Long Xuan returned to his residence and approached the entrance of Qingwen Hall. He saw palace servants attending to Consort Chang standing in front of the gate, gesturing and talking with Fu Yun. Feeling annoyed, Long Xuan said to the attendants behind him, “You all go back first. I’ll take a walk and come back later.”
The attendants all bowed their heads and stepped aside.
Long Xuan walked past the gate of Qingwen Hall.
“The Consort is feeling unwell, and the imperial physician is here,” Fu Yun said to the stubborn palace servant in front of the gate. “The Prince has gone to Changming Hall. No matter how much you say, it’s useless. If the Consort wants to see the Prince, she’ll have to wait until he returns, right?” Fu Yun saw the people who had gone out with Long Xuan coming back and pointed to Long Xuan’s figure in the distance. He said to the palace servant, “The Prince is over there. You can go talk to him yourself. I won’t stop you.”
The palace servant dared to be obstinate with Fu Yun but didn’t dare approach Long Xuan.
Unknowingly, Long Xuan found himself back at the Dream Return Bridge. Another summer had passed, and the lotuses under the bridge had begun to wither. The beauty of summer was gone. Long Xuan stood on the bridge, feeling the cool breeze on his face, signaling the onset of early autumn. In this season, Northern Yan should be colder than Great Zhou. Long Xuan wondered how Luo Wei, who was sensitive to cold, would spend the winter.
After half an incense stick’s worth of time, Fu Yun led a person dressed in palace guard uniform over.
“Your Highness,” the guard knelt down and greeted Long Xuan as he stepped onto the bridge.
After Fu Yun brought the person, he went to walk around on his own, acting as a lookout for his master.
“Do you think Zhou Ningwen is stupid now?” Long Xuan stretched out his hand and helped the guard up.
The guard stood up and said, “He is wholeheartedly devoted to the Crown Prince.”
“The Zhou family can only be at peace when the Crown Prince is unharmed,” Long Xuan said. “You wrote that booklet well. Do you know what to write next?”
“This humble one will listen to His Highness’s instructions.”
“The Crown Prince will have a few complaints in the coming days,” Long Xuan said. “Based on my elder brother’s temper, I can probably guess what he’ll complain about.”
“This lowly one understands,” the guard replied.
Long Xuan nodded. “You’re a smart person. It’s a pity that you have to serve as a palace guard.”
The guard lowered his head. “I dare not have any unrealistic thoughts anymore.”
Long Xuan lifted the guard’s chin. Under the moonlight, the guard’s face was exceptionally clear. “Since I promised to avenge you, I will definitely do it.”
The guard’s face reddened under Long Xuan’s gaze. He said, “I trust Your Highness.”
“The Crown Prince will probably investigate spies in the Eastern Palace in the next few days. If you have nothing important, don’t come find me. Be careful about yourself,” Long Xuan released the guard’s face and reminded him again.
“Yes,” the guard replied.
“Go,” Long Xuan said softly. “If there’s anything, I’ll come find you.”
The guard turned and descended from the bridge, hastily stepping into the darkness.
Long Xuan tapped the bridge railing with his fingers. He had more than just this one little guard in the Eastern Palace. However, at the moment, this little guard seemed to be the most useful to him. What satisfied Long Xuan even more was that this little guard held a grudge against Zhou Ningwen. It was common in Great Zhou for prominent families to seize good land, resulting in loss of life. This little guard happened to be one of the victims of such injustices. Fortunately, his parents were deceased, and his clan didn’t care about him. Coupled with his own determination and substantial donation of silver, he managed to enter the palace. Starting from the lowest-ranked palace guard, he worked his way up to become an guard in Changming Hall, and was later assigned to the Eastern Palace as a messenger. Long Xuan had won over this little guard with just a promise to help him seek revenge. Zhou Ningwen was not like Luo Zhiqiu, who kept himself pure. The inevitable consequence of building relations with unworthy people was that his enemies could be coming from nobility as much as from a commoner background.
Standing on the bridge for a while, feeling the cold wind, Long Xuan looked at the remaining lotuses in the lake. Luo Wei appeared in Long Xuan’s mind again. If Zhou Ningwen wanted Luo Wei’s life, then Zhou Ningwen deserved to die. Long Xuan tapped the bridge railing with his fingers slowly. Before he obtained this world, Luo Wei could not come back, but he wouldn’t let anyone harm Luo Wei’s life.
Fu Yun saw Long Xuan leave the bridge and followed behind him.
“Is marital affection very important?” Long Xuan suddenly asked Fu Yun.
Fu Yun blinked for a moment and said, “A husband should respect his wife, right?”
Long Xuan said, “Is that so?”
Fu Yun said, “I’m just a eunuch. I don’t know about such matters.”
“There are indeed people in this world who would die for love,” Long Xuan muttered to himself.
“Huh?”
“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Long Xuan said.
Fu Yun shut his mouth. Long Xuan often said things that he couldn’t understand now, but he had to listen, because he was just a servant, after all.
Long Xuan returned to Qingwen Hall. As soon as he entered, he learned of the news that Zhou Ningwen had been arrested and taken to prison.
“What about the Crown Prince?” Long Xuan immediately asked Long Yu.
“The Crown Prince is confined to the Eastern Palace,” replied the young eunuch who brought the news. “His Majesty has replaced all the guards in the Eastern Palace.”
Long Xuan walked towards the study.
After Fu Yun handed some money to the young eunuch, he said, “Thank you for your trouble. This is a reward from my master.”
The young eunuch happily took the money and left.
Fu Yun escorted the young eunuch all the way to the gate before returning to see Long Xuan.
“You sent someone to watch at the palace gate,” Long Xuan said to Fu Yun as soon as he entered the room. “See if Luo Zhiqiu will come to the palace again.”
Fu Yun agreed and hurried off.
Long Xuan opened the official documents on the desk. Regardless of what might happen tonight, he still needed to handle these documents. Long Yu had spoken a truth: they princes were also subjects, and their fate rested entirely on Emperor Xingwu’s whims. Long Xuan didn’t seek Emperor Xingwu’s favor, nor could he obtain it even if he tried. However, he must earn Emperor Xingwu’s trust. When Liu Shuangshi was still alive, Long Xuan’s power was far less than it was now. From this, Long Xuan realized one thing: everyone’s power came from Emperor Xingwu. Losing the support of the maternal clan was not a dead end, but losing the Emperor’s favor would leave one with no hope of revival.
In the palace that night, hardly anyone could sleep peacefully.
After dawn, Fu Yun came in and informed Long Xuan, who had been reviewing documents all night, “Your Highness, Luo Zhiqiu did not come to the palace again last night.”
“Was there anyone who left the Fengyi Pavilion?” Long Xuan asked.
Fu Yun replied, “Shang Xi from the Fengyi Pavilion left the palace last night, and about an hour later, another person returned.”
Interesting, thought Long Xuan as he extinguished the candles on the desk. The Crown Prince had an accident, and the Empress had summoned Luo Zhiqiu, yet Luo Zhiqiu still didn’t come to the palace1. Was the Luo family planning to withdraw? Or had they realized that the Crown Prince was not a big tree that can be relied on? Long Xuan pondered over Luo Zhiqiu’s situation. In the current circumstances, it was almost impossible to escape unscathed. Did this mean that the Luo family was pinning their hopes on Luo Wei?
“Your Highness?” Fu Yun asked, noticing that Long Xuan had been staring at the documents on the desk for quite some time.
“Go to Changming Hall and inquire if my father will hold court today,” Long Xuan instructed.
Fu Yun hurried out once again.
“Luo Wei,” Long Xuan uttered Luo Wei’s name. Luo Zhiqiu’s actions added a sense of urgency to the matter of Luo Wei returning to Zhou. Long Xuan quickly wrote a letter and called out, “Come here.”
A bodyguard who was close to Long Xuan walked in.
“Deliver this letter out of the palace,” Long Xuan said, sealing the envelope himself. “Tell them to send it to He Fangcheng as soon as possible and take care of the matters mentioned in the letter.”
Shortly after the guard left with the letter, Fu Yun returned from Changming Hall and informed Long Xuan, “His Majesty developed a fever at dawn, so there won’t be a morning court session today.”
Long Xuan asked, “Who is there now?”
“Junior Chancellor Qiu and Marquis Li have been waiting there,” Fu Yun replied.
“Did my father summon them?”
“They came to the palace to pay their respects upon hearing the news.”
“What about the Third Prince and the others?”
“His Majesty scolded all the Highnesses last night. Now they are all kneeling outside Changming Hall.”
“What about Lord Luo?”
“His Majesty has already sent someone to summon him.”
Long Xuan stood up. He hadn’t slept all night, and there was a hint of weariness on his face. However, he didn’t want to appear fatigued when meeting his father. Summoning Luo Zhiqiu meant that his father still trusted him the most. As the first person to be summoned during his illness, Luo Zhiqiu’s position was evident. As for Junior Chancellor Qiu and Marquis Li, Long Xuan understood their intentions. The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were still young. If the Emperor had any problems now, all their scheming would be in vain.
“Are you going to Changming Hall, Your Highness?” Fu Yun asked.
“I also need to pay my respects as a filial son,” Long Xuan replied.
- Not sure what is meant here, as Luo Zhiqiu was there when the Crown Prince was being punished, so he indeed was in the palace. Maybe LX meant that LZ didn’t come back to see the Empress? ↩︎
Boundless Dao 
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