As night fell, only one lamp remained lit in Chong Ming Palace, the vast palace hall sinking into darkness. Occasionally, patrolling soldiers passed by in formation, their rustling footsteps only making the palace seem even more eerily quiet and lifeless.

The managing eunuch of Chong Ming Palace carried a plate of pastries as he stepped over the high threshold. Not seeing clearly what was at his feet, he nearly tripped and couldn’t help muttering: “Not even a single lamp lit!”

The eunuch guarding the palace gates laughed: “Please be careful, Your Honor—isn’t this by the Empress Dowager’s order? The borders are restless, the Western Rong seem to have internal strife, the Dayan frequently knock at our borders, and the commanding officers of the frontier garrisons keep coming to request military funds. There’s not much silver left in the state treasury, so she ordered the entire palace to economize on expenses.”

The managing eunuch snorted through his nose: “No money to burn candles in Chong Ming Palace, yet I don’t see any economizing on the elaborate arrangements for the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebrations.”

The gate-guarding eunuch laughed awkwardly: “How can that be the same?”

The two exchanged glances, each making a “shush—” gesture with their eyes.

Suddenly a patch of black shadow swayed, with faint meowing sounds. Both eunuchs bristled with alarm: “Who’s there!”

A broad and soft shadow sauntered out from the darkness, holding a snow-white bundle in his arms, stroking it as he said: “Your grandfather.”

Both eunuchs bowed with suppressed anger and resentment: “Commander Xia Hou.”

In the moonlight, the man had a round face, curved eyebrows and small eyes, with a broad build. His movements had a soft flexibility that fat people shouldn’t possess. His slow emergence made one think of a lazy cat.

He was actually holding a cat in his arms—snow-white fur, eyes like glass beads, with a golden bell at its neck that made no sound at all.

Both eunuchs recognized this as Commander Xia Houchun of the Crown Princess’s Nine Guards. The Nine Guards were the Crown Princess’s personal guard unit, but this commander had always been rather hands-off and didn’t enjoy the Crown Princess’s favor. His subordinate Nine Guards were like decorative vases with no presence in the palace.

It was said this man’s appointment as Nine Guards commander had some connection with the Crown Princess. The two eunuchs weren’t clear on the details, only knowing that His Majesty still trusted this person, so they silently opened the gate.

Xia Houchun held the cat, buried his head in its soft belly and took several deep breaths before stepping through the gate.

The eunuch here reported, and the Emperor, who had already gone to bed, got up. When Xia Houchun entered stroking his cat, Tie Yan was already waiting in the warm chamber. Seeing Xia Houchun holding the cat, he said “no need for ceremony” before the man could bow, then with blazing eyes said: “You brought the Crown Princess’s Xue Tuan’er? Let me hold it.” He reached out to take the cat.

He couldn’t get it—Xia Houchun wouldn’t let go.

The two big men each grabbed a cat leg, gazing at each other over the cat’s head.

Tie Yan said: “Xia Hou, We haven’t seen the cats from the Crown Princess’s palace in a long time. After she left, her palace was sealed, and We can’t just run to Rui Xiang Palace for no reason.”

“Your Majesty truly has it difficult,” Xia Houchun sighed verbally while not loosening his grip.

The two big men stretched the Crown Princess’s cat into a cat pancake.

Just as Tie Yan was about to issue an imperial decree demanding he hand over the cat, Xia Houchun’s other hand leisurely drew a strip of cloth from his chest, saying: “The Crown Princess’s letter—your subject rushed through the night to deliver it to you.”

Tie Yan immediately forgot about the cat, taking the letter to read.

Xia Houchun sat down on a small stool with satisfaction, continuing to pet the cat.

After reading, Tie Yan found the letter brief, but somehow his brow suddenly surged with wild joy.

After hastily finishing, he angrily said: “The Ziyang County magistrate has such audacity!”

Xia Hou said: “The Crown Princess says the items were recovered, but the trail went cold. She has a vague guess about who was behind it, but regrettably couldn’t obtain evidence.”

Tie Yan sneered: “What evidence do we need? Isn’t it just the Xiao family’s undying treacherous heart? Their family’s plot to seize military power and maintain private armies hasn’t been going on for just one day. It just happened that my daughter stumbled upon it. Fortunately, my daughter is clever and wise, solving it easily and smoothly.”

Xia Hou petted the cat without speaking. After a moment, he said flatly: “Indeed quite smooth—Li Yao only used catapults, blew up the dungeon and nearly crushed her to death, and tried to trap her to death at the bottom of Cang Sheng Pagoda.”

The smile at the corner of Tie Yan’s lips vanished: “What?!”

Xia Houchun glanced at the paper strip. The Crown Princess reported good news but not bad, describing her life-and-death adventures to her father as if she’d been strolling through a garden.

It was he who had a former colleague serving as commander of Deng Zhou garrison near Ziyang, and only learned of all that had happened in Ziyang through written inquiry.

Tie Yan had already stood up: “You explain everything clearly to Us!”

Xia Houchun briefly explained. Tie Yan listened with an iron-blue face, pacing back and forth in the hall. The few solitary candles nearly had their flames extinguished by his turning.

Xia Houchun sighed: “The Empress Dowager is being too harsh.”

Tie Yan unconsciously said: “It’s not that we really dare not light lamps and candles, it’s just that recently Ci’er isn’t around, and We fear the Empress Dowager might be in poor spirits and cause her trouble, so it’s better to be more compliant.”

Xia Houchun frowned.

His Majesty the Emperor’s temperament was ultimately too weak.

But if he weren’t weak by nature, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have specifically chosen him back then.

As for the Crown Princess, having grown up in such a palace, she should have developed the same weak and yielding nature as the Emperor. Yet somehow, the Crown Princess was extremely opinionated and thoughtful.

The fate of the Tie imperial family dynasty would ultimately rest on the Crown Princess’s shoulders.

In this short time, Tie Yan had already paced more than ten circles. Suddenly he stopped and said: “This won’t do. Ci’er’s training is truly too dangerous. When she left the capital, she brought too few people. The Crown Princess leaves the capital, yet the Crown Princess’s Nine Guards don’t follow—what kind of reasoning is that?”

Xia Houchun said lazily: “The Crown Princess’s Nine Guards basically come from noble families, with who knows how many of the Empress Dowager’s people stuffed in—like sieves. Though I’m a commander, where can I control the Nine Guards? Even if we brought them out, what then? Create more opportunities for the Crown Princess to have ‘accidents’?”

Tie Yan sighed and said disappointedly: “You were once saved by the Crown Princess—do you now not think of repaying her?”

This time Xia Houchun fell silent again, stroking the cat until it nearly generated static electricity. After quite a while he said: “I’m just about to request Your Majesty take action to somehow let our Nine Guards out of the capital for some exercise.”

Tie Yan stared at him: “You just said the Nine Guards are too mixed and untrustworthy.”

Xia Houchun scratched the cat’s chin. The cat closed its eyes in enjoyment, and Xia Houchun also looked up with narrowed eyes, as if he were enjoying it even more, saying casually: “If they’re untrustworthy, then let’s purge them.”

His voice was light, but Tie Yan’s brow jumped heavily.

“Pull them out, then there’s opportunity to purge them.”

“Besides, those recovered Yuan iron weapons…”

His voice dropped even lower, like a whisper, but Tie Yan instantly stood still, looking back at Xia Houchun in disbelief.

His voice also became quieter: “Those weapons—We received a secret memorial from the Haiyou Provincial Administration Commissioner. They’ve already been secretly escorted to the capital and will enter the War Ministry’s Arsenal Department upon arrival.”

Xia Houchun neither confirmed nor denied, pulling the cat’s ears and whispering to it: “Let the Nine Guards out to protect the Crown Princess, and incidentally intercept something—that’s also possible.”

Tie Yan was silent for a while, gripping the edge of his desk tightly. After a long time, making up his mind, he said: “We will find a way tomorrow.”

Xia Houchun asked: “Can you manage it?”

Tie Yan wasn’t angry, gritting his teeth: “For my daughter…”

Xia Houchun smiled slightly.

No, for the Da Qian realm.

Author’s Note: Two updates today!

Different soup, same medicine—the word count isn’t less.