The conversation had led them to those words, and once he said them, the Crown Prince suddenly felt exposed. He turned and bolted.
Just then, an eunuch stepped forward, cradling a jade vase filled with red peonies.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince,” he began, “as per your instructions—”
The Crown Prince frantically signaled for him to be quiet.
But Yun Jichu had already overheard. She laughed from behind him. “Is this peony that Ah Nian sent me? It’s so beautiful.”
The Crown Prince hurried away, tossing back only, “This son takes his leave.”
Yun Jichu watched him flee, ears red as cherries, and chuckled as she accepted the peony.
A wave of floral fragrance assailed her nostrils.
In Shouning Palace, the Empress Dowager gazed at the princess seated beside her, her eyebrows arched in a gentle smile.
The princess had fallen ill a few days earlier, but now that she had recovered, she had come at once to keep her company.
Joy bloomed in Yu Rumei’s heart.
“Ah Huan, do you hold it against Imperial Grandmother for not visiting you these past days?”
The princess shook her head. “Imperial Grandmother was ill too. Ah Huan understands.”
“Actually, Mother Empress was ill as well, so Ah Huan came in her stead to visit Imperial Grandmother.”
Yu Rumei raised an eyebrow upon hearing the princess mention Yun Jichu of her own accord. “The Empress was ill? This Dowager thought she was perfectly fine.”
“Mother Empress has to care for Father Emperor and for Ah Huan too. She fell ill from exhaustion.”
Yu Rumei nodded—that did make sense. Very well, with Yun Jichu staying away to pay her respects, things were peaceful enough. She let the matter drop.
Even so, she asked, “Did the Empress say anything about this Dowager to Ah Huan?”
The princess nodded.
A chill flickered in the depths of Yu Rumei’s eyes.
“Mother Empress instructed Ah Huan to spend more time with Imperial Grandmother,” the princess said. “You’ve been working so hard these days.”
Yu Rumei’s smile reached her eyes, though her words were sharp. “This Dowager can’t imagine the Empress saying any such thing.”
“Imperial Grandmother, Ah Huan missed you terribly these past days.”
Yu Rumei opened her arms, beckoning the girl into her embrace.
At first, she hadn’t cared much for this pair of children.
But over the past few years, they were the only ones in the palace, and the Emperor doted on them fiercely.
Little by little, Yu Rumei had grown ever more fond of the two youngsters maturing right under her nose.
Especially lately—the Crown Prince and the princess were both precocious, beginning their studies far earlier than most children. The entire court praised the auspicious dragon-phoenix twins for their sharp minds and innate wisdom.
As Yu Rumei advanced in years, her grandmotherly affection swelled day by day.
“Ah Huan,” she said, “the Empress is still new to all this. If she does anything improper, you must tell Grandmother at once.”
The princess nuzzled against her collar. “Mother Empress is wonderful to Ah Huan and Imperial Brother. We like her very much.”
Yu Rumei replied, “You’re still children. You don’t understand grown-up matters.”
She paused, then ventured, “Shall Imperial Grandmother send you to keep watch on her?”
The princess appeared not to hear, tugging Yu Rumei’s hand to pull her to her feet.
“Imperial Grandmother, look quick! Has Ah Huan grown taller these past few days? If I have, then I’m not a child anymore!”
Yu Rumei rose with a laugh, measuring the princess’s height.
She held her palm level with her own waist. “Ah Huan really has grown! Tell Imperial Grandmother what you’ve been eating lately—you’ve shot up so much.”
Yu Rumei drew the princess back into her arms.
Laughter and chatter filled the air before gradually fading, along with the faint osmanthus scent drifting from Shouning Palace.
Yu Rumei reclined on a small couch, sipping her tea.
She glanced at the roughly clad man kneeling to one side.
“Farther away—that medicinal stench is overpowering.” She waved him off, pressing a handkerchief to her nose.
“Since you’ve made that corpse so lifelike that it’s indistinguishable from the real thing, why go to the trouble of scarring your face, burning your throat hoarse, and turning yourself into this ghastly, neither human nor ghost?”
“……” The man shifted farther away, refusing to answer.
“Empress Dowager, the Princess will never be of use to us.”
Yu Rumei said coldly, “The Princess is still young. I never intended for her to get involved.”
The man replied, “The only ones who can get close to Yun Jichu are the Princess and the Crown Prince.”
“The Crown Prince is perceptive and hard to manipulate. I didn’t expect the Princess to be so cunning—”
Crash!
Yu Rumei slammed her teacup down hard.
“Insolent!”
The man fell silent, not daring to speak again.
“Your Ladyship, Yun Jichu is a demon woman at heart. How can we allow a mere demon woman to ascend to the position of Empress, to mother the realm and become the mother of the two young highnesses?”
Yu Rumei replied, “You prattle on about her being a demon woman day after day, yet I’ve never seen any demonic deeds from her.”
“Yun Jichu’s behavior is highly suspicious.”
“But she did return in the end, didn’t she?” Yu Rumei lifted her eyelids and shot him a glance.
“On the contrary, you—why must you go out of your way to oppose her?”
“Wei Shan.” Her final words were cold and sharp.
Wei Shan said, “His Majesty has been bewitched by the demon woman. He disregards his own imperial health, night after night drawing blood from his very heart to nourish her—”
“What?” Yu Rumei sat up straight, her face draining of color.
“Is this true?”
“This Poor Daoist swears that if there’s even half a lie in my words, may I die without an intact corpse.”
“No wonder…” Yu Rumei thought of the Emperor’s pallid complexion over these past few years, and how his body had crumbled like dry earth whenever he fell ill.
She asked, “But Yun Jichu clearly only appeared this year during the selection of consorts!”
Had she been entering his dreams all these years to bewitch him into offering his blood?
Wei Shan glanced at the Empress Dowager and saw her panic. Seizing the moment, he pressed on. “The tracks of a demon woman—how could mere mortals comprehend them?”
In truth, even now, he couldn’t figure out the exact connection between Yun Jichu and the Late Empress.
Someone had appeared out of nowhere, identical to the portraits in Zichen Hall.
From his years of wandering among the common folk, he was certain it had to be some demonic spell.
It had cost him Xue Gui and forced him to flee in disgrace.
All the money he’d repaid on Xue Gui’s behalf back then had been squandered!
Wei Shan’s heart ached at the thought.
Now, trailing after this empty-headed Empress Dowager, he was treated as lesser, wasting endless breath into the wind.
Yet today, this simple-minded woman seemed unusually sharp—perhaps influenced by the Princess.
Yu Rumei gradually recovered from her shock. “Withdraw.”
Wei Shan had no idea what brilliant scheme the Empress Dowager had in mind and wanted to say more, but she waved him off dismissively.
“……” Wei Shan had no choice but to retreat.
Once the surroundings fell quiet, Yu Rumei summoned Su Qiu.
“Have you kept a close watch? Where has he gone these past few days?”
Su Qiu shook her head. “He stays cooped up in his room and never steps out. He hasn’t asked the serving eunuchs a single question.”
“It seems he’s an honest sort, then.”
Su Qiu ventured, “I heard that not long ago, an eunuch by His Majesty’s side died. Right after that, Wei Shan faked his death to seek refuge with Your Ladyship. This servant can’t help but wonder…”
She lifted her eyes to gauge Yu Rumei’s expression.
Yu Rumei remained impassive. “You’ve served me all these years—what is there you can’t say to me?”
“Wondering… perhaps Wei Shan wasn’t forced to fake his death by the Empress. Maybe he saw that eunuch die and feared getting dragged into it, so he came to throw in his lot with Your Ladyship.”
Yu Rumei frowned in confusion. “What was that eunuch’s name? How did he die so suddenly?”
Su Qiu answered, “His name was Xue Gui. He died under mysterious circumstances, with no word leaking out. This servant only learned of it from an old eunuch who was being transported out of the palace.”
“If that eunuch had some connection to Wei Shan, then everything falls into place.”
Yu Rumei said nothing.
After a long silence, she finally spoke. “Keep watching Wei Shan.”
Su Qiu bowed her head in acknowledgment, but the Empress Dowager called her back.
“What of that woman from Jiangnan that Wei Shan brought in? Where is she now?”
“Word is she’ll arrive in the capital tomorrow and come in with the procurement carriages.”
Yu Rumei waved her off, dismissing her.
Yun Jichu spent the entire afternoon painting in Zichen Hall, managing only a few pages.
At this rate, it looked like she’d have to delay handing them over to Ah Huan.
Qin Xiao was working day and night—it was clearly grueling labor. She wondered how he was holding up and whether he could keep enduring the intensity.
Earning this money was no simple task.
Night had deepened by the time Yun Jichu set down her brush. She rubbed her fingers and wandered idly around the hall.
Truth be told, she still wasn’t quite used to strolling through someone else’s chambers.
Even if that someone was currently her husband.
But Yun Jichu couldn’t shake her worry about that wound. She paced back and forth, trying to calm the restlessness churning in her heart.
Her thoughts had been a tangled mess all afternoon. For years now, whenever she was annoyed, she painted. When she was tired, she painted. Whether she was unhappy or elated, she painted.
She had never once been distracted while painting before, but today was the exception.
How exactly had he been injured?
And why hadn’t it healed after all this time?
The night deepened as Helian Jin stepped into the hall, a thin sheen of sweat beading on his forehead.
He looked flushed and healthy, nothing at all like a man carrying a serious injury.
The moment Yun Jichu laid eyes on him, last night’s events flooded back to her. She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.
She had urgent business tonight, though.
Before Helian Jin could draw near, Yun Jichu took two steps toward him.
“Are you—”
She didn’t finish. Helian Jin swept her into his arms.
The warmth radiating from his body hadn’t fully faded, enveloping her in cozy heat.
Yun Jichu’s ear pressed against his chest, where she could hear the quickened thump of his heartbeat.
He held her like that for a long while, until her own body began to grow feverish.
It felt just like the early days, when they hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Ah Chu, I came back late.”
Yun Jichu wriggled free from his embrace and tilted her head up to meet his gaze.
“You…”
She didn’t get to finish again. Helian Jin leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.
A thousand questions burned inside her, but she couldn’t afford to lose focus. If her mind wandered even for a second, Helian Jin would notice immediately.
She endured it as best she could.
Helian Jin’s lips were tinged red as he stared at her intently.
“Ah Chu, is something on your mind? Why aren’t you being intimate with me anymore?”
“…”
Yun Jichu suddenly realized words were pointless. She seized Helian Jin by the collar and pushed him down onto the grand chair.
Then she began stripping off his clothes.
At first, he froze, his head spinning from the unexpected affection.
Helian Jin’s hands settled on her waist, feeling her warmth through the thin silk.
“Ah Chu…”
“Bathe first.”
Bathing was out of the question.
With his wound unhealed, water would surely infect it. She had no idea how he’d been caring for it.
She shook her head.
His grip tightened, and he nuzzled her chest with the tip of his nose.
She roughly tugged his clothes down to his shoulders, exposing the rippling muscles beneath. Yun Jichu leaned in close to inspect them.
His skin was flawless, no sign of injury. Her loose strands of hair brushed lightly over it, like a swallow skimming across vast snowfields.
Yet amid her efforts, she caught a faint whiff of blood seeping from beneath his collar.
Yun Jichu kept pulling.
Her fingers trembled faintly. That trace of blood’s scent stirred unwelcome memories…
Suddenly, her hand was seized.
Helian Jin halted her movements. The hazy desire in his eyes sharpened into sobriety.
“Ah Chu, what are you looking for?”
Yun Jichu stared at the deep, ragged scar peeking out from under the fabric—a brownish gully on his chest. It looked profoundly deep and chaotically torn.
As if inflicted by a madman in a frenzy of self-harm.
“Your injury… what really happened?”
~~~