To be honest, ever since Er Yao received the Letter of Divorce from Prince Jin, and came to the Princess Minhe's Residence with her maid and luggage, following her brother... it had been quite a while, yet she still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Qin Jingzhou noticed but said nothing.
The System commented, "Brother Zhou, your Cheap Daughter this time is really bad at adapting... She probably thinks that since she can't get love, she might as well seize power. Honestly, that's not a bad idea, but she's aiming too high with too little ability."
Qin Jingzhou replied with a quiet "Hmm," then said, "Let me see if there's any hope for her." He stood up and said to his Cheap Daughter, "Come with me."
Er Yao hunched her shoulders, not daring to meet her father’s gaze, but obediently stood up.
Er Xiao also shot up, about to speak, but his little sister tugged on his sleeve. Looking down, he met her clear and bright eyes, and eventually gave up, slowly sitting back down.
Xiao Xi whispered, "You have to trust Father."
Er Xiao gave a wry smile. "It's not that I don't trust Dad. I'm just worried that Big Sister might lose her mind again..."
Hearing that, Er Yao whirled around to glare at Er Xiao, suddenly feeling her own brother so unfamiliar. What could have happened in less than three months that even he had been convinced?
Qin Jingzhou led Er Yao to the study in the front courtyard.
He deliberately let her calm down for a bit before speaking. "Your brother and you harmed me, but I won’t bother holding a grudge. Back then, I even thought about dragging my own mother down with me. But I'm curious—your brother was a madman at the time, drugged up on the Marquis' Consort's concoction, but you were always clear-headed. You knew exactly what you were doing. Didn't you ever think about what you'd do if this all fell apart? Did it never occur to you that you couldn't keep it hidden from Marquis Wu'an? Of course, even if Marquis Wu'an found out you killed your own father, he'd probably cover it up, but both you and your brother would be dead for sure."
Er Yao kept her head down, silent.
Playing the "nonviolent noncooperation" game with me? Qin Jingzhou suddenly laughed. "You can't be so stupid as to not consider the consequences, so you must believe that being Prince Jin’s Consort will protect you? As far as I know, Prince Jin never really spares you a proper glance."
The System, recalling the time Brother Zhou and Miss Ling went to the palace together, couldn’t help but tease, "When Prince Jin saw you in the palace, he was stunned and stared for a long time, muttering in the end, 'It's a shame Er looks nothing like you.'"
Qin Jingzhou laughed as well. "Even if she looked like me, would Prince Jin love the female lead Lady Yang any less? At most, he'd just treat Er Yao with a bit more politeness."
"Exactly."
After chatting with the System for a while, his Cheap Daughter still kept her head down, refusing to speak. Qin Jingzhou asked, "Or do you feel sure that Prince Jin will save you, because you're living a second life and you know who will inherit after Emperor Taihe?"
Er Yao suddenly looked up, eyes wide with fright. She finally understood what was wrong! In her agitation, she shrieked, "So it's you!"
Then, right in front of Qin Jingzhou, she performed a perfect fall—straight backward, the back of her head hitting the floor.
Fortunately, the study personally arranged by Ling Jing had a thick carpet and the under-floor heating was on, so Er Yao was little more than dazed after the fall, and otherwise fine.
Qin Jingzhou calmly finished half a cup of tea, then stood up, grabbed his Cheap Daughter by the collar, and tossed her onto the soft couch behind him. "I don’t mind that you’re ruthless. Who in this circle of the powerful isn’t scheming? Someone with a bit of a bottom line is already considered a saint. But your stupidity, that I mind a lot. Can’t you read? Haven’t you studied any history? You’ve been reborn once already and still haven’t learned a thing? I brought you back here to stay for a while—use this time to cultivate yourself, read, and practice your writing."
Er Yao covered her face. After a moment, she broke down and started bawling.
Qin Jingzhou left her to cry in the study and leisurely returned to Ling Jing’s side.
Ling Jing pursed her lips and asked him quietly through the communicator, "All done? I feel like this Cheap Daughter is much less well-behaved than the Cheap Son, and after her rebirth she's even more self-opinionated."
"Agreed," Qin Jingzhou said. "So I’m just going to keep her home and make her do extra lessons. I don’t expect her to do anything amazing. As long as she doesn’t act out like in the plot, destroying Lady Yang’s and Prince Jin’s relationship as a villainous supporting girl and helping Prince Chu undermine his brother, that’s enough. I plan to write up some problem sets for her. That ought to keep her too busy to dwell on other nonsense."
Ling Jing almost burst out laughing. "Fatherly love means... a mountain of homework."
Meanwhile, seeing that his father had returned in decent spirits, Er Xiao cautiously asked, "Can I go check on my little sister?"
Now that his own issues had been resolved, Father had found a reliable Imperial Physician through Princess Minhe. After drinking the new medicine for half a month, Er Xiao was really feeling much better—no more palpitations, shortness of breath, insomnia, headaches, or inexplicable irritability.
So he felt that now he could help talk some sense into his little sister.
Qin Jingzhou readily agreed, scooping Xiao Xi into his arms. "Go ahead. You might as well convince her to stop pining for Prince Jin’s mansion—she has plenty of chances here to ‘aim higher’."
Er Xiao got it right away. "Your son will do his best."
When Er Xiao arrived at the study in the front courtyard, he could already hear his big sister sniffling and sobbing from outside.
He knocked on the door frame, entered, and sat down right beside her, taking the handkerchief from the Lady-in-waiting and handing it to his sister. "Why are you still crying like this? If anyone should feel wronged, isn’t it Father?"
Er Yao choked out, "Did you forget how he treated us?"
Er Xiao replied without thinking, "Ignoring us, maybe shouting to vent when he was in a bad mood?"
Er Yao was suddenly speechless and turned away, hiding her face.
Er Xiao laughed. "What you really resent Father for is... shoving you into Prince Jin’s residence."
Instantly, Er Yao lost her composure. "I can't resent him? I never wanted to be a consort! No girl from the Marquis Mansion, whether legitimate or illegitimate, has ever become a consort!"
Er Xiao looked at his furious, tear-stained sister. "Father married Princess Minhe himself, you know... and ‘married’ were his exact words. He made nice with the Princess, brought me and Xiao Xi to live in her residence, and pushed to get you back as well." He probed, "Do you really think Father spoiled your plans?"
Er Yao, stung to the core, nearly jumped up. "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Er Xiao grinned meaningfully. "Looks like Father called it exactly right."
Er Yao grabbed the pillow at hand and threw it at him. "You’re so heartless!"
Er Xiao caught the pillow, grinned, shook his head, and said nothing more.
After wiping away her tears and calming down a bit, Er Yao said, "Brother, help me deliver two letters." She lowered her voice, "To Prince Jin and Prince Chu—it's urgent!"
Er Xiao got to his feet and left right away.
Now he understood why Father disliked his big sister: she was utterly clueless, stubborn, and arrogant. He went back to Father, and while Princess Minhe was changing, told him exactly what had happened with his big sister.
Qin Jingzhou wasn’t the least bit surprised. "That child just won’t give up until she runs into a dead end. I’ll just have to find some Masters to teach her a thing or two about how to behave."
Er Xiao agreed. "She does need strict discipline."
That afternoon, Ling Jing went to handle household affairs at the Princess’s residence. After taking his medicine, Er Xiao napped in his room, while Er Yao was left in the side wing.
Once only Qin Jingzhou and Xiao Xi were left in the study, Xiao Xi finally couldn't hold back. "My Cheap Big Sister really has a hole in her head. Last lifetime, she was stuck fighting other women in the inner courtyard. Even if she knows who the next Emperor is, so what? Would she really remember all the political tricks, how to navigate the fights for the throne, and how the competing Princes managed things? If you hadn’t come this time, Father, she would have been caught by Prince Chu sooner or later, spilled all the future secrets she knew, and then been eliminated by him. She can't even train a loyal confidant who'd risk their neck to deliver a letter for her. If her brother won’t help, she wouldn't even get her news out."
Qin Jingzhou chuckled. "You dislike her that much?"
Xiao Xi huffed, "As long as she dared harm Father, I’ll never let it go!"
"She tried to harm her real dad, not me."
"If it weren’t for her, Father wouldn’t have hurt your vital energy!"
After Qin Jingzhou transmigrated, he had adjusted the original host’s body to a certain extent, but, after all, he wasn’t going to become a superman. After rescuing his Cheap Son from the water, both of them inevitably caught colds and spent several days recuperating at home.
Lately, he'd been busy with marriage arrangements, sorting through the original host's private estate—like the farm outside the Capital City—so he'd spent plenty of time out in the cold wind, sniffling and sneezing when he got home... He considered all that trivial, never expecting that Xiao Xi had noticed and remembered it all.
"Is your father really that frail?" He certainly understood what Xiao Xi was truly worried about. "I’m going to live a long life in this lifetime and always stay by your side. You will always be Daddy’s precious girl."
Xiao Xi buried herself in his arms. "Mm."
By the twelfth lunar month, Princess Minhe’s wedding was approaching, and Prince Chu finally returned to the Capital City.
The Imperial Princes of Great Qi typically received their titles as Princes between ages sixteen and eighteen, unless they made serious mistakes or lost the Emperor's favor. Once titled, they took turns acting as regent inspecting the border armies.
Two months prior, Prince Chu had been ordered to leave the capital to inspect the Northeastern border troops and was originally expected back half a month ago, but thanks to three days of heavy snow... more than half of the three hundred miles of Imperial Highway was buried, with the deepest drifts waist high.
Returning safe and sound was already a stroke of fortune.
Once back in the Capital City, he first entered the palace to see the Emperor. After a few brief questions, Emperor Taihe told him to go see his mother.
Prince Chu’s birth mother was Noble Consort Wan. Like her title, she was gentle and kind. Over the years, she had never been especially favored, but her position was steady.
Her son had grown much thinner, and she was distressed to see it.
After receiving his mother's affection, Prince Chu asked, "What really happened with Fifth Brother?"
Prince Jin was the fifth son.
Noble Consort Wan was well informed and could clear up his confusion. She explained in detail Lady Yang's background, and how the Princess Minhe spotted her and sought revenge—how Lady Yang’s relatives nearly cost both Lady Yang and her daughter their lives for the sake of a noble title and land granted by His Majesty.
The more Prince Chu heard, the more uncomfortable he became. He just felt that... it shouldn't have turned out this way, as if he'd lost something extremely important...
Lady Yang... should belong to him!
He suddenly stood up. "Mother, I have to go."
Leaving the palace, he went straight to Prince Jin’s residence.