It turned out that one trip to the capital had made Qing Yang considerably more tight-lipped than before.

Luoyun did not press him. As long as the Shizi was safe and unharmed, there was nothing more to be too worried about.

When the boats drew near the river wharves outside the capital, Luoyun stood at the prow and could already make out the distant city walls.

The last time she had returned to the capital, she had been on a battered, leaking vessel, shivering in the cold — and it was on that boat that she had first encountered Han Linfeng, wounded and in hiding.

This time, to come back on an imperial pleasure vessel of all things — such a journey left her oddly unsettled throughout.

The whole way, although there was a great bed spread with silk cushions on board, Luoyun had not dared so much as lie down on it, terrified of defiling the imperial bedding. Sitting upright in a chair for the entire journey had left her back aching and her waist stiff. At least the distance was not too great — they had arrived at last.

By the time she disembarked from the carriage, the passengers from the boats ahead had already boarded their own carriages and were filing one after another toward the capital.

Luoyun looked at the carriage that had come to receive her — once again gilded and encrusted with tourmaline gems, extravagantly ornate. Had Han Linfeng emptied out the Emperor’s boatyards and royal stables entirely?

Even granting that he had rendered distinguished service in rescuing the Emperor, this manner of carrying on was frankly reckless. Luoyun sat in the splendid carriage and watched the scene along the main road to the capital through the carriage window.

The capital appeared to be truly at peace now. There was no longer any trace of the displaced commoners she had seen begging along the road from Liang Prefecture.

Along the way she could see many soldiers moving in and out in orderly formation. From their accents and from the roughened cheeks carved by the northern winds, Luoyun gathered that they were Han Linfeng’s men.

Seeing them brought a measure of calm to her heart.

But once they entered the city gates, the prosperous streets she remembered were all scenes of devastation. Everywhere she looked bore the marks of smashing and looting. The signboards of many shops that had stood for a hundred years were battered and hanging crookedly — though shop workers could already be seen cleaning up the premises, apparently preparing to repair and reopen.

Luoyun had assumed the carriage would take her to the Shizi’s residence where she had stayed before.

Instead, to her surprise, it brought her all the way to the rear gate of the imperial palace.

When she stepped out of the carriage, she could see palace servants in charge of provisioning coming and going with carts, hauling in food and various implements through the gate.

Qing Yang said: “Things are not yet fully settled — if you were to enter by the main gate, you would inevitably be seen, and it would give people cause for gossip. You will have to put up with using the rear entrance.”

Luoyun asked in puzzlement: “Is the Shizi inside the palace?”

Qing Yang nodded. “Since the Emperor’s return to the palace, his health has grown still more fragile. Lord Beizhen and the Shizi are both in attendance at his side, and so they have taken up residence within the palace as well.”

Luoyun’s eyes went wide. Though they were members of the Han imperial family, they were not the Emperor’s own sons or grandsons. Even serving at the Emperor’s bedside and offering filial care was hardly their place.

And staying inside the palace — was this for the sake of ensuring the Emperor’s safety?

Still, since the Emperor’s health was precarious, having her come into the palace was perhaps a matter of following proper form — paying her respects to the Emperor, that sort of thing.

After a moment, Qing Yang added: “The Shizi appears to be in the side hall council chamber, discussing the defense arrangements for the capital with the generals. In a little while I will go report to the Shizi, and a palace attendant will escort you inside.”

Luoyun nodded and watched Qing Yang hurry off toward the side hall. But as she walked, she noticed that her destination did not seem to be the hall where court ladies and noble wives customarily waited to be received — instead, she was being led toward the sleeping quarters on the western side of the inner palace.

Though she had been blind during her earlier visits, she had committed the routes through the palace to memory. Looking at the back gardens as she passed, she grew increasingly certain she was not following any path she had taken before. As she moved through the intricately carved and painted palace halls, her sense of unease deepened.

What was happening? She could not stop herself from asking the palace attendant leading her where exactly they were going.

The palace had received and expelled several waves of princes by now, each one sweeping in with the air of an emperor-to-be, and within days losing their heads. After so many changes of master, the palace attendants had grown numb. The Emperor, even though he had returned, had been carried back on a litter and clearly had little time remaining — who knew but that more trouble might break out in a few days, with yet another figure storming in to proclaim himself ruler.

These seasoned palace operators had adopted the strategy of speaking as little as possible and performing their duties without fuss. Their mouths might as well have rusted shut. They kept their heads lowered and led the way in silence, intent only on delivering their charge to the destination and being done with the errand.

Luoyun asked several times and received no answer whatsoever. She gave up asking, too irritated to continue.

When they finally arrived at a set of palace apartments, the attendants turned and lowered their heads respectfully. “Please rest here, Shizi’s Consort, and wait for the Shizi of Beizhen. If you need anything, please instruct the servants…”

With that, the palace attendants melted away like drifting spirits behind the layered curtains of the apartments.

Ji Qiu and Xiangcao looked around the sleeping chambers. The location was somewhat out of the way, but the furnishings were fine, a cool incense curled from the burner, and the bedding appeared freshly made.

Luoyun made a circuit of the rooms and could detect no signs that anyone had recently lived here. It had clearly been prepared freshly for her.

The long boat journey had left her waist and limbs sore and bone-tired. Bewildered as she was by the situation, exhaustion won out, and she pulled off her embroidered shoes, lay down on the bed fully dressed, and fell asleep.

Luoyun was somewhat particular about where she slept — in any new place, she generally needed time to adjust before she could rest well. But whether it was sheer exhaustion or something else, this time her head had barely touched the pillow before she sank into a deep slumber.

She slept for a considerable stretch. When she opened her eyes again, the lamps had already been lit for the evening.

Xiangcao and Ji Qiu were nowhere to be seen.

The sleeping chambers were elaborately decorated, though they had clearly been ransacked at some point — many ornaments and pieces of furniture were missing. A few essential tables, chairs, and cabinets had been placed in the rooms, but for a palace of this size, they were far too sparse, and the replacements had not yet been fully arranged. The space felt vast and hollow.

Lying there in the enormous hall, she could hear the wind coming through the windows, whistling as it swirled around the corners of the room.

Luoyun felt as though she had been returned to the earliest days of her blindness — disoriented, looking around without knowing where she was. She sat up and called for Xiangcao and Ji Qiu.

She called several times and received no answer.

Suddenly Luoyun’s eyes flew open and a thought flashed through her mind: had it truly been Han Linfeng who had her brought here?

You Shanyue had reach that seemed to extend to the heavens. Could he have set some trap to ensnare Han Linfeng, and then deceived her into this palace as well? He had spoken those brazen, suggestive words to her face at Xianyin Mountain — could she have been lured here, to be presented by You Shanyue as a gift to some newly powerful prince?

At this thought, Luoyun leaped off the bed, crossed quickly to the door, and prepared to assess the situation outside.

But just at that moment, a jumble of footsteps sounded outside — many people approaching.

Luoyun’s hand instinctively went to the protective hairpin in her hair. She felt a flash of annoyance at herself for not having kept the knockout powder Cao Pei’er had once given her on her person.

If whoever was coming through that door turned out to be some lecherous scoundrel, she would have no choice but to fight to the death with what she had.

At this moment, from the doorway came the sound of riding boots striking the floor — a heavy, resonant footfall.

Luoyun darted to one side and concealed herself behind a nearby screen. She peered through the gap.

In the dim lamplight, she could not make out the figures clearly. A number of people seemed to have entered, carrying trays of food — she could detect the fragrance drifting through the air.

One figure strode ahead of the palace attendants with a long, purposeful step and entered the inner room. When he pulled back the curtain and found the bed empty, he said in a low, displeased voice: “Where has the Shizi’s consort gone?”

At that familiar voice, every last bit of tension drained from Luoyun’s body. The world swam a little, and she sat down hard on the floor.

At the sound, the man came in, moved the screen aside, and found the small, pale-faced, sorry figure sitting on the ground.

“What are you doing hiding in here?” Han Linfeng bent down at once and gathered her up in his arms, striding toward the bed.

Luoyun’s emotions had been through fire and water in the past moment. Now, lying in arms she had not felt in so long, all the anxiety she had suppressed finally found its release. “You… have the nerve to ask — for so long without a single word from you… I thought, I thought…”

She could not finish. Luoyun simply let herself weep, without restraint and without apology.

In Han Linfeng’s experience, Luoyun did not cry easily. Only the most extreme joy or grief could move her — the stubbornness in her bones meant tears were a rarity. But now she wept as though releasing a flood that had been held back too long, recklessly and freely, like a child waking from a nightmare, sobbing so hard she could not stop herself.

Han Linfeng panicked slightly. He had not felt this helpless even facing the floodwaters of Yan County.

“It is my fault, I am sorry — but I did not know you had come to the capital. I was sending letters all the way to Liang Prefecture. But look — I am perfectly fine now. Will you stop crying, please?”

But Luoyun paid no attention to his explanations. She buried her head in his chest and wept on, and honestly she did not know quite what had come over her either. She simply wanted to have this one willful cry.

The battle-hardened warrior who was unmoved on the field of war had finally met his match. Soft words of comfort proved entirely useless. In the end he simply pressed his lips to hers and sealed away her sobs.

The palace attendants carrying dishes into the room took one look and discreetly lowered their heads and withdrew.

When only the two of them remained, Han Linfeng finally released her lips with evident reluctance, and used his thumb to wipe the tears from her face. “Not even a month apart, and you have turned into a crying pot. Let me see now — where is the most water?”

Luoyun’s tears turned to laughter at this. She felt a little embarrassed by her earlier outburst, which had really been nothing more than frightening herself.

“I did not know where Xiangcao and Ji Qiu had gone. I called for them and no one came. Of course I panicked.”

Just as she was speaking, her stomach gave a long, indignant rumble.

Han Linfeng pinched the tip of her nose. “I came back early and even lay beside you for a while as you slept. Then, seeing it was getting late, I went to have the kitchen prepare the things you like to eat. Xiangcao and Ji Qiu went to fetch your fresh clothes. I thought since I was here myself, there was no need to leave unfamiliar palace maids to attend to you, so I sent them all away too.”

As he spoke, he bent and arranged her shoes neatly, helped her put them on, and led her by the hand to the table.

The truth was that Han Linfeng genuinely enjoyed helping his own young wife with her shoes and clothes. It was the same impulse that drives children to dress and fuss over their dolls — when there is a perfectly charming little creature close at hand, who can resist wanting to attend to her?

The pity was that when Luoyun’s eye ailment had not yet healed, her sense of self-reliance had been fierce. Too much attentiveness would have made her feel wretched inside. So that quiet preference of his had never had an outlet.

But now that her sight had fully returned, and with no other maidservants present, there was nothing to hold him back.

Luoyun watched this large and imposing man go about the small domestic business of attending to her with what was evidently practiced ease. A sweet warmth stole through her. She glanced around at the palace halls, and said with a half-teasing laugh: “It is fortunate you are only a Shizi. If you were the Emperor in there carrying on like this for a woman, and someone saw you, I would be hoisted up on the city gates and cursed as the bewitching femme fatale who brought down the dynasty.”

This was the idle banter of husband and wife murmured close together — but Han Linfeng’s hand paused for just a moment as he was placing food in her bowl, then resumed, and he said in an even tone: “Is there a rule that an emperor cannot be tender with the woman he loves? You are exaggerating.”

Luoyun felt at once that making jokes about the Emperor while inside the palace, even in a private whisper between husband and wife, was rather reckless of her. She hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice, then asked: “Why did you have me brought into the palace? Is it because the streets outside are still not safe enough for me to stay at the Shizi’s residence? What is the Emperor’s condition now? And what will be done about Empress Wang and the Sixth Prince?”

There was in fact much more she wanted to ask. She started with the most pressing.

Han Linfeng continued unhurriedly setting food in her bowl and said in the same easy tone: “I had the imperial kitchen braise the fish you like especially for you. Eat more…”

To anyone who knew Han Linfeng, he was a man who kept his emotions from showing — difficult to read. But Luoyun had shared his bed long enough to catch the small signals when something was off with him. For instance, right now: this deliberate deflection, this circling away from what she had asked. He was concealing something he found difficult to bring out directly. Luoyun swallowed what was in her mouth, studied the handsome line of his profile, and said thoughtfully: “You are hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

Han Linfeng knew that once the weeping had been wrung from this little creature beside him, what remained was a small and extremely cunning fox. There was no point concealing things for long. And so he set down his chopsticks, considered for a moment, and leaned close to her ear. “The Emperor… tomorrow he will convene the court ministers and announce the edict of abdication and succession.”

Luoyun nodded. She had more or less anticipated this. By all accounts the Emperor’s health had already been failing before the palace uprising. Now that the turmoil was over, using whatever breath he had left to formally establish the succession — to stabilize the realm and restore confidence — was only right.

Seeing her nod, Han Linfeng continued: “As you know, this entire upheaval was set off by the struggle over the succession. To prevent further disorder, the Emperor is keeping the matter secret until the key ministers have returned to the capital, at which point it will be announced together. The reason my father and I are staying inside the palace is to ensure no further harm comes to the Emperor. Once the Emperor announces the edict tomorrow, I will explain everything to you in full detail.”

Luoyun understood immediately, and asked nothing further. These were matters of state. It was enough to wait and hear the outcome.

Han Linfeng, for his part, was still thinking about her earlier loss of composure. Luoyun was not a woman who frightened easily — but her posture behind that screen just now, hand clenched around her hairpin, had been that of a person ready to fight to the death.

Luoyun then recounted how, during her visit to Xianyin Mountain, she had heard You Shanyue’s brazen, barely veiled insinuations — and looked up at Han Linfeng with wide eyes. “You sent someone to bring me here, and the whole journey was conducted in such mysterious secrecy. I had actually begun to think that You Shanyue, with all his far-reaching power, had managed to succeed in his plans, and that you had somehow fallen into his trap without knowing it. That he had devised yet another scheme and lured me into the palace to be handed over to some newly powerful prince.”

Han Linfeng had heard Old Cui’s report on You Shanyue’s secret dealings with the Prince of Dongping — but he had known nothing of the encounter in which You Shanyue had verbally propositioned Su Luoyun, suggesting that when she became a widow she could come to him for shelter and he would arrange a splendid future for her.

This was the first he was hearing of it. The moment Luoyun finished speaking, Han Linfeng could no longer sustain his customary composure. His hand came down on the table with a bang, fury erupting without restraint. “Preposterous! That vile old creature actually had such thoughts — cutting him into ten thousand pieces would not be sufficient!”

Luoyun immediately raised her hand and pressed it over his mouth. “My lord — this is the palace, not our home. Keep your voice down. I think the palace is rather loosely staffed just now, so you must be careful what you say. That old man has no shortage of gold or women, and he is extraordinarily calculating. He commands wealth that spans all beneath heaven, and how many forces like the Prince of Dongping are behind him, we do not yet know. Let us save the settling of accounts with him for when we return to Liang Prefecture — but tell me, I heard General Zhao Dong seems to have been caught in his scheme. What exactly happened?”

The words “return to Liang Prefecture” seemed to calm Han Linfeng somewhat. He said in an even voice: “Leading an assault on the palace carries a terrible reputation, and the Emperor was in the Empress’s hands — any reckless military action against the palace would have endangered his life. The Prince of Dongping has always been careful with his own image and had no desire to earn that kind of notoriety. So he sought to draw Zhao Dong in and make him do the dirty work.”

Luoyun could not help a faint, surprised laugh. “General Zhao is such a straightforward man. How could he have been manipulated?”

Han Linfeng’s voice grew serious. “He was moved… and so General Zhao led his troops to storm the palace, completely disregarding the danger to the Emperor’s life.”

Luoyun stared. Zhao Dong was not a man who could be bought with rare treasures or beautiful women. Why would he do something so rash and so ill-advised?

Han Linfeng continued: “That You Shanyue truly has extraordinary reach. Somehow he obtained the testimony of a palace matron who had served Empress Wang in her early years — a deposition stating that when Zhao Dong’s first wife, Huiniang, was with child, the Empress had secretly arranged for something to be done to her, which caused her to die in difficult labor.”

Su Luoyun drew a sharp breath.

Even if this were true, she could not say she was entirely shocked. Empress Wang was, after all, exactly this sort of cold-blooded woman. The fact that the Ninth Prince had gone so long without a legitimate son had also been the Empress’s doing. And in her own chambers, the Empress had nearly succeeded in harming Fang Jinshu through a poisoned incense burner sent by another consort.

It was entirely possible that years ago, unwilling to let her daughter remain unmarried and hindered by the depth of Zhao Dong’s devotion to his wife, the Empress had arranged to have Huiniang killed.

Zhao Dong had never been able to let go of his beloved wife. Shown convincing evidence like this, going to war in a blaze of grief and love was not in the least surprising.

She understood now. The reason Zhao Dong had led his troops to storm the palace was not to rescue the Emperor — it was to seize Empress Wang and demand an accounting.

At this thought, Luoyun’s mind suddenly turned with quiet worry to someone else — Princess Yuyang, far away in Liang Prefecture. Did she know what had happened all those years ago? Was she entirely ignorant, or had she simply closed her eyes to her mother’s crimes?

Han Linfeng then pressed a kiss to her cheek and said quietly: “If we were to live in the capital from now on — what would you think of that?”

Luoyun was caught off guard. She thought of how thoroughly she had managed to offend a whole gathering of noble ladies in Maolin County. If she lived in the capital, would she not have to deal with that sort of person every single day?

She assumed he was worried she might grow nostalgic for her hometown and reluctant to leave. So she shook her head, smiled, and said: “I am not like Mother — I do not carry a constant longing for the capital. Liang Prefecture suits me perfectly well. I have grown used to it out there; coming back here, I feel out of place. Settle things here as quickly as you can, and then I will go home with you…”

But at these words, Han Linfeng’s expression grew even more taut. He seemed about to say something more — when a voice from beyond the door announced quietly: “Shizi, Lord Beizhen asks for you. There is urgent business to discuss.”

Luoyun hurriedly picked up a piece of pepper-spiced beef and held it to Han Linfeng’s lips. “Go take care of your affairs. Don’t worry about me.”

With the Emperor announcing the succession tomorrow, the impact on the already-battered Great Wei realm would inevitably be considerable. The capital’s defenses were thin, and Zhao Dong’s current loyalties and state of mind were unknown. The Beizhen Wang father and son would certainly have to shoulder the weight of guarding the imperial palace. Though the two of them had just reunited after a long separation, with so much left unsaid between them, the affairs of state had to come first.

Just then, Xiangcao and Ji Qiu came back as well. Han Linfeng told Luoyun that the area around the palace chambers was all his own people, and that she could rest easy — then hurried away.

Xiangcao held up a selection of clothes they had just gone to the palace storehouse to collect and said: “The Shizi said, in addition to the everyday clothing, he wanted us to find some proper formal robes for you as well. But when we left, all we had brought was everyday wear. Fortunately the palace storehouse still has some ceremonial robes that were used by the consorts for ritual occasions. We chose a few that looked closest to your measurements — we will adjust the waist later and they should do. Please have a look — which do you think would be best?”

Luoyun looked them over and chose the one in the plainest coloring. But even that one, like all formal ceremonial garments, was heavily embroidered and encrusted with pearls and carnelian — however plain the color, in sunlight the hem and cuffs would flash and glitter.

These lavish garments made for palace consorts really were not quite right for her.

But this was not the moment for fussing over the suitability of clothing. Luoyun had just seen Han Linfeng, and her heart had settled. As for the social obligations of the capital — she had very little interest in any of them.

Once the Fang family helped place the infant Emperor on the throne, she would become a thorn in the side of the new Empress Dowager Fang Jinshu. There would be no need to keep up any pretense of socializing with those noble ladies. For any and all invitations, she would simply plead illness. The fine garments Han Linfeng had ordered prepared would in all likelihood never be worn.

She thought of the sweetness of Han Linfeng’s kiss a little while ago, and a quiet smile settled over her. Before long, drowsiness crept back. As she buried her face in the pillow, a vague thought floated through her mind: she really ought to ask a physician to have a look at her when there was a moment — lately she had been so strangely tired all the time.

The next morning, the great Taihe Hall of the Great Wei — which had stood empty and gathering dust for a very long time — was at last swept clean, and shone again in the morning light with something of its former glory.

Important ministers who had scattered to all parts of the realm began returning to their posts. Although every one of them had aged and weathered considerably through their days of flight and hardship, the knowledge that the Emperor had finally come home put an expression of barely contained joy on each face.

The Duke of Jun, however, standing beside the Duke of Lu, glanced across at the father and son of the Beizhen Wang household standing in the ranks opposite, and murmured quietly: “I only found out yesterday when I arrived that it was Lord Beizhen and his son who brought the Emperor back. And just now, coming into the palace — every face I saw inside and out was unfamiliar. What do you make of this?”