Yuwen Jie waved his hand, and Huo Zhaoyi withdrew along with the dancers. Attendant Yuejian, task complete, bowed and left Wanbao Hall as well.

“To see Your Majesty attending to state affairs so diligently, even here in the harem, truly earns this official’s admiration!”

Silence settled over the room. Hua Chun, steeling herself, cupped her hands and continued: “With such a wise ruler, it is truly the good fortune of us officials.”

Glancing sideways at her, the Emperor leaned back in his chair, a memorial in hand: “Does the Prime Minister know what I am reading?”

Hua Chun shook her head, thinking, I don’t have X-ray vision, what kind of question is that!

“Take it.” He tossed a thick memorial to her. She hesitated a moment, gave a slight nod, and took it to open.

Holding the two edges, the folded section in the middle slipped free before she noticed and dropped straight to the floor with a loud slap, piling up in a heap like her monthly credit card statement.

Did people really put this much effort into writing memorials nowadays? How had she never seen one like this while sorting through them? Feeling oddly moved, Hua Chun scooped up half of it to read.

“…Though the Prime Minister is loyal and devoted, he is still too young and does not understand the hardships below, acting rashly on his own conviction. Regarding the matter of disaster relief, we ministers unanimously believe the Prime Minister’s proposal should be rejected…”

As she read on, Hua Chun could no longer manage a smile. Thousands of words, sprawling on and on, entirely devoted to criticizing her.

Glancing at the cover, the name written there was Minister Liu — an old official often seen alongside Grand Tutor Tang and Li Zhongtang. The last time she’d taken the flogging and been carried out of the palace, this man’s hands had been among those carrying her out too.

Feeling somewhat conflicted, Hua Chun gathered the memorial back together and looked up at the Emperor.

“Does Your Majesty also think this official is in the wrong?”

Yuwen Jie had originally been enjoying watching her expression, but caught off guard by a pair of such wronged-looking eyes, he faltered and quickly looked away.

“I don’t think you’re wrong. I simply see, from the attitude of the various court officials, that finding someone trustworthy to oversee the disaster relief effort is proving impossible.”

No matter how good a plan was, without feasibility it was destined to be shelved. Hua Chun felt somewhat dejected, lowering her head to look at the tips of her own shoes.

Perhaps her former boss had actually been right after all. Even though she always felt she was in the right, living within a set of social rules meant that whoever tried to break those rules was, by definition, in the wrong. A proposal like this was only ever going to be tossed in the trash.

As a child, watching historical dramas, whenever a corrupt official like He Shen appeared, she always felt the emperor should just drag him out and execute him — wouldn’t the realm then be at peace? Only after growing up did she realize things were never that simple; some things you knew were wrong, yet for the sake of the bigger picture, you had to let them remain wrong.

“This official understands.”

Seeing her look so downcast, Yuwen Jie, uncharacteristically, felt a pang of reluctance and, breaking his usual habit, offered a word of comfort: “I know you have the country and its people at heart.”

“But as for the matter of disaster relief, let it proceed according to their original approach.”

Hua Chun froze, looking up at him, her nose reddening with the sting of injustice: “This official… obeys.”

“Mm.” The Emperor gathered up the memorials in front of him and handed them all to Eunuch Qin, then said: “Nothing else for now — you may go.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, Hua Chun pursed her lips and turned to leave.

But — damn it — how could she just leave like that?!

Retreating a few steps back, Hua Chun forced her smile back onto her face and cupped her hands: “Your Majesty, by the Empress Dowager’s order, this official is to accompany you in reading the classics for half an hour, and help review memorials for another half hour, before leaving the palace.”

Yuwen Jie’s expression darkened.

Being merciful to the enemy really did mean being cruel to yourself! And here he’d just felt sorry for the man? Look at that — still so oblivious, actually willing to serve as the Empress Dowager’s spy?

Suppressing his irritation, the Emperor said coldly: “Are you certain?”

A chill ran down her back, and Hua Chun stiffly nodded, smiling on the surface though it looked more like she was about to cry.

Heaven have mercy — every debt has its debtor, and she was just someone following orders; surely this shouldn’t be blamed on her.

“Very well.” The Emperor nodded and said to the attendant nearby: “Bring a chair for the Prime Minister — set it beside me.”

“As you command.”

Hua Chun felt her legs go a bit weak, and as she watched the chair being placed at the Emperor’s right hand, she found she simply couldn’t manage to walk over and sit down.

“Does the Prime Minister intend to stand for the entire hour?” the Emperor asked.

Shaking her head repeatedly, Hua Chun took small steps over, bracing herself on the armrest as she slowly lowered herself into the seat, eyes darting sideways at him, terrified he might suddenly turn and strike her with an iron palm.

But Yuwen Jie was not as violent as she’d feared. Once she was seated, he only said to Eunuch Qin: “Bring the classics and the memorials here, and let Huo Zhaoyi continue.”

Eunuch Qin paused, glanced at Hua Chun, and bowed to comply.

Before long, the bewitching woman from before returned to the hall, and the music of strings and flutes struck up again, the beauty once more swaying her waist. Only, perhaps because Hua Chun was present, Huo Zhaoyi, who had before swayed her waist like a willow branch, now moved as stiffly as if she had a slipped disc.

Hua Chun felt a bit awkward — though she herself was a woman, so looking at another woman’s waist wasn’t really improper for her, but on the surface she was posing as an outside official. What was the Emperor thinking, letting a harem consort put on such a display right in front of him like this?

Watching Huo Zhaoyi’s awkward expression, Hua Chun guessed the woman would probably go back and cry for half an hour afterward.

“Your Majesty.” She couldn’t help but speak up: “If you truly wish to focus on reading and reviewing memorials, why call for music and dancing at all?”

He glanced at her but said nothing, his expression utterly cold.

Hua Chun fell sullenly silent, while Eunuch Qin beside her quietly explained: “This is simply His Majesty’s habit.”

What kind of strange habit was that — reading while having consorts dance? Was he reading books or watching the dance?

Unable to help herself, Hua Chun rolled her eyes.

The Emperor, who had been watching her expression out of the corner of his eye the whole time, paused slightly, then said: “What does the Prime Minister think of Huo Zhaoyi’s dancing?”

Lowering her head, Hua Chun kept her eyes fixed straight ahead: “This official dares not offend the consorts of the rear palace — I am only here to accompany Your Majesty in reading, and will look nowhere else.”

Rather clever, Yuwen Jie thought, pressing his lips together: “It seems the Prime Minister is also a person who observes propriety, knowing not to look at what is improper.”

Of course — if she dared to look even twice, he’d probably find some pretext to have her dragged out and beaten again. Did he really think she hadn’t noticed his little scheme, so obvious as it was?

Smiling faintly, Hua Chun kept staring at the pattern on her own robe.

“Huo Zhaoyi.” The Emperor called down to her. “Come here.”

“Does Your Majesty have some instruction?” Huo Xianrou paused, stopped her dance steps, and walked gracefully to the Emperor’s side.

“Come read with me.” Yuwen Jie extended his hand, expressionless.

Overjoyed, Huo Zhaoyi’s eyes brimmed with affection as she looked at the Emperor, and following his gaze, she settled tremblingly into his lap.

Hua Chun immediately turned her body away.

Utterly scandalous — this was practically indecent exposure in broad daylight! With Huo Zhaoyi wearing only two thin layers of gauze, settling into a man’s lap like that — how many men could keep their composure? Was she about to be forced to witness a live broadcast of something even more explicit?

She wanted desperately to leave right then, but the Empress Dowager’s order still weighed on her, leaving her unable to move.

“Your Majesty?” Huo Zhaoyi’s voice was soft as a strand of hair, brushing lightly over one’s skin, leaving an itch impossible to scratch.

Such natural allure — truly formidable.

Hua Chun felt that at this moment, she was nothing more than a giant lightbulb, glowing awkwardly off to the side, yet the two behind her seemed completely oblivious to her presence, cozying up together to read.

“How is this character pronounced?” Yuwen Jie asked Huo Zhaoyi.

Huo Xianrou bit her lip and said softly: “Your Majesty always likes to test this concubine. This character looks so complicated — is it… ‘get lost’?”

“Mm.” The Emperor nodded. “That’s correct, it’s ‘get lost.'”

Deliberate — that was absolutely deliberate! Hua Chun gripped the armrests of her chair, her heart itching with irritation — he was actually using a character from the book to tell her to get lost. She badly wanted to declare with dignity, “This official takes their leave,” but…

Never mind! Taking a deep breath, Hua Chun steadied herself. So what if she had to watch people flirt? She’d watched such things every day before and never thought much of it — now it was just a change of scenery, nothing worth getting worked up over. If they weren’t embarrassed, she certainly wasn’t going to feel embarrassed on their behalf — it wasn’t her face on the line, after all.

Once she’d talked herself into it, Hua Chun sat up straight and asked, lowering her head: “Might this official ask what book Your Majesty is reading?”

Yuwen Jie frowned slightly and answered, displeased: “‘The Way of Governing the Nation,’ left behind by my ancestors.”

“Has Your Majesty gained any insight from it?”

The Emperor fell silent.

This person — how could she calmly go on asking him what he’d learned from it? Any normal person would have looked away and left ages ago. Just what was Hua Jinghua’s face made of, to have such nerve?

“This official ought not to speak out of turn,” Hua Chun said, “but when reading, one must be fully focused in order to truly understand what the book conveys.”

“Are you lecturing me?” The Emperor’s tone turned cold and severe.

Her body trembled slightly, and Hua Chun immediately shook her head timidly: “This official would never dare!”

“Then say no more.”

Fine — she’d just sit here as an ornament for the next hour.

Huo Zhaoyi, smiling, kept glancing over at the Prime Minister sitting nearby, sizing him up. Seeing him sit upright with such a serious expression and such a handsome face, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration stir inside her.

“Your Majesty, it’s not right to just leave the Prime Minister sitting here doing nothing — why not give him something to read too?” she said.