Volume Three, Chapter Four

"..." Zhao Huangpu saw Lord Zhu flush with pleasure and scratch her head with a foolish grin. He could almost hear the veins throbbing in his forehead. How had he never realized that icy face could put on such a spectacular show? Still, he agreed with Little Jing. "Prime Minister Father always plans meticulously. How can Zhu Boy know this isn't a ploy to lure you and Little Jing out of the palace? If you each return home and he moves against you again, my reach won't extend that far. I'll have a hard time keeping you safe."

"But if Lord Prime Minister stays quiet and makes no move, Young Master and I can't live in the palace forever." Young Master's childish words had sounded sweet, but they were hardly a foolproof plan.

"What's wrong with that? If anything makes you uncomfortable in my Inner Palace, just tell me." He made no effort to hide his eagerness. As far as he was concerned, staying indefinitely was no problem at all. If she would change into palace dress, with jewels in her hair and rouge on her face, so much the better.

"It's very comfortable. Consort Qi has been so gracious and attentive that Young Master and I hardly know how to respond." More than a dozen palace maids and eunuchs had been assigned to them. It felt as though they were watching her and Young Master's every move, afraid the two might tumble into bed again at any moment and displease His Majesty.

"Then it's settled. For now, you two stay here until someone makes a move."

Though His Majesty said so, Zhu Bafu remained uneasy. She chewed on a freshly prepared imperial meal she could never have eaten in her life if it had been packed to go, yet