If not for the fact that she had just finished bathing and her hair was still damp and uncomfortable to leave wet, Suzhen would have thought she was dreaming…

Her room had truly become a place where everyone could come and go freely, except for herself. Sometimes she was away investigating cases, occasionally at another residence, today kidnapped, tomorrow under house arrest—it was like a guerrilla hideout.

But she truly couldn’t understand why these three people had come.

Ming Yanchu, Qinglong, and Baihu.

It was Ming Yanchu who spoke. Seeing Suzhen still sitting on the bed without a word, showing no reaction whatsoever, he became anxious and furrowed his brow, kneeling as he said: “Director Li, please come to the palace with us. His Majesty is waiting for you.”

After the initial shock, what actually filled Suzhen’s mind were the four words “Lian Yu is ill.”

She knew why he had fallen ill. He had been severely injured that day, which was why, even knowing it was inappropriate for her to stand stubbornly in the room at that time, she had endured standing half the night to confirm his condition.

Later, after receiving treatment from the imperial physicians, his condition was relatively stable. He could even injure Baihu, visit her in the middle of the night, and was said to have only missed one morning court session. Even what she had seen in the palace today seemed fine, so how could he suddenly tonight—

If he wanted to imprison her again, he could simply send people to arrest her. He was the Son of Heaven of Great Zhou—what couldn’t he do!

If this was a ploy to gain sympathy, what was his purpose?

She clearly felt he couldn’t possibly be ill, yet her heart treacherously began to worry.

During this hesitation, Baihu, seeing her, also knelt down. “Please set out immediately, Director Li. Baihu has offended you greatly in the past and apologizes here. His Majesty’s condition truly cannot be delayed any longer.”

Suzhen couldn’t bear to see people kneeling, especially since she wasn’t their master. She pushed off the blanket and reached out to help them up. “Get up and speak. I cannot accept such grand courtesy. Besides, if he’s truly ill, you should be requesting that lady in the palace, not me.”

Upon hearing this, Qinglong almost rushed forward. “Director Li, please stop speaking in anger. If Miss A’luo could handle this matter, would we need to leave the palace in the middle of the night?”

Suzhen smiled bitterly. “This truly isn’t angry talk. His love for A’luo is no falsehood—you’ve all seen it. Previously, I might have been able to say a few words before him, but now that A’luo has returned, if even she cannot help, what does Li Huaisu amount to?”

“Moreover, he couldn’t possibly have suddenly fallen seriously ill. In your hearts, I may be nothing, but I consider you friends and hope you won’t deceive me. What exactly does he want? If he wishes to detain me, just give me a straight answer.”

The three exchanged glances. Ming Yanchu, being the most perceptive, paused before saying: “Director Li, you truly don’t know.”

“Miss A’luo is indeed the person His Majesty treasures above all else, but aren’t you as well? With A’luo in the palace, His Majesty can see her day and night, but he wants to see you yet cannot.”

Suzhen laughed softly. “Wasn’t I also in the palace before? What do you mean he cannot see me?”

“Yes, you were in the palace, but His Majesty didn’t dare go see you. He doesn’t say it aloud, but in his heart he was waiting for you to speak first. As long as you spoke, he would—”

As Ming Yanchu reached this point, the sound of pattering rain began outside—it had suddenly started raining. Suzhen was momentarily stunned, not knowing whether it was because of the rain or because of Ming Yanchu’s words “didn’t dare.”

“Why didn’t he dare?” Her throat felt hoarse. “Is there anything in this world he doesn’t dare to do?”

Qinglong and Baihu were particularly quiet at this moment. Ming Yanchu, at Suzhen’s insistence, stood up and sighed deeply. “Director Li doesn’t know, but we who follow His Majesty can see everything clearly. Director Li, do you remember how he secretly gave you sedatives that night he came to your room to see you?”

“He originally only wanted to quietly go over, look at you, and keep you company. Who knew you hadn’t fallen asleep due to circumstances? Do you know why he drugged you? He was afraid he couldn’t resist asking you questions. Later, when you discovered him, didn’t he indeed ask you? Of course, in the end he said nothing, but do you know what he originally wanted to ask?”

“He wanted to ask you—now that Miss A’luo has returned, are you still willing to grow old together with him? When he returned that day, he personally told this servant, saying, ‘Little Chu, I wanted to ask her like a madman for confirmation. I said, Little Chu, throughout my life, even during the most difficult times in the palace, even later when facing the late emperor and figures like Quan Feitong, I have never been timid, yet this time I retreated.'”

“Director Li, you didn’t see the master’s dejected appearance, so you don’t know, but this servant saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. My heart ached for him.”

Suzhen’s heart shook greatly. Though she had somewhat guessed that day, now receiving confirmation, her heart still felt as if someone had suddenly gripped it tightly, making it hard to breathe.

Ming Yanchu raised his hand to wipe his eyes. “So he didn’t dare go see you, afraid that upon seeing you, he couldn’t resist asking whether you were still willing to be with him. He believed that if he truly opened his mouth about this, it would be a kind of blasphemy toward you. So he would rather force himself to endure, and heaven knows how much he wanted you to call for him during those days—that way, he would have an excuse to see you.”

“Every night, after taking care of Miss A’luo’s needs, he would give her a dose of sleeping medicine, precisely because he feared you might seek him in the middle of the night, yet he never received such a summons.”

“Later, when you insisted on leaving, he asked you to give him three more days, but it was because we couldn’t get any information from the assassins’ mouths before. He was afraid you’d be in danger if you went out, so before his injuries had healed, he frantically began interrogating the assassins while simultaneously having the Seventh and Ninth Princes personally arrange protection for you outside.”

Suzhen covered her nose with both hands. “Since he hoped I would speak first, why wouldn’t he see me when I did speak? Wasn’t he already beginning to distance himself from me?”

Ming Yanchu laughed bitterly again. “He issued that imperial decree because he had already formed the idea of truly imprisoning you in the palace. He missed you so intensely that he said he no longer wanted to consider your wishes and would forcibly make you a consort, so you would stay in the palace with him forever.”

“But later, he stopped himself once again. However, he had no choice but to decree not to see you anymore, because as long as he saw you, he definitely couldn’t resist forcibly keeping you.”

“Originally, as the supreme emperor, what would be improper about taking both of you as imperial consorts? But he only planned to choose one of you. So he decided not to see you again before making his choice. This way, if he chose Miss A’luo in the future, cutting off your hopes early would help you find release sooner. If he chose to be with you, this period would serve as compensation to Miss A’luo.”

“He was already severely injured but still insisted on attending court and handling state affairs. After finishing court business, he would care for Miss A’luo, yet couldn’t sleep at night. Even a body of iron couldn’t withstand this, but he was merely hiding it from the ministers and the Empress Dowager.”

“His body was already at the end of its strength, but unexpectedly he saw you in the Imperial Garden today. He accidentally struck you, but in front of Miss A’luo, he still restrained himself from looking at you. He felt he owed too much to that girl he also deeply loved. Later, when Quan Feitong came and took you away, he forced himself to return to the palace but then collapsed. Despite being fed medicine, his high fever wouldn’t break. The imperial physician said this was caused by internal anxiety and required targeted treatment. He called Miss A’luo’s name for half the night, then called your name for the other half.”

Having said this much, Ming Yanchu knelt down again, with Qinglong and Baihu also kneeling forward, looking at Suzhen pleadingly.

“Director Li, this servant has said too much tonight, but please, you must enter the palace to see the master. He loves you no less than Miss A’luo…”

“Enough, stop talking. I’ll go back with you right now.”

“We thank Director Li for her great kindness!”

Tears poured out from between the gaps of her hands covering her eyes, unable to be wiped clean no matter how she tried. Suzhen took a sharp breath and stopped trying to dry them. She quickly took a hairpin from her cosmetic case, pinned up her hair, and hurried out with the three of them, plunging into the dark sky and black rain.

After entering the palace, they had to walk through various winding paths. Despite the torrential rain and the three of them holding umbrellas to protect Suzhen, by the time they reached the entrance to Lian Yu’s sleeping chamber, Suzhen was completely soaked through, as if she had been pulled from water.

Just as Ming Yanchu was about to lead Suzhen inside, she stopped him, saying quietly: “Could you have Shuangcheng come out first? It would be uncomfortable for all of us to face each other inside. I’ll just go in for a moment and leave afterward—”

Before Ming Yanchu could answer, Baihu beside them said: “The master had somewhat anticipated his condition and feared that calling your name in his delirium would sadden Miss A’luo. He claimed he needed to discuss urgent matters with the Prime Minister in the evening and sent her back to her original sleeping chamber first. Miss A’luo is understanding and, fearing it might delay state affairs, didn’t come over tonight.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Qinglong and Ming Yanchu’s faces darken. She immediately realized what she had said and looked at Suzhen somewhat stiffly.

“How considerate of him toward A’luo. Girl, I really don’t know whether I should thank you for being honest or resent you for always making me feel worse.” Suzhen wasn’t angry either, shaking her head with a smile as she pushed open the door.

Baihu bit her lip, and several people quietly followed inside. In the room, Xuanwu led two female officials over to greet Suzhen. Suzhen forgot to respond, her eyes fixed on the area several feet ahead.

There, bright yellow curtains hung high, with various implements placed on a side table by the bed. The bitter and sweet smell of medicinal soup permeated the air. On the Nine Dragon Bed, the man was calling out something in a hoarse voice, tossing and turning, his hands grasping at empty air. Though clearly ill, one could see the great strength in his hands—it looked quite frightening.