Zhangsun was forever the most dazzling phoenix in the imperial palace. Though somewhat aged, she remained an existence that other young consorts needed to look up to. If Li’er was the sun, then the moon could only be Zhangsun.

Beauty fades easily, generals grow white-haired—this was the law of time at work. Even though Zhangsun remained beautiful, after continuously giving birth to five children over more than a decade, it was inevitable that her proud figure would lose its shape. Fortunately, she was not only beautiful but also possessed first-rate wisdom. When she discovered that beauty alone was insufficient to rely upon, she decisively took the path of wisdom. Judging from her current state, one had to say that wisdom was even more useful than beauty.

According to what Yun Ye knew, Li’er spent at least half a month out of each month with Zhangsun. The other half month was spent being driven out by Zhangsun with nowhere to sleep, so he would randomly find a consort to sleep with for a night.

Zhangsun’s sleeping quarters were the only place in the rear palace where Yun Ye could stay. If he went anywhere else wanting to see Li’er’s vast harem, a eunuch would immediately stand before him, staring expressionlessly. If one still didn’t know better, their shrill voices would spread throughout the palace.

Taiye Pond had just been jointly cleaned by the three imperial princes and could now be described as having rippling blue waves and drooping willows. However, there weren’t many fish in it. Occasionally two or three red koi would appear, but only as a fleeting glimpse. Now the ponds at the Yun estate actually had quite a few. A few days ago, some had been transported to the academy, but those heaven-damned bastards at the academy had, in just a few short days, turned a whole pond full of fish into grilled fish and fish soup.

It wasn’t that they weren’t given meat to eat, but after learning to grill fish from Huang Shu, they always thought their culinary skills were being buried with no place to show off. Catching two fish to let classmates taste became a fashion. What flavor could those blackish fish from outside have? They couldn’t afford to lose face like that. Only the red koi in the academy pond were supreme treasures.

Ever since Li’er ate the red-braised carp that Yun Ye made for him, he no longer prohibited eating carp. Though he didn’t say it explicitly, officials now ignored street vendors hawking carp for sale.

The sun was about to set westward, but Zhangsun still hadn’t returned. The thick official robes worn on his body were nearly soaked through with sweat. His boots were slippery with moisture inside, and his socks stuck to his feet—very uncomfortable.

Looking around, there were only two listless eunuchs leaning against the corridor doorway dozing off. Li Tai had thrown Yun Ye here and run off without a trace, probably to find someone to authenticate the relic’s authenticity. This guy never believed what others said and always had to verify things himself before believing them. This was a bad habit the academy had cultivated in him, and he probably had no hope of changing it in this lifetime.

Taking off his boots, he washed his socks. The smell was terrifying—in any case, Yun Ye held his breath while washing them. He laid the socks on a stone to dry, estimating they would be baked dry in about the time it took to burn an incense stick. He turned the boots over to air out the smell and stuck his feet into the pool. The ice-cold clear water brushed over the tops of his feet, extraordinarily refreshing. His feet must have had a high salt content because fish were attracted and circled around his feet, quite enjoying that flavor.

Zhangsun must have been accompanying Li Yuan playing mahjong. Li Yuan now relied on mahjong to get through his days. Every day, if he didn’t play a dozen or so rounds, he felt uncomfortable. The effect was remarkable—ever since mahjong existed, his speed of creating people had finally slowed down. In two years, he had only given Li’er one additional brother and one sister, which counted as a normal rate of increase. If not for mahjong, who knows how many people would be claiming royal titles in the future. What Cao Cao had worked a lifetime to achieve was now on par with mahjong in the Great Tang.

It was quiet under the willow tree, and no one brought a cushion. Sitting on the bluestone slabs for too long easily led to hemorrhoids. A dignified marquis in the imperial palace was less significant than the turtles in the Golden Water River. Hadn’t he seen the eunuchs building a sunshade pavilion for that pair of thousand-year-old turtles in the Golden Water River? Fresh autumn fruits, whole melons, constantly thrown in, and even small pieces of meat—how could the empire’s marquis sitting on a stone bear this?

Finally, he heard the eunuch’s thin, high-pitched voice. Yun Ye quickly sprang up, hastily put on his socks in two or three moves, pulled on his shoes, adjusted every muscle in his face to the optimal position, and patted his cheeks. Xi Tong’s life depended on this mouth. If Li’er still didn’t know that a rebel had entered the Yun estate by now, Yun Ye wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death.

The new head of the Bai Qi Si was said to be a palace retainer who had followed Li’er for a long time. These perverted fellows—their abilities had been fully displayed before Li’er ascended the throne. One scheme per step, one kill every ten steps, sinister and ruthless to the extreme. Such people weren’t suited to be officials at court; they were only suited to be kept in the deep palace as retainers. Other emperors generally had such people killed after using them, but only Li’er kept them by his side without killing a single one.

Last time there was a family banquet in the palace, Yun Ye was forcibly dragged there by Li Chengqian. Unknowingly, he drank two cups too much and was questioned by those old fellows, nearly exposing himself several times. Fortunately, they couldn’t understand the modern vocabulary Yun Ye used and thought he was spouting drunken nonsense. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome. A group of people who liked to sit in dark places—who dared underestimate them?

“What are you running to the palace for in this blazing heat?” Zhangsun had apparently won money and was in good spirits. Seeing Yun Ye, she didn’t mock or ridicule him.

“Your Majesty doesn’t know—my humble residence recently extracted a type of oil from mint. According to Physician Sun, it’s extremely beneficial for women’s skin. When this subject heard of such wonderful properties, I hurried to deliver it to Your Majesty. Although Your Majesty has no need for such common items, it’s still this junior’s sincere intention. I humbly ask Your Majesty to accept it with a smile.”

“Oh? If Physician Sun says it’s useful, then this empress must see for myself. Mint is generally used to refresh and awaken the mind. Using it for this purpose is the first I’ve heard of it.” She took the small porcelain bottle from a palace maid’s hand, opened the cork stopper, and shook it left and right. A refreshing mint fragrance immediately spread, invigorating the spirit. This item was the crystallization of Chengxin’s efforts during this period.

This fellow no longer applied rouge and powder. Every day, apart from going to the perfume workshop to work, he wandered around the marketplace, buying a huge pile of snacks, practically wanting to pounce on and bite even raw vegetables. At first, Yun Ye didn’t understand, but later, after hearing him explain, he learned that in order to make him fragrant all over, Li Yuanxiang hadn’t allowed him to eat anything else, only a little rice. Then he had to eat various flower petals, stamens and all. This kind of life continued for a full three years, so now he couldn’t wait to taste all the foods in the world at once. Now he had specially extracted mint oil to apply on his face in summer to keep his skin moisturized.

“Not bad. This empress accepts it. If there’s nothing else, go back.” Having accepted the gift, Zhangsun didn’t even ask the reason and planned to drive Yun Ye out. Such heartless face-turning was truly an imperial family specialty.

Yun Ye deliberately lifted his large bundle upward. As long as Zhangsun asked about it, he would have sufficient excuse to present Xi Tong’s matter to her. Zhangsun’s gaze was indeed attracted. After sizing it up, she said, “If you have something to say, just say it. You don’t need to use advance-and-retreat tactics before me. If the matter is significant and what’s in your bundle isn’t valuable enough, you’d better test me.”

He loved Zhangsun’s directness the most. Unwrapping the bundle, he exposed the white bear skin. Just as he was about to boast about it, he heard Zhangsun’s furious voice: “I thought it was some kind of treasure—turns out it’s black bear skin. Are you toying with this empress?”

Black bear skin? This was clearly white bear skin. How could it become black bear skin? Were these two even comparable? He looked carefully—no mistake, it was white bear skin, a transparent white color. Why was she saying it was black bear skin?

“Your Majesty, this is white bear skin. How could it possibly be black bear skin?” Yun Ye scratched his head looking at Zhangsun. This woman couldn’t be trying to cheat him, could she?

Zhangsun was very puzzled. It was clearly black bear skin—why was Yun Ye saying it was white bear skin? Looking at his expression, it didn’t seem fake. Could it be that she had played too much mahjong today and her eyes were blurry? But looking carefully again, it was indeed black bear skin.

“Hua Niang, you look—is that white bear skin or black bear skin?” Zhangsun said to the close attendant palace maid standing beside her.

The palace maid hesitated before saying, “Your Majesty, this servant sees gray bear skin.”

This statement stunned both Yun Ye and Zhangsun. Yun Ye moved aside to look at the bear skin on the ground—sure enough, it had turned gray. Moving farther away, he actually discovered the color was getting darker and darker. Zhangsun also walked around the bear skin. She too discovered that up close, the bear skin was white, but from a distance it was black. Why was this?

Yun Ye and Zhangsun looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to figure it out. Yun Ye said thoughtfully to Zhangsun, “Your Majesty, could it be that the fur on this bear skin is transparent? It changes to whatever color it’s placed against?”

After verification, the bear skin did indeed change color. As the light changed from bright to dark, the color would gradually transform from white to black. This was a treasure! Zhangsun very much liked this bear skin—there was only one like it in the world!

“The gift is excellent, worthy of being called a rare treasure. If you have something to say, say it. Let me make it clear first—matters of the imperial court won’t do. His Majesty must speak on those.” Even though she was enchanted by the bear skin, Zhangsun still had propriety, keeping to her bottom line without yielding a step.

When Yun Ye recounted the cause and effect of the matter, Zhangsun’s face darkened: “You’re certain Tian Xiangzi is already dead?”

“If he can survive under such harsh conditions, this subject has nothing to say. His relic is about to be presented to His Majesty as a gift by Qing Que. This subject considers it very credible. Even if he did survive, so what? Without his claws and fangs, he’s at most an old man over eighty years old. Why fear him?”

What gave Yun Ye confidence wasn’t Xi Tong’s words but Sun Simiao’s judgment. At the place where Yun Ye and Tian Xiangzi met, he had discovered Tian Xiangzi had severe lung disease. If he could live past one year, that would be considered fortunate. Combined with what Xi Tong described, Yun Ye chose to believe Tian Xiangzi was already dead.

“Guanyin Maid needn’t think too much. Tian Xiangzi is indeed dead. The old nest in Luzhou has been emptied of people and personnel scattered. Those main leaders went to the northern desert and never appeared again. Only one half-dead remnant crawled back. Originally, I wanted to see who he would go find. I didn’t expect he would openly and brazenly go to the Marquis of Lantian’s estate with an imperial prince accompanying him, conversing quite happily. Consider yourself perceptive, boy, for not being confused. Do you know the Bai Qi Si has already set up a net near your home to capture and kill this person, and incidentally bring you back for questioning? So this bear skin can only buy your life. If you want me to spare that remnant, boy, bring another bear skin to exchange!”