Qing Niao couldn’t quite make sense of it either, and simply pushed the door open, meaning to at least comfort her mistress a little.

Instead, she found Hua Chun already sleeping soundly, faint traces of exhaustion on her face, but looking to be in fairly good spirits.

She’d fallen asleep that easily? Puzzled, Qing Niao stared at her for a while, then tucked in the edge of the blanket and pulled Rui’er out with her.

“What’s the situation in the palace lately?” she asked.

Rui’er pursed her lips. “Consort Shu is showing signs of being promoted to Noble Consort.”

“What!” Qing Niao was startled. “Hasn’t the Emperor never much cared for her?”

“Ever since Her Highness left the palace, the Emperor has been flipping Consort Shu’s name plate for days on end,” Rui’er said unhappily. “Everyone in the palace is saying lately that now that our mistress has fallen out of favor, the harem will belong to Consort Shu.”

Qing Niao frowned. Hua Xunyue had never been particularly friendly toward her mistress, but given her background, it wasn’t surprising that with the Hua family no longer behind her, she’d receive the Emperor’s support instead.

Still, it seemed the Emperor really hadn’t been considering Hua Chun’s situation at all. If Consort Shu rose to power, what if she made things difficult for her mistress?

With a sigh, Qing Niao went to tidy the room first — it was getting late, and anything else could wait until tomorrow.

“Your Highness.”

In Yongfu Hall, Huo Xianrou had finally gotten word from outside. Seeing the maid return, she grabbed her at once. “Well? Was she brought back?”

Mian’er said softly, “She was brought back, yes, but His Majesty didn’t waste a moment — he went straight to Yong’an Hall afterward.”

Consort Huo frowned. “How could that be?”

She’d been hoping that with Consort Hua back, it might draw some of the favor away from Consort Shu — but it seemed the Emperor had simply fetched her back and left it at that?

She thought it over. “Go pass word to Consort Xi as well. Consort Hua is probably no use anymore — if we want to pull Consort Shu down, we’ll need to find someone else.”

The moment the Emperor left the palace grounds, a great crowd within the harem had been watching closely, eager to see what would come of Consort Hua’s return. Who would have guessed Consort Shu would still come out shining alone.

Consort Hua being favored — well, she was still only a consort; rising all the way to the top wasn’t so easy. But Consort Shu was different — already at the rank of Consort proper, one step from Noble Consort, and from there, closer still to the position of Empress. Though Hua Xunyue no longer had a clan behind her, perhaps that was exactly why the Emperor favored her — determined to elevate her all on his own.

Mian’er acknowledged the order and left. Huo Xianrou thought for a moment, then turned to prepare her own things.

Waking up, Hua Chun opened her eyes to the familiar sight of the palace hall. She lay stunned for a moment, sighed deeply, then sat up to wash and dress.

“My lady.” Catching sight of her neck, Qing Niao gasped. “Who did this?”

“What?” Hua Chun looked down, bewildered, and found her collarbone and chest covered in red marks. Blushing, she gritted her teeth. “A beast did this!”

Qing Niao was stunned. “But His Majesty didn’t stay the night in our hall…”

“He didn’t,” Hua Chun said, tugging her collar and rising to go to the dressing table, uninterested in discussing it further.

But Qing Niao, ever sharp, quickly worked out the timeline and had a sudden realization. “This servant thought His Majesty was going to be heartless — turns out…”

“This has nothing to do with being heartless or not,” Hua Chun waved a hand. “Being favored by the Emperor doesn’t mean he likes you, and likewise, not being favored doesn’t mean he doesn’t.”

She’d only slept one night, and already turned into a philosopher? Qing Niao pursed her lips and went to help her with her hair.

“My lady, shouldn’t you feel a bit of urgency? I hear Consort Shu has been quite favored these past few days — everyone in the palace is turning green with envy.”

Hua Chun shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do about it. The decision’s in the Emperor’s hands — no point making myself miserable over it.”

“But this servant really feels His Majesty might have genuinely developed feelings for Consort Shu,” Qing Niao said gloomily. “If it were just ordinary favor, would everyone in the palace be this rattled? Even Consort Huo, who’s always been close with Consort Shu, has apparently distanced herself from her and joined Consort Xi’s camp instead.”

Developed feelings for her? Hua Chun blinked, rubbing her chin. “What’s Consort Shu been up to lately?”

“Rui’er says Consort Shu has been diligently practicing dance, going to Zichen Hall every evening to perform for His Majesty,” Qing Niao said, frowning. “And according to witnesses, it’s actually not very good, but the Emperor doesn’t seem to mind at all.”

Dancing again? Hua Chun pursed her lips. Did Yuwen Jie have some kind of peculiar taste? Especially fond of watching women dance — Huo Xianrou had won favor through dancing early on too, and that had practically been an erotic dance. And now what was Hua Xunyue dancing?

Growing curious, Hua Chun asked slyly, “Is there any way we could sneak a peek?”

Qing Niao paused, then nodded. “If you want to see it, this servant can sneak you into Zichen Hall.”

That capable? Hua Chun clicked her tongue, turning to look at her. “Have you been getting friendly with the guards at Zichen Hall or something?”

Blushing, Qing Niao spat out, “Nonsense — His Majesty granted you the privilege early on, said you don’t need to be announced at Zichen Hall. So while he’s not in the hall, you can slip in first, say you want to surprise him, tell the attendants not to announce you, and then hide inside and watch to your heart’s content.”

What a great idea. Hua Chun clapped her hands. “Let’s do it right now, then!”

Glancing outside at the sky, Qing Niao said, “It’s only morning — His Majesty hasn’t even finished court yet.”

“That’s exactly why we should go now. Otherwise, if he stays in Zichen Hall all day, how would I ever get in?” Hua Chun pouted, lifted her skirts, and stood, tiptoeing her way outside.

“…You’re clearly sneaking around, but you don’t have to make it this obvious,” Qing Niao muttered, trailing behind and watching her thoroughly shifty-looking retreat.

Pausing, Hua Chun cleared her throat and straightened up, walking out with exaggerated dignity.

These days, all the attention in the palace was on Consort Shu, so there was a large crowd keeping close watch on Yong’an Hall, leaving little energy to spare on Hua Chun. She made it there without any trouble. At Zichen Hall, Huo Zichong let her in without a word of protest.

“Don’t tell His Majesty, okay,” she said with a grin. “Let him find me himself.”

Huo Zichong was startled for a moment, then nodded, thinking to himself: after one trip outside the palace, had Consort Hua learned to appreciate a bit of romance?

Once inside Zichen Hall, Hua Chun looked around for the best viewing spot, and finally settled behind the curtain at the partition — able to see out toward the door and inward toward the inner hall alike.

The Emperor’s morning court session ran unusually long that day. When he returned, his expression wasn’t good, and he sat straight down to begin revising memorials.

“Your Majesty, Consort Huo requests an audience.”

Without lifting his head, the Emperor said, “Not now.”

“This…” Eunuch Qin glanced outside, looking troubled.

Hua Chun blinked, thinking to herself that Huo Xianrou really was the first to lose her patience, showing up at Zichen Hall in broad daylight like this — surely the Emperor wouldn’t allow it.

“Let her in,” Yuwen Jie said suddenly, seemingly having reconsidered something.

Huh? What was going on? Hua Chun peeked out toward the door and caught sight of only half of Huo Zichong’s body.