As Empress Feng Wan turned away, Xie Yizhou instantly averted his gaze, shuttering all emotion.
"Are you still blaming me?"
Seeing that he wouldn't even look her in the eye, Feng Wan felt a strange, aggrieved unhappiness.
Xie Yizhou’s voice remained flat: "If Her Majesty has no other business, this subject will take his leave." He still refused to look her way.
"Luanhua." That was his courtesy name—a name no one had dared use since Feng Wan entered the palace. Hearing it fall from her lips after all these years still stirred something deep within him.
He finally looked at her, but only for an instant, before calmly turning his gaze away as if she were a total stranger. "What exactly does Her Majesty require of me? If this is about Princess Anyang’s rebellion, I’m afraid I cannot help."
"I need to know who in the Capital and the palace is colluding with the Wojing people. Luanhua, please, help me..."
Whether he wanted to or not, he would help. *How did my life become so bitter? If I hadn't been born a Feng, how could the title of Prime Minister’s wife have been snatched away by another woman for no reason?*
Tears welled in her eyes, making her look pitiful and endearing. A flicker of heartache crossed Xie Yizhou’s eyes. His hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tight, restraining the urge to rush over and pull her into his arms. He mocked himself internally: *Who told you to be a Xie, and not a scion of the Ji Imperial clan?*
But his tone remained harsh. "Her Majesty lives deep within the palace, removed from worldly affairs. How would you know someone is colluding with the Wojing?"
Seeing he showed no sign of leaving, Feng Wan hurried over and tugged at his sleeve. Noticing for the first time that he was wearing the begonia red she loved most, her voice softened involuntarily. "I guessed. You know I have always been sharp."
The confident smile in her phoenix-like eyes made the words Xie Yizhou had been about to utter catch in his throat. "This is a grave matter. It’s not something to be guessed—"
"You don't believe me?" Feng Wan shook off his sleeve, turned to the table, and sat down. Pouting, she blurted out, "This begonia red is hideous."
Xie Yizhou frowned. He remembered it was her favorite color. Had her tastes changed? Well, that was to be expected after more than a decade.
With a silent sigh, he walked to the other side of the table, poured a cup of water, and pushed it toward her. "Conspiring with the enemy is no small matter. I didn't say I didn't believe you; I only wanted to know the source of the news so I could have a direction to investigate." His tone had grown much gentler.
Feng Wan took a sip of the tea. "I won't tell you the source, but it is true that there are traitors. You are the Prime Minister of Great Zhou; you cannot simply watch as the Wojing, with their wolfish ambitions, covet our land."
Xie Yizhou tapped his long, clear-jointed fingers against the table. A bitter, fleeting smile brushed his lips. "I thought you summoned me tonight for the sake of your precious Princess Anyang. I didn't expect it to be about Great Zhou." His tone held an indescribable sense of loss and bitterness. She really hadn't changed at all; compared to Great Zhou, no one else mattered—not even that fragile, paper-thin daughter of hers.
"Hmph. If I waited for you to save Yuer, I fear she would have already..." Feng Wan’s eyes reddened, and tears streamed down like broken pearls. It was as if a decade of grievances were all gushing out at once. "Xie Yizhou... you can never repay what you owe me in this lifetime."
"Why are you crying..." Flustered and pained, Xie Yizhou hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. "It’s all my fault. I will send men to the Imperial City Bureau’s secret prison immediately. I will arrange for a thorough search of the Capital and the Imperial Palace at once." He didn't mention that he had already sent men to the Imperial City Bureau before entering the palace.
Feng Wan placed her hand over his as he wiped her tears. Her voice was soft, her words earnest: "Luanhua... I want Great Zhou to have a new Emperor." Let Lier become Empress; let’s see who dares to bully them, mother and daughter, ever again!
Xie Yizhou stiffened, the hand she touched feeling scorching hot. After a long moment, he regained his senses. "Are you serious?"
"I have thought it through carefully." From the moment she saw Lier, she had thought it through. Her phoenix eyes filled with tears, looking utterly aggrieved. "Luanhua... only you can help me..."
"Who do you want to replace them with? Do you have your eye on any of the princes?"
"No one." No one was as safe as Lier sitting in that position. Besides, Lier carried the blood of the Feng family; as a member of the Feng family, it wouldn't count as usurpation.
Xie Yizhou did not pull his hand away, his expression solemn. The Xie family was a prestigious clan of officials and scholars, with students spread across the land. They never involved themselves in party politics, nor did they strive for power. As the eldest son and current head of the Xie family, he was known for his fairness, integrity, and high moral character. Since childhood, he had been meticulously trained by the family: with his pen, he could bring peace to the world; with his sword, he could stabilize the heavens. Rebellion... the Xie family had never even considered it.
But—
He suddenly leaned forward, until their foreheads were almost touching. "Kiss me!"
"Ah..." Feng Wan was visibly stunned.
"Kiss me. Didn't you say you wanted a new Emperor?" Not giving her a chance to recover, he grabbed the back of her neck with the hand holding the handkerchief and kissed her without hesitation. He easily pried open her teeth, a forceful, possessive plunder, as if he wished to embed her into his very own body.
"...You're dirty... get off..." Feng Wan came to her senses and pushed him away with all her might, wiping her mouth with a look of extreme disgust.
*Dirty? She thinks I'm dirty!* From beginning to end, from head to toe, he had only ever had her. How was he dirty? Did he have something pungent for dinner?
"You've kissed other women! You are not allowed to kiss me!" Feng Wan’s eyes were filled with fury as she scrubbed her lips over and over.
The corners of Xie Yizhou’s eyes reddened. He knew she had always been a neat freak, especially regarding intimacy. Watching her scrub until her lips were nearly raw, he said helplessly, "I have never touched another woman. Marrying the Wang woman to be the mistress of the Xie house was merely a transaction. The Xie family needed a mistress, and the Wang family wanted to borrow the Xie family's influence—that is all."
*It is clear she married the Emperor... and even birthed that sickly, paper-thin princess...* But what did that matter? He still—loved her! Heaven knows he had been waiting in the Wanhua Garden for her to seek him out ever since he heard the Empress had been banished to the Cold Palace and Princess Anyang had been accused of treason. The moment Zaishan brought him the news, his heart had nearly leapt out of his chest. She had finally remembered him; she had finally been willing to look for him. Therefore—nothing else mattered.
Although Feng Wan was surprised that Xie Yizhou’s marriage to Wang Nianci was merely a transaction, she quickly reined in her thoughts. Her tone held a hint of reproach: "If the mistress is a sham, are the Xie children a sham, too?" She had come to him tonight for a major matter; she shouldn't drive him away.
"There are no other women, so where would any children come from?"
Xie Yizhou answered with such solemnity and sincerity that Feng Wan’s heart instantly filled with joy. Lier’s throne was secure.
***
Capital, Begonia Courtyard. Secret underground prison.
Qiao Kun, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial City Bureau, was beaten to a pulp, his body scorched by multiple branding irons.
Xie Jiuli, still dressed in red and wearing a silver mask, walked in slowly.
Yutang put away her whip and stepped forward respectfully: "Master, we have used all the torture devices, but he has a very stubborn tongue."
"Bring the top scholar, Zhou Qi, here as well."
"As you command."
Xie Jiuli lunged at Qiao Kun, plunging a dagger into his chest, mere centimeters from his heart.
"Ah!"
"Stubborn?"
Qiao Kun’s face turned deathly pale, his pupils shrinking in terror. The blood-red robes, the iconic silver mask. "...You... you are Li... Li Jiu!" He hadn't expected the person who captured him to be the top maid under the Martial Arts Alliance leader. He spoke frantically: "I am the Deputy Commander of the Imperial City Bureau. The Imperial Court and the Jianghu have always minded their own business, you—ah!"
Xie Jiuli slowly twisted the handle of the dagger, as if she meant to gouge his heart out entirely. Beneath the mask, her eyes were fierce and vicious, the corners of her lips curling into a smile that made one’s skin crawl.