Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 105 Part 1

Xiao Rong let his sleeve fall as he sat beneath the lamplight. Across the small glow of the oil lamp, he lifted his gaze to meet Xi Rong’s.

“Your Highness is leaving already?”

His tone was unhurried, almost languid, as he looked at the Crown Prince’s cold, rigid face.

Xi Rong stood in silence amid the dim light. Moonlight filtered through the window, stretching his tall shadow long across the floor.

Resting one arm on the desk, Xiao Rong poured himself a cup of hot tea. The flicker of the flame glimmered along his lashes as he said softly, “This happens to be my first proper guest in this new residence. Since Your Highness is here, won’t you at least have a cup of tea before you go?”

“I came for the ledger.” Xi Rong’s voice was cool and flat.

“Is that so?”

Xiao Rong took a light sip of tea, propped his temple with his hand, and smiled faintly, dark eyes bright beneath the lamp. “Then, Your Highness missed the best opportunity. When I was surrounded by assassins earlier, my back was wide open. It was the perfect chance to steal it. Why didn’t you act? Were you afraid of being caught in the poison fog I released?”

He tilted his head, eyes glinting with teasing amusement. “Or perhaps Your Highness still cherishes our old bond and hid above only to protect me from harm?”

Xi Rong looked down at him; the young man sitting carelessly upon the mat, wide sleeves sliding back to bare a white wrist, eyes shimmering like ripples in spring water.

His own gaze, cold and distant, met that spring light. “Where is the ledger?” he asked.

“You truly haven’t found it?” Xiao Rong sounded genuinely surprised. “When I returned today, I noticed my things had been searched. Whoever it was, they were careful but not perfect. They misplaced a page in the book by my pillow. The Winter Plum painting is already in Your Highness’s hands, so the Prince of Wei’s men have no reason to risk exposure by ransacking this place. The only one who would is someone fixated on that ledger.

“Unless, of course, it wasn’t Your Highness’s people, in which case, I must wonder what other treasure here could be so worth coveting.”

“It was my men.” Xi Rong hesitated only briefly before admitting it. “As you guessed, they failed. So, where have you hidden it?” His voice was calm and impersonal, the tone of a man conducting official business, as though all affection between them had long since been severed.

“Naturally,” Xiao Rong replied with a smile, “somewhere Your Highness will never find easily.” Then, with a playful gleam in his eyes, he added, “But don’t worry. If you agree to my condition, I’ll hand it over just as readily as I did the Winter Plum painting.”

“What condition?” Xi Rong asked.

“Until the day I’m willing to surrender the ledger, Your Highness must stay each night to drink tea and talk with me.” Xiao Rong’s tone was light, touched with teasing mischief. “Surely Your Highness knows that if I don’t wish you to find that ledger, you never will.”

Xi Rong’s reply was as cool as before. “What makes the heir so certain I’d agree to such an unreasonable demand for the sake of one book?”

“Unreasonable?” Xiao Rong looked perfectly innocent. “Then, why did Your Highness keep the Winter Plum painting? If you never meant to hand it to Qi Qiuyu, you could have returned it to me. Why keep it for yourself?

“It can’t be that because I happen to have a passable face, I accidentally bewitched Your Highness, made you lose your head over me, and though we walk different paths, Your Highness worried that I was burdened with some secret treasure and might be hunted down, so you were momentarily blinded by desire and took the painting to ward off my misfortune, could it?

“I think, since Your Highness was willing to accept the Winter Plum Painting, you’ll surely also agree to my terms and get the ledgers from my hands.”

Xi Rong said nothing.

Because at this moment, with the faintest turn of words, the person before him had again led him, willingly, into a trap, just like the Winter Plum Painting itself.

He had no other choice.

Across the street, Xiao En stood in the courtyard of another house, glancing up at the moon half-veiled by drifting clouds. His heart swayed just as unsteadily as that pale light.

“Chief Steward Xiao,” a shadow guard reported as he returned, “His Highness the Crown Prince has not yet left.”

Xiao En withdrew his gaze. “How long has His Highness been inside?”

“Over half an hour.”

“Over half an hour…” Xiao En murmured the words again and sighed quietly to himself. “Could you see what’s happening inside?”

The guard shook his head. “Not clearly. But from the outline, it seems the Crown Prince and the heir are sitting opposite each other, reading.”

“Sitting opposite each other, reading?” Xiao En frowned slightly.

“From the window’s silhouette, they seem to be drinking tea as well,” the guard added. “The heir has lit the candles very bright.”

Reading does call for good light. But brighter light also lets those outside see in more easily.

Xiao En said nothing for a while and then finally ordered, “Leave two men to keep watch. Have the rest withdraw.”

Indeed, Xiao Rong and Xi Rong were seated face-to-face, reading.

Xiao Rong had been a devoted reader since childhood. Even when renting a temporary residence, he would first fill it with books. Combined with the scriptures left behind by the previous tenant, there were enough volumes to keep him occupied for days.

However, tonight, his thoughts were far from the page in his hand.

One hand held a scroll; the other propped against his temple. His wide sleeve draped loosely over the table as he gazed across the row of bright candles at Xi Rong, who sat perfectly straight, reading in all seriousness.

Xi Rong had agreed to stay, but only to drink tea, and he had turned their conversation into reading instead.

Xiao Rong had cheerfully agreed, even ordering Mo Dong to light more candles for better reading.

Xi Rong’s gaze stayed on the book as he said coolly, “It’s only reading. The heir need not waste so much wax and flame.”

“How could I not?” Xiao Rong’s smile reached his eyes. “Your Highness is the Crown Prince. If your eyes were to suffer because of poor light, I could never afford to bear the blame.”

Xi Rong fell silent again, his face cold, as if even one glance at anything else in the room would be too much.

Then, suddenly, Xiao Rong reached out and plucked the book from Xi Rong’s hands.

Xi Rong was forced to look up.

Xiao Rong showed no guilt at all. Instead, he pushed the candles aside, leaned forward, and smiled. “It’s such a fine night. Doesn’t Your Highness wish to talk with me a little?”

Xi Rong’s composure faltered for a heartbeat before he recovered his calm. “What does the heir wish to talk about?”

“Don’t call me ‘heir,’” Xiao Rong corrected him.

Xi Rong: “Until the imperial edict that strips you of the heirship is issued, I must call you that.”

Xiao Rong knew that if he argued the point with Xi Rong, Xi Rong could recite the law from memory. He smiled instead. “You must have heard a lot of gossip these past two days. Surely there’s something you’d like to ask me?”

Xi Rong fell silent for a moment and then said, “You are Prince Xiao’s only blood. So long as you have not committed some unforgivable crime, Prince Xiao had no cause to strike you from the clan rolls. That night on the Jade Dragon Terrace, he promised not to pursue past matters. Was the decision to leave the clan your choice?”

Xiao Rong was not surprised that Xi Rong had guessed the truth, nor had he intended to hide it.

He was glad, however, that their ‘chat’ had finally begun in earnest that evening. “It’s true I am my father’s only blood, but I was never the candidate my father wanted as heir. If not for maintaining the Xiao clan’s stability and the restraints of clan rites, my father would never have let me be heir.”

Xi Rong naturally suspected that Xiao Rong’s decisive departure from the Xiao clan had causes besides their old connection. In recent days, the capital had been rife with rumors of discord within the Xiao clan, many involving the heir Xiao Rong.

Tonight, Xiao Rong was in a light mood and had a constant smile.

“All the gossip you’ve heard these past two days is true. Otherwise, why would Xiao Yuke have dared to openly provoke me inside the Xiao Royal Residence? There’s one thing you may not know: when I was four, my father sent me to a monastery. I lived there for three years.”

Xi Rong raised his eyes. This was the first he’d heard of it.

Xiao Rong went on, “Monks live simply and those three years, I was unrestrained and wild, growing into a headstrong, untamed child. When I returned to the Xiao clan, I never really changed. Because of that, my father never liked me. If I had not been somewhat learned and taken a good teacher, the heirship would long ago have been reassigned.

“Even if I had stayed, one day I would have been forced out. By leaving now, I can at least keep some dignity. Later, it might have been a full disgrace.

“You have often wondered why I went to Northern Yan to attempt to kill Prince Yan. I did it to win my father’s approval and to secure my place as heir. In the end, I miscalculated. I angered Prince Yan and triggered his alliance with the Cui clan, which threatened the Xiao clan. My father said nothing, but he was deeply displeased. For the capital’s martial arts tournament, he insisted on handing matters to others despite my pleas.”

Xiao Rong spoke easily, as if recounting someone else’s affairs.

Xi Rong was taken aback. He knew how brutal competition within noble houses could be; it was no gentler than the imperial family, but he had not expected Xiao Rong to face such pressure. The Xiao clan’s situation was peculiar, as Xiao Rong was Prince Xiao’s only son and there were no other heirs.

Xiao Rong, pleased with Xi Rong’s reaction, slowly sipped his tea, eyes bright as he watched the man opposite him. “Do understand that I tell you this not to force you to accept my choice, but to show you that my leaving the Xiao clan was not all about you. It may have little to do with you at all. You need not feel guilty, nor avoid me like some beast. My life now suits me well enough. I was simply bored and went to the Ten-Days Gathering to stir trouble, to tease the Cui clan and the Prince of Wei, and incidentally, to help you.

“As for that ledger, I have no real interest in it. My aim was only to make you come see me. Now that my purpose is achieved, I can return it. Asking you to stay and drink tea with me every night was only to frighten you a little. But Yan Hemei is cunning. The ledger exists only in half, while the other half is missing. Have you thought about how to make up the rest?”

Most of Xi Rong’s anger had already faded. After a moment’s thought, he saw the point. “If Yan Hemei is so calculating, he will not give me the other half easily.

“Bargaining with a tiger might work, but Yan Hemei is no ordinary tiger. He would likely use me to regain the Cui clan’s trust. As it stands, the Prince of Wei has the better chance of success. We can try dealing with Yan Hemei, but we must prepare two plans.”

Xiao Rong nodded. “I thought the same. There is one person who might be of use.”

Xi Rong considered for a moment. “You mean Feng Zhong?”

“Exactly.” Xiao Rong turned his teacup leisurely. “Since I’ve promised to hand over the ledger to Your Highness, I should see the good deed through to the end. This matter is already arranged but Your Highness will need to step aside for a while.”