Snow was falling outside again.

Though it was still early, Princess Lian Xin unusually lifted the gauze curtains in her chambers. She was still quite sleepy, but her mind was occupied with thoughts of Suzhen. She wanted to go see her, and also wondered whether she should leave the palace to tell Wuqing about Suzhen’s situation.

Then she remembered that Suzhen’s letter had already been sent to the Quan mansion, and Wuqing was there too. Quan Feitong would surely inform him, so her going to tell him would be redundant.

But this was a good excuse to meet with Wuqing. She chuckled twice to herself, then solemnly decided she couldn’t neglect friendship for romance – she’d go see Suzhen first, then… leave the palace!

She usually loved to sleep in, and in winter absolutely couldn’t get up early. But now she bounced up with a rolling motion like a plump pig.

After grooming and dressing, just as she was about to leave, her palace woman brought a letter, smiling: “Princess, perfect timing that you’re up, otherwise this servant would have had to risk great offense by calling you early. This was delivered by a palace woman under Eunuch Xia, saying it’s a letter from the Princess’s honored guest, requesting immediate attention.”

Honored guest? Lian Xin couldn’t help but feel puzzled, saying fiercely: “What kind of guest? Where would this palace get any honored… oh my!”

She suddenly cried out, seeming to remember something, snatched the letter and shook it open.

Lian Xin: Lian Yu restricts my movements. Please do me a crucial favor. Tell Gu Xiluo where I am and have her come find me. Don’t follow along yourself, but go stay with your mother empress temporarily. Don’t leave until I come for you. Please do exactly as I say.

There was no signature, but Lian Xin immediately knew who it was from.

The letter’s contents were somewhat strange, but if asked what was strange about it, she couldn’t say. She assumed Suzhen had something to say to Gu Xiluo but needed to avoid Lian Yu, so she had to relay the message.

Yes, right now, with morning court not yet ended, if one wanted to meet with Gu Xiluo, this was the best time!

Without another word, she led her palace women and maids out in a grand procession.

Huo Mansion’s villa.

The old servant was trimming dead branches and leaves in the courtyard with shears as usual, but today he seemed restless, frequently frowning and glancing toward the interior buildings.

“Old sir, that third courtyard building is temporarily for His Majesty’s use. Just attend to it as usual and don’t ask about other matters. Can you manage this?”

Two people emerged from the house entrance – one was Qinglong from beside the Emperor, whom he recognized, and another in purple with a covered face, whom he didn’t know. It was this person who spoke, presumably also an important agent of the Emperor.

He nodded and continued cleaning.

The purple-clad youth was actually Zhuque, who smiled slightly at him before leaving with Qinglong.

The old servant glanced inside. When they arrived, there had been over ten people bringing three men with black hoods over their heads. Judging by their builds, there were two young men and one older. They seemed to have had their mute and major acupoints sealed – though they could walk, their movements were somewhat sluggish. When they left, there were only two, so they must be guarding some people with formidable martial arts.

However, it was strange – imprisoning people at the Huo mansion!

But before the young master left, he had instructed that His Majesty and Magistrate Li would forever be the most honored guests of this estate.

As he was thinking, he heard heavy footsteps outside the mansion. He frowned slightly and gripped his broom tightly, then saw seven or eight people leap down from the eaves. The two leaders weren’t strangers either – one was Wuqing, the guard beside that Magistrate Li, and the other was General Chao Huang, whom he’d met years ago when he managed affairs for the Huo family.

“Guard Wuqing, this is…” He knew Chao Huang was one of Lian Yu’s political enemies, so he asked questioningly.

Wuqing bowed deeply: “Elder sir, we apologize for the disturbance. We’ve come to… rescue someone.”

“Rescue someone?” He was greatly alarmed. Could it be that the people just brought in were whom they wanted to rescue? On one side were people close to Magistrate Li wanting to rescue someone, on the other were the Emperor’s people wanting to imprison someone – what should be done?

“Elder sir, please step aside. Those imprisoned inside are guards from the Court of Judicial Review, Wuqing’s brothers and Magistrate Li’s friends, whom you also know. We once stayed here for some time.”

Wuqing stepped forward, appealing to emotion.

“Magistrate Li’s friends…” The old servant seemed to be remembering something. At over seventy years old, he was getting on in years and his mind didn’t seem quite sharp.

“Who dares trespass on a prison site?!” A stern shout came from the house, followed by over ten black-clad men emerging one after another. This group of imperial experts weren’t masked, appearing sharp-eyed and clearly no ordinary fighters.

One of them recognized Chao Huang, his face growing grave: “Is that General Chao Huang approaching?”

Everyone was shocked and simultaneously showed wariness.

“Just with you lot – you think you’re worthy to fight me?” Chao Huang laughed coldly, clearly not taking these people seriously.

“Chao Huang, Wuqing, how did you get here?” Another voice came from outside the gate. Qinglong looked at the two with surprise, while Zhuque beside him also grew serious: “These prisoners possess superior martial arts. Fortunately I was uneasy and returned to instruct the guards to maintain strict watch. Otherwise, you would have gotten a great bargain.”

“Oh? And this person is…” Before Chao Huang could respond, Wuqing fixed his gaze and asked with a mocking smile: “Only, who are you? Adding you two, do you think you can turn the tide?”

“Zhuque under the Son of Heaven requests instruction from the Deputy Commander of the Six Doors!” Zhuque suddenly raised an eyebrow, laughed coldly, and leaped up, immediately challenging Wuqing.

Qinglong also shouted: “Anyone who dares force entry will be killed without mercy!”

Chao Huang’s form moved slightly, and he dropped like a great eagle before Qinglong.

The old servant was gently pushed to the wall corner by Wuqing’s palm, and in the blink of an eye, dozens from both sides were fighting!

Servants in the mansion were startled by the commotion and rushed out to look, then quickly helped the old servant retreat under the eaves, clearing the entire courtyard.

“General Chao, don’t use lethal force. This isn’t a battlefield or court. Li Huaisu wouldn’t want anyone to die because of rescuing people! What Li Huaisu wants is presumably what Prime Minister Quan wants too.”

In the fierce battle, Wuqing blocked one of Zhuque’s killing moves and shouted loudly.

Chao Huang was fighting Qinglong with one hand while about to snap an imperial guard’s neck with the other. He disliked Wuqing, even detested him, but when Wuqing invoked Quan Feitong’s name, his gaze darkened. Finally, he struck out with a palm, only severely injuring the person.

The imperial experts under the Emperor were highly skilled and had numerical advantage, yet Chao Huang and Wuqing’s martial arts were extremely dominating. While fighting the Emperor’s two close guards, they simultaneously battled other imperial guards, taking on three or four opponents each. The situation was quickly controlled by Chao Huang’s side.

“What should we do?” Qinglong took a palm strike and was secretly alarmed, quickly making eye contact with Zhuque.

Zhuque’s expression wasn’t much better. Rolling his eyes, he stared at Wuqing, suddenly clutched his chest and dropped from mid-air. Wuqing’s attack had been fierce, but seeing this, he actually eased up – whether to avoid killing or for other reasons.

In that moment, Zhuque suddenly slipped with his toe, took advantage to push through the crowd at the door, and flew into the house.

Wuqing was about to pursue when Qinglong seemed to understand something and shouted: “All guards listen – defend to the death until Zhuque emerges!”

“Yes!”

Hearing this, the black-clad men’s spirits rose as they pressed forward with completely reckless fighting methods.

Chao Huang glared harshly at Wuqing and attacked without mercy. Wuqing’s expression changed as he actually leaped over to stop him from killing.

“Are you mad?!” Chao Huang spat violently, flew into a rage, and without another word, turned to strike Wuqing’s head with his palm.

His martial arts were fierce and powerful. Under full force, probably only Huo Chang’an in the world could receive it. Wuqing was no match either, and seeing this, he barely dodged in alarm.

Wuqing smiled self-mockingly. Between righteousness and evil, he had long abandoned good and evil, viewing life like grass. But at this moment, the rescue situation was special. What Feng Suzhen represented as Li Huaisu – what she had always stubbornly insisted on, what the Court of Judicial Review insisted on – he couldn’t help but protect!

Qinglong, brutally abandoned, was stunned instead. People from both sides also stopped fighting in shock as the two men’s palm power was fierce, exchanging over ten moves in the blink of an eye.

Just then, two figures in purple and white flew out. The white figure, like Zhuque, had a cloth covering their head and face, leaving only their eyes visible, making their age impossible to determine.

Their form was like lightning, forcibly inserting themselves between Chao and Wu, attacking Chao Huang with palm wind sharp as a tiger. Even with Chao Huang’s martial arts, he was forced back a step.

“Leave this to me. Zhuque, you and Qinglong take the people inside away!” the white-clad person said coldly, their voice also indeterminate like Zhuque’s.

Chao Huang and Wuqing were greatly alarmed and joined forces again, yet with this person’s addition, they couldn’t gain any advantage. Wuqing wondered – there was still an expert guarding inside, but why did they need Zhuque to enter and summon them before appearing?

“Who exactly are you?” Chao Huang demanded angrily.

The white-clad person didn’t answer, only smiled coldly. Just as Zhuque and Qinglong were about to rush into the mansion and take people away, the Huo mansion’s old servant slowly blocked their path.

“Both Magistrate Li and the current Emperor are friends of the Huo mansion. I heard our marquis say the Emperor’s achievements benefit spring and autumn. This old man doesn’t understand politics, but usually likes to listen to storytelling in the streets and alleys. I’ve heard many stories about Magistrate Li judging cases. Now that new scholars are born and new magistrates appointed, the marketplace doesn’t talk much about old people and old matters, but this old man still remembers Magistrate Li in his heart. Today, just for the Court of Judicial Review guard’s words about not killing people, this old man must do something for the well-bred Magistrate Li.”

“This lord, this Huo mansion servant is unworthy, but requests instruction from you.”

He spoke slowly, smiled gently at the white-clad person, and set down his dull large shears.

When Aluo led her palace women and maids to Suzhen’s room, Suzhen was gazing into the distance at the sky beyond the palace walls.

“Very good. If you don’t seek me out, I also want to find you, but was lacking an excuse to avoid Lian Yu.” Aluo stared at her men’s clothing and smiled coldly in her heart: “Don’t think that using the excuse of being the Princess’s guest allows you to stay long in the palace and bewitch the Emperor!”

“This clothing – neither male nor female – are you trying to remind someone of old times? Li Zhaoting or Lian Yu?” Her eyes narrowed, filled with mockery.

Suzhen turned to look at her, smiled slightly without responding, only saying: “This commoner has loved wine all her life. The wine Your Ladyship promised yesterday – does that offer still stand? How about inviting me for a drink?”

Author’s Note: Thanks everyone for the rewards – you’ve spent too much. Considering the continuity of the plot and smoother reading experience, if everyone doesn’t see an update tomorrow, there won’t be one the day after either. The author will combine these two days’ plot developments for a long update on Monday or Tuesday. Poisoning the wine cellar, thoroughly enraging the Emperor, various forces storming the palace, public execution by beating.