Chang’an entered winter earlier than any other place.

Whether from cold or hunger, Li Zhang, kept in the Taiji Hall, seemed cursed—day and night he opened his mouth and wailed.

Lan Yue and Ruo Chan took turns rocking the cradle, yet the infant inside grew daily more emaciated. Lan Yue slept beside the cradle, hardly daring to close her eyes. Each time she woke, she would discover Li Zhang’s life had ebbed away a little more.

“Why does he always vomit the milk he drinks?” This feeling was terrifying. Lan Yue said, “Has an imperial physician come to look?”

“A physician examined him last time and said infants vomiting milk is a common occurrence. The Imperial Grandson is perfectly well, just weak. Please care for him well, ladies.” The Taiji Hall seemed shrouded in a miasma of death. The eunuchs standing attendance in the hall were like clay idols and wooden sculptures—countless pairs of eyes coldly observing.

“What about this then? Is this also common?” Ruo Chan suddenly cried out. “Sister Lan Yue, look.”

The infant opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound. His whole body convulsed, his skin faintly turning purple. Lan Yue held Li Zhang higher, then lower. Her heart felt as if cut by knives, yet couldn’t stop sinking, feeling she too would meet her end here today: “Let me out, I’ll go find a physician…”

Just then, the door was pushed open and someone rushed into the hall.

Ruo Chan only suspected she’d already been executed by Li Huan for negligent care, and what she saw before her eyes was merely a fleeting vision. If not, how could she see Qun Qing perfectly unharmed? She carried cold air, her high chignon neat, her hair black as thick ink. In the light, her cheeks were translucent like jade, her expression serious.

Ruo Chan was so shocked she couldn’t speak for a long while, then rushed over to grab Qun Qing’s arm: “Sister, you—you’re alright?”

Qun Qing had already seized the swaddled bundle from Lan Yue’s arms and held it in her own, her fingers pressing toward several acupressure points.

Rushing back by boat and carriage all the way, today was precisely when she and Lu Huating returned to the palace to pay respects to Li Huan. The two had passed by Taiji Hall when she heard commotion and crying from inside.

Palace rumors—Qun Qing had heard most of them along the way. This unfamiliar, weak child before her eyes should be Li Zhang, whom Zheng Zhiyi had delivered prematurely. She’d heard Zheng Zhiyi was stubborn, removing her hairpins to petition multiple times, requesting to remain by the child’s side, all refused by Li Huan.

Mother and child were connected at heart—one could imagine what torment Zheng Zhiyi had endured.

Just as she was about to enter, Lu Huating had suddenly grasped her wrist. After a moment’s hesitation, Qun Qing still pushed through the door and indeed entered timely. Now Li Zhang’s lips constantly overflowed with white foam—he appeared to have stopped breathing.

“What’s wrong? Could someone have poisoned him?” Lan Yue called out.

Qun Qing only felt she’d seen these symptoms somewhere before. Her thoughts raced rapidly. Holding the infant, she turned toward the doorway and quietly instructed Lan Yue: “Go, replace it with rosemary incense.”

Lu Huating’s waist felt lighter. Qun Qing had pulled off the sachet he wore and quietly placed it near the infant’s nose and mouth. Almost simultaneously, Li Zhang’s convulsions eased.

It seemed she’d guessed correctly.

The Lovesickness Lure poison Li Xuan had suffered had been transmitted through bloodline to the Imperial Grandson.

The gazes of all surrounding eunuchs came over, all seeming to crane their necks to see the Imperial Grandson’s condition, but they only heard kitten-like cries emerge from the swaddling.

From those urgent cries, one could tell he had once again turned danger to safety.

Lu Huating pushed through the door and stepped into the hall, snatching the swaddled bundle from Qun Qing’s hands in one motion. The infant was startled, his cries becoming more urgent.

Two head eunuchs from beside Li Huan followed in. They saw Lu Huating holding Li Zhang dangling like a toy, his posture and gaze containing not half a measure of warmth. The two head eunuchs exchanged glances, their expressions easing slightly: “His Majesty awaits in the Zichen Hall. Why have Lord Lu and Lord Qun come here?”

Lu Huating said: “Hearing crying, and thinking we hadn’t yet seen what the Imperial Grandson looked like, we came to look.”

Speaking thus, he placed Li Zhang back in the cradle.

This person’s conduct had always been perverse, and moreover, the Crown Prince was now in the imperial prison—he was even more unbridled. The two eunuchs smiled apologetically and led the two toward the Zichen Hall.

Qun Qing didn’t dare speak much with Ruo Chan and Lan Yue. She pulled Ruo Chan’s hand away, only gesturing with her eyes for her to care well for the Imperial Grandson.

Lu Huating walked very quickly, his profile somewhat cold: “Lady, look around you. Do you see?”

“I see.” Qun Qing said.

This return to the palace—everything in the palace was different from before.

Amid the killing atmosphere, flying eaves were hidden in mist. Below, two palace servants vigorously scrubbed bloodstains from the railings. The guards at the gates, the eunuchs waiting at doors—though seemingly motionless, their eyeballs occasionally shifted. Countless gazes secretly watched the two’s movements in the shadows.

Li Huan had seized his realm. His suspicions were no less than Li Xuan’s. In the previous life after he ascended, he had the capability to govern and stabilize the realm, but also a reputation for cruel bloodthirstiness. He imitated Nan Chu’s spies, installing his own informants throughout the palace.

Everyone in the palace knew Li Huan hated the Imperial Grandson and wished him dead. At this moment, saving Li Zhang under his very eyes was tantamount to pulling a tiger’s whiskers.

Lu Huating had just covered for her, fearing she would anger Li Huan. Thinking of this, she reached toward Lu Huating’s belt. Her fingers were grasped by Lu Huating: “You’ve already taken the sachet—must you also take the cord?”

Qun Qing said: “I’ll embroider you a new one when we return.”

Lu Huating said nothing more. Qun Qing reached to remove the cord and quietly placed it in her sleeve.

Li Huan sat in the great hall examining a scroll of sheepskin maps. From time to time, eunuchs carefully and quietly replenished ink and added lamps for him. Previously, Qun Qing had felt Li Huan didn’t resemble Emperor Chenming, yet now as he sat on the throne expressionless, she saw in him the same ruthlessness as Emperor Chenming and Li Xuan.

Qun Qing asked for punishment: “Unable to complete the embassy duties to Gaochang, I request His Majesty impose punishment.”

Before the words faded, Li Huan hurriedly called for them to rise: “Letters from Gaochang’s guest envoy arrived long ago. After the envoy brought the silk back to the royal palace, the Queen of Gaochang was extremely pleased. Hearing you were unfortunately lost after encountering mountain bandits, the Queen shed tears on the spot. She regrets your loss deeply—now that you two survived, how could she blame you?”

The eunuchs and close ministers beside Li Huan all chimed in agreement.

Li Huan sighed, his face showing grief: “What a pity—during your absence, the deposed Crown Prince took the opportunity to rise up, surrounded Imperial Father’s traveling lodge, leading to fraternal bloodshed… Better not to mention it.”

Qun Qing thought to herself that Li Huan and Lu Huating had maintained correspondence throughout, and even counterattacking Li Xuan was something the two had planned in advance. Now putting on this act before close ministers was also testing her thoughts. She said lightly: “Since the deposed Crown Prince betrayed father-son and fraternal bonds to commit such treasonous acts, he deserves to be prosecuted. His Majesty’s succession is what all desire—there’s no need to grieve.”

Looking at Li Huan’s expression, he seemed quite satisfied with her answer. But Qun Qing keenly sensed that Li Huan’s gaze occasionally fell on her. Though that look contained smiles, it concealed suspicion beneath.

“It seems a trip outside the palace can indeed make one cheerful. Lord Qun shows no traces of travel, and your extraordinary beauty seems to surpass before.” Li Huan’s seemingly teasing joke made Qun Qing’s heart sink.

The floor reflected her blurred features. Physician Li’s bone-manipulation technique had limited effect after all—she would gradually recover her original appearance. She didn’t know what Li Huan meant by these words, whether he already harbored suspicions.

In the previous life, after Li Huan ascended, he’d searched exhaustively for Nan Chu spies. She had died in Li Huan’s purge of Nan Chu spies within the palace.

Fortunately, Li Huan said nothing more, mentioning that Empress Xiao wanted to see her. Qun Qing understood he wanted to speak alone with Lu Huating, so she took her leave first and went to Xiao Yunru’s palace.

Li Huan dismissed everyone. Seeing only Lu Huating remained in the hall, he hurried out from behind the desk, wanting to personally help Lu Huating up. Unexpectedly, Lu Huating’s arm dodged before he could touch it, leaving Li Huan’s hand frozen in midair: “What, even you, Qi Lang, think I shouldn’t mistreat that child?”

“You’re overthinking.” Lu Huating flicked his sleeves and rose. “Now you and I are sovereign and subject. We should follow proper protocol.”

Clearly still the usual speaking tone, yet it seemed to have become distinctly separate.

“Then what did you mean rushing to protect Li Zhang so anxiously?”

Throwing out this sharp question, Li Huan said gently: “I didn’t deliberately send people to watch you. You don’t know how many things have happened recently—they truly make me sleepless at night, unable to trust even those beside me.”

As he spoke, he handed several memorials to Lu Huating for him to see their contents.

“Every winter when it’s too cold to graze, the Northern Rong begin harassing the northern borders, wanting to seize land from our hands. If I weren’t injured, I’d have led troops there long ago!”

Li Huan tapped the map. “Right when the northern borders are unstable, many Crown Prince faction members have emerged. According to our plans, shouldn’t the Crown Prince’s faction have been defeated one by one, unable to amount to anything? Who knows who’s secretly spreading rumors—claiming the deposed Crown Prince protests his innocence in the imperial prison, and claiming I’m abusing Li Zhang. Nan Chu spies and this Crown Prince faction are mutually colluding, refusing to give up. One by one, they want to secretly rise up, kill me, and install the Crown Prince’s remaining bloodline.”

Lu Huating quickly scanned the memorials.

Li Huan used investigating the Meng family case as an excuse to raid several Crown Prince faction remnants that night, and in their correspondence found letters from Nan Chu.

Nan Chu had always wanted to counterattack. Palace spies naturally wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to muddy the waters, attempting to create internal chaos for Great Chen.

No wonder Li Huan was anxious to purge palace spies.

“Using Li Zhang as bait to draw out the remaining Crown Prince faction—isn’t that good?” Lu Huating closed the memorial. “At a time like this, why be emotional?”

Li Huan’s expression eased slightly.

Lu Huating said: “As for catching spies and faction members, I can continue doing that.”

“Yunming, it’s not that I don’t trust you.” Li Huan looked at him for a long while before saying, “That wife of yours has a questionable identity. With her by your side, she’ll ruin great matters. Now in Chang’an families, there are many ladies of suitable age. How about taking the opportunity to…”

“She’s not a spy.” Lu Huating said. “The deposed Crown Prince verified her identity—you still don’t trust that?”

“How the deposed Crown Prince verified it, you know full well how much effort you put in.” Li Huan said. “She has cinnabar behind her ear and is so familiar with old Chu palace affairs. Do you still remember the female attendant beside Bao’an who escaped, whom we searched for back then? I’ve already checked the palace records—she’s the daughter of a fifth-rank military officer, and the age matches…”

“She’s not the person you’re talking about.” Lu Huating calmly interrupted him. “I can vouch for her.”

Li Huan’s gaze locked with Lu Huating’s pitch-black, cold eyes. Seeing he had no intention of yielding, he nodded. He had someone bring a tray. On it was prominently the Prime Minister’s official robes. He stroked the robes: “If not for you, Qi Lang, arranging personnel in advance, the uprising wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. I intended that the first thing after succession would be ennobling you as Prime Minister. From now on we’d support each other, yet you’re unwilling to stand by my side.”

Lu Huating only glanced once at the official robes before looking away: “His Majesty may bestow it, and I may request to resign.”

“What did you say?” Li Huan was astonished.

“I seem to have told His Majesty long ago. Accompanying you to this point, I’ve already achieved my purpose. The fate between you and I has about reached its end.” Lu Huating said lightly. “San Lang, you know my health has been poor since childhood. Since my life is short, why can’t I resign from office and live my own life?”

This was an extremely intelligent person impossible to control. If he had ambitions for power, he’d likely be invincible. If in the future he couldn’t be controlled—confirming Lu Huating had no interest in power, Li Huan secretly relaxed, but grew anxious and agitated: “Now with internal and external troubles, you want to resign? Within five years, don’t speak such words.”

Lu Huating walked out from the Zichen Hall. The sky was slightly darkened. Wind billowed his sleeves—the cold pierced to the bone. But seeing by the ox cart a slender figure holding a lantern waiting, his mood improved.

“Why didn’t you go inside and sit while waiting?” Lu Huating took the lantern from her hand.

The next moment, he lifted the cart curtain and came face to face with Ruo Chan inside holding Li Zhang, trembling with trepidation. His expression froze.