"Waaaaah—" The little dumpling kicked its limbs, "Sister, let me go! I don't want sister to take care of me..."

Su Youran placed the little dumpling in Su Shi's arms, "Tell me, what did you come here to find me for?"

"Waaah, I didn't come to find my sister, I came to find my mother!" the little dumpling cried. "But as soon as I entered the house, I heard some terrible news..."

Su Youran pinched his ear, "My not getting married is a disaster for you?!"

"Waaah..." The little dumpling cried even harder, "This is terrible news!"

"Hey!" Su Youran grabbed him and pulled him onto her lap, then started spanking his little bottom. "You've really gone wild since I haven't disciplined you for three days!"

"Mother...ah..." the little dumpling cried out hoarsely, "Mother, please marry my sister off quickly! The farther the better!"

All of Su's worries vanished amidst the playful bickering of the two siblings.

Chu Heng, who was on the roof, got up, sighed inwardly, spread his wings, and disappeared into the night sky like a ghost.

He returned to the East Palace, and as soon as he entered the sleeping quarters, he immediately smelled a strange fragrance.

His face turned cold, and with a wave of his hand, a bodyguard appeared silently. "Has anyone been here?"

The guard replied in a low voice, "Your Highness, it is Princess Nan Yue. The Empress sent a matron to Chen'an Palace, where she is resting, this afternoon."

He sneered, "If that's the case, then throw her into the Third Prince's residence!"

"yes!"

Just as the guard was about to go in, Chu Heng called out to him again, "Wait."

"I suppose my good mother has prepared a grand show?"

The guard bowed and said, "There's a young eunuch sent by the Empress Dowager watching from afar outside the East Palace."

Once the incident is exposed and publicized, people from all sides will quickly return to report.

Chu Heng thought for a moment. The Third Prince's residence was outside the palace. If the incident happened outside the palace, all the masters in the palace would be waiting in vain.

Besides, Tazara is, after all, a princess of Nanyue, so he couldn't go too far.

So he ordered, "Why don't we arrest that little eunuch too, and throw him into the Empress's bedchamber!"

She dared to scheme against him; she should just taste the bitter fruit herself.

If the matter were to come to light, and the eunuch and the princess were to appear in the empress's bed at the same time, it would certainly make her look very foolish!

The guard nodded and quietly went inside.

Chu Heng sniffed and frowned in disgust.

He had no interest in the scandals of the harem.

After thinking it over, he left the palace and returned to the Xuanwang Mansion.

Upon entering the Xuanwang Mansion, he heard a woman's voice coming from the courtyard. He wiped his face, transformed back into Wen Yuanbai, and went inside.

Nan Zhuo cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Master, the Princess Consort slept for a long time this afternoon. After waking up and having dinner, she took a walk in the garden."

"Hmm," he said softly, stepping forward to stand in front of a woman who was happily pruning flower branches, but he didn't dare to speak for a moment.

The woman looked up, initially unsure, "Yuan Bai?"

Wen Yuanbai smiled and said, "It's me, Mother."

The woman tossed aside the scissors, picked up a flower, and said happily, "Yuanbai! You've come! Your mother just cut this white magnolia; let me adorn it for you. A gentleman is like jade, and this white magnolia perfectly complements my Yuanbai; you will surely be unparalleled!"

Wen Yuanbai obediently bent down and let the woman place the magnolia flower in his hair ornament, then slowly smiled at the woman.

The woman watched for a while, then suddenly her face contorted with terror. She slapped him across the face, shouting, "You! You're not Yuan Bai! You're Chu Heng! You ruined my Yuan Bai! And now you're impersonating him to try and harm me! What are you really up to?!"

An aunt nearby quickly came over to support the woman. "Your Highness! He is the Crown Prince! Your Highness, don't worry, the Crown Prince has just returned and is very tired. Let him go and wash up first! Ah."

The aunt frantically winked at Wen Yuanbai.

Wen Yuanbai sighed helplessly, then turned and left.

Half an hour later, Nan Zhuo reported from outside the study, "Master, Aunt Yu Yao requests an audience."

Wen Yuanbai nodded and said, "Please invite her in."

Aunt Yu Yao entered and curtsied, "Master."

Wen Yuanbai asked slowly, "Has Auntie rested?"

Aunt Yu Yao nodded, "Yes. The Princess Consort has been in a good mood these past few days, but I don't know why she suddenly..."

Wen Yuanbai waved his hand, "I know, thank you for your trouble, Aunt Yuyao. Is there something you want to say, Aunt?"

Aunt Yu Yao nodded, "The Princess Consort is starting to talk about the Prince again. This old servant would like to ask the Heir Apparent to write a letter. If the war in the Southern Border has now subsided, could you please ask the Prince to come back?"

Wen Yuanbai nodded, "I will speak to Uncle Wang myself."

Aunt Yu Yao curtsied and took her leave.

Watching her departing figure, Wen Yuanbai sighed.

...

The next day, a message suddenly spread from the palace.

Princess Tazana of Nanyue was bestowed the title of Lady of the Southern Kingdom.

Su Youran was shocked when she found out and quickly asked Zhao Mama, "What happened? How did you hear that, Zhao Mama?"

Zhao Mama said, "This old servant went out to buy things early this morning and heard that everyone in the streets and alleys was talking about it. It is said that the Emperor favored the Princess of Nanyue last night, and this morning, the Empress conferred the title of Lady of Nanyue."

Su Youran remained silent.

Natazana clearly wanted to marry the Crown Prince at the state banquet yesterday, so how come she didn't marry him but instead got favored by the Emperor?

She was so curious that she scratched her head and got up to go to the Princess's residence to find out the gossip.

The eldest princess and Yueyue were equally puzzled, neither of them knowing why the emperor had suddenly favored the princess of Nanyue.

On the other side, Chu Heng returned to the palace and was also puzzled by the matter. He secretly regretted not staying in the East Palace to watch the excitement last night.

Logically, he should have just had the person thrown into the Empress's bedroom, so how did they end up on the Emperor's bed?

After court, he went to Consort Zhou's palace to pay his respects and inquired about the matter.

Consort Zhou sighed, "The Empress has gained some of the Emperor's favor in the past six months. I suppose the Empress saw through the Emperor's thoughts last night and made this special arrangement for him."

He was still confused, so he returned to the East Palace and summoned several of his guards. After questioning them, he finally learned the truth.

It turns out that not long after the guard knocked out the Princess of Nanyue and the eunuch and threw them into the Empress's bed yesterday, the Emperor and Empress came in to rest.

The secret guards planted in the Empress's palace were unaware of what happened in bed, but the previous guards mentioned that they had also smelled the same aphrodisiac fragrance on the Princess of Nanyue in the Empress's bedroom yesterday.

The next morning, the guard first heard the Queen's exclamation, and then he heard Tazara's voice.

It's unclear what the two women said, but a moment later someone went in, carried the little eunuch out, and threw him directly into the well behind the house.

A moment later, the emperor's furious voice rang out.

Then an imperial edict was issued bestowing upon Tazana the title of Lady of the Southern Kingdom.

Chu Heng thought for a moment and understood. The Empress must have woken up first. When she saw that there was an extra Tazara and a eunuch on the bed, she was so frightened that she screamed on the spot.