Glancing sidelong at her, a dark glint stirred in Yuwen Jie’s eyes.

“That the Chancellor can be so considerate truly gives me great comfort. Since that’s the case, stay and keep me company reviewing the memorials.”

“As you command!” Hua Chun agreed, immediately sitting down on the other side of the stone table and picking up a memorial to read with great seriousness.

However, her hand was still injured, and she couldn’t write at all. After looking it over for a while, she still had no choice but to bring it before the Emperor, laughing sheepishly. “This memorial really does need Your Majesty’s own imperial brush for the annotation.”

Yuwen Jie shook his head. “I’m very tired today. I don’t want to make more corrections.”

What was she supposed to do then? Hua Chun pouted—was she supposed to write with her left hand? Her right hand couldn’t even write with a brush properly, so how could she expect her left hand to manage?

“If the Chancellor can’t manage the corrections either, why not just go back for now…”

“This servant has a way!” she said hastily. “Please have Eunuch Qin bring some brush and ink.”

Eunuch Qin complied, and before long brought over fine wolf-hair brushes and an inkstone. Yuwen Jie watched, wide-eyed, as the person before him gripped the brush with her left hand, her posture especially awkward, scrawling out something crooked and illegible.

Truly going to great lengths.

“This is far too taxing for the Chancellor. Why not return to your residence for now?”

“It’s no trouble at all, no trouble!” Hua Chun shook her head repeatedly. “This servant just needs to adjust a bit.”

Curling his lips slightly, Yuwen Jie turned his head away. “Watching you like this tires me as well. Since the Chancellor is so intent on correcting the memorials, then stay here and take your time with it. I’ll head back to the Purple Dawn Hall first to watch Consort Huo dance.”

What? The smile froze on Hua Chun’s face. She looked up, disbelieving. “This servant serving Your Majesty with loyalty is naturally her duty, but even though this servant has thrown herself into this task despite her injury, Your Majesty is going to abandon this servant here alone to go watch a dance performance?”

The Emperor said, “Wasn’t this your own idea?”

“It was indeed this servant’s own idea.” Setting down the brush, Hua Chun said with a grave expression, “This servant naturally holds no complaint whatsoever regarding Your Majesty’s actions toward her. But if Your Majesty were to treat other officials the same way, I fear it might lose the hearts of your subjects.”

“Oh?” Yuwen Jie looked at her. “But I only treat you this way, so the Chancellor needn’t worry about me losing the hearts of my other officials.”

Hua Chun: “…”

Damn it, she had genuinely come here with the intention of getting along well with the Emperor and letting affection grow over time! Why did Yuwen Jie have to be so infuriating right now? Was it so hard to just speak nicely? Was it?!

Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. “Even so, there are many major matters within these memorials that this servant cannot decide alone—Your Majesty’s guidance is still needed.”

“I see…” Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together and sat back down with an impatient expression. “Then hurry up.”

“As you command.”

The imperial garden was full of fine flowers, grass, and scenery, with the Emperor leisurely watching the koi in the pond, while beside him an official sweated profusely, writing furiously—the contrast was rather stark.

As if exploiting her labor weren’t enough, Yuwen Jie, ruthless as he was, also asked her every quarter hour or so, “How much longer?”

“Please wait a little longer, Your Majesty.”

What Hua Chun had to endure wasn’t just the physical strain of writing with her left hand, but also the psychological pressure from a shameless emperor.

Eunuch Qin watched silently from a distance, shaking his head repeatedly.

“Sir.” A young palace maid approached him quietly. “Consort Huo has arrived. Does Your Majesty have time?”

Glancing over that way, Eunuch Qin shook his head repeatedly. “No time. Tell your mistress to go back quickly.”

“This…” The little maid looked troubled. “My mistress is already prepared and just wants to bring some tea. It shouldn’t disturb anything, should it?”

“Listen to me, it’s not going to happen,” Eunuch Qin said. “His Majesty is busy right now.”

The little maid frowned, and stole a glance toward the pavilion.

The Emperor was sitting there at ease—only Chancellor Hua was busy beside him. What exactly was there that couldn’t be disturbed?

Constrained by Eunuch Qin’s status, the little maid couldn’t argue further, so she ran back to find Consort Huo and quietly reported the situation.

“Chancellor Hua again.” Consort Huo Xianrou felt deeply displeased. “He’s even more favored than any consort in this harem.”

It had already been several days since His Majesty had come to see her—if this went on, Ten Thousand Treasures Palace would become the Cold Palace.

“Never mind him, let’s just go over. Surely Eunuch Qin wouldn’t dare block even this palace.” Clenching her handkerchief tight, Consort Huo said, “Let’s go.”

The little maid complied, falling in behind her among the row of palace maids, following along.

Yuwen Jie was watching Hua Chun’s movements out of the corner of his eye when he suddenly heard Eunuch Qin’s voice rise sharply beside him: “Consort, Your Majesty is busy right now!”

Huo Xianrou again—he wasn’t sure whether it was his own doing that had spoiled her this way, but every single time, she paid no heed whatsoever to Eunuch Qin.

“This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty.”

His expression darkening, Yuwen Jie said nothing.

Hua Chun stole a glance at Huo Xianrou—this girl really was courting disaster. Eunuch Qin, in a sense, represented the Emperor’s own wishes, and yet she’d barged in disregarding his attempts to stop her. What courage!

Having knelt on the ground for a quarter hour, Huo Xianrou began to feel a chill in her heart, sensing the Emperor’s displeasure, and hurriedly said in a small voice, “This concubine only came to bring a cup of tea.”

“Bring it here,” Yuwen Jie said, extending his hand.

A palace maid hastily brought the tea over and handed it to him.

Without even opening the lid, the Emperor turned and set the cup down directly in front of Hua Chun. “The Chancellor has worked hard correcting the memorials. Drink up.”

Hua Chun froze, glanced at Consort Huo, then looked at the teacup before her, and for a moment genuinely wished she could die.

Yuwen Jie was truly dedicated to earning her enmity, twenty-five years running! Why did she have to be sitting here, having offended no one? With this cup of tea passed to her, wouldn’t Consort Huo go back and make a voodoo doll of her, sticking pins in it every day? She was innocent!

But tea given by the Emperor had to be drunk. Sighing, Hua Chun picked it up and, under Consort Huo’s burning gaze, took a sip.

Huo Xianrou watched him with a face as ashen as death, gritting her teeth. “The Chancellor has worked so hard—perhaps it’s time to go rest as well.”

“That’s not something you need to say.” Yuwen Jie said, “Consort Huo, consorts have their own rules to follow. When you entered the palace, did you neglect to learn proper etiquette?”

Hua Chun secretly rolled her eyes. The woman had been brought straight into the palace by him personally—what etiquette was there for her to have learned? What was this, anyway? Bringing this on herself, yet forcing someone else to take the blame.

She even felt it was unfair to Consort Huo on her behalf.

Huo Xianrou’s face flushed red then went pale, and she looked at the Emperor as if wanting to say something, but held back, finally saying quietly, “This concubine acknowledges her fault, and shall go learn properly from the elder attendants. This concubine takes her leave.”

With a wave of her hand, the little maid beside her moved to take the tea from the table along with her.

“Leave the tea.” The Emperor didn’t even lift his eyelids.

Consort Huo’s face instantly paled. She glanced at him uneasily and said quietly, “This teacup was a gift Your Majesty bestowed upon this concubine.”

It couldn’t just be abandoned here, could it?

“Once the Chancellor has finished drinking, I’ll have someone send it back to you.” the Emperor said flatly. “Taking away tea before the guest has drunk even half of it is also a breach of etiquette.”

Her body stiffening, Huo Xianrou forced a smile. “Your Majesty’s reproach is well deserved. This concubine shall take her leave.”

“Mm.” Yuwen Jie nodded.

Watching Consort Huo’s stumbling retreat, Hua Chun found herself curious—with Yuwen Jie treating women this fiercely, and unable to distribute his favor evenly among so many in the harem, wouldn’t someone eventually climb the walls to cuckold him?

“Looks like it’s about to rain.” Glancing at the sky, the Emperor said, “Carry the memorials back to the Purple Dawn Hall and continue there.”

“Ah, all right!” Coming back to herself, Hua Chun hastily stood up.

Three months wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. As long as she got along well with the Emperor, and ideally deepened their bond, then even if her disguise as a woman were eventually discovered, there would at least be some consideration shown, some room to negotiate.

So for now, Hua Chun’s battle strategy was this: fight desperately for as much face-time before the Emperor as possible.

A good chancellor ought to win the Emperor over through a diligent, responsible work ethic—holding fast to this guiding principle, once she arrived at the Purple Dawn Hall, she once again wrote furiously for half an hour, organizing the trivial matters into a table, adding the corresponding vermilion annotations to the memorials, and then writing out her own recommendations separately.

“Mm, well done.” the Emperor praised her.

Delighted, Hua Chun straightened her back, wiped the sweat from her face, and said, “It’s only what this servant ought to do.”

Yuwen Jie glanced at her. “Your face is unusually flushed.”

“Huh? Really?” She touched her face with her hand—it did seem a little hot. She fanned herself with her hand and tugged at her robes. “It’s about to rain, a bit stuffy and hot, isn’t it? It’s getting late too—why don’t I go rest in the side hall?”

“No.” the Emperor refused flatly.

Hua Chun’s face fell. Was this really necessary? She’d already grown quite accustomed to staying in the side hall of the Purple Dawn Hall—she’d stayed there comfortably before, so why now…

“You need to draw the map of the capital, Great Liang’s capital city.” Yuwen Jie continued. “The Ministry of Revenue needs it tomorrow, so you’ll work on it here tonight. When you’re tired, you can sleep on the couch in the outer hall.”

Her eyes widening, Hua Chun watched him pull a thick stack of sheepskin from the nearby bookshelf, unable to stop the corner of her mouth from twitching.

“Drawing a map… why does this servant have to do it?”

Glancing at her, Yuwen Jie said, “No one knows these capital streets better than you.”

Hua Chun: “…” She was done for—the one who knew the capital streets well was Hua Jinghua, not her!

What was she supposed to do about this? Should she draw the map of Nanjing from several thousand years in the future instead? That one she actually knew well.

Perhaps it was because she was too nervous, but she felt her body starting to grow feverish, sweat continuously beading on her skin.

“The map is confidential.” The Emperor, not noticing her odd state, turned to Eunuch Qin. “Take everyone out. No need to attend tonight—if there’s anything needed, I’ll call for it myself.”

“Yes.” Eunuch Qin complied, leading everyone out and closing the doors behind them.

Hua Chun swallowed hard and said, “Your Majesty, might this servant bathe first?”

Glancing at her, the Emperor rose. “Come with me.”

The rear hall of the Purple Dawn Hall occupied an enormous area—beyond the inner and outer halls, there was also a place off to the side screened off by a hundred-flower folding screen. Rounding the corner to look, Hua Chun was stunned.

It was an actual hot spring pool!

Ancient emperors truly were extravagant beyond measure—channeling a hot spring like this right into the palace must have cost an enormous amount of manpower and resources.

However, before she could get around to condemning any of it, Yuwen Jie spoke up. “This is a natural hot spring. The Purple Dawn Hall was chosen for this very location. Normally only I may enjoy it, but seeing as you’ll be working through the whole night, I can allow you to bathe here.”

What? Bathe here? Hua Chun shook her head repeatedly. “No need, no need, this servant couldn’t bear such an honor—and truthfully, this servant doesn’t much want to bathe anyway. Let’s just get on with the map.”

“Weren’t you saying you felt hot?” Yuwen Jie looked at her curiously, his gaze drifting downward, sizing up the front of her robes. “Your clothes are soaked through.”

Reminded of this, Hua Chun only now noticed how hot and sticky her whole body felt, especially at her chest, bound tightly as it was—the sweat had soaked through the breast-binding.

Why was it so hot?

Laughing awkwardly and waving her hand, Hua Chun said, “This servant can hold out a bit longer.”

“Very well then.” Yuwen Jie didn’t force the matter, simply sitting with her by the table as before—he reading, she drawing.

Before even the time it takes three sticks of incense to burn, the person beside him began writhing about like some sort of snake spirit, rubbing against the table, and then against the chair when that wasn’t enough.

His throat shifting slightly, the Emperor turned his head to glance at her.

Hua Chun made small, muffled sounds, her vision hazy before her. Her reason was still intact, but her behavior was clearly not normal. She recognized this kind of symptom—in television dramas, this was how the female lead behaved after being drugged with an aphrodisiac. What followed was always the female lead getting intimate with the male lead, deepening their bond, giving the plot a qualitative leap forward.

This sort of thing would be fine happening to any other female lead. But right now, in this moment, she was still wearing her official robes, in the middle of handling state affairs, with only one other person present—the very Emperor who held the power of life and death over her.

No matter where this aphrodisiac had come from, no matter how potent it was, even if she burst a blood vessel and died from it, she still didn’t have the nerve to pounce on Yuwen Jie.

Her rational mind simply could not overcome her body’s instincts!

Gritting her teeth, Hua Chun mustered all her strength to stand up, saying quietly, “Your Majesty, this servant should go bathe after all.”

Then, without waiting for the Emperor’s response, she rushed straight toward the hundred-flower screen.

Yuwen Jie raised an eyebrow, set down his book, and looked at her retreating back. “You’re not afraid anymore?”

Hua Chun froze.

Those few words carried a weight far deeper than their surface, but her mind was a complete muddle right now—all she could think about was not losing composure in front of the Emperor, with no room left to consider anything else. She nodded and dashed behind the screen, beginning to undress.

The Emperor was master of all under heaven, a person of dignity and refinement, surely not the sort who would peek at someone bathing.

Comforting herself with this thought, Hua Chun stripped off her inner robe, unwound her breast-binding, and quickly plunged into the water.

“Splash—”

Hearing this sound, Yuwen Jie said flatly, “Hot springs are quite effective for many ailments. The only thing to watch for is not going in when one’s inner fire runs high—it’s very harmful to the body.”

Floating in the pool, the half-conscious Hua Chun could no longer hear a word he said.

The heat in her body hadn’t subsided in the least—if anything, the hot spring only made her hotter still. Hua Chun lay against a nearby smooth stone, her face pressed to it, murmuring hazily, “I might die.”

“Do you want me to save you?” someone asked beside her ear.

That voice was truly pleasant—it suited her taste for a nice voice. Hua Chun smiled and, without thinking, said, “Sure.”

Then her entire body was lifted straight out of the pool by someone.

Bare and utterly exposed, she was scooped right out.