Jiu Yue gave him an impressed glance. "I thought you'd have realized when I returned the whip to you."
This wasn’t a pleasant memory.
Si Shui’s tone carried a hint of resentment. "Then why were you sneaking around behind His Highness the Prince Regent earlier?"
Jiu Yue: "..."
Si Shui added, "And when I swung the whip, you were holding onto the Prince Regent—that’s clearly the behavior of an assassin!"
Jiu Yue: "..."
Assassin my ass!
Unable to hold back, Jiu Yue jumped up and punched him. "If I hadn’t pulled him away, your whip would’ve sent his delicate body straight to the underworld! Would you have taken responsibility for that?"
"And who was sneaking around? I was openly looking around!" Jiu Yue shot him a disdainful look. "This is clearly just your bias against me. Tch."
Si Shui: "..."
Flushed with embarrassment, Si Shui hid his entire body behind a stone pillar.
Jiu Yue dusted off her clothes and calmly lay back down, only to see a slowly lengthening shadow appear in her line of sight.
She froze, her gaze following the figure until she spotted a small silhouette approaching.
Unconsciously straightening up, Jiu Yue was even more startled when she recognized the little figure.
"Xue’er… Is she still living in the cold palace?" Jiu Yue couldn’t help but ask.
After a pause, Si Shui responded, "Are you asking me?"
Jiu Yue: "...Who else?"
Si Shui continued, "Last time, the cold palace staff neglected their duties, and the little princess slipped out, nearly meeting with disaster. After she was brought back, His Majesty had her moved to Consort Xue’s palace."
Consort Xue…
Xue’er?
It wasn’t Jiu Yue’s fault for jumping to conclusions—the moment she heard "Consort Xue," fragments of memories flashed through her mind.
Though the faces in those fragments were blurred beyond recognition.
But these memories didn’t appear without reason.
Jiu Yue had a gut feeling there was something hidden beneath the surface.
In the few seconds of silence, little Xue’er had already run closer. Even though Jiu Yue was disguised as a man, Xue’er still affectionately threw herself into her arms.
And immediately called out, "Mother."
Jiu Yue clearly heard Si Shui’s sharp intake of breath behind her.
"..." Jiu Yue’s lips twitched, but she patiently corrected, "I’m not your mother."
She even used her disguised male voice.
Xue’er blinked in confusion.
Jiu Yue added fuel to the fire, tugging at her clothes. "And there’s no orange scent today either."
Xue’er froze for a few seconds before her expression shifted from puzzlement to realization.
"Then I’ll call you Father!" Xue’er declared with an air of wisdom, looking up. "Father!"
Jiu Yue: "..."
Behind her, Si Shui sucked in two more sharp breaths.
Jiu Yue decided to give up—reasoning with a child was impossible. Just as she sighed in resignation, a young maid hurried over, calling out lovingly, "Little Princess, shall we go back and make orange lanterns?"
Those words seemed to trigger Xue’er’s excitement.
She gave Jiu Yue a rare smile. "Mother-Father, Xue’er will make you a lantern!"
Jiu Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, Xue’er planted a kiss on her cheek. Stunned, she watched as Xue’er patted her clothes, waved, and followed the maid away.
"You…" Si Shui’s voice drifted eerily from behind.
Jiu Yue looked up to meet his indescribable expression.
Jiu Yue: "...Don’t tell me you actually believe that?"
"..." Si Shui wiped his face. "What do you think?"
Of course not.
Xue’er’s origins were common knowledge—there was no way Jiu Yue could’ve been both mother and father to her!
"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Jiu Yue rolled her eyes, but Si Shui’s tone turned complicated. "You really don’t know?"
"Know what?"
"The little princess… she’s not like other children." Si Shui stared at her. "You’re the first person she’s ever willingly approached."
Jiu Yue’s breath hitched, her heart pounding wildly.
...
Not long after, Sima Qing emerged from the imperial study.
His expression was darker than before he’d entered.
Spotting Jiu Yue still sprawled on the ground, Sima Qing called out coldly, "Are you waiting for me to personally escort you out?"
Jiu Yue: "..."
No "seemed" about it—she was certain Sima Qing was in a terrible mood!
Quickly shaking off her thoughts, she scrambled to her feet and followed at his side. Under the watchful eyes of the palace servants, the master and servant swiftly departed.
Hidden in the shadows, Si Shui silently watched Jiu Yue’s retreating figure before finally turning and heading back to the imperial study.
The emperor seemed to be in high spirits, practicing calligraphy despite the late hour.
Si Shui bowed his head, not daring to meet the emperor’s gaze.
"Well?" the emperor asked.
Si Shui replied, "Your Majesty… The incident in the cold palace wasn’t an accident. The little princess is indeed unusually attached to that person. Just now, she threw herself into their arms without hesitation."
"Oh?" The emperor chuckled. "It seems our little Xue’er truly likes this person… Do you think Prince Ping would be pleased to hear this?"
Si Shui didn’t dare answer.
The emperor set down his brush and strolled to the window.
"By keeping this person close, my uncle is practically inviting a wolf into his home." His tone was calm, but the air around him grew heavy.
Back at the Prince Regent’s residence, Qiu Dongfang and Jiu Yue didn’t dare make a sound, sneaking off to whisper in a secluded corner.
"Did His Highness get scolded? He wasn’t this furious before entering the palace," Qiu Dongfang muttered.
Jiu Yue shook her head. "I couldn’t enter the imperial study, and with so many eyes around, I couldn’t just vanish to eavesdrop, could I?"
Qiu Dongfang’s lips twitched. "...You’ve got some nerve. Eavesdropping on the imperial study? Really?"
Jiu Yue shrugged, then asked, "Why did His Highness go to the palace this time?"
Qiu Dongfang lowered his voice. "It’s probably about the Mingzhi Mountain incident… No one knows His Highness’s whereabouts except His Majesty."
Jiu Yue’s eyes widened. "So the emperor betrayed him?"
"Shh—" Qiu Dongfang clamped a hand over her mouth. "Words have consequences. Don’t say things you can’t take back."
Jiu Yue pushed his hand away, frowning. "How is that nonsense? Isn’t that exactly what happened? After His Highness worked overnight to deliver the account books, he gets stabbed in the back—no wonder he’s furious!"
"Enough, enough." Qiu Dongfang grabbed her pointing finger. "These matters aren’t for us to discuss… Did you skip dinner? I saved you a bun."
He dragged Jiu Yue away, unaware of the faint smirk curling on the lips of a figure lurking in the shadows.
...
Inside the study.
Mo Jin and Fu Yu watched the two loudmouths leave, their expressions pained.
"...His Highness truly sees everything," Fu Yu muttered.
Meanwhile, the supposedly furious Sima Qing—as described by Jiu Yue and Qiu Dongfang—was lounging gracefully on a daybed, calmly reading a book.
Hearing the report, he smiled in satisfaction.
"As expected," he mused. "They never disappoint." Barely back, and already running their mouths.
Mo Jin rubbed his face, his mood complicated.
When he first learned that the Prince Regent intended to bring Jiu Yue into the palace tonight, he had been deeply concerned—
But now, watching Jiu Yue and Qiu Dongfang effortlessly spread the news back and forth, Mo Jin was impressed—and it wasn’t even an act. The two of them were genuinely engrossed in their banter.
This kind of work? Neither he nor Fu Yu could pull it off so naturally.
Some people were simply born to gossip.
"With this, the traitor should reveal themselves soon enough," Mo Jin muttered darkly.
After Jiu Yue had inadvertently noticed a few extra faces in the manor recently, Mo Jin had realized spies had infiltrated. Fortunately, everyone in the household had been personally vetted, making it easy to root out the intruders… yet they had still been careless.
Someone had leaked the Prince Regent’s trip to Mingzhi Mountain.
This traitor had to be uncovered—no matter what.
