The young Emperor spun around sharply, his eyes flashing with fierce light, and strode toward Shu Shenhui with heavy steps. “Third Imperial Uncle, the bandits in Qingzhou have scattered like dead monkeys. Even if there are remaining dregs, they wouldn’t have such a long reach to dare extend their hands into Chang’an. I’m not being vindictive, but this matter must be the work of Prince Gao’s descendants! They appear honest and obedient on the surface, but secretly, they move against the Third Imperial Uncle! How fortunate that Third Imperial Uncle is unharmed tonight—if anything had gone wrong, they could have rallied the remaining faction to fish in troubled waters, and who knows what would have happened then!”

“They’re like an old man hanging himself—seeking their death! Let’s not delay any longer! Arrest them all immediately! Interrogate them thoroughly. As long as we keep questioning, we’ll surely uncover evidence…”

He had an extreme temperament—remembering kindness extremely well, but bearing grudges meant certain retaliation. Just as he was getting worked up with his urging, Liu Xiang appeared and stopped outside the hall entrance, peering inside.

Shu Shenhui saw him and gestured for him to enter. Liu Xiang hurried inside.

“What is it?”

Liu Xiang bowed to both men: “Your Majesty! Your Highness, the Regent Prince! A message just arrived—Prince Lingshou has suddenly gone mad.”

The young Emperor exclaimed, “Ah!” his mouth gaping wide enough to stuff an egg inside.

“What, gone mad?” His eyes widened like saucers as he cried out strangely.

Liu Xiang nodded: “Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s said he’s gone mad.”

Prince Gao had many women in his household but few offspring. It was said that due to an early injury that damaged his private parts, he only had one adult son—this Prince Lingshou.

Shu Shenhui looked at him: “What happened?”

Liu Xiang then related the news he had just received. When Prince Lingshou learned tonight of the Regent Prince’s assassination attempt, his eyes went vacant, and his soul seemed to leave his body. He locked himself alone in his room. When his family felt something was wrong and broke in, they found he had hanged himself from the beam. After they cut him down, they managed to save his life, but when he awakened, he spoke incoherently and appeared to have lost his mind.

After his initial shock, the young Emperor snorted coldly: “I think he has a guilty conscience and is deliberately feigning madness to escape punishment.”

Liu Xiang lowered his head: “This humble minister dares not make such a judgment.”

This news was indeed unexpected. When his subordinate first reported it, he too found it incredible. But upon further thought, it seemed there were signs leading to this.

After Prince Gao’s sudden death, according to surveillance by secret agents, Prince Lingshou had shut his doors to visitors and hadn’t stepped outside even once since then. He was said to be in constant fear, unable to sleep day or night. Hearing sounds like armor chains outside his door would make him tremble with terror. Last month, he fell ill, and despite repeated examinations by imperial physicians, his condition never improved. With such a major incident occurring tonight, if he wasn’t feigning madness to escape punishment as the young Emperor suggested, then he very likely had gone truly insane from excessive fear.

“Third Imperial Uncle! He’s feigning madness! And that son of his, too! Wasn’t he quite arrogant, even daring to intercept tribute being sent to the palace? Tonight’s assassination attempt on you must be connected to them!”

The young Emperor turned to Liu Xiang: “Go! Arrest this father and son immediately. I’ll make him stop pretending to be mad!”

Liu Xiang verbally agreed while secretly glancing at the Regent Prince.

Shu Shenhui pondered: “Your Majesty, there’s no need to be so hasty. Even if they are truly involved, they can’t escape. Since it’s said the man is unwell, why not have the imperial physicians go examine him first to see what the actual situation is—it won’t be too late to decide after that.”

The young Emperor looked somewhat unwilling, but could only comply with his words: “Very well, we’ll do as Third Imperial Uncle says. I’ll see how long he can keep up his act!”

Liu Xiang had received his orders and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the Regent Prince call him back.

“Have someone tell Lan Rong to take the imperial physicians with him. Say it’s His Majesty’s concern, and go see what the actual situation is.”

Lan Rong was Empress Dowager Lan’s brother, the young Emperor’s maternal uncle, who had recently been promoted to head the Earth Gate Bureau. Along with Chen Lun, he was considered one of the Regent Prince’s right-hand men.

As for the Prince, by generation, he was the young Emperor’s uncle.

Having Lan Rong go to inquire about the illness was the perfect choice.

The young Emperor said happily: “Yes, yes, yes! Third Imperial Uncle, your thinking is thorough—this arrangement is excellent! Uncle is experienced and knowledgeable. He definitely won’t let him slip through!”

The Regent Prince smiled slightly and gestured for Liu Xiang to handle the matter. After Liu Xiang left, he turned to the young Emperor: “Your Majesty, it’s getting late. I’ll escort you back to the palace. If you don’t return soon and the Empress Dowager finds out, she’ll worry.”

When Shu Jian came out tonight, he was indeed filled with worry and anxiety. He also harbored intense hatred for Prince Gao’s family, feeling he couldn’t delay even a moment and was determined to arrest them. But his mood now was completely different—how could he be willing to return just like this? “No matter, no matter! Mother often teaches me to listen to Third Imperial Uncle’s words and stay close to you. Tonight, such a thing happened, and I came to see Third Imperial Uncle—if she knew, she’d be full of praise. What’s there to worry about…”

As he spoke, he turned to glance toward the bridal chamber.

“Third Imperial Uncle, since I’ve already come all this way, if I leave without greeting Imperial Aunt, wouldn’t that be discourteous? Didn’t you say before that, however I treat you, I should treat her the same way? Just let me call out to her once. After I do, I’ll return to the palace immediately without another word!”

Although he could see General Jiang’s daughter tomorrow, he was extremely curious about the female general. Having come all this way with her so close at hand, how could he be satisfied without seeing her immediately?

Seeing his nephew simply wouldn’t leave and was making such reasonable arguments, Shu Shenhui felt somewhat exasperated. After thinking for a moment, he called Zhang Bao over and gave him instructions. Zhang Bao acknowledged and withdrew, running off toward the bridal chamber.

The Regent Prince’s former sleeping quarters were not far from here, in Jianyue Pavilion behind Zhaoger Hall. He seemed quite fond of it and had lived there for many years. For this wedding, Zhang Bao had assumed the bridal chamber would naturally be set up in the familiar Jianyue Pavilion, but unexpectedly it had been changed to a place called Fanzhi in the eastern part of the prince’s mansion.

The buildings there were naturally also fine, front courtyard and rear garden, surpassing even Jianyue Pavilion in terms of area and luxurious decoration. It was indeed suitable as a bridal chamber, but it had been vacant for many years, and the two locations were quite far apart. Not only were there two courtyard walls between them, but one also had to pass through a pond garden. From one end to the other, if one didn’t run, a round trip would take more than the time needed to brew a cup of tea.

Zhang Bao, fearing to keep the young Emperor waiting long, ran at full speed in one breath toward Fanzhi Courtyard.

In the bridal chamber, after Shu Shenhui left, Jiang Hanyuan naturally hadn’t retired either. She removed her headdress, stood by the window, pushed it open, and gazed outside.

Outside the window was a courtyard of enormous size. Though it was hung full of lanterns tonight, with red light reflecting on the winter branches and the accumulated snow on the branches resembling clusters of red plum blossoms that sparkled brilliantly from afar, perhaps because the space was too large and no people were visible at the moment, those masses of hazy red light brought no sense of celebration but instead added several degrees of loneliness.

Suddenly, she turned to glance toward the outer room. After waiting a moment longer, she turned and passed through the heavy curtains, left the inner chamber, and opened the door. Sure enough, a young attendant stood at the entrance, holding up one hand as if to knock but not knocking, panting heavily.

She had earlier detected the faint sound of his breathing from outside the door. After waiting a while, she simply went to open the door herself.

Zhang Bao had arrived here moments before. He raised his hand to knock on the door, then stopped, wanted to knock again, then stopped once more. He deliberated on what manner of knocking would be appropriate so that the Princess, who should currently be inside waiting for the Regent Prince to return to the bridal chamber, wouldn’t find him presumptuous and annoying.

Just as he was pondering this, the door suddenly opened. Looking up, he saw the female general had opened the door herself and stood inside, her gaze falling upon him. His heart panicked, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand, stepped back, and bowed.

“Reporting to Your Highness, the Princess, His Highness sent this slave. His Majesty just now wished to see Your Highness’s face. His Highness sent this slave to ask if Your Highness finds it convenient. If convenient, he will escort His Majesty here. There’s a main hall not far from here—would Your Highness kindly move there?”

After Zhang Bao delivered the message, he lowered his head and averted his eyes, not daring to look directly, his heart filled with awe for this female general.

It wasn’t that the female general appeared frightening or overwhelming in her presence, intimidating him. On the contrary, when he first saw her tonight, this young attendant who had seen all manner of grand occasions was quite surprised. Having heard many rumors about the female general before, he inevitably had preconceived notions and expectations, but he hadn’t expected that at first glance, the female general appeared no different from an ordinary woman. Not only that, she wasn’t the thick-browed, large-eyed type Zhang Bao had previously imagined. The female general’s brows and eyes were delicately and beautifully formed, her eyelashes like two rows of phoenix tails, densely sweeping up to the corners of her eyes like butterflies in flight.

Such brows and eyes, if found on a cloistered lady, would surely be described as “brows like jade feathers, autumn waters with enchanting glances,” but appearing on the female general, they would never evoke such associations. Even standing still, her waist was held exceptionally tight and straight, and since she rarely smiled, she radiated the composure of a sword, like heavy snow weighing down pine branches, overshadowing everything else.

Not only this, but her gaze was not what Zhang Bao had expected—aggressive and piercing like a blade, revealing killing intent that could slay invisibly when meeting one’s eyes. Quite the contrary, though he didn’t know how this female general who lived by the sword’s edge behaved on the battlefield, judging from tonight alone, her gaze was deeply restrained, showing neither joy nor anger, and could even be described as peaceful.

Zhang Bao surmised she was usually a person of few words.

Whether his ability to read people was accurate could be determined later. In any case, while the female general would make one cautious in her presence, she certainly wouldn’t inspire fear.

The reason for his extreme caution included not only the female general herself but also the Regent Prince’s attitude toward her.

Not to mention tonight’s scene where the Regent Prince, moments after experiencing an assassination attempt, calmly helped her down from the ceremonial carriage as if nothing had happened. Now that His Majesty wanted to see her, the Regent Prince was even planning to escort His Majesty halfway across the mansion to meet her here.

The Regent Prince was scrupulous about propriety. According to his usual style, shouldn’t he have requested that the female general Princess come to Zhaoger Hall, where the young Emperor was? Yet tonight he acted this way, clearly considering her convenience, showing how important this female general was in His Highness’s mind and how special her position was.

Zhang Bao delivered his message and listened attentively for a response.

After a moment of silence, she said: “I’ll go there instead.”

At Zhaoger Hall, Shu Jian stood at the entrance, constantly looking around: “Third Imperial Uncle, why isn’t the bridal chamber in Jianyue Pavilion, where you’ve always lived? It’s close to here, and you’ve lived there for so many years. Moving to that place, isn’t it very inconvenient?”

“Since welcoming a new bride, naturally, we should use the finest location. That place has proper architecture and is most suitable.” Shu Shenhui seemed unwilling to discuss this matter and answered indifferently.

Shu Jian was only asking casually and responded with a couple of “ohs.” “Can we go now?”

Shu Shenhui estimated Zhang Bao had delivered the message, and General Jiang’s daughter should be prepared, so he rose and led his nephew outside, saying: “Jian’er, she traveled the long distance from Yanmen to the capital, exhausted from the journey. Before she could rest, she had to marry, and you know how elaborate the ceremonies are. When you came just now, and Third Imperial Uncle came out, she had already retired. Since you insist on seeing her, Third Imperial Uncle had her come out to wait in Fanzhi Hall. It’s not that she’s being disrespectful to you, but rather—”

“I know, I know, she’s too tired! She doesn’t need to come! Let’s go quickly!”

Shu Jian was practically bursting with impatience and urged him on.

Just as Shu Shenhui was about to step out of Zhaoger Hall with his nephew, his steps halted.

Jiang Hanyuan had come here herself, appearing below the steps outside the entrance.

He quickly reacted, stepped forward to meet her, and explained in a low voice: “Lady Jiang, His Majesty is impatient and insists on seeing you tonight before leaving, disturbing your rest. But you needn’t have come here—I could have led him there.”

“Your Highness speaks too seriously. Since His Majesty has arrived, how could I be discourteous?” she replied briefly.

“This humble general Jiang Hanyuan was unable to greet His Majesty promptly. I hope His Majesty will forgive this offense.”

Jiang Hanyuan performed a military salute to the young man before her.

The young Emperor stared at her with both eyes, his face wearing an undisguised expression of astonishment that truly didn’t look proper. If his tutor knew of this, he would surely be heartbroken and blame himself for inadequate instruction.

Shu Shenhui coughed lightly as a reminder.

Shu Jian snapped back to his senses and hastily said she need not be so formal, then turned to Shu Shenhui: “Third Imperial Uncle! Tell the female general… no! Imperial Aunt! Tell her that in the future, in private, she need not perform the etiquette of being subject to a ruler with me!”

Shu Shenhui only glanced at Jiang Hanyuan but didn’t speak according to Shu Jian’s wishes.

Jiang Hanyuan also didn’t pause but continued with her proper etiquette. Only after completing the ceremony did she straighten and say: “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The young Emperor was left speechless. They stood like this for a while longer when he suddenly slapped his forehead as if awakening from a dream: “It’s getting late, I really should return to the palace! Otherwise, if Mother finds out, she’ll worry.”

Shu Shenhui then escorted him, and Jiang Hanyuan naturally accompanied them as well. They left Zhaoger Hall and descended the steps. The young Emperor said, “Imperial Aunt, you don’t need to see me off. I’ll go by myself.”

Shu Shenhui turned to Jiang Hanyuan: “You may stop here. I’ll escort His Majesty out.”

Jiang Hanyuan stopped at the foot of the steps.

Shu Shenhui continued forward with Liu Xiang and others who had been waiting outside.

The young Emperor initially said nothing, simply walking with his head down. When they reached the corner turning toward the corridor leading to the main entrance, he secretly looked back, quickly glanced behind him again, and tugged at Shu Shenhui’s sleeve.

“Third Imperial Uncle, is there some mistake? Does Jiang Zuwang have another daughter? Is she General Changning? I don’t think she looks like it! Her? Can she take the field in battle and command a group of soldiers and generals?”

Before Shu Shenhui’s eyes appeared her image from moments ago—still wearing her wedding attire but having removed her headdress, her black hair simply bound into a full, neat knot at the top of her head, secured with a simple phoenix-head hairpin. Even for tonight’s occasion, she wore no cosmetics, yet her face could still carry the weight of her wedding garments.

No wonder the young Emperor was so amazed—the female general must have differed greatly from his expectations.

Actually, not just him—even Shu Shenhui himself had been somewhat surprised upon first meeting her.

“Third Imperial Uncle, say something!”

Shu Shenhui unconsciously looked back.

She still stood far away at the foot of the steps outside Zhaoger Hall, surrounded by lamplight and snow, her figure serene. Looking at her was like gazing at the night sky overhead—hazy and indistinct, not entirely real.

“…Or perhaps, could it be that Jiang Zuwang, to gain fame, had his daughter take credit for others’ achievements, thus earning the name General Changning?”

The young Emperor’s suspicious muttering reached his ears again.

Shu Shenhui then recalled tonight’s first encounter, when the carriage door opened and he saw those eyes that suddenly lifted.

Those eyes were beautifully formed, but what left a deep impression on him was the light within them.

They were eyes that could only belong to someone who had grown accustomed to witnessing life and death, deep and untroubled. And her hands—he had briefly held them, not large, easily encompassed by his palm, but his fingers had felt the calluses formed by countless encounters with blade edges.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

He withdrew his gaze from the woman, turned his head, and stopped his nephew’s baseless rambling.