Bai Linan quickly replied, "Your Majesty, although that rebellious daughter doesn't care about the Bai family, I am still her father. She doesn't have much suspicion of me. If necessary, I can gather information for Your Majesty."
"Are you gathering information for me, or are you gathering information from me for the sake of the Prince of Yan's residence?" Chu Tianling sneered.
"Your Majesty, I am utterly loyal. How could I possibly commit such a treasonous act..."
"Alright, you can go now!"
Chu Tianling waved his hand impatiently. He didn't doubt Bai Linan's words too much. After all, if Bai Linan, who was afraid of death, wanted to join the Prince of Yan's mansion, he could have stayed in Yunzhou. He wouldn't risk his life to come back and inquire about information for the Prince of Yan's mansion.
"Yes! Your humble servant takes his leave!" Bai Linan breathed a sigh of relief and retreated with his head down.
"Your Majesty, is there no other way?" Princess Zhaoyang helped Zhang Miaoke out of the back hall.
Chu Tianling's face was grim. "That idiot Mu Linfeng was arrested immediately. What can I do?"
Thinking of this, he wanted to curse. Bai Chuxiao was pregnant and had difficulty moving around, which was an excellent opportunity to seize her or even assassinate her. But that idiot didn't understand anything and got caught as soon as he came up. And those two stupid women wasted such a good opportunity. They were all a bunch of useless people!
Princess Zhaoyang lowered her eyes and said, "Your Majesty doesn't intend to save Zhang Yu anymore..."
Chu Tianling said impatiently, "I've done everything I can. We still don't know where Zhang Yu is, whether it's in Yongzhou or somewhere else. It's been so long, so forget about exchanging hostages. They're not going to listen to that at all!"
“Since His Majesty is unwilling, I will go and beg Tianze myself…” Princess Zhaoyang said through gritted teeth.
Although Chu Tianze and Chu Tianling don't get along now, she is still Chu Tianze's aunt, isn't she?
"Suit yourself!" Chu Tianling said coldly, then turned and left. Did she really think she was some kind of princess? If she could just use her status or family connections to get things done, why would he bother sending people?
Watching Chu Tianling's departing figure, Zhang Miaoke disapproved, "Mother, are you really going to beg the Prince of Yan's mansion? It's useless!"
Princess Zhaoyang spoke in a deep voice, "What can we do? If your father passes away, leaving only a young Tuo'er, do you think we'll have a good life in the future? You know the methods of those women in the harem. Without the support of your maternal family, what will happen to the child in your womb..."
"I will listen to my mother in everything."
Zhang Miaoke said somewhat blankly that since becoming Empress, she hadn't had a single day without regret. Life in the harem was far less carefree than before. When she was still the Princess Consort of Qi, she could still throw tantrums at Chu Tianling. Now, she had to live entirely according to Chu Tianling's mood. It was already a blessing if Chu Tianling didn't lose his temper with her...
For reasons unknown, Chu Tianze did not have Zhang Yu taken away, but left him in Yunzhou. As for Bai Chuyun, Bai Chuwan, and Mu Linfeng, under Bai Chuxiao's instruction, they were all brought back to Yongzhou and imprisoned in the dungeon of the Prince of Yan's mansion.
Inside the Prince of Yan's residence, Bai Chuxiao was sitting leisurely in the courtyard, listening to Cui Hao and Xia Fan report on the interrogation of the individuals.
"Your Highness, Miss Bai San readily confessed. She only followed Chu Tianling's instructions to keep Miss Bai Er by her side and get close to Your Highness. As for other matters, others will handle them. Miss Bai Er, however, has been evasive and stubborn. The Prince's intention is that if Miss Bai Er does not confess honestly, she should be killed directly. What do you think?"
"Release Bai Chuyun and keep her locked up. As for Bai Chuwan and Mu Linfeng, continue interrogating them. These two have always been close to Chu Tianling, so they must know a lot. If they're unwilling to talk, it means they haven't been tortured enough..."
"yes!"
"Yes, the expansion of the Azure Dragon Camp must continue. You two should also keep an eye on those things outside the city. They're not needed for now, but once the quantity is accumulated, they will definitely be allocated to the Azure Dragon Camp!"
Although that thing is still quite rubbish, its destructive power is incomparable to current weapons. Right now, it's just a civil war in the Great Xia, and she doesn't want to cruelly use it on the Great Xia army. However, if there are really people who are particularly suicidal, she wouldn't mind using it for experiments.
"Your subordinates obey," both of them said with some excitement.
After the two left, Lanxin brought up a bowl of medicinal soup, saying, "Your Highness, Madam Xu doesn't let you worry about these things."
After the princess returned pregnant, Madam Xu stopped going to the clinics outside the city and stayed in the mansion all day. She was either taking Bai Chuxiao's pulse, making clothes for the child with the servants, or personally overseeing the medicine and meals.
Bai Chuxiao waved her hand, "It's just a few words, nothing to worry about. I'm already quite free! You girls better not tell Mother."
After returning, she handed over all the official business in various places to her second uncle and second brother, and her maternal grandfather also kept an eye on the affairs of the military camp, as well as Cui Hao and others. Every day, she would stay in the mansion, taking walks, appreciating flowers, listening to music, and then waiting for her maternal grandmother and aunt to come over for a chat. She couldn't be more idle.
"Your Highness, Madam Shen, Madam Song, and the two young ladies are outside requesting an audience," Chief Steward Mo reported as he entered the hall.
Bai Chuxiao pondered for a moment and said, "Bring him in."
She wasn't really interested in listening to the two ladies' polite words, but Shen Xuanxuan and Song Le'er had put in a lot of effort recently, so she had to give them face.
Soon the four of them entered the courtyard. Bai Chuxiao did not intend to change the location to receive guests, so Lanxiang and the others brought out a few chairs and placed them in the courtyard.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" The group bowed respectfully.
"There's no need for such formalities, ladies, please make yourselves at home," Bai Chuxiao said lazily, pointing to the chairs beside her.
"Yes," Madam Shen and Madam Song replied without ceremony, and sat down in the courtyard.
"Your Highness, how has the little one been these past two days?" Song Le'er and Shen Xuanxuan stood directly next to Bai Chuxiao and asked with smiles.
The two of them already had a good relationship with Bai Chuxiao, so they didn't bother with formalities. Although Chu Tianze didn't like the nickname "Little Bun," Bai Chuxiao still spread it around, since he wasn't around!
Madam Song quickly said, "Le'er, how dare you speak to the Princess like that? How can you call her 'little dumpling'..."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm the one who told them to call me that..."
Madam Song and Madam Shen exchanged a glance of surprise, but Madam Song quickly praised, "The name the Princess Consort chose for the young prince is very unique!"
Bai Chuxiao chuckled lightly, not caring about the flattery. Chu Tianze didn't like it, but she found it rather mischievous and wanted to take advantage of his absence to officially name the little bun.
Of course, Chu Tianze wasn't the only one who disliked the name. Apart from the few maids around her who gladly accepted the cute name, the entire Murong family strongly opposed it and even lectured her repeatedly until her ears were calloused.
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