Yan Yunning saw Qiuci dressed in the plain gray robes of a menial eunuch, a cloth tied around his head, hauling a waste bucket — the stench so overpowering her temples throbbed.

She pressed her handkerchief to her mouth and nose and glared at Xuan Yanyu. “You——”

Xuan Yanyu’s heart lurched. He quickly said, “Ningning, I didn’t take his life.”

“You……you——Xuan Yanyu! Isn’t this humiliating him?” Yan Yunning was beside herself with indignation.

“No — the menial eunuchs who do this work aren’t treated any differently, are they?” Xuan Yanyu argued.

“That’s……that’s……” Yan Yunning was stunned for a moment before she managed to say, “Those are their own choice — work they chose for themselves. Qiuci did not choose this.”

Xuan Yanyu’s brow twitched slightly. “He committed an offence. Merely having him clean the privy is already merciful of me.”

“The one who harmed Ranran was not Qiuci.”

Xuan Yanyu’s throat worked. “He was the root cause.”

Yan Yunning felt a helpless frustration curl her fist.

“Little Ningning — no, Xuanwang Consort.” Hearing the sound of an argument, Qiuci looked up and stared at Yan Yunning in utter bewilderment — clearly, he had not expected to see her in a place like this.

“Qiuci.” Yan Yunning made to step forward, but Xuan Yanyu caught her by the arm. She frowned. “What are you doing?”

Xuan Yanyu asserted his position without any trace of embarrassment. “You only said you wanted to come and see Qiuci. You said nothing about speaking to him.”

“……” Yan Yunning rapped the man’s hand. “Let go.”

Xuan Yanyu shook his head.

“Your Majesty, Xuanwang Consort.” Ye’an came jogging over after seeing the Crown Prince off. “Your Majesty, the Fifth Princess wishes to see Qiuci. Lady Jing’er says the Fifth Princess entreats you to spare Qiuci.”

Yan Yunning blinked. “Ranran wants to spare Qiuci?”

“Yes, Xuanwang Consort — that is the Fifth Princess’s meaning, as relayed by Lady Jing’er.”

Yan Yunning looked at Qiuci. The bright gleam that had appeared in his eyes upon seeing her was gone — his gaze had darkened into something bleak and despondent.

——

The General’s Manor.

Because Xuanzhao Ran loved the liveliness of a bustling household, she had lived at the General’s Manor since her marriage and rarely visited the Princess’s residence.

Yan Yunning and Xuan Yanyu came along with Qiuci to the General’s Manor. Knowing that Xuanzhao Ran and Qiuci had things to say to each other, Yan Yunning and Xuan Yanyu went directly to the little Commandery Princess’s chamber.

“This servant greets His Majesty the Xuanwang and the Xuanwang Consort.” The maidservants, wet nurses, and imperial physicians inside the chamber knelt in greeting.

“Rise. Carry on with your duties.” Afraid of disturbing the little girl, Yan Yunning kept her voice low.

“Yes, Xuanwang Consort.”

Yan Yunning walked to the cradle and looked down at the little girl — wrinkled all over, her features squeezed tightly together, her small chest rising and falling in shallow, fragile breaths, no bigger than a forearm. She felt a mingling of pity and tenderness.

The little girl was wrapped in a very thick blanket. She was well-behaved — her cries were soft as a kitten’s. An imperial physician sat at her side, dabbing medicinal tonic on her lips with a small cloth, drop by careful drop.

Working purely on instinct, the little girl parted her tiny mouth and made a small sound — and the sight of it squeezed Yan Yunning’s heart into a tight knot.

“Your Majesty, Your Ladyship, please do not worry — with us physicians attending to her, the little Commandery Princess will come to no harm,” the physician said with conviction.

“Good, good. That is such a relief.” At these reassuring words, the weight in Yan Yunning’s chest lifted all at once.

Xuan Yanyu stepped forward and looked down at the little girl’s tiny, crumpled face, brow furrowing. “Did not the guard report that she had a soft pink-and-white little face and would grow into a great beauty? Why can I not see it at all?”

“All newborns look like this — they become lovely as they grow older. And neither Ranran nor Jiang Xian is unattractive, so there’s no reason this little one wouldn’t be beautiful.” Yan Yunning watched the little girl making earnest little licks at the tonic with adoring eyes full of sweet warmth.

“Nonsense. Xiaoxiao was pink and white from birth.” At that, the man paused and let a smug smile play at the corner of his lips. “It must be because he takes after me.”

Yan Yunning’s eye twitched. She noticed the imperial physician’s hand holding the medicinal spoon give the tiniest of trembles.

“Isn’t that so?” Xuan Yanyu tapped Yan Yunning on the head and tilted his face toward her at just the right angle.

“Takes after you how?” Yan Yunning had no attention to spare for admiring his fine features.

“Doesn’t Xiaoxiao look just like me?” The man tilted his chin up, his gaze drifting to the imperial physician. “Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed, Your Majesty is quite right. The Crown Prince does take after Your Majesty — which is precisely why he was pink and white from birth,” the imperial physician said with practiced deference.

“……” Yan Yunning curved her lips into a smile. “Xuan Xixi, haven’t you ever heard it said that a niece takes after her maternal uncle? Look at this little one’s wrinkled little face — she must take after you.”

“I’ve never heard that.”

“Oh come now, don’t deny it. This little one takes after you — that’s why she looks like this. Ranran and Jiang Xian haven’t even complained to you yet, and you’re already busy distancing yourself.” Yan Yunning looked at the imperial physician who was stirring the medicinal tonic, her expression brightening into a full smile. “Isn’t this Consort right? Will a niece not take after her maternal uncle?”

The imperial physician pursed his lips and chose his words with care. “Your Ladyship, there is indeed a probability of that — but the little Commandery Princess is still so young, it is difficult to see a resemblance to His Majesty just yet.”

“How can you not see it?” Yan Yunning pointed to the little girl’s tiny face. “This is practically the same as Xuan Yanyu.”

“Your Ladyship, if you look more carefully……” the imperial physician said, gently but obliquely.

All five features scrunched together into one place — what exactly is there to see? How is that remotely like His Majesty??

“I should take you to the Imperial Medical Academy to have your eyes examined.” Xuan Yanyu sighed with exaggerated regret. “So young, and your eyesight is already failing you. Whatever would you do if I weren’t there to look after you?”

“Get out of my sight!” Yan Yunning twisted the flesh of the man’s arm.

“Yaa——” The little girl curled her tiny body inward, gave a soft, round little “yaa,” and then, worn out from the effort, fell fast asleep.

“Come, let me take you to have your eyes looked at.” Xuan Yanyu, insufferable to the last, gave a lazy tug at Yan Yunning’s hair, his voice drawling and unhurried.

Yan Yunning shot him a glance. Xuan Yanyu turned his gaze on her and broke into a smile — rakishly, devastatingly handsome.

Yan Yunning: “……”

They left the inner chamber. The sky had darkened outside. Palace guards walked on either side, holding lanterns aloft.

On the dim stone-paved path, Yan Yunning gave a soft laugh and slipped her arm through Xuan Yanyu’s, her eyes bright as she looked up at him. “I want a daughter too.”

The man did not look up. He turned her fingers idly in his and said at an unhurried pace, “Very well. Once the little girl is strong enough, I’ll have someone bring her to Xuanwang Palace to live by your side.”

“……?” Yan Yunning leaned her head against his shoulder and rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say I wanted someone else’s daughter.”

“Someone else’s? What someone else?” Xuan Yanyu lifted an eyebrow lightly. “You are her maternal aunt. There’s a connection — she hardly counts as someone else’s.”

“You……Xuan Yanyu, aren’t you afraid that Ranran and Jiang Xian — and the entire General’s Manor — would beat you senseless?”

The man glanced at her with the corner of his eye and gave a low laugh. “Who would dare?”

Yan Yunning raised her hand without the slightest hesitation and slapped his shoulder. “I would.”

Xuan Yanyu curved his lips, stretched out a long arm, and draped it over her shoulder, drawing her gently toward him. His voice was lazy and unhurried. “You’re the exception.”

Yan Yunning tilted her head back to look at him, lips curving. “Do you want a daughter or not?”

The man’s languid, half-lidded eyes gave a slow blink. He let out a soft hum. “What if it turns out to be a son? I only have one imperial throne……”

“Be quiet.” Yan Yunning pressed a finger to his cheek. “There’s still a fifty-fifty chance, isn’t there? So — do you want one or not?”

“……” Xuan Yanyu fixed his eyes on her and said nothing.

Yan Yunning smiled sweetly. “Xuan Yanyu, you had best never speak to me again!”

“……” The man pointed to his own lips and blinked with perfectly crafted innocence.

“……” Yan Yunning was so exasperated she burst out laughing. “I told you to be quiet, and you went quiet. I ask you whether you want a daughter, and you won’t answer. What’s that about?”

“I agreed,” Xuan Yanyu said, aggrieved. “I agreed to have the little girl brought to live by your side — but you wouldn’t accept that.”

“Get out of my sight!”

Xuan Yanyu: “……”

They walked in silence for a moment. Yan Yunning suddenly brightened, clearly pleased with herself. “Xuan Xixi, I’ve thought it through. If you don’t want one, then we won’t have one.”

The man looked at her sidelong, unable to make sense of why she had so suddenly shifted her position.