So seven or eight days passed like that, and when the Emperor went again to Huiming Palace to pay his respects, he actually met the Empress Dowager’s gaze — gentle to an almost unsettling degree.

A chill crept up his spine. Yuwen Jie sat down beside the soft couch, glanced at the Empress Dowager, then swept his eyes over the consorts seated nearby and Prince Xi.

“Your Majesty has worked hard,” the Empress Dowager said. “There’s been a great deal to attend to at court lately — you must take care of your health too.”

“Mm.” Yuwen Jie nodded, and happened to notice the teacups on the table — they seemed to have all been replaced with new ones.

Sensing his gaze, the Empress Dowager smiled even more warmly. “This mother received your thoughtful gift, Emperor, and had Yuejian put it to use right away. I’m touched you still remembered my favorite Yue kiln blue-and-white ware.”

Yue kiln blue-and-white? Yuwen Jie fell silent. He hadn’t remembered any such thing at all — how could it possibly have been his idea?

“Mother’s palace has gained quite a few things these past few days,” Prince Xi said with a light laugh. “Imperial Brother is truly thoughtful.”

“Indeed,” Huo Xianrou said with a smile. “All sorts of things, big and small — they’ve made the Empress Dowager so happy.”

The Emperor glanced at Hua Chun, about to say that all these things were actually her doing, when she spoke first, cutting him off: “As long as the Empress Dowager is happy, that’s what matters. It can also make up a little for how Your Majesty can’t always be by her side.”

As she said this, she shot him a look, signaling him to follow along and say something nice too.

Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together. He had never been one to curry favor with the Empress Dowager, which was why he wasn’t as doted on as Yuwen Xi. To ask him to flatter the way she just had — he truly couldn’t do it.

So he chose silence instead.

Hua Chun shot him a look of exasperated disappointment, then straightened her back — she’d have to carry the scene herself again.

“Zichen Palace isn’t far from Huiming Palace,” Prince Xi said flatly. “If Imperial Brother truly wished to visit and keep Mother company, how could there be any regret about it?”

The Empress Dowager was startled, and lowered her eyes slightly.

Hua Chun quickly spoke up: “Your Majesty has been beset by state affairs lately. Even when he comes to this concubine’s palace, he’s reading memorials late into the night, without even time for a snack. If he came to see the Empress Dowager looking so exhausted, it would only trouble her heart, and that would go against filial duty.”

Prince Xi turned to look at her, his eyes deep and unreadable. “Consort Hua’s tongue is certainly quick.”

“Every word this concubine speaks is true,” Hua Chun said, rising and kneeling before the Empress Dowager’s couch. “This concubine comes from common birth. Before entering the palace, I always thought that a life of fine clothes and food in the palace, with His Majesty above ten thousand others, living in comfort, must surely be a happy one. But after truly coming here, I realized I was wrong. His Majesty works harder than anyone. There is so much he must do every day, and especially with recent troubles at court, he can’t find peace — he often wakes with a start in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat.”

Yuwen Jie’s mouth twitched as he looked down at her. He very much wanted to ask himself when exactly he had woken with a start. And besides, given how soundly she slept, how could she possibly have noticed even if he had?

But seeing how deeply she’d thrown herself into the act, he held his tongue.

The Empress Dowager was somewhat moved, and turned to ask him: “Has something been troubling you at court lately?”

The Emperor paused, then shook his head. “There’s no need for Mother to worry. Your son can handle it himself.”

“You, child — you’re good in every way, but far too proud and unyielding,” the Empress Dowager sighed. “I am your mother. Is there really nothing you’ll tell me, even when things are difficult?”

He thought it over, and finally, cooperating with Hua Chun, managed a proper human response: “As a son, there’s no reason to make my own mother worry alongside me — that would be unfilial. This son wishes to be a filial son. Please, Mother, grant me that.”

Still so stubborn! The Empress Dowager suddenly felt a pang of heartache. The Emperor had never cried or made a fuss since childhood, which was why she had always given more care to Xi’er — truly living up to the saying that the crying child gets the milk. She owed Jie’er far too much.

It had been over twenty years, and only now, for the first time, did she wake up to this realization. Jie’er liked to bottle up his unhappiness, never telling her, never asking for her help, striving for everything himself — fighting for his father’s favor on his own, seizing the throne on his own. It was she who had been selfish, always asking him to give way to Xi’er, to look after him more.

She had given Xi’er so much — everything except the throne, because the throne was something Jie’er had won through his own effort; she could hardly go and seize that for his brother too. Because of this, Xi’er harbored resentment, she knew, and had repeatedly tried to move against his own brother — she knew that too, clear as day. But blood was blood on both hands, and she could only muddle through one day at a time, unwilling to watch the two brothers destroy each other.

But wasn’t this, in its own way, just another form of favoritism toward Xi’er?

Her eyes moistened slightly. The Empress Dowager thought for a long while, then finally looked at everyone before her and said, “All of you go back and rest. Consort Hua, stay behind and keep me company for a while.”

Prince Xi frowned, glanced at Hua Chun, and slowly rose to his feet. Huo Xianrou, quite naturally, drew close to the Emperor’s side, smiling as she followed him out.

Hua Chun understood the meaning in the Empress Dowager’s gaze, and knew that these seven or eight days of effort had finally paid off. So she gave the Emperor a reassuring look, then stayed behind in Huiming Palace.

Once everyone had left, the Empress Dowager finally spoke: “His Majesty has been at Yangxin Palace handling memorials lately. Has he told you what’s troubling him?”

“He has,” Hua Chun said, nodding. “His Majesty doesn’t like to talk much, but this concubine likes to tease and joke, so he’s occasionally willing to say a few words to me.”

“Then do you know what’s been happening at court lately?” The Empress Dowager’s brow was creased with worry. “None of the old ministers have come to see me lately.”

Hua Chun glanced at her and said quietly, “Has the Empress Dowager considered from what matter it was that they stopped coming?”

The Empress Dowager paused slightly, then thought back — it seemed to have started around the time Prime Minister Hua submitted a memorial asking that Prince Xi be sent back to his fiefdom. Some old ministers had come to speak to her about it then, urging her to agree, but out of love for her son, wanting Prince Xi to stay by her side longer, she hadn’t allowed it, and had told them not to bring it up again.

It seemed that indeed, after that day, no old minister had come to advise her again.

“Could it be about Prince Xi’s matter again this time?” the Empress Dowager frowned.

Hua Chun said with an innocent expression, “This concubine doesn’t understand court affairs and doesn’t know exactly what it is, but every time His Majesty returns from court, he’s furious — he’ll face the wall and mutter something about ‘brothers, flesh and blood, kin,’ over and over, for the time it takes an entire stick of incense to burn, before he can calm down.”

Having said this, she tilted her head and smiled gently. “I suppose, in His Majesty’s heart, Prince Xi really does matter a great deal to him.”

The Empress Dowager started, her expression turning deeply complicated. “He actually mutters that?”

“Yes. At first this concubine found it strange too, but seeing His Majesty’s face so troubled, looking truly pained, I never dared to disturb him.”

He must have done something again, that Xi’er. The Empress Dowager fell silent — even someone as restrained as the Emperor could only mutter to himself in private like that.

With a soft sigh, the Empress Dowager raised her head, her gaze deep as she studied Hua Chun.

This woman — aside from resembling Hua Jinghua in looks — seemed just as sharp-witted as he had been. She had just brought down Consort Hui, and now here she stood before her, saying all this…

“There’s actually a reason this concubine has kept coming to pay respects these past few days,” Hua Chun said, meeting her scrutiny openly. “Would the Empress Dowager like to hear it?”

“Speak.”

“When this concubine first entered the palace, seeing that His Majesty didn’t much care to visit Huiming Palace, I thought he didn’t value you enough — thinking back now, I really deserve a scolding for that,” Hua Chun said with a smile, though her brow furrowed as if in genuine distress. “In truth, every night before bed, His Majesty always asks the attendants how you’re doing — how you’ve been eating, how you’ve been sleeping. Curious, I once asked him why he doesn’t come to pay respects himself. He said that with Prince Xi here, that’s enough for you, and that he himself isn’t good with words and would only trouble you by coming.”

The Empress Dowager sucked in a breath, her eyes reddening instantly. “Is that true?”

“Absolutely true!” Hua Chun said. “Seeing this, this concubine felt so much heartache that I wanted to fulfill some filial duty on His Majesty’s behalf, to convey the feelings he can’t express himself, and hope that you’ll… love him a little more.”

By the end, she’d even moved herself — damn it, Yuwen Jie really had it rough.

The Empress Dowager was already choked with emotion, her eyes unfocused, clearly lost in memory. Hua Chun didn’t rush her, and when she finally came back to herself, said, “This concubine will take her leave now. Please don’t tell His Majesty what this concubine said today, lest he blame me for it.”

Knowing when to stop while the going was good — since things had already gone this far, the Empress Dowager ought to feel a bit more for the Emperor now. In another two days, once she had He Chang’an bring up sending Prince Xi back to his fiefdom, it would surely go much more smoothly.

“You may go,” the Empress Dowager said, waving her hand wearily.

Hua Chun bowed her head and withdrew. The moment she stepped out of Huiming Palace’s gates, she let out a long breath: “Excellent!”

Rui’er, following behind her, couldn’t help but laugh along: “Why is my mistress so happy?”

“When things go smoothly, of course I’m happy,” Hua Chun said with a bright smile. “Even the sunset looks better than usual today!”

Rui’er laughed and was about to tease her further when, without warning, a pair of hands reached out from behind, clamping tightly over her mouth and dragging her toward the palace path to the side.

“Mmph!” Terrified half to death, Rui’er struggled desperately, letting out a muffled cry for Hua Chun ahead to hear.

Hua Chun spun around abruptly, eyes wide, and rushed after her: “What are you people doing!”

A dark shadow loomed down over her from behind. Her pupils contracted, and gooseflesh rose all over her body.

“Still not back?”

At Yangxin Palace, the Emperor glanced toward the door and asked, impatient.

Eunuch Qin said, “Perhaps the Empress Dowager kept her longer than usual. This servant will send someone to ask around.”

“Mm.”

The sun set, and darkness began to close in around them. Hua Chun was blindfolded, carried who knew how many turns through the palace, and finally set down in a room thick with the smell of dust.

Her mouth was gagged, her eyes covered — she faced sheer, unknown terror. Shoved forward, she stumbled and fell to the ground, and then hands began tearing at her clothes.

Her heart plunged. Hua Chun was terrified — even a tough woman couldn’t stay calm facing something like this. She struggled with everything she had, and at the same time heard Rui’er’s muffled cries — likely suffering the same fate.

For some reason, if she’d been facing this alone, she would surely have panicked. But the thought that there was someone beside her who needed her protection helped her calm down quickly.

Her outer robe was torn away. While there was still clothing left underneath, Hua Chun twitched a few times, her upper body locking rigid in midair for a moment — then suddenly went limp, as if she’d dropped dead.

The hands on her body stopped. Then someone came to check her breath. Hua Chun held her breath completely, not letting out the slightest sound, and heard someone beside her let out a low cry: “Not good! She’s not breathing!”

There were roughly four or five people in the room. Hearing this, they all froze and gathered around her.

Someone reached out and pressed her wrist, checking her pulse: “Not dead — probably just fainted.”

“What do we do now? Can we still actually kill her?”

“If you can pay with your life, sure! Strip her outer robe and take it, let’s go!”

Hua Chun gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay still as if unconscious, feeling many hands running over her body, nausea rolling through her in waves.

Her outer robe stripped away, the group quickly ran off. Rui’er’s hands and feet were bound, and no matter how she struggled, she could only manage muffled “mm mm” sounds.

At a critical moment like this, she had to rely on herself. Hua Chun sat up, shuffled to the threshold, and pressed the rope binding her hands against it, rubbing it furiously — but the threshold was wood, and at this rate of wear, there was no telling how long it would take.

Full night had fallen. A young eunuch returned to Yangxin Palace to report: “Consort Hua left Huiming Palace early on.”

His heart sank. The Emperor slammed his hand on the table and stood, striding out without even bothering with his cloak.

“Your Majesty!” Eunuch Qin said quickly. “This servant will arrange people to search — it’s too late, you shouldn’t go out yourself.”

Ignoring him entirely, the Emperor had someone bring his horse, mounted, and galloped off wildly along the palace roads.

Palace lanterns blazed on all sides as Huo Zichong led the imperial guards in a search for Consort Hua, stirring up much of the back palace — yet after half an hour of searching, they found nothing.

Yuwen Jie’s face grew darker and darker. He grabbed hold of someone from Huiming Palace and demanded, “Which direction did she go?”

The young eunuch, frightened half to death, said quickly, “Toward Yangxin Palace, this servant doesn’t know anything more.”

Releasing the man, the Emperor looked up at the layered peaks of palace roofs, and for the first time felt real panic.

If nothing had gone wrong, how could she possibly be gone this long?

In the abandoned palace, Hua Chun, after exhausting nearly all her strength, finally wore the rope through.