Scratching her head, Hua Chun said a little embarrassedly, “Because my luck shouldn’t be that good.”

What kind of reasoning was that? Yuwen Jie shook his head in disdain, then said, “I didn’t tamper with anything. If the Empress Dowager drew you, then it’s what you deserved.”

Is that so… Hua Chun nodded. She’d only asked offhandedly—if the Emperor said there was no problem, then there probably wasn’t.

Eunuch Qin was disposing of the jade slips—aside from the carved heads, the remaining parts could still be carved into other small trinkets.

“Eunuch Qin.” The most trustworthy young eunuch by his side looked at the pile of jade slips in confusion. “Why do so many of them have the same characters?”

Eunuch Qin froze, and looked down—a whole handful of the slips were carved with the exact same heading: Concubine Hua of Yangxin Palace.

The Emperor truly hadn’t tampered with anything in the draw itself—he had simply had him swap out the entire cylinder of slips for this one handful, so that no matter how the Empress Dowager drew, it would always come out as Concubine Hua.

“You can’t even read—don’t go spouting nonsense.” Reaching out to scoop up the handful of carved heads and toss them into the lotus pond, Eunuch Qin looked at him and said, “In this palace, boy, what you’re meant to know, you know. What you’re not meant to know, you pretend not to know. That’s how you live long. Understand?”

The young eunuch froze, then nodded.

The harem’s movement to resist Consort Shu was in full swing—not only were small factions regularly voicing subtle discontent before the Empress Dowager, but Noble Concubine Wu had also taken the lead, complaining to the Emperor about Consort Shu’s mismanagement.

The Emperor feigned indifference, and every time he heard such complaints, he would only say, “It’s not easy for Consort Shu to manage things—you should all be more understanding.”

This only made everyone in the harem understand more clearly that verbal attacks alone were useless—something more concrete was needed.

So one after another, incidents of food poisoning and saffron hidden in incense began cropping up in the palace, with the main responsibility for each falling on Consort Shu.

The Emperor symbolically docked Consort Shu a month’s stipend as punishment, which only angered her—whoever wanted to frame her, she would make sure the accusation stuck to them instead!

“I heard a consort in the palace was poisoned to death?” Hua Chun asked.

Yuwen Jie nodded. “A newly conferred Talented Lady.”

“Doesn’t Your Majesty intend to find out the truth?”

“Let them fight it out among themselves—you just stay out of it.” Tilting his head to look at her, Yuwen Jie said, “Hold on for another half month, and I’ll give you a surprise.”

A surprise? Hua Chun’s interest was piqued, and she propped herself up to look at him. “Why do I have to wait half a month?”

“Good things are worth waiting for.” Yuwen Jie’s lips curved. “For now, just eat well, rest well, and watch the palace people cause a ruckus. Just don’t hurt yourself.”

That was said with such indulgent affection—as if the whole harem were nothing but a cockfighting ring. He even pulled her to sit beside him and pointed things out to her. “Look at those few fighting so splendidly. Sit a little further back, don’t let any feathers hit you.”

Hua Chun laughed, and couldn’t help fawning over him a little, going to massage his shoulders and legs. “With Your Majesty watching over me, this concubine is truly well taken care of.”

Glancing sideways at her, Yuwen Jie said flatly, “There are some things I may not be able to protect you from, so you still need to be careful yourself.”

“This concubine understands.” Hua Chun nodded, then took the initiative to offer up her small dried fish, handing it to him. “Would Your Majesty like some?”

Raising an eyebrow, the Emperor took it, noting it still looked fresh. “Where did you get this?”

“Second Brother always brings me some whenever he comes into the palace.” Hua Chun said. “But lately, eating fish just makes me feel nauseous, so…”

So she was passing it off to him? Half his face darkened, and Yuwen Jie glared at her, displeased. Did she not know how to phrase things properly?

Shrinking her neck, Hua Chun gave a couple of dry laughs and hurried off into the inner chamber.

The Emperor watched her retreating figure for a good while before shaking his head and coming back to himself, picking up a piece and popping it into his mouth.

A very familiar taste—one he had once had the imperial kitchen try to replicate many times, without success.

His gaze darkened, and the Emperor asked, “Is Wan Shi still at the marquis’s residence?”

Startled by such a sudden question, Hua Chun was taken aback. He could deduce this much just from a bit of dried fish?

“…She’s not at the marquis’s residence. She’s in the capital.”

Yuwen Jie frowned. “It’s not safe for her to remain in the capital.”

“Huh? It should be fine.” Hua Chun said. “Second Brother is looking after her, and besides, she can’t bear to leave here—after all, she’s lived here for so long.”

Glancing at her a couple of times, the Emperor hesitated for a moment, then said nothing further.

Her monthly courses hadn’t come for over two months now, so Hua Chun had Imperial Physician Feng come diagnose her. After taking her pulse, Imperial Physician Feng said, “This should be from taking too much of a certain medicine, which has caused your courses to stop. You may discontinue the medicine I prescribed for half a month, and after that you should be fine.”

“I see.” Hua Chun pursed her lips. “I really thought I might be pregnant.”

“Rest assured, my lady.” Imperial Physician Feng smiled. “When it’s meant to happen, it will happen naturally.”

There was a double meaning behind those words, but Hua Chun didn’t catch it, simply nodding and seeing him out before returning to her carefree days.

“Things have really reached a climax now.” Rui’er was the one in charge of gossip after meals, and lately she’d been closely following the rivalry between Consort Shu and Noble Concubine Wu for favor. Today, it seemed there was new progress, so Hua Chun hurriedly brought over some pastries to eat while listening.

“His Majesty has favored Consort Shu’s tablet for three days straight now. It seems Noble Concubine Wu has fallen out of favor, but lately she keeps saying she’s been dreaming of a child—implying she might be showing signs of pregnancy.”

“No sooner had she said that than a snake turned up in her palace—no one knows who released the poisonous snake, but it bit and killed a palace maid, terrifying Noble Concubine Wu out of her wits, and she cursed Consort Shu for harboring ill intentions. Consort Shu has gone to lodge a complaint with the Empress Dowager, accusing Noble Concubine Wu of slander, and the two of them are still facing off at Huiming Palace right now.”

Hua Chun clicked her tongue. “That’s really quite the display of energy, but it’s not fun anymore once lives are lost.”

Rui’er nodded, looking proud. “You wouldn’t believe how many palace servants are dying to squeeze their way into our palace. We eat well, drink well, and don’t have to live in fear at all. Even though we’re out of favor, when this servant goes out, no one dares look down on me.”

“That’s right, so cherish it well.” Hua Chun teased. “Whenever you get the chance, show a little more filial devotion to your lady here.”

Rui’er froze, looking troubled for a good while, before finally saying with a red face, “This servant’s monthly pay is only one tael of silver—my lady wouldn’t even want it…”

To take even a joke so seriously—how earnest she was. Hua Chun laughed so hard she rolled around hugging her blanket, and in a moment of carelessness, nearly fell off the bed.

“My lady!” Qing Niao’s face went pale with fright, and she let out a shriek so sharp her voice cracked.

She hadn’t fallen after all, but that scream had nearly scared her half to death instead. Hua Chun steadied herself against the bed frame and looked at her, amused. “It’s not even that high—a fall like that wouldn’t kill me. Why are you so nervous?”

Qing Niao’s face was still pale, and it took her a long moment before she let out a breath of relief. “This servant was worried you’d get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sturdy.” Hua Chun said. “Even if my body’s been a bit weak lately, I’m still the kind of person who wouldn’t get dizzy doing a set of calisthenics. Go pour me a cup of tea.”

“Yes.” Qing Niao nodded.