The night grew deeper, and the palace lamp beside the couch, its candle burning to the end, grew dimmer.

Gu Yi couldn’t sleep. She turned her head to look at Xiaoyan and found him watching her.

“Your Majesty had already retired for the night, hadn’t you?”

Xiaoyan laughed, “I had gone to bed, but couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come see you.”

Gu Yi’s lips curved upward, “Your Majesty looks exceptionally handsome tonight!”

After she spoke, she saw a rare expression of doubt flash across his face as he asked her, “Really?”

Why would Xiao Gouzi be so lacking in confidence?

Gu Yi immediately affirmed, “Of course it’s true. Your Majesty is naturally peerless in beauty to this concubine.” As a male protagonist, you’re absolutely the best!

Xiaoyan laughed softly, his fingertips gently caressing her right cheek, “Then… why do I sometimes feel that while you’re looking at me, you’re thinking of someone else?”

Gu Yi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat—Xiaoyan’s perceptiveness left nowhere to hide. She blinked, yet a sense of amusement unexpectedly arose in her heart.

Being jealous of oneself was quite rare.

She gazed at him eagerly, speaking with sincerity, “This concubine has only ever thought of Your Majesty alone. This concubine is willing to swear to heaven! I have no divided heart!”

Xiaoyan pressed down the hand she had raised, his eyes downcast, smiling as if mocking himself, “I believe you.”

Gu Yi felt slightly guilty and continued, “Your Majesty has always been the best in the world in this concubine’s heart. Your Majesty’s character is resilient, your decisions in war decisive. The world will surely become peaceful under your rule, and Your Majesty will certainly become an enlightened ruler of this generation!”

But this wasn’t what Xiaoyan wanted to hear at the moment. “What else?”

Gu Yi paused, seeing his dark brown peach blossom eyes fixed intently on her. Her face was reflected in his eyes, and she felt somewhat at a loss. Yet, she could see the expectation in his eyes.

“This concubine knows all the kindness Your Majesty has shown…”

Xiaoyan reached out and drew her into his arms, “If that’s the case, why were you so sad today? Is a mere Tao Jia worth such sorrow?”

Gu Yi, in his embrace, stiffened, her voice muffled, “Tao Jia is old enough to leave the palace. This concubine doesn’t wish to keep her here any longer, needlessly delaying her marriage prospects.”

Xiaoyan tightened his arms somewhat, “You don’t trust me? You won’t tell the truth?”

“This concubine naturally trusts Your Majesty,” Gu Yi laughed dryly.

Xiaoyan felt that Gu Yi was like a clam that couldn’t be pried open, so he stopped beating around the bush, “When did you discover that Tao Jia was Xiao Heng’s former servant?”

“When did Your Majesty find out?”

“When you didn’t bring Tao Jia on the southern tour, I knew…”

It wasn’t difficult to investigate Tao Jia’s past in the Eastern Palace, but he hadn’t expected Qi Shu to have schemed during the palace selection to place Tao Jia by Gu Yi’s side. Perhaps when Qi Shu made this move, she hadn’t anticipated that Gu Yi would truly come to his side.

So he had known all along.

Gu Yi buried her face in the crook of his neck as Xiaoyan asked further, “You sent Tao Jia out of the palace so quickly because… You feared I would kill her?”

Gu Yi closed her eyes and remained silent.

Xiaoyan sighed, “If you don’t wish it, I won’t kill her. Since she has already left the palace, there’s no need to grieve for her.”

Though Gu Yi was clever, her heart was too soft. People with soft hearts in the palace often suffered heartache, and in more severe cases, lost their lives.

But if Gu Yi weren’t soft-hearted, she wouldn’t be Gu Yi. He truly didn’t want her to expend her energy on the intrigue and scheming within the palace anymore.

Gu Yi continued to bury her head like an ostrich, her cheek pressed against his warm neck, feeling his hand stroke her hair and down her spine, seemingly comforting her silently.

She heard Xiaoyan softly ask beside her ear, “Will you have a child with me?”

Gu Yi’s hands suddenly tightened around his waist as she suppressed the tumultuous feelings in her chest, unable to lift her head or utter a single word.

Xiaoyan’s tone grew softer as he asked again, “Will you?”

I don’t want to, but I don’t want to leave you all alone anymore…

Gu Yi opened her mouth, her throat constricted, her eyes both sour and hot as she held back her emotions.

“I… I will treat you well…” he said, almost pleadingly.

Gu Yi took several deep breaths and waited a moment before raising her head and asking in a steady tone, “This concubine wishes to ask Your Majesty, does Your Majesty prefer the magnificent splendor of brief fireworks, or the enduring flow of a small, continuous stream?”

Her eyes gazed at him unwaveringly, her almond eyes with pupils as dark as ink remained motionless, her face slightly flushed, her breathing somewhat rapid.

Xiaoyan saw no tears on her face, yet felt inexplicably alarmed. At this moment, Gu Yi’s whole demeanor was like a pot of boiling water, heated to the point of scalding, the water about to overflow but not yet spilling.

“What’s wrong? Why do you ask this?”

Gu Yi stubbornly fixed her gaze on his eyes, “I just want to know. Tell me.”

Xiaoyan had entered the military camp at sixteen, and on the battlefield, fireworks served as signals, commanding in all directions.

So he answered, “Naturally, I prefer the magnificent and solemn spectacle of fireworks.”

“Good.”

Having said this, Gu Yi leaned forward and kissed him fiercely.

Her lips and tongue were scalding, the kiss intensely passionate. Xiaoyan’s mind blurred momentarily, and he found himself pressed beneath her legs. Looking up, he saw Gu Yi looming over him, removing her middle garment, then roughly undoing his clothes.

Xiaoyan: …

The night was still long.

*

The next day, when Gu Yi woke up, her waist ached, her back hurt, and her legs cramped. She turned over and took quite a while to recover.

One shouldn’t be too impulsive.

The palace servants waiting outside heard movement and filed in.

After Gu Yi finished bathing and emerged from behind the screen, the bedchamber had already been restored to its original state.

She sat upright before the mirror, combed her hair, and hesitated for quite some time, but didn’t open the jewel box on her dressing table.

The midday sun shone on the red walls as Eunuch Gao, carrying memorials sent from the front hall, walked along a small patch of shadow along the wall. The weather was getting hotter.

When he entered the Tianlu Pavilion, he saw that the Emperor wasn’t writing but seemed lost in thought.

Eunuch Gao secretly smiled, thinking the Emperor was in a good mood today! He had noticed it during the morning court—even when officials presented memorials, the Emperor, though seated on the royal dais, had repeatedly drifted into distraction.

Eunuch Gao silently placed the memorials on a nearby cabinet and was about to turn and leave when the Emperor called him back.

“Go to the Design Bureau and fetch some portfolios.”

Eunuch Gao asked with a smile, “What kind of designs and styles would Your Majesty like to see? Embroidered illustrations?” His eyes shifted, “Or auspicious garments?”

The Emperor glanced at him, “Find some old-style embroidered illustrations, lively ones, childlike portraits.”

Eunuch Gao forcibly suppressed the broad smile on his face and bowed respectfully, “This old servant will see to it immediately!”

Heavens above!

Eunuch Gao walked quickly out of the Tianlu Pavilion with an excited heart. It was too early for this matter to be revealed; he must handle it discreetly and must not spread the news.

He had barely walked a few steps when he saw a palace maid in blue robes approaching. Looking closely, he realized it was Yu Hu from Consort Shu’s Caiwei Palace.

This was unusual.

Eunuch Gao halted his steps as Yu Hu curtseyed, “Good day, Eunuch Gao. Her Highness has sent this servant to convey a message. She says a banquet has been prepared for tonight and requests His Majesty’s presence.”

This was even more unusual.

Eunuch Gao nodded impassively, “I understand. I will certainly relay Her Highness’s message. You may return first.”

After Yu Hu had gone far enough, Eunuch Gao first attended to what he considered the most important matter, then returned to the Tianlu Pavilion half an hour later to report Consort Shu’s banquet invitation to the Emperor.

Qi Shu.

Xiaoyan smiled, “Very well.” He had intended to seek her out anyway.

Eunuch Gao was surprised, vaguely sensing that this was no ordinary matter.

“This old servant will arrange to inform Consort Shu in advance.”

As soon as the palace servants at Caiwei Palace heard the announcement, they became busy—preparing food, arranging lamps, burning incense—all striving to be meticulous and thorough.

Yu Hu, having observed for several years, finally saw the clouds part to reveal the moon, smiled broadly as she inserted hairpins in Consort Shu’s hair, “Your Highness has finally come to understand. Not seeing the Emperor is not a solution. Your Highness is so beautiful, from a good family, and known for your scholarship. Looking around the palace, who can compare to Your Highness? Tonight at the banquet, Your Highness should converse well with His Majesty. If this had been done earlier, how could there be a Consort Zhao of Jianjia Palace?”

Qi Shu looked at her heavily made-up self in the bronze mirror, feeling nothing but disgust.

“Enough, no more adornments,” she waved her hand.

With everything prepared, the palace servants all waited eagerly.

But it wasn’t until well past the hour of Xu that the Emperor finally arrived at Caiwei Palace.

Consort Shu walked to the hall entrance and curtseyed, “Greetings to Your Majesty.”

Xiaoyan’s gaze swept over her face, “My beloved consort, you may rise.”

Consort Shu smiled faintly, “Thank you, Your Majesty,” before raising her head to look at the emperor before her.

Xiaoyan wore a black round-collared narrow-sleeved yellow robe with a golden dragon coiled across the chest, the dragon image solemn and imposing, and on his head, a black gauze winged good-fortune crown.

His face vaguely resembled someone familiar, yet he was not that person.

Xiao Heng had stood like an elegant orchid or jade tree, his smile like the bright moon entering one’s embrace, like a modest gentleman, gentle as jade.

But Xiaoyan, having spent a long time in the military, though his features bore some resemblance, had sharp eyes and an aura of severity and killing intent.

Qi Shu’s gaze fell on the scar at his temple, and anger surged again in her heart.

Xiaoyan observed her expression and directly entered the hall, lifting his robe to sit down.

Qi Shu turned around, smiled slightly, and said, “Tonight’s banquet is set in the courtyard. Your Majesty, please come with this concubine.”

“Beloved consort, please sit. It’s been a while since we’ve met; I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”

Qi Shu sat down.

“Tomorrow, you should request to leave the palace.”

Qi Shu immediately looked at Xiaoyan, a flash in her eyes, then suddenly smiled, “What jest is Your Majesty making? You’ve frightened this concubine.”

Xiaoyan picked up the teacup on the table, lowered his brows to examine it closely—the celadon glaze was smooth, the water shimmering—but he didn’t drink. “Qi Shu, don’t you want to leave the palace? It’s been two years. Aren’t you tired of hating me so much?”

The tacit understanding between them was thus shattered.

Qi Shu laughed softly, “Is Your Majesty becoming anxious? Has this concubine guessed correctly this time? Has Your Majesty finally grown afraid?”

Xiaoyan put down the teacup and carefully studied Qi Shu’s face. The malice in her eyes seemed no longer containable.

“And you? The way you are now, you are no longer the Qi Shu of years past. Leaving the palace might be your only way to find release.”

“Release?” Qi Shu shook her head, “This concubine doesn’t want release… Since the Qi family sent this concubine into the palace, I will not request to leave.”

“Qi Shu, whether it was the Qi family who sent you into the palace or you who entered of your own accord, you know perfectly well.”

Qi Shu was about to speak, but Xiaoyan continued, “This act of enduring hardship with such patience—who is it for? Both you and I understand.” Xiaoyan laughed, his eyes darkening, “But have you considered whether this web you’ve woven for yourself might be… too much of a case of… unrequited sentiment?”

His words were like knives, each cutting into the most painful part of Qi Shu’s heart, the part she least wanted to mention. How could she not know that no matter how good Xiao Heng was, even though he had promised to make her his crown princess, Xiao Heng did not love her.

Hatred surged in Qi Shu’s heart, no longer suppressible.

She laughed loudly several times, then said coldly, “If I don’t leave the palace, can you kill me? Even if you kill me, can’t the Qi family send in another person? Xiao Yan, whatever you want, the Qi family will deny you. The throne, the imperial position—in the end, you’re just a pitiful creature walking on thin ice!”