The Clock and Drum Office transmitted the timekeeping chime from afar.
After the long, resonant sound of the copper chimes faded, the guards changed shifts, their iron armor clashing with a cold, crisp clang.
As they stepped out of Xuanzheng Hall, the summer breeze carrying a hint of moisture blew straight at them.
As the youngest in both rank and seniority among those present, Zhao Huairen subtly lagged two steps behind the others, strolling leisurely at the tail end.
Meng Shuting halted at the base of the palace steps and let out a cold laugh, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “The Hejia Princess is truly generous.”
“What do you mean by that, Lord Meng?” The Hejia Princess frowned.
Everyone in Yanjing knew that the Hejia Princess and Shi Shilang shared a deep marital bond, yet to aid Prince Gong and suppress the Crown Prince, she had not hesitated to use Shi Yun Si’s life as a weapon, attempting to tear a rift between the Brocade Embroidered Tower and the Meng family.
Such a scheme, such ruthlessness.
No wonder the Hejia Princess held such a position in Prince Gong’s faction.
“The truth of how Shi Shilang died is something the Princess knows full well; there’s no need for this official to belabor the point.” A glint of sharpness flashed in his slightly cloudy eyes. With that, Meng Shuting turned and descended the palace steps without looking back.
Her white mourning garb fluttered lightly in the wind as the Hejia Princess stood in place, staring at Meng Shuting’s retreating back. When Zhao Huairen passed by her side, she suddenly spoke. “The Dali Temple Vice Minister is renowned for her divine judgment in cases. What are your thoughts on the assassination at the Shi mansion last night, Heir Apparent?”
“I dare not accept the praise of ‘divine judgment.'” Zhao Huairen cupped her hands in salute and continued, “Verdicts must rely on evidence.”
“The Rui Duke’s Mansion rarely gets involved in…” Swallowing the words “factional strife,” the Hejia Princess’s gaze deepened. “I ask for little. I only hope the Heir Apparent can stand impartially in the middle—that would be enough.”
Stand impartially in the middle? That brazen splash of red flashed through her mind, and Zhao Huairen pressed her thin lips together without responding.
The Hejia Princess said, “With mourning duties piling up, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Take care, Princess.”
Before stepping out of the palace gate, Zhao Huairen glanced back at the unfathomably deep Imperial Palace. There was no contempt in her eyes, but neither was there reverence.
—
“Heir Apparent.” Qin An had been waiting just outside Donghua Gate.
Zhao Huairen nodded slightly. “Let’s go, back to Dali Temple.”
“But…” Qin An hesitated, glancing at Zhao Huairen as she prepared to board the carriage, but in the end, she held her tongue. Anyway, the Heir Apparent would find out once she got in the carriage.
Slender, distinct fingers gently lifted a corner of the brocade curtain, allowing the warm, floating light to spill freely into the carriage.
Her lustrous black eyes were as clear as water.
Her long lashes trembled; the beauty was waiting obediently for her.
“Why are you here?” Zhao Huairen’s sword-like brows furrowed slightly.
“Outside the palace gate, there are too many eyes and ears.” Her crow-wing lashes veiled half her eyes, and her fingertips tapped rhythmically on her knee as Yan Yiqing said, “In my humble opinion, Heir Apparent, why not sit down first before we talk?”
Zhao Huairen pursed her lips and bent down to enter the carriage.
Her gaze subtly swept over Zhao Huairen. Once she was seated steadily, Yan Yiqing called out to the outside, “Qin An, we can set off now.”
Qin An was her own trusted subordinate—how would she listen to Yan Yiqing without Zhao Huairen’s orders? Just as Zhao Huairen opened her mouth to ask where they were going, she was surprised to find that the carriage had already started moving.
“Why would Qin An listen to you?”
Yan Yiqing blinked. “Does the Heir Apparent really want to know?”
“If you’re unwilling to say, then forget it. I’m in no rush.” Her voice was like a still, waveless lake, undisturbed by the little cat’s tricks. Zhao Huairen said warmly, “We’ll know the answer once the carriage stops.”
Easily seen through, Yan Yiqing struggled. “You really don’t want to know? As long as you…”
“What does Yiqing want?” Zhao Huairen turned to look at her.
Yiqing—those two words.
They sounded so nice coming from her mouth.
Her light brown eyes clearly reflected Zhao Huairen’s figure. Yan Yiqing stared unblinkingly at the tiny version of herself in her lover’s eyes.
A faint heat tinged her earlobes.
She pressed her lips together tightly, and Yan Maomao suddenly fell silent.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened at Prince Gong’s mansion?” Zhao Huairen’s expression grew slightly serious.
“Nothing happened.” Seeing Zhao Huairen’s face change subtly, Yan Yiqing stopped teasing and explained, “Before you even left the palace, the Clock and Drum Office had already rung the noon chime. So I made a bet with Qin An that you’d forget lunch and head straight back to Dali Temple.”
“If I won, she’d drive the carriage to Qingyun Hall.”
No wonder Qin An listened to her.
Because what she wanted to do was harmless to Zhao Huairen.
“The Dali Temple Minister is nearing retirement age, and all the burdens of Dali Temple have fallen on you alone. Heir Apparent, do you often get so busy that you forget to eat? If this continues long-term, your body won’t hold up. You must eat properly.”
Eat properly?
No one had said that to her since she was ten.
Yan Yiqing’s ideas were always so strange and inscrutable.
“I’m not a child.” Zhao Huairen shook her head indifferently. “Thank you for the reminder. I’ll pay more attention in the future.”
Yan Yiqing knew she wouldn’t take her words to heart. Otherwise, with the Rui Duke’s Mansion’s wealth, as long as Zhao Huairen was willing, meals could be delivered on time every day—not to mention slowly healing those scars on her body.
Years of neglect.
Simply because Zhao Huairen didn’t care.
“After the onset of summer, heavy rains have continued in many places, with disasters rising across the states.” Zhao Huairen paused, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “Si Nong Temple must be busy lately. How did you have time to wait for me at Donghua Gate?”
Yan Yiqing lifted her gaze to Zhao Huairen.
It didn’t matter…
Zhao Huairen might not care.
But from now on, anything concerning her—great or small—she would take to heart seriously.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” With her jade-like, icy temperament, Zhao Huairen was rarely made uncomfortable by stares, but Yan Yiqing’s gaze was excessively direct.
Clenching her palms, Yan Yiqing voiced the excuse she’d prepared in advance. “We just made a deal this morning, and this matter concerns me deeply. When I heard you’d entered the palace for an audience, of course I had to come snoop for news.”
Some of her doubts eased, and the corners of Zhao Huairen’s lips curved up slightly. “Then why haven’t you asked yet?”
“In that case, I’ll trouble the Heir Apparent to recount what happened in the hall.”
She was already curious about Yan Yiqing’s role in this case. At this point, Zhao Huairen recounted the confrontation in Xuanzheng Hall between the Hejia Princess and Meng Shuting in detail, then abruptly changed the subject. “The Hejia Princess firmly believes the culprit came from the Meng family—or at least is connected to them—which proves no clues were left at the scene.”
Her gaze drifted slightly as Yan Yiqing thought Zhao Huairen was praising her.
“So why did you make a deal with me?”
“That was because…”
Before Yan Yiqing could fabricate an excuse, Zhao Huairen pressed on. “No evidence pointing to you was left behind, yet you sold a promise for it. Was it worth it?”
It was as if her tail had been caught; Yan Maomao’s breath hitched. She turned her head away from Zhao Huairen’s gaze and stammered an explanation. “I left quickly at the time and didn’t have a chance to check the scene thoroughly, so I couldn’t be sure I’d handled everything.”
Such an explanation.
It did make some sense.
Seeing she wouldn’t pursue it further, Yan Yiqing’s tail drooped limply, and she felt a cold sweat break out on her back.
Seriously! It was such a profitable deal—why couldn’t she just take it at face value instead of digging deeper…
“You’re not one of Prince Gong’s people.”
That breath she’d barely exhaled caught in her throat again. Facing Zhao Huairen, she couldn’t be as crude or simplistic as she was with others.
Scold her? She’d already regretted the past ones enough.
Ignore her? If she could do that, she wouldn’t be Yan Yiqing.
Like a little beast exposing a flaw without realizing it, Yan Yiqing touched her earlobe. “The Heir Apparent jests. My sister is the Princess Gong Consort—how could I not side with Prince Gong?”
“So the Princess Consort isn’t one of Prince Gong’s people either.”
How was Huairen so terrifying!? Did she have mind-reading powers? Had she already figured out that she liked her? Yan Yiqing hurriedly lowered her head, her pupils trembling, not wanting to leak any more information.
This had originally been just her intuition, but after seeing Yan Yiqing’s reaction, it solidified into a firm conclusion. A shadow passed through the depths of her eyes as Zhao Huairen said softly, “If you were the Crown Prince’s person, you wouldn’t have pinned the Vice Minister of War’s stabbing on the Meng family.”
“If you’d sided with the Crown Prince long ago, then… the Empress and Crown Prince wouldn’t have arranged our marriage.”
Yan Maomao suddenly said, “We’re already married.”
What did her factional affiliation have to do with their marriage? A hint of confusion tinged her brows as Zhao Huairen frowned. “Mm, so?”
To hell with the Crown Prince, to hell with Prince Gong.
If her name had to be linked with someone…
That person could only be Zhao Huairen.
“There’s no ‘so.’ I just wanted to say we’re already married.” Yan Yiqing pressed her knuckle into her palm and asked in a low voice, “What about you? If you were on the Crown Prince’s side, you wouldn’t have shown me such repeated goodwill before.”
No need to be so good to me.
That way, it wouldn’t make me seem so bad to you.
“I’ve never said I was part of the Crown Prince Party.” Zhao Huairen lifted her hand to raise the carriage’s brocade curtain. The breeze lifted her ear locks and carried her scent to the little cat’s nose.
Sniffing, Yan Yiqing said, “I know.”
“How do you know?”
Sensing she was teasing her, Yan Yiqing tightened her fingers and lowered her head. “Because the Crown Prince is stupid. You wouldn’t support such a monarch to the throne.”
“Watch your tongue—such treasonous words shouldn’t be spoken lightly,” Zhao Huairen arched her brow slightly, her gaze falling on Yan Yiqing’s fingertips. “As the Dali Temple Vice Minister.”
Zhao Huairen neither confirmed nor denied, gesturing for her to continue.
Though Yan Yiqing kept her head down, her tone held no hesitation, her eyes full of conviction. “I may speak treasonously, but you won’t arrest me.”
“What if I do arrest you?” Zhao Huairen smoothed the folds in her sleeve as she said.
“You won’t arrest me.” Yan Yiqing raised her head, gazing intently into Zhao Huairen’s eyes. Her obsidian pupils were like meteors slicing through the night sky.
Slicing through the surface disguise.
Finding the moonlight hidden in the darkness.
“But if one day you really do have to arrest me, I won’t blame you.”
It was as if an invisible claw had stolen her voice; the carriage suddenly fell quiet, filled only with their soft breaths.
Zhao Huairen hadn’t asked, but Yan Yiqing answered her question anyway.
“I don’t know.” Pressing her lips tight, Yan Yiqing said softly, “Perhaps because I’ve done many bad things.”
“For example?”
There wasn’t a trace of remorse in Yan Yiqing’s eyes. “Well, the Vice Minister of War hasn’t even been buried yet.”
“Mm.” Zhao Huairen stared into her eyes, as if observing something. “You’ve done many bad things—do you regret it?”
“Why should I regret?”
“I didn’t kill him, but one day he’d come to kill me.”
“If one of us had to die, I hope… that person is never me.”
