Over the next few days, Lu Huating didn’t come to disturb Qun Qing.

Under the effect of the medicinal decoctions, Qun Qing practically made up for half a lifetime’s worth of lost sleep.

This drowsiness persisted even after boarding the boat, and she actually forgot about seasickness. She only woke during intervals to see beside the pale, dim headboard an orange that had appeared at some unknown time.

Qun Qing suddenly felt hungry. She sat up, took that orange, peeled and ate it while listening with tilted ear to the conversation sounds from next door.

The passenger boat used only thin wooden boards to partition the cabin into small compartments for passengers to rest, so she could vaguely hear the conversation between Xiao Jingxing and Lu Huating.

Xiao Jingxing said: “Song Wen was escorted back, but who knew that Eastern Eagle House had stock investments from Marquis Lü Wan. A huge amount of silver went down the drain—I’m afraid when we return, Consort Lü’s barrier won’t be easy to pass.”

Lu Huating said indifferently: “We’ll talk about it when we return.”

Xiao Jingxing lowered his voice again: “Young Lady Qing keeps sleeping without waking—is she all right? Last time I heard you mention something about bone-setting therapy. It sounds dangerous. What illness is it?”

“You heard wrong.” Lu Huating’s tone was flat and waveless, as if he too were peeling an orange. “Do you know about green snakes hibernating? What’s strange about sleeping all the time when winter approaches?”

The orange near winter was so sour it made Qun Qing frown.

She stopped listening, took a piece of mirror, and looked at her own face.

The face of the person in the mirror had smooth, flat cheeks like a peeled lychee. Ordinary people simply couldn’t imagine she had already changed her appearance. It was “Qun Qing’s” face, yet in some ways unlike it.

Physician Li said that in this life she had been nourished too well, causing the bones to grow back to their original state ahead of time. He had done his utmost, but still couldn’t completely restore that face from before.

Fortunately, a young woman’s face was constantly changing anyway, so she could still pass muster.

Qun Qing consumed a Frost-Cold Rain-Dew pill, then pulled up the blanket again and curled up to sleep.

When the medicine’s effects dissipated and she fully awakened, the rosemary drifting from the incense burner and the bitter cold outside the window reminded her—they had returned to the palace.

She sat up and realized the place she was in was Jinglian Pavilion, the place where Lu Huating usually interrogated people, and also where she had perished in her previous life.

Even more absurd was where she had been lying—on the torture rack with a layer of cloak cushioning it.

Qun Qing stood up and saw that Wen Su and Juan Su had both changed back into the palace shadow guards’ tight-fitting attire. Catching sight of her, they didn’t dare move. In the hall, one could hear a pin drop.

Qun Qing walked straight over and, under the two women’s astonished gazes, directly lifted the curtain. Winter sunlight fell on Lu Huating’s pale, beautiful face. A tall stack of documents had already piled up on his desk, and he was quietly reviewing official documents right there.

Returning to this place, he was the Administrator of Prince Yan’s mansion. His entire aura was cold and heavy, becoming even more unfathomable.

Qun Qing said: “Perhaps the Administrator should still lock me up after all.”

Lu Huating didn’t speak.

“Otherwise I’m afraid of being discovered by others, implicating the Administrator.”

“Has Young Lady Qing forgotten that you’re a criminal?” Lu Huating smiled coldly. “You think you can do whatever you want?”

Qun Qing said: “I want to bathe.”

Lu Huating’s brush suddenly stopped. His blade-like gaze swept across Qun Qing’s face.

The last time, she had used this excuse to escape.

Without expression, Qun Qing averted her gaze. This time she truly wanted to bathe. All along this journey she had been travel-worn, her hair damp with sweat, with no opportunity to wash properly. She was very uncomfortable.

Lu Huating was just about to speak when Wen Su edged in, saying quietly: “It’s not that there’s no water…”

Thus, with Lu Huating’s tacit permission, Wen Su led her into the side hall and had palace maids bring water. She was surprised to see Qun Qing undo her hair knot and directly let her hair cascade into a basin filled with warm water.

There probably wasn’t time for a full bath. Qun Qing only dampened her black hair, rubbed it with honey locust, quickly washed it clean, and wrung it dry with her bare hands.

She had just come out when a young eunuch from Prince Yan’s mansion hurried in: “The Crown Prince has learned that Young Lady Qing has returned to the palace and requests Young Lady Qing to immediately go to the Eastern Palace!”

Qun Qing had just taken the cloth from Wen Su’s hand. Her hand paused as she dried her hair.

Lu Huating had his back to the young eunuch, showing no expression, but Qun Qing could sense the change in his demeanor. After a moment of silence he said: “Tell them I’m still interrogating Young Lady Qing.”

Then he looked toward Qun Qing: “Dry your hair before you go.”

That young eunuch bowed but refused to leave: “The Crown Prince just had someone bring up a person from Imperial Prison—seems to be Young Lady Qing’s father, called Qun Cang.”

Both fell silent upon hearing this.

Qun Qing’s heart tightened. She raised her eyes toward Lu Huating: “I can’t clean up this mess. Administrator, help me clean it up.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Huating gripped the cloth on her head, but didn’t wipe. He suddenly grasped her shoulders and pressed her back directly against the cold torture rack.

He tilted his head to look at her. Qun Qing’s thick black hair was draped over her shoulders, strand by strand carrying water droplets, scattered by her face. Combined with her coldly enduring gaze, she seemed as if she would shatter at the slightest touch. She said lightly: “Torture me.”

“What?” Lu Huating asked.

“Torture me.” Time was limited, so Qun Qing spoke quickly. “Isn’t this what the Administrator wanted? Since I’ve fallen into your hands, if you don’t torture me, wouldn’t it raise suspicions about our relationship? Moreover, without injuries on my body, how can I provoke the Crown Prince’s pity?”

After finishing the last sentence, she frowned slightly. Lu Huating’s fingers gripping her shoulders had somehow increased in force. It was truly too painful. She couldn’t help but look at him with anger.

Lu Huating’s upturned eyes looked at her with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, as if containing some emotion: “Don’t lose yourself in the process, madam.”

After speaking, his smile had vanished without a trace. He used his fan handle to lift her hair.

The water droplets on her hair had dampened the upper garment on her shoulders, faintly revealing a whitened scar on her shoulder. He pressed hard on this old scar: “How was this injured? Explain clearly.”

Here, Qun Cang was led by two eunuchs, wearing leg shackles and walking unsteadily into the Eastern Palace. He brushed past a group of youthful palace maids, forming a stark contrast.

This person had entered prison in his prime years, but now already looked like an old man with graying temples. Not only was his back hunched, but both legs had also rotted from the dampness in Imperial Prison, emitting an unpleasant odor. His expression was wooden, and every step was taken with difficulty and silence.

Qun Cang was brought before a plain screen to wait. Before long, a slender silhouette appeared on the plain screen. The screen was slowly moved aside by young eunuchs, allowing Qun Qing to see Qun Cang opposite her, and allowing Qun Cang to see the young lady in plain clothes before him.

For a long while, both were silent. Qun Cang’s eyes remained waveless.

On the other side of the screen in the inner room, Shouxi’s heart rose high. He couldn’t help but spy on Li Xuan’s expression: “This… it seems they don’t recognize each other?”

But Li Xuan showed no expression. After a long while he said: “Father and daughter separated when she was five. Now she’s grown up—meeting without recognition is normal. If they hugged and cried upon meeting, that would be suspicious.”

Meng Guangshen, sitting beside Li Xuan, held his tea and looked toward the screen.

This Young Lady Qing—her fate ends today.

He saw that Li Xuan hadn’t let Qun Qing come in for an audience but first had her acknowledge her relative, and knew Li Xuan had already conceived killing intent.

Qun Qing didn’t even know the Crown Prince was observing from the side. If her identity were false, Li Xuan could grant her death directly from afar without having to look at her face.

Qun Qing examined Qun Cang for a long while before speaking: “Father.”

Hearing this form of address, Qun Cang’s expression moved slightly, yet his gaze remained coldly appraising her.

Qun Qing’s expression didn’t change: “Father, your hair has turned so white. Your knees—do they still hurt on rainy days?”

Qun Cang’s lips moved. Qun Qing shifted her gaze aside: “Is it because without Mother and Elder Brother to look after you, the leg pain has become even more severe? Without me calling you to eat, do you still lie in your room worrying about the country and people, overthinking, unable to swallow food?”

“I still remember—when I was small you always promised me you’d take me to see the temple fair opera, but every time you were buried in documents with no time to go. Each time Mother and Elder Brother took me and I saw other little girls riding on their fathers’ necks, I would cry all the way home. In Imperial Prison, have you ever recalled this?”

Her tone was calm yet slightly barbed. Not only Shouxi, even Li Xuan glanced sideways slightly.

Qun Qing didn’t look at Qun Cang’s reaction.

In her mind she recalled when she had first moved into “Qun Qing’s” chamber in the Lateral Courts—she had gone through the entire chamber once, familiarizing herself with the clothes and jewelry “Qun Qing” had left behind, reading the fragments of writing she had recorded.

Over ten years enslaved in the Lateral Courts, this young lady had written stroke by stroke, with tears and sobs, pouring her grievances into family letters.

And now, she was asking these questions on “Qun Qing’s” behalf.

“I still remember the first line of poetry you taught me to recite: ‘Sacrifice oneself to face national peril, view death as sudden as returning home.’ The last line of poetry was: ‘With long sighs I cover my tears, grieving for the people’s hardships.’ Qun Qing dares not forget. But I want to ask you, Father—have you ever regretted it?”

Qun Qing said: “Father, you said you were doing the right thing, that even if Mother tried to stop you, you had to submit that memorial. But because of your stubbornness, Mother and Elder Brother lost their lives. I lost my parents at a young age and have lived in degradation. All these years, have you ever thought of us?”

Qun Cang’s lips trembled. A choking sound emerged from his throat. His entire body shook. A tear welled up and scattered into his disheveled beard. He wiped it with his hand.

Qun Qing’s tears also streamed down both cheeks. After pausing, she said: “Father, but I often think of you, because you are my only living relative in this world. Whenever I suffered humiliation, I would think that there was still Father who could understand my grievances. As long as Father is alive, I have something to look forward to. I hope you can eat your fill, dress warmly, and still keep me company. Perhaps one day we could even reunite.”

“Qingqing,” Qun Cang closed his eyes and finally spoke, his throat as hoarse as rusted metal. “Qingqing, I’m sorry… I, Qun Cang, have not failed Heaven above or the common people below, but I alone have failed you, your mother, and your elder brother.”

Shouxi looked toward Li Xuan.

This was unexpected.

Li Xuan said nothing. The tea in his hand had grown cold. But Meng Guangshen smiled: “After being imprisoned so long, naturally he misses his relatives. Hearing a few heartfelt words, he inevitably becomes emotional. But this still can’t confirm that Young Lady Qing is definitely Qun Cang’s daughter. Let’s separate them for verification.”

Thus a plain screen cut off Qun Qing’s line of sight.

Shouxi pulled Qun Cang to the desk and gave him paper and brush: “Do you still remember what distinguishing features your daughter has? This servant will have palace maids verify, lest there be spies pretending.”

Qun Cang thought about it, then lifted the brush and wrote crookedly: “My child has a cinnabar mole behind her ear; on her left shoulder is an old scar, injured by bumping against a decorative rock.”

On the other side of the plain screen, palace maids turned over Qun Qing’s ear, then unfastened her upper garment to expose her shoulder. That slender scar was clearly before their eyes.

The two palace maids exchanged glances and went to report to Li Xuan.

Qun Qing’s face was expressionless as she slowly closed her garment.