However, that doesn't matter. As long as she is Jiang Ying and Prince Yong's biological daughter, nothing else matters.

Judging from the facial features of the father and daughter, Zhao Shu inherited the best features of Prince Yong and Jiang Ying, and her temperament is very similar to Jiang Ying's. She is the biological daughter of Prince Yong and Jiang Ying.

It is absolutely confirmed.

"And then there's the Grand Marshal of the Army, appointed by the Emperor himself." Huo Baichuan said, taking a sip of tea, feeling a little uneasy. "I'm afraid he doesn't care about my elder sister's meddling."

"What are you saying?" Huo Danlan's face turned cold. "Always saying one thing and meaning another."

Huo Baichuan looked away uncomfortably, but Huo Danlan didn't dwell on the topic. "You mean Wei Tingsi?"

"Yes," Huo Baichuan replied.

"Hmph, the Emperor's temperament hasn't changed at all. You know the reputation of the Wei family's son. He must be out of the picture after the reduction of the princes' power. If A-Jun marries him, I'm afraid someone will have to risk their life to ensure the safety of the Yong Prince's mansion. If back then..." She stopped there.

However, Huo Baichuan suddenly looked up and asked, "Back then what?"

Huo Danlan seemed unwilling to speak, and she abruptly changed the subject, "What else do you men think about besides creating a prosperous era and leaving a lasting legacy?"

"..." Huo Baichuan was speechless.

"Ah Jun is not in the capital now. You must find a way to suppress the rumors outside. The gang can be eliminated, but we can't slaughter everyone in the capital." As if recalling something from the past, she left these words and hurriedly departed.

Huo Baichuan watched her leave, lost in thought. After a moment, he stood up, leaving the mansion without even taking his folding fan.

After leaving the Huo residence, he led Xiao Pang and Duo Zi all the way to the Xiao residence.

Jiu Niang was drying honeysuckle when she saw him hurry in. She put down her work and asked, "Why did you come here in this hot weather?"

"Where is the teacher?" Huo Baichuan was clearly in a hurry and didn't bother with pleasantries; even his usual carefree demeanor was gone.

Jiu Niang had known him for many years and knew him somewhat. She pointed to the waterside pavilion on the side path and said, "It's over there."

"Thank you." Huo Baichuan said his thanks and hurriedly crossed the path. In the distance, he saw Xiao Xingyuan playing chess against himself on the waterside pavilion.

"Teacher." He walked to Xiao Xingyuan's side and sat down naturally. Before he could speak, Xiao Xingyuan glanced at him and asked, "Is something on your mind?"

As expected of a teacher, he could tell at a glance that something was on his mind. Huo Baichuan didn't say much and went straight to the point: "Teacher, I promised to protect Prince Yong, but now it seems there is trouble."

"Isn't Prince Yong perfectly fine? What trouble could he be in?" Xiao Xingyuan frowned.

"Look," he said, handing the intelligence from below to Xiao Xingyuan. "Zhao Shu must have taken the wrong medicine." She clearly has no interest in sex, yet she accepted Wei Tingsi. It's truly baffling.

After reading the intelligence, Xiao Xingyuan tapped his hand on the table a few times. "The Emperor will definitely not allow any member of the imperial family to get too close to the Grand Marshal of the Army. If Prince Yong still had his old reputation, it wouldn't matter. But now he is a wise prince who is on behalf of the Emperor to inspect the country. The Emperor will not contradict himself, nor will he allow him any opportunity."

"Teacher, shouldn't the students slow down?"

Xiao Xingyuan understood his meaning: slow down the pace of reform and wait for Emperor Mingde to pass away and the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, then everything would be resolved.

But, as an emperor, who knows if the crown prince might change his mind?

Which emperor doesn't want to be a dictator? To put it bluntly, it's a matter of mutual benefit. Huo Baichuan wants to be remembered for generations and create a peaceful and prosperous era, while Emperor Mingde wants to concentrate imperial power and become a wise and benevolent ruler of a prosperous age.

"If you slow down, you may have to pay for it your whole life, but by reforming in the chaos, you can save a lot of time." Throughout history, there are too many examples of people who spend their whole lives reforming, only to fail at the last hurdle.

Huo Baichuan fell silent. In his life plan, he only intended to serve as an official in the imperial court for ten years. After ten years, he would either travel or go into seclusion. He didn't know, but it certainly wouldn't be in the imperial court.

Xiao Xingyuan knew his student's nature; he wasn't one to crave power. He sighed and sarcastically changed the subject: "I bet your elder sister is forcing you to suppress those rumors for the princess. Suppressing those rumors is easy; just find a man of high status and a good family to marry her. Why don't you spread the word that you won't marry anyone but her?"

"If anyone should be married, it should be Xian'er." Huo Baichuan was a little embarrassed and turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with Xiao Xingyuan.

Xiao Xingyuan laughed heartily at his expression, "If you can marry Xian'er, why are you so troubled? I'm just letting you make the announcement, not actually marrying him. Are you afraid of the Wei family boy? Do you think you can't beat him?"

This made Huo Baichuan feel that the story was meaningless. If Zhao Shuzhen truly loved Wei Tingsi, he would respect her greatly, but to say that he was afraid of Wei Tingsi would be going too far.

"Teacher, why do you have so little confidence in your students?"

Xiao Xingyuan chuckled, not answering, but instead asking him with a smile, "You weren't even a little bit moved by Zhao Shu? I thought you treated her differently. She wasn't afraid of you, dared to talk back to you, and didn't blush or feel her heart race when she saw you, right?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Baichuan wondered how much he had to want to be tortured. The other person clearly didn't care about him, yet he still ran into them. What kind of life-or-death despair would drive someone to do something so stupid?

"Do you know what Zhao Chonghou's strengths are?" he suddenly asked, seemingly unrelated.

What are the advantages of Prince Yong? Huo Baichuan thought for a moment and it seemed that apart from being good-looking and treating Zhao Shu very well, he had nothing else.

"Back then, Brother Jiang was incredibly confident, and so was Prince Yong. Brother Jiang's confidence was in his bones, something he was born with, while Prince Yong's confidence largely came from the late emperor's favor and the empress dowager's unprincipled indulgence. The two were actually mortal enemies from the beginning."

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