Chen Jingchen resolutely refused and inexplicably retorted, “Investigate if you want, but why are you staring at the inner courtyard of my house?”
Gao Jing, having tasted success, once again used the same trick. He secretly had someone pour a puddle of blood at the back gate of Minister Chen’s residence and then brazenly knocked on the Chen family’s main door.
Chen Jingchen was so furious he jumped up and cursed him as a scoundrel.
Gao Jing remained calm and composed, thinking: To deal with a scoundrel, one must use methods befitting a scoundrel. Who cares about gentlemanly virtues or the principles of the martial world?
Gao Yuexing was intrigued by the case, but with her father presiding over the household, once the gates of the Gao residence were closed, she couldn’t even sneak a peek outside. Her mother and eldest sister kept her busy with household matters, while her four-year-old younger brother caused mischief in the garden all day. If Gao Yuexing were content with the status quo, these would have been the most peaceful and tranquil days of her life.
Unfortunately, as she sat under the veranda, gazing at the lush greenery bathed in the warm sunlight, her face felt warm, but her heart was cold. She knew this kind of serene and quiet life wasn’t meant for her. She dared not covet it, fearing she wouldn’t be able to repay it in the future.
Gao Yuemin looked at her younger sister with pity. “You’ve been frequenting the palace recently. I’ve vaguely heard you and the Fifth Prince share a childhood bond?”
Gao Yuexing, holding two silk threads in her hand and braiding a necklace, replied, “Sister, you’ve been wanting to ask me something lately but kept hesitating. So this is what it’s about?”
Seeing that her sister wasn’t avoiding the topic, Gao Yuemin was relieved and said, “You’re thirteen this year, the age to start considering marriage. Mother wanted to keep an eye out for potential matches for you a few years ago, but Father discouraged her.”
Gao Yuexing asked curiously, “What did Father say?”
Gao Yuemin replied, “Father said that your marriage will likely not be something the family can decide, so there’s no use worrying about it. It’s better to wait and see.” She paused before adding, “That’s what Father said two years ago.”
Gao Yuexing remarked, “Father always has a plan in mind.”
In her past life, her impression of her father wasn’t profound. Like an ordinary girl raised in the inner chambers, she had enjoyed her father’s protection without a second thought. As for how he maintained his foothold in the stormy court or maneuvered among packs of wolves and tigers to keep himself safe, she knew nothing.
But now that she had seen it, she couldn’t help but be deeply shaken.
Gao Yuexing understood her father, and she believed her father understood her as well.
Gao Yuemin noticed her sister’s gaze growing vacant, her mind wandering off somewhere, so she called out, “Ah Xing! What are you thinking about?”
Gao Yuexing snapped back to reality, finding that she had unknowingly messed up the necklace in her hands. Without changing her expression, she unraveled it and started over, saying, “I’ve been away from home for years. Are there any new happenings in the capital? Sister, tell me about them.”
Gao Yuemin replied, “Under the Emperor’s reign, the country is peaceful and prosperous, so there’s nothing particularly noteworthy. Or… are you interested in hearing about the Fifth Prince’s amusing stories?”
Pretending not to notice her sister’s teasing, Gao Yuexing smiled. “Sure, let’s hear about him.”
Gao Yuemin said, “There’s no need to mention the affair with Miss Chen. Our Fifth Prince is quite the playboy in the capital—idling away his days, teasing cats and dogs, living carefree… Did you know that His Majesty took a new consort last year?”
Gao Yuexing was shocked. “What?”
She couldn’t blame herself. The Emperor hadn’t taken a consort in nearly twenty years.
Moreover, in her past life… she hadn’t heard of this either.
Gao Yuexing asked, “This new consort… what’s her background? And how is she connected to the Fifth Prince?”
A year later, when Gao Yuemin recounted this matter, she still found it absurd and said, “The Marquis Yongping of Xu Prefecture committed a crime. His entire family was either exiled or imprisoned. The Yongping Marquis had an only daughter, rumored to possess unparalleled beauty with the grace of a willow in spring. She was escorted to the capital and sent to the Jiaofang Department… Those men had long coveted her. Some even traveled thousands of miles to the capital just for her. On the day she arrived, there were young men brawling outside the Jiaofang Department, fighting so fiercely that blood was shed. That Marquis’s daughter attempted to kill herself by dashing into a pillar on the spot.”
Being sent to the Jiaofang Department meant becoming an official courtesan, a fate worse than death for a pampered young lady of a marquis household.
Gao Yuemin continued, “It was the Fifth Prince who saved her in passing.”
Gao Yuexing made a nonchalant sound. “He’s off saving people again? Don’t tell me he’s created more trouble this time?”
Gao Yuemin said, “You’ve guessed it right.”
Gao Yuexing asked, “What happened?”
Gao Yuemin explained, “With the Fifth Prince’s status, if he insists on taking someone away, ordinary people wouldn’t dare stop him… But she was an official courtesan under the Jiaofang Department, and without an imperial decree, who would dare act recklessly?”
As it turned out, Li Fuxiang dared. His audacity truly knew no bounds.
At this point, Gao Yuemin showed a subtle expression, a mix of amusement and exasperation. “The prince declared publicly on the street that the girl’s beauty was unmatched and that he would take her into the palace as a gift to the Emperor.”
Gao Yuexing gasped, her mind buzzing.
Li Fuxiang had truly stepped on the Emperor’s sore spot with his antics.
How could he even think of doing such a thing—his son gifting a woman to his father?
Gao Yuexing muttered, “…The Emperor didn’t kill him?”
Gao Yuemin nodded slightly. “He was punished—beaten with a paddle, they say.”
The necklace in Gao Yuexing’s hands was crooked again. She unraveled it once more but, frustrated, tossed it aside instead of starting over. She asked, “And then?”
Gao Yuemin knew what she wanted to ask and answered, “The next day, the Emperor issued an edict, sending him off to the western border with the military. He left the capital still injured, though likely not seriously. Everyone understands the Emperor can’t bear to truly harm him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have actually taken the girl as a consort and even granted her the title of Zhaorong.”
In a daze, Gao Yuexing avoided everyone and wandered to Li Fuxiang’s residence. She stood hesitantly at the door for a long time. Suddenly, she felt as though she didn’t know him anymore. What on earth went on in his head all day?
Inside, Li Fuxiang sensed her presence. After waiting a while and not seeing her enter, he cautiously cracked the window open.
He was mindful of Gao Jing’s warning to keep himself hidden and not let anyone else discover him.
Gao Yuexing looked up at him.
Seeing no one else around, Li Fuxiang boldly pushed the window open a little further and extended a hand to her. His palm was closed into a fist, as though concealing something.
Gao Yuexing instinctively raised her hand to receive it.
A bright red crabapple flower floated lightly into her palm.
How could there be crabapples this season?
Upon closer inspection, she realized it was folded from paper. He was quite skilled—the petals were layered and intricate, almost lifelike at first glance.
But the color…
Gao Yuexing noticed that after holding it for just a moment, her palm was stained red. She frowned and brought it to her nose, catching a faint, familiar fragrance.
Gao Yuexing: “…Rouge?”
She suspiciously looked at Li Fuxiang.
It was her rouge.
Gao Yuexing grabbed Li Fuxiang’s hand and saw that his palm, between his fingers, and even the sleeves of his pale moon-white inner robe were all stained red. When Gao Yuexing touched the pocket in her sleeve, she found that the box of fresh rouge cream she had purchased just yesterday was missing.
She thought back carefully and realized it must have fallen under the bed this morning when she had hidden there, and Li Fuxiang must have found it.
This guy…
Gao Yuexing entered the room and saw on the table beneath the window the white jade box that had once held her rouge. It was now nearly empty.
On the table, however, Li Fuxiang had dyed an entire cluster of paper-folded begonias. He had taken a jade vase, thrown out the original flowers, and placed his paper begonias inside.
Li Fuxiang asked, “Do they look good?”
Gao Yuexing stared at the glaring red and hesitantly said, “It looks nice… but, never mind… you should wash your hands first.”
At Li Fuxiang’s place, apart from the three daily meals, no one served him.
Gao Yuexing had to do everything herself. She reminded him not to smear the stains around and went outside to fetch a basin of water. Watching him wash his hands, she asked, “What’s the background of the Zhaorong your father just took in?”
Li Fuxiang paused briefly in his hand-scrubbing motion. Gao Yuexing noticed this. Such a significant matter—she never believed it was just an impulsive act by Li Fuxiang.
Gao Yuexing pressed, “There’s more to it, isn’t there?”
Li Fuxiang resumed scrubbing his hands, lowered his head, and replied softly, “Yes.”
Gao Yuexing saw his reddened hands, unsure whether the color wouldn’t wash off or if he had scrubbed too hard. She said, “Don’t trouble yourself. I won’t ask.”
Li Fuxiang turned to her earnestly and said, “Don’t be upset. I won’t hide anything from you. When the time is right, I’ll tell you everything.”
Gao Yuexing pulled his hands out of the water, wrapped them in a clean cloth, and asked, “They said you were punished. Is that true?”
Li Fuxiang, in this regard, was straightforward: “It’s true. It hurt a lot.”
The Emperor had formally punished him for the first time in Qianqing Palace, but it was all show—thunderous roars, little rain. The punishment was more about appearances, a mix of truth and pretense.
But who was the show for?
Although Li Fuxiang was punished late at night within the palace, the people outside, even if they heard about it, could only speculate and remain clueless.
It was for someone inside the palace.
Gao Yuexing had grown exceptionally sensitive to matters like this.
A thought began to form, like clouds parting to reveal the moon. She had a vague guess.
Li Fuxiang tilted his head slightly, gently cupping her face. “Where is your mind wandering off to again?”
Gao Yuexing furrowed her brow and tapped her head. “It has a mind of its own. How could I stop it?” She smiled, hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t resist asking, “Are you planning to clean out the inner palace?”
Li Fuxiang replied, “Those filthy things—I’ll sweep them all away before I marry you.”
Gao Yuexing said, “I’m not afraid.”
Li Fuxiang said, “I know.”
It was rare for Gao Yuexing and Li Fuxiang to sit together and discuss serious matters. This made Gao Yuexing feel that their fates were finally starting to align.
Even a sly fox matures eventually.
Li Fuxiang’s identity meant that danger would always loom around him.
Because of this, she couldn’t retreat into the sheltered chambers of the inner court and ignore everything.
Gao Jing, after spending the entire day on the Chen family’s case, returned home in the evening. By then, all the children in the household had gone to bed, except for Gao Yuexing, who was still awake. When she saw him enter the study, she brought over a bowl of hot soup and knocked on the door.
The soup had been kept warm on the stove in the small kitchen. After simmering for so long, it had thickened and emitted an unusually rich fragrance when poured out.
Gao Jing asked indifferently, “Why aren’t you asleep?”
Gao Yuexing replied, “I couldn’t sleep. Has there been any progress on the Chen family’s case, Father?”