Chapter Twenty-Seven: Aftermath

"Help, help me..." Kimura Xingye flailed desperately in the lake. Feng Qiuji watched, anxious and helpless, and quickly ordered Xiao Hui to fetch someone. Yet Arno, that impish boy, looked on with smug satisfaction, entirely oblivious to the severity of his actions. Hands on his hips, he watched Kimura struggle in the water, speaking with infuriating nonchalance, "Well, well, the flower thief can't swim? Then enjoy your soak for a few more hours." With that, he clapped his hands and made to leave.

Feng Qiuji seized him by the collar. "Ling Shuno, this is a matter of life and death. No one's joking with you—go pull him out, now!"

"I'm just a child," he replied, spreading his hands with deliberate helplessness, his face feigning distress. "If you want to save him, go do it yourself."

Her anger flared at his cheek, and she ground her teeth in frustration. If only she could swim, she would have leapt in already—why waste words on this brat?

"Listen to me, he's a prince from Fusang. If you let him die, you'll be in serious trouble." As she spoke, Feng Qiuji shed her heavy outer robe and pulled the ornate hairpins from her hair, preparing to enter the water.

Ling Shuno had only meant to provoke her, but seeing she truly intended to jump in, he hurriedly clutched her sleeve. "Don't."

"Let go," Feng Qiuji snapped, flinging her sleeve aside. He lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

Summoning all her strength, Feng Qiuji clung to the willow branches drooping to the water's edge, and with great effort, hauled Kimura Xingye ashore.

She patted his face, but he did not stir; he seemed to have lost consciousness. Without hesitation, Feng Qiuji pried his lips open, ready to perform artificial respiration.

"Stop!" Arno darted forward to intervene at the sight.

"And whose fault is that?" she shot him a furious glare, her tone dripping with anger.

It was at this moment that Ling Zetian arrived, taking in the scene: Feng Qiuji bending over Kimura Xingye to resuscitate him, Arno standing by in shock.

Frowning, Ling Zetian lifted Feng Qiuji from the ground, and the imperial physicians at his command rushed to Kimura Xingye's side to begin their ministrations.

"Ling Shuno, the matrons of Brocade Palace say you've grown more unruly of late—not doing your lessons, always running off. Are you so eager for punishment?" Ling Zetian faced Arno, his expression stern and his tone icy enough to startle even Feng Qiuji. She had never seen him so angry with Arno before.

Arno hung his head, fingers twisting nervously at his sleeves, silent and pitiful.

"I also hear it was you who pushed Prince Kimura into the lake? Utter nonsense!" Ling Zetian's face darkened further. "Have you forgotten everything your royal father has taught you?!"

"...Cough, cough..." Under the doctors' care, Kimura Xingye finally coughed and regained consciousness.

As Kimura revived, Ling Zetian's gaze fell upon him. "Prince Kimura, may I ask what urgent business brings you to my queen's side here in the dead of night?"

"Your Majesty," Feng Qiuji quickly interjected before Kimura could reply, "I lost my way, and Prince Kimura was escorting me back to the palace."

"Oh? Then how is it that Prince Kimura knows the palace better than the queen herself?"

"I never said he knew it well," Feng Qiuji replied, rolling her eyes inwardly. Must Ling Zetian expose her in front of everyone? Couldn't they discuss this in private? "I only meant he was helping me look for the way."

"So the queen is truly resourceful—could you not simply have asked a maid for directions?"

"It was so late, I didn't see anyone," she replied.

"In that case," Ling Zetian turned to Xiao Hui, "you failed to attend to your mistress. That deserves punishment. Guards—"

"Wait, wait," Feng Qiuji hastily interrupted, seeing he was about to punish the innocent again. "Your Majesty, it's so late already; we should all return to the palace, and I need to educate Arno properly." She cast a furtive glance at the bewildered child. She hadn't meant to use him as a shield, but under the circumstances, she had little choice.

"Take the young prince back to Brocade Palace," Ling Zetian ordered with a faint smile. Tonight's events had already been reported to him by Wen Changfeng, who kept a close eye on Feng Qiuji. He was curious to see what other lies she might concoct.

After instructing the physicians to tend to Kimura Xingye and ordering the eunuchs and maids to escort him back to his quarters, Ling Zetian departed without another word.

Feng Qiuji shivered at his inscrutable smile and hurriedly gathered Arno to follow him.

Back at Chaoyun Palace, Ling Zetian did not bother to pursue the earlier matter, but instead issued her a cold command. "Take off your clothes."

"What for?" Feng Qiuji eyed him warily.

"Do you plan to stay in those wet clothes all night?" Remarkably, Ling Zetian moved to the wardrobe and began searching through it.

She realized he was right and started to undress, eager to crawl into bed and wrap herself up before he saw her bare. But after finding her something to wear, Ling Zetian saw her attempt to slip into bed and dragged her back. "Dry yourself first, and then take a hot bath, or you'll catch cold." With that, he picked up a towel and began drying her hair.

Standing naked before him, Feng Qiuji felt deeply embarrassed, arms crossed over her chest but unable to cover herself below. She wanted to ask him to leave, but seeing him so gentle for the first time, tenderly drying her hair, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"The rest is up to you," Ling Zetian said, perhaps realizing the awkwardness. After finishing with her hair, he tossed her the towel and lay down on the bed himself.

Though his eyes were closed, he heard Feng Qiuji flee into the inner chamber as if escaping a calamity, and a faint smile curved his lips.

But thoughts of Kimura Xingye soon erased that smile. In the dead of night, a man and a woman alone together—a scandal certain to fill the palace with gossip by tomorrow. Feng Qiuji was truly heedless, never considering such things.

Lost in thought, exhaustion soon claimed him, and he drifted into sleep.

When Feng Qiuji finished her bath and returned, she found Ling Zetian lying in bed, breathing evenly, already asleep. She quietly climbed in, covered him with the quilt, and lay down by his side.

She had shared a bed with Ling Zetian for several days now. At first, it had felt awkward—after all, though husband and wife in name, they were strangers in truth.

But over these days, she had grown accustomed, even to the point where, when Ling Zetian held her hand at night, she no longer pulled away and simply let him be. She always woke early; sometimes, after waking, she would see him sleeping peacefully beside her, and found the sight pleasant enough. He was the ruler of this dynasty, always busy with endless affairs, so she rarely saw him during the day.

At times, she felt like a lonely, neglected wife, much like his other concubines who might not see him for months, living in boredom within the deep palace walls.

Feng Qiuji reached out and gently embraced Ling Zetian. His body was warm and comforting. Though her action felt bold, she did not withdraw her hand, but held him tighter.

He was her husband, after all—wasn't he?

The next morning, Ling Zexin was puzzled to find that everyone seemed as sleep-deprived as himself.

Kimura Xingye and Kimura Xinghen both sported dark circles under their eyes; Sakura Xuanyu and Sakura Hua Luo sat dozing in the corner. Even Ling Zetian and Feng Qiuji bore red-rimmed eyes. Only Arno showed no obvious signs, though the boy kept his head bowed, looking rather dejected.

"Prince Xin, what happened to your face?" Feng Qiuji asked, eyeing the black eyepatch over Ling Zexin's right eye. He looked like a one-eyed pirate, which struck her as both odd and amusing.

"I couldn't see the way last night and accidentally walked into a doorframe," Ling Zexin replied, throwing a glance at Sakura Hua Luo and smiling to cover his embarrassment. He placed a crystal dumpling in Feng Qiuji's bowl. "Sister-in-law, you look exhausted. You mustn't have slept well last night—have a dumpling to recover."

Normally, everyone would have taken their breakfast separately, but that morning Ling Zexin had entered the palace early, bringing his own chefs and borrowing the imperial kitchens to prepare a lavish breakfast, claiming he wanted to improve everyone's diet and taste.

Thus, the current scene unfolded...

"I think you were even more tired last night, probably holding a pretty woman and being debauched all night," Sakura Hua Luo sneered at Ling Zexin's grinning face, unable to suppress her disgust.

"Is that jealousy I hear, little Luo?" Ling Zexin's remaining peach blossom eye sparkled with mirth as he looked at Sakura Hua Luo. "If you wish, I could hold you all night as well—"

Before he could finish, Sakura Xuanyu, seated beside him, quickly covered his mouth. Ling Zexin had no idea what Sakura Hua Luo was like when angry—if he kept talking, there would be no breakfast for anyone.

Sure enough, Sakura Hua Luo, who had been about to erupt in anger, managed to restrain herself at her brother's intervention.

Unexpectedly, Feng Qiuji remarked coolly, "However Prince Xin chooses to amuse himself, it has little to do with Miss Sakura. After all, she's not his wife—isn't she meddling a bit too much?"

From the way Ling Zexin glanced at Sakura Hua Luo earlier, Feng Qiuji could guess that his black eye had something to do with her.

"Who cares about him?!" At Feng Qiuji's words, Sakura Hua Luo immediately turned her ire on her.

"Then what right does Miss Sakura have to scold Prince Xin?"

"I just can't bear it. You didn't see him in the back garden last night, with a woman—"

"In the end, you're jealous, aren't you? Have you fallen for Prince Xin?" The truth was out—she must have caught him with another woman last night.

"Who would fall for him..."

The morning peace was soon shattered as the two women began to bicker. Looking at Ling Zetian—the prince was present and he was the emperor—why didn't he say a word? With others present, this was hardly a private matter; wasn't he letting them make a spectacle of themselves? Sakura Xuanyu looked helplessly at the two princes from Fusang, but as he was thinking this, Ling Zetian finally spoke in his cool, distant voice: "Eat your breakfast."