Huo Liuxing wasn’t deliberately flattering her.

Earlier, in that startling glimpse at Chuigong Hall, she had been wearing a plain skirt trailing on the ground, her cloud-like dark hair half-bound, walking toward him with graceful palace steps. Had he not known beforehand who was being summoned to the palace, at first glance he truly might not have recognized her.

After a year apart, Shen Lingzhen had changed considerably. Previously like a flower bud waiting to bloom, now her figure had developed, she had grown taller and more slender, standing gracefully as a fully-grown young lady. The baby fat that had been on her cheeks was gone, further accentuating her increasingly vivid features.

The saying “without rouge or powder, yet her complexion is like morning clouds reflecting on snow” aptly described this.

Earlier in the hall, fully focused on the verbal sparring, Huo Liuxing hadn’t been able to look at her carefully. Now drawing close and looking down at her, the smile in his eyes truly couldn’t be hidden.

But Shen Lingzhen was somewhat bewildered by his and her parents’ current calm and peaceful attitude. The more intimate he was, the more it frightened her.

She looked restrainedly at her parents in the distance, steeling herself to say: “I’ll take you to my courtyard, husband.”

She deliberately didn’t respond to that ambiguous remark. Huo Liuxing seemed to find this expected and smiled, following her.

Shen Lingzhen walked ahead with lowered head. As they reached the moon gate, she heard the sound of wheels. Looking back, she saw Kongqing and Jingmo had already “laid” Huo Liuxing back into his wheelchair.

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but after hesitating, didn’t speak and continued walking with her head down.

Huo Liuxing jerked his chin to dismiss the two extraneous people, wheeling himself along behind her, saying: “You’ve grown taller and walk like the wind now? Pay attention to me—I can’t keep up.”

Shen Lingzhen’s footsteps paused. Before this morning, she’d had absolutely no mental preparation for Huo Liuxing’s arrival. At noon in Chuigong Hall, she’d been compelled by circumstances; earlier in the main courtyard, it had been due to her parents’ warm attitude, making it difficult to refuse. Now with just the two of them, she didn’t know how to interact with him for a moment, which was why she’d deliberately walked faster.

As she hesitated, Huo Liuxing had already caught up, drawing alongside her: “After so long apart, don’t you have anything you want to ask me?”

Of course Shen Lingzhen did.

She wanted to ask what he’d been doing this past year, wanted to ask what was going on between him and her parents, wanted to ask if this trip to the capital involved some important scheme.

But each of these questions involved politics, involved something she already vaguely sensed but dared not contemplate.

She finally shook her head: “I have nothing to ask. Seeing that you’re well and have bright prospects, everything must be good.” She gestured ahead, “That’s my courtyard up ahead. You’ve traveled a dusty road—please bathe first. I’ll have water prepared.”

Huo Liuxing seemed to sigh faintly, following her into the courtyard. After bathing, wanting to speak with her alone some more, he saw her standing there properly, saying to him: “You must be hungry, husband. Father has prepared a welcoming banquet for you. Please proceed to the hall for dinner.”

Huo Liuxing clicked his tongue softly but could only follow her to the hall.

The two elders were already seated. Upon seeing the couple, Shen Xuerong called out: “Liuxing, come! Not knowing what you usually eat, we prepared all sorts of dishes—this eight-roasted chicken, pickled sheep’s trotters, wine-fragrant snails, perilla shrimp, quail soup, sea bass sashimi…” He introduced them one by one, listing off a string of dish names. “All home-style dishes—eat whatever you like.”

Shen Lingzhen looked at this table of carefully prepared Bianjing delicacies, then at her beaming, warmly enthusiastic father and her mother who smiled with consistent gentleness, frowning slightly.

Huo Liuxing humbly took his seat, bowing his head in thanks to Shen Xuerong: “Thank you for your hospitality, Duke.”

“Young man, isn’t that the wrong form of address?”

Huo Liuxing smiled and nodded: “Yes, father-in-law.”

Disturbed by this strange atmosphere, Shen Lingzhen sat for a long while without touching her chopsticks. Just as she picked them up, seeing Shen Xuerong personally place a piece of sheep’s trotter in Huo Liuxing’s bowl, which Huo Liuxing calmly accepted, she paused and set them down again.

The three at the table, who had seemed focused on their food, instantly turned their gazes toward her in unison.

Shen Lingzhen lowered her eyes, understanding something.

Shen Xuerong observed her expression: “Yinyin, these are all dishes you used to love. What, have you grown so accustomed to vegetarian food that they don’t suit your taste anymore?”

She laughed dryly: “No, I only ate lunch at the hour of the horse. I’m still not very hungry now.”

Shen Xuerong and Zhao Meilan exchanged glances.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Meilan said: “If you’re not hungry, don’t force yourself. Eat later—we’ll save the dishes for you. Go back to your room first.”

Shen Lingzhen shook her head with lowered eyes. With the elders present, for her to leave the table first would be improper.

Zhao Meilan glanced at Jianjia and Bailu, telling them to escort Shen Lingzhen back to her room.

Unable to refuse further, Shen Lingzhen rose and left.

As soon as she was gone, the three set down their chopsticks with strained faces, the harmonious atmosphere dissipating completely.

Shen Xuerong shook his head: “Raising such a perceptive daughter isn’t always good either. What needs to be said must be said clearly. I’ll go talk to her.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Huo Liuxing and Zhao Meilan on either side.

Neither expressed an opinion.

Shen Xuerong took their silence as consent, sighing as he went to Shen Lingzhen’s courtyard. Upon entering, he saw she had dismissed all the servants and sat alone on the swing in a daze.

It was already dark, and no lamps were lit in the courtyard. The blackness made it hard to see clearly. Shen Lingzhen was startled before recognizing him and immediately stood: “Father, why aren’t you eating either?”

“Father came to talk with you. Come, let’s go inside.”

Father and daughter entered the study and lit the lamps.

Shen Xuerong looked at her reddened eyes and sighed: “Child, what’s there to be upset about?”

Shen Lingzhen clutched her hands in silence.

She had seen through it. In an ordinary household, a son-in-law visiting would naturally warrant today’s warm scene. But could the rift between the Huo and Shen families be eliminated overnight? At this first meeting, her parents and husband seemed far too relaxed.

When things were abnormal, there must be a root cause. And she was that root cause.

To make her feel more comfortable and stop dwelling on those heavy old matters, they were all pretending—pretending to be carefree, pretending to be harmonious.

She said: “I’m not upset. I just feel guilty seeing Father, Mother, and my husband go to such trouble for me. I’m not a child anymore. You don’t need to protect me so carefully, coordinating to put on a show for me.”

Shen Xuerong laughed: “Now that’s wronging us. Father swears to heaven, we didn’t coordinate a single word.”

They had never discussed how they should interact in front of Shen Lingzhen, what attitude they should display. It was simply that upon seeing her just now, they had tacitly made this choice in unison.

Shen Xuerong continued: “Yinyin, you bear too much on your mind. What’s done is done—no one can change it. Father will be honest with you: for our two families to be as harmonious and happy as ordinary families is forever impossible. But we can settle for second best—at least not be like enemies locked in confrontation, fighting to the death. Don’t you agree?”

“Is that possible?” Shen Lingzhen frowned. “Father, I went to the palace today. Seeing how my husband and the Meng family prince acted toward my imperial uncle, I feel like they’re jointly plotting something. I’m worried…”

“Worried about what? Worried they’ll overturn your imperial uncle’s throne?”

“Father, speak more quietly!”

Shen Xuerong smiled: “But no one decreed that once you become emperor, you must remain emperor forever. If you do it poorly, why can’t someone else take over?”

Shen Lingzhen’s eyes widened in shock: “What is Father saying…”

“Though Father holds no official position, my eyes are still sharp. This spring when the Xiqiang raised troops to invade and Huan Prefecture and Bao’an Army garrison fell in succession, civil and military officials petitioned one after another, hoping His Majesty would dispatch reinforcements, yet His Majesty kept his forces inactive for so long. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“His Majesty wanted to probe the Huo family’s depths—to see how much strength the Huo family still possessed, to see whether this strength could both be used by him yet not threaten him.”

Shen Lingzhen frowned.

“This battle needn’t have been fought so long or so precariously. For personal selfish concerns, disregarding the lives of common people and frontline soldiers—Yinyin, do you think this is a good emperor?”

Shen Lingzhen nodded, indicating she understood, then asked: “But he and Mother are blood siblings from the same mother after all.”

Shen Xuerong sighed: “If he truly regarded your mother as his sister and you as his niece, he wouldn’t have made you marry into the Huo family. Yinyin, do you know how many sacrifices your mother has made over the years for this so-called sibling bond?”

Shen Lingzhen shook her head.

“Back then, your imperial uncle’s secure hold on the throne depended largely on your mother as his ‘strategist.’ Your imperial uncle advocated fierce attacks and killing all disloyal old ministers. Your mother disagreed with such self-destructive fratricide. After killing all those pillars of state and cutting off their own arms, how far could the court go? So she traveled everywhere persuading surrenders, making them pledge loyalty.”

“But precisely because of this, after unification, those old ministers were more loyal to your mother and harbored reservations about your imperial uncle. This undoubtedly made him feel threatened. After all, history has seen female emperors before. To dispel his wariness, your mother withdrew at the height of her influence, retreating to the inner chambers. Despite suitors breaking down the door, she delayed marriage for years. Many years later, when the court situation had somewhat stabilized, she married me, this empty-titled duke.”

“When you were born, your mother was especially worried you’d be a son, which would make your imperial uncle suspicious again. Seeing you were a daughter, she felt relieved and never had a second child afterward. So our family still has no male heir to continue the family line.”

“Later, your second uncle rose higher and higher in court, involved in increasingly complex political struggles. Your mother, unwilling to invite trouble, discussed with me about separating from the second branch. At the time, your grandfather was still alive and was so angry about this separation that he nearly died, harshly scolding your mother for abusing her power and influence, and criticizing me terribly too. But who could we tell our suffering to? All these years, we’ve retreated again and again. But Yinyin, you are Father and Mother’s bottom line. This time, we can’t retreat anymore.”

Shen Lingzhen’s eyes moistened, nearly overflowing with tears: “Father…”

“If we hadn’t agreed to marry you into the Huo family, given your imperial uncle’s suspicious nature, he would likely have suspected your mother was no longer loyal to him. Never mind whether he would have completely abandoned the idea of the arranged marriage—even if he had, sooner or later he would have moved against the Shen family. So your mother had to take a gamble. She bet that a family which twenty-eight years ago gave up the throne for the sake of the people likewise wouldn’t harm you, an innocent child.”

“Now over a year has passed, and the facts prove your mother bet correctly. The Huo family not only maintains their principles but has preserved their strength. Yinyin, if a battle between the Huo family and your imperial uncle is unavoidable, why shouldn’t we choose the side more likely to win? The wolf and leopard did indeed once tear at each other, but now the tiger has come. If the wolf and leopard don’t temporarily set aside their grudges and unite, they face certain death.”

Shen Lingzhen trembled all over.

“Actually, when Liuxing came today, he didn’t say much to your mother. He simply did one thing—stood up from his wheelchair—and your mother understood everything and made her decision. As the Huo family’s reciprocation for proactively revealing their hand and treating you well, and as compensation for old grudges, from now on she will fully support the Huo family. Though the rift can’t disappear overnight, at least our two families absolutely aren’t enemies now. Your mother dining at the same table with Liuxing, under the same roof, isn’t entirely for you—it’s more for the greater situation.”

“But if my imperial uncle is unjust, that’s his fault alone. The Zhao family has other descendants. If my husband not only wants to bring down my imperial uncle but also overthrow Great Daqi and put the Meng family prince on the throne, wouldn’t Mother be…”

Shen Lingzhen didn’t dare say the words “betraying ancestors and abandoning her clan,” but Shen Xuerong understood. He smiled with certainty: “Father believes such a day will never come.”

——

When Shen Lingzhen emerged from the study, her head was in complete chaos, but her stomach was actually hungry.

Hearing the dinner banquet hadn’t been cleared away, she returned to the hall with Shen Xuerong, only to find it empty.

She asked Bailu: “Where did Mother and my husband go?”

“The Grand Princess returned to the inner courtyard after dinner. Your husband…” Bailu hesitated, “Young Master Meng came earlier, and your husband went out with him.”

Shen Lingzhen glanced at Shen Xuerong, worried: “Father, how can they meet privately like this? If my imperial uncle finds out, won’t it ruin things?”

Shen Xuerong waved his hand: “How can those with a guilty conscience act guilty? They haven’t seen each other in eleven years—they naturally should catch up openly like this. Hiding and concealing would make people suspicious instead.”

Shen Lingzhen suddenly understood: “I was being shortsighted.” She relaxed, “But my husband’s legs are still inconvenient. Where did they go? Did Kongqing and Jingmo go with them?”

Bailu looked troubled, glancing at Jianjia beside her, signaling her to speak.

Shen Lingzhen asked strangely: “Why all this back and forth over answering a question? Just tell me.”

Bailu carefully glanced at Shen Xuerong. Jianjia closed her eyes and steeled herself: “They went… went to a flower house!”

Shen Lingzhen was stunned, not yet understanding what this was, but Shen Xuerong had already angrily slapped the table and risen, rolling up his sleeves: “That brat! Bored out of his mind in that hardship post at the border, arrives in Bianjing and heads straight for those flower and willow districts? Where does this put my Yinyin? Where does this put Duke Yingguo’s mansion?”

Jianjia and Bailu were terrified.

Earlier when Young Master Meng had come, the young master hadn’t planned to go. But Kongqing suggested on the side that actually going might benefit him in repairing his relationship with the young mistress sooner.

The young master asked what logic this was.

Kongqing said: “The young mistress now is simply still guilt-ridden, feeling she has no face to meet you. The better you treat her, the closer you are to her, the more guilty she’ll feel and the further she’ll hide. So why not take a risky strategy and do the opposite—distance yourself from her. Once she feels wronged and gets angry with you, won’t that help her see reason?”

Then the young master listened to this advice—still uncertain whether it was brilliant or foolish—and went out.

Jianjia and Bailu wanted to explain to the Duke that he was just making a show of it, not serious, but with Shen Lingzhen present, doing so would waste the young master’s painstaking efforts.

Just as the two hesitated, Shen Lingzhen’s puzzled voice rang out: “Father, what kind of place is a flower house?”

“…”

Jianjia and Bailu swallowed hard.

Angering the father-in-law who shouldn’t be angered, failing to anger the young mistress who should be angered—was this what they called being too clever by half, losing both the lady and the soldiers?