In the main hall of the Minister’s Mansion, Ruo Chan and the wet nurse stood to the side holding Li Zhang’s various toys and bedding, waiting tensely for their assignment.

Lu Huating had once been a counselor to Prince Yan and had a reputation as a harsh official. The scattered flowers without branches or leaves embroidered on his official robe complemented his jade-white face—handsome, yet emanating an air of authority.

Qun Qing sat in a chair holding the swaddled infant. In the next moment, Lu Huating’s gaze moved from the bundle to her face: “How did you convince Empress Xiao to agree to let you take the imperial grandson away?”

Qun Qing said: “I first requested permission from Her Majesty the Empress, saying that after encountering the attack during this diplomatic mission, I was frightened and physically and mentally exhausted, so I would not report for duty at the Six Offices for now. Her Majesty said the palace was in chaos and told me to rest well at the mansion for a period of time. During these days, except for palace banquets and imperial summons, I need not go out.”

Lu Huating was somewhat surprised, but also understood her reasons for doing so.

Li Huan’s words had ultimately aroused Qun Qing’s vigilance. On Li Huan’s desk were maps and military reports—there would be national warfare in the near future, Nan Chu spies would certainly be active, and conflicts between Li Huan and Nan Chu spies would intensify. Qun Qing simply retreated from the rapids, requesting house arrest herself, and sent word to Nan Chu stating that she had been placed under house arrest.

If Li Huan suspected her, from this day forward he would certainly send people to watch the Minister’s Mansion, seeing that she neither sent messages nor engaged in activities. If information leaked at this time, it would have nothing to do with her.

“I very much approve of you staying at the mansion,” Lu Huating said. “I’m asking about him.”

“Since I’m not on duty, I’ll have time to treat the Grand Prince’s condition,” Qun Qing said. “Palace rumors say His Majesty torments the Grand Prince. If the Grand Prince remains in the Taiji Hall, the Zichen Hall where affairs are discussed can hear crying from inside the Taiji Hall all day. Aren’t you afraid visiting officials will misunderstand? If the Grand Prince dies at this time, there’s even more fear that someone will take the opportunity to cause chaos. Her Majesty the Empress also doesn’t want to see His Majesty bear infamy because of temporary stubbornness. She knows I understand medical arts, so she ordered me to temporarily look after the Grand Prince.”

Ruo Chan said: “Elder sister is acting out of consideration for the Deposed Crown Princess. The Minister knows that this servant and elder sister were originally clothing palace maids of the Deposed Crown Princess. Now seeing the Deposed Crown Princess petition daily, how could elder sister betray her trust…”

Before she could finish, Qun Qing stopped her.

She knew that Lu Huating deeply understood the nature of emperors. By bringing Li Zhang back, she was essentially inviting trouble, and he would not agree. Therefore, she had to make a gesture to protect Li Zhang, at least allowing Zheng Zhiyi to see him once.

Because he was born with poison in his body, Li Zhang was thinner and smaller than ordinary infants. Now in Qun Qing’s arms, he began twitching and crying again. The wet nurse beside them quickly bowed and stepped forward to comfort and nurse him.

At this scene, Lu Huating simply stared without blinking.

He naturally had no interest in Li Zhang. He watched simply because the image of Qun Qing holding an infant struck him as strange.

The floral satin swaddling wrapped like a giant cocoon. Qun Qing held it with a careful expression, but her face showed no maternal nature—instead carrying a childlike awkwardness.

After a long while, he said: “My lady, is this how one holds a child?”

Qun Qing lowered her eyes. The baby’s neck was crooked against her arm.

Ruo Chan gestured: “Elder sister, it seems you should hold him upright for him to feel comfortable.”

Qun Qing immediately adjusted her posture.

Unexpectedly, at the slightest movement, Li Zhang woke with a start. Seeing his brow furrow as if about to cry, Qun Qing immediately raised him higher. His sparse eyebrows relaxed, he whimpered twice, his mouth opened, and turned slightly upward.

Ruo Chan released the breath she’d been holding and said joyfully: “He smiled! Elder sister, he smiled.”

Qun Qing lowered her eyelashes and smiled along with him. The sunlight in the main hall illuminated her temples and eyelashes brilliantly.

Her smile gave Lu Huating a moment of palpitation, making the scene under this light feel like a dream.

After playing with Li Zhang for a while, Qun Qing extended her arms to hand Li Zhang to Lu Huating, her eyes bright and sparkling: “Do you want to hold him?”

Unexpectedly, Lu Huating’s expression suddenly froze.

Immediately after, he turned and walked behind the screen. The dagger at his waist collided with the screen with a clear ringing sound that startled Ruo Chan.

Qun Qing’s arms stiffened.

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly remembered that he once had a sister who died in infancy. She handed Li Zhang to Ruo Chan, telling her and the wet nurse to take the Grand Prince to sleep first.

Going around the screen, Lu Huating stood by the window, the window light gilding his silhouette. Qun Qing said: “You don’t like children?”

Lu Huating continued looking at the green pines. After a moment of silence, he said gently: “Not particularly.”

Qun Qing said: “Then I’ll have someone clean out the west wing room and let the wet nurse and Ruo Chan care for him there. Ordinarily they won’t come out to offend your eyes.”

Lu Huating suddenly turned his face, his dark eyes fixed on hers: “You know my nature. The Deposed Crown Prince’s situation is lost. In the long run, this child’s death would be most appropriate.”

Qun Qing also looked at him.

She knew Lu Huating had a thousand methods to kill without leaving a trace.

“Li Zhang has residual poison. Even if he grows up safely, he’ll be weak and difficult to rule as emperor. His Majesty is in his prime. When he has a healthy child, that one can naturally be established as Crown Prince. As for Li Zhang, Her Majesty the Empress is willing to raise him and willing to let the Deposed Crown Princess take him out of the palace—it only depends on whether His Majesty’s heart can turn.”

“Qun Qing,” Lu Huating said. “Do you know what I was thinking after you died in the previous life?”

“I was thinking, with your abilities, how did you end up with that outcome? It turned out you were burdened by emotion, betrayed by Princess Bao’an. And now you want to do this again.”

Qun Qing said: “Killing as a spy was never my wish. In this life there’s a chance to change. If we fear His Majesty’s suspicion and let the Deposed Crown Princess and her child go unheeded, watching them die with open eyes—wouldn’t that be walking back down the old road?”

“Are you afraid?” Qun Qing asked.

Lu Huating smiled coldly: “What would I fear?”

“You fear breaking with His Majesty, fear your future official career won’t go smoothly, fear you and I won’t meet good ends.”

Before Qun Qing finished speaking, she was suddenly grasped by the arm through his sleeve and pressed against the gold-leaf screen, followed by cool kisses lightly touching and entwining. This gold-leaf screen wasn’t heavy—with a little force it might be pushed over. Qun Qing immediately steadied her body. Her lower back was already supported by him, preventing her from leaning against the screen.

“I don’t fear not meeting a good end, and official career matters even less,” he gently released her. The cinnabar on Qun Qing’s lips was now mottled—he had done it deliberately. This woman valued emotion, always for others, making him jealous. He stared at her lips for a while before suppressing his desire to devour and possess her exclusively. “It’s just that I’ve only recently found something in this world to be attached to, so I don’t want to take risks.”

Hearing this, Qun Qing was moved. Her fingers grabbed the front of his robe and gently pulled it toward herself. When Lu Huating lowered his head, she turned her face aside and only said by his ear: “That day when I first saved the Grand Prince in the Taiji Hall, I inadvertently saw that under the Grand Prince’s sleeve, his arm had a red rash caused by oleander pollen. After wiping away the powder it quickly disappeared, indicating it had only just been sprinkled in the swaddling before we entered.”

Lu Huating’s long lashes trembled slightly.

Li Zhang’s body was weak and he often cried. Besides the influence of Lovesickness Lure poison, it was also because someone had been secretly poisoning the Grand Prince all along, coordinating with Nan Chu spies to complete the rumor that Li Huan was abusing the Grand Prince.

By Li Huan’s order, only Lan Yue, Ruo Chan, and that wet nurse attended Li Zhang closely inside the Taiji Hall. Lan Yue said she slept by the cradle day and night—it would be absolutely impossible for outsiders to approach. That pollen could only have been applied by someone in close attendance.

This was also the reason Qun Qing brought both Ruo Chan and the wet nurse back together. One of these two was a Nan Chu spy. Most likely the wet nurse, but she still wanted to confirm who it was.

Lu Huating looked at her. Qun Qing said: “The maids in the mansion were all selected by you, right? They should be able to secretly protect the Grand Prince’s safety?”

After that day, Li Zhang was temporarily raised in the east wing room. Qun Qing came over daily to perform medical arts—actually pinching Li Zhang’s face and hands to confirm his physical condition.

These past few days, Ruo Chan had hung prayer ribbons and evil-dispelling cloth tigers throughout the wing room, saying happily: “Elder sister, getting away from the bloody aura of the Taiji Hall really works. Look how the imperial grandson has fattened up a bit. His face is like a silver plate. He looks like the Deposed Crown Princess. When he grows up more, he’ll definitely be adorable.”

Li Zhang’s spitting-up symptoms had improved greatly, and his body was getting heavier day by day. In Qun Qing’s arms he was a soft bundle that made her feel tenderness.

Perhaps having changed environments and being cautious, the other party hadn’t made a move.

Qun Qing chatted with Ruo Chan for a few sentences, her peripheral vision glancing at the wet nurse. The wet nurse kept her head lowered and hands down, appearing somewhat constrained. Qun Qing noticed calluses on the fingers in her sleeve—possibly from often doing rough work, but also possibly from wielding knives or swords.

Ruo Chan said again: “His Majesty sent things this morning, showing his attitude has softened. Since the Deposed Crown Princess hasn’t been imprisoned, can we let her quietly come see the Grand Prince? His Majesty only said to forbid the Deposed Crown Princess from entering the Taiji Hall. He didn’t say she couldn’t come to the Minister’s Mansion.”

Since birth, Li Zhang had been separated from Zheng Zhiyi, and mother and son had not seen each other again. When Zheng Zhiyi requested to see Li Zhang once, Li Huan ignored her.

Qun Qing had originally had such a plan, but it needed to be arranged discreetly, avoiding others’ eyes. Seeing Ruo Chan speak without any precautions, she was about to remind her when from the corner of her eye she saw the wet nurse’s brow twitch as she tilted her head to listen. She changed her mind: “Alright, tomorrow I’ll send a message to the palace and let the Deposed Crown Princess take the opportunity of the Lower Prime Festival to leave the palace and see him once.”

Returning to the main hall, Qun Qing picked up two bowls of medicine that had been prepared on the desk and drank them down in one go. The medicine was personally prepared by Imperial Physician Li. This was her second reason for requesting to stay at the mansion—Imperial Physician Li could take the opportunity to reshape her bones. Her face still needed to retain a bit of “Qun Qing’s” characteristics to prevent future rumors from spreading that she was someone from old Nan Chu.

These past nights, she had slept extremely deeply. She vaguely felt Lu Huating rise from the floor and cover her with a quilt, but her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn’t hear clearly what he said.

Until clearly through the emptiness came the sound of Juan Su flipping in through the window: “My lord, something’s happened in the east wing room!”

Immediately came shrill screams from outside and a chaotic sound of footsteps.

Remembering the Grand Prince was in the east wing room, Qun Qing suddenly came fully awake, her whole body soaked in sweat. Opening her eyes, she saw Lu Huating with his official robes neat and his eyes pitch black. He pressed down on her hand: “I’ve captured the wet nurse. You don’t need to get up.”

But the commotion outside clearly made her feel something was wrong. Qun Qing still quickly put on her outer garment and went out.

The outer room was brightly lit with lanterns, gathering several maids and secret guards. When Qun Qing walked forward, a maid was already holding the crying imperial grandson. That wet nurse’s hair was disheveled, her hands twisted behind her back by Zhu Su and held suspended in midair. Her expression was terrifyingly grim as she glared at everyone, completely different from what had been seen before.

Qun Qing didn’t look at her carefully. She smelled blood in the air. The ground was full of bloodstains, and outside the threshold lay a blood-stained iron hook. Qun Qing’s heart sank. She immediately ran into the room: “Ruo Chan!”

Ruo Chan was lying prone on the bed. Hearing the call, she struggled to lift her head, looking at her with tears in her eyes but unable to make a sound. Ruo Chan’s complexion was already nearly deathly pale, her eye sockets red. Blood from her nape continuously stained the white silk ribbon. Two maids kept pressing to stop the bleeding.

Qun Qing held her icy hand with one hand and with the other took out ginseng slices she carried with her and stuffed them into Ruo Chan’s mouth. Seeing that even the swaying little tiger was covered with blood spots, she turned to ask the physician: “She’ll be alright, won’t she?”

The physician said: “Having lost so much blood, even if her life is saved, her body and voice will be affected.”

A maid said: “Madam, please don’t blame yourself. It’s all this servant’s fault. The wet nurse got up in the middle of the night and quietly smeared a packet of medicinal powder on her breast, intending to feed it to the Grand Prince. When caught red-handed by this servant, during the struggle she pulled out the iron hook Mistress Ruo Chan used for embroidery, wanting to hack and kill the Grand Prince. Mistress Ruo Chan protected the Grand Prince in her arms, so it struck her nape.”

“Drag her down for interrogation,” Lu Huating said, standing outside the door.

“Elder sister…” Qun Qing only felt her hand squeezed by Ruo Chan. She quickly leaned close to Ruo Chan’s lips. Ruo Chan smiled at her slightly, her breath like gossamer as she said: “Elder sister, don’t blame yourself. I was originally a clothing palace maid of the Qingxuan Pavilion. For us servants, being able to protect our master is our greatest use. It doesn’t matter if we die.”

Seeing her like this, Qun Qing stopped her: “With me here, you won’t die. Don’t say such things.”

Ruo Chan pressed her lips together, then said: “Isn’t today the day the Deposed Crown Princess comes to see the Grand Prince? You should take the Grand Prince over first. Don’t let her see me like this…”

Qun Qing suppressed the heavy guilt in her heart—for having once suspected Ruo Chan, for designing a trap to draw out the wet nurse without telling Ruo Chan.

Ruo Chan had always been timid. Only now did she show an expression about to cry: “Elder sister, hold my hand. Then I won’t be afraid.”

Qun Qing gripped her hand tightly until she fell into unconsciousness.