Evening, in the palace.

Lian Yu was reviewing memorials in the imperial study when a eunuch outside respectfully reported, “Your Majesty, Miss Shuangcheng requests an audience.”

Lian Yu set down his brush, “Please ask the young lady to enter.”

Soon, the woman entered and bowed, “I greet Your Majesty.”

Her face showed some trepidation as she smiled bitterly, “If not summoned, Shuangcheng really shouldn’t come to this imperial study. Shuangcheng is being presumptuous.”

Lian Yu slightly raised his eyebrows, “You shouldn’t, yet you came anyway. Speak your mind—I won’t blame you.”

The man gestured for her to sit down, his eyes holding a shallow smile. His amber eyes flowed with warm brown light, like thin colored glass, yet making it impossible to see to the bottom.

Before, he would never make such jokes. He had changed, becoming increasingly modest and unfathomable, impossible to grasp.

Shuangcheng was somewhat lost in thought until Lian Yu lightly tapped the table with his bent finger, the soft sounds reminding her of her slight loss of composure.

She didn’t sit down, but bent and curtsied again, saying softly, “I heard Your Majesty will depart in three days to inspect the imperial mausoleum construction progress in the south. Shuangcheng requests… requests to accompany Your Majesty.”

Lian Yu’s eyes showed slight sternness, “Shuangcheng, this trip is not for pleasure.”

“This servant knows,” Shuangcheng still smiled bitterly, “It’s just that this servant is truly fearful of these days of terror and anxiety in the palace…”

“I have already issued a decree—no one dares touch you.”

“What about the Empress Dowager?”

“She won’t,” Lian Yu said flatly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and sighed slightly, “Though I was negligent. If she has Wuyan act as the villain, that would be troublesome.”

“She would have Noble Consort Wei harm me…” Shuangcheng was also slightly shaken at these words. After a long moment, she said, “Your Majesty understands women’s psychology well.”

Lian Yu chuckled, “It’s not understanding women’s psychology, but rather that at the peak of worldly power, mutual deception and using others as tools is generally the way.”

“Shuangcheng, go back and prepare. You may also accompany the imperial procession.”

Shuangcheng was surprised and delighted, bowing gracefully in thanks. She was an extremely patient person, but at this moment, long-suppressed joy stirred her heart. She also saw the golden evening light streaming through the window, its flowing golden radiance ancient and serene. Since Lian Yu was in mourning, he wore white casual clothes with plum and bamboo patterns on the lapels. His hands were folded and placed on the table, elegant to the extreme, yet his eyes faintly revealed a powerful force. Between strength and gentleness, he was impossible to look up at. For a moment, she couldn’t help being infatuated, thinking over and over: why wasn’t she the one now by this man’s side?

Though she had suppressed it bitterly, she finally couldn’t contain the question that had long pressed on her heart, “Did Your Majesty originally bring Shuangcheng into the palace because of Sister Aluo?”

Though she asked, she feared hearing the answer.

Lian Yu’s expression also changed slightly. After a long moment, he finally said flatly, “You once studied in the palace’s upper study hall, but not long after, you stopped due to poor health. Only after Aluo was absent for some time did your health improve, and you went to study at a private school in the countryside—this went on for several years. If you had never returned, that would have been fine, but you eventually came back. Although you were engaged to the Prime Minister with the wedding set for three years later, Mother Empress was still uneasy, because you look extremely similar to your sister… So she summoned you to the palace, encouraging you to marry the Prime Minister soon.”

“Yes, the Empress Dowager dislikes my sister and also dislikes me, fearing that my return to the capital… might stir Your Majesty’s thoughts.” Shuangcheng said this while slightly clenching her fingers, her cheeks reddening.

Lian Yu saw her shy and uneasy, afraid of frightening her, and sighed slightly. His voice was no longer as cold as before, “The day you entered the palace, Consort was ill, and I went to see her. This illness came at just the right time—how could I not know the machinations behind it? Mother Empress actually knew she couldn’t stop me, but was merely using this to remind me not to go see you. But I eventually went anyway.”

“I wanted to see you, to see how Aluo’s younger sister had grown and how she was doing.”

Shuangcheng’s eyes grew hot, but she stubbornly remained silent, gently wiping away tears with her hand and looking up intently at the young yet majestic sovereign before her.

“Unfortunately, I lost composure that day. The moment I saw you, I even smashed my teacup to pieces. In the past, when you hadn’t fully grown, you only resembled Aluo by five or six parts, but now it’s a full seven or eight parts.”

“Moreover, when you declined the Empress Dowager’s suggestion and were unwilling to move up the wedding date, at that moment, I knew I had to bring you into the palace. Otherwise, Mother Empress might not spare you. There are too many opportunities outside the palace—only by keeping you under my nose can I be at ease.”

Shuangcheng murmured in a low voice, “So you brought me in for this reason.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for ruining your engagement with the Prime Minister. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to live in fear of being murdered at any time. But now that you’ve already been frightened by Consort’s affair, I might as well tell you everything.”

“Don’t be afraid. Unless I die, no one can touch you.”

Lian Yu smiled, his eyes deep and steady with certainty.

This was an emperor’s promise, moreover, an exceptionally capable emperor’s promise.

Shuangcheng’s heart jumped, and she gently covered her mouth. The worry and desolation that had hung like a sharp blade over her head was soothed away by him in this moment—by this most noble man under heaven.

“Thank you, brother-in-law.”

A trace of charm flickered in her eyes.

Lian Yu was startled. This was something Lian Yu had never seen before, appearing on her usually cool demeanor.

She had closed the door when entering. Now, Shuangcheng glanced at the window, quickly walked to close it, then swiftly returned, walked to Lian Yu’s side, bent down, and kissed him.

She withdrew immediately after the brief contact.

The man’s soft, warm lips full of masculine scent made her heart race and confused her. She hurriedly glanced at him, saw his furrowed brows, and quickly opened the door and ran out.

All the way, her steps were hurried, but smiles kept spilling from her lips. She thought that even the usually composed Lian Yu would be flustered now.

She couldn’t help feeling giddy with happiness.

…

In the imperial study, Lian Yu was indeed somewhat shaken—he had absolutely not expected this. He slightly furrowed his brows and reached for his teacup, but hesitated before rinsing his mouth. He had to admit that for a moment, his heart had stirred slightly at those eyes so exactly like Aluo’s…

When Suzhen returned to the Chief Justice residence, it was already nightfall.

Everyone was waiting for her to eat in the hall. Uncle Fu quickly set out bowls and chopsticks for her, thought for a moment, then handed her a letter, saying it came from the Quan residence.