Feeling somewhat strange inside, Hua Chun shifted her body, adjusting her position, and asked in a muffled voice, “Why hold me like this?”

The Emperor kept his eyes closed, saying in a low voice, “If you’d taken off one more layer just now, you’d be on your way to execution right now.”

“I know.” Hua Chun nodded. “But if I hadn’t stripped, the situation right now might have been even worse.”

Yuwen Jie fell silent, his arms tightening slightly, holding her so close she could barely breathe.

He had already prepared for the worst just now—if Hua Jinghua’s identity had truly been exposed, he could only have arranged secretly to send her far from the capital, never to return in this lifetime. Which meant he would never be able to see her again; the two of them would go their separate ways, each living out their own lives.

It would have been a decent solution—except his chest ached, an unrelenting pain.

So now, this was truly a moment of having survived calamity. He only wanted to hold her tightly, tightly enough that no one could ever take her away.

“You’re too bold.”

Hearing him say this, Hua Chun coughed dryly a couple of times and laughed. “Your Majesty has never played Zha Jinhua, I take it?”

“What is that?” Yuwen Jie frowned.

Hua Chun said, “It’s a game that tests one’s acting skills—comparing cards to see who has the bigger hand. No one knows what cards the other holds, but you have to bet blindly, seeing who loses their nerve first and folds, or if both hold on to the end, reveal the cards to determine the winner.”

The Emperor was utterly bewildered, loosening his hold on her slightly, curiosity filling his eyes. “Never heard of it.”

Playing cards, of course he’d never heard of it! Hua Chun sat down beside him, gesturing animatedly as she explained, “A moment ago, this official and Prince Xi were essentially playing Zha Jinhua. The difference is, I knew he was holding a big hand, but he had no idea what my hand was. Seeing me go all in without hesitation, he started to lose his nerve, and when I pushed him to match the biggest bet, he couldn’t hold on and folded.”

So she’d held a terrible hand and won against his three-of-a-kind.

The Emperor understood only vaguely, asking, “What if he’d held on to the very end and demanded you reveal your hand?”

“Then I’d have simply lost.” Hua Chun shrugged. “He had the advantage to begin with anyway; I had nothing to lose, so why not gamble? If I won, great, if I lost, no loss either.”

What remarkable composure this was—the Emperor pressed his lips together. If it had been him today, he wasn’t sure he could have done what Hua Jinghua did, especially considering Hua Jinghua was a woman.

Previously, Yuwen Jie had looked down on women, thinking them all soft and spineless, fit only to be men’s pets, incapable of anything else.

Yet now, he couldn’t help but reconsider.

“Today’s matter wasn’t a coincidence.” Coming back to himself, the Emperor recalled a serious matter. “Why would Prince Xi have found your wet nurse?”

“I don’t know either.” Hua Chun shook her head. “By rights, only people from the Hua residence should know what that wet nurse even looks like.”

The Emperor pressed his lips together. “Something major happened in the palace too, related to the Hua family.”

“What?”

“Hua Liuying fled the palace privately.”

Mentioning this darkened the Emperor’s face. “I originally thought she simply couldn’t bear the loneliness of palace life, but now it seems this can’t be unrelated to Prince Xi.”

What in the world? Hua Chun’s eyes went wide. “Hua Liuying ran away?”

“Mm.” Yuwen Jie said. “I’ve already sent people to pursue her, and sealed off the news. If this gets out, your entire Hua residence will suffer for it.”

Her face going pale, Hua Chun gripped the Emperor’s sleeve, forcing out two words: “This is bad.”

“You don’t need to be this nervous.” the Emperor said. “I’m still here.”

Shaking her head blankly, Hua Chun said, “That wet nurse must have been found for Prince Xi by Hua Liuying. As a reward, Prince Xi got her out of the palace, letting her go free.”

Yuwen Jie thought the same—otherwise, with Hua Liuying acting alone, fleeing the palace privately would have been extremely difficult.

“So I’m looking for evidence. If I can trace it back to Prince Xi, I’ll hold him accountable.”

Hua Chun’s face grew paler and paler, and she turned to look at him, asking softly, “Does Your Majesty think you’ll find the evidence faster, or will Prince Xi turn the tables first?”

“……” His heart sank, the Emperor’s pupils contracting.

He hadn’t even considered that angle yet.

The imperial carriage stopped in front of Zichen Hall. Hua Chun took a couple of deep breaths, her whole body stiff. “Can I pray that Prince Xi is a little slow-witted? Best if he doesn’t react so quickly, giving me time to think of a countermeasure.”

Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together, reaching out to take her hand. “Perhaps the situation isn’t as bad as you think. Come tomorrow morning, I’ll have Consort Shu and Consort Hua go together to visit the Hua residence, to buy some time first.”

Hua Liuying probably didn’t like carrying an umbrella on a rainy day—her head was thoroughly waterlogged, given how she’d bring such family-implicating disaster upon herself for her own pleasure. Hua Chun was truly about to be furious to death, her mind a complete mess, able only to follow the Emperor out of the carriage into the hall, everything she saw blurring together.

“It’s already late in the day; it wouldn’t be proper by protocol to let them leave the palace now. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” Yuwen Jie said. “Prince Xi just suffered a setback—he certainly won’t be able to recover his composure for a while…”

Before he could finish speaking, Eunuch Qin came rushing in urgently: “Your Majesty!”

His heart leaping, Yuwen Jie turned to look at him.

“The guards at Youyang Palace report that Consort Hua has gone missing.”

Hua Chun jolted violently.

This news had been sealed by the Emperor—how had it come to be reported again now?

Yuwen Jie closed his eyes.

If it had been reported here at Zichen Hall, it must have also been reported to Huiming Hall. Whether it was the Youyang Palace guards responsible, he no longer had the leisure to investigate. The Emperor said gravely, “Have Huo Zichong hurry and find her. Tell Mother that there was some conflict between Consort Hua and me, and she ran out of Youyang Palace, whereabouts unknown.”

“Yes.”

Hua Chun took a deep breath. “What can this official do?”

“Leave the palace.” the Emperor gritted his teeth. “Take your wife and father out of Yanjing tonight, under cover of darkness, then come back.”

Slightly stunned, Hua Chun nodded and turned to run outside.

The palace gates, which had been locked, reopened. He Chang’an, having received the news, was already waiting outside.

“There are guards at the Hua residence—you don’t need to worry too much.” He Chang’an said quietly. “Just follow me.”

Nodding, Hua Chun felt her own face had gone stiff—she no longer knew what expression to make, and could only mount her horse and ride, wanting to go faster, even faster.

“Prime Minister Hua, Marquis of Gongyu.” At the gate of the Hua residence, there were indeed guards, but before the two could even dismount, one cupped his hands and said, “Consort Hua is missing—the Hua residence is under lockdown.”

Judging by his tone, did he actually mean not to let them in?

Hua Chun’s expression darkened, and she looked at the man. “Whose orders are you following?”

The guard cupped his hands. “Naturally, His Majesty’s.”

“We’re here on His Majesty’s orders, to bring someone into the palace—why are you obstructing us?”

“The state has its laws, the family has its rules.” the guard said solemnly. “Until Consort Hua is found, this subject cannot let a single person from the Hua residence leave.”