The sunset clouds glowed red, making her complexion appear especially pure. A flash of surprise passed through her eyes, but she quickly composed herself, merely smiling faintly, “I hadn’t expected that.”

Di Nian understood her meaning and smiled self-mockingly, “Who could imagine I’m an orphan without knowing my background?”

Meng Tinghui remained silent. Hearing his tone, she felt a sense of kinship, but then she thought that although they were both without parents, his circumstances were incomparably better than hers.

Earlier, those female officials had said that Di Nian was deeply favored by the Emperor, was also a close confidant of the Crown Prince, and had deep connections with the late Duke of Wu…

But if he was an orphan, how could he be related to the Duke of Wu?

Her delicate eyebrows raised slightly, her gaze puzzled. Though she wanted to ask, she knew it wasn’t appropriate to do so.

Di Nian glanced at her sideways, “Lady Meng must be wondering why I, an orphan, can enjoy such vast imperial favor, while Lady Meng had to study diligently for ten years to achieve today’s modest official position?”

Meng Tinghui curved her lips, her expression noncommittal.

Di Nian smiled again, “I grew up in the old capital, Suiyang, from childhood. At the age of four, I was adopted. The person who raised me was Madam Qiao, who had been keeping watch over the late Duke of Wu’s tomb in the Western Park for many years. In the spring of the 18th year of Qiande, Northern Jian sent envoys to pay tribute. The Crown Prince represented the Emperor in welcoming the envoys to Suiyang. Later, he happened to meet me when he went to pay respects at the Western Park cemetery.”

Meng Tinghui listened carefully. Although she didn’t know the details of those past events, nor who this “Madam Qiao” was, she began to vaguely understand. She softly asked, “So you followed the Crown Prince back to the capital?”

He nodded, “I was sixteen that year. Having grown up playing with the guards in the Western Park, I was skilled in horsemanship and archery. The Crown Prince asked me if I wanted to be a man of great stature like the Duke of Wu. I said of course I did, and my mother said she had named me hoping I would never abandon the Duke of Wu’s loyalty to the emperor and patriotism!”

She nodded slightly, hearing his resolute tone as if this passion had been condensed in his chest for countless years, and she couldn’t help but be moved.

Di Nian paused briefly, then raised his head again, “Later, I followed the Crown Prince back to the capital and entered the palace to meet the Emperor and the Prince of Ping. The Emperor told me that in those years, the Duke of Wu was also an orphan without a father or mother, brought by the late Emperor from Chuzhou to Suiyang. Before long, he revealed his brilliance, fighting enemies and pacifying bandits, becoming a renowned general admired by the world. Although he ultimately sacrificed himself for the country, he enjoyed the praise of all under heaven…”

Before he could finish speaking, she let out a soft sigh.

The late Duke of Wu, Di Feng, was likely known to everyone in the world. Even after so many years, his name was still often mentioned by the elderly.

During these past few months, she had extensively read the histories and chronicles of previous dynasties, making her particularly sensitive to this name.

Unyielding integrity, unwavering loyalty to the emperor, serving the emperor for fifteen years, fighting countless battles, a lifetime of devotion to silver spear and iron sword, a name to be remembered for generations to come…

What kind of man must he have been to deserve so many people and so much ink repeatedly recounting his achievements and merits?

“…The Prince of Ping also said,” Di Nian’s voice called her back from her thoughts, “that the Duke of Wu never married in his lifetime and left no heirs. I was also an orphan, and by coincidence was brought back to the capital by the Crown Prince. This was probably heaven’s will. So they kept me in the Palace Front Guard to practice martial arts, with all standards and treatments the same as the other sons of meritorious nobles. Three and a half years ago, I was sent to the Divine Guard Army for experience.”

Meng Tinghui hadn’t expected him to so freely reveal his background. She felt a strange emotion in her heart but simply listened quietly to what he said without commenting further.

It seemed that during those years when he lived close to the Emperor and the Prince of Ping, his relationship with the Crown Prince was self-evident. This explained why he could be so bold and disrespectful toward Shen Zhili earlier, and why Shen Zhili dared to scold him publicly—it was surely because of years of close friendship that allowed such flamboyant behavior.

The horse curved its hooves and shook its mane, appearing quite impatient. The two walked slowly, talking as they went. By the time they could see the golden eaves of the side gate in the distance, the sky had already been stained with a layer of ink, and a thin moon had unknowingly hung over the tower.

Di Nian tugged at the reins, urging the horse toward the brightly lit area, smiling at her, “Lady Meng is different from me. Your current position in the Hanlin Academy is entirely the result of your efforts. Every woman who serves as an official in the court is a person of great learning and virtue, truly worthy of my admiration.”

Meng Tinghui felt somewhat embarrassed, “Commander Di’s words are too kind. I was just fortunate.”

Di Nian looked at her, “I returned to the capital yesterday. Last night, while drinking with Yan Zhi, he mentioned Lady Meng, saying that for the past few months, you have been compiling local chronicles of previous dynasties under Scholar Fang’s supervision. Those documents you submitted have been highly regarded by the Crown Prince. I believe your promotion is not far off.”

A spark seemed to flash in her mind, her ears buzzing, as if she had misheard his words. She eagerly asked, “What did Commander Di just say?”

He turned to look at her, his eyes bright, reflecting the faint light of nearby lanterns. People near Baojin Tower had already spotted the two of them and were hurriedly coming to greet them.

Her voice suddenly weakened, but her eyes gazed steadily at him: “You said the Crown Prince…”

Di Nian nodded, his gaze hesitant, as if wondering why she seemed unaware of this.

She lowered her head, both hands tightly gripping the saddle. The dim evening light concealed the dimples that appeared at the corners of her lips, but the yellowish glow of the lanterns illuminated her face, making it appear especially soft and beautiful.

…He had seen them, he had seen them!

Those things she had so painstakingly compiled and written—it turned out Fang Huai had indeed presented them all to him… Yet his face before her was like thin ice, making her truly believe he knew nothing and cared nothing about her small achievements in the Hanlin Academy.

Her mood suddenly brightened. As she was helped down from the horse, she said softly to Di Nian, “Thank you, Commander Di.”

Di Nian thought she was thanking him for escorting her out, so he smiled, “Lady Meng is too polite.” Little did he know that at this moment, she was merely thanking him for that casual remark.

Colorful lanterns shone brightly on the towers on both sides. From a distance came continuous sounds of laughter and horses neighing. The night wind blew through, chilling to the heart, yet no one felt cold.

After the grand archery ceremony, the capital grew colder with each passing day.

The first snow was late this year. It was not until mid-November that the imperial city and palace were covered with a layer of silver. The green glazed tiles on the eaves of the palaces appeared dim under the dazzling snow.

The Crown Prince’s palace was already filled with a chilly atmosphere, yet no one dared to light the fire in the warm pavilion. According to tradition from previous years, the Crown Prince would only allow his people to light the Eastern Palace’s warm pavilion after all pavilions and halls in the forbidden city had their fires lit and incense burners placed.

The long desk was ice-cold to the touch, with white paper and vermilion ink. The stack of memorials was half a foot thick.

A palace attendant knocked at the hall, softly reporting, “Your Highness, Scholar Fang from the Hanlin Academy has come to deliver the volumes.”

Ying Gua did not look up, only giving a low acknowledgment. His right hand held a brush dipped in ink, his gaze still on the memorial spread before him.

The hall door opened and closed, the cold wind carrying snow foam rushing in.

Fang Huai walked over, placed the items on the desk, and then stood to the side waiting.

Ying Gua put down his brush, took a volume, and quickly flipped through it as usual, then set it aside to review in detail during his leisure time at night.

Several volumes were flipped through without issue, but when he reached the last one, his long finger stopped on a certain page. After a moment, he pulled out several neatly folded thin pieces of paper from inside.

He unfolded the paper with a calm expression, immediately recognizing the graceful and familiar small script. His brows tightened involuntarily.

Given Meng Tinghui’s rank, she was not yet permitted to submit memorials on her own. Unexpectedly, she had thought of this method to write to him… But how did she know he would look at these?

He held the paper, shifting his gaze to Fang Huai standing at the side, and asked, “Have you already seen this?”

Fang Huai nodded, “This subject always reviews everything once before presenting it to Your Highness, so I have already seen it.”

His voice immediately grew colder, “Why include this together with the rest?”

Fang Huai remained silent, just standing firmly looking at the edge of the desk in front of him.

Ying Gua slowly lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the words written on these sheets of paper. His expression grew increasingly dark. After sitting upright for a long while, he finally crushed the sheets in his hand, picked up his brush again, dipped it in ink, and wrote several characters fiercely on the volume compiled by Meng Tinghui. Then he threw down the brush, rose from his desk, and walked out, saying as he went, “Take it back and have her rewrite it.”

The hall door was pushed open forcefully, clanging loudly.

Seeing him stride down the steps, Fang Huai finally relaxed his brow and stepped forward to collect the volumes on the desk. He saw that the ink on Meng Tinghui’s volume had been covered with vermilion to the point of illegibility, with four angry characters in red that were striking to the eye—

“Audacious presumptuous words.”