerated tone to tell the story, just to make Li Qingyan a little happier.

"Then things got even more interesting. My grandfather hesitated for two days, thinking that he would continue to protect the fake heir for the sake of Fuqi."

"And guess what happened, Your Highness? The coachman by my grandfather's side secretly held a memorial service for Nurse Cai in the middle of the night, and even tried to poison the fake prince. After the incident, the coachman was arrested and interrogated. He was found out that the fake prince's so-called good fortune was actually all a scheme by Nurse Cai. The so-called little lucky star was just a bargaining chip that my grandfather valued."

"And the so-called bad luck I brought was nothing more than the wet nurse bribing the cleaning servant to deliberately smear oil on the steps."

"After catching the coachman, we also caught several people that the wet nurse had bribed and planted. Some of them even infiltrated the kitchen and found poisonous food in my mother's and my meals."

Li Qingyan's expression turned serious: "Have you seen a doctor?"

"I've seen it, Your Highness, there's no need to worry. However... the fake prince has run away, and Mother said she will apologize to Your Highness tomorrow."

"He ran away?" Li Qingyan was surprised. Hadn't they removed his protagonist aura? How could he still escape from the Prince Heng's mansion?

"My mother was also very surprised. She chased after him for two days, but the fake prince seemed to have vanished into thin air. The only thing she could find out was that he seemed to have escaped by hiding in a latrine."

Li Qingyan: "...The latrine, who helped him with that?"

That escape was quite something.

"They can't find anything, so Mother is now starting to suspect that Cai, the wet nurse, is not an ordinary spy."

Tang Fei glanced at Li Qingyan:

"My mother never expected it would lead to so many things. Yesterday she was laughing and saying, 'Luckily I'm not engaged and I never thought about getting engaged, otherwise I would have to check if the family I'm engaged to had also been infiltrated by spies.'"

Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow: "Indeed."

She knew that Tang Fei was making a statement.

Tang Fei was even willing to keep watch with Li Qingyan for the emperor, but this wish was not fulfilled, and Song Qinian and the others helped to send him out of the palace.

It was their unspoken agreement to send Tang Fei to Lingzhou as soon as he recovered from his injuries.

They were all on guard against Tang Fei, so Tang Fei didn't even leave any for himself. Li Qingyan's dinner was shared by Song Qinian, Wen Sheng, and Ji Mingzheng.

A dinner table for four is destined to be rife with undercurrents.

The war for Li Qingyan has already officially begun.

Unfortunately, Li Qingyan's attention was not on them, and she did not notice.

What she was thinking about was the message Sannoye had sent back: Sannoye had safely delivered the person to Prime Minister Wei.

And unlike what she worried about, she wasn't taken down by Qiu Nanxing or affected by her protagonist halo.

She even fulfilled her request by persuading Prime Minister Wei to come out of seclusion.

As for how he persuaded him, Sannoye didn't say, only that Prime Minister Wei agreed.

However, Li Qingyan received a letter of complaint from Prime Minister Wei, saying that Sangnuoye's way of persuading her was to just follow her around without saying anything else, as if he wouldn't leave until she agreed.

Although Sannoye is still quite sensible, Wei Xiang said that she can't sleep well now, and even when she needs to relieve herself, she is afraid that Sannoye will suddenly pop out from the roof.

Although it was impossible, Prime Minister Wei was still worried.

Finally, she went along with it and agreed.

He only instructed Li Qingyan: "Your Highness, I am getting old now and cannot be like I was when I was young. When you receive this letter, please tell your Consort Sang not to rush. I always feel that he is in a hurry and can't wait to fly back, as if there is something important waiting for him."

"If he really has important business, Your Highness can send someone else to escort me, and also have him leave behind some life-saving Gu worms."

Seeing that he could not win over Prime Minister Wei, the wise king decided that if he could not be used by him, he should get rid of him.

No matter how many people he sent or what kind of people he sent, they all returned empty-handed.

No one can kill Sannoye, which is why Li Qingyan sent him there – only he can protect him.

Wei Xiang's body couldn't withstand the exertion, and she only hoped that the Gu worms could protect her.

Wei Xiang's judgment of people was accurate, because when Sannoye's letter arrived, they had already set off, and Sannoye's letter said that he would bring Wei Xiang back to the capital soon.

Li Qingyan felt somewhat guilty after receiving the letter, because Sangnuoye had rushed back because of her.

Although Sannoh was far away, their connection remained.

He could sense it even in his dreams before, let alone later.

He was in such a hurry because she and Ji Mingzheng had previously passed the fourth hurdle.

Later, she also had some... stories with Song Qinian.

He sensed it all.

Although Sannoye didn't press for details, the letter she received accurately stated the time and asked if she was with Ji Mingzheng.

As for what would happen next, Song Qinian could probably guess it.

God knows how terrified Li Qingyan was when she received the letter.