“Now that Yu’er has not taken a side consort, your position is no easier than if he had one. From now on, when you are in the palace, unless you are here with the Empress Mother, try not to eat or drink anything.”

“Empress Mother, this consort understands.” Yan Yunning felt a quiet stir in her heart.

Xuanxiaoxiao’s Imperial Father and Empress Mother — one doted on Xuanxiaoxiao, and the other gave her these warnings all because of Xuanxiaoxiao.

They truly, deeply loved Xuanxiaoxiao.

To be born in the Imperial Palace with parents like these, Xuanxiaoxiao was far too blessed.

And it was a blessing that belonged to her alone.

“Empress Mother, earlier today the Ninth Princess, Yueyue, brought pastries to find Ranran. Does the Ninth Princess often bring food to share with Ranran?” Yan Yunning suddenly recalled this.

It was not that she suspected Yueyue, but Yueyue was Noble Consort Pei’s daughter, so she asked offhandedly.

Besides, she now clearly recalled the strange expression on Noble Lady Lin’s face when she had eaten the pastries — in that moment, everything made sense. Noble Lady Lin had tasted something unusual in the ingredients.

“She would not. Little Nine rarely leaves her chambers. Are any of those pastries still remaining?” Empress Xuan asked with a furrowed brow.

Yan Yunning hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, “Most likely not.”

As expected — Empress Xuan was not terribly surprised either. She took Yan Yunning’s hand again and continued giving her careful, thorough instructions on other matters, until the head nanny announced that the meal had been served. Only then did Empress Xuan stop and pull Yan Yunning along to the dining hall for the midday meal.

Yan Yunning had barely eaten anything earlier, and by now she was hungry. She obediently followed Empress Xuan to the dining hall.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Xuan Yanyu — who had found himself with some free time — went to the Grand Commandant’s residence in search of answers. The master and his two attendants stood at the gate of the Grand Commandant’s residence, their expressions rather remarkable.

“This is the Grand Commandant’s residence?” Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow slightly.

“It… it should be, Your Highness.” Ye Chen nodded.

The plaque above the gate had fallen to the ground. One half of the front gate had collapsed entirely, nothing like its former upright and dignified state. The air still carried a sharp, acrid smell of burning. Further down the street, a small cluster of people were whispering among themselves.

Their voices were indistinct, but fragments drifted over — the Grand Commandant’s residence had caught fire; the Grand Commandant had been injured by intruders while shielding his wife and was now bedridden; he had transferred the entirety of his household assets into his wife’s name.

He had also issued letters of dismissal to his concubines. One of them had fainted in fury upon receiving hers and had yet to regain consciousness. Now they were simply waiting for the concubine to wake up so she could leave the residence.

The Grand Commandant truly did dote on his wife!

“Your Highness, it started from a small spark,” Ye Chen remarked.

Xuan Yanyu cast him a slow, sidelong glance.

Ye’an’s mouth twitched. A small spark? A small spark had caused all this? What would a large one look like?

Xuan Yanyu took two steps forward. Ash and dust blanketed everything around them. Ye’an had just begun to suggest that perhaps they should return another day, when Ye Chen suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ye’an startled violently, stumbling to one side. “Are you out of your mind?!”

Ye Chen shoved him aside and stepped up to Xuan Yanyu, his voice dropping into a frightened half-whisper. “Your Highness, do you think Elder Miss Yan might have… “

Elder Miss Yan wasn’t very sharp-witted — there was no telling whether she might not have managed to escape in time.

If something had happened to her, she was probably in the Grand Commandant’s residence crying out, “Yu-gege, Yu-gege, what do I do?”

No, wait — it should be more like, “Yu-gege, Yu-gege, save me!”

Every time Elder Miss Yan ran into trouble, while he was at His Highness’s side, he always seemed to hear some variation of those words.

Xuan Yanyu gave him a blank look. “Say one more useless word and get out — go back to the Crown Prince’s residence.”

Ye Chen pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Not saying anything more, Your Highness.”

Xuan Yanyu picked his way carefully through areas where the ground was still solid enough to walk on. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Yan Shiyao and Qi Qingchen locked in a heated argument.

The two were so absorbed in their scheming that they had not noticed the arrival of Xuan Yanyu and the others. Xuan Yanyu and his attendants had also been walking very lightly to keep their boots clean of ash, so the pair had not heard them coming.

“Yaoyao, when the time comes, speak to Ningning about it properly.” Qi Qingchen said gently.

“Mm, I understand, Elder Brother Qi. I will definitely get Ningning to let you go back to Qilan.” Yan Shiyao said in earnest, doing a convincing job of it. “Don’t worry, Elder Brother Qi. Once Ningning says the word, His Highness the Crown Prince won’t dare refuse her — he listens to Ningning very well.”

Ye Chen bent down, bringing himself to within about half a meter of Xuan Yanyu, and muttered under his breath, “Your Highness, Elder Miss Yan says you’re very obedient.”

“Get out.” Xuan Yanyu punched him.

Yan Shiyao heard the familiar voice and stiffened. She turned her head slowly, vexed, and clenched her fist.

How had they been overheard…

“Yu-ge… Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Yan Shiyao steeled herself and pushed the words out.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Qi Qingchen called out with marked reluctance.

Xuan Yanyu did not so much as lift an eyelid. He walked past the two of them and headed straight for the main chamber. The side chamber door was wide open. Yu Zhi was carrying a bowl of medicinal soup and walking unhurriedly toward the bed where Xiao Cheng lay.

Xiao Cheng clenched his teeth and shrank back against the bed. Some days ago, Yu Zhi had accompanied Elder Miss Yan for a meal — and that very night, a group of intruders had broken into the residence. A fire had also broken out, seemingly without cause. Yu Zhi, as though she had anticipated it all, stayed hidden behind him the entire time, causing him to take a sword thrust meant for her. He had nearly died from the pain.

It was only after a long while that the household guards finally subdued the intruders and extinguished the fire. When Yu Zhi saw that he was injured, she was devastated, and personally decocted his medicine. He drank it down — and immediately found himself unable to move his limbs.

That vicious woman Yu Zhi then drafted a testament of last wishes in his name: that the Grand Commandant, having sustained grave injuries, was bequeathing the entirety of the household to his wife — and she had affixed his seal and pressed his handprint to it herself.

She had also spread it far and wide. The outside world already believed him to be deeply devoted to Yu Zhi, so when the testament appeared, no one questioned it for a single moment. No one would have dreamed that Yu Zhi had written it herself.

With that in place, the household servants and guards no longer dared disobey her orders. Even Jiajia had been dealt with somehow — she was still unconscious and had yet to come around.

His most trusted aides had also vanished without a trace, clearly dispatched by Yu Zhi in some manner.

“Time for your medicine.” Yu Zhi smiled pleasantly as she cupped Xiao Cheng’s jaw in her hand and poured the contents of the bowl down his throat.

Just as Xiao Cheng had once forced abortion tonics down her throat.

Now his retribution had come.

“Yu Zhi, aren’t you afraid that Jiajia’s father, the Censor, will find out?” Xiao Cheng tried to spit out the medicine. He retched for a long time and could not bring up a single drop.

“Ah? Jiajia was frightened into fainting because intruders broke into the residence. What does it matter if the Censor finds out?” Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow with a smile.

A concubine’s daughter — how much could the Censor truly care?

Besides, even if the Censor came to the Grand Commandant’s residence, would Su Roujia dare tell the Grand Commandant the truth? That she had hired the intruders to kill her, and it had led to all of this?

Even if the Censor wanted to move against her, he would have to think twice about her father. He would not dare act against her in private — if it ever came to light, the court officials would never forgive him.

It was the same with Xiao Cheng. Even when she had nothing left for him to exploit, he had not dared dismiss her. He had even gone to the lengths of creating the appearance of doting on her — and wasn’t that all because of her father?

“Yu Zhi!!” Xiao Cheng seethed with a fury that made his teeth ache.

From outside the door, Ye’an spoke softly, “Your Highness, perhaps we should return another day?”

“Ahem, ahem.” Xuan Yanyu coughed deliberately, twice.

Yu Zhi glanced toward the doorway. The man standing just outside the side chamber wore a pale blue cloud-brocade long robe that radiated wealth and nobility. He was very tall.

A high-bridged nose, lashes long enough to draw envy, skin fair and clear, his features strikingly arresting. A jade pendant carved in the shape of dragon scales hung at his waist. The jade thumb ring on his finger was of fine, smooth quality, and looking at his robes, the gold thread embroidery was stitched in dense, precise lines — understated yet supremely distinguished.

The sunlight made him narrow his eyes slightly, lending him an air of patrician, untouchable remoteness.

It was His Highness the Crown Prince. Handsome as this — her Ningning really was fortunate.

At the sight of Xuan Yanyu, Xiao Cheng’s eyes lit up instantly. “Your subject Xiao Cheng greets His Highness the Crown Prince. Your subject begs your pardon for being unable to rise and pay proper respects. Your subject’s wife has given your subject…”