Muzhou.
Lv Jinge—or simply Jinge—was in discussion with his guardians.
"Leader, there have been rumors lately about the newly emerged Shadowless Sect. Their leader is said to be named Dao Yu..." The masked man, the First Guardian, spoke hesitantly. "Could it be that Dao Yu didn’t die after all?"
Jinge chuckled dismissively, his eyes brimming with confidence. "Impossible."
The news had been leaked by him. Dao Yu had offended far too many formidable figures in the past, and with the poison personally concocted by the Widowmaker, even nine lives wouldn’t have been enough for Dao Yu to escape.
"But..." The First Guardian still seemed uneasy.
"Enough," Jinge raised a hand lightly. "Rest assured, it absolutely cannot be Dao Yu."
The Third Guardian couldn’t help but ask, "How can you be so certain, Leader?"
The Seventh Guardian scoffed. "I personally dug up the grave and confirmed Dao Yu’s corpse. The fatal wound was a blade to the chest, and the poison had spread throughout the body. Dead beyond any doubt."
The other guardians teased him.
"Old Seventh, always so thorough..."
"Still, I suspect this Shadowless Sect business is related to that old fox Tang Nanshan," Jinge remarked. "He’s probably using Dao Yu’s name just to provoke us."
The Third Guardian stepped forward. "The Leader makes a valid point. Our scouts haven’t brought back any news about Dao Yu, but there have been sightings of Tang Nanshan..."
"It seems my guess was correct. That emerging faction from before must have been Tang Nanshan stirring trouble." Jinge paused. "Though I still wonder about the origins of that other force."
"Anyone who could make our Leader suffer a setback must have considerable backing," the Fifth Guardian mused. "But that faction has gone quiet recently. Should we continue tracking them, Leader?"
"No," Jinge said cautiously. "Last time, we struck first... Since they mean no harm, let’s not provoke them unnecessarily."
The guardians fell silent.
Jinge tapped the table, his expression turning serious.
"The reason I’ve returned is to assign you all a more pressing task... Wrap up your current affairs and regroup in Yandu before May."
Given Sima Qing’s paranoid nature, Jiu Yue had expected him to question her inexplicable behavior the night before. But just like the poisoning incident, she waited and waited—yet he never brought it up.
Jiu Yue: "..."
"What’s on your mind?" Mei Wuchang spoke through a mouthful of crumbs, scattering pastry flakes everywhere. "I’m telling you, this is ten times better than those lovebird cakes! Try some."
Jiu Yue shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it.
Whatever. She’d deal with it if he ever asked.
She took a bite of the pastry—only for Sima Qing to materialize like a ghost beside them.
"Lovebird cakes... Hmph." His gaze swept over them with an inscrutable chill before he drifted away just as silently.
The two: "..."
Jiu Yue turned belatedly to Mei Wuchang. "Did you not offer him any?"
Mei Wuchang looked aggrieved. "He refused!"
Jiu Yue remained skeptical.
Mei Wuchang’s eyes gleamed with mischief. "Why don’t you try? Maybe His Highness just wasn’t in the mood when I offered."
Jiu Yue caught on. "And now that he sees us enjoying it, he’s too proud to admit he wants some."
"...Something like that." Mei Wuchang gave her a complicated look. "Good luck."
Jiu Yue set off to find Sima Qing.
The moment she left, Qiu Dongfang and Fu Yu wordlessly sidled up to Mei Wuchang, all three wearing identical expressions of exhaustion.
"I tried," Mei Wuchang shrugged.
Qiu Dongfang patted his shoulder. "We know, brother. We know."
Fu Yu sighed, already mourning for Sima Qing. "Putting it bluntly—if the Prince insists on his one-sided devotion to Jiu Yue, then dying alone is simply his destined fate."
The other two: "..."
Mei Wuchang turned to stare. "Fu Yu, you’ve gotten... profound."
Fu Yu shook his head solemnly. "You’ll understand when you’re older."
...
Sima Qing had floated back to his room and was flipping through a book when the door slammed open.
"Come on, it’s just us now. No need to be shy." Jiu Yue waved the pastry cheerfully. "Try it—it’s way better than lovebird cakes."
Sima Qing: "...This Prince has no desire to eat."
Jiu Yue studied him patiently, her fingers tapping the table three times.
After a pause, Sima Qing surrendered to instinct.
He sat down and took a reluctant bite.
Jiu Yue poured herself tea, watching as his pupils dilated before he wordlessly set the pastry aside, snatched her freshly poured cup, and downed it in one go.
Jiu Yue: "So you really didn’t want any. I thought you were just being stubborn."
Sima Qing: "Ha. What a brilliant assumption."
Jiu Yue: "..."
She silently poured him a second cup. Seizing the moment, Sima Qing shifted the topic to Nangong Xun’s arrangements.
"The guardians have been selected, and Nangong Xun has already begun infiltrating Muzhou." He met her gaze. "The hunting assembly will be the perfect opportunity once we return to the palace."
Foreign envoys would attend—many of them princes and princesses, given Great Yan’s imperial heir being a woman.
Compared to the palace, the hunting grounds would be far easier to infiltrate.
With enough chaos, Jinge’s faction would have ample openings to strike.
Jiu Yue grew serious. "We’ll need to assign covert protection for the envoys."
"Precisely... And Consort Ning won’t stay idle either." Sima Qing traced the rim of his cup. "After returning, find a plausible reason to arrange a meeting between me and Fu Yan’an."
"We’ll need to fabricate some evidence."
