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The night was as dark as spilled ink. The capital remained under a strict curfew, casting a profound silence over the four wildernesses, broken only by the sporadic, distant barking of dogs. Overhead, the stars were exceptionally sparse, flickering feebly in the void. The carriage from the Bihua Pavilion traveled along the cobblestone road at an unhurried pace, the rhythmic crunch of its wheels…

On the specific calendar days of each month, the entire Ye household was required to accompany the Old Great-Madam for a vegetarian feast. The moment the welcoming ceremony for the Third Prince concluded, Ye Mian rushed back home in a flurry. Vice-Minister Ye arrived half an hour later than Ye Mian. Once he was back, Old Great-Madam Ye instructed the maids to layout the…

At the Princess Royal’s Manor, the midday sun felt warm and mellow. Ye Mian lay half-propped on the rain-listening daybed set right by the window. The daybed was piled high with brocade soft pillows. He wore only a loose, moon-white silk under-robe with its sash tied carelessly; his jet-black hair scattered across the pillows like ink bleeding into water. Outside the window, a few…

The Third Prince was a figure known to all. From the imperial court to the civil and military officials, and among the high dignitaries, there was simply no one who had not heard of him; his notorious reputation preceded him like a clap of thunder. Logically speaking, such a character should have become the subject of everyone’s idle gossip after meals. Yet, from top…

As the twilight deepened, the moon grew dim and the stars vanished. Vice Minister Ye returned from the government offices, thoroughly exhausted. Having consumed nothing but a few sips of cold tea since the previous night, Vice Minister Ye was keeping himself going purely on sheer willpower. Fortunately, Madam Ye had long since ordered the kitchen to prepare steamed dishes, which had been kept…

It was utterly unbelievable! The Crown Prince was not yet thirty years of age, right in the prime of his life. Ye Mian and his friends had considered the elderly Empress Dowager, the Empress who was perennially bedridden, and they had even tremblingly thought of His Imperial Majesty himself—yet they had overlooked the young heir apparent of the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince’s health…

For several consecutive days, Ye Mian reported to work at the Hanlin Academy like clockwork. The coursework at the Shuchang Academy was not a bit lighter than that at the Guozixue. Aside from refining his mastery of the classical canons and histories, he also had to learn the composition of official court documents—handling various genres such as edicts, proclamations, memorials, judicial verdicts, and policy…

Grand Princess’s Estate, Inner Palace. The hall was deathly silent. The attendants all stood against the walls with panicked expressions. The parrot on the perch, usually the most talkative creature, had been holding it in for an entire evening. Just as it opened its beak, a maid nearby hurriedly shushed it and waved her hand. The parrot, seemingly possessing human-like understanding, actually swallowed its…

Wen Xun’s teasing that the two of them were like “newlyweds enjoying a brief separation” was not entirely wrong. Whenever the two of them exchanged a glance, their eyes seemed to trail with threads of longing. Wen Xun’s round face flushed a deep red; he buried his head to finish dinner with them, refused to even drink his tea, and then fled as if…

Ye Mian sat astride Zhuang Xu’s lap, mischievously pinching the soft flesh of his cheeks and pulling outward. He sounded sour and sarcastic: “The Prince of Rongnan is quite high and mighty! Barely back in the capital and you already have me kowtowing to you!” “Hiss, you little scoundrel!” Zhuang Xu shook his head, hugging him with one arm while using the other to…