On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, the Emperor returned to the capital in triumph from his personal campaign. As the army drew near the city, the people cheered.

The capital’s gates were thrown wide open. The Emperor rode in full battle armor, his personal imperial guard and the formidable Qi family army behind him, banners flying. As they approached the capital, the people cheered and rejoiced. The Emperor of Great Yuan had spent half his life on horseback, fighting war after war. It was his vigilance and his willingness to lead campaigns in person across this land of constant strife that had brought his people the stability and peace they knew today.

Word had long since spread that the Emperor had personally gone to the frontier, taken the heads of the northern chieftains, and secured thirteen cities for Great Yuan.

The heavy iron cavalry entered the city. Warhorses struck the earth and the ground shook. The people looked up at the imposing figure of the Emperor, ten thousand soldiers and horses at his back.

The Qi family army escorted the Emperor into the capital amid the splendor of the whole city, until they reached the outer walls of the imperial palace, where the heavy troops removed their armor and made camp outside the city.

“We welcome His Majesty’s great victory and triumphant return!” The assembled officials who had gathered there long in advance raised their voices in unison, and a thunderous cry of ten thousand years shook the air.

The Emperor had led the campaign in person, crushed the northern barbarians, and his valor was celebrated far and wide.

The imperial procession returned to court, and an audience was convened.

The Emperor shed his heavy armor and changed into his yellow robes. When he walked into the great hall, the hall fell into solemn silence.

Great Yuan’s prosperity owed much to the Emperor himself, beyond what the people celebrated in their stories of his personal campaigns. This Emperor had fought on the battlefield in his youth, capturing city after city. Before he had even reached middle age, his achievements had grown great enough to unsettle the throne, and it was at the old Emperor’s deathbed that he had launched his coup and taken the throne. After founding the new reign, he had governed through military strength, expanding Great Yuan’s vast territories. This latest victory over the northern barbarians, driving them beyond the northern frontier, would secure Great Yuan’s borders for ten years.

The civil and military officials bowed in obeisance. The Emperor on the high seat was in the prime of his years. The bearing that came from a lifetime of battle and bloodshed needed no anger to command awe, and no one dared look directly at the imperial countenance. Only when he waved his hand and told them to rise did the officials dare lift their heads.

The first court audience after the Emperor’s return to the capital saw the military commanders rewarded for their merits. News of the Emperor’s general amnesty spread quickly to the inner palace.

In the inner palace, the consorts dressed in their finest to welcome the Emperor.

For the Empress Dowager’s birthday, the consorts all came to the Cining Palace to pay their respects.

The moment Ying Fusheng entered the hall, he noticed gazes coming from all directions. As the prince the Empress Dowager had kept to stay, he was naturally going to draw attention.

After several days of rest, his color had improved considerably. Apart from the bone-deep fatigue that lingered after the high fever, and having grown somewhat thinner, he was in far better shape than he had been at the Weiyang Palace. Among the gazes directed at him from all sides was Consort Ning’s. She had been confined for many days, her duties taken over by someone else, and had sent people to speak with Ying Fusheng several times, even resorting to feigning illness, but Ying Fusheng had not returned to the palace, and it was only today that she was finally able to see him.

When Ying Fusheng saw Consort Ning again, she seemed considerably more restrained. She was impeccable in every way before the Empress Dowager, and when Ying Fusheng came to her side she wore her most devoted motherly smile, every word a show of warmth and concern, terrified of giving the Empress Dowager any reason for displeasure.

“Mother,” Ying Fusheng said.

“Is Sheng’er feeling better?” Consort Ning kept her smile in place, afraid the slightest misstep would draw the Empress Dowager’s contempt. After the Wangyue Pavilion matter, word had come from the Ning family saying she had handled things poorly, and she had been swallowing her frustration for days. Now, seeing this bastard looking healthier, she still had to speak pleasantly. “The palace banquet will be held tonight. Go back to the Weiyang Palace and change your clothes.”

Ying Fusheng noticed the Empress Dowager’s gaze drift their way and agreed without protest.

Seeing Ying Fusheng’s compliance, and relieved that the child had not grown distant after half a month away, she felt somewhat reassured. But when Ying Fusheng walked forward to bow before the Empress Dowager, her eyes darkened. “Did I not have medicine added to his doses these past few days?”

Bizhu had told that slow-witted young eunuch it was licorice powder to cut the bitterness of the Sixth Prince’s medicine.

The young eunuch had believed it completely. She had even gone to the pharmacy herself a few times to make sure he had added it.

Given the Sixth Prince’s current state, she could not be certain of anything, and could only say, “Perhaps the Imperial Medical Office has been giving him too many restorative tonics during this time…”

What prescriptions the Cining Palace’s imperial physicians wrote, they had no way of knowing.

Bizhu naturally did not dare take risks. She had kept the doses as small as possible.

Consort Ning looked at Ying Fusheng’s appearance, which was that of someone recovering from a serious illness, and supposed it must truly be that Physician Chu’s prescriptions were exceptional, to have let this bastard get out of bed at all. She thought to herself, “What a stubborn life.”

“My lady,” Bizhu said, knowing her mistress’s mind. “The matter of the prince’s birthday gift, how shall we handle it?”

Consort Ning knew Ying Fusheng’s attendance at the palace banquet was now inevitable. If he had no gift prepared, she would have to prepare one on his behalf. Being young was the one disadvantage in this regard. If she did not prepare one, she as his mother would be seen as negligent. She intended to keep a low profile, and her own gift had to be proper. “Take a small portion from my gift and call it his. Tell the attendants at his side.”

A couple of things thrown together would do.

After paying their respects to the Empress Dowager, each palace returned to prepare for the evening banquet.

When Ying Fusheng returned to the Weiyang Palace, he found the birthday gifts the other attendants had prepared. He looked them over, set aside several that were too extravagant, and told Song’an to put them away in the storeroom.

Song’an was briefly puzzled. Consort Ning had given very few things to begin with, and these were the two most suitable items among them. “Your Highness?”

Ying Fusheng did not explain further. He simply placed two scroll-shaped items that looked like works of calligraphy and painting into the birthday gifts for the Empress Dowager, and told Song’an to keep watch over them and not let any other attendant touch them.

Music and dance began as night fell.

The Wangyue Pavilion blazed with light. Singers and musicians entered to celebrate. For the first palace banquet since the Emperor’s triumphant return, the Office of Rites and the Ministry of Rites did not dare be the least bit careless. The entire banquet was full of warmth and joy, a sea of song and dance in every direction, extraordinarily lively.

When Ying Fusheng arrived, the sight of the Wangyue Pavilion lit up in the night left him briefly disoriented.

He had been gravely ill at the Weiyang Palace, and the Cining Palace had been very quiet. This was his first time in a crowd since his rebirth. He looked out at the ministers and their families entering in pairs and groups in the distance. The noise reached his ears and became a sharp, piercing howl of cold wind, and his palms grew damp. He shook himself free of it, shut out the phantom wind in his ears, and slowly readjusted to the liveliness before him.

The young princes and princesses of the palace all stood together in one area. The moment Ying Fusheng drew near, the people around him took notice. The imperial family was not large, and every prince and princess had appeared at palace banquets before, with one exception: the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince had been sickly from a young age, frequently absent from lessons, and never mixed with his brothers and sisters. He was quiet and withdrawn.

Seeing him approach, the others only looked. Not a single one moved to greet him.

A clear space opened around him.

The exclusion and watchful distance were plain to see. Ying Fusheng paid it no mind and walked directly toward the Crown Prince, bowing as he drew near. “Crown Prince Brother.”

Only then did the Crown Prince seem to notice Ying Fusheng. He smiled and said, “Sixth Brother. You seem to be doing better.”

He then introduced Ying Fusheng to the other members of the imperial family nearby. They said a few words at the Crown Prince’s prompting, but said nothing more, neither drawing closer nor making any effort to continue the conversation.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward. The Crown Prince offered an explanation with an air of sudden realization. “The Sixth Brother rarely moves about the palace. They are a little unfamiliar with you.”

The corners of the Crown Prince’s eyes carried a smile. He paused, and asked with deliberate meaning, “The Sixth Brother does not blame them, I hope?”

Ying Fusheng watched the Crown Prince speak. Any ordinary older brother in this situation would at least say something to help people get acquainted. The Crown Prince had played the part of a concerned elder brother smoothing things over for the younger ones, and with a few words had made the separation of relations clear, without a single word that might actually draw Ying Fusheng into the group.

Malice was nothing new to Ying Fusheng. He said, “Of course not.”

Ying Fusheng said nothing more, but his peripheral gaze swept over the princes and officials around him, all men of considerable standing at court.

At that moment, he noticed the others beginning to look toward the Crown Prince. He shifted slightly and moved to stand beside him.

The Crown Prince’s expression flickered. Ying Fusheng said little, and the other princes and princesses were not approaching him. Now that he had planted himself at the Crown Prince’s side, even fewer people would come near. A flicker of satisfaction passed through the Crown Prince’s eyes. He turned to converse warmly with the others and left Ying Fusheng behind him.

Ying Fusheng kept track of the time. After a short while, he followed a sound and looked toward the distance.

They were here.

The banquet was full of movement. The evening feast was about to begin, and the music had started.

The palace attendants called out in announcement, and several figures appeared in the distance.

The Empress Dowager had arrived.

Empress Xu walked at her side, and the inner palace consorts followed behind.

Ying Fusheng’s gaze shifted as he caught sight of those figures, settling on Empress Xu beside the Empress Dowager. She usually wore subtle palace robes, but today her robes were embroidered with golden phoenixes, magnificent and stately, every bit the bearing of the mother of the realm. From the one time he had seen her at the Cining Palace until now, the younger version of her seemed little different from the woman she would become in the years ahead.

In his past life, he had once followed Consort Ning and caught a distant glimpse of her dressed in full splendor for an occasion. She had looked exactly like this.

Empress Xu walked a measured step behind, supporting the Empress Dowager as they entered the Wangyue Pavilion. The assembled officials and their families bowed as they passed.

As they moved through the central courtyard, the imperial family bowed in congratulation. The Crown Prince noticed Ying Fusheng was still at his side and his brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing and stepped forward to lead the obeisance.

Ying Fusheng caught a glimpse of Consort Ning among the consorts in the distance. She was watching the Crown Prince.

The thought came to him, and he took a few steps forward, moving to stand behind the Crown Prince as he bowed.

The Empress Dowager waved for them to rise. Those around her offered their congratulations.

“Is that the Sixth Prince?” a noble lady asked.

Consort Ning happened to be standing nearby. At those words she looked over sharply, and saw that Ying Fusheng had somehow moved to the Crown Prince’s side without her noticing. She had been watching the Crown Prince the whole time.

The people around took notice. The Crown Prince was of the highest imperial blood, and the princes and princesses behind him were all exceptional. But the figure standing at his side today was somewhat unfamiliar. The officials looked over and saw a prince with a slight build, somewhat grown into his frame, who bore a striking resemblance to the Crown Prince standing beside him.

To the ordinary eye, the sight simply suggested a family likeness between brothers. Ying Fusheng had still had some fullness in his face before, but after the serious illness his features had sharpened, and the resemblance around his brows and eyes to the Crown Prince had grown more pronounced.

To say he resembled the Crown Prince was not quite right. It was more that, now that his face had thinned, he looked more like the Emperor.

Ying Fusheng seemed to notice Consort Ning. After completing his bow, he raised his eyes and looked directly at her.

That single look stopped Consort Ning where she stood. She had never noticed before, but now that this bastard was dressed in palace robes and lifted his gaze, the resemblance was unmistakably that of the Empress.

Seeing everyone else standing still, she moved forward anxiously a few steps. But Empress Xu had noticed.

The last time Empress Xu had seen this child was at the Cining Palace. It had been some time, and from a distance he looked thinner, but slightly more alert than the day she had seen him there. Illness fades slowly, yet he had recovered enough to attend the banquet, and his bearing and etiquette were not lacking in the slightest. She looked at him with a little more attention than usual and asked Consort Ning, “Is he feeling better?”

The question nearly made Consort Ning’s hands break into a sweat. She should have given him something stronger to keep him in bed. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. With Empress Xu asking, the others would naturally pay even more attention to that bastard. In her agitation she said, “This child, really. In weather this cold, he has not even brought a hand warmer.”

As she said it, she moved forward, intending to use this as an excuse to pull Ying Fusheng away.

Ying Fusheng was not about to let Consort Ning have her way. He had come to the birthday banquet precisely to be seen. Seeing Consort Ning approaching from not far away, he moved a few more steps toward the Crown Prince, and with others still nearby, that movement brought him further inside the group. Consort Ning tried to draw near but was blocked by the crowd and could not, and any further effort would have looked reckless.

The Empress Dowager glanced at her. Consort Ning had no choice but to stop.

Ying Fusheng followed the Crown Prince, and his conduct before the Empress Dowager and the others was proper and composed. The Empress Dowager already had a good impression of this child from their days together, and she knew he had not attended many palace banquets, yet his manner was steady and unassuming, unlike the other princes who made a fuss.

Hearing what others were saying, she looked more carefully at the child. To say he resembled the Crown Prince was not quite right. Now that his face had thinned, he looked more like the Emperor.

Consort Ning, unable to get close, hurriedly arranged for Bizhu to go and draw Ying Fusheng away. The palace banquet was too important to allow any mishap. She was in the middle of arranging this when, the very next moment, she heard the Empress Dowager speak.

The Empress Dowager’s expression was mild, but she said, “The Sixth Prince is old enough now. Take him to the princes’ table.”

At these words, not only Consort Ning but even the Crown Prince was taken aback.

The princes’ seating was set apart to the side. Apart from the Crown Prince, it was reserved for princes who had already moved to the princes’ quarters or established their own households outside the palace.

Hearing this, a flicker of surprise passed through Ying Fusheng’s eyes. He had known his grandmother’s attitude toward him had warmed, but had not expected her to adjust his seating at this moment.

Empress Xu showed no surprise. “By age, it is right that he should have a seat at the princes’ table.”

The Sixth Prince rarely attended palace banquets, and his appearance made him look younger than he was. With the Empress’s words, the others remembered that the Sixth Prince was close in age to the Crown Prince, and was indeed old enough to be on his own.

The others looked toward Ying Fusheng. He bowed. “Thank you, Grandmother.”

Empress Xu instructed the attendants, “Bring the Sixth Prince a hand warmer, so Consort Ning need not worry.”

Ying Fusheng paused briefly. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Consort Ning’s grip on her handkerchief tightened. The alarm on her face was barely concealed.

But with both the Empress Dowager and the Empress having spoken, she absolutely could not defy them, especially on the Empress Dowager’s birthday.

Before she could think of anything, a loud announcement rang out from the distance.

At that cry, everyone present turned to look. Ying Fusheng saw a figure in imperial yellow in the distance.

“His Majesty the Emperor arrives!”

The long call rang out, and the Emperor’s arrival silenced everyone in the hall as they bowed.