“Im——Imperial Father.” The little one swallowed.

“Will you put on that act in front of your Mother Empress again next time?” The man tweaked his small ear.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Xuan Yuncheng bowed his head, his small face a picture of dutiful contrition.

“Go on, then. Let Ye Chen take you to find the martial arts instructor.” Xuan Yanyu gave him a light pat on his bottom.

“Imperial Father.” The little one’s cheeks flushed slightly as he wrapped both arms around his father’s arm, pleading his case. “Your son can’t lift a sword yet. Can we wait — can we wait until your son can lift one before going to the instructor?”

“Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you need not worry — your sword is custom-made especially for you. You will be able to lift it,” Ye Chen said with a cheerful grin.

The little one squinted sideways at Ye Chen. The latter touched his nose and looked away.

“Tsk.” Xuan Yanyu reclined lazily against the daybed and flicked his son’s forehead. “Xuan Yuncheng, all that cleverness of yours — wouldn’t it be so much better spent on something worthwhile?”

The little one draped himself across his father’s chest, small hands clutching at his robes, shameless to the last. “Imperial Father, your son is sleepy — he doesn’t have the energy to go practice swords. Once your son has had a nap, he’ll go. All right?”

“No.” Xuan Yanyu grabbed him by the collar, flipped him with a neat, practiced motion, and tossed him directly into Ye’an’s arms. “You and Ye Chen follow the Crown Prince. If he acts up or tries to slack off, beat him — I won’t hold you accountable.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Ye’an, ignoring Xuan Yuncheng’s struggles, carried him out of the hall. Ye Chen hurried along after them, retreating from the bedchamber.

“Imperial Father……it’s so sunny outside……your son is going to turn into a black ball……”

“Imperial Father……your son has turned into a black ball……”

After their figures had disappeared from sight, two more cries from the little one drifted back into the hall on the wind, his voice strained to its limit.

Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow. “A black ball? So even worse than a snowball, then?”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty — this is dreadful.” A palace guard rushed in with an urgent report. “The guards from the General’s Manor have come to the palace to summon an imperial physician. They say the Fifth Princess has gone into early labor.”

Xuan Yanyu’s brow furrowed sharply. “Did she not just leave the palace? How could she go into early labor?”

“According to the guards, she was bumped into by a young woman on the street.”

The man turned his jade thumb ring between his fingers, his voice certain. “Have that woman brought to the Imperial Prison and interrogated. She did it deliberately.”

The street was not narrow. How could it be such a perfect coincidence — running straight into someone with child?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Go tell the imperial physicians: Xiao Ran and the child must come through this unharmed. Otherwise……”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.” Qiuci burst into the hall, tears streaming down her face. “The Xuanwang Consort suddenly feels very unwell — she’s curled up on the bed and won’t let this servant call for a physician. She says it’s normal……”

“Mm?” Before Qiuci could finish, the man who had been standing perfectly still launched himself out of the hall at a run.

The palace guard pressed his lips together. Otherwise what? How was he supposed to relay that to the imperial physicians??

——

In the inner bedchamber, Yan Yunning lay curled on her side in a tight ball, whimpering softly with the pain.

“Ningning.” The bedchamber door was flung open with great force. Xuan Yanyu saw Yan Yunning — forehead beaded with sweat, bundled into the brocade quilts and curled inward — and stumbled to the edge of the bed, his breathing suddenly labored and ragged. “Ningning, don’t leave me.”

“What?” Yan Yunning tried to pull her hand free from the man’s grip to press it against her warm lower abdomen — but Xuan Yanyu only held on tighter.

“Ningning, don’t……don’t leave me. I’m begging you.” He swallowed the dread rising in his throat, and his voice shook.

Yan Yunning let out a helpless sigh. “I’m not leaving you. Don’t worry. It’s only my monthly courses — a little discomfort, nothing more.”

“Truly?” The man gripped her hand and refused to let go.

“Truly. Xuan Xixi, don’t be frightened. I really won’t leave you again.” Yan Yunning sat up and opened her arms to him, her voice soft. “It’ll pass in a little while — don’t be afraid.”

Xuan Yanyu settled onto the bed and gathered her into his embrace, his large palm moving in slow, gentle circles over her lower abdomen. “Mm.”

“You can rest easy — as long as you don’t drive me away yourself, I will never leave you.” Yan Yunning leaned against his shoulder, drowsy and half-asleep.

“I won’t.” The man, alarmed, seized her hand and pressed it to his chest. “Ningning, you are here, within my heart. There is no possible world in which I would ever drive you away.”

“I know, Your Majesty.” Yan Yunning wrapped her arms around his waist, her heart flooding with a sweetness like warm honey.

“Sleep, then. I am right here beside you.” Xuan Yanyu drew the brocade quilt up over Yan Yunning.

“All right.” Yan Yunning closed her eyes. The warmth of his palm resting over her lower abdomen somehow made even the ache seem less sharp.

As evening drew near, Xuan Yanyu gently set down the sleeping Yan Yunning — her breathing soft and even — and rolled his slightly stiff wrist. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the rosy softness of her lips, then crept out of the inner bedchamber without a sound.

“Your Majesty, the young Crown Prince behaved reasonably well,” Ye’an, who had been waiting a good while, reported.

“Mm.” Xuan Yanyu rolled his neck to ease the tension and narrowed his eyes slightly. “And Xiao Ran — she’s out of danger?”

“Please be at ease, Your Majesty. She is out of danger. The Fifth Princess and the child are both a little weak, but the imperial physicians say that with proper rest and care, they will recover fully.”

“Boy or girl?” Xuan Yanyu asked.

“A girl, Your Majesty.” Ye’an smiled. “From what the reporting guard says, she has a soft pink-and-white little face — she’s sure to be a great beauty when she grows up.”

“Mm.” The corner of Xuan Yanyu’s mouth lifted into a faint smile. “Relay our imperial decree: grant the princess gold, silver, and bolts of fine silk. Provide a wet nurse and a resident physician. The child is hereby conferred the title of Commandery Princess.”

He paused, then added, “Go to the treasury and retrieve a pair of longevity locks to send along to the General’s Manor as well. I and Ningning will go to visit them both in a couple of days.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” Ye’an nodded and relayed the orders to the palace guards.

“To the Imperial Prison.” A flicker of killing intent passed through the man’s eyes, there and gone in an instant.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Ye’an fell into step behind Xuan Yanyu.

——

The Imperial Prison.

Xiao Ting was chained to a stone pillar. Her teal-blue robes were soaked through with blood. The pain made her teeth chatter, and she kept murmuring over and over, “I was wrong. I was wrong.”

“Salute His Majesty.”

“Salute His Majesty.”

The Minister of Justice and the prison guards bowed in respectful greeting.

“What has she confessed?” Xuan Yanyu’s slender fingers skimmed over a dagger, and he took up the long whip instead.

“As Your Majesty suspected — it was deliberate,” said the Minister of Justice.

“Oh?” The man gave the long whip a sharp crack. “Thwack.” A guard immediately clamped a hand over Xiao Ting’s mouth so her cries would not disturb Xuan Yanyu.

The Minister of Justice reported what had been extracted truthfully: “The cause concerns a young man called Qiuci. During an illness, Qiuci called out the Fifth Princess’s name in his delirium — and this young woman overheard it. Qiuci then rejected this young woman’s advances.”

“She bore a grudge against Her Royal Highness the Princess. That is what led to today’s incident — deliberately colliding with Her Royal Highness on the main street, causing the Princess to go into early labor.”

Another crack of the whip. Xuan Yanyu’s aura of power unfurled. His eyes curved into a lazy, languid smile, and he turned the dagger over in his hands. “How did she know that Xiao Ran would be on the main street today?”

“Your Majesty, this too the minister has asked. It is because this young woman knew the Fifth Princess had married the young General. The young General is not a particularly low-profile figure in the capital. She had made inquiries in advance, learned his appearance, and today happened to spot him by chance — which gave rise to her wicked scheme.”

“If something had happened to Xiao Ran and the child she carried — how would you have atoned for it?” The dagger in the man’s hand whipped outward.

“Mmm……” A thin, broken whimper escaped Xiao Ting’s throat.

She regretted it. The moment she struck the Fifth Princess, she had already regretted it……

Qiuci, why won’t you come and save her……

“Your Majesty — since the root cause also lies with the young man called Qiuci, should he be punished as well?” The Minister of Justice took the blood-stained whip from Xuan Yanyu’s hands.