The palace servants of Caiwei Palace had already been summoned outside by Eunuch Gao, but Concubine Su’s shrill voice still drifted faintly through the flower-patterned windows.

Everyone stood outside the hall, heads lowered and eyes downcast, not daring to breathe heavily.

Eunuch Gao frowned and waved his hand, and the group moved to the corridor outside the side hall.

He turned to look at the tightly closed palace doors, only now noticing several pots of snapdragons carefully arranged by the palace servants. The flower buds were half-closed, red and orange intermingled, appearing indescribably pitiful in the lamplight.

Inside Caiwei Palace, silence fell once again.

Xiaoyan saw Qi Shu’s powdered face turning red with anger and fear. He spoke leisurely: “I spare your life out of respect for the Qi family. Furthermore, since entering the palace, you haven’t been entirely useless. The Liu family hates you, the Wang family fears you, and you’ve wielded power in the harem, openly and secretly helping me identify many of Xiao Heng’s former people… Although Imperial Physician Gao Xiyuan never confessed to your involvement before his death… Unfortunately, Imperial Concubine Liu survived, and for Prince Shen’s sake, she’s willing to confront you in court. Do you think the Qi family will still protect you then?”

Qi Shu’s breathing faltered. She angrily retorted: “You spared Prince Shen’s life to gain a reputation for benevolence among the scholars, but people don’t know you’re still suspicious and calculating, secretly manipulating people behind the scenes. You—”

Xiaoyan interrupted her: “Whether I am benevolent or not, why should I need others to judge? I am the emperor, and everyone else is my subject. Qi Shu… you’ve been trapped in this situation for so long that you’ve lost your cleverness.”

Provoked by the pity in his eyes, Qi Shu raised her hand and smashed the celadon teacup on the table. With several loud crashes, fragments were scattered across the floor.

Xiaoyan’s face remained calm and indifferent, as if coldly observing this farce from the sidelines.

“Qi Weiye has already resigned from his position, and his troops won’t be passed to Qi Chuang. Qi Huo can no longer hold office either. Qi Ruotang is over fifty years old, and his other two sons have been spoiled for years, becoming useless wastrels.” He raised his eyes to look at Qi Shu. “The Qi family’s defeat is already settled. This year or next, they may still move like a centipede that continues to writhe after death, but in the long run—five years, ten years—how can the Qi clan continue to exist?”

Qi Shu sat down dejectedly, suddenly remembering what Qi Ruotang had told her before she entered the palace.

Xiaoyan has nothing to lose, moving against the wind—how can he not be arrogant? You should avoid his sharp edge; only with softness can you overcome strength.

Qi Shu asked herself honestly: she couldn’t do it.

Xiaoyan stood up. Seeing Qi Shu’s furious gaze fixed on him, he laughed softly. “Qi Shu, if you request to leave the palace tomorrow, you can still maintain some dignity.”

Qi Shu hated him to the extreme. All she could see was the mess around her. On impulse, she suddenly picked up a sharp piece of broken porcelain from the ground and lunged toward Xiaoyan.

Xiaoyan merely frowned slightly and stepped aside to avoid her.

He called out: “Someone come! The Concubine Su is tired.”

In just a moment, two imperial attendants pushed open the door and entered, flanking the disheveled Concubine Su on either side.

Qi Shu was extremely unwilling. She laughed venomously: “Take care, Your Majesty.”

“You take care as well, Concubine Su,” Xiaoyan said, then strode out of Caiwei Palace.

In the courtyard, the night breeze was gentle and the flowers still bloomed in profusion, but the delicacies arranged on the table had already gone cold.

*

Early the next morning, Gu Yi heard palace servants talking about how Concubine Su, following the example of the Imperial Concubines, had requested to leave the palace for a Taoist temple.

So quickly…

According to the plot, Qi Shu was supposed to leave the palace after the red-jeweled ebony hairpin was exposed, but now the hairpin was in her hands. Why had Xiaoyan made Qi Shu leave the palace?

Was it because of the Tao Jia incident?

Gu Yi paced anxiously around her bedchamber.

Had Qi Shu gone to provoke the female protagonist?

Without the wooden hairpin, did the female protagonist have other backup plans?

Or had this plot point simply been glossed over because the ending was already determined?

Gu Yi glanced at the treasure box on her dressing table, undecided. The red-jeweled ebony hairpin was truly a hot potato in her hands.

She couldn’t carelessly throw away such a crucial prop.

Although she had resolved to make the most of her limited time, she still wanted to extend that time as much as possible!

Duo Luo brought in the meal and called to her: “My Lady, it’s time to eat.”

Gu Yi responded with a sound, temporarily putting the wooden hairpin out of her mind.

Duo Luo placed a piece of pickled radish in her bowl and smiled: “The chef in the kitchen said they received word that the small fat lambs usually sent in winter will arrive next month. The chef said that although eating lamb might cause some heat in the body during this season, a roasted lamb leg with melon soup would still be fine.”

That’s right, it was almost May.

Gu Yi’s hand paused as she was scooping porridge, her heart suddenly filled with anticipation. The end of the story didn’t seem so far away anymore.

“Excellent,” she said with a smile. “After the meal, let’s go practice at the Imperial Garden racetrack. The spring hunt is approaching.”

“My Lady is right! Riding on the slopes of the hunting grounds will be much more exhilarating than in the Imperial Garden. We can even play polo!”

No, thank you.

The pain of polo spread through Gu Yi’s heart once again.

At exactly 9 a.m.

Gu Yi changed into riding clothes and went to ride horses in the Imperial Garden.

Shortly after she left, several shadow guards silently entered Heluo Palace under imperial orders to search for any remaining Ji Mother Beads, which were highly poisonous and needed to be thoroughly investigated.

The Emperor had ordered them to act in secret, without disturbing Concubine Rou, so they had waited for a long time until she left her chambers that morning.

They first searched Tao Jia’s original quarters but found nothing. They then checked the servants’ quarters, still finding no trace of the Ji Mother Beads.

Few people had seen the Ji Mother Beads; the shadow guards only knew they were looking for medicine pills.

Concubine Rou’s bedchamber was the last place they searched.

The shadow guards held their breath and carefully searched, returning everything to its original position afterward, fearing that Concubine Rou might notice.

One shadow guard glanced at the three-tiered red lacquered treasure box with gold-painted floral patterns on the dressing table.

He hesitated for a moment before gently pulling open the first layer, seeing it full of hairpins and rings. Not daring to look further, he closed it again.

He pulled open the second layer and saw a carved ebony box. Opening it, he found a pair of hairpins. He averted his eyes, closed the box, and put it back.

As he opened the last layer, he saw it was full of pearl ornaments. He was about to close it when, as he slowly pushed it back, he heard a faint “click” against the wall of the box.

He quickly pulled it open, and a white porcelain bottle with a slender neck rolled out from among the pearl ornaments.

The shadow guard removed the bottle cap and saw black pills inside.

The guards exchanged glances, and at a slight nod from their leader, he tucked the porcelain bottle into his clothes and silently left the bedchamber, hurrying to Tianlu Pavilion to report.

The Emperor looked at the shadow guard kneeling below the steps, his heart somewhat calmed.

Last night, Qi Shu’s final words had made him suspicious. The Ji Mother Beads prepared by Gao Xiyuan should all have been in Qi Shu’s hands, but he didn’t know if she had given them all to the gray-robed men who had abducted Imperial Concubine Liu, or if she had destroyed them.

But judging from her expression last night, Xiaoyan feared she might have left some with someone else.

Someone like Tao Jia.

This thought alarmed him, so he ordered the shadow guards to search Heluo Palace.

“How is it?” he asked.

The shadow guard on the right took the white porcelain bottle from his clothes, knelt, and presented it with both hands. “There were no abnormalities elsewhere, only this bottle still containing several pills, hidden in the treasure box in the bedchamber.”

Xiaoyan stared at the white porcelain bottle, quickly descended the jade steps, took it, and opened it, immediately smelling a familiar bitter scent.

“Was it found in the treasure box in the bedchamber?”

The shadow guard’s heart skipped a beat at the question. Not daring to look up, his eyes fixed on the edge of the imperial yellow robe, he answered in detail: “Your servant indeed found this bottle in the bottom layer of the treasure box.”

Xiaoyan poured the black pills, the size of beans, into his palm. These pills had been personally prepared by Chief Physician Hu of the Imperial Medical Institute and given to him before the southern tour.

Eleven remained.

This was truly a self-spun cocoon of trouble.

Xiaoyan’s throat moved slightly, feeling only bitterness.

The remaining clarity in his mind reminded him that perhaps Gu Yi kept these pills without knowing their effect, or perhaps she hadn’t used them again.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince himself of the former—Gu Yi wasn’t stupid; she could guess the purpose of these pills.

As for the latter, at this moment, he had no confidence at all.

Xiaoyan clenched his fist, resisting the urge to crush the pills, and put them all back in the porcelain bottle.

He heard himself slowly say: “These pills are not Ji Mother Beads. Return the porcelain bottle to its original place.”

“Yes.” The shadow guard reached out to take it, but the Emperor held on.

He was about to look up more carefully when he felt the cool porcelain bottle fall back into his palm.

“Withdraw.”

The shadow guard felt a breeze as the Emperor returned to the royal platform.

“Your servant takes leave.”

When everyone had gone, Xiaoyan picked up his vermilion brush to review memorials again, but his eyes caught sight of an album to the side that Eunuch Gao had delivered earlier.

He had already looked through it several times.

Eunuch Gao had carried out his task meticulously.

The album contained children’s clothing and hairstyles for both boys and girls, as well as sample designs: boys holding fish, girls holding the moon.

Xiaoyan could no longer contain himself and swept the album to the floor with his sleeve.

Ridiculous.

He was truly ridiculous.

At exactly 5 p.m.

Having ridden horses today, Gu Yi took an early bath and changed into fragrant clothes that had been perfumed, feeling refreshed in both body and mind.

While waiting for her meal, she took out the collection of “Wind and Cloud Monk” stories that Concubine Qi had sent her long ago and savored them.

Even on a second reading, they were still breathtaking.

As she sat in her chair, deeply engrossed in reading, she felt a movement of air behind her.

She turned around and saw Xiaoyan standing silently behind her chair, expressionlessly watching her. She had no idea how long he had been there.

Gu Yi threw the book on the table and stood up: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Xiaoyan’s gaze, showing no emotion, looked her up and down.

Gu Yi’s heart skipped a beat. This long-forgotten feeling made her keenly aware that something was wrong.

She instinctively looked behind him, trying to see Eunuch Gao’s expression for some hint.

But at this crucial moment, Eunuch Gao, who never missed such occasions, was absent.

Gu Yi returned her gaze to carefully examine Xiaoyan’s eyes and saw there was truly no joy in them.

She swallowed and smiled slightly: “Your Majesty, did you come alone today? Have you eaten? Would you like some tea?”

Brother, please, give me a hint!

But he avoided her gaze, his eyes falling on her loose hair. He reached out to twirl a strand of her hair between his fingers.

“It’s still damp. Let me dry your hair for you.”

Gu Yi was shocked.

Brother, can we have some transition here?

“Your Majesty, please wait. Let me get a towel.”

She quickly turned and grabbed a brocade towel from beside the bathtub behind the screen and handed it to Xiaoyan.

“Sit down,” he said.

Gu Yi obediently sat down, and Xiaoyan stood behind her chair, carefully drying her hair. His movements could truly be described as gentle.

But Gu Yi’s heart was racing, uneasy.

She had seen the sarcastic Xiao Gouzi before, and she had seen the ice-cold Xiao Gouzi too.

But today’s Xiao Gouzi was angry yet not showing it.

Gu Yi couldn’t help feeling anxious. Could it be that he was building up to something big…