Lin Yanping was charmed by his daughter's adorable appearance and couldn't stop laughing.

However, to make the funeral seem more credible, the Lin family specifically requested to borrow several servants from the Regent's Palace. Otherwise, the Lin family's few servants alone wouldn't be able to handle the court officials and the various people trying to find ways to send gifts.

Many people, though they dared not approach the old prime minister and the little princess, saw that Lin Yanping actually had a smile on his face, and couldn't help but look around curiously.

Lin Yanping quickly suppressed his smile and began to speak seriously about sending people to monitor Qi Xiao.

Lin Wanyue's side was short-handed, and besides, she hadn't had much contact with outsiders since arriving in the capital. Since she didn't have anyone trustworthy to send to monitor Qi Xiao, she had no choice but to entrust this important task to Lin Yanping.

Lin Yanping, being a veteran official of three reigns and the current prime minister, quickly found a suitable candidate and successfully placed him in the First Prince's residence.

However, ordinary people cannot enter the study of the First Prince's residence. Even Lin Yanping can only explore the outer area, and he does not know what is inside.

“The eldest prince has been quite quiet lately. Apart from attending court and going to the Ministry of Justice to handle matters, he hasn’t gone anywhere else. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a little longer,” Lin Yanping said.

Lin Wanyue and Lin Yanping remained calm about this, after all, based on all the clues they had gathered, they already knew that the eldest prince Qi Xiao was a very patient person.

Since he could wait for so many years, they would naturally need to be patient if they wanted to capture everyone in one fell swoop.

In fact, the places Lin Yanping mentioned were not comprehensive. Although the current Crown Prince Qi Xiao does not visit Xiao Yuehan as frequently as he did a few months ago, he still visits her at least once a month, just like last year.

"Your Highness, the First Prince has come to see you!" Xiao Yuehan's personal maid suddenly came over and said, her voice filled with joy.

She was an old hand who had followed Xiao Yuehan for a long time and had watched Qi Xiao grow up. She was genuinely happy for her master.

Xiao Yuehan, who had been listening to the other concubines chatting and embroidering, immediately smiled when she heard that her son had come to visit. "Where are we now?"

After saying that, she remembered the other girls she was chatting with, so she said goodbye to them and hurriedly ran outside.

The other concubines gathered together and said, "A few months ago, the eldest prince would often come to visit her, but now he comes less often."

"They have a deep bond between mother and son, and they might be busy out there. After all, the eldest son isn't like our son; he has a proper job."

There are many princes in the imperial court, but due to their abilities and age, many of them only hold nominal positions and have no real power.

But the eldest prince, Qi Xiao, is different. He is indeed capable and has accomplished some things.

The others could only watch Xiao Yuehan's departing figure with envy, regretting that they could not raise such a sensible, obedient, and filial son.

In the end, he could only console himself that it was fortunate that such a good son was not his own child, otherwise, watching him spend his whole life as a prince would have been enough to make him feel sick and nauseous.

After all, if we look closely, who among them wasn't the son of the late emperor?

Xiao Yuehan walked quickly to the gate of her palace and saw her son Qi Xiao standing guard outside. He was elegant and handsome, with a gentle smile on his lips.

"Why did you suddenly come over today? What are you busy with outside? You've lost weight." Xiao Yuehan looked her son up and down and felt that Qi Xiao had lost a lot of weight and looked a little haggard. She felt sorry for him.

Qi Xiao held his elderly mother's arm and comforted her, saying, "You've just misjudged her. Your son hasn't lost weight; in fact, he's gained two pounds."

Xiao Yuehan didn't believe her. "Don't try to fool me. You don't even look that old as my eyes do. You must have lost weight. Is someone bullying you outside?"

Xiao Yuehan had experienced the trials and tribulations of palace intrigue, and for a beauty in the palace, appearance was paramount. She had her own insights into maintaining her looks and slender figure, which allowed her to remain well-preserved even now that her son was so grown up. Naturally, she could estimate a person's weight with remarkable accuracy at a glance.

"Of course not. I just didn't expect that my mother is still so sharp and can tell at a glance that I've only lost half a pound. Actually, it's nothing serious. Nothing major has happened in the court. It's just that the weather is hot these days, and I'm suffering from summer heat. I thought that since I couldn't sleep anyway, I might as well pray for my mother's well-being, so I've managed to get through these few days."

"But I didn't expect my mother to find out so quickly. I'll definitely eat more from now on so that she won't have to worry about me anymore," Qi Xiao coaxed Xiao Yuehan.

Xiao Yuehan guessed that Qi Xiao was probably lying to avoid making her worry. She was happy inside, but on the surface she had to put on a stern face and tell him to eat properly and not to stay up all night praying for blessings.

After all, she doesn't have much hope for now; her greatest wish is for her children and grandchildren to be safe and healthy.

Qi Xiao helped Xiao Yuehan into the palace, poured each of them a cup of hot tea, and noticed the brocade pouch hanging from her waist.

He lowered his head slightly, his eyes flashing, before explaining his purpose: "Mother, I have something I would like to ask for your help with."

"Oh, what is it?" Xiao Yuehan had previously thought that Qi Xiao's visit was just like usual, simply to see her.

However, she was quite happy to hear that she could help her son.

Life in the palace was too long and she was bored, so she joined the group of women and chatted about meaningless palace gossip every day.

Qi Xiao smiled and took out the brocade pouch hanging from his waist, saying to Xiao Yuehan, "I always carry this pouch with me and dare not put it down, but yesterday I discovered that the contents were missing. That's why I suddenly felt like asking Mother Consort for help, to see if the little princess could paint another one for me. I only feel at ease wearing it. However, it's really not a good idea to say this directly to the little princess, as I'm afraid my uncle might think I'm a forgetful person. I can only ask Mother Consort to think of a solution."

Qi Xiao did not want Xiao Yuehan to take action before.

Unfortunately, he hasn't found a better way to turn Lin Wanyue into a corpse gu for his own use.

After all, both Qi Yuan and Qi Sichen doted on Lin Wanyue, and this little girl also had the privilege of entering the palace at any time.

This means that Lin Wanyue can have access to the emperor at any time, and once she becomes his corpse gu, she will become his best weapon, capable of killing Qi Yuan at any time.