Xiao Qian suddenly understood—the safest place was the most dangerous one.
His young friend had hidden the person in the bedchamber’s duty room.
Just as he was about to speak, a palace maid stammered, “Your Majesty, the imperial physician says Miss Yun needs rest to recover.”
Yun Yi’s shoulder throbbed with pain, but she had slept too long and felt stiff all over. She wanted to go out for some fresh air.
In this palace, the emperor was the boss, and she was just a guest. Observing the proper etiquette of a good guest, she asked the “emperor” before her, “Can I go over there for a walk?”
Xiao Qian followed her gaze to an open courtyard—a blind spot between the east wall of the bedchamber and the storeroom, a place the emperor rarely visited.
“If I said no, you’d probably hit me,” Xiao Qian said, pointing to his temple—the very spot where she had “indirectly struck him” in the secret prison.
Yun Yi raised an eyebrow. “You’re injured?”
Not only was he injured, but why had he stopped calling himself “zhen” (the imperial “we”)?
Thinking of her small satchel, Yun Yi moved to the imperial desk and looked at the “emperor” again. “May I take something?”
Xiao Qian smiled and made a “go ahead” gesture.
Yun Yi swiftly pulled out a small box, rummaged through her satchel, and produced a bandage, handing it to the “emperor.” “Here, put this on.”
Xiao Qian took the thin strip, his expression unreadable. “What is this…?”
Huh? Yun Yi thought to herself. The emperor today is a bit slow.
“Put it here,” she said, pointing to her brow bone.
Xiao Qian sensed a hint of “You can’t even do this? How dumb” in her expression.
He clenched the bandage in his palm and felt like walking out.
But Yun Yi wouldn’t let him. “Hey, I’m not done with you yet. I was clearly sleeping in the Taoist temple—why did I wake up here?”
When arguing, the fiercer one has the upper hand—that’s how all those domineering CEO novels went.
The “emperor” before her had shed his menacing aura and looked more like a dazed village goose. Yun Yi began listing the ten atrocities of the wretched emperor, growing more aggressive as she spoke. “I saved your life, and you threw me into that horrible place?”
“You, surnamed Xiao, I’m sleeping here tonight. I’m not leaving!”
“Sleep wherever you like,” Xiao Qian said, grinding his teeth. Of all things, why did she have to come inspect the emperor’s bedchamber? Now he was getting an earful from this young lady.
Hmm? That was easy. Yun Yi asked suspiciously, “You’d even let me sleep in your bed?”
Xiao Qian: “Mm.” (After all, you two already share a couch and a blanket anyway.)
Hmm, something’s off. Yun Yi circled to the other side of the bedchamber, where the emperor’s throne sat, its yellow leather surface gleaming dully. With the weather turning cold, a new tiger skin had been draped over the backrest.
“Can I sit on the dragon throne?”
Xiao Qian: “Sure, sure.”
This is a trap. Definitely a trap. Yun Yi shifted a step. “Are you serious?”
Xiao Qian clicked his tongue and said in a dismissive tone, “Enough with the chatter.” (It’s not me sitting on it. If you do, your head’s the one rolling.)
Yun Yi lifted the hideously ugly Taoist robe, and emboldened by her status as the emperor’s savior, sat down without hesitation.
The palace maid’s knees went weak. “…” Heavens! Why did I have to see this?
Yun Yi sat for a while. This dragon throne wasn’t as grand as the one the emperor used when receiving officials, but it was exquisitely crafted. She ran her fingers over the intricate embroidered patterns, then sank into the softness.
“Comfortable?” Xiao Qian asked.
“So-so,” Yun Yi said, tapping the carved dragon on the armrest. “Not as good as my ergonomic chair.”
“…?” Listen to her. What nonsense is she spouting now?
“You know, the one you sat on last time. It was expensive.”
Keep bad company and you’ll follow suit. Xiao Qian couldn’t tell whether the emperor had rubbed off on her or she had corrupted him.
He brushed his sleeve and said, “I’m leaving.”
“Hey, aren’t you going to put on the bandage?” Yun Yi chased after him. “Do you even know how to use it?”
Xiao Qian clutched the thin bandage and walked faster and faster.
—
The Beidi envoy had rushed to offer condolences for Emperor Yan Wu’s death—an unmistakable signal of seeking peace.
But no sooner had the envoy left the city and stopped at a relay station than trouble broke out.
No one expected the imperial chariot to arrive in person at the station.
On the bed, the envoy lay barely breathing. His two trusted attendants were already dead.
“How is it?” Xiao Zhi’s gaze swept over the envoy’s purple-black lips.
Imperial Physician Zhang said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, this appears to be poisoning. We need to examine everything the envoy and his party have eaten.”
The innkeeper knelt on the ground, two small dark stains of sweat seeping into the floor beneath his head.
“Y-Your Majesty, please understand, this humble one truly does not know. The kitchen prepared some simple home-cooked meals. The envoy and the guest in the other room both ate them… b-but only the envoy fell ill.”
Whoever administered the poison was targeting the Beidi envoy specifically.
Xiao Zhi said, “Move the Beidi envoy to Minister Cen’s residence and ensure he receives proper medical care.”
Cen Ni, the Minister of Justice, who was not present at all: …
“Imperial Physician Zhang,” the Emperor’s gaze flicked to him, “you will go as well.”
Imperial Physician Zhang: “Your Majesty…”
His scalp tingled as countless thoughts raced through his mind: Had the Emperor discovered that he was working for the Dowager Empress and the Fifth Prince? And Cen Ni was the Dowager Empress’s maternal cousin—they had always been close.
By ordering him to treat the Beidi envoy at Cen Ni’s residence, was the Emperor warning the Dowager Empress’s faction?
Where exactly was this move landing?
—
Once everything had been properly handled, the imperial chariot slowly made its way back toward the palace.
Xiao Zhi lifted the carriage curtain. A few strands of evening breeze slipped in, and the setting sun’s afterglow instantly flooded the carriage. Along the street, commoners knelt by the roadside.
A random thought struck him: On the third day after his father ascended the throne, he had snuck out of the palace with a eunuch. On those same bustling streets, someone ahead had shouted, “The Emperor approaches!” The surrounding commoners had dropped to their knees like a wheat field bowing to the wind.
The eunuch had tugged his sleeve, and Xiao Zhi had knelt down too.
His tender knees had struck the ground, and the dough figurine clutched in his hand had snapped in two.
In that moment, a secret hatred had welled up inside him, aimed directly at his father, who sat atop the pinnacle of power.
Wang Delan, who was accompanying the chariot, proclaimed the imperial edict: “There is no need to kneel before the imperial chariot.”
The commoners remained prostrate. No one dared to rise.
Never mind.
Xiao Zhi’s thoughts drifted. If a certain someone were here, she would surely be the first to stand up.
The chariot passed a clothing shop. Inside hung many fashionable young ladies’ dresses.
“Your Majesty?” Wang Delan followed his gaze. “Shall I have the palace embroidery workshop work through the night to make some?”
Xiao Zhi suddenly said, “Is she worthy of that?”
“…” Who exactly was the Emperor cursing?
“The first one on the left, and that water-green one on the right.” Xiao Zhi thought for a moment, then placed his hand horizontally just below his collarbone to measure. “About up to here on me.”
Wang Delan accepted the bewildering order. The shopkeeper stayed kneeling through the entire imperial transaction.
Only when paying did Wang Delan realize—wasn’t the Emperor measuring someone’s height?
Who on earth could be that short? Truly a mystery.
—
“Oh my, let me take a look, who do we have here?” The imperial chariot was blocked in the middle of the street by a tall warhorse. Just hearing that infuriatingly smug tone told him who it was.
They were near the palace now, on a wide road with few people. Xiao Zhi leaned half his face out the window. “Huai Wang, blocking the imperial chariot—what is your intention?”
Xiao Qian raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “What, going to chop off my head?”
As he raised his brow, Xiao Zhi saw clearly the flesh-colored bandage stuck to his brow bone—a long strip that glowed faintly gold in the setting sun, stark against Xiao Qian’s cool pale skin.
The Emperor’s gaze locked onto it, fixated on Xiao Qian’s eyebrow without moving.
Xiao Qian deliberately arched his brow. “Is my eyebrow really that beautiful?”
Xiao Zhi: “Where did you get that?”
Xiao Qian pulled the reins. The stallion beneath him lazily pranced in small steps. “Naturally, someone gave it to me.”
“Did you go to my bedchamber?” Xiao Zhi looked as though he wanted to flay him alive.
“Yes. Otherwise, where would I find a kind soul to give me such a thing?” Xiao Qian’s fingertip traced the edge of the bandage. It had taken him ages to figure out how to use it. “Works really well, you know. The wound heals fast.”
Even though wearing this thing was a serious detriment to his face’s peerless magnificence.
But right now, facing his younger brother the Emperor’s utterly defeated expression, Xiao Qian decided it wasn’t so bad after all.
“Rest assured, wearing it won’t do you any good. It only makes your face uglier.” Xiao Zhi thought of the bandage with Yun Yi’s handwriting on it, still stuck to the bedpost, and sneered. “Yours doesn’t have any talismanic writing on it, so naturally it’s useless.”
Xiao Qian: “!”
So that was it! He had always felt that thin little strip was missing something…
So that’s how it was.
That little tiger cub was in cahoots with his younger brother the Emperor!
After returning to the palace, the emperor did not go to his bedchamber to rest. Instead, he went to the imperial study to review memorials.
Wang Delan’s heart ached for him. “Your Majesty, the imperial kitchen—”
“Summon the meal.”
For the first time, the emperor had his evening meal in the study.
Today, he was a diligent ruler.
After eating, Xiao Zhi dawdled, unwilling to leave. He even summoned palace attendants to inquire about the Dowager Empress’s recent well-being.
The emperor never concerned himself with the Dowager Empress’s affairs.
Today, he was also a “filial” sovereign.
The moon shone bright, and stars dotted the sky.
Just as Wang Delan thought the emperor would spend the night in the study’s side chamber, Xiao Zhi suddenly ordered the chariot back to his bedchamber.
When the imperial chariot returned, the lantern-holding palace maids knelt.
Xiao Zhi halted. “Why have you left your post?” The duty room was still holding a certain unruly person. Was no one looking after her meals?
The palace maid stammered, “Your Majesty, Miss Yun was hungry. This servant wanted to find her something to eat.”
This was not the path to the imperial kitchen.
“Where were you going to get it?”
“To-to this servant’s own quarters, to fetch some… dried flatbread.”
Xiao Zhi understood. The imperial kitchen only prepared food for the emperor and the masters of each palace. How would a servant dare to help herself?
That meant someone had gone hungry the entire day.
“Summon the meal. Quickly.”
Xiao Zhi detoured and walked straight to the duty room.
He stood silently before the door for a moment, then said in a strained voice, “Come out.”
No sound came from inside.
Thinking of her pitifully enduring hunger all day, his tone unconsciously softened. “I have ordered food to be brought.”
The palace maid trembled. “Your Majesty, Miss Yun is not inside.”
She had run off?
Xiao Zhi was about to order a search when he noticed the palace maid’s evasive gaze, nervously flicking toward the depths of the bedchamber.
Something was amiss in there.
The emperor followed step by step, walking toward the all-too-familiar bedchamber. With each step, the fragrance grew stronger—a familiar scent interwoven with something entirely new.
The smell became increasingly distinct.
Xiao Zhi stopped before the dragon bed. The golden-yellow bed curtains hung down, and from within came the sound of someone humming an off-key tune.
His bed had been commandeered.
Behind him, the palace attendants dropped to their knees in unison, knocking their heads against the floor.
The noise disturbed the nest usurper. A pale hand emerged from the curtains, pulling them open just a crack.
Through the gap appeared a pair of dark, glistening eyes. They blinked a few times, took a good look, and then spoke in a familiar, casual tone: “You’re back?”
A vein bulged faintly at Xiao Zhi’s temple.
The crack widened, revealing both eyes.
“Hmm? What’s wrong with you?”
Xiao Zhi narrowed his eyes and shot back, “Aren’t you hungry?” And yet you have the leisure to sleep?
“Ah.” The person on the bed sighed. “Lying down reduces energy consumption. If I fall asleep quickly, I won’t feel hungry anymore.”
Xiao Zhi was about to respond when another languid remark drifted from the bed: “I came as a guest to the palace, but I couldn’t even get a single bowl of plain white rice. I didn’t even dare drink much water.”
“Couldn’t you pour yourself a cup of tea?” Did he have to spoon-feed her as well?
“Tch. Drinking one sip of your water would cost me my tongue. If I dared touch your precious teapot, you’d cut off my hands and turn me into a human stump.”
The palace maids nearly buried their faces into the floor tiles.
“…” Another vein pulsed at the emperor’s temple. He yanked open the bed curtain.
The person on the bed lay stiff as a board, hands crossed over her chest, looking as peacefully serene as if she had ascended to heaven on a crane.
“Then what did you drink?” Xiao Zhi’s gaze fell on her lips.
Pink and moist. How could someone who had gone without water all day show no signs of dryness?
Yun Yi kept her eyes closed. “Went to your little courtyard and drank from the fish pond.”
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