People behind her pulled Huang Ziyi out of the pond, while Li Shubai had already entered Jianbi Palace.

Huang Ziyi struggled to her feet from the mud, watching Li Shubai’s departing figure without a backward glance. She silently gritted her teeth, unable to resist kicking the muddy water in frustration. Droplets splashed up, a few cold spots landing on her cheeks, but since she was already covered in mud from head to toe, she didn’t care anymore.

The eunuchs behind her quickly helped her up, and palace maids led her to bathe. Noticing her male attire, an older palace maid suppressed a smile and said, “Lord Eunuch, please wait, we’ll help you bathe and change clothes shortly.”

“No need.” She refused to undress in front of others – if they discovered she was a woman, she could easily be connected to the wanted Huang Ziyi.

So she brushed aside the palace maids’ hands and walked directly to the well, drawing up a bucket of water and pouring it straight over herself.

Though spring had arrived, the weather was still cold. As she dumped the bucket of water over her head, the chill sent a shock through her body. The mud wasn’t completely cleaned off, but she seemed numb to it, drawing another bucket and recklessly pouring it over herself.

The palace maids stood frozen, watching motionlessly.

After two buckets of water, Huang Ziyi felt her mind finally becoming clear. She dropped the bucket and stood dripping by the well, shivering violently as she forced herself to breathe.

The cold made her ears ring, and her vision blurred, except for the phantom image of Li Shubai’s face with its cold, icy expression.

He had said, “I have no interest in your affairs, nor in revealing your whereabouts to the authorities. Take care of yourself from now on.”

No interest…

Her parents’ deaths, the bloodshed of her family, her uncleared injustice – these were all matters completely unrelated to him, so, of course, he had no interest.

To him, she was nothing but a speck of dust.

However… She threw the bucket down by the well and silently clenched her fists. Her nails dug deep into her palms, but she felt no pain, only continuing to grip tighter.

However, Huang Ziyi is your greatest hope.

She told herself clearly and brightly in her heart, clenching her teeth hard.

This man who despised her for not keeping herself clean at first sight, this man who mercilessly kicked her into the mud, this man who clearly expressed no interest in her – Duke Kui Li Shubai was her greatest hope.

Duke Kui Li Shubai was more reliable than all the forces she had originally planned to rely on – her father’s old friends, those minor official relatives a thousand miles away, and even the risky method of submitting a memorial to the emperor.

So, even if she was looked down upon and despised, in this moment as the cold water dripped from her head, she had already made up her mind.

Under the early spring sun, the cold wind cut sharply. Shivering, she turned from the well and slowly walked down the steps. At this moment she heard the voice in her heart, heard it softly saying to her: Huang Ziyi, have you considered that with such a deeply mysterious and frightening man, your best response right now should be to turn and flee, never looking back, never taking another step closer to him?

However, ignoring her dripping hair and clothes, she simply walked down the steps one by one.

She gave a stiff smile to the maids standing there, forcefully suppressing her shivering, ice-cold body: “Please help me get a set of eunuch’s clothes, I still need to serve Duke Kui.”

Roughly binding her chest, putting on the plain gauze inner garment, tying the thin silk belt with a simple double knot.

Huang Ziyi stood before the waist-high bronze mirror and glanced at her reflection. Dressed in eunuch’s clothes, her still-wet hair falling over her shoulders and chest, she looked like a delicate, thin young man. Her features were clear and handsome, and though her face showed signs of haggardness, her eyes were as deep and quiet as a pool – no longer resembling a young girl.

Taking a deep breath, she carelessly tucked her damp hair into the eunuch’s gauze cap, turned to pull open the door bolt, and strode out of the room.

Following the palace maids’ directions, she entered the main path of Jianbi Palace. Today was Jianbi Palace’s inauguration, and its grandeur was naturally different. Ahead, countless Tang boats crossed the vast, sparkling lake surface. On the lake island, singing girls danced to songs, while pink palace lanterns hung in a long row from willows by the lake. The spring breeze caressed faces, warm sunlight was gentle – a scene of perfect harmony.

Directly ahead was the main hall, with a huge screen wall standing before it, inscribed with four large characters: Jianbi Mizhang.

She stood before the screen wall, looking up at these four characters, feeling that their strokes were flowing and conveyed a sense of dignified authority. Then she heard someone behind her say, “This is the Emperor’s calligraphy – can a little eunuch like you appreciate its quality?”

Looking back, she saw a man in purple robes, appearing about twenty years old, with skin like white jade, showing a purity that seemed incongruous with his age. In the center of his forehead was a cinnabar mole, which against his snow-white skin and jet-black hair gave him an extraordinarily otherworldly air.

Appearing in such a place, at that age, and with a cinnabar mole precisely in the center of his forehead – Huang Ziyi immediately guessed his identity. She quickly bowed to the smiling young man: “Prince E.”

Prince E Li Run was known for having the best temperament among the royal princes, a gentle and approachable young man. He smiled and nodded to her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before asking, “Are you from this palace? Which eunuch oversees you, how did you end up here?”

Everyone knew that palace eunuchs assigned to the outer palaces had little chance of advancement, rarely seeing the Emperor or Empress all year, like the palace maids – mostly just waiting to grow old. Usually only the old, weak, sick, and disabled were sent to these areas.

She remained composed and said, “I came with Duke Kui. I slipped and fell in the water when getting off the carriage earlier, and the palace maids took me to change clothes.”

Li Run smiled, “I see. Then I’ll take you in.”

She followed Li Run around the screen wall. A palace maid led the way, and following the corridor, they saw a group of people in the hall listening to a woman play the pipa. The pipa notes fell like pearls and jade, dancing and flowing, perfectly complementing the brilliant sunshine in an indescribably pleasant way.

“Such beautiful pipa playing – it would be a shame to interrupt,” Li Run said, pausing outside the hall to listen. Huang Ziyi could only stand quietly behind him until the piece ended before they entered together.

Inside the hall sat Duke Kui Li Shubai, along with ninth-ranked Prince Zhao Li Wei and the youngest, Prince Kang Li Wen. A rather beautiful woman in yellow clothing with a blooming crabapple flower in her hair sat opposite them, holding a pipa horizontally.

Prince Zhao Li Wei was the most pleasure-seeking of idle nobles. Though already in his thirties, he still acted like a youth who loved games and entertainment, without any princely dignity. Seeing them arrive, he waved excitedly: “Fourth Brother, Seventh Brother, quick, come! I’ve found a wonderful new performer from the entertainment district – her pipa skills are truly unmatched in the world!”

“I already heard half a piece outside – indeed, such music must surely come from heaven,” Li Run said, sitting near Li Shubai and asking, “Fourth Brother, where is His Majesty?”

“His Majesty developed a headache this morning, the Imperial Physician is examining him now. He should arrive shortly,” Li Shubai said, his gaze lifting slightly, sweeping past Huang Ziyi without comment.

Huang Ziyi silently bit her lip and quickly walked behind him, standing with head bowed – every inch the image of a loyal eunuch.

While Prince Kang Li Wen was still observing her, Prince Zhao Li Wei laughed and said, “Speaking of which, isn’t His Majesty worried about Fourth Brother?” Li Wen immediately shifted his attention and asked, “What matters?”

Li Shubai had already heard rumors but only asked mildly, “What worry might that be?”

“Ha! Look at him, still pretending not to know!” Li Wei looked around at everyone, pointing at Li Shubai with a laugh. “What else could it be? Naturally, it’s about the marriage of our dynasty’s Fourth Prince. A prince still unmarried past twenty is extremely rare in our dynasty – if you continue being so aloof, it’s simply shocking!”

Li Run also spoke seriously: “Indeed. It was said that a consort would be chosen for Fourth Brother four years ago, but when Consort Wu passed away, you were determined to observe a year of mourning for your mother, so everyone had to go along with it. Then just as the mourning period ended, that traitor Pang Jun rebelled, and you went south to suppress the rebellion, causing another delay. Now that peace has been restored and Fourth Brother is not getting any younger if you don’t establish a consort soon, I’m afraid the Imperial Uncles and Consorts won’t let you off.”

“That’s right, His Majesty and the Empress have gone to great lengths – this time you won’t be able to escape this marriage,” even Prince Kang Li Wen joined in the teasing, raising his cup in a toast.

Li Wei noticed the pipa player smiling with a lowered face, her gaze secretly falling on Li Shubai, so he asked, “Jin Nu, why do you keep looking at Duke Kui?”

The princes all laughed heartily while Li Shubai merely raised an eyebrow slightly. The Tang dynasty’s entertainment districts were known for their open atmosphere, with even the performers often mixing freely with guards and attendants, their romantic affairs were even celebrated as beautiful tales. So the pipa player Jin Nu showed no shyness, just holding her pipa to half-cover her face as she smiled and said, “Jin Nu dares to say that I’ve always heard tales in the capital of Duke Kui’s divine beauty and celestial bearing. Seeing him today proves the rumors true – no wonder all my sisters in the entertainment district have their hearts set on Duke Kui.”

“Alas, your sisters will be heartbroken,” Li Wei put an arm around Jin Nu’s shoulders and laughed. “Go back and tell them that this Fourth Brother of mine has a heart of iron and stone, destined to disappoint people. Better to place their hopes on me – there’s still some chance there.”

Amidst Jin Nu’s laughter, more wine and dishes were brought out. Palace maids came and went, while the singing girls’ voices soared to the clouds.

In this lively scene, Huang Ziyi felt completely like an outsider. She stood motionless, her gaze falling on Li Shubai’s back, seemingly watching him but seeing nothing, thinking only of her affairs.

The group chatted, and someone brought up a topic, asking Li Shubai: “Fourth Brother, I heard His Majesty intends to have Vice Minister Zhou Xiang take over as Governor of Shu Prefecture – what do you think?”

Li Shubai casually replied: “I’m not very familiar with Vice Minister Zhou, though I’ve heard his reputation in office is quite good. However, I have met his youngest son Zhou Ziqin several times – he’s quite an interesting young man.”

Li Wei laughed, “Indeed, indeed! Vice Minister Zhou has a good temper, but whenever he gets angry, it’s inevitably because of this son.”

Li Run asked, “Is he an unfilial son?”

“Not unfilial. He’s the youngest son, and Vice Minister Zhou has raised his children well – Zhou Ziqin’s three or four older brothers are all capable, so there’s no expectation for this youngest son. It would be natural enough if he were just an idle young noble. But this son peculiarly doesn’t study books or cultivate skills, doesn’t fight cocks or race dogs – he only likes to frequent the mortuary, which has become quite a joke in the capital.”

“The mortuary?” Prince Kang Li Wen laughed in surprise.

Li Wei continued with a smile: “Exactly! His greatest life ambition is to become a coroner. After being beaten several times by Vice Minister Zhou, he was forced to change his aspiration, and now spends all day pestering the capital’s chief constable about becoming a constable. The constables dare not offend either the Vice Minister or Zhou Ziqin – they’re terrified when they see him and flee as fast as they can!”

Li Wen laughed heartily and said to Li Shubai: “Fourth Brother, you have the Emperor’s ear – quickly put in a good word for Zhou Ziqin! When Zhou Xiang takes up his post in Shu Prefecture, His Majesty must personally appoint his son as a constable in Shu Prefecture, fulfilling Zhou Ziqin’s devoted wish!”

“Exactly, exactly!” Li Wei was practically falling over with laughter. “His Majesty is so wise – when Zhou Ziqin becomes an imperially appointed constable, let’s see what the Minister can do about it!”