*[Foreshadowing] “She often deceives me. Whatever knowledge she possesses, I’d better learn it myself.”*

The third day of the New Year—no need to attend court, no need to go visiting relatives—the Yu family had no relatives anyway.

After getting up, Yu Qingwu stood quietly at the main gate.

When Nanny Qian left to buy vegetables, he was standing there. When Nanny Qian returned from buying vegetables, he was still standing there.

The cold wind was biting. Along the way, Nanny Qian was nearly blown into dried preserved meat. Reaching the gate, she wished she could be home in one step. She hurriedly braced against the cold wind, rushed straight past Yu Qingwu and into the house. But as soon as she entered, she saw Lan Shanjun standing quietly behind the door.

Nanny Qian: “…”

Her steps halted. She looked at Yu Qingwu outside, and in the end still carried her vegetable basket back out to ask, “Young Master Yu, are you waiting for guests?”

Yu Qingwu shook his head. “No.”

Nanny Qian was so cold she stamped her feet. Not believing this, she reached out to touch his already frozen stiff face—sure enough, he was almost becoming wind-dried preserved meat too. She asked curiously, “Then what are you standing here for? Playing door god? Welcoming the Kitchen God?”

Yu Qingwu wore an air of profound mystery. “Shh—I’m listening to the wind.”

Nanny Qian worried, “Have you gone daft? What’s so interesting about wind?”

Yu Qingwu then pulled out a book on Purple Star divination techniques from his sleeve.

He said, “It’s written here—listening to wind for divination, distinguishing the five tones, predicting fortune and misfortune, knowing the mandate of heaven.”

Nanny Qian immediately felt impressed and exclaimed, “You’ve learned it all?”

Yu Qingwu: “No, I don’t understand it.”

Nanny Qian: “…Oh. Then it’s just superstition.”

She asked again, “If you don’t understand, what are you standing here listening to the wind for?”

Yu Qingwu: “I want to hear what that gust of wind Shanjun heard yesterday sounded like.”

Nanny Qian was puzzled. “Why don’t you just go ask her directly?”

Yu Qingwu then lowered his head and said sullenly, “She often deceives me. Whatever knowledge she possesses, I’d better learn it myself.”

Nanny Qian made two sounds of agreement. “That is indeed the principle—a man with some capability won’t be deceived.”

She stopped trying to persuade him and went inside to tell Lan Shanjun, “He’s earnestly learning a skill—but he’s just a bit foolish. Frozen like that, wouldn’t he be warmer if he held a hand warmer?”

She didn’t lower her voice, so Yu Qingwu outside naturally heard clearly. His mysterious expression stiffened, and he suddenly felt dejected.

Yes, he should have brought a hand warmer.

Thus, when Lan Shanjun walked to his side and handed him a hand warmer, he pushed it away with difficulty. “No, I’m not cold.”

Lan Shanjun didn’t force it on him, only saying, “I’m a bit cold. Shall we go back inside?”

Yu Qingwu quickly pulled her sleeve and headed into the house.

Lan Shanjun: “I didn’t deceive you.”

Yu Qingwu’s steps halted. He only felt his heart burning like fire. Not unhappy, but not sad either.

He said, “Good. I believe you.”

Nanny Qian saw this and clicked her tongue in wonder. “Not listening to the wind anymore?”

Yu Qingwu: “You go about your business, Elder!”

Nanny Qian also wasn’t willing to think deeply about these matters. She let them be—she was only responsible for making sure they ate happily.

She chopped, chopped, chopped peppers, chopped, chopped, chopped meat. She chopped all morning, preparing to make the young couple a Shu-style dish of pepper-preserved meat that Shu people loved to eat.

Too bad there was no fish mint herb. Otherwise, adding some in—she’d heard it would be even more delicious.

By lunchtime, she discovered the young couple had indeed entered the study again, just as she’d predicted.

Nanny Qian sighed to Nanny Zhao, “When I served Master Wu and Old Madam before, those two were just like this.”

Other families’ couples enjoyed romance and leisure, but the ones she served all looked at reports and official gazettes.

She said, “This is just my fate!”

Nanny Zhao laughed. “With the masters so ambitious and diligent, how can you still be unhappy?”

“A seventh-rank official at the prime minister’s gate—if we can’t be seventh rank, ninth rank works too, right?”

Nanny Qian then muttered, “Since ancient times, success makes one king, failure makes one bandit. Even if one succeeds, one is merely that king. But what about those who follow the king? Has anyone ever been written after the word ‘king’?”

Among Luoyang families, who still remembered Wu Qinghai now? Who still remembered Shou Jiayao? Who still remembered their merit in supporting the dragon’s rise?

She looked toward the study’s direction, rubbed her nose, and though she’d never been superstitious, couldn’t help but pull out a copper coin and toss it up. The coin hit the ground and spun continuously.

Nanny Qian’s gaze followed it…

Nanny Zhao suddenly shouted from the side, “Nanny Qian, the steamed egg custard is done!”

Nanny Qian hurried to fetch the egg custard.

This custard—to taste its best, it absolutely had to be taken out at just the right moment, not too early, not too late.

—

“To expose this matter, we must find the right timing. Too early or too late, and we might not get the results we want.”

Lan Shanjun said, “Of course, before preparing to do these things, there’s something even more important.”

Yu Qingwu: “What?”

Lan Shanjun: “Evidence.”

She said, “Not evidence for us to use when exposing this matter, but evidence of whether what Old Duke Zhenguo said is true or false.”

Yu Qingwu laughed. “Yesterday when I saw you crying so sorrowfully, I thought you’d completely believed his words.”

Lan Shanjun: “I do believe his words. I think he has no need to deceive me at such a time. But the old monk also taught me that what two ears hear isn’t necessarily true. To slaughter a good pig, one must go and look—seeing is believing.”

Yu Qingwu laughed. “That is indeed the principle.”

But he felt this matter should be true.

“Didn’t we once deduce that if there were fifty thousand phantom soldiers, then when troops passed through, people would certainly notice something suspicious? So we never imagined these one hundred thousand troops were fake.”

“Now, Old Duke Zhenguo says they temporarily seized old, weak, sick, and disabled people from villages to fill in the ranks, creating a false show of force—this does explain previous matters.”

“But whether it’s truly real or not, we just need to ask His Highness the Grand Prince.”

Lan Shanjun hadn’t thought of this. Her eyes instantly widened. “You mean the Imperial Grand Prince knows?”

Yu Qingwu nodded.

He said, “His Highness the Imperial Grand Prince should know more than we do.”

“Therefore, this person has too many matters weighing on his heart. He used to always be unable to eat.”

Now he forced himself to eat more.

In any case, he couldn’t get past the matter of food. When Lan Shanjun and Yu Qingwu went over on the fifth day, the Imperial Grand Prince had switched to a bowl that looked like a small basin for eating.

The Grand Princess Consort watched from the side, quite displeased in her heart. She first took Lan Shanjun to pay respects to the Empress, then complained, “I merely coughed a few times and he ate one bowl of rice. If I fall seriously ill again, won’t he stuff himself to death?”

But Lan Shanjun detected that the Imperial Grand Prince’s state of mind was unstable. She smiled and said, “During the New Year celebrations, don’t say that word.”

When they reached Changle Palace, Consort Cai Shu was also there.

Since Noble Consort Lin’s death, the Empress had controlled the inner palace. In less than a year, she had half of it in her grasp.

As for the other half, the Emperor still gave it to Consort Cai Shu.

Consort Cai Shu wasn’t very willing. She was a lazy, smooth person.

Though she wanted power, she didn’t want to struggle with others. Previously when Noble Consort Lin hadn’t died but was merely ill, she had once managed the inner palace, but she was unwilling to take responsibility or do extra work, so she went to ask the Grand Princess Consort for help.

The Emperor had even laughed and said, “I see you’re like Adou who cannot be helped up.”

But the Emperor didn’t know what he liked about Adou, insisting on propping up someone who was even worse than Adou and pushing her forward, making her inevitably nervous and fearful.

She thought and thought. Considering the current situation and seeing that the Imperial Grand Prince was clearly the legitimate heir, she secretly went to see the Empress.

She wore a guilty expression and said, “To speak honestly, in the entire palace, I’m the one least fond of standing out. I only hope for good charcoal in winter and good ice in summer, nothing more.”

“Elder Sister is such a mild-tempered person. This past summer, the ice in my palace wasn’t lacking at all. I simply stayed put obediently, waiting for Elder Sister’s favor.”

The Empress then understood her intention. She smiled and said, “Why don’t you go speak with His Majesty?”

Consort Cai Shu then said, “His Majesty manages ten thousand affairs daily—how could I trouble him with such small matters?”

She wasn’t a fool. After all these years, could she not see His Majesty’s methods? First he had Prince Qi compete with the former Crown Prince, then compete with Prince Wei, and now compete with the Imperial Grand Prince. After all this competition, didn’t they end up confined in the end?

Consort Cai Shu didn’t want to become the second Prince Qi of the inner palace.

She wanted to be a lazy person, not a dead person.

The Empress laughed and said, “You’re a clever person.”

She said meaningfully, “His Majesty has been getting older lately and increasingly dislikes disturbances.”

She paused, then added, “I’m only two years younger than His Majesty, and my health isn’t good. His Majesty worries I can’t manage all the inner palace affairs alone, so he called you to help. When spring arrives and the weather warms, when my health improves, I’ll be able to let you rest too.”

She smiled. “Since you also want to rest, isn’t this perfect? A matter that benefits both parties.”

Consort Cai Shu then understood why the Emperor was pushing her forward. She murmured, “So in the end, His Majesty still favors you managing the inner palace, but he doesn’t want you to manage it too smoothly?”

So he called her to create friction with the Empress, and after creating friction, she would swiftly return the power in her hands to the Empress?

This… what was the point of this?

Consort Cai Shu broke out in a cold sweat, grateful she had come to secretly pledge loyalty to the Empress.

Thus, on the surface she had difficulties with the Empress, but she would still come when she could.

She feared the Empress would doubt her loyalty. As for the Emperor… Consort Cai Shu leaned over and said to the Empress, “Since last year began, after falling ill twice, he’s come to favor younger consorts.”

So many tricks in bed!

So why would she follow the Emperor’s path?

Just as Lan Shanjun and the Grand Princess Consort arrived, she stood up to leave, saying, “Yesterday His Majesty favored Beauty Rui and elevated her rank. This consort must still follow protocol and bestow some things on her, so I won’t disturb Your Majesty further.”

After she left, Lan Shanjun asked, “Is Consort Cai Shu reliable?”

The Empress nodded. “I’ve observed her for so many years—she’s a clever person. As long as Prince Qi appears to be weakening, she’ll defect to our side.”

Lan Shanjun made a sound of acknowledgment, carefully inquired about her health, and didn’t say much else.

Many matters—perhaps the Empress knew, but she couldn’t make decisions. It would be better for them to come from the Imperial Grand Prince’s mouth.

So after the two stayed a while, they prepared to return to the Eastern Palace.

But the Empress perceived she was somewhat preoccupied today and asked, “Has something happened?”

Lan Shanjun took the opportunity to ask the Empress, “Liu Guan—”

The Empress narrowed her eyes. “Shanjun, speak carefully.”

But she didn’t shake her head. Instead, she stared at Lan Shanjun for a while. “But Liu Guan has shoulder and neck problems. There’s a knife scar there, from when he blocked a blade for His Majesty in his youth. If not for him, His Majesty would have been gone long ago.”

“But to prevent His Majesty from recalling that time of distress, regardless of whether it’s spring, autumn, winter, or summer, he wears high collars. He’s never exposed that scar.”

The Empress said, “But starting last year, the Emperor has increasingly lost his temper in front of him. I heard that last time when the carved dragon fell from Taihe Hall, the Emperor threw a pillow at his shoulder.”

She let out a light breath. “The Emperor sleeps on jade pillows. Thrown like that, the old injury will inevitably recur.”

Lan Shanjun hesitated. “Acting this way, doesn’t His Majesty fear that Eunuch Liu…”

The Empress: “Decades have passed like this. He’s long grown accustomed to Liu Guan’s unwavering loyalty to him.”

Moreover…

She smiled slightly. “Everyone knows Liu Guan is His Majesty’s most favored eunuch, loyal and true. So very few people would have the courage to try to turn him.”

“Shanjun, I dare not, and you cannot dare either.”

This was the person closest to the Emperor’s side. He couldn’t be moved lightly.

But Lan Shanjun recalled Yu Qingwu’s speculation that the three words “he knows” might refer to Liu Guan.

She said, “What if he takes the initiative to find us?”

The Empress was startled. “What?”

Lan Shanjun frowned and shook her head. “Forget it, let’s discuss this later.”

Today she still needed to learn the truth from the Imperial Grand Prince.

Though they walked neither fast nor slow along the way, the Grand Princess Consort still perceived she was somewhat anxious and asked, “Shanjun, has something really happened?”

Lan Shanjun then said, “Whether something has happened or not depends on what His Highness the Grand Prince says.”

The Grand Princess Consort looked confused. When they returned to the Eastern Palace and saw the teapot overturned on the floor, both Yu Qingwu and the Imperial Grand Prince wore unpleasant expressions.

The Grand Princess Consort laughed coldly, walked over with an aggressive air, and gave the Imperial Grand Prince’s shoulder a slap. “What tantrum are you throwing? Are you hiding something from me?”

Yu Qingwu nodded at Lan Shanjun. “It’s true.”

He pointed at the Grand Prince. “—He also knows.”