On Mid-Autumn night, the sky was clear as water, the moon bright as a mirror.

Unlike the bustle of the Lantern Festival, Qingming, or Double Ninth Festival, each household had hung bright lanterns, with wealthier families hanging theirs higher.

The entire city was illuminated, appearing like crystal as far as the eye could see.

Shen Xihe had chosen an excellent position, offering a panoramic view of scenery within ten li.

Cui Jinbai and the others stood on a stone platform decorated with lanterns. People passed by around them, and they wore casual clothes, appearing as if they had simply stopped for a casual chat after a chance meeting. Though they lingered longer than usual, those around them were too captivated by the city’s brilliance to notice.

Shen Xihe rested her chin on her hand, watching. She had expected to see Hua Fuhai but instead saw a young man of similar height to the others.

This man wore the most ordinary style of the crossed-collar robe, his hair tied with a long band, his back turned to Shen Xihe.

That silhouette seemed to emerge from the darkness, wrapped in moonlight, standing tall and straight, emanating both nobility and generosity.

The previously languid Shen Xihe immediately sat up straight. Her cool eyes flickered slightly – she hadn’t been mistaken. When Cui Jinbai and the other two saw him, they had moved to bow, but he had stopped them with a lift of his folding fan.

Shen Xihe quickly stood and walked to the tower’s window, her gaze fixed in that direction, even changing positions trying to see this person’s face clearly. Unfortunately, she could only make out half his profile at most.

“Well, well, who are you looking for?” Shen Yun’an, who had been admiring the scenery outside, was startled when Shen Xihe suddenly stood up.

He followed Shen Xihe back and forth, but there were too many people and objects outside to determine exactly what she was watching.

The perceptive Zhao Zhenghao seemed to sense they were being watched. His sharp, hawk-like eyes quickly scanned around, immediately landing on Shen Xihe’s location.

“How perceptive,” said Shen Yun’an, who didn’t know what Shen Xihe was looking at, but suddenly locked eyes with Zhao Zhenghao.

“He is His Majesty’s Imperial Censor,” Shen Xihe met Zhao Zhenghao’s gaze without flinching and meaningfully shifted her gaze to the robed young man who had his back to her.

Zhao Zhenghao withdrew his gaze first, moving his lips to say something, causing Cui Jinbai and Guo Daoyi to look up in their direction.

Xiao Huayong had sensed this gaze even earlier than Zhao Zhenghao but hadn’t paid it much mind. He was in disguise today, and even if His Majesty saw several people meeting briefly on a busy street while off duty, he wouldn’t be suspicious.

Until Zhao Zhenghao said: “It’s Princess Zhaoning.”

Xiao Huayong raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at his lips, and waved to them: “Note it down, then disperse.”

The three barely noticeably nodded and each went in different directions, leaving only Xiao Huayong standing in place. After they had gone far, he turned around with his hands behind his back, meeting Shen Xihe’s gaze across the distance.

That look penetrated through the crystal-like lantern light, crossed over the rising and falling noise, permeated the moonlit dusk, and met her gaze across the space. His eyes gathered silver light, concealing brilliance, as deep as an abyss or ocean.

A completely unfamiliar face, unremarkable in appearance, with a smile playing at his lips, expressing an indescribable refined charm.

“It’s him,” Shen Xihe said softly.

“Who is it?” Shen Yun’an scrutinized this man who appeared ordinary yet gave an extraordinary impression.

“I don’t know,” Shen Xihe shook her head slightly.

She had taken the opportunity to observe Emperor Youning’s princes at Ye Wantang’s birthday banquet, seeing all the princes over sixteen who could freely leave the palace. Yet she hadn’t found these eyes on any of them.

How could such special, such memorable, such unforgettable eyes be hidden?

Could he perhaps not be a prince at all, but rather an advisor to one of the princes?

Xiao Huayong made a distant saluting gesture toward Shen Xihe, then, holding his unopened folding fan, tapped it casually against his palm as he leisurely departed.

Shen Xihe watched until he disappeared into the sea of people before withdrawing her gaze to meet Shen Yun’an’s expectant look for an explanation. She said: “In Luoyang, I encountered…”

She held nothing back from Shen Yun’an.

After hearing everything, Shen Yun’an’s main concern was: “The Bone-Shedding Pill, is it truly effective?”

“I’ve already started taking it, and it is indeed working. Recently my energy has been improving. Previously I couldn’t walk for even a quarter hour without becoming breathless. Now I can walk for a quarter hour,” Shen Xihe softly reassured Shen Yun’an.

Shen Yun’an’s eyes brightened, having not yet seen Shen Xihe take the Bone-Shedding Pill: “That’s wonderful, this trip to the capital was worth it.”

The main reason for Shen Xihe’s journey to the capital was that her condition had become seemingly hopeless. Even without Lingrong’s betrayal, Shen Xihe might not have made it to the capital. Now that she had obtained this miraculous medicine, giving her hope for recovery, how could Shen Yun’an not be overjoyed?

He wanted to immediately return home and write a letter to his father – Shen Xihe’s illness had been their constant worry these years.

After his excitement subsided, Shen Yun’an thought of other matters: “If this is the case, the capital’s waters run deeper than we imagined.”

Emperor Tianyou’s princes were all cunning, and now another person had emerged lurking in the shadows, making it truly impossible to guard against everyone.

“I promised him the Northwestern market,” Shen Xihe hadn’t yet told this to Shen Yueshan and his son, since they hadn’t obtained the Snow Lotus yet. “We just need to trade normally with him. Though the Northwest has been recovering these past two years, the common people are still not well-off, due to insufficient trade. Father has been unable to find trustworthy partners.”

“Can he be trusted?” Shen Yun’an asked.

“That day when I obtained the Bone-Shedding Pill, I used a trick. Though the pill was also very important to him, he was willing to accept defeat. He never tried to secretly steal it back, which shows he is a man who values his word.” This was why Shen Xihe let him into the Northwestern market.

Since it was for the Northwest’s development, other matters were secondary – keeping one’s word was paramount.

“Good, I’ll inform Father. You can just let him send his people,” Shen Yun’an trusted his sister’s judgment. “I can keep an eye on him as well.”

“His ambitions don’t lie in the Northwest,” Shen Xihe felt Shen Yun’an’s attempt to catch his tail and reveal his true identity would be unlikely to succeed.

“How can you tell?”

“Look at his broad connections – His Majesty’s personal Imperial Censor, His Majesty’s trusted Junior Lord of the Court of Judicature, a merchant renowned throughout the land, a motivated examination candidate… If his ambitions were in the Northwest, he would surely have arranged people there,” Shen Xihe analyzed for Shen Yun’an. “But he had no awareness of the defense map incident, which shows his reach hasn’t extended to the Northwest.”

She was certain that if this person had known about the defense map earlier, he would have informed her since he was counting on Hua Fuhai making money in the Northwest.

If something happened to the Shen family and someone else took control of the Northwest, it would be a loss for him as well.

As Shen Yun’an was nodding, there was a knock at the door. The doctor stood there with a young lady carrying a gauze lantern.