The Duke of Zhenguo was rendered speechless by this series of questions.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, "In the final analysis, you are still blaming me for sending you to Ryukyu as a hostage."

His straight back hunched over and his head drooped.

At this moment, the Duke of Zhenguo seemed to have shed his dignified and majestic appearance and turned into an ordinary old man with a frail figure.

"I have never regretted the decision I made back then. Without the military power, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was like a lamb to be slaughtered."

Although he sacrificed a grandson, he alleviated the emperor's suspicion and brought many years of stability to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

"You should know that I have been so distant from you for so many years because I am afraid of causing the jealousy of His Majesty again. Isn't that why you keep claiming to be sick?"

After all, no emperor would like a crown prince who is in good health, talented, and has close relations with his relatives who hold a large number of troops.

How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?

"Don't you regret your mother's death?"

Su Bi's tone was cold and her voice was without a trace of warmth.

Upon hearing this, Duke Zhenguo widened his eyes and steadied his trembling right hand.

"Your mother..."

He sighed, and his usually shrewd eyes were now filled with cloudy and mottled light.

"Your mother is too weak. She is not suitable for a place full of intrigues and schemes."

Su Bi smiled sarcastically, "Yes, she is not suitable, but you were the one who sent her to that cannibalistic place."

Duke Zhen looked up at Su Bi with a dazed look in his eyes, as if he saw through him the girl who sweetly called him "Daddy" in the family.

"Muxia..."

"She's dead."

The Duke of Zhenguo's body trembled, and the light in his eyes went out.

He bowed his head, "You are still blaming me."

Su Bi turned around and looked out the window. The lantern on the eaves was flickering in the wind.

"I complained when I was young, but now, I don't complain anymore."

Bai Mucha is dead, and his difficult youth is over. It is meaningless to pursue these things now.

"If you are just worried that I will take revenge on the Zhenguo Mansion, then you can rest assured. As long as the Zhenguo Mansion behaves itself, for the sake of my mother and Bai Luoqiu, the things you care about most will not change, and the Zhenguo Mansion will still be glorious."

"But," Su Bi turned around and looked at the elderly man, "you don't have to think about anything else."

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion is just the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. If one expects him to do something in the future by relying on his status as a royal relative and the prince's in-laws, it is impossible.

"I will ask Bai Luoqiu to handle Bai Queyue's affairs. The Bai family will not produce another empress, and the royal family will not produce another child with Bai family blood."

Su Bi hit the nail on the head and exposed the original plan in Zhenguogong's mind.

Finally, he looked at the Duke of Zhen and said firmly, "Stop having these wishful thoughts."

Having said that, he turned and left.

The Duke of Zhenguo was left alone, sitting on the cold armchair, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

"Father."

Bai Luoqiu appeared behind the Duke of Zhenguo, and sighed when he saw his appearance.

"Su Bi has grown up. He is different from Mu Xia. He is the crown prince and the future emperor. You can't influence him."

Bai Luoqiu helped the Duke of Zhenguo up from his chair and said firmly, "Father, it's time for you to let go."

Su Bi had just left and before leaving the Duke of Zhen's Mansion, he was stopped by someone.

"cousin!"

Su Bi stopped and turned around, only to see Bai Queyue staggering towards him.

"Cousin! Did you tell your uncle something?"

Bai Queyue looked anxious, and no longer cared about her usual dignified demeanor. She sensitively sensed something.

"Did Princess Yuexi slander me for pushing her? I didn't! Cousin, I really didn't!"

Su Bi looked at her indifferently, without any wavering in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have touched her."

Bai Queyue became even more panicked when she saw that Su Bi directly convicted her without asking any questions.

She pushed Ning Xihua down on impulse that day. The slope was so high that Ning Xihua would have been crippled if not dead.

If she was gone, there would be no evidence. If she was still alive, a cripple would not be able to sit on the throne of the Crown Princess, and since I have my uncle to support me, I will naturally be able to get what I want.

But she didn't expect that Su Bi didn't listen to her explanation at all, and directly rejected her uncle, leaving her no way out.

She was really scared, and she didn't care about any rules or modesty anymore.

Bai Queyue knelt down directly, not daring to make excuses anymore, "Cousin, I was wrong, I didn't mean it!"

She knelt forward a few steps, trying to hug Su Bi's legs and beg for mercy.

"Cousin, I've known since I was nine that I would marry you, and I've been working hard to be your wife over the years. I learned from my uncle that you might marry Princess Yuexi, and I... I was just bewildered for a moment, and I really didn't mean to hurt her!"

However, Su Bi avoided her and looked at her with murderous intent.

"If you hurt her, you should pay the price."

Bai Queyue was so frightened by Su Bi's murderous aura that was about to materialize that he collapsed to the ground and dared not say another word.

Even after Su Bi left, she was still frightened. She really thought that Su Bi would kill her on the spot regardless of the consequences.

Thinking of Su Bi's last words, she quickly got up.

It’s okay, uncle will definitely find a way!

She kept comforting herself and ran towards the Duke of Zhenguo's study where the light was still on.

………

That night, at Prince Ning’s Mansion.

Ning Xihua tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

Although the injuries on her body are not so painful anymore, she is still very irritable these days.

Lian Songyi knew that she was in a bad mood these days, so she was very cautious in serving her, fearing that she might make her angry.

She was sent back to Prince Ning's Mansion that day. When the old man saw that she was covered with wounds, he got very angry.

Knowing that this happened because she went out with Su Bi, he wanted to go directly to Linhua Palace to trouble Su Bi.

She tried to persuade him by all means, saying that she had fallen accidentally, and in the end she did not mention the matter of Bai Queyue.

Su Bi said he would handle it and would definitely give her a satisfactory explanation.

But Ning Xihua still feels weak recently, has trouble sleeping and eating, and is in a state of inexplicable irritability.

Whenever I saw my injuries, I thought of Bai Queyue, and whenever I thought of Bai Queyue, I thought of what she said that day.

What is the reason why the relationship is getting colder and colder? There will only be more and more new people...

Ning Xihua suddenly sat up holding the quilt, she was so annoyed!

Don't be fooled by what she said that day. It's no big deal, just change someone else.

But in reality, Bai Queyue's words pierced her heart like a thorn, puncturing her false appearance of calmness and indifference, revealing her true anxiety and worry.

She likes Su Bi, and she can vaguely feel that Su Bi treats her differently.

It is certainly gratifying that two people love each other, but this love is not enough to make Ning Xihua lose herself.

Su Bi is different from her. He is the crown prince and will be the emperor in the future.

In this era, it was common for ordinary people to have three wives and four concubines, let alone the prince who held a high position.

Even in the original book, when Su Xu married Lin Mengli as his queen, those three palaces and six courtyards were never empty.

But she didn't want to spend the rest of her life fighting for favor in the palace for the sake of so-called love.

In that case, even the deepest feelings will be worn away completely.

She is just a salted fish, without any ideals or aspirations. She just wants to eat and drink and live a carefree life.

However, Su Bi was an unexpected event that she could not resist.

Ning Xihua scratched her messy long hair in annoyance and had to admit that, after all, the reason why she had been so abnormal these days was simply because of her possessiveness and she was worried that Su Bi would eventually go against her.

She sighed.

It’s really annoying. Falling in love is always so troublesome.

"Why are you sighing so late at night?"

Ning Xihua was startled by the sudden sound.

Looking carefully, she saw that the person who had been bothering her just now was standing in front of the window.