Li Yuanying entered the mansion surrounded by eunuchs. After the crowd dispersed, Huo Qi Lang quietly got off the carriage. Moments later, she discovered that Kang Simo, who had fled during the incident, was nonchalantly mixed in with the returning entourage.

She grabbed him and dragged him to a corner against the wall, mocking, “You deserter, you still have the face to return to the ranks?”

Huo Qi Lang had already removed her disguise makeup and resumed her own voice. Kang Simo was first suspicious and uncertain, then said righteously, “I’m an interpreter, not combat personnel.”

He patted the small dagger at his waist, saying, “You sword-bearers are the soldiers – this of mine is just a dining knife for cutting mutton. Besides, I ran out first to seek reinforcements, not for personal safety. The Prince hasn’t said anything, so who are you to meddle in such matters?”

Hearing “seek reinforcements,” Huo Qi Lang’s grip involuntarily loosened. Kang Simo gained some freedom and immediately turned and ran away.

Returning to the main chamber, Li Yuanying rested briefly before summoning Yuan Shaobai for a private discussion, informing him of the suspicious behavior Huo Qi had observed among the guards. The two deliberated for nearly an hour before Commandant Yuan dispatched several scouts.

Late at night, Huo Qi Lang thought she wouldn’t be needed today and had already lain down in the guard quarters when she was summoned again to keep night watch in the main chamber. Madam Li firmly believed in mysticism and worried that curse magic might harm Prince Shao – unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to separate from the guard.

Li Yuanying had already changed out of his banquet finery, washed, and gone to bed, surrounded by layers of curtains around his couch. Huo Qi Lang kept him company on the nearby footstool, listening to his breathing and knowing he wasn’t actually asleep.

His unguarded anger in the carriage, his shock when awakened to reality, and his subsequent bewildered helplessness – Huo Qi Lang had observed it all. Though illiterate, she was extremely sensitive to subtle emotional changes. From past experience, she understood this was when she should leave. Otherwise, someone would get hurt.

But she had already taken payment and shouldered the task of protecting him, to ward off those mysterious evil influences of unknown existence. If she abandoned her post, would his condition continue to worsen? She was never responsible for emotions, but was responsible for her mission.

The guards’ suspicious behavior at the banquet should have been reported to him tomorrow morning, Huo Qi Lang thought. Such a meticulous person would dissect and examine every detail upon reflection – even without illness, how could he possibly sleep peacefully?

She knew he couldn’t sleep, and he knew she knew.

Every time he turned over, the subtle sound of silk bedding rustling against the mattress made time seem infinitely stretched. Each moment felt heavy as slowly sinking quicksand, making one feel endless torment in the silence. They silently confronted each other until midnight, when Huo Qi Lang quietly rose and poured a cup of water.

Holding a lotus-shaped cup in one hand and gently lifting the silk curtain with the other, she saw Li Yuanying sitting alone in the darkness, his posture completely unlike the proud, cold image from the banquet.

“Your Highness, drink some water to moisten your throat.” She offered the lotus cup.

Li Yuanying looked over silently, his gaze deep and complex, but not focused on the water cup. She held the vessel like this, waiting patiently. Suddenly, Li Yuanying extended both arms, grabbed her collar, and yanked her forcefully into the silk curtains.

Huo Qi Lang thought this person who was accustomed to playing polo had decent arm strength – when occasionally provoked to violence, it actually hurt quite a bit. If this were a wrestling match, she could use the “thousand-pound drop” technique, rooting herself to the ground like a pine tree so no one could easily pin her down. But at this moment, Huo Qi simply relaxed and let him drag her, lying down accordingly.

Clumsy kisses mixed with unresolved anger fell upon her. He was someone who needed servants to help him dress and didn’t even know how to untie her belt. He was the most beautiful, yet also the most unromantic.

Her foot knocked over a silver incense burner, her horizontal sword overturned the lotus cup, and the gorgeous heavy silk bedding was soaked with clear water. Water stains spread gradually along the fabric’s grain. As the bed shook, the cup slid from the edge to the footstool, slowly rolling several times before falling to the floor with a barely perceptible sound.

Huo Qi Lang embraced his elegant, towering shoulder blades and whispered gently, “Don’t rush, take your time.”

The silk curtains fell. Hazy moonlight cast upon the water cup, creating a blurred shadow that quietly shifted as time passed.

After a long while, intense breathing gradually calmed, and all those unspeakable emotions were completely released. The lingering warmth remained within the silk curtains – warm, tinged with moist perspiration, allowing one to temporarily shed heavy burdens and feel the peaceful relaxation of a tranquil mind.

Huo Qi Lang listened to her bedmate’s heartbeat return to calm, kissed his hair, and was about to disentangle their intertwined limbs to get up and dress as usual. But this time, Li Yuanying extended his arm and wrapped it around her waist.

He wanted to keep her a while longer. Making love in bed was ordinary, but lying in bed doing nothing together had some meaningful, special significance.

Huo Qi Lang said helplessly, “If assassins attack, it would be quite embarrassing for me to crawl up and fight them like this.”

Li Yuanying closed his eyes and said in a muffled voice, “Cut them in two – dead people see nothing.”

Huo Qi Lang recalled the previous night’s banquet incident and smiled, “Were you excited when you saw me draw my sword?”

He buried half his face in the pillow, black hair concealing his features, saying nothing. This was tacit acknowledgment. For such a stubborn person to be so honest was rare. Huo Qi Lang felt pleased and slid down to embrace him again. After a moment, Li Yuanying said, “That stroke was beautiful – clean and efficient, with no blood.”

“But most of the time there’s heavy bleeding, with organs spilling everywhere, messy and dirty. It’s not easy to wipe the sword clean.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Li Yuanying’s face showed disgust. Huo Qi Lang recalled the hemostatic formula he had sought by every means, that bag of mysterious soil now placed in the jade box beside his pillow within arm’s reach.

“Do you detest bloodshed?” she asked.

“…”

Rather than detestation, it was more like fear. Since witnessing that incident years ago, the sight of fresh blood would cause him to freeze and feel dizzy.

“But your every command can cause corpses to litter the ground and blood to flow everywhere. People like me are just swords in your hands.” She spoke without any emotion. That night at the military governor’s mansion when heads rolled was just an extremely small number.

“I know,” Li Yuanying said softly. “I have witnessed such scenes. This is the curse we people of our kind bear.”

He said nothing more, only held her tightly. A person’s status is usually distinguished by clothing – the noble wear jade crowns and purple robes, the lowly wear straw sandals and cloth garments. But when both are completely naked, such differences in status are temporarily cast aside – this is one reason why skin-to-skin intimacy is addictive.

The two pillowed together and gradually fell asleep. Perhaps not the same dreams, but that didn’t matter.

The moon set and stars moved; dawn light appeared faintly. Huo Qi Lang was awakened by the chirping of sparrows and quietly rose to dress and put on boots. One night of pleasure wouldn’t give her the illusion that she could share a pillow until dawn every day – people ultimately must put on their own clothes.

When her shift ended, she stretched and opened the door to go out. Madam Li led maids and eunuchs to take over. Seeing her leave casually, Madam Li wanted to speak but hesitated. A crow’s cry overhead interrupted her thoughts, and ultimately she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

A day later, news arrived. Yuan Shaobai immediately reported, and Li Yuanying summoned his confidants. This time, he kept Huo Qi Lang present as well.

“Liu Kun’s guard officers harbor rebellious intentions – they’ll probably mutiny soon.”

Prince Shao’s words shocked everyone, but considering this was Youzhou Prefecture with its tradition of subordinates overthrowing superiors, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“Liu Kun has held this position too long. He loves luxury, has a cruel temperament, and has forgotten the iron rule that generals must share hardships with their soldiers. His guards plan to replace him with a new military governor. Huo Qi Lang once saw low-ranking soldiers gambling desperately in gambling houses – they were precisely guard troops who had received battlefield subsidies. When the accident occurred at the banquet, Liu Kun’s personal guards actually regarded him as the priority target for attack, showing the situation can no longer be stopped. We just don’t know the specific timing for action.”

Yuan Shaobai spoke: “Liu Kun’s guards are divided into left and right divisions. The left is commanded by his younger brother Liu Mian, so it’s most likely the right division’s people.”

Li Chengyin said, “We can’t rule out the possibility that Liu Mian wants to replace him.”

Li Yuanying said, “In any case, this is a rare opportunity requiring patient preparation. Just as when the Tang court weakens the military governors become insubordinate, when a commander’s control is insufficient, ambitious generals will always develop rebellious thoughts. They attach to the strong and betray the weak – this is natural law.”

Huo Qi Lang didn’t understand strategic matters and had no interest in them. After listening to their discussion for a while, she felt bored and looked out the window, seeing several sparrows fighting over food at the drainage well, feathers flying everywhere. Taking advantage of their tea break, she shared this as an interesting story: “Your Highness just mentioned attaching to the strong and betraying the weak. From what I observe, only the sparrows in the royal mansion achieve victory through weakness and overturn their superiors.”

Yuan Shaobai was about to order her to be quiet for talking nonsense in a military conference when Li Yuanying said, “Let her continue.”

Huo Qi Lang spoke eloquently: “What the royal mansion lacks least is crows. Compared to crows, sparrows are naturally the weaker party, but crows never dare to feed in the mansion. Instead, sparrows can compete for food right in front of them. Isn’t this victory through weakness?”

Everyone felt this topic had nothing to do with important matters and completely deviated from the subject. Only Li Yuanying deliberately rose and stood at her position to look out the window, observing for a while.

Shortly after, he asked, “Household Administrator, how many drainage wells are there in the mansion?”

Li Chengyin replied, “Each courtyard has one.”

“Do such strange occurrences happen at every drainage well?”

Li Chengyin was stumped – after all, no idle person would pay special attention to such trivial matters. Crows were birds second in strength only to raptors and liked to attack in groups. Often, even when hawks and falcons were provoked by crow flocks, they would abandon their attacks and leave. For nobles accustomed to raising raptors, the idea of crows fearing sparrows was inconceivable.

Li Yuanying put aside the military conference and ordered Yuan Shaobai to immediately take people to check the drainage wells separately, bringing back any food scraps remaining above the wells, and preferably prying open the well covers for a careful look.

Half an incense stick later, while guards were still prying well covers, Yuan Shaobai had already brought back the anomaly: at the western courtyard’s drainage well, two dead sparrows hadn’t yet been swept away.

Everyone present was extremely intelligent. Madam Li immediately ordered trusted maids to dissect the sparrows’ stomachs and intestines, extracting the remains and placing them on a silver tray to test for poison. After a brief pause, the shining silver developed a very faint tarnish.

Li Chengyin said in shock, “Someone in the western courtyard is pouring poisonous wastewater into the drainage well? Sparrows are stupid and died from eating it. But crows are extremely clever – once their companions are poisoned to death, they won’t approach the toxin again. No wonder the crows in the western courtyard are particularly fierce…”

Li Yuanying frowned tightly at the mottled silver tray, feeling something was extremely wrong but unable to find the thread.

However, Huo Qi Lang recalled that day when she went to the western courtyard to meet the Princess Consort and the scene of women pounding silk. She spoke up to inquire: “Madam, Old Qi has something I don’t understand and would like to ask an expert.”

Madam Li also knew this matter was serious and responded absent-mindedly, “What is it?”

“Do colored silks need to be processed by pounding?”

Madam Li shook her head: “Plain satins and white silk can be, but colored satins are never pounded. Colored silk fabrics lose two parts of their color and luster just from one washing, which is why His Highness’s garments are discarded after wearing just once.”

In Huo Qi Lang’s mind appeared the scene of colored satins fluttering in the wind as they dried under the western courtyard’s walkway, and eunuchs carrying the wastewater from silk pounding to pour into the drainage well.

Without waiting for all the clues to connect completely, she immediately stood up, grabbed Li Yuanying’s collar, and while forcefully tearing his clothes, pushed him toward the bed behind the screen. Under her violent hands, outer robes and undergarments became fragments.

She had done this more than once before, but always in private intimacy – never so abruptly in front of others. Everyone was shocked into stillness. Yuan Shaobai placed his hand on his sword hilt, considered briefly, then released it. Everyone had long known about their master’s private affairs tacitly, and no one wanted to meddle.

But as Huo Qi Lang was committing insubordination in public, Yuan Shaobai as her superior couldn’t ignore it. He quickly followed, finding she had already stripped Prince Shao naked and wrapped him in bedding. Li Yuanying looked completely astonished, shocked and angry, unable to utter a word.

Yuan Shaobai difficultly managed to voice a reprimand: “You’d better have extremely sufficient reasons to explain your behavior, or you’ll face military punishment.”

Huo Qi Lang looked up and said, “I do have sufficient reason – his clothes are poisoned.”