A small patch of shadow fell across Yang Fu’s face.

She looked up—the light blue prayer robe’s hem, gathered slenderly upward, the shawl and silk ribbons hanging from the skirt, along with the hair by her cheeks, swaying with each step, increasingly accentuating that woman’s elegant and composed bearing.

Qun Qing crouched down and handed the sweet bun to Yang Fu. To those watching from afar, it appeared a gesture of concern and inquiry.

Up close, it was not so. Recognizing who it was, Yang Fu’s blood rushed to her face. She broke free from the palace servants’ support, sparing no effort to glare at Qun Qing with hateful eyes.

If eyes could transform into blades, Yang Fu wished to carve a gash in that face and see her pained expression. Yet Qun Qing’s pitch-black pupils collided directly with hers as she said in a low voice: “How does it feel? Mountains you lean on collapse, people you rely on flee. Try to depend on outside wolves and you’ll only be bitten back.”

Yang Fu froze. Qun Qing had never looked at her with such eyes. She realized Qun Qing was furious. It turned out her anger could chill one to the marrow: “How ridiculous—when did it become your place to judge me? Even if your former mistress has fallen on hard times, treating her this way—isn’t that disloyalty?”

“I died for you once—that was loyalty enough.” Qun Qing gazed at her calmly. “The current me has no relationship with you. I won, you lost.”

Yang Fu choked, feeling the latter sentence caused even more wrenching pain in her heart than the former, as if the Qun Qing who had once treated her tenderly had truly died. She said through gritted teeth: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll reveal who you are?”

“Say it right now in front of all these imperial relatives.” Qun Qing forcefully pressed the sweet bun into Yang Fu’s hands. “After you finish speaking, you and I will both stretch our necks for execution. In the netherworld, will you have the face to meet your ancestors and state altars? Will you have the face to meet the Grand Tutor and the Princess Imperial?”

Yang Fu fell silent, clutching the sweet bun tightly, her face turning deathly pale. This surprised Qun Qing somewhat—it turned out Yang Fu wasn’t someone who cared about nothing. The Grand Tutor’s teachings back then, Princess Changping’s constant admonitions, had entered her heart to some degree.

Qun Qing had come with this intention—to ensure Yang Fu didn’t reveal her identity. But to have her engage in false civilities with Yang Fu, she couldn’t do it either. That Yang Fu had this baseline made Qun Qing regard her slightly more highly.

Qun Qing left. She heard behind her Yang Fu hurl the triangular sweet bun to the ground. She paused, lifting her skirt to avoid being stained by the splattered brown sugar.

“Why bother with someone who treats kindness like garbage?” Zheng Zhiyi came over, pursing her lips, having palace servants clean up the ground, then pulling Qun Qing. “Come quickly—Prime Minister Meng wants to meet you.”

The lamp-lighting ceremony had concluded. The ministers waiting outside the hall had also entered to partake of the vegetarian feast. Prime Minister Meng was among them, specially coming to congratulate Zheng Zhiyi: “Just now, this subject was outside, listening with surging emotions. In the future, the crown princess consort will be His Highness’s worthy helpmate.”

Prime Minister Meng was the crown prince’s teacher. Zheng Zhiyi listened with great satisfaction, her cheeks flushing red.

Watching Meng Guangshen speak, Qun Qing couldn’t imagine that before today, he had sided with Princess Bao’an, competing for the crown princess consort position. Facts changed quite quickly indeed.

As she thought this, Meng Guangshen turned around, examining Qun Qing. Qun Qing hurriedly lowered her eyes to show proper respect.

Though past fifty, he still had an upright bearing and refined appearance, spirited eyes, a bearded face that added mature charm—known as the Beautiful Bearded Duke. His gaze was not presumptuous but rather contained a smile:

“I’ve long heard His Highness has a very capable woman at his side. Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times—truly extraordinary bearing. Young Lady Qing, well met.”

Qun Qing received with both hands the tea he offered, took a sip, then bowed: “This servant merely attends to the crown princess consort’s clothing, food, and lodging in the inner palace. Prime Minister Meng overpraises.”

“Why so tense?” One of the crown prince’s advisors didn’t take Qun Qing seriously. “Prime Minister Meng has a daughter about your age—presumably he sees you the same way.”

“Don’t be rude.” Meng Guangshen raised his hand. “Though Young Lady Qing is young, she is a capable person of the Eastern Palace, of the same generation as me and you. How can she be treated as a young child? We should learn from each other instead.” The advisor felt awkward and hastily apologized to Qun Qing.

Qun Qing received immense respect but felt somewhat uneasy instead. This Prime Minister Meng seemed much more steady than Meng Guanlou, making him unfathomable.

Meng Guangshen then drew from his sleeve a small dagger in a deerskin sheath: “First meeting, I have nothing good to give. This blade is produced in Kucha, inlaid with precious stones. Take it for self-defense, young lady.”

Li Xuan finally raised his eyes, unable to help saying: “Grand Tutor, what are you doing?”

“The person His Highness wishes to promote—how could this subject not support her?” Meng Guangshen sighed. “His Highness is a person of strong opinions, while this old subject has a doting mother’s mentality. Sometimes I take on too much, inevitably causing annoyance, but at heart I always hope for His Highness’s well-being. I hope His Highness will understand this old subject’s painstaking care.”

These words were earnest, leaving Li Xuan unable to respond: “It is I who am sometimes narrow-minded. Please forgive me, Grand Tutor.”

Qun Qing fingered the dagger in her sleeve. Prime Minister Meng elevated her, borrowing this to ease his relationship with Li Xuan. Seeing Li Xuan and Meng Guangshen seemed to have things to discuss, she withdrew.

On another side, Juan Su knelt nearby stuffing pastries into his mouth. This vegetarian feast truly lacked substance and wasn’t tasty, but he couldn’t resist the hunger in his belly.

Lu Huating raised his hand, pushing the plate of pastries before him to Juan Su’s side as well.

“Aren’t you eating anymore, Chief Administrator?” Juan Su asked.

Lu Huating gently set down his jade chopsticks, his dark eyes deep. After a long moment, he smiled: “Somewhat nauseous.”

With that, he rose and left his seat.

Qun Qing caught a trace of extremely faint yellow vanilla scent. Sensing something, she then heard someone hurry up from behind, brushing past her sleeve. She heard a crisp sound—the dagger in its deerskin pouch fell to the ground. Qun Qing felt her sleeve—it was empty.

Lu Huating had already picked up the dagger, carefully wiping away the dust. Qun Qing reached out her hand. Lu Huating’s lashes trembled, and suddenly the dagger slipped from the deerskin pouch and fell into a pond, splashing up water.

Qun Qing stared sharply at the pond, seeing only swaying pondweed, then looked toward the hall interior. Fortunately no one had seen. She flared with anger: “This was a gift from Prime Minister Meng. The Chief Administrator acts thus—aren’t you afraid I’ll report you?”

She recalled that transcription book. That day Lu Huating had looked at it for a long time. She had folded two pages, and when she returned to study them, those two pages were precisely the Meng family’s accounts. Lu Huating and the Meng family should have some grievance, but it was she who suffered the bad luck.

“A momentary slip—not intentional.” Lu Huating also gazed at the pond. “If Young Lady Qing wishes to report, then report. This isn’t the only charge.”

Qun Qing walked along the pond’s edge, willow shadows playing across her skirt, looking to see if there was any possibility it had been caught by water plants and could be retrieved.

She turned her head. Lu Huating had removed the dagger hanging from his belt, placing it on the stone bridge’s railing. “Lost one, so naturally I’ll compensate you with one. My apologies.”

—

The crown princess consort’s investiture ceremony was set for the first month of next year, to be completed together with the investiture ceremonies of several favored consorts.

Life at Qingxuan Pavilion didn’t change much. Ruo Chan carried large quantities of clothing in and out. Lan Yue greeted people everywhere. Qun Qing would, at the dim light of dawn, find wax pellets delivered by skylarks in the grass beneath her window and unfold them indoors.

Learning she had already obtained the transcription book, An Lin was greatly astonished, because that new “Killer” hadn’t even figured out the interior of the Siye Tower yet.

Qun Qing naturally wouldn’t mention she had borrowed Chun Niang’s influence. She told An Lin in steady tones that before long she would need to retrieve the real account books, and asked him to provide support once she succeeded.

An Lin understood the weight of these words and couldn’t help saying: “Young Lady Qing, not seeing you for a year, you’ve grown so much. To speak frankly, for this task, our master dispatched seven or eight people—most have been lost. If you can accomplish this task, your merit will probably be enough to promote you to ‘Heaven’ rank. Then it will be I who relies on you, Young Lady Qing.”

Naturally, she had to succeed first before she could receive An Lin’s reliance.

Li Xuan’s trust in Qun Qing advanced another step. Previously Qun Qing only helped stamp seals. Now when he suffered from insomnia and headaches, he actually took up the brush and had her personally review and approve memorials.

From this night duty onward, Qun Qing couldn’t let her mind wander for a moment. She suspected Li Xuan had originally planned exactly this—he wanted to find someone to be tremblingly cautious in his stead.

Li Xuan was especially irritable when instructing her on reviewing memorials. If not criticizing her indecisiveness, he scolded her for not knowing precedents or distinguishing importance.

But these things Qun Qing had never encountered before, so naturally she hit walls everywhere. If she didn’t want to make mistakes in haste, she slowed down, nearly delaying the crown prince’s affairs.

After being scolded for several days, Qun Qing began sleeping poorly.

So on this day, when Li Xuan heavily set down his wine cup and prepared to speak, Qun Qing spoke first: “This servant wishes to ask Your Highness—if Your Highness made an error, what would the result be?”

Li Xuan laughed coldly: “Damage the state’s fortunes, and I would be fined salary, forced to kneel, ashamed before my ancestors—nothing more.”

“Then if my error damaged the state’s fortunes, what would happen?”

Li Xuan froze, softly enunciating: “Death.”

Having said this, he had already guessed what Qun Qing would say. He hadn’t expected she would truly dare say it: “The reason Your Highness acts decisively in killing and cutting is because Your Highness is the crown prince—someone will help Your Highness bear the heavy responsibility. The reason this servant is slow is because if I err even once, there is only death awaiting me. Therefore I must be cautious to the utmost. If Your Highness were in this servant’s position, you might not be bolder than I am.”

“You’re truly bold.” Li Xuan’s expression changed. “You’re comparing yourself with me?”

“So, Your Highness.” Qun Qing looked at him with a pale face. “Please don’t scold this servant anymore. This servant also wants to be faster.”

Never before had a servant dared to talk back to him so righteously. Li Xuan was so angry his head spun, but seeing Qun Qing’s cheeks had truly thinned considerably, appearing haggard, for some reason, he ultimately didn’t speak.

The memorial in Qun Qing’s hand was submitted by a certain department head from the Ministry of Finance.

He said Lu Huating’s tally system led to frequent searches, exhausting the military and disturbing the people, causing considerable complaints among the common folk. Now that things were much more stable than in the first year of the Shenglin era, he petitioned to abolish this tally system.

Reading this memorial clearly, Qun Qing immediately agreed with it ten thousand times over in her heart.

If the tallies weren’t checked so strictly, she probably would have left the palace long ago.

But before she could speak, the memorial had already been snatched away by Li Xuan. Probably again finding her too slow, Li Xuan skimmed through it and took up the vermilion brush to mark a large X on it.

“Lu Huating’s measures coincide exactly with my own thinking.” Li Xuan’s expression was grim. “A year ago, how many people died at the hands of Southern Chu operatives? I think he doesn’t check strictly enough, his methods aren’t harsh enough. He should capture one and execute one. Even if Southern Chu has thousands remaining, there will be a day when they’re all killed.”

Qun Qing lowered her eyes, concealing her rapidly pounding heartbeat.

“This memorial is from Prince Yan’s consort.” Li Xuan had already tossed the next one to her, his face showing fatigue. “Internal palace affairs—you review them.”

It concerned the Buddha bone welcoming ceremony. After reading it, Qun Qing’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated: “According to old protocol, such ceremonies should release fifty palace maids. The prince’s consort proposes not to release them?”

If palace servants weren’t released, how would she leave the palace?

“The inner palace already lacks people. If it didn’t lack people, you wouldn’t have come out of the Lateral Courts either. Releasing more palace servants would stretch resources even thinner. Since she manages this household, naturally she’s unwilling to release them.”

Li Xuan sneered. Regarding Prince Yan’s mansion affairs, he always watched from across the river, slowly sipping wine. “My sister-in-law was originally a well-bred lady from a distinguished family, yet acts so stingily—isn’t she afraid of inviting criticism?”

Qun Qing looked at the memorial. Xiao Yunru’s image as a model empress in her heart collapsed entirely overnight.

“Your Highness, Prince Yan’s consort’s action is inappropriate. Palace servants of ten years or more must be released.” Qun Qing dipped ink to moisten the brush, drafting a memorial report on white paper, also fighting for her own future path.

“They’re mostly palace maids from the previous dynasty who know many palace secrets. Operatives could easily infiltrate among them—expulsion is for security considerations. If there’s a shortage of people, we can release fewer, but we cannot not release any. Otherwise it violates old protocol—where would the sage’s dignity be?”

Hearing this, Li Xuan suddenly pressed down on her brush.

Qun Qing broke out in a layer of sweat, only suspecting she had just said something wrong. But Li Xuan gazed at her eerily and smiled: “You needn’t write.”

“That the Xiao clan could manage the inner palace at all was entirely because my wife was young and incompetent. That Prince Yan can still be in Chang’an is entirely because he married a good princess consort skilled at pleasing Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”

“You serve as a maid in this palace, writing memorials at night—it’s truly a waste of great talent. You say you want to check and balance the Grand Tutor—without power and influence, how can you balance him?” Li Xuan said. “During this time, I’ve thought it over repeatedly and decided I want you to enter the Six Bureaus, take back the authority in the Xiao clan’s hands. In the future, I’ll have people in the court, and people in the inner palace as well.”

Qun Qing wanted to refuse: “The Six Bureaus’ internal selection passed the registration deadline long ago.”

“I’ve already had Shou Xi add your name.” Li Xuan’s cold gaze swept over. “Qun Qing, surely you won’t fail even the Xiao clan’s internal selection? If you’re truly that useless, then I misjudged you.”

Qun Qing thought for a moment, composed her expression, and prostrated herself in thanks.

She quickly changed her thinking. Since Xiao Yunru was the examiner, then as an examinee, her goal wasn’t to win top honors. If she could use the examination to become acquainted with Xiao Yunru, that would be her opportunity.

In her previous life, Prince Yan’s consort had broadly solicited opinions, which showed Xiao Yunru wasn’t an obstinate person. As long as she could gain an opportunity to meet face-to-face, she could persuade Xiao Yunru to put her on the list and release her from the palace.