A Warm Welcome

What the Empress Dowager said that day laid a solid foundation for Xiao Jinyi's eventual confession to Emperor Wu'an.

When Xiao Jinyi confessed, he had already braced himself for his father's thunderous fury. Yet just as he prepared to endure it, that fury unexpectedly turned into a gentle spring breeze and soothing rain.

But that was getting ahead of the story. Back to the present.

"I will remember your words, Mother. Then I'll have someone fetch Hongying and Xuan'er so we can all enjoy a proper family gathering."

Emperor Wu'an instructed Quan Xi to send for the empress and Princess Kangning. Quan Xi went to the empress's palace himself, and when he saw that the Eldest Princess was there too, he thought it would save him another trip.

"This servant pays his respects to Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years! Greetings to Your Highness the Eldest Princess!"

When Empress Lin told him to rise, he stood, flicked the fly whisk in his hand, and respectfully addressed them both. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, Prince Xiaoyao will soon enter the palace with his future consort. His Majesty asks you both to come to Cikang Palace to celebrate the family's reunion."

Hearing that her youngest brother had finally returned after years away from home, Princess Kangning was both surprised and delighted. "That brat has finally come back! If he'd stayed away any longer, I would have forgotten I even had another brother."

Empress Lin, however, focused on the future consort. "Quan Xi, is it true that Prince Xiaoyao has brought a consort home?"

Only after hearing the Empress's question did Princess Kangning realize what she had missed. Her brother, who was nearly thirty, had finally thought to find himself a spouse.

When Quan Xi nodded, the two sisters-in-law eagerly hurried to Cikang Palace hand in hand. They had barely stepped inside and had not even offered their greetings before Princess Kangning began firing questions at Emperor Wu'an.

"Brother, Quan Xi said Lie'er brought home a consort. Is that true? Do you know who it is?"

Emperor Wu'an recounted everything he had heard in Shen Shixu's thoughts at court. Two months had passed since they first began hearing Shen Shixu's thoughts, and they had all grown accustomed to it.

The Empress Dowager, however, had only heard about it from others and had never experienced it herself. Intrigued, she said, "You make it sound so extraordinary. I'm truly curious about this newly appointed Top Scholar. Summon him to the palace someday so I can see for myself."

Hearing this, Empress Lin remembered that the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was approaching. All the officials would bring their families to celebrate her birthday, so she could meet him then.

"Mother, your birthday banquet is only two months away. You should be able to meet Lord Shen then. Come to think of it, I haven't met him either. I've only heard Sister Xuan say that he's exceptionally handsome."

Princess Kangning once again showered Shen Shixu with praise before the Empress Dowager. "Mother, Lord Shen is a rare talent. Setting aside how much his thoughts have helped us, he solved that missing girls case in just three days.

"And he hasn't been idle these past few months, either. He's been reviewing old cases at the Court of Judicial Review. Using the records, he's solved two or three cold cases and found flaws in several others, uncovering the true culprits behind them.

"A young man with his abilities, looks, and family background—if only I had a daughter, I would have brought him home as my son-in-law long ago."

Empress Lin teased her upon hearing this. "You may not have brought Lord Shen home as your son-in-law, but didn't you have Bin'er take him as his teacher? I heard Jinyi say that Bin'er has become much more levelheaded since he started following Lord Shen, and he's grown more ambitious too."

Hearing her sister-in-law praise her child, Princess Kangning grinned from ear to ear. "Exactly! We really did choose the right teacher. That hopeless boy of mine is finally starting to amount to something."

Xiao Lie followed the brothers Xiao Jinyi and Xiao Yuanqi to Cikang Palace with Bai Lixi. Before he even entered, he heard his sister and sister-in-law chatting and laughing, with the Empress Dowager's amused laughter joining them now and then.

Seeing his youngest uncle, who was not much older than himself, standing at the doorway without entering, Xiao Yuanqi could not help urging him on. "Uncle, hurry inside! Grandmother has been waiting for you to come home!"

At his urging, Xiao Lie let out a long breath and led the equally nervous Bai Lixi into Cikang Palace.

As soon as the two entered, the palace, which had been filled with cheerful conversation and laughter, fell silent.

Just as Xiao Lie and Bai Lixi began to feel uneasy, Princess Kangning broke into a smile. She rose from her seat and walked toward them, taking Bai Lixi's hand before either man's astonished eyes.

Because of his gu arts, Bai Lixi never had physical contact with others. It was not that he did not want to touch anyone, but that others were afraid to touch him.

In his twenty-odd years of life, Xiao Lie had been the first person to touch him without any reservations. Princess Kangning was the second.

Bai Lixi could not help feeling that Xiao Lie's whole family was rather reckless. Did they not know fear at all?

Holding Bai Lixi's hand, Princess Kangning said with a beaming smile, "You must be that brat Xiao Lie's sweetheart. You certainly look lovely, but whatever possessed you to fall for my wretched little brother? There's nothing good about him. He's headstrong and has a terrible temper. Did he threaten you into being with him?"

Xiao Lie instinctively retorted, "Sister, what are you saying? Am I really as awful as you make me sound? And what do you mean, I threatened A-Xi into being with me? We're in love with each other!"

Princess Kangning gave him a skeptical look. "You might fool people outside the family, but I watched you grow up. Do you think I don't know you? You must have seen how handsome he was and shamelessly pestered him until he gave in.

"But you really do have good taste, bringing me home such a beautiful brother-in-law. Oh, Ah Xi, may I call you that?"

Bai Lixi nodded dazedly as Princess Kangning spoke to him with such enthusiasm. "Ah Xi, do you have any unmarried sisters? My son isn't getting any younger, and I'd like to find him a wife. He has such high standards and insists on marrying someone beautiful."

"Seeing how handsome you are, I'm sure your relatives must be good-looking too. And I've heard that you're all very skilled with gu arts.

"But a formidable girl is exactly what we need. Only someone like that could keep my little rascal in line."

Xiao Lie was about to answer for Bai Lixi when Emperor Wu'an caught him by the arm and pulled him aside, joining Empress Lin in looking him over.

"Mm, not bad. It's been so long, and you've grown even sturdier," Emperor Wu'an said approvingly, patting Xiao Lie's solid arm.

"All right, we've had our look. Hurry and let Mother see him. Our little brother has been away for so long, and she's missed him terribly." The attentive Empress Lin nudged Xiao Lie over to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing her youngest son after such a long absence, the Empress Dowager reached out tenderly to stroke his face, slightly roughened by exposure to the elements. "Why do you look uglier than you did at home?"