Ye Jiao was midway through chewing a candied fruit when she froze, dazed. "Did I hear that correctly?"
Madam Ye chuckled. "How could you have heard wrong? Ever since you annulled your engagement with Fu Mingzhu, marriage proposals haven't ceased. But I found none of them suitable, so I rejected them all. After your brother gained his military rank, even more sycophants came calling. There was a lull for a while, but now they've returned. And this one today seems rather promising."
That lull, no doubt, coincided with her entanglement with Li Ce. Now that word had spread of Li Ce's refusal to marry, someone had come sniffing around the Duke of Anguo's estate, hoping to scavenge what was left.
Ye Jiao snorted and bit fiercely into her candied fruit. "Who is it?"
Madam Ye gently tidied her daughter's hair, clearly pleased. "This young man also comes from a military background. His father now commands Jiannan Circuit and holds considerable renown in court."
"Oh," Ye Jiao nodded indifferently.
Madam Ye beamed. "To be frank, when you were close with Prince Chu, I always felt uneasy, thinking of your aunt. But this young man isn't of imperial blood. Though, his sister is a consort in the palace."
Ye Jiao's eyes flickered with thought. Whose sister was a consort again? The name tugged at her memory.
Madam Ye continued, "As it happens, you even know this young man. His surname is Bai, and he's—"
Ye Jiao leapt to her feet with a shriek. "Wait! Mother, stop right there!"
She dropped the candied fruit in her left hand and the walnut in her right, her expression collapsing. "Bai Xianyu? He's my subordinate!"
"What subordinate?" Madam Ye narrowed her eyes, looking up at her daughter. "Once you're married, are you still going to work at the Wuhou Office?"
Never in her wildest dreams had Ye Jiao imagined this—Bai Xianyu, that shameless scoundrel, would go so far as to seek marriage just to reclaim the Wuhou Chief's position? What was this? If he couldn't overpower her through strength, he'd marry her into submission?
Ye Jiao stormed into the gambling den and kicked over Bai Xianyu's stool.
Still crouched on the floor, dice in hand, Bai Xianyu maintained a surprisingly composed posture, his expression innocent. "It's not my duty shift today. Has the Wuhou Chief mistaken me for someone else?"
Amidst the jeers and catcalls, Ye Jiao dragged him outside. "You've got some nerve! How dare you try to marry your commanding officer?"
Bai Xianyu looked more horrified than she was. "Marry you? So I can be beaten every day? Do you even realize I'm the only heir of the Bai family?"
Once the misunderstanding was clarified, Bai Xianyu fled home in terror, tossed the dice aside, and collapsed into his mother's arms, sobbing. "I don't want to marry a lioness, Mother! Why would you choose her of all people?"
Lady Bai dismissed the wet nurses and maids, motioning for the doors to be closed. Then she turned to her son. "This was your sister's idea."
Bai Xianyu's sister—none other than the highest-ranking of the nine imperial consorts, Lady Zhaoyi—had held a place of prestige ever since entering the palace. When she sent instructions home, Lady Bai always complied.
She tried to reason with him, "The Zhaoyi Consort said the Emperor has often spoken highly of Miss Ye, even expressing a wish to have her as a daughter-in-law. If we could bring her into the Bai family, His Majesty would be overjoyed—he might even bestow an official post upon you."
Bai Xianyu looked miserable. "No."
He wiped at imaginary tears, flopped to the floor, and pouted like a child who had been wronged. "Mother, you don't understand. Ye Jiao is outrageously flirtatious. First Prince Su had a crush on her, then Prince Chu. Even that newly promoted deputy commander of the imperial guards looked at her like a starving dog eyeing a bone. How many lives do I have to fight for her affection?"
The real issue, of course, was that he couldn't stand a woman who could outfight him.
He preferred delicate, gentle types—ones who shed a few tears now and then to tug at his heart.
Massaging his neck, Bai Xianyu grumbled, "You'd better tell Sister I'm not doing it. What kind of sister sells her own brother? If she likes Ye Jiao so much, let her son marry her! The next time Ye Jiao sees me, she'll have to call me 'Grand Uncle.'"
At that thought, Bai Xianyu burst into laughter—only for a sharp pain to strike his head.
His mother had hit him.
"You wretched brat!" Lady Bai snapped. "Your nephew is five years old! How could he marry Miss Ye?"
Bai Xianyu shielded his head and inched toward the door, bickering all the while. "No matter what, I'm not marrying her. I'd sooner marry a sow than her. I will never set foot in the Duke of Anguo's estate!"
A teapot came flying his way, and Bai Xianyu bolted out the door. At the threshold, he turned back to shout, "The Bai family only has one heir—me! If I die, we're done for!"
No one had thrown manure at the Prince Zhao's residence lately.
No one shared meals with him anymore, quarreled with him, or clung to his back pretending to be a spinning top.
A golden ginkgo leaf spun through the air and landed beside Li Ce's knee. He slowly returned to his senses and heard his attendant's voice.
"What did you say?" Li Ce asked.
Qingfeng bowed and repeated, "Yan Jide has departed the capital and is stationed a hundred li to the north for military training. Yan Congzheng has taken office, though he has yet to make any notable moves. It is said that after the earthquake in Ganzhou, disaster relief was poorly handled, so His Majesty reprimanded the Ministry of Revenue this morning, ordering the use of state grain to aid the people."
Li Ce nodded slightly, twirling the ginkgo stem in his fingers, his expression bleak.
Trying to lift his master's spirits, Qingfeng added, "It was Your Highness who foresaw everything. By intercepting the confidential correspondence related to Yan Jide, you stirred suspicion in His Majesty."
Confidential matters were, naturally, matters of secret investigation. Tian Yingyu had once served under Yan Jide but was suddenly transferred to Yan Congzheng, gaining access to many secrets. The Emperor was bound to grow wary.
Though the Emperor had mellowed with age, it didn't mean he was dull-witted.
"And as for Yan Congzheng," Qingfeng continued, "Your Highness cleverly added a few harmless offenses and instances of rejected flattery by courtiers. Yet His Majesty still bestowed great favor upon him."
The Emperor detested factionalism and only favored officials who pledged unwavering loyalty. A few blemishes made them easier to control. That Yan Congzheng rose to such a position also owed much to his longstanding reputation among the imperial guards.
Though outwardly easy-going, Yan Congzheng was in truth cautious and meticulous—far more suited to a civil official's post than a military one.
Qingfeng finished his report, but seeing Li Ce's unchanged expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness… would you like to hear other news?"
Perhaps about the Wuhou Office? Perhaps… Miss Jiao?
Li Ce looked up, puzzled. "Why the mystery? Just speak."
"Exactly!" a voice called loudly from the courtyard entrance. "I have plenty of news, and I'd be delighted to share it with the Prince of Chu."
As Li Jing spoke, he strolled into view. Spotting Li Ce seated in the courtyard, he swept aside his sleeves and sat down beside him, grinning. "It warms my heart to see my dear Ninth Brother again."
Li Ce glanced at him indifferently. "You're celebrating a bit too soon."
"Oh, look at that sour face," Li Jing laughed dryly. "Only I would still bother with you. I've just come upon some news about Ye Jiao—care to hear it?"
Li Ce sat upright, a sword resting on the table before him. He gave no response, merely pulled out an oiled cloth and began polishing the blade. His long lashes trembled, casting faint shadows on his pale face.
Li Jing began speaking anyway. "Soon enough, Ye Jiao won't be swaggering around with her Wuhou guards, coming to pester me. Preparing for a wedding keeps a woman quite busy, you know."
"What wedding?" Li Ce's head snapped up, his face etched with shock.
It was the very reaction Li Jing had hoped for. Pleased, he leaned in and whispered, "I just came from the palace. Mother said Consort Bai is pestering the Emperor to grant Bai Xianyu a marriage. Guess who the bride is meant to be?"
"Ye Jiao," Li Ce said coldly.
"Smart guess!" Li—