Before the spring imperial examinations, His Highness the Crown Prince visited Mingde Academy. Firstly, to listen to Master Linjiang’s lectures, and secondly, to encourage the scholars on behalf of the imperial family, showing his appreciation for talent and virtue.”

Inside the closed bedchamber, Liu Ying recounted past events one by one. “At that time, this servant was attending to the sick in Kunning Palace and did not accompany him. I only know that His Highness engaged in pleasant conversations with many like-minded students, and Liu Ji was acquainted during this period. His Highness grew fond of her and brought her back on the journey home, granting her palace status.”

Zhao Yān, with bandages wrapped around her forehead, half-reclined at the table, using a silver needle to trim the candle wick, asked: “Did my brother like her very much?”

Liu Ying nodded almost imperceptibly and said: “His Highness often stayed overnight in Cheng’en Hall, practicing calligraphy and painting with her, talking deep into the night by candlelight.”

Liu Ying paused, lowering her head: “During those times, His Highness did not require this servant’s attendance.”

Zhao Yān was also stunned, finally developing an indescribable sense of incongruity.

In her impression, her brother was frail and young, following rules and conventions, not someone who would indulge in female company.

She uncomfortably scratched the side of her neck, glancing at the increasingly silent Liu Ying, and changed the subject: “If Liu Ji was someone close to the Crown Prince, why did you never mention her before?”

Liu Ying replied: “Regarding Liu Ji’s matters, the Empress once had a disagreement with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Zhao Yān understood—it seemed her mother did not like this bold and spirited beauty.

…

…

“His Highness the Crown Prince was benevolent and filial. On the way to escape the summer heat outside the palace, he wrote a letter sending Liu Ji away. Afterward, there was no news of Liu Ji, so this servant thought the matter was settled and therefore didn’t mention it to you.”

“If my brother truly could bear to let her go, he wouldn’t have left her with the Eastern Palace token.”

She almost instinctively said: “Liu Ji cannot stay by His Highness’s side.”

Zhao Yān rarely saw Liu Ying express her likes and dislikes, which made her look at her more carefully.

“Is this your thought, or Mother’s intention?” she asked.

Zhao Yān saw her face turn pale, as if she had committed some unforgivable crime. She suddenly knelt and said formally, “This servant has overstepped. Please punish me, Your Highness.”

Zhao Yān sighed softly, putting down the silver needle in her hand: “It’s normal for people to have preferences, as long as one doesn’t harm others based on personal likes and dislikes. There’s no need for such self-reproach. Please rise.”

Liu Ying’s face remained pale. That word “overstepped” seemed spoken more to herself than as an apology to Zhao Yān.

Her shadow cast on the ground resembled invisible chains binding her tightly.

Zhao Yān had to try a different approach. After pondering for a moment, she sat up a little straighter and said: “After all, she was by my brother’s side for half a year. Go retrieve her palace status document and token, prepare some gold, silver, and fine goods, and politely send her out of the palace to settle elsewhere. Tell her it’s my wish.”

Having received a task, Liu Ying finally rose, resuming her usual efficient and steady demeanor.

After Liu Ying left, Zhao Yān gathered her thoughts, then put on a robe and walked to the corridor.

She summoned Gu Xing, the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, who was leading the night patrol.

“Before this year’s spring examinations, I listened to lectures at Mingde Academy. Go retrieve the writings and scrolls related to me. I’ll need them for the year-end assessments.”

After a moment’s thought, she languidly added, “Don’t leave behind anything with writing on it, and be discreet.”

Gu Xing didn’t ask a single question, saluted and accepted the order, then promptly withdrew.

Zhao Yān looked at the night sky, dark as ink, unconsciously touching the small mole at the corner of her left eye.

Thanks to Liu Ji’s appearance, she learned that her brother had gone to Mingde Academy to study earlier in the year.

Given Zhao Yǎn’s temperament, since he had made friends with so many like-minded scholars, he must have left behind letters and essays, from which she might glimpse some useful clues.

Liu Ying and Li Fu were her mother’s people and had always opposed her investigation into the Crown Prince’s cause of death, so this matter could only be entrusted to someone else.

Since entering the Eastern Palace, Zhao Yān had been secretly observing the attendants around her, selecting those who could truly be of use to her.

After several screenings, Gu Xing had a clean background and could be considered honest and reliable. She asked him to retrieve the scrolls from Mingde Academy, firstly to pursue clues, and secondly to test Gu Xing’s character by throwing a stone to gauge the ripples.

If he truly brought everything back properly, he would prove worthy of greater trust; if he failed to return or leaked information, it wouldn’t matter much and wouldn’t endanger Zhao Yān’s current situation.

It felt like a turning point, allowing her to glimpse a ray of dawn, bringing comfort to Zhao Yān’s heart.

Just as she returned to her bedchamber, ready to undress/

Then came a loud bang as the door to the bedchamber was suddenly pushed open.

Zhao Yān turned back in surprise to see Liu Ji’s face with its rich, beautiful features and raised eyebrows.

She gave a cold laugh and went straight to the point: “You were the one who invited me into the palace, have you forgotten what you said then?”

Liu Ying hurriedly followed, looking troubled, she had bungled the task.

Liu Ji was, after all, someone who dared to call the Crown Prince by name; ordinary people really couldn’t restrain her.

Now it was too late to stop her. Zhao Yān had no choice but to dismiss all the attendants and close the hall doors for a private discussion.

She had to put on a good-natured smile, imitating Zhao Yǎn’s tone: “The Eastern Palace is at the focal point of danger, not a good refuge. After repeated consideration, I made this decision also for your good.”

Liu Ji merely looked at her with raised eyebrows, her eyes burning like flames, revealing a sharpness different from ordinary women.

After a while, she pointed her long fingers at Liu Ying, with an exaggerated expression: “Recently, Your Highness only keeps Liu Ying close to serve you. Have you fallen for this little hussy instead?”

Zhao Yān’s smile stiffened, feeling herself no different from a fickle, heartless man.

But with the Eastern Palace secretly changing masters, continuing this entanglement would only bring harm without benefit. Better to make a clean break.

Zhao Yān shook her head with a long sigh, innocently saying: “If that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do.”

Before she finished speaking, she felt disgusted with herself.

Not just Liu Ji—even she felt an inexplicable anger hearing these words.

Liu Ji’s eyes changed several times. She stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Yān’s fox fur collar: “You bastard…”

Before the disrespectful cursing could be completed, a greater commotion came from the courtyard.

Lamp shadows wavered as the guards’ deep voices approached from afar: “Prince Su, please stop! His Highness has already retired. Intruding into the palace at night is disrespectful!”

Caught off guard, Zhao Yān’s face changed slightly.

At this hour, what was he coming for?

The most skilled Gu Xing had just been sent out, and now it was too late to have someone stop him… No, even if Gu Xing were here, who in the Eastern Palace would dare block Prince Su, whose power extended throughout the land?

He was a demon who didn’t need to kneel before the Emperor, whom even the Emperor had to treat with deference!

She straightened her body and saw a familiar tall shadow cast upon the door, flickering slightly with the wavering candlelight.

The next moment, the door opened with a sound, and a gust of wind swept in, causing all the hanging gauze in the hall to flutter wildly.

“This prince has never enjoyed speaking through closed doors. Forgive my rudeness.”

Wenren Lin stepped in slowly, the shadows receding from his figure inch by inch, like white jade meeting light. With a faint smile, he said, “The Crown Prince’s headache has not improved for a long time, and it happened during this prince’s lesson. This prince feels remorseful, so I specially invited Physician Sun out of retirement to treat the Crown Prince.”

He moved aside to reveal the crane-haired elderly man with an immortal’s bearing behind him, his gaze turning toward the inner bedchamber: “Physician Sun practices medicine to save the world and is a leader in the medical field. The Crown Prince surely trusts his medical ethics.”

Zhao Yān gritted her teeth inwardly: “So that’s why he’s been so quiet these past days—he was planning this move!”

She hadn’t expected Wenren Lin to even invite Physician Sun, who had been in seclusion for years and was known for being able to grow flesh on dry bones.

How could she dare let such a formidable figure examine her!

The air seemed to freeze. Liu Ji showed a suspicious expression, looking at the shadow behind the gauze curtain, then at Zhao Yān before her, pondering.

Zhao Yān’s bruise began to throb again. With no time to deal with Liu Ji, she looked to Liu Ying.

Liu Ying understood and stepped forward: “The Eastern Palace appreciates Prince Su’s kindness. However, His Highness has just fallen asleep and is truly not convenient for an examination. I request that Prince Su…”

Before she could finish, she was blocked on both sides by Prince Su’s vice generals.

Seeing Wenren Lin approaching the inner chamber, Zhao Yān’s heart pounded like a drum. In her panic, without time to think carefully, she grabbed Liu Ji and pushed her onto the couch.

The golden hooks collided with a tinkling sound, the gauze curtains swayed and fell, light and shadow alternating, revealing Liu Ji’s astonished phoenix eyes.

“Shh.”

Zhao Yān raised a finger to her lips, gesturing for Liu Ji to remain silent, and said hoarsely, “Cooperate with me.”

Ruining the moment would bring divine retribution, but this was the most practical method Zhao Yān could think of in her urgency to avoid Wenren Lin’s examination.

Liu Ji immediately understood her intention, and a hint of strangeness passed over her face.

With no time to hesitate, she turned the tables, flipping their positions.

As their positions reversed, it was now Zhao Yān’s turn to be shocked.

The gauze lamp cast a bright light, the curtains swayed, blurrily projecting two figures, one above, one below.

“Why is Your Highness in such a hurry? It’s better to go slowly.”

Liu Ji spoke in a coquettish, reproachful voice, with suggestive words coming naturally.

Under the carved moon gate, Wenren Lin’s fingers, which were about to lift the curtain, paused, and he stopped in his tracks.