The prince was a little frightened. Although he knew that there were 30,000 soldiers in the city and he would not lose, he still gritted his teeth and said that the emperor was a fake and refused to open the city gate.

When things got to this point, anyone could sense that something was wrong.

The army trained by the prince is relatively loyal, but the soldiers in the city are not united in their determination to follow the prince and risk their lives.

A few royalist factions in the Ministry of War took advantage of the chaos and opened the city gates when the guards were changing. What followed was a chaotic battle…

Tao Sheng heard many rumors about the war in the capital while she was in Zhili, but she didn’t really understand the whole process until half a month after the incident, when Lord Yu came back from the capital and told her about it.

Now that the matter has been settled, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have begun to purge the rebels involved in the incident.

Ji Yanming was promoted to a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice due to his excellent work and protection of key figures.

Although a fifth-rank official wasn’t very important in the capital, Ji Yanming was highly trusted by both the Emperor and the King of Chu. He was also specially assigned to the Ministry of Justice by the Emperor. Lord Wei, the Minister of Justice, understood this well and assigned him to a key role, putting him in charge of handling an important case.

As the King of Chu gained influence and Prince Rui lost his power, Ji Yanming’s status also rose. During this critical time, a person’s trustworthiness was judged by how busy they were.

Lord Yu told Tao Sheng: “Lord Ji has been staying at the Ministry of Justice, too busy to leave. He can’t even think about leaving the capital, so he asked me to send Lord Luo back. I hope Lord Luo can forgive him.”

Tao Sheng didn’t mind these details and wouldn’t blame Ji Yanming for these matters. As long as Ji Yanming was safe, that was all that mattered to her.

And so, the matter of returning to the capital was settled.

Tao Sheng bowed to Lord Yu and said, “Thank you for your care during these days. If there’s anything I can help with in the future, please let me know.”

_

Ji’s house.

After five days of work at the Ministry of Justice, Ji Yanming finally had time to come home before bed.

Su Wan and Luo Xiu had already taken their children to bed. Su Jia had just finished working on some accounts and, seeing Ji Yanming, joked, “You finally made it home. I was starting to think you weren’t at the Ministry of Justice for work but had committed a crime and couldn’t leave!”

Ji Yanming smiled helplessly and said, “Mother, please don’t joke like that. I’m busy with official duties.”

“I know you’re busy. You’ve been sleeping as soon as you come home these past few days, so I didn’t ask about anything,” Su Jia replied. “But since you’re back earlier today, I can’t help asking about Xiao Sheng. How is she? When will she come back? Do you have any news?”

“I was going to tell you about this. I’ve already arranged with Lord Yu to bring her here, and it should be within the next two days.”

Hearing this, Su Jia smiled even more. She then pulled Ji Yanming aside and asked eagerly, “Have you made any new progress with Xiao Sheng?”

“No.”

Recently, both Ji Yanming and Tao Sheng had been under a lot of pressure and had to handle many things themselves. They had no time to think about personal matters.

Su Jia shook her head in disappointment.

She had hoped that during their time in Ling Country, they might develop feelings for each other, but it seemed like nothing had changed. She was worried that Ji Yanming might really end up alone, just as the Taoist had predicted.

Since Tao Sheng hadn’t returned yet, there wasn’t much Su Jia could do to help push things forward.

Su Jia sighed and changed the topic: “The situation in the city was tense recently, and since neither of you were here, Tao Sheng’s mother, Madam Luo, took us to a farm outside the city and arranged for protection. Now that you’re back, we should go thank them.”

Although they did it out of respect for Tao Sheng, they still needed to show proper courtesy.

“Of course,” Ji Yanming replied.

After all, it was his mother-in-law’s family, and he had to show respect and gratitude.

_

It was already afternoon by the time Tao Sheng returned to the capital.

The people at Ji’s house knew she was coming back but didn’t know the exact time, so everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Today, the Ji residence felt particularly quiet. However, Xiao Feng, who stayed to watch over the house, remained as lively as ever. When Tao Sheng arrived, it immediately rushed over to greet her excitedly.

Tao Sheng had been away from home for a long time and experienced many challenges. Seeing Xiao Feng’s energetic welcome finally made her feel like she was truly home.

Tao Sheng crouched down, gently stroked Xiao Feng, and spoke to it lovingly, her words soft and hard to understand.

Ji Yanming entered the scene and saw Tao Sheng interacting warmly with Xiao Feng. She seemed even more joyful than when he last saw her in Ling Country.

Ji Yanming’s mood darkened slightly as he saw this. Xiao Feng, sensing his presence, folded its wings and looked at him cautiously.

Tao Sheng noticed Xiao Feng’s gaze and turned to see Ji Yanming standing beside her. Embarrassed, she stood up, adjusted her belt, and smiled at Ji Yanming. “Cousin, you’re back. Lord Yu said you’ve been very busy these past few days, barely having time to sleep at home. On my way back, I passed by Xuefangzhai ^[1]refers to a famous pastry shop. and saw they had just made some fresh snacks. I picked up a few of your favorites, thinking you wouldn’t be home until evening, but here you are already!”

“Yes, I got off work earlier today.”

He had received a letter the day before, informing him that Tao Sheng would arrive this afternoon, so he asked the Minister of Justice to let him come home early.

Tao Sheng, still thinking about the snacks, gestured for Ji Yanming to follow her into the house. “You’ve been busy all day, so you must be hungry. Fresh snacks are the best when they’re still warm. Let me get them for you.”

After Tao Sheng spoke, Xiao Feng noticed that the cold aura around Ji Yanming instantly melted away like snow in spring, replaced by warm, peach-colored bubbles floating through the air.

Xiao Feng chuckled inwardly. 

“Oh, men. That’s all it takes. Our Xiao Taotao can easily make you melt with just a flick of her finger.”