Hua Zhi filed the matter away in her mind and reached out once more to feel Yanxi’s forehead. Her own brow furrowed slightly; she leaned down and pressed her forehead to his.

Shao Yao leaned in to ask, “A fever?”

“A little.” Hua Zhi rose and gestured to Liu Xiang standing to the side to prepare warm water, then poured spirits into it.

Rolling up her sleeves, Hua Zhi wrung out a cloth and laid it across Yanxi’s forehead. She poured a small amount of spirits into each of his palms and rubbed them continuously. Shao Yao climbed onto the bed and pulled off her Yanxi-brother’s socks, then had Liu Xiang pour spirits over her own hands, and began massaging the soles of his feet.

The whole room smelled of liquor. The two of them exchanged a few words from time to time, nothing more than ordinary conversation. When tired, they took turns lying down to rest in the interval after the fever broke, then repeated the same motions once it rose again. Through the night this cycle repeated several times, until at last, just before dawn, it stopped recurring.

Shao Yao yawned. “Hua Hua, go sleep for a bit.”

“We’re paying respects to the ancestors in the morning — if I lay down I’d have to get right back up again. Better not sleep at all.” Hua Zhi pushed the yawning figure toward the bed. “You sleep on that side. Call me if anything happens.”

Shao Yao sluggishly recalled that today was the first day of the first month — Hua Hua, as the head of the household, had to preside over the ancestral rites, so she certainly couldn’t sleep in. How lucky to be herself, Shao Yao thought, yawning again. She paid no mind to all that business about boys and girls not sharing seats after the age of seven; she fell backward and curled into a ball, dead to the world.

Hua Zhi took the blanket Liu Xiang handed her and spread it over Shao Yao, then turned and said quietly, “You go rest too. Have someone else come.”

Liu Xiang shook her head. “This servant isn’t tired.”

Just then, Nian Qiu pushed open the door and came in, followed by Fu Dong carrying a wooden tray. The two of them tiptoed forward, and Nian Qiu said softly, “Miss, please go rest for a bit. This servant will keep watch here.”

“I can’t sleep anymore.” Hua Zhi rose and walked to the table. Fu Dong quickly poured out a large bowl of golden chicken broth — steaming hot, which actually stirred Hua Zhi’s appetite a little.

She slowly finished the entire bowl of broth and ate a small amount of pickled vegetables to cut the richness, and then Ying Chun and Bao Xia came in with washing things to attend to her. After a thorough wash, Hua Zhi felt considerably more alert.

Supporting their young mistress as she sat down, Ying Chun led the senior maidservants in kneeling to kowtow. “We servants wish our young mistress health and peace throughout the new year.”

This ritual came around every year, and Hua Zhi was long accustomed to it. She raised a hand. “All rise — your red envelopes will come later.”

The maids stood. Whatever worries were in their hearts, they all tucked them away now. Ying Chun stepped forward to arrange her young mistress’s hair while the others went off to their respective tasks.

From start to finish, each of them moved with light hands and soft voices, afraid of waking the two sleepers in the room.

Hua Zhi closed her eyes and went through the day’s tasks in her mind — not too many, not too few, all small matters. She would hand them off to Fourth Aunt. After all, the inner household affairs were largely managed by her on ordinary days anyway.

Once she had composed herself, she checked the time and judged it near enough. She returned to the bedside and felt Yanxi’s forehead once more — the fever had not returned.

“Nian Qiu, you stay here to attend. If anything happens, come report to me at once.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi was just about to leave when her hand was suddenly seized. She startled and immediately turned back — and found herself unexpectedly falling into a pair of eyes filled with warmth and tender feeling.

The owner of those eyes smiled and called out softly, “A’Zhi.”

Hua Zhi’s lips moved. After a moment she sat down on the edge of the bed and helped him up, giving an order as she did: “Water.”

Ying Chun hurried to bring warm water. Hua Zhi took it and held it to Yanxi’s lips, feeding him half a cup before stopping, then gently helped ease him back down to lie flat.

Once the bustle of that was over, the indescribable feeling in her chest finally seemed to ease. She looked at Yanxi. “How do you feel?”

“Much better.” Gu Yanxi, pretending not to notice the shift in her emotions, smiled faintly. “What hour is it?”

“Still early. Do you want to sleep a bit more?”

Gu Yanxi did not want to sleep, but seeing A’Zhi already dressed and composed, he nodded. If he didn’t sleep, A’Zhi would not be able to go attend to her own affairs.

At this point, Shao Yao sat up in a daze, half-closed her eyes, pressed her fingers to his pulse for a moment, then hugged her blanket and fell backward again, instantly dead asleep.

That reaction alone was enough to know there was no serious cause for concern. Hua Zhi was amused and went forward to pull her blanket back up, then smoothed Yanxi’s blanket as well and asked him, “Is there any word you need sent out?”

“Have Wang Rong come to me — I need him to handle a few things.”

Hua Zhi nodded and, with the man’s gaze following her, left the room. She was not at all surprised to find Wang Rong keeping watch in the corridor. “He’s calling you in. Don’t let him talk for too long — he needs rest.”

Wang Rong bowed in acknowledgment, his manner even more respectful than before. They had always known that the Shizi regarded the eldest young miss highly, but after last night’s events they finally understood just how highly.

Seeing Master Wang Rong come in, Nian Qiu took her leave with tactful good sense.

“Shizi.”

Gu Yanxi lay with his eyes closed. “What is the situation in the palace?”

“The Emperor spent the entire night in the Imperial Study and did not emerge. The Empress Dowager has taken the Moon Consort into custody and ordered all the palace quarters not to move about. Last night the Sixth Prince sought to leave the palace and was kept in the Fushou Palace by the Empress Dowager.”

“Grandmother is holding down the harem?”

“Yes.”

Gu Yanxi let out a quiet breath and slowly opened his eyes. It was his lack of filial piety — he had forced his grandmother, who had long withdrawn from affairs, to wade back into these murky waters.

Wang Rong raised his head to glance at the Shizi and continued: “Lai Fu managed to pass word in the confusion. He says it was likely the Moon Consort who put this idea into the Emperor’s head. He asks me to relay that he could not have warned us earlier because he himself did not know — he is rarely permitted to enter Rulan Palace, and the people he originally had placed inside have all cut off contact with him. They are likely no longer of any use.”

Lai Fu had been quietly disciplined by the Emperor several times in recent days, and was now keeping his contact with the Shizi to a minimum — from all outward appearances, the two had virtually no dealings.

“In other words, Rulan Palace is now entirely under Hao Yue’s control, and nothing that happens inside is known to those outside?”

“Yes.”

He had underestimated Hao Yue. A’Zhi’s wariness of her had been correct. But regretting it now was too late. Gu Yanxi deliberated briefly. “Have the Third and Fourth Princes been entering the palace frequently of late?”

“Yes — considerably more than before.”

“Look into it. Find out who Hao Yue has had contact with.”

“Yes.”

“Notify Chen Qing: everything in the Shizi Estate that has been placed there with intent should stay. Take my mother’s dowry and all other personal belongings away. Send the things I use regularly to the residence in the south of the city; the rest should be taken to the large house in the north and stored under lock and key. In the meantime, pay attention to guiding the tone of talk in the city — I expect someone will use this incident to throw mud on A’Zhi. Follow the leads and probe it, then there’s one more thing — send word to the Lu Family: tell them not to make any rash moves.”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t we just kill Hao Yue outright?” Shao Yao sat up, yawning — that was the only matter she cared about.

“Not possible right now. Whatever she may feel in her heart, Grandmother must stand on the Emperor’s side at this time to stabilize the situation. Don’t do anything unnecessary — I will not let Hao Yue off.”

Shao Yao was thoroughly displeased. She gave a huff and retreated with her blanket to a corner.

Gu Yanxi paid her no attention and looked at Wang Rong. “Pass the word down — everyone is to lie low. Do not give anyone cause to seize on a weakness at this time.”

“Yes.”

“You may go.”