"Brother Yan." Li Chen Zhou pulled several banknotes from his robes, ones he had casually taken during the confiscation, worth roughly several hundred taels.
"Take them and buy the brothers some drinks."
Yan San accepted the banknotes and tucked them away with practiced ease. "How could I possibly accept this?"
"I'll leave this place to you, Brother Yan."
Having just taken the money, Yan San thumped his chest and promised, "Don't worry, brother. Leave this little matter to me."
When Li Chen Zhou stepped out of the Imperial Prison, dusk was gilding the glazed roof tiles. He touched the confession in his robes when he suddenly heard a hawker at the street corner calling out for candied hawthorns.
"Three skewers, with an extra coating of sugar." He tossed over a piece of silver and bought a packet of osmanthus cakes as well.
The fragrance of glutinous rice mingled with osmanthus and slipped into his nose. In a daze, he remembered that he ought to bring Princess Xuan Yi something nice.
The palace walls towered into the clouds. Li Chen Zhou pressed close to the shadows and used the Soaring Illusionary Steps.
The Thousand Faces disguise technique flowed beneath the moonlight. By the time the guards' patrol had passed, he had become an ordinary eunuch.
At this moment, inside the Emperor's imperial study.
"Your Majesty, that boy has secretly entered the palace and is heading toward Princess Xuan Yi's Ningxin Palace."
"Oh? That boy truly never rests. He handled so many matters during the day, and now that night is nearly here, he still wants to court my daughter."
"Then this servant shall..." Eunuch Cao, the Emperor's personal eunuch, asked tentatively.
The Emperor smiled helplessly and waved his hand. "Forget it. Let the young people think about their own affairs. If anything happens, I will naturally cover for them."
Princess Xuan Yi's bedchamber was brightly lit.
A graceful silhouette showed through the carved window lattice. Holding his breath, he leaped into the courtyard, only to see the beauty reclining against a chaise lounge, one slender hand holding half a volume of the Book of Songs, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as though burdened by worries.
"Your Highness, are you waiting for your lover?" he deliberately asked in a lowered voice.
The princess sprang to her feet. The wind stirred by her wide sleeves flipped open the Lessons for Women on the table, and amid the rustling pages, half a verse of longing was revealed. She hurriedly covered it with her sleeve, moonlight casting a small shadow beneath her trembling lashes. "Insolent! Trespassing into..."
Her final syllable suddenly softened. The knuckles gripping her jade hairpin turned white. "Li Chen Zhou?"
He removed his disguise and retreated to a spot three steps away from the dressing table.
The paper packet of osmanthus cakes landed lightly on the table. The force with which he pushed it over made the entwined-lotus-patterned teacup sway gently.
"A newly opened shop south of the city." He tapped the oil-paper package with his fingertips.
Xuan Yi suddenly caught the hand he was drawing back, then released it as though shocked the instant she touched the thin calluses. Turning her head away, she said shyly, "At least you had the sense to remember."
"I naturally would not dare forget what I promised Your Highness." Li Chen Zhou's gaze swept over the celadon bottle on the table. "Western Region ice silkworm ointment?"
The jade bracelet on her creamy arm struck the dressing table with a clear chime. "I heard that you were injured today... It's for you."
She turned her face toward the carved window lattice. "Today, you..."
"Your Highness," Li Chen Zhou interrupted before Princess Xuan Yi could finish. He suddenly stepped half a pace forward, then forcibly stopped himself. The hem of his official robe and her pomegranate-red skirt nearly touched. "There is rose dew on the second tier of the food box."
The iron chimes beneath the eaves tinkled, shattering the undercurrent filling the room.
Xuan Yi flusteredly opened the food box and indeed saw crimson liquid swaying inside a glass bottle like blood in her heart.
"That Nangong Yue..." Xuan Yi suddenly said. "She sent an invitation two days ago, saying she was holding a poetry gathering."
Li Chen Zhou's hand froze at her waist.
In his memories, the girl in the goose-yellow ruqun overlapped with the person before him. He answered vaguely, "The matter between her and me is merely countryside gossip, not to be taken seriously."
Xuan Yi abruptly shoved him away, her broad sleeve sweeping the celadon bottle from the table.
The ointment shattered across the blue bricks. Her almond eyes widened in fury. "Countryside gossip? During last year's Lantern Festival, you braved the snow to seek plum blossoms for her and fell ill for half a month. On her birthday last month, the Western Region glass cup you gave her was more valuable than even my coming-of-age gift!"
Li Chen Zhou lowered his eyes at the mess covering the floor, his Adam's apple bobbing.
The original owner had indeed squandered his fortune on Nangong Yue. He had even traded away the Nine-Revolution Soul-Returning Pill bestowed by the Emperor merely to win a smile from her.
At that moment, the three words "Heavenly Desire Palace" on the confession in his robes glinted coldly beneath the moonlight. He suddenly recalled the secret letter found today in the Imperial Prison—Nangong Yue was actually one of Heavenly Desire Palace's people.
"Between her and me..." He was about to explain when Xuan Yi suddenly turned around and pulled out a stack of letters from the bottom layer of her dressing case.
Moonlight revealed the ink on the paper. It was precisely the love poem Li Chen Zhou had written last year: "Along Yangzhou Road, where spring winds stretch for ten miles, not even rolled-up pearl curtains can compare."
Li Chen Zhou hurriedly came up with an excuse. "Copied it."
"Copied it?"
Li Chen Zhou forced himself to argue, "That day, I made a bet with a friend. I lost, so I copied this poem according to his request."
Princess Xuan Yi eyed him suspiciously. "Really?"
"Truer than real gold."
"Will you attend Nangong Yue's literary gathering tomorrow night?"
Li Chen Zhou had just been about to refuse when a mechanical voice exploded in his mind.
System prompt: The Skinner has been spotted at Nangong Yue's literary gathering.
Li Chen Zhou hurriedly changed his answer. "I must go. I'll go and support you."
Princess Xuan Yi pouted. "That's more like it."
When he left the palace, the moon was high in the sky, and Li Chen Zhou's collar still retained the scent of jasmine.
He touched the confession in his robes. The three words "Heavenly Desire Palace" glinted coldly in the moonlight.
At Duke Zhen's Estate, the bronze vermilion-bird lamp breathed out eerie blue flames, casting the Duke's fish tally at his waist into the shape of a green-faced, fang-toothed demon.
Li Chen Zhou had just stepped through the gates of Duke Zhen's Estate.
A servant at the entrance said, "Young Master, the Master said he is waiting for you in the study. Once you return, please go see him."
"Mm, I understand."
The instant he crossed the study threshold, Li Chen Zhou's shadow had barely fallen across the screen painted with Mountains, Rivers, and the Realm when a scroll of bright yellow silk flew past his ear and smashed a Ru kiln sky-blue glazed brush washer with a smack—it was Prince Rong's indictment, issued today.
"Back?"
"Mm." Li Chen Zhou was not overly restrained in front of Li Qing Shan. He directly found a seat and sat down.
Li Qing Shan said, "Prince Rong has fallen."
Li Chen Zhou was not surprised. "Mm, I know. The Emperor laid the bait, and I drew the blade."
"Mm? How did you know the Emperor was plotting behind the scenes?" Li Qing Shan found it rather unbelievable. He himself had pondered it for a long time before understanding.
"With Prince Rong's power, for this case to appear in the Brocade Guard's case files, no one but the Emperor could have made it happen." Li Chen Zhou spoke as though it were nothing.
"And you still took it?" Li Qing Shan was even more astonished.
"I had reasons I could not refuse." Li Chen Zhou did not explain further.
"The Emperor wants you to become a lone minister. You are a blade in his hand—using you to intimidate the civil and military officials of the court on one side, while using their resistance to weaken Duke Zhen's Estate on the other."
Li Chen Zhou said dismissively, "But he does not know that if an ordinary person handles this blade poorly, he will cut himself."
"Prince Rong's case ends here. Bringing down the Imperial Clan Court's faction through this case is already enough. Dragging out anyone else will only have the opposite effect." Li Qing Shan cautioned him.
Li Chen Zhou nodded. Even the system was no longer issuing missions, so he naturally intended to slow down for now. "I understand. I know what I'm doing."
"Alright, go back early."
Before you continue