The Grand Princess pondered the truth of Su Xiaoqi's words.
Ultimately, relying on her trust in Su Xiaoqi's character, she chose to believe her.
Furthermore, thinking deeply, regardless of whether Su Xiaoqi's account was true or not, it had to be made so.
After serious consideration with a furrowed brow, the Grand Princess agreed:
"Alright, do not speak of this to outsiders. I will have someone thoroughly investigate." The Grand Princess's voice trembled, unsure if it was from shock or excitement.
To think of a royal descendant, the Crown Prince no less, who should be a paragon and role model for all, actually harboring a vile disease that only the most debauched would contract.
However, the Grand Princess was aware that Liang Xinran sometimes could not control the 'thing' below his waist.
He had once forcibly taken a minister's wife.
So, visiting brothels and sleeping with unclean courtesans, what was so impossible about that?
As they spoke, the two returned to the Grand Princess's mansion.
The Grand Princess had Madam Xu clear the premises, making their conversation much easier.
Thus, even more secretive matters were revealed.
In the room, with doors and windows tightly shut, Madam Xu stood guard outside the entrance.
Seeing the Grand Princess's solemn demeanor, Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat, realizing the Grand Princess was about to share something of immense importance with her.
She suddenly felt a pang of nervousness, even wanting to ask if she could refuse to listen.
But the Grand Princess trusted her too much.
Of course, it was also possible that she had no one else truly trustworthy by her side.
After all, if even the husband with whom she had shared a bed for over a decade had grown estranged and rebellious, whom else could she possibly trust?
Thus, only Su Xiaoqi remained.
Moreover, the Grand Princess felt, for reasons unknown, that by telling these matters to Su Xiaoqi, perhaps she could offer some unique advice.
Just like the time she had taken Liang Qiran's pulse.
To others, it might have seemed disrespectful to treat her as a physician, but she genuinely didn't care for such empty titles.
She had actively requested to feel his pulse.
The result was the revelation of a potentially earth-shattering piece of news.
Of course, the Grand Princess was a cautious person; this matter still required verification from others, and she dared not jump to conclusions prematurely.
"Xiaoqi, do you know, the injury sustained by the Prince of Duan this time has some hidden implications," the Grand Princess said.
Su Xiaoqi nodded instinctively, then quickly shook her head as if realizing something.
"You are intelligent, I suspect you've already guessed. You don't need to be reserved with me; I believe you would never side with Liang Qiran."
Previously, the Prince of Duan, believing his condition to be beyond saving, had confided in her many of his secretly laid plans.
This included Mr. Gu and Shen Yun.
She then understood that her connection with Su Xiaoqi was not merely a matter of affection.
They were also aligned in their political stance.
"The Prince of Duan was injured because you previously informed me of the Crown Prince's scheme.
I then warned him.
The result was the discovery that the Crown Prince was indeed attempting a frame-up."
Upon his recovery, the Prince of Duan had taken on some responsibilities as Assistant Minister of Revenue and performed them exceptionally well.
This earned him frequent praise from Emperor Xingzhao in court.
This displeased the narrow-minded Liang Qiran.
Fearing that he might seize his position as Crown Prince, he colluded with figures from the martial arts world to plan an assassination attempt on the Duan Yang Festival.
Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoqi foresaw it in advance, and the Prince of Duan, to clear himself of the suspicion of attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince, voluntarily offered to protect him.
This thwarted Liang Qiran's scheme, and in his rage, he bribed imperial physicians to secretly poison the medicine administered to the Prince of Duan, preventing his wounds from healing and leading to infection.
It nearly cost him his life.
"Fortunately, this time you saved the Prince of Duan and, once again, saved my Grand Princess's mansion."
The Prince of Duan and the Grand Princess's mansion were intrinsically linked; prosperity for one meant prosperity for the other, and loss for one meant loss for the other.
Su Xiaoqi could roughly guess what the Grand Princess was revealing. She hadn't expected the Grand Princess to tell her this and was unsure how to respond.
In truth, the Grand Princess didn't expect any particular response from her.
After all, this matter was so confidential; she simply wanted someone to confide in.
Otherwise, she feared she would become overwhelmed.
She wasn't a person adept at keeping secrets.
"By the way, Xiaoqi, you examined Chen'er's injury. Is it serious?"
"His hand was nearly ruined, but it should be alright now."
"Yes, that's good. Regarding Chen'er and Ning'er, I still favor Chen'er. It's a pity, his luck has been poor. Back then... alas, he wasn't raised by the Emperor's side..."
The Grand Princess's words were vague, but Su Xiaoqi inferred much from them.
"Is this the will of His Highness the Prince, or the Prince of Duan's intention?" Su Xiaoqi, recalling Liang Jingchen's recent thoughts, tentatively inquired.
"It is the Emperor's will," the Grand Princess did not hide it from Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi said no more.
Coincidentally, the two arrived at the East Wing Courtyard.
Before even entering, they heard bursts of laughter from within.
"Hahaha... Eldest Sister..."
"Bao Ge'er, why are you being naughty again? Come out quickly, don't hide in the magic fort."
"Eldest Sister, find me first." Bao Ge'er found it immensely amusing, darting to and fro in the long, winding tunnels, his laughter and joy echoing out.
"These two siblings." The Grand Princess looked at the siblings playing with great delight.
They hadn't even noticed her arrival.
"These toys are quite fun," the Grand Princess commented with a sigh, looking at the colorful playground.
Since its construction, the playground had been updated with many new toys.
Whenever a set was ordered from Su Xiaoqi's shops, if Su Xiaoqi found it fun, she would immediately have it sent to the siblings.
Su Xiaoqi had been sending some today and some tomorrow, unexpectedly accumulating so many.
"I was planning to bring them a few more sets of attractive and fun toys next time," Su Xiaoqi said with a smile.
The Grand Princess quickly waved her hands, urging her not to.
"Otherwise, the East Wing Courtyard might not be enough to hold them all."
Her words made Su Xiaoqi burst into laughter.
The love children had for toys was something adults could never truly comprehend.
Madam Xu had already fully opened the courtyard gate.
Those inside still hadn't noticed that visitors had arrived at the entrance.
Su Xiaoqi saw Princess Huian leaping about inside but did not see Bao Ge'er.
Her heart suddenly tightened, and she heard a sharp cry, followed by several crashing sounds.
Su Xiaoqi instinctively sprinted towards Princess Huian's direction.
But she stopped about two steps away.
In her line of sight, Princess Huian was holding her right hand high, facing a young maidservant with two buns in her hair, who was covering her face, looking at Princess Huian in disbelief, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Although Su Xiaoqi arrived quickly, due to her angle of vision, she had seen nothing besides the sounds she had just heard.
She understood nothing of this.
It appeared as though the little maidservant was being bullied by Princess Huian.
But Princess Huian was someone who wouldn't even step on an ant; would she bully a little maidservant?