Compared with years past, this year’s forty-second birthday celebration for Emperor Zhengyuan was a rather subdued affair. The Crown Prince was in house confinement, the Empress was secluded in her palace, and the year had brought first drought and then floods — the imperial treasury was stretched thin, with no means to support lavish expenditure.

So on the day of the birthday celebration, a banquet was simply arranged in the open square beneath the palace halls of the Western Inner Garden. Beyond the imperial family and the great noble clans, court officials of any note were also invited to attend and offer their congratulations.

The numbers were not small — yet one glance at the empty places where the Crown Prince and Empress would have sat, and an inexplicable air of desolation fell over everything.

Even the music and dancing seemed listless, unable to raise any spirit.

Midway through the banquet — the food eaten, the dancing finished — an official in the audience exchanged glances with others and rose from his seat. “Your Majesty — today is your birthday. Even among common households, the custom is to gather children and grandchildren together. Why not today temporarily lift the Crown Prince’s house confinement —”

Before the words were finished, Emperor Zhengyuan’s face had already drawn down into a dark expression. “What? Without the Crown Prince, can I not even have a birthday?”

The official bowed immediately in apology and did not dare speak further.

Those of the Crown Prince’s faction had been counting on the occasion of this birthday banquet to rouse the Emperor’s paternal feeling and perhaps secure the Crown Prince’s early release from house confinement. Yet the Emperor’s stance was unexpectedly hard.

From her position behind the princes — the princesses sat further back — Li Shu glanced toward Emperor Zhengyuan.

Father was resolved this time to pull the Crown Prince back onto the right path — hence the firmness. He hoped the Crown Prince would take this lesson to heart and reform himself.

But time waited for no one. Even if the Crown Prince truly took the lesson to heart, by the time he emerged from the Eastern Palace’s confinement, the world outside might already have changed beyond recognition.

Li Shu looked toward Li Qin, seated in the front rows. Li Qin, seeming to sense her gaze, also turned to look.

One must not only accomplish real things to demonstrate capability — one must also appear deeply filial, filling the void of paternal affection the Crown Prince had left in the Emperor’s heart.

After all, Father was growing old.

Sitting alone atop the high platform, without anyone at his side, he presented a somewhat thin and solitary image — faintly evoking the diminished light of one’s later years.

This year had brought not a single moment of peace. The lamps of the Hanyuan Hall burned every night until after midnight. Father had exhausted his very lifeblood over the drought and flood disasters, and then still had to fret himself ragged over the Crown Prince. The Emperor’s vitality and spirit were noticeably less than before — he had sat at the banquet only briefly before stepping away to change clothes and rest awhile.

With the Emperor having stepped away to change, all around gradually loosened up. The elder officials exchanged toasts and passed along a few words of intelligence. The women gathered together and drifted toward the garden paths with prettier views. The half-grown children that officials had brought along clustered together for their own diversions, heading to a nearby palace courtyard for a game of pitch-pot or kickball.

Li Shu took her leave of the banquet as well, intending to go rest. But she had barely taken a few steps before a court lady came forward and bowed with a smile.

The woman had not even opened her mouth to invite Li Shu somewhere, but Li Shu had already cut her off. “I have had a little to drink and am not feeling well. I am going to walk it off.”

Did she not know what all those women at the banquet had been looking at? Everyone was sizing her up — now that she was separated from her husband, they wanted to bring her home as a sort of living Buddha to be revered, so that her family could use her prestige to gain greater favor with the Emperor.

If she actually followed this court lady, the odds were nine out of ten that she would ‘coincidentally’ happen to run into some family’s as-yet-unmarried eldest son.

There was no real harm in it — just a tiresome nuisance.

Besides — Lord Shen was also present at today’s banquet.

If he happened to come upon her, it would mean another round of ‘how did you end up together’ — a question with only one safe answer.

Better to avoid needless complications.

* * *

Princess Anle had been in a very bad mood lately.

Her Crown Prince elder brother was under house confinement, and today she had been counting eagerly on Father relenting and releasing him — if she added her own coaxing and cajoling, maybe the Crown Prince’s confinement could be lifted. But who could have imagined that Father would be so heartless?

All the children had come to celebrate Father’s birthday — only the Crown Prince was missing. What kind of a situation was that?

Anle stormed along the garden path. Her maids broke into a half-run trying to keep up, coaxing her continuously.

“Your Highness — His Majesty has given the order that no one is to go and visit the Crown Prince.”

“Your Highness…”

Anle was not listening. She plunged ahead with her head down in the direction of the Eastern Palace. She didn’t care about any rules — that was her brother, and she wanted to see him if she wanted to see him.

Moving quickly, she turned a corner and nearly collided with a figure coming the other way. Fortunately the other person had fast reflexes and sidestepped just in time — they had nearly crashed into each other, and the other person flinched back in alarm.

“Greetings to Princess Anle.”

Anle fired off a sharp rebuke: “Watch where you’re walking!”

She had been headstrong and willful her whole life. It would not have mattered even if the other person were the Emperor — she could still pout and glare and throw a tantrum.

Princess Jincheng was already timid and shy by nature, and had always been frightened of Anle. Being scolded like this, she trembled from head to foot.

“I’m… I’m sorry…”

Anle looked at her with impatience. “Where were you rushing off to in such a hurry?”

Jincheng shook her head quickly. “Nowhere in particular… just taking a walk.”

Yet her gaze drifted past the ornamental pool, toward the other side.

On the far side of the pool, a lone, slender figure stood with his back to them. He wore a red round-collared robe with a jade belt at his waist. Tall and upright, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, head slightly bowed, absorbed in watching the golden carp swimming in the palace pool.

Anle’s eyes narrowed. From the moment her Crown Prince elder brother was placed in house confinement, all the resentment she had been bottling up had finally found an outlet.

If not for that Shen Whatever-His-Name-Was impeaching the Crown Prince, how would her elder brother have ended up in this state?

Anle’s anger surged, urgency to storm the Eastern Palace momentarily forgotten. In two or three furious strides she was already heading straight for Shen Xiao.

Jincheng saw this and hurried after her.

Shen Xiao registered the sound of approaching footsteps and turned around quickly. A single glance was enough to identify the newcomers as Princess Anle and Princess Jincheng — he had seen both of them at Li Shu’s residence before.

Although men and women mixed freely in the Great Ye Dynasty, Shen Xiao still took several steps back, maintaining a proper and courteous distance. He lowered his eyes, clasped his hands in a bow, and offered his formal greeting. “This official greets both Highnesses.”

Princess Anle’s expression did not bode well — Shen Xiao could see that plainly.

He guessed it was because he had impeached the Eastern Palace that Princess Anle bore him a grudge and had come to vent her feelings.

Shen Xiao had dared to impeach the Eastern Palace, so he had naturally prepared himself for the worst, knowing what displeasure it would earn him from the Crown Prince’s supporters. He had encountered plenty of petty obstructions from the Crown Prince’s people at court — some underhanded, some open. But Shen Xiao had never once been afraid. At this moment, he certainly was not afraid of one headstrong princess.

He was simply, in a small way, annoyed. He pressed his brow in the faintest crease and thought privately: how vast the difference is between one princess and another.

Shen Xiao kept up his bow for quite some time without hearing Princess Anle grant him leave to rise. She seemed content to let Shen Xiao bend at the waist until he broke his own back.

Even her method of making things difficult for people was childish.

Shen Xiao did not mind — he simply kept his half-bow and took the opportunity to work on his back flexibility.

Jincheng looked back and forth between them — from Shen Xiao to Anle. Her expression was deeply troubled. She had every wish to say something to persuade Anle, but the words reached the tip of her tongue and she did not dare let them out, afraid Anle would give her a thorough scolding.

She could only watch Shen Xiao, her gaze full of worry.

Shen Xiao had been bowing for a long while and was just deciding he had worked his back muscles adequately, preparing to rise on his own and deflect Princess Anle with a “this official still has pressing matters to attend to” — when a cool, indifferent voice carried over from nearby.

“Anle. Jincheng. What are you two doing here?”

Shen Xiao straightened up in an instant. He saw that Li Shu was fully and formally made up today, dressed in a floor-length court robe, approaching with an expression of cold and composed authority.

Shen Xiao gave a faint smile. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Anle saw Shen Xiao straighten up and, having finally caught something to hold against him, snapped: “Lord Shen shows very poor manners — I had not yet given you leave to rise, and yet you withdrew your courtesy. Do you look down upon me?”

Shen Xiao had not yet responded, but Li Shu was already impatient. “What on earth is this?”

Anle was brought up short. “I am not making a scene! He was the one who —”

Li Shu’s voice was flat. “There are Imperial Censors all over the banquet grounds today. You can take issue with whoever you like — I’m certainly not the one who’ll be impeached tomorrow.”

Anle stiffened. “Being impeached doesn’t scare me.”

Li Shu felt the urge to roll her eyes. “Of course it doesn’t scare you. But you are the Crown Prince’s sister by blood — Shen Xiao impeached the Crown Prince a little while ago, and now you are turning around to bully him. What is the use of an impeachment against you? Of course they throw the dirty water at the Crown Prince.”

Li Shu frowned and looked at her, adding coldly: “Think before you act!”

Her gaze swept out in cold, cutting lines, and she rebuked the maids standing behind Anle: “Your mistress is confused — but are you all confused as well? Rather than stopping her, you let your mistress do as she pleases?”

Li Shu’s features leaned cold, and when she lost her temper she carried a particularly imposing air. The maids heard her and shrank in on themselves.

Anle knew Li Shu had a point, but she was furious. The Crown Prince had been placed in house confinement, and yet Shen Xiao — the person who had set everything in motion — was here being promoted! What was fair about that?

Anle glared at Li Shu with barely contained rage — and was met by a sweep of Li Shu’s cold gaze that drove her stare right back.

“If you are truly so displeased with him — bullying him with courtly protocol is far too crude. You would do far better to rip open your own collar, accuse him of assaulting you right here, run to Father in tears — Father would fly into a rage and have that official’s robes stripped off him on the spot.”

Shen Xiao was struck momentarily speechless.

Hold on — assault?

Why on earth would he assault Anle?

Anle drew a sharp breath at this. “Pingyang — you —!”

Accusing him of assault? How could Pingyang even suggest such a thing?

“You — why are you always defending him today? What exactly is the relationship between you and Shen Xiao?”

After all the times she had looked up to Li Shu as an elder sister!

Anle threw one furious glare at Li Shu — but Li Shu gave her a sweep of cold eyes that sent the glare retreating back on itself. “He is an official Father relies upon. I am Father’s daughter. My relationship with him is this: I am not about to show him a cold shoulder and undermine Father’s own court.”

Anle was stopped in her tracks by Li Shu’s words, unable to find a comeback, with a chest full of anger she had nowhere to release. She could only let out a cold snort, turn on her heel, and storm off.

Li Shu instructed the maid at her side: “Go find Consort Yang’s son-in-law and have him come quickly to take Anle home. If Anle stays any longer at the banquet, she will sooner or later lose her temper at Father himself.”

The maid took the order and hurried off.

Li Shu muttered under her breath: “With Anle’s temper — if she really does end up talking back to Father, Father would be furious enough to be ill from it.”

Then she raised her eyes, and there was Shen Xiao — who had just been bullied into performing something remarkably like a small, put-upon wife — now watching her. His composed, cool face carried a faint smile.

Li Shu was not about to smile back. She cast him a glance with the particular air of someone thoroughly disappointed in his weakness, and said: “Don’t let Anle’s bark fool you — she’s all noise and no real threat. How did you manage to be bullied by her anyway?”

She was in full formal dress today, with her makeup carefully applied — looking exceptionally poised and forbidding.

And so Shen Xiao — who in court was unyielding to the point that the entire class of great clan officials both despised and feared him, who saw someone he could impeach and did so without a second thought — under Li Shu’s look of withering disappointment, quietly lowered his head. He acknowledged that he had been in the wrong.

That he should not have allowed himself to be bullied by Anle and given Li Shu cause to come to his rescue.

That manner of his… that was truly the look of the bullied small spouse!