Huh? Pressing on him like this and still no reaction? Hua Chun blinked, adding a bit more force with her hand, carefully watching the emperor’s expression—still no reaction.

Where was the wound? She was bewildered, and reached out to pull open his upper garment.

His flat, firm chest was wrapped in thick white cloth, but there wasn’t a trace of blood, and no matter how she pressed, his face showed not the slightest hint of pain.

Looking further down, there were also neat, well-defined abdominal muscles, which felt very pleasant to touch.

Slapping her own hand, Hua Chun shook her head, returning to the main point, and glared at the emperor: “Weren’t you stabbed in the chest?”

“Mn.” The emperor nodded. “Same as you did last time.”

What? Hua Chun tilted her head, thinking it over carefully. That old rascal—he’d learned her trick from the Zhengdu Tavern incident, padding something over his chest, so he wasn’t hurt at all?

Her face darkened. Hua Chun’s qi sank to her dantian, both hands slicing through the air, and she shouted furiously: “Mountain-Toppling Palm! Ha!”

His chest was struck hard by her blow. The emperor let out a muffled grunt and said, “This counts as an offense against your sovereign.”

“Bite me, then!” Hua Chun’s eyes reddened again. “You weren’t even hurt and you didn’t give anyone a heads-up—watching everyone worry over you must have made you very happy, hasn’t it?”

She had truly believed he was going to die, had suffered for so long, and it turned out to be fake?! If it weren’t for the fact that he was the emperor, she would really want to stab him again right now.

Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together, his dark eyes gleaming: “I gave you a hint—I told you to enter the palace in the middle of the night, which obviously meant something had been arranged. Yet when you saw me return injured, you failed to catch on. I overestimated your intelligence.”

He was blaming her instead? Hua Chun’s anger flared. Since she happened to be straddling the emperor, she simply lifted herself up and slammed back down: “Mount Tai Presses Down!”

“Ngh.” Yuwen Jie frowned. “You really have no regard for rules at all, do you? Have you forgotten your own status?”

“This official remembers,” Hua Chun glared at him. “Does Your Majesty remember? Since we are ruler and subject, why did you bite my lips just now?”

He paused slightly, then turned his face away: “Just for fun.”

“If it’s fun then you can bite whoever you want?!” Hua Chun glared at him. “So can I go bite people at random too?”

His eyes darkened slightly. The emperor reached out and gripped her waist, saying in a low voice: “No, you may not.”

“Then what kind of reasoning is that, Your Majesty?” Hua Chun struggled. “Only the magistrate is allowed to set fires, while the common people aren’t even allowed to light lamps?”

“You may take revenge on me.” The emperor said magnanimously. “But don’t go harm anyone else.”

Hua Chun froze, and looked down at him in disbelief: “Is Your Majesty saying that this official may go bite you back?”

The emperor said nothing, which she took as tacit agreement.

She looked at his calm expression for a moment, and suddenly felt a bit like laughing. She curled her lips and asked him: “What does Your Majesty think—what kind of two people are allowed to kiss?”

That was a strange question to ask. The emperor looked at her with obvious surprise: “Does kissing require conditions?”

Just as she thought—a heartless, philandering emperor! Hua Chun’s heart sank, and she said: “In this official’s world, only people who love each other may kiss.”

Love each other? Yuwen Jie’s heart skipped a beat, and the hand gripping her waist loosened without thinking.

Her waist suddenly felt empty. Hua Chun obligingly climbed off the bed and stood at its edge: “No more joking. Your Majesty’s actions tonight—this official can more or less guess your purpose. Since Your Majesty didn’t inform me in advance, tonight this official’s reaction was completely genuine, which has already shaken everyone present. Now we just wait for the King of Western Xia’s response.”

He hadn’t heard a word of what came after that; he only asked: “You were joking just now?”

“What else would it be?” Hua Chun said, lowering her eyes. “Trying to discuss feelings with an emperor is no different from trying to get a tiger to eat vegetables. This lowly official isn’t foolish—I understand perfectly well what to do given my position.”

What she said made a lot of sense, but why did he keep feeling something was off? Yuwen Jie frowned, his mood momentarily complicated.

“It’s getting late, this official will go sleep in the side hall.” Hua Chun said. “Since Your Majesty isn’t actually injured, you should focus on acting the part properly from now on.”

With that, she turned and left.

“Hua Jinghua.” The emperor called out to her.

Hua Chun didn’t turn her head, but her steps paused: “This official is here.”

Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together. He wasn’t someone good with words—he had many thoughts in his heart but didn’t know how to express them. Watching her back, he opened his mouth, then closed it, and in the end could only say: “Rest well.”

“Yes.” Hua Chun lifted her foot and continued forward.

The hall doors opened and closed again. Eunuch Qin came in and said: “Your Majesty, several letters were sent out from Furong Palace overnight—all of them intercepted. Would you like to review them now?”

Yuwen Jie extended his hand, and Eunuch Qin handed over the letters.

The Western Xia envoys, for whatever reason, had each written letters begging the King of Western Xia to follow through on what they’d originally proposed—ceding ten gold mines to Great Liang, and ideally coming in person to apologize.

Though this was exactly what he wanted, he hadn’t actually died, and Great Liang’s troops hadn’t even moved—yet these people were already frightened into this state?

“The prime minister… was he very fierce out there?” he asked in a low voice.

Eunuch Qin pressed his lips together. Earlier, to make things convincing, the emperor had taken a bit of medicine, throwing his internal breath into disorder and knocking him unconscious, so he had no idea what had happened outside. But now, having to explain it, Eunuch Qin didn’t know where to begin. He hesitated for a long while before saying:

“The prime minister furiously denounced the Western Xia envoys, and said that he and Your Majesty live and die together. If Your Majesty met with misfortune today, he would follow you to the underworld. If heaven blessed Your Majesty with safety, he would campaign against Western Xia on Your Majesty’s behalf, and expand Great Liang’s territory.”

Yuwen Jie was shaken, his eyes widening slightly, dark light stirring in his pupils.

“He… those were his exact words?”

“Yes.”

He pressed his lips together, casually stuffed the letters into Eunuch Qin’s hands, and moved to get out of bed.

“Your Majesty!” Eunuch Qin hurried to stop him. “You are gravely wounded right now, you mustn’t move about carelessly.”

If someone discovered the ruse, that would be bad—there was still that troublesome Prince Xi in the palace, after all, and if he found out, there was no telling what harmful, selfish scheme he might concoct.

The emperor pressed his lips together, thought for a moment, and looked at him: “Then go summon the prime minister, and tell him I am critically ill.”

Eunuch Qin: “…” The prime minister wasn’t a fool—once he knew the truth, how could he possibly still believe the emperor was critically ill?

But the emperor looked up at him, his gaze burning bright, looking exactly like he had as a child when he wanted Eunuch Qin to climb a tree and fetch down a kite caught in the branches for him.

Sighing, Eunuch Qin still turned and went to the side hall.

Hua Chun was furious enough to die, sitting cross-legged on the bed, muttering to herself, cursing Yuwen Jie from head to toe, thoroughly and from every possible angle.

“Creak—” The door opened. Without even thinking, she said: “Eunuch Qin, this official is very tired, and doesn’t want to do anything but sleep.”

Bracing himself, Eunuch Qin stood before Prime Minister Hua and said with a smile: “This old servant understands the prime minister’s feelings, but His Majesty wishes to see you.”

“I don’t want to see him.” Hua Chun gritted her teeth. “I still need to keep myself alive to continue serving Great Liang—I can’t let myself be angered to death by him!”

Eunuch Qin fell silent. What she was doing right now was also, technically, risking her life, since an imperial order could not be disobeyed. But… well, given how differently the emperor treated the prime minister, and how much more difficult he was to deal with when throwing a tantrum than the palace consorts, the emperor probably wouldn’t blame her for this.

“It concerns the matter of Western Xia.” He sighed. “The prime minister should still go.”

Western Xia? Hua Chun frowned. Now that the emperor had dug this enormous trap and buried Western Xia so thoroughly, what else was there to say?

Thinking this, she still stood up and walked out anyway.

The emperor leaned against the headboard, frowning as he watched her enter, then said with a straight face: “You may need to keep watch over me here tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve shown such devoted loyalty today—if you don’t keep watch and just go back to sleep on your own, people will surely notice that my injuries aren’t serious, and then the threat against Western Xia will fall apart.” Yuwen Jie said with a straight face. “If you’re going to put on a show, you should commit to it fully.”

That actually sounded reasonable. Hua Chun pressed her lips together, glanced back at Eunuch Qin, and said: “Then may I trouble the eunuch to bring my bedding over—I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Eunuch Qin smiled: “Prime Minister, one is not supposed to sleep while keeping watch. If you’re very tired, you may rest your head by the dragon bed for a moment.”

Wasn’t this just utterly miserable? Hua Chun instantly began to pity herself—dragged over here to put on a show instead of getting proper sleep, and only allowed to nap at the edge of someone else’s bed!

Glaring furiously at the dragon bed, Hua Chun said: “Since this official is suffering so much, shouldn’t Your Majesty return the salary you docked from me?”

“That can be arranged.” The emperor nodded. “If this matter goes smoothly, I can raise your salary by one grade.”

“Good.” Her heart immediately felt a bit more balanced. She dragged over a stool and sat by his bedside: “Then please rest, Your Majesty.”

Eunuch Qin withdrew. The emperor lay back down again, and Hua Chun sat there with a proper, dutiful expression.

Half an hour later, her back had bent a little.

Another half hour later, she was slumped entirely against the edge of the bed frame.

By the second watch of the night, Hua Chun was sound asleep, nestled in the emperor’s embrace.

Yuwen Jie curved his lips, and as usual, pressed close against her, closing his eyes peacefully.

The next day, the various court officials finally received news of the emperor’s assassination attempt. He Chang’an rushed anxiously into the palace, only to find Hua Chun standing at the entrance of Zichen Hall radiating an aura of menace, speaking to the assembled officials.

“For a minor state like Western Xia to dare commit such an offense against the throne—if we do not punish this severely, how will other vassal states ever submit to Great Liang in the future?” Prime Minister Hua said through gritted teeth. “Whether Great Liang goes to war this time depends entirely on Western Xia’s response.”

The assembled officials deeply agreed, nodding one after another.

“Prime Minister.” He Chang’an looked at her anxiously. “How is His Majesty’s condition?”

Hua Chun said with a grave, sorrowful expression: “The injuries are severe. Though his life is not in danger, he still hasn’t fully regained consciousness. I kept watch all last night, and His Majesty kept mumbling deliriously the whole time.”

His heart tightened, and He Chang’an hurried toward the rear hall.

The emperor was supposed to be resting undisturbed, with no visitors allowed, but Eunuch Qin still let him in.

“Your Majesty!” Reaching the inner hall, He Chang’an called out worriedly.

He then saw Yuwen Jie sitting energetically on the bed reading a military treatise, one hand gesturing along with the diagrams on the page, his complexion rosy and full of vigor.

He Chang’an: “…”