FID – Chapter 782

Chapter 782 – Who Do You Suspect?

Feng Qingbai’s hand paused slightly, but his expression remained calm.

“It’s possible. Didn’t you say he was persecuted? Maybe the ones behind it are his own family. In noble households, once power struggles are involved, the cruelty can go far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.”

Liu Yusheng deeply agreed. “I never expected the internal battles in ordinary noble houses to be no less intense than in royal families. Feng Qingbai, how did you survive back then?”

He had returned to the capital at just twelve years old—he was even younger than Xiao Qi.

Back then, he was already struggling to survive amidst royal power struggles.

She truly couldn’t imagine how he had made it to where he was today, or how much suffering and danger he had endured that others couldn’t even fathom.

“Feeling sorry for me?” Feng Qingbai raised an eyebrow, a faint smile in his eyes, deliberately avoiding her question.

Staring at him for a moment, Liu Yusheng leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Very much.”

Feng Qingbai sighed softly, though his eyes were full of tenderness. “Even if you feel sorry for me, you don’t need to leave greasy marks on my face. Shengsheng, I am a clean-freak.”

“Ah, I almost forgot! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you act so picky about being clean.”

“Shengsheng, when you say things like that, you should really check your conscience.”

Seeing the helpless look on his face, Liu Yusheng raised her hand and placed it over her heart, feigning a bit of remorse. “I guess I was overreacting. In the future, show me your clean-freak side more often. Maybe then I’ll remember.”

Feng Qingbai’s response was to take a bite of a saucy pork trotter, and then return the favor by planting a oily kiss on her cheek.

That lunch turned into a full-on battlefield.

When the servants came to clean up the mess, both their faces were shining with grease.

After all the playful chaos, by the time they settled in for their midday nap, Liu Yusheng had already forgotten that the question she’d asked earlier had never been answered.

How exactly had he endured everything back then?

Watching the woman sleep peacefully in his arms, Feng Qingbai gently stroked her fair cheek with his long fingers, his eyes full of tender affection.

Those years he endured were already in the past. There was no need to revisit them.

If she knew, it would only make her heart ache.

Looking back now, it no longer felt so hard. The only thing that had truly hurt back then was the belief that, in this lifetime, he and she might never cross paths again.

Thankfully, the heavens had shown him mercy—just this once.

Smiling faintly, he leaned down and brushed soft kisses over her brow and eyes, teasing her gently while she slumbered.

In her hazy, half-asleep protests, he took full advantage.

“Feng Qingbai! Did you come back at noon just for this?!”

“Yes.”

“……”

Liu Yusheng’s afternoon naps were now always cut in half—just about half an hour, no more, no less.

But the time it took her to actually get up afterward had more than doubled.

She couldn’t help but suspect that she’d once told Feng Qingbai the most optimal nap length was exactly 25 minutes or about half an hour.

And he’d taken that quite literally when choosing the perfect moment to torment her!

Beast…

When the man left for the palace afterward, he was still full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue at all.

Liu Yusheng, on the other hand, was utterly drained. When the maids came to help her dress, they could clearly hear her grinding her teeth.

And the marks on her neck that peeked out unintentionally made the maids blush bright red.

His Highness really was indulging day and night.

With energy like that, if the princess consort ever got pregnant, how would the prince even cope? This thought might have crossed their minds, but not a single one dared let it wander too far.

Everyone knew how deeply in love the prince and princess were. Even if one day she was indisposed, His Highness would never seek another woman’s company.

This much had been made clear when the steward trained them: those chosen to serve the princess were selected because they knew their place. 

Anyone with delusions of climbing higher had already been weeded out.

No one with divided loyalties was permitted to remain by the Princess Consort’s side. Anyone selected to serve her had to be wholly devoted to her alone.

That evening, Feng Qingbai returned half an hour late. Even though he appeared calm, Liu Yusheng could sense that something was off.

After dinner, she brewed him a cup of tea and finally asked, “Did something happen?”

“Nothing serious,” he replied with a smile, saying no more.

Liu Yusheng reached out and pinched his cheeks with both hands. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Shengsheng,” he sighed, helplessly holding her hands without resisting, letting her pinch him, “If you keep doing that, my face will end up deformed.”

“If you don’t talk, I’ll deform it right now.”

“Well, if something’s going to get deformed, it might as well be down there. That would look better. You could give it a try.”

“Feng Qingbai, can’t you be serious for once!” she scolded him, blushing.

The maids were nearby watching, and he could say such things without even a trace of shame!

“I can’t help it,” he said with a straight face. “How about you wear me out? Once I’m out of energy, I’ll behave.”

“…” There’s truly no competing with a shameless beast.

Seeing her grind her teeth in frustration, Feng Qingbai chuckled softly, pulled her over, and sat her on his lap.

“This afternoon, I was supposed to question Minister Zuo—just for show, really—but halfway through transferring him, he escaped.”

Liu Yusheng shot to her feet. “You mean… he broke out of prison?”

“Broke out?” Feng Qingbai smiled wryly. “Something like that. More accurately, someone intercepted the transfer and rescued him. The people behind this must have made quite the preparations.”

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to snatch someone mid-escort.

When Minister Zuo was being escorted to the yamen, there were heavy troops assigned to guard him.

“What’s the situation now?”

“I immediately ordered the city gates to be sealed and had the military command search the entire city. He should still be hiding somewhere inside the city. As long as he hasn’t left, we’ll be able to find him.”

“What if he’s already left?”

A cold glint flashed in Feng Qingbai’s eyes, and he smiled faintly. “If he’s left, then it must mean someone inside the court is working with him, and that person must hold significant power and influence.”

Otherwise, no one could have helped him escape through his heavy defenses.

Just the city gate alone would have been an insurmountable barrier for Minister Zuo.

Liu Yusheng sat back on his lap, furrowing her brow in thought. “He must have been desperate.”

“His downfall means that everyone in his household has been exiled, and his power has been divided up and absorbed by other factions. If he didn’t act, he’d just sit in prison and await his death. Based on his character, he wouldn’t wait idly by. I’ve always been prepared, but I still underestimated him. I didn’t expect him to act so quickly.”

Minister Zuo had been thrown into prison for only a few months, and during that time, no one had visited him. Feng Qingbai was particularly curious about when he had made contact with people outside and planned his escape.

“On his own, he certainly couldn’t have managed it. If someone helped him, it means there are still hidden dangers within the court,” Liu Yusheng paused, “Who do you suspect?”

“Who do you think?”

The two of them had the same thought.

At present, the only person in court who had the ability and who made Feng Qingbai wary was one person.

Qin Xiao.

“Is it really him?”

Feng Qingbai shook his head. “It’s not confirmed yet. Whether it is or not depends on the evidence. We may think it’s him, but without evidence, it’s all in vain.”

Many people believed that Qin Xiao had risen to power through his martial prowess and was nothing more than a brute with strength but no wit. Feng Qingbai did not share this opinion.

In his eyes, Qin Xiao was far more calculating than the cunning Minister Zuo.