After the chief eunuch left, the gates of the National Preceptor's Residence closed once more, shutting out every prying gaze and eavesdropping ear.
Zhang Lanhe worried about Xie Huizhou's safety. Though he had a foolproof plan for dealing with the matter, he still could not help offering a few reminders, telling him to be careful not to fall into his trap.
"Zhouzhou, be careful of Xie Wangqiu. There's nothing holding that man back. He has no weaknesses, which makes him difficult to deal with."
Xie Wangqiu was a gambler with nowhere left to turn, willing to use any means to achieve his ends.
An open attack was easy to dodge, but a hidden one was hard to guard against. Zhang Lanhe worried that Xie Wangqiu might hurt Xie Huizhou if desperation drove him to extremes.
How could he bear to let the person he protected so carefully get hurt?
"Then, Imperial Preceptor, are you willing to protect me? You're my imperial consort, after all." Xie Huizhou knowingly walked straight into danger. "When the time comes, you can't just leave me to die."
He would save the Imperial Preceptor, no matter what.
Zhang Lanhe said, "Zhouzhou, I'll stand by you in life and death."
With their fighting skills, he and Xie Huizhou could charge in and out of the Imperial Guards seven times over. Besides, it was not as though he had no soldiers willing to lay down their lives for him.
Naturally, Zhang Lanhe would protect the man who was his. He would safeguard his prince, the man he loved.
Once Xie Huizhou returned to the turbulent Capital City, he was destined to have no peaceful days for a while.
Not long after they saw off the chief eunuch who had delivered the decree, two familiar figures came to request