By the time they left Xue Ye's bedchamber, it was past eleven, yet more than half the lights in the Imperial City were still burning.
After the successive attacks on Seven Treasures and Blue Lightning, reports from the military, the city defenses, and the various courier routes had scarcely stopped arriving. As Qian Renxue followed the palace road toward the exit, the officials she passed stopped to bow. She merely nodded, rather than pausing to ask a question as she usually did. Lu Yuan walked beside her in silence as well. The scene in the bedchamber still lingered in both their minds.
The Succession Edict remained in Xue Ye's hands.
Several days earlier, when the long case had first been opened, there had been no name on it. Now, with Xue Ye himself putting brush to paper, three characters had filled that empty space-Xue Qinghe.
On the night of the palace coup, Qian Renxue had forced Xue Ye to admit that he could no longer keep the situation under control. Tonight had been entirely different. Xue Ye had seen what had happened to Seven Treasures and Blue Lightning, and how she had handled the upheaval after gaining authority as regent. In the end, he had picked up the brush himself and written down his answer to whom he would entrust Tiangou's future.
Only after they boarded the carriage home, its heavy curtains shutting out the sounds outside, did Qian Renxue lean back against the cushions and slowly exhale. Lu Yuan glanced at her. "Tired?"
"Not really."
That was what she said, but her shoulders and back visibly relaxed. A copy transcribed by an attendant at Xue Ye's instruction still rested in her sleeve. Qian Renxue took it out and unfolded it again by the carriage's dim yellow light, her gaze