In the quiet night, the long Imperial Street was devoid of any human voices.

The dim yellow light leaking from beneath the high eaves of the Hanlin Academy’s vermilion walls not far away spilled over obliquely, faintly illuminating the face of the man before her.

His face was as cold as thousand-year-old ice, his heterochromatic eyes filled with anger.

The night breeze passed lightly, lifting her crimson blouse and skirt, allowing the bone-chilling cold to gradually creep up.

She couldn’t help but shiver.

“Your High—”

As soon as she began to speak, her chin was firmly seized and lifted by him.

She nearly bit her tongue, her lips slightly parted as she looked at the face just inches away. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe. Only when she saw white vapor slowly escaping from his lips did she suddenly come back to her senses, tightening her grip on the bookcase in her hand.

She knew he would be angry.

Or rather, his fury had never subsided from the beginning.

Regarding Shen Zhishu’s impeachment of Wang Qi, he must have been supportive in his heart, yet due to Gu Qin, he was unable to dismiss Wang Qi and instead only recalled him to the capital. He must have been greatly displeased already. Now with the Hanlin Academy openly showing their opposition, and him being unable to vent his anger because of her, how could he possibly swallow this grievance?

For all her past acts of insubordination, he had never truly been angry with her. But this time, she had obstructed his path in court politics, and he would not let her off so easily.

Moreover, what she had written in that memorial…

“Do you know what you wrote?” he began, his tone extremely stiff and cold. “Gu Qin is a senior official who has served two reigns, pouring out his heart and blood for the country and the people. Even if his political views differ from mine, how could he commit such an act of defying the imperial will?”

She lowered her eyes, avoiding his angry expression, and said only: “What does Your Highness intend to do with me here? Aren’t you afraid someone might see?”

“Meng Tinghui.”

He increased the pressure on his hand, and her chin suddenly hurt. She looked up to see his increasingly displeased expression.

She bit her lip slightly.

She knew he disliked excessive talk, but every time he called her name, it made her tremble from the core of her heart. Those three syllables coming from his mouth, even filled with anger, could stir up a hundred rippling emotions within her.

She said word by word: “What I wrote in the memorial was all truth. If Your Highness wishes to believe it, then believe it. If not, then punish me. I have nothing more to say.”

He abruptly released his hand.

Vertical red lines, twenty-four characters per line, neat and flowing in a memorial requesting punishment. Even though he later showed it to everyone before burning it, who could have seen the tiny characters she had written on the bottom line?

Last night, she indeed stayed at the academy.

Scholars Zhang Jin and Liu Gang received a verbal order from Minister Gu delivered by messengers from the Inner Court Hall, locking the academy to draft the edict.

In just this short sentence, she had implicated three high officials, with her pointed accusation directed at the current Prime Minister, Minister of the Left, and Concurrent Attendant of the Gate, Gu Qin. How could he not understand her meaning?

He could be angered by the draft edict from the Hanlin Academy, but he refused to suspect a loyal minister based on one statement from her, the truth of which was uncertain.

Previously, when the officials of the Two Offices and Three Departments jointly deliberated on Wang Qi’s case, although Gu Qin had many objections, it was only because Shen Zhishu had not presented conclusive evidence regarding the Qingzhou garrison’s monthly silver allowance. It was certainly not due to personal motives to protect Wang Qi alone.

He had no way to verify from other members of the Hanlin Academy whether what she said was true or false, let alone decide whether he should believe her or not.

He couldn’t help but recall what she had said to him that night.

She wanted to gain the trust of the senior officials of the Hanlin Academy while also remaining loyal to him, hence all these actions—but could he truly believe those words of hers?

How did he know she wasn’t acting out of self-interest, trying to please both sides, playing both roles, using his trust to put on a show in front of the Hanlin officials, and using the internal affairs of the Hanlin Academy to smear loyal court officials in front of him?

He wouldn’t be foolish enough to be manipulated by a woman.

Yet never before had a woman caused him such anger as now, even making him hesitant and uncertain because of her.

Though his actions were as sharp as a sword, his demeanor was as steady as the vast wilderness.

Since childhood, he had followed his royal father’s teachings, and for many years in court politics, he had listened to all but decided alone. When had he ever been thrown into such confusion and indecision by someone?

He had known from the beginning that she was not to be underestimated.

But he had never anticipated that she would repeatedly make him see her differently—yet he could not see through her. What was truly in her heart—loyalty or…

“Your Highness.”

She called him softly, her chin slightly raised, her eyes glistening with moisture.

A gracefully calm appearance, her face completely devoid of the stubbornness and resilience she had shown while kneeling in the Imperial Edict Hall.

He frowned, his mind suddenly flashing to her provocative manner on his desk in the Eastern Palace’s inner hall, and recalling her fragile expression when she was injured during archery practice in the Northern Garden, lying on his tall warhorse.

She truly was unfathomable to him.

This face so young and pure, these eyes so clear and bright… When she looked at him, it was as if she was wholeheartedly gazing at him, thinking of nothing else, just looking at him, content.

A sudden gust of wind arose, stirring the snow on the treetops, which fell with a rustling sound, covering both his and her shoulders, disrupting his thoughts.

She sniffled lightly and said softly: “Your Highness, I’m very cold.”

He remained silent.

She gently stamped her feet and said again: “Your Highness, I haven’t eaten anything since the afternoon.”

He remained silent as if he hadn’t heard her speaking.

The tip of her nose was red, and the moisture in her eyes seemed frozen as well. Her gaze didn’t shift for a long while as she continued to look at him, saying: “Your Highness if I continue to stand here, I will faint from hunger and cold.”

His brow twitched slightly. He heard how pitiful her voice sounded, but he didn’t believe her words.

Heaven knew what kind of tricks she wanted to play.

She looked at him, her eyelashes suddenly fluttering before she lowered her gaze with a soft sigh. Her legs bent, and her body suddenly fell toward him.

He couldn’t react in time and instinctively reached out to catch her, preventing her from hurting herself in the fall.

Unexpectedly, she tilted her head, accurately burying her small face in the thick robe at his chest, her eyes tightly closed, not moving even a fraction more.