The two exchanged glances, both feeling uneasy. Gu Chaobei heard footsteps but didn’t know how to react. There was a pile of memorials on the desk, plus secret letters—trying to move and hide them now would probably be too late.

Shen Guiyan was quick to react this time. She got up and bolted the door shut.

There truly was someone outside the door, but it was Baoshan’s cautious voice: “Your Ladyship, this servant has come to change the water in the basin.”

Baoshan used to call her “Young Miss,” then later “Mistress”—there had never been a time when she called her “Your Ladyship.” Shen Guiyan’s heart sank. Unable to discern what the situation was outside, she tiptoed first to the table, placed the teacups and teapot on a tray and picked it up, then gave Gu Chaobei a meaningful look.

There was a tablecloth on the table.

Gu Chaobei understood. With a sweep of his hands, he silently wrapped all the memorials and secret letters in the tablecloth, shoved them under the bed, then lay down on the bed himself. Shen Guiyan yawned, pretending to have just gotten up, and went forward to open the door. “Why are you changing it so late—”

Outside the door was Empress Dowager Wen’s old face, which startled Shen Guiyan so much she flinched. Fortunately, she had been mentally prepared and didn’t shriek, only paid her respects respectfully.

Really, this old lady—not sleeping at night, coming to eavesdrop on others?

Empress Dowager Wen smiled with a kindly expression, her eyes sweeping around the room. She only saw the Emperor on the bed—everything else appeared normal.

“This dowager was just passing by to see if you and the Emperor had retired for the night,” Empress Dowager Wen said with a beaming smile. “Since you’ve already gone to bed, this dowager won’t disturb you.”

Shen Guiyan smiled somewhat helplessly and bowed. “Respectfully sending off the Empress Dowager.”

“Just passing by,” indeed—the Eastern Palace was so far from Xiuzhuang Palace, how could one “pass by” in the middle of the night? Grumbling inwardly, Shen Guiyan’s face showed nothing until the Empress Dowager and Nanny Fanghua had gone far away. Only then did she turn to look at Baoshan. “What happened?”

Baoshan shook her head, still shaken. “This servant doesn’t know. The Empress Dowager came to Xiuzhuang Palace just now with only Nanny Fanghua. This servant was about to announce them when I was stopped.”

A deliberate surprise attack? Shen Guiyan frowned. Fortunately, they were alert. If the Empress Dowager had pushed the door open just now, the consequences in the harem would be unimaginable.

“Mistress, next time this servant calls you ‘Your Ladyship,’ you’ll know what it means, right?” Baoshan smiled with a clever expression.

“I know now, clever girl,” Shen Guiyan smiled and tapped her nose. “Go rest.”

“Yes.” Baoshan smiled and returned to her own room. Shen Guiyan also turned back to the hall and closed the door.

Gu Chaobei breathed a sigh of relief, sat up from the bed, and cursed under his breath: “Old witch.”

Shen Guiyan helped take out all the memorials from under the bed and arranged them neatly. Gu Chaobei simply pulled her onto the bed. “Look at them with me. My head aches from reading.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Shen Guiyan pointed at herself. “This concubine should look at them with you?”

“It’s not like you can’t understand them,” Gu Chaobei snorted twice, pillowing his head on her lap and lying down comfortably. “Let’s just do this. You read them. Between you and me, there are no secrets anyway. What you should know, you already know.”

From the moment she encountered Yuwen Changqing at Yanzi Tower, Gu Chaobei’s secrets had been gradually revealed before her. Hiding under the bed, Shen Guiyan actually hadn’t guessed who those black-clad men were, but Gu Chaobei probably thought she should know everything by now.

Now he was even showing her the memorials.

“I read slowly. If I read alone, I definitely won’t be able to sleep again. You help me process part of them, then I’ll review them once more later,” Gu Chaobei said.

Shen Guiyan nodded, took a deep breath, and picked up a memorial to read.

It was actually a secret memorial about the new policies—a lengthy discourse covering examinations, criminal law, and taxation.

These didn’t need processing—she only needed to use a vermillion brush to mark the main useful points, then show them to Gu Chaobei later. The veteran officials’ memorials were all long-winded nonsense—extracting the essence was good work.

So Shen Guiyan marked the key points and then showed the memorials to Gu Chaobei. This way, reading went much faster, and she wasn’t exactly interfering in court politics.

In half a shichen, they finished reading all the memorials and secret letters. Gu Chaobei’s expression was somewhat grave, and Shen Guiyan was no better off.

The new policies needed to be implemented, but the Empress Dowager wouldn’t agree—the Emperor had to find a way to make her agree. These secret letters and memorials were full of turbulent undercurrents. Tomorrow wouldn’t be easy no matter what.

“Your Majesty should rest first, otherwise you won’t have energy for court,” Shen Guiyan said softly.

Gu Chaobei nodded, put away all the memorials, but sighed as he lay down. “What if I can’t sleep?”

With so many things weighing on his mind, he hadn’t had a peaceful sleep in days.

Shen Guiyan smiled. “Would Your Majesty like to hear a story? The kind that’s very easy to fall asleep to.”

Gu Chaobei became interested. “Sure.”

“This is a very long story,” Shen Guiyan softened her voice and closed her eyes. “Once upon a time, there was a mosquito flying in the night sky, flying and flying and flying…”

Flying endlessly. Shen Guiyan’s voice was soft and gentle, growing lighter and lighter. Gu Chaobei had just been about to mock what kind of story this was when the person beside him gradually fell silent.

She fell asleep!

Was she putting herself to sleep or him? Gu Chaobei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Looking at Shen Guiyan’s peaceful sleeping face, he couldn’t help gently placing a kiss on her forehead. Thinking it wasn’t enough, he kissed her lips as well.

Even for her sake, he had to fight this battle well.

At dawn, when court convened, Gu Chaobei mounted the dragon palanquin. Unlike usual when he dozed off, he had a solemn expression and looked straight ahead. When the dragon palanquin encountered the Empress Dowager’s phoenix carriage ahead, for the first time he didn’t yield, but traveled side by side.

“The Emperor seems in good spirits today,” Empress Dowager Wen said, glancing at him with some surprise.

Gu Chaobei smiled slightly. “Thanks to Mother’s blessing.”

Empress Dowager Wen felt uneasy in her heart. After ascending to the court and sitting behind the screen, her unease only grew.

The old lady’s intuition was accurate. Sure enough, as soon as morning court began, Prime Minister Gu stood up to discuss the new policies. Last time someone mentioned new policies, she had directly called for dismissal. This time, court had just begun and it was Prime Minister Gu raising it—surely she couldn’t dismiss court again?

Before she could react, quite a few people in court voiced their agreement. Minister of Revenue Gu Chaodong naturally needn’t be mentioned, but even the Ministers of Justice and Rites expressed approval. Moreover, even General Lian of the Southern Battalion nodded along.

What was the reasoning here? The new policies greatly affected the interests of veteran officials—how could all these people agree?

“I also think it’s feasible. Why not issue orders to begin reforms in all areas according to the new policies Prime Minister Gu has proposed?”

“Your Majesty!” Empress Dowager Wen shouted angrily. “How can you decide on your own authority?”

Her angry shout silenced the court.

Gu Chaobei turned impatiently to look at her. “Is this realm not this son’s realm? Why must Mother even control this son’s decisions?”

Empress Dowager Wen choked, fuming with anger. This scoundrel—she had supported him to the throne, and now he didn’t know his own surname?

“The new policies are not feasible!” Empress Dowager Wen said in a heavy voice. “This dowager does not agree.”

“I agree,” Gu Chaobei’s face darkened. He turned to look at General Lian beside him and asked, “Does this realm listen to me or to the Empress Dowager?”

General Lian’s answer required no thought: “This subject is loyal to His Majesty.”

Prime Minister Gu and a group of veteran officials also paid respects to Gu Chaobei. Empress Dowager Wen was shocked—she never expected such a situation to emerge in court one day.

“This matter will be discussed again next time,” Wen Xiuli stood up, her voice already filled with thunderous fury. “Today’s morning court ends here. If you esteemed ministers have memorials, send them directly to the Eastern Palace. This dowager has words to speak with the Emperor.”

Gu Chaobei maintained a serious expression. “Morning court has just begun. What reason does the Empress Dowager have to dismiss court?”

Empress Dowager Wen snorted coldly. Beside her, Grand Scholar Fu, Yuwen Changqing and others all began gradually leaving the court.

“Stop!” Gu Chaobei commanded in a low voice.

Yuwen Changqing halted and turned to look back.

“The Empress Dowager holds the phoenix seal and should manage the harem. The front court is my domain—why must the Empress Dowager control it excessively?”

“Your domain?” Empress Dowager Wen laughed coldly and threw down a teacup. The crisp sound echoed through the hall.

Yuwen Changqing, Grand Scholar Fu and the others began walking out again.

Among those remaining were neutral parties and those who supported Gu Chaobei. Censor Ye Wendao stepped forward and said, “For His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to confront each other in court is probably not appropriate. Why doesn’t His Majesty move to the Imperial Study to have a proper discussion with the Empress Dowager?”

Both Gu Chaobei and the Empress Dowager were displeased. Finally, dragon and phoenix both departed simultaneously, heading straight for the Imperial Study. A group of veteran officials followed behind, afraid that the Empress Dowager might harm the Emperor in her anger.

In everyone’s eyes, Gu Chaobei’s wings hadn’t even fully grown yet—how could he compare to the Empress Dowager?

But Gu Chaobei’s temper was far greater than the Empress Dowager’s. As soon as he entered the Imperial Study, he directly swept everything on the desk to the floor.

The Empress Dowager was actually startled.

“Where does the Emperor get such great anger?” Having someone close the study doors, Empress Dowager Wen’s expression was extremely unpleasant. “Could it be the Emperor has already forgotten who this dowager is?”

Gu Chaobei laughed lightly and shook his head. “Haven’t forgotten.”

How could he forget the person who single-handedly helped him to the throne?

“Then this dowager doesn’t understand,” Empress Dowager Wen glanced at the mess on the floor. “Why must the Emperor insist on implementing new policies?”

“For the sake of all under heaven, for the common people,” Gu Chaobei said. “Since I occupy this position, I should do something for the people, shouldn’t I?”

The Empress Dowager laughed lightly, stepped forward and gently adjusted the dragon crown on Gu Chaobei’s head. “Has His Majesty lived too long in comfort and is bored? No matter—this dowager can find more beauties for the Emperor.”

“I don’t need them,” Gu Chaobei pressed his lips together. “Having… having Consort Zhuang is enough.”

The Empress Dowager looked at him. “If the Emperor must be so obstinate, then don’t blame this dowager for being impolite.”

Gu Chaobei clenched his fists. He had already issued the imperial edict implementing the new policies—he wanted to act first and report later. What would the Empress Dowager do? What could she do?

She had also underestimated him.

“Tell those old people outside to disperse. At their age, preserving their lives is most important,” the Empress Dowager called out to those outside, then looked at Gu Chaobei again. “If the Emperor still has this same idea at tomorrow’s court session, then this dowager won’t stop you.”