Yuwen Yi glanced at him, then cupped his hands toward the Emperor: “When officials accept bribes, they often do so under the pretext of birthday or wedding celebrations, receiving large amounts of wealth this way. This naturally counts as corruption too.”

Hua Chun fell silent.

He Chang’an had reminded her about this before, and she hadn’t paid it much mind—now she’d really stepped into a pit. She’d done nothing at all and still got the label of corruption slapped on her—how unfair was that!

If this had happened back when she’d first arrived, Yuwen Jie would have punished her without a second thought. Fortunately, the Emperor now had considerably more warmth in him—hearing Prince Xi’s words, he didn’t immediately condemn her, but fell silent for a moment before saying:

“The items at the Hua residence are still unopened, indeed gifts from others, and it appears Prime Minister Hua was unaware of the situation. In such a case, I will discuss this with the Empress Dowager before reaching a verdict. As for the others, the evidence is conclusive—search and seize their residences, then imprison them in the Heavenly Prison for now, pending further disposition.”

Prince Xi raised an eyebrow, looking at the Emperor with some surprise, then glancing back at Hua Jinghua.

The Emperor seemed to have grown up quite a bit—he hadn’t deliberately gone after the Prime Minister after all. He’d thought that with an opportunity like this, Yuwen Jie surely wouldn’t have shielded Prime Minister Hua.

It seemed he’d thought too simply.

Hua Chun let out a breath of relief and knelt to give thanks. The others had no idea what state their own households were in—with the Emperor and the Prince having personally taken action, it was obvious there was no room to argue. They exchanged glances, then knelt as well, and rose tremblingly to follow the imperial guards toward the Heavenly Prison.

Watching Grand Tutor Tang’s aged retreating back, Hua Chun still felt a pang of reluctance. After all, he was an old minister loyal to the Emperor—though he might not have withstood the temptation of money, losing him meant the Emperor lost one supporting hand as well.

Prince Xi’s move had truly been ruthless. As for claiming the matter had “arisen suddenly,” she didn’t believe that for a second. Every official’s household had been investigated so thoroughly—clearly this had been planned long in advance, perhaps even set as a trap waiting for these people to walk into.

At first, Hua Chun had thought Prince Xi might genuinely hate corruption and want to cleanse the court. But now, looking carefully at those who’d been taken away, most belonged to the Emperor’s faction, and the rest were people in critical official positions—was that really just coincidence?

“Third Imperial Brother has worked hard today,” said Yuwen Jie. “Go rest for now. I’ll take the Prime Minister to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.”

“This subject obeys,” Prince Xi said with a smile, bowing appropriately, then glancing at Hua Chun before withdrawing.

Hua Chun pressed her lips together.

She could clearly sense Yuwen Jie was protecting her—rare indeed. If they went before the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager surely wouldn’t blame her, and might even help clear her name—so she’d basically escaped this disaster.

Just thinking about it left her a little shaken in hindsight. She’d come to this place with the mindset of just having some fun, never expecting that intrigue and hidden schemes would still be a constant presence here. Vigilance really couldn’t be dropped.

“Prime Minister.”

Once they were alone in the hall, the Emperor spoke, rather displeased: “Didn’t Chang’an already warn you? Why did you still let someone find an opening?”

A chill ran down her back, and Hua Chun hastily knelt: “This subject was careless—the new marriage kept me too busy, and the congratulatory gifts piled up in the back courtyard, I simply hadn’t had time to sort through them.”

“If I didn’t know you well enough to know you wouldn’t have the nerve to embezzle that much, you’d be locked up in the Heavenly Prison with the rest of them right now,” Yuwen Jie said sternly. “And then I’d be isolated and friendless at court, needing years to cultivate my own people again.”

Startled, Hua Chun looked up at him in some surprise.

So he understood that Hua Jinghua was his person too?! If he understood that, then why keep making things difficult for his own person!

“Get up,” Yuwen Jie said, stepping down from the throne and walking to her side, his expression very serious, though his tone had grown much warmer: “Be more careful these days. Aside from me and Chang’an, don’t see anyone else.”

“Huh?” Hua Chun blinked. “Why?”

Stupid? The Emperor said impatiently, “Can’t you see Prince Xi wants to move against you?”

She’d sort of noticed, but… Hua Chun scratched her head: “As long as Your Majesty trusts me, no matter what the Prince does, I can protect myself.”

“Naive!” Yuwen Jie’s face darkened. “Next time he brings evidence just a little more solid, he’ll nail you down right there in court—forget about me, even with the Empress Dowager added in, no one could save you. Don’t talk about being upright and unafraid of a crooked shadow—in this court, no matter how upright you are, people can twist you crooked. You won’t have a choice in the matter.”

Hua Chun fell silent.

She’d understood these principles long ago, just never expected to hear them again from Yuwen Jie’s own mouth.

It seemed Hua Jinghua’s little efforts hadn’t gone unrewarded—at the very least, the Emperor cared about her, didn’t want to lose her.

Though this kind of care probably wasn’t quite the kind Hua Jinghua wanted.

She sighed and nodded: “This subject understands.”

“Then let’s go,” said Yuwen Jie. “Come with me to Zichen Hall to rest.”

“Huh?” Hua Chun startled. “Aren’t we going to pay respects to the Empress Dowager?”

“That was just something to say, don’t take it seriously,” Yuwen Jie said as he walked. “One more reminder—on other matters, the Empress Dowager might well favor you, since you’re a loyal and righteous Prime Minister. But once it comes to Prince Xi, don’t hold out any hope.”

Prince Xi was also born of the Empress Dowager, and though she was generally sensible and fair, when it came to this charming third son of hers, she would always have a bit more tolerance. Even when Yuwen Yi did something wrong, she would scold him first, then shield him, never allowing anyone to hurt him.

With a mother like that, Yuwen Jie found it quite a headache.

Hua Chun nodded, not quite understanding why, but the present Emperor couldn’t possibly harm her, so she’d just go along with it.

“Then if we’re not paying respects, what am I going to Zichen Hall for?” she asked. “I should be heading back to the Prime Minister’s residence.”

The sovereign’s steps paused, and he turned back: “You’re that eager to get back?”

“…No,” Hua Chun shook her head, but there wasn’t much to do staying in the palace anyway—might as well go back and keep Qing Niao company. It hadn’t even been proper, tossing her at the residence the day after the wedding.

“Then stay in the palace,” said Yuwen Jie. “It’s not too safe lately—you’ll attend me at my side. Your hand is injured anyway, so you can’t handle documents; you might as well read memorials aloud to me.”

Hua Chun: “…”

The Prime Minister was already worked half to death as it was—now she was supposed to turn into a personal secretary on top of it? Holding up a memorial and reading it out, was she supposed to ask afterward: “Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, or cola?”

This was truly ridiculous.

Utterly unwilling in her heart, she didn’t dare let it show on her face, still managing a forced smile and a nod: “As you command.”

Here she was, a proper Prime Minister, and after injuring her hand, she was reduced to competing with eunuchs for a rice bowl. Hua Chun felt rather melancholy about it.

But once she reached the rear hall of Zichen Hall and saw the table full of pastries and fine tea, she suddenly felt that being a eunuch wasn’t so bad after all—no work pressure, just serve this great lord well and that was that.

“So there really was corruption in the disaster relief matter after all,” the sovereign said, looking at the memorial. “Perhaps your original idea was right.”

Of course it was right—nonsense aside, those people had just found it troublesome, resented having their cake touched, and so refused to go along. Now look—Prince Xi had swept them all up in one go, and regret came too late for any of them.

“Does Your Majesty still intend to use that plan?” she asked.

Yuwen Jie didn’t answer, digging out those papers she’d scribbled on before, studying them seriously.

After a good while, he said, “It can be done.”

After going in such a big circle, didn’t it still come back to acknowledging she was right? Hua Chun instantly felt delighted, practically wagging an invisible tail: “Your Majesty is wise!”

“You really did have foresight,” said Yuwen Jie. “The Empress Dowager wasn’t wrong about you.”

Being praised, rare as it was, made Hua Chun beam, thoroughly pleased with herself. She quickly pointed at the papers to explain further: “You can see from the current situation—rooting out corruption like this is troublesome, but it must be done. Officials are the backbone of the court; we absolutely cannot let the bones rot first.”

As they discussed these matters, Yuwen Jie noticed that Hua Jinghua always seemed to give off a certain captivating vitality, like the rising morning sun—no darkness in any mountain range could contain him, he was destined to shine brilliantly.

In that moment, the sovereign realized he quite liked this version of Hua Jinghua.

“…What does Your Majesty think?” Having spoken animatedly for a while, Hua Chun turned her head, only to find the sovereign had been watching her the whole time, his expression calm yet focused.

Her face flushed without her meaning it to.

Could good-looking people please not stare at others so casually? She was someone who cared about looks, and though she had no interest in the sovereign, being watched like that still made her shy—she was a thin-skinned, bashful maiden, after all!

“Very good,” Yuwen Jie nodded. “Now tell me about the price control bureau matter. Once it’s clear, I can promote someone tomorrow morning to carry it out.”

Her eyes lit up, and Hua Chun launched into it again with great confidence. After all, she’d studied political science and history extensively, and had a good grasp of economics too, able to apply it practically.

So she talked for a full hour, eyes dancing, words flowing without pause.

Yuwen Jie simply watched her quietly, his gaze softening from its initial coldness, finally concluding: “I’ve finally realized—you really are a man.”

Huh? Hua Chun was stunned.

She’d worked herself to the bone giving him advice, said all that, and this was what she got in return?!

Well, it was a compliment of sorts, but somehow she couldn’t feel happy about it.

“Eat something if you’re tired,” said Yuwen Jie. “Rest here tonight.”

Just as she was about to thank him, once the last sentence sank in, Hua Chun was shocked.

“Your Majesty! This subject has a wife waiting at home, this absolutely cannot be!” she said, staring at the sovereign in alarm, arms crossed, shaking her head fiercely. “This subject’s family has house rules—a man should serve the Emperor with loyalty, never with his body!”

Yuwen Jie: “…”

Why was talking to this person always such hard work?

“I’m telling you to rest at Zichen Hall, not to share my bed,” he said. “What exactly is in your head?”