Xie Rang's pupils dilated, and his gaze trembled.

In an instant, the way he looked at Yun Qing changed.

He never expected that his outburst would uncover the Grand Tutor's secret.

And now, something that was never expected has come to pass.

No wonder the Grand Tutor was so friendly to Tan Zaiheng, no wonder the Grand Tutor never let anyone get close to him easily; all of this seems to make sense now.

It seems that the Grand Tutor was indeed not interested in the Loulan princess, but the answer obtained in this way inevitably left Xie Rang with mixed feelings.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Yun Qing waited for a long time but Xie Rang did not reply. Instead, the look in his eyes became more and more strange. Even if she was slow to notice, she should have realized that something was wrong by now.

"No, no!"

Xie Rang was abruptly pulled from his thoughts, but he couldn't express the feeling. He guiltily looked away and replied repeatedly, "I believe the Grand Tutor!"

Something still doesn't seem right... but I probably won't get any information from you, so never mind.

To some extent, Xie Rang felt that the Grand Tutor's intuition was terrifyingly accurate, but fortunately the Grand Tutor knew him well enough not to press him further at this time, otherwise he wouldn't know how to make up a story!

The envoy delegation could not leave the palace after the gates were locked, so they all stayed in the palace that night. Lin Chen mobilized the Imperial Guards to enforce martial law, so they probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Yun Qing naturally stayed overnight in the palace.

The little tyrant was quite happy, but Yun Qing wasn't so.

There's no other reason than that she never slept well in the palace. After all, her disguise as a man was a minefield, and who knew when she would be stepped on? It was much safer to stay in the Li family mansion, where everyone was on her side.

Upon entering the room, Yun Qing's initially cheerful gaze darkened. Qing Que knelt on one knee before her: "Young Master, I have discovered that the envoys from those two countries are indeed in contact with Duke Liang Zhi."

Later generations have conducted detailed analyses of this banquet, concluding that neither of these two small countries was strong in any way and would not have provoked the other without cause; there must have been someone behind it.

However, historical records on this matter are vague and lack concrete evidence. Despite numerous speculations, no definitive conclusion has been reached.

Yun Qing had thought of this, so she had someone keep an eye on them beforehand, and sure enough, she found some clues.

In comparison, who would be less reluctant to see the young emperor grow up? Only Duke Zhi of Liang.

His power originated from the previous emperor, and once the new emperor takes power, he will be the first to be targeted. The Prince of Pingjiang and Xie Rang are practically family, so there is no need for the other party to undermine the emperor's prestige at this time.

"He's trying to hand the knife to me himself."

Yun Qing smiled.

Since ancient times, it has been a major taboo for officials to privately associate with envoys of other countries. A single sentence could easily be used to accuse them of treason. It is clear that Duke Zhi of Liang was really desperate, as he could even come up with such a method.

Qingque seemed to sense something: "What does the young master intend to do?"

Yun Qing raised an eyebrow: "Of course, we should give the evidence to the Prince of Pingjiang, and then put on a big show with him."

Since he can't wait, let's send him to hell ahead of time.

-

The envoys stayed at the palace for three days, after which there was ice skating to watch, which was considered one of the unique features of Dae Hee.

Qingque had already sent out the message, but had not received a reply. Since there was still time, Yunqing was not in a hurry and even had the leisure to appreciate the plum blossoms in the garden.

During this period of rest, Xie Rang, as the emperor, still had memorials to deal with. He could only watch Yun Qing leave with resentment in his eyes as he looked at the memorials.

Shunfeng chuckled to himself.

There's always someone better, and the Grand Tutor knows how to govern His Majesty.

As Yun Qing emerged, the cold wind cleared her head, and she sighed inwardly that she had come here to suffer. Turning around to find a sheltered place, she saw Princess Loulan running towards her.

"Lord Li, wait!"

Yi Guang witnessed Yun Qing's true colors yesterday, and spent the whole night feeling uneasy. She was still feeling dejected and decided to find a time to apologize.

Loulan had no intention of antagonizing Da Xi. Although she initially harbored some unspeakable thoughts when she arrived, they all vanished by chance.

"I apologize, Lord Li. I did not mean to offend you at the teahouse that day. I hope you will forgive me."

As soon as Yi Guang stopped, she began to apologize. The maid beside her had also been running too fast and hadn't even caught her breath yet. Upon hearing this, she quickly lowered her head.

Yun Qing hadn't expected her to come looking for her; the princess had a rather straightforward personality.

"It's alright, I didn't take it to heart, and the princess doesn't need to worry."

Yun Qing's attitude towards the lovely girl was very good, which, in Yi Guang's eyes, was the demeanor of a gentle and refined young master.

Yi Guang instantly relaxed. After realizing that Yun Qing didn't hold grudges, she boldly took a few steps closer to Yun Qing: "Lord Li's personality is exactly the same as the legend! It's just that Yi Guang is narrow-minded and judging others by herself."

As she spoke, Yi Guang felt a little ashamed. She felt that her previous thoughts were completely unfounded and were an insult to Lord Li's character.

“Princess, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself.” Yun Qing guessed that she must have frightened the person at the banquet last night, and chuckled, “Life is full of unexpected events. At that time, neither of us knew the other’s identity, so there’s nothing to hold a grudge about.”

After explaining, Yun Qing felt that there were too many people and too many eyes in the palace, and it was not appropriate for her to continue to stay with Yi Guang, so she politely took her leave: "I still have to go to teach His Majesty. The plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. Princess, please enjoy them at your leisure."

Yi Guang nodded: "Yes, sir, please take care."

Yun Qing's frank words made Yi Guang think more highly of him. Suddenly, he felt that some of what he said was unbelievable. The Central Plains was full of cunning people, but there were clearly also people as honest and unpretentious as Grand Tutor Li.

“What a pity,” Yi Guang sighed, “If only Lord Li were a Loulan native…”

That way I can see it every day.

...

Yun Qing walked through the corridor with her hands in her pockets, and as expected, she saw Xie Rang, who had quickly finished processing the memorials and come out to find her.

Yun Qing asked, "Did you see everything?"

Xie Rang was no longer worried this time. Although it felt a little awkward, he was more at ease: "The Grand Tutor talked with her for a long time."

"She's here to apologize," Yun Qing said. "I didn't take it to heart at first, but His Majesty scared her last night."

[No wonder my gaze seemed off; I was looking at the Loulan princess! Honestly.]

Connecting the causes and consequences, Yunqing had already figured out the key point.

Now it seems that it wasn't her who scared people, it was this little brat who was scary.

Xie Rang immediately chuckled awkwardly, "Grand Tutor, you are so magnanimous... I won't do it again next time."

"I hope Your Majesty will keep your word." Yun Qing handled the matter lightly, not dwelling on it, and instead asked, "What has Your Majesty thought about what I mentioned this morning?"