Her heart sank, and Hua Liuying frowned as she looked at her.

Huo Xianrou wore a fawning expression as she looked at her and said, “In this palace, no flower blooms for a hundred days. This concubine came today with no other intent—just wanting to grow closer to Your Highness, so that if favor is lost later, I won’t be left with no one to turn to. If Your Highness rises together with Consort Shu, I hope you’ll pull this concubine up along with you.”

Her tone was full of flattery, and her eyes looked no different from anyone else who had come to curry favor with her before. At first Hua Liuying thought Huo Xianrou might be here to stir up trouble, but looking at her expression now, it seemed she was telling the truth.

Hua Jinghua would help Hua Xunyue vie for favor?

She found it hard to believe. After all, back at the estate, Hua Xunyue and Consort Wu had always been at odds with Wan Shi and Hua Jinghua—how could things have turned around so quickly?

Hua Xunyue had entered the palace after she herself had fallen from favor, and the thought of her trying to climb over her to get ahead already displeased her. Now that Xunyue outranked her, and kept sending word back to the Hua estate to show off, it irritated her even more. If Hua Jinghua meant to set aside old grudges and help her, then she wouldn’t blame herself for making some moves of her own.

“If such a day truly comes, this palace will have something to look forward to, and will certainly not forget Consort Huo’s kindness today.” Hua Liuying smiled and said, “You’ve shown real thoughtfulness.”

Huo Xianrou smiled.

If one spoke of power within the palace, the Hua family currently held the most—with Prime Minister Hua backing them at court, and Consort Shu and Consort Hua behind the scenes. Even though Consort Hua had been demoted, she was still a titled consort, ranking above her.

Fortunately, the Hua family was truly not united.

As for the grudge over Hua Jinghua framing her with the purple jade pendant, she supposed it could slowly be repaid. Huo Xianrou glanced at the red nail polish on her fingers and curved her lips.

If not for the Empress Dowager suppressing her at every turn, she should already have been sitting in the rank of a proper consort by now. And even this promotion had come at the cost of being moved to a more distant residence.

Better to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. She was rather curious—among these three Hua siblings, who would ultimately prove the more skillful?

Purple Dawn Hall.

Hua Chun yawned and placed the sorted memorials on the emperor’s desk. “Everything’s done. Your servant can leave the palace a bit early today.”

She had originally intended to linger as a way of laying groundwork for revealing her identity, but now that groundwork was unnecessary—she could just as well let things fall where they may.

The emperor looked up at her. “Be careful on the road.”

Hua Chun: “…”

Coming from the emperor’s mouth, those four words were strange indeed. Though it was just a casual word of concern, she couldn’t help but shiver, forcing an awkward laugh as she bowed.

Her relationship with the emperor seemed to have suddenly grown strange—not quite close, not quite distant either. The emperor still did whatever he normally did, but something in her heart kept feeling off.

It was time to visit the palace less and calm herself down properly.

The mark on her neck still hadn’t fully faded, faintly warm to the touch. Hua Chun strode out through the palace gates and ran straight into He Chang’an.

“Leaving the palace so early today?” He Chang’an smiled as he looked at her, walking closer. “Don’t tell me you finished everything in an all-nighter yesterday?”

Her heart skipped, and Hua Chun realized where her unease had come from.

He Chang’an.

He was the first person she’d developed a good impression of since arriving in this world—she’d even practically worshipped him as her ideal man. The unfortunate part was that he had no idea she was a woman, and had always treated her as a brother. And yet she had ended up in that somewhat intimate incident with the emperor.

How to put it—there was a kind of inexplicable regret.

“I got a lot done efficiently today, so I can go back and get a good sleep.” She smiled at him. “Let’s go out and have some fun again when you’re free.”

“Sure.”

Noticing something slightly off about Hua Jinghua, He Chang’an studied him even as he agreed, his gaze pausing briefly when it landed on his neck.

“Are you hurt?” He reached out and wiped at the red mark—it wouldn’t come off. He Chang’an raised an eyebrow. “What is this?”

Startled, Hua Chun quickly pulled her collar up. “It’s nothing, there were a lot of mosquitoes last night. I’ll head back first—Second Brother, go attend to your business.”

With that, she took off running.

His eyes full of surprise, He Chang’an watched her retreating figure, then looked at his own fingertips. Something occurred to him, and his expression darkened at once.

Inner Hall.

Yuwen Jie was personally drawing a map when he heard the grim voice of Marquis Gongyu beside him: “Your Majesty.”

He looked up at him. “In a poor mood today?”

“Your servant has an urgent matter to discuss with Your Majesty.”

Setting down the brush in his hand, Yuwen Jie looked at him. “Speak freely.”

Taking a deep breath, He Chang’an said with a solemn expression, “Your servant knows that Prime Minister Hua has somewhat feminine features and is rather delicate, but he is a man.”

Pausing briefly, the emperor raised an eyebrow. “That… the emperor knows.”

Thinking of what He Chang’an didn’t know, Yuwen Jie’s mood immediately improved, the lines of his face softening as he watched him quietly.

He Chang’an frowned. “Since Your Majesty knows, you should also understand that officials must not use their looks to serve the sovereign—this is ancestral teaching. The marks on the Prime Minister’s body just now, your servant saw them. In this palace, aside from Your Majesty, no one else could treat the Prime Minister that way inside the Purple Dawn Hall. So your servant boldly speaks up—going forward, please do not keep the Prime Minister overnight in the Purple Dawn Hall.”

Yuwen Jie looked at him deeply for a long moment. “Only you would dare say such words to me.”

“If your servant does not speak, and lets Your Majesty stray down a crooked path, it will be too late for regret later,” He Chang’an said in a low voice. “I hope Your Majesty will heed this one word from your servant.”

“Prime Minister Hua and I have done nothing that violates ancestral teachings,” the emperor said. “You may rest assured.”

If nothing that violated ancestral teachings had been done, then could the marks on Jinghua’s neck truly have been from mosquito bites? He Chang’an’s heart sank uncontrollably.

He knew the emperor’s temper was stubborn—it seemed today’s words might not sink in either. Then he would just have to find his own way to handle it.

Hua Chun returned to the Prime Minister’s estate, and before she’d even entered, she heard Qing Niao say, “Master, hurry to the Hua estate—Madam has fallen ill.”

Ill? Startled for a moment, Hua Chun immediately pulled Qing Niao toward the sedan chair and had the bearers head for the Hua estate.

“What happened?”

“Someone just came to report it. They said Madam’s old illness flared up, quite severely, and she’s still unconscious now,” Qing Niao said with a frown. “We’d best go take a look.”

“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded, thinking carefully. What old illness did Wan Shi have? The episode she’d watched hadn’t mentioned it—medical conditions in ancient times were so poor that any minor illness could take a life. Wan Shi had been so good to Hua Jinghua; nothing could be allowed to happen to her.

Servants at the Hua estate were rushing about everywhere, and seeing this made Hua Chun’s heart clench. She hurried, pulling Qing Niao toward Wan Shi’s courtyard.

“She was perfectly fine—how did this suddenly happen?” The room was full of people. Ren Shi spoke with a grieving tone, while a few concubines beside her dabbed at their tears.

Hua Chun pushed them aside with one hand and saw Wan Shi’s pale face on the bed.

“The Prime Minister is back?” Consort Wu said sorrowfully. “Quick, go see your mother—she’s been unconscious for hours now.”