If what Prince Ling said is false, and the Emperor were to grant Prince Cheng a fiefdom even more prosperous than Wangzhou, Prince Cheng would only be happy and would not refuse.

But King Cheng not only refused, he refused again and again.

King Cheng's unusual behavior suggests there might be a real problem with his fiefdom.

The matter of disaster relief was interrupted by the Emperor's intention to grant Prince Cheng a new fief. Just as they were about to resume, the Emperor suddenly changed the subject, "I heard that last night during the city patrol, the heir of the Marquis of Xuanping was injured by men in black and nearly lost his life?"

The officials in the city patrol office were of low rank, and none of them attended court.

Marquis Xuanping stepped forward and said, "My son was seriously injured last night. Fortunately, the heir of the Duke of Du gave him an antidote pill in time and sent him to the Ling Prince's residence to find Doctor Tao for treatment, which saved his life."

Yesterday, after leaving the Lingwang Mansion, Du Cheng'an patrolled to the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion at night. After hesitating for a long time, he still knocked on the door and told the gatekeeper of the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion about Lu Cheng's injury.

Although Du Cheng'an said there was no danger to his life, Lu Cheng was the only son of Marquis Xuanping. Even if he wouldn't be in danger in the future, he still was for now. Marquis Xuanping and his wife worried all night without sleeping. Before dawn, Marquis Xuanping went to the Ling Prince's residence to confirm that Lu Cheng was really not in danger before he could go to the palace for the morning court.

Marquis Xuanping thanked the eldest son-in-law in front of him. The eldest son-in-law had not expected his son to handle things so well, which made him, as a father, very proud.

The Emperor praised Du Cheng'an several times and wanted to reward him handsomely.

As Shen Wan got up to do her hair and makeup, she received news that the Emperor had changed the fiefdom of Prince Cheng. When Xie Jingyan returned to the room, Shen Wan asked, "Did the Emperor really change the fiefdom of Prince Cheng?"

Xie Jingyan said, "Don't be too happy too soon."

Shen Wan asked, puzzled, "Why?"

“The Prince of Cheng is unwilling and dares not change his fiefdom. He will definitely try to persuade the Emperor to change his mind,” Xie Jingyan said.

Shen Wan disagreed, saying, "The more Prince Cheng desires Wangzhou, the more suspicious Father Emperor will become."

“Father may be suspicious, but don’t forget about the Empress Dowager,” Xie Jingyan said.

"..."

How could she have forgotten the Empress Dowager...?

The Emperor was very filial to the Empress Dowager. When Prince Cheng asked the Empress Dowager to help him obtain Wangzhou, the Emperor would not disobey her without evidence.

However, the more Prince Cheng stirred things up, the faster the seed of doubt that Xie Jingyan had planted in the Emperor's heart took root and sprouted.

The maid brought the food into the room, and Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan sat down to eat breakfast.

Shen Wan asked Xie Jingyan, "Did the man in black go back to retrieve the token?"

Xie Jingyan put some food on Shen Wan's plate and said, "Chen Feng hasn't come back yet."

It's been a whole night, why haven't they come back yet?

Shen Wan was a little worried, but just then there was a knock on the window, and Chen Feng's voice came, "Master..."

"Come in."

Chen Feng jumped in through the window and stepped forward, saying, "Master, you guessed right. The man in black did indeed take a chance and went back to retrieve the token."

Last night, Xie Jingyan asked Chen Feng to put the token back, and Chen Feng did so. He then waited in the shadows for the man in black to return. After waiting for half an hour, when his patience was almost worn out, the man in black actually returned.

The man in black breathed a sigh of relief after finding the token where Du Cheng'an had picked it up, and then scaled the wall into the Prince Cheng's mansion.

After spending a quarter of an hour at the Prince Cheng's residence, I did not go to the temporary palace after leaving the residence, but instead went to the Wanxiang Pavilion in the capital.

Chen Feng only returned now because he wanted to see where the man in black would go after leaving Wanxiang Pavilion, but the man in black did not come out again. Thinking that Xie Jingyan would also be up by now, and afraid that he would be anxious, Chen Feng returned.

Xie Jingyan said, "The one that King Cheng colluded with should not be the Crown Prince of Xiliang."

Shen Wan agreed. If Prince Cheng and the Crown Prince of Xiliang were to collude, Empress Song wouldn't have to worry so much about Princess Shouchun and Princess Nanyi losing face in their competition. They wouldn't even be a match for each other, and the Crown Prince of Xiliang would certainly not allow Empress Song to have designs on his younger sister, Princess Nanyi. Empress Song also wouldn't push Princess Nanyi towards Xie Jingyan.

But who in Xiliang would be colluding with King Cheng?

In her previous life, Shen Wan hadn't even figured out the affairs of the Great Chu, so she knew little about the affairs of the Western Liang and Eastern Lie.

After dinner, Shen Wan planned to go to the Yun family to tell Old Master Yun and Old Madam Yun about Lu Cheng's injury, and to discuss the wedding arrangements. Lu Cheng's injuries were so severe that he might not recover enough in a few days to personally attend the wedding...

Xie Jingyan was going to accompany Shen Wan to the Yun family, but as soon as the two left Moyuxuan, a maid ran over and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you to the palace."