When the prince is reborn, he will only hit me if he doesn't hit the wall!

Xu Yuqiong's prediction was correct.

After Xu Baiyu came back from the "Female Criminal Department", he had been recuperating in Hanxing Courtyard. During this period, only the old lady came to visit him symbolically, said a few words of comfort and consolation, and never set foot there again.

Hanxing Courtyard seemed to have become the "dark place" of the Xu Mansion. Not to mention the master, even the maids and servants seemed unwilling to get involved in it.

Only Qiu Lian looked at her sick and lifeless master lying on the bed. If he was not still breathing weakly, sometimes she would have really suspected that she was just taking care of a corpse.

There were no large bloody wounds on Xu Baiyu's body, and even bruises were almost non-existent unless you looked closely. Only tiny scars could be seen in subtle and hidden places - needle marks, knife scratches, burn marks.

Fingertips, soles of feet, palms, elbows, roots of legs... The female punishment officer has always been in charge of punishing servants who have made mistakes in the palace. She has to ensure that they are punished to the utmost, but at the same time, there are no obvious external injuries that would be detrimental to the master's appearance.

After three days of punishment day and night, Xu Baiyu was exhausted and lost a lot of weight. Every time Qiu Lian wiped and applied medicine on her body, she couldn't help but wipe away tears when she saw the wounds on her body.

"Qiu Lian..." Xu Baiyu said weakly.

"I'm here, young lady." Qiu Lian hurried forward, stretched her neck and put her ear close to Xu Baiyu's cheek, trying her best to listen carefully to what she said: "Young lady, what do you want to say?"

Xu Baiyu turned around and faced her. His haggard and pale face was shriveled, and his eye sockets were slightly sunken. He spoke word by word with difficulty: "What is the situation outside Hanxing Courtyard now?"

Qiu Lian felt sorry for her young lady. Even in such a state, she was still worried about the situation outside. She wanted to comfort her, but she heard her say, "Don't lie to me. I want to hear the truth."

Qiu Lian choked up and could only say, "The master has not shown up or expressed his opinion since the young lady came back. Now the people in the Xu Mansion, whether masters or servants, are all changing their attitudes according to the situation and avoiding our Hanxing Courtyard. In the future, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."

Xu Baiyu lay on his back, staring quietly at the ceiling of the ebony bed, not knowing whether he felt indifference or hopelessness, and he was in a daze for a long time.

"Miss, what should we do now? I'm afraid we won't have a good life in the future. Now that things are like this, I'm afraid there is no hope for Prince Qi."

Xu Baiyu laughed at himself and said "huh". It was not until this moment that he realized what position he held in Prince Qi's heart.

I thought that even if I was just a pawn, at least I had had many sexual experiences with him, and I was truly his. Compared with Xu Mingxi, there would be some differences between me and her.

However, she waited in the Female Criminal Department from hope to despair, only to find out that she was wrong. This matter even alarmed the Queen Mother. With so many spies in the palace, it would be impossible for her not to hear the news that she was imprisoned. The only possibility was that she turned a deaf ear and turned a blind eye - she was abandoned.

Perhaps she should have understood it earlier. She should have thought of it as early as when she was stopped at the gate of Prince Qi's mansion!

In his eyes, there is no difference between her and Xu Mingxi!

"Prince Qi, I can't count on you anymore—"

Qiu Lian begged, "Miss, please stop. Let's leave here. The Xu Mansion is not a good place to stay. We will only suffer if we stay here."

"Leave? Where to go? Mother's revenge has not yet been avenged, and you want me to leave here and watch the people in the Xu Mansion enjoy themselves in peace? Watch Yang Shi enjoy her endless glory while stepping on mother's corpse? I can't do it!"

"Besides, guess how Daddy will handle this matter given his temper!"

Even though he was weak, Xu Baiyu couldn't help but scream at the mention of Rong's. His dry voice was full of tears: "Qiu Lian, as long as I have a breath left, I will never give up revenge."

Ignoring the piercing pain in his fingertips, Xu Baiyu tightly grasped the quilt with both hands. Suddenly he thought of something, and a grim smile appeared at the corners of his eyes and lips: "Qiu Lian, we still have a chance."

Qiu Lian was frightened by her ferocious expression, and asked her with her neck shrank: "Miss, what opportunity are you talking about?"

"It is a secret left by my mother. I heard that Xu Xinyue is now Princess Rong."

Qiu Lian was shocked by her shocking words: "Miss, you wouldn't..."

"I will fight to the death with Yang and Xu Mingxi. Even if I die, I will take someone with me!"

A cold wind suddenly blew, the clouds hung low, and a few white spots began to appear in the sky.

"Oh, my brother, it looks like it's going to snow again. It was so sunny this morning, but now the weather has changed so suddenly."

Qin Chuanji held the hot tea, glanced at the sky outside, and sighed casually.

Qin Yuechuan paused while flipping through the memorials, then glanced outside and frowned slightly: "Qingyang, is the princess back at this hour?"

Qingyang said: "Not yet, my lord, do you need me to go and ask the princess to return to the palace?"

Qin Yuechuan thought for a moment and said, "It's probably in the bookstore. Go take a look and take the crane cloak I made the day before yesterday."

Qingyang responded and left the study, and Qin Yuechuan continued to read the official business at hand.

Qin Chuanji said "tsk tsk" when he saw him like this: "You really treasure this princess. Look at me, my tea has gone cold several times in one day, but you didn't even show any concern. I had to ask someone to change it myself."

Your princess is wandering around somewhere, eating lunch and having a nightcap, but you never miss a thing. If you were to ask me, since you are a princess, you should stay in the palace and take good care of yourself, and give birth to a little prince for you as soon as possible."

Qin Yuechuan didn't even raise his head, and said calmly: "Yueyue is not strolling around, she has her own things to do. The title of princess is just a title of protection for her, not to imprison her in these chains."

"If your princess is still not at home all day after you get married, I wonder if you can still keep your composure. I see that you are very happy with her. I see that her behavior in the palace is indeed attractive. Why don't you keep her by your side and take good care of her?"

Qin Chuanji teased with a playful smile.

Qin Yuechuan finally stopped writing and looked up at him: "I only hope that when she is in Prince Rong's Mansion and by my side, it can be regarded as a nest that can shelter her from the wind and rain, rather than a cage that cuts off her wings and restricts her freedom."

"Are you so confident in her? Aren't you worried that she might be seduced away by someone else?" Qin Chuanji was puzzled. When had his royal brother become so broad-minded and generous? With his style of doing things that required him to have control over the overall situation, how could he say such a thing?

"Too much is as bad as too little. Yueyue is not a concubine or a bird."

"Imprisonment will probably only make her more tired of the palace and tired of me. If she wants to leave one day, it can only mean that I haven't done a good enough job."

Qin Yuechuan lowered his eyes. It would be a lie to say that he had never had any desire to possess Xu Xinyue.

In his heart, he naturally longed to occupy a larger and larger place in her heart, even to fill her heart and eyes with him and make her unable to leave him.

However, compared to possession, he was more afraid of the alienation she would feel due to his own selfish thoughts.

The distance of their hearts was what frightened him more than not being able to see each other.

"You came here today just to tell me this?"

"Not really. Although my father has not attended court meetings in recent days due to illness, he has secretly made many changes to the ministers. Even Qin Jizhao and Qin Xingyue, who are rarely used in normal times, and my eldest brother, who has been weak for many years, have been entrusted with important tasks.

Because of my father's secret actions, it seems normal, but I always feel that there is a trend of re-arrangement..."

"If my guess is correct, Father's move is probably to gradually dissipate the power in Qin Zhaolie's hands. However, since he was once a highly anticipated candidate for the crown prince, and currently there are quite a few followers who have surrendered to Qin Zhaolie, the impact on him should not be too great at the moment."

Qin Chuanji agreed: "Father probably wants to take it slow. Now that the situation is set, I don't know if it's too late. If he is in good health, there is some hope. But, is Father's current physical condition really just a common recurrence of an old illness as rumored by the outside world?"

The one who treated the emperor was Xu Xinyue, and it was also Xu Xinyue who had been waiting here from morning till night for Qin Chuanji. She was the only one who had taken the emperor's pulse and examined him, so no one knew the emperor's real condition better than her.

"So, when will your princess return home?"

Qin Chuanji was a little impatient. He really wanted to know the truth about the emperor's health.

"It's not too late for Father's health. It shouldn't be irreversible yet."

"I need to hear these words from your princess in person before I can feel at ease."

Qin Yuechuan: “…………”

Just as Qin Yuechuan said, Xu Xinyue was indeed looking through the recent income and expenditure accounts at Yangchun Bookstore.

The amount was huge and the types were numerous, so the verification workload was much greater than usual. Even with the help of Shopkeeper Wang, the review lasted from day to evening.

"Boss, this move is indeed effective. Since we won the order from Yujin Academy, many academies have come to our bookstore to inquire about prices, and we have also accepted orders from many small academies.

And, and..."

Xu Xinyue glanced through the pages of accounts, and said, "It sounds like things are going well. Why is Shopkeeper Wang hesitating? If you have something to say, just speak frankly."

"It's like this. There are a few bookstore owners who didn't participate in our plan at first, but they heard the news from somewhere and wanted to join our plan like other bookstore owners. What do you think..."

Shopkeeper Wang hesitated because he saw that these bookstore owners were just waiting to see what happened. He heard that Yangchun Bookstore was willing to advance the silver cost on his behalf, and at the same time, he did not need to pay a commission on the money earned, but only needed to return the principal.

It could be considered cooperation, but it was more of a desire to get a piece of the pie for free and take advantage. He was unsure about the matter, so he had to seek Xu Xinyue's advice.

Xu Xinyue listened to Manager Wang's explanation of the whole story, then stopped what she was doing, and muttered while thinking: "So, they saw that our plan was quite effective, and they also want to get involved?"

"That's right, Boss. However, if you participate now, you are obviously thinking of taking advantage. The current situation is not as serious as it was at the beginning. It's not right to agree, but there is no suitable reason to disagree. After all, you are here to seek cooperation..."

Xu Xinyue raised her right index finger and put it against her lips. After a moment, she looked up at Shopkeeper Wang and said decisively, "I agree. The more bookstores get involved, the more effective it will be—"

"But, they! Clearly have ulterior motives."

Xu Xinyue raised her hand to interrupt Shopkeeper Wang: "Listen to me, if you want to, you can. If they participate now, I can still help them advance the cost, but I will take 20% of their commission... No, just 10%. You go and tell them, if they are still willing, then we will sign a written agreement and let them participate."

When Shopkeeper Wang heard this, he thought it was a good idea. He said "yes" a few times and was about to leave.

"If they have any questions, let them come to me." Xu Xinyue added, then buried his head in the account book again and continued the work that had just been interrupted.

Less than half an hour later, there was a commotion at the door of Yangchun Bookstore, and Manager Wang quickly got up and went to check.

Less than half an hour later, he ran back to Xu Xinyue, panting and saying, "Boss, those bookstore owners are here with a big crowd. I'm afraid they are here to cause trouble, but with such a big commotion, what do you think we should do?"

Xu Xinyue put down his pen, said a few words to comfort Shopkeeper Wang, and asked him to invite the bookstore owners to the front hall for the meeting.

"Boss, they are all rough men. You are a girl. Even if they don't know you are a girl, you will be at a disadvantage because you are young."

"Manager Wang, you don't have to worry. I won't suffer any loss. Even if there is a fight, I have helpers by my side. It's just that you can't see them." The one who said this was Xuan Yi.

Shopkeeper Wang was skeptical and still uneasy, so he insisted on going with her.

In the meeting hall, several bookstore owners were about to stand up to greet him, but when they saw Xu Xinyue's delicate and tender face, and saw that she did not look very old, they immediately felt relieved.

The raised buttocks fell back onto the chair. One of the shopkeepers placed his hands on the armrests of the official hat chair and raised his left leg to his right leg. He said arrogantly, "We are here to seek cooperation and help the young master."

Looking at his attitude, if you didn’t know, you would think he was here to do you a favor.

Xu Xinyue sat down in the official hat chair as if nothing had happened, and said in a gentle voice: "Shopkeeper, if you want to participate in the cooperation, we are happy to do so. I believe Shopkeeper Wang has already told you the conditions. Do you have any questions?"

The tone was gentle, without any impatience.

"We are also cooperating, but I heard that the young boss didn't charge any commission from the shopkeepers. How come he did so because he saw that they had more people and were more powerful, and he tried to curry favor with them, and because he saw that we were fewer and weaker, he took the opportunity to cheat us and make money?"

The tone was sharp and the words were harsh, and it was obvious that he was looking for trouble and forcing cooperation.

"I thought your bookstore was an honest one, but I didn't expect you to favor people over others and flatter the powerful and bully the weak. If this gets out..."

The threat was obvious before he finished speaking. If Xu Xinyue could not give them the same convenience as the previous bookstore owner, he would spread the matter.

"We barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Our bookstore will end up dead anyway. It would be a shame if your plan fails one day."

Shopkeeper Wang was so angry that his teeth itched. They were colleagues who should have shared the same hatred and enemies, but in order to gain a little advantage, he actually threatened to go against them. His conscience was really eaten by a dog! !

"Don't go too far! What good will it do you if this fails?" Shopkeeper Wang pointed at the man who made the noise and yelled, "As a fellow bookstore owner, don't you feel ashamed?!"

"We are all going to die, and the defeat will not benefit us or you. Our demands are not high, we just want the same treatment as the previous shopkeeper, that's all. What do you think? Little boss, you won't suffer any loss, so consider it?"