When she re-entered the main hall, the palace kitchen staff had already arrived. Hua Zhi followed the palace attendant along the wall and back to the position where she had been sitting before.

At the center of the hall, the divine physician turned the pages of the log recording the Emperor’s dietary history, his brow creasing deeper and deeper. The Empress Dowager noticed and could not help asking: “Is something amiss?”

“This old man would like to first inquire about a few things.”

“Aijia understands. Did you all hear that?”

The head chef and the deputy chef of the imperial kitchen both answered repeatedly in a state of nervous dread.

The divine physician considered for a moment and asked: “Who determines the menu?”

The head chef immediately replied: “At times the Emperor specifies his preferences himself. When the Emperor has given no particular instructions, the imperial kitchen draws up the menu according to the Emperor’s tastes. The very first thing anyone entering the imperial kitchen must memorize are the Emperor’s likes and dislikes, so as to avoid any mistakes.”

“What are the Emperor’s preferences?”

The head chef glanced carefully toward the Empress Dowager. By the rules of the palace, such matters were not to be disclosed to outsiders.

The Empress Dowager lowered her gaze: “Just speak freely.”

“Yes.” The head chef bowed his head. “The Emperor prefers strong flavors and is fond of meat dishes, with a particular love for mutton with its gamey, rich taste. The Emperor is also fond of garlic — it must be included in the dishes, whether stir-fried or braised. There is also a northern variety of pickled sweet garlic that the Emperor is especially fond of…”

The divine physician gave a slight nod. “You should all know that even the finest things, if consumed in excess, can become harmful to the body.”

“Yes — this is a principle that must be understood by everyone upon entering the imperial kitchen. Therefore, even though the Emperor is fond of garlic, we take care to control the quantity. However…”

The Empress Dowager’s heart lurched. She looked over immediately. “Speak directly — why the hesitation?”

“Yes.” The head chef bent even lower at the waist. “In the past half year, the Emperor has frequently dined at Yuepin’s quarters. Palace ladies with their own status all have their own private kitchens, and those are beyond the imperial kitchen’s jurisdiction.”

Yuepin again!

The Empress Dowager struck the armrest with a decisive hand: “Yuxiang.”

“This servant is here.”

“Take some people and conduct a thorough search of the Ruyue Palace, especially her private kitchen.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi’s eyes brightened. She silently mouthed a reminder to Xiao Liu: “Laifu!”

Xiao Liu suddenly realized — yes, he had been feeling all along that someone was missing. It was Laifu.

Composing his thoughts for a moment, Xiao Liu stepped toward the Empress Dowager and said quietly: “Grandmother, your grandson feels that the one who understands Imperial Father best should be Laifu.”

The Fourth Prince, already burning with anxious fury, heard Xiao Liu’s words as nothing but more fuel to the flames: “What sort of suggestion is that? Should not the Emperor’s health be taking priority right now?”

“Summoning Laifu is precisely for the purpose of understanding more clearly what happened.” Xiao Liu returned the challenge, not too lightly and not too harshly. “As the Head Palace Superintendent, no one knows these matters more clearly than he does.”

The Fourth Prince was jabbed into discomfort and hit back without thinking: “It is not your place to be speaking here.”

“Then does Aijia have enough standing to speak?” The Empress Dowager raised her brow and looked at this prince who, though barely turned sixteen, already had calculating eyes full of schemes. “Does Aijia require the Fourth Prince’s permission to send someone to find Laifu?”

The Fourth Prince’s expression changed abruptly. He hastened to beg her pardon: “Your grandson would not dare!”

The Empress Dowager gave a short, dismissive sound and paid him no further attention, simply instructing someone to go and find Laifu.

The Fourth Prince withdrew a step or two with a sheepish air. Once he was out of the Empress Dowager’s line of sight, his expression darkened. He could not go on like this — he had to find a way to leave.

Laifu was carried in. He had grown thin to the point of being skin and bones; even kneeling seemed to leave him swaying on the verge of collapse. He pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice hoarse: “This servant is guilty.”

“Rise quickly, sit and speak.” The Empress Dowager had not seen him for many days. The sight gave her a shock. “You are…”

Laifu strained to stand, then perched on the edge of a chair with half his weight: “This servant was ill some time ago…”

His words were cut off when the divine physician reached over to take his pulse. Startled, Laifu immediately tried to pull his wrist away — this was a divine physician. How could someone of his station accept treatment from such a person?

“Nothing more than methods of a base and underhanded kind.”

Laifu was stunned. “Methods? Not illness?”

The divine physician flipped through his medicine case, did not find what he was looking for, and set it aside. “This old man will have someone send over medicine for you later.”

“Yes — this servant thanks the divine physician for the life-saving grace.” Laifu clenched his back teeth together. Having spent a lifetime making his way through the palace, what was there he did not understand at this moment? Yet he could say nothing. All the fury, hatred, and grievance — he could only swallow it all back down. “What instructions does the Empress Dowager have for this servant?”

“Has the Emperor been dining in Yuepin’s quarters for the past half year?”

“Yes, that has generally been the case.”

“What did he eat?”

“Yuepin has no fondness for this servant. For several months now, the Emperor has no longer allowed this servant to enter the Ruyue Palace.”

The Empress Dowager struck the armrest: “Preposterous! Send someone to see what is keeping Yuxiang — she was sent to conduct a search, not to go and tidy up for someone!”

A palace attendant hurried out at a trot, and had barely reached the doorway when she collided head-on with Yuxiang rushing breathlessly inside. The two steadied each other. Yuxiang, drenched in sweat, had no time to say anything extra and broke into a run straight through to the interior.

“Your Highness — the Ruyue Palace… the Ruyue Palace…”

The Empress Dowager rose to her feet: “Speak!”

Yuxiang dug her nails quietly into her own palm to force herself to calm down, yet thinking of what she had seen in the Ruyue Palace, how could she possibly be calm? Her heart was beating all the faster.

“This servant cannot describe it well — it would be better for Your Highness to see for yourself.”

The Empress Dowager knew Yuxiang’s character well. For her to speak in such terms meant things were truly not small. She looked at the Emperor, lying there cushioned on the cloak. “Can the Emperor still wait?”

The divine physician gave a slight bow: “This old man will keep watch.”

The Empress Dowager nodded and extended her hand toward Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu understood at once. He stepped forward and held her up with both hands. “Aijia is timid and afraid I cannot bear a great shock. You few descendants of phoenix and dragon — all of you will accompany Aijia together.”

The Fourth Prince glanced down at the Emperor: “Grandmother, your grandson would like to stay and keep Imperial Father company…”

The Empress Dowager looked at him. “Others might be excused, but you? Stay within Aijia’s line of sight.”

Without waiting for him to say anything further, the Empress Dowager headed toward the outer hall. At the threshold, her gaze shifted and fell upon Hua Zhi: “Aijia grows old and the mind is no longer nimble. I shall ask the eldest daughter of the Hua Family to accompany Aijia.”

Hua Zhi bowed and followed quietly at the back of the group. This was an errand she was only too glad to join.

A consort’s favor or disfavor can be read from every flower and tree and stone in her quarters. Hao Yue, as the most favored consort in the rear palace for nearly a year, had the Ruyue Palace arranged with meticulous care at every turn — even the angle of each pebble seemed to have been deliberately set.

The Empress Dowager took in these details as though she had seen it all a hundred times before. She gave them not a second glance and simply signaled to Yuxiang to lead the way.

Yuxiang lowered her head and guided the group to the secondary hall adjoining the main chamber. Inside, they moved all the way to the far end, and the group came to a stop before a door.

She looked at the Empress Dowager, drew a deep breath, and pushed the door open. Standing just behind it was a small girl with eyes so large they seemed to occupy nearly half her face. A white smock hung loose on her body, swaying around her. She was so thin it looked as though she could barely hold the garment up. Had it not been broad daylight, one might have been forgiven for thinking they had seen a ghost.

At the sight of people, she darted back inside like a frightened little rabbit. Everyone else followed in after her.

Hua Zhi entered last. By now, the pain across her body felt like almost nothing at all. Her mind was buzzing. Wei Congwen had said the Fourth Prince had tasked members of the Xu Family with searching outside for children around the age of eight. At the time she had suspected they might have been brought into the palace. Now that suspicion was confirmed, yet she felt none of the satisfaction of being right. Children smuggled into the palace… for what?