When his son was mentioned, Wang Nian's eyes finally took on a more worldly quality.

"You came for him? Did something happen to him? Or did he do something wrong? He's still a child, I used to spoil him, but he's not a bad person at heart..."

Wangnian spoke with an earnest tone.

Song Xibai shook her head: "He's fine, I was just asking."

The delusional thought breathed a sigh of relief.

"His Majesty is lenient, which is why he hasn't punished my son and me. Yuan Qian has become much more sensible and won't be like he used to be. If he makes a mistake, it must be because someone instigated it!"

Song Xibai was deeply moved upon hearing this.

Sure enough, in a mother's eyes, her own children never make mistakes; if they do, it's someone else's fault.

Song Xibai had serious doubts: did she really understand her son?

However, Song Xibai still didn't ask.

She sat for only a short while and did not glean anything from delusions.

Upon checking the time, it was already close to noon, so Song Xibai immediately got up to take his leave.

Delusion sent her out.

Upon reaching the gate, Song Xibai was about to board the carriage when she suddenly saw a carriage approaching from a distance.

A thought struck her, and she remained standing still.

The carriage quickly arrived at the gate of the temple. The curtain was lifted, revealing a familiar face.

Wang Nian looked at his son with some surprise.

Why did you come here today?

Yuan Qian jumped off the carriage, called out "Mother," and then turned to Song Xibai, bowing respectfully.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Song Xibai raised an eyebrow, revealing a half-smile.

What a coincidence!

Yuan Qian felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

Wang Nian glanced at his son, then at Song Xibai, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, understanding why Song Xibai had suddenly come today.

It turns out it was because of the son!

If Yuan Qian weren't still so young and hadn't yet come to his senses, she would almost suspect that her son had some special feelings for Song Xibai.

Wang Nian's expression darkened, and he rebuked Yuan Qian.

Why aren't you staying home? What are you doing running around?

Yuan Qian was rarely scolded by his mother like this, and he felt a little wronged, but he still explained.

"I missed you, so I came to visit, and by the way..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was swiftly interrupted by his delusions.

"What are you looking at me for? I am no longer a person of this world, I am no longer the person I used to be. You shouldn't call me mother! Even if I were before, I wouldn't be your mother! Enough, there's no point in saying more, go back now!"

Her tone was very harsh.

But Song Xibai could tell that she was doing this on purpose, that she wanted to drive Yuan Qian away.

That's interesting.

Yuan Qian deliberately sent me lotus pods to lure me here, and his coming here clearly indicates that he wants to talk to me privately about something.

But this is something that delusions are unaware of.

The mother and son had different ideas.

Song Xibai stood to the side, arms crossed, watching the play with leisure.

Yuan Qian opened his mouth and called out softly, "Master..."

His expression and tone suggested he was about to cry.

Wang Nian pursed his lips, clenched his fists and then relaxed them, finally taking a deep breath.

"I have things to do, so I won't keep you any longer. You should go back now!"

She paused for a moment, then bowed slightly to Song Xibai.

"I would like to trouble Your Majesty to see him off for me."

Song Xibai understood.

A mother will always side with her son. This is helping Yuanqian!

She nodded slightly and spoke to Yuan Qian.

"Since the Empress Dowager is here as well, why don't we go to the estate first to pay our respects to her before we leave?"

Yuan Qian breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Song Xibai then boarded his carriage, gave an order to Commander Yue, and set off towards the manor.

Yuan Qian's carriage followed closely behind.

Once they arrived at the estate, Commander Yue searched Yuan Qian thoroughly before letting him in.

Yuan Qian seemed to be used to it and showed no sign of humiliation.

Witnessing this scene, Song Xibai realized that Yuan Qian was different; he was no longer the Eighth Prince he once was.

She took Yuan Qian to a side hall in the front courtyard of the manor, ordered the servants to make tea, leaving only Wei Hong by her side, and then spoke calmly.

"Speak! What do you want to say, that you've gone to such lengths to see me?"

Yuan Qian glanced outside a few times, but didn't speak immediately, his expression filled with indescribable entanglement.

Song Xibai waited patiently.

After half an incense stick had burned, Yuan Qian finally spoke in a low voice.

“I did not mean to disturb Your Majesty, but His Majesty is usually in the palace, and it is too difficult for me to see him. Moreover, I have no reliable people by my side... After thinking it over, I can only resort to this method. I hope Your Majesty will understand.”

He was humble, first explaining why he did it, and then raised his head.

"I...received a strange letter a few days ago."

Song Xibai gestured for him to continue.

"The letter suddenly appeared on my pillow when I woke up this morning; it wasn't there the night before! I was very scared at the time, feeling that the people in the manor were unreliable, and I didn't dare to say anything."

Yuan Qian spoke haltingly.

Song Xibai frowned slightly.

The people in Yuan Qian's residence were all arranged by Yuan Shen. The personal servants and gatekeepers were all spies trained by the original secret guards.

To be able to slip a letter into Yuan Qian's bedside undetected by these people, the person behind it must either be incredibly powerful, or... someone in the house must have been bribed.

"What did the letter say?"

Song Xibai pulled himself out of his thoughts and asked a question.

"The letter contained some ambiguous words, intended to sow discord and incite my hatred towards His Majesty. I was terrified after reading it and dared not keep it, so I burned it," Yuan Qian continued. "After that, I couldn't sleep every night. The thought of someone watching me terrified me, and I worried that they would come looking for me again. I wanted to tell His Majesty about this, but I couldn't see him. As for my other brothers... the princes, they didn't believe me either."

That's true. King Wu and the others loathe Yuan Qian, especially King Qin. After learning that the emperor was a fake, he was filled with resentment and felt that his broken leg was caused by the fake emperor, so he took his anger out on Yuan Qian.

Song Xibai touched his chin.

"Alright, I will pass this on to His Majesty, but how His Majesty handles it is not up to me. Since the letter has been burned, just pretend you don't know anything about it, and continue with your usual routine."

Yuan Qian still felt insecure after hearing this.

"What if those people come looking for me again? I don't want to get involved in these things anymore. I just want to live a peaceful life and see my mother occasionally. That's enough for me."

Yuan Qian looked pleading.

"I beg Your Majesty for help!"

As he spoke, he stood up, knelt down, and kowtowed to Song Xibai.

Please!

Looking at him like this, Song Xibai felt a bit conflicted.

But she quickly composed herself and lowered her head to think.

Who would approach Yuan Qian?