Qi Yanhan Kneels in the Ancestral Hall as Punishment

"Send someone to the magistrate's office right now," Zhou Yao said, her fists clenched so tightly she couldn't sit still. "Have them issue a wanted notice. I refuse to believe a city as large as Chang'an can't find one woman."

Only after the guard had sprinted out the door did Zhou Yao realize she never should have pitied Ling Long in the first place, or returned her indenture deed.

This was her first time dealing with something like this, and she had no idea what to do. Frantic, she paced the courtyard twice.

"Your Highness." Qi Yanhan walked in from outside the yard. "The household guard has told me the gist of what happened. If I may ask, has something happened that you'd suddenly look into your dowry?"

Zhou Yao's gaze met his, and for once, she let a hint of bewilderment show.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Qi Manor...

Qi Xiaohan, who had gotten into a brawl with Zhao Wenhua at Qingyun Tower, had been helped home by servants only that day. His face, mottled with bruises, was still swollen. Even as they laid him on the bed, he kept howling and crying out in pain.

His voice carried clearly across several courtyards, and soon enough, Elder Qi came storming in.

Elder Qi wore a stern expression, and the servants immediately dropped to their knees as he entered.

"How could you be so foolish!" He slapped the table in frustration. "You've never applied yourself since you were a child, idling your days away with that pack of worthless friends of yours, roaming all over Chang'an and causing trouble for me!"

"I might've overlooked it any other day, but you chose now—when foreign envoys are visiting Chang'an and the palace is hosting banquets—to pick a fight with the Zhao brat, and you've made a spectacle of it! You've shamed me in front of everyone!"

Qi Xiaohan, lounging on the bed with his legs crossed, rolled his eyes impatiently at Elder Qi, propped himself up, and turned his face to the wall.

"Fine! If I can't control you, then I'll find someone who can!" Elder Qi turned and stormed out of the courtyard, looking as though he never wanted to see Qi Xiaohan again.

In the court, the Qi and Zhao families were currently at odds, with the Qi family holding a slight edge for backing the Crown Prince's ascension. The emperor saw all of this clearly, and his decision to betroth Zhou Yao to Qi Yanhan had been partly to curb the Qi family's influence.

Zhao Wenhua was Elder Zhao's only son, and now that the two had come to blows at Qingyun Terrace, Elder Qi would not simply sit back and do nothing.

As soon as he returned, Elder Qi ordered Qingyun Terrace sealed off.

Everyone inside was detained, and Elder Qi sent men to investigate the matter thoroughly. Overnight, all his hidden guards were searching for that courtesan who'd instigated the fight between the two young masters.

With her dowry jewelry stolen by Ling Long, Zhou Yao had no way out. Even Qi Yanhan couldn't help her now.

"Does Your Highness realize how risky this is?" A faint smile glimmered in Qi Yanhan's fox-like eyes, as if he were watching a fire from across the river, more than happy to fan the flames.

"I know what I'm doing. If Sir Qi has nothing else to do, perhaps he should worry about himself first?" Zhou Yao retorted with a sneer. But when she spotted Elder Qi entering through the gate, a hint of a smile finally appeared in her eyes. "He's here."

She rose and bowed to Elder Qi. "Since you've come, I'll take my leave."

She hadn't gone far from the courtyard before she overheard the servants whispering that Elder Qi had punished Qi Yanhan with the family rule.

The servants said the flogging had been brutal—Elder Qi had accused Qi Yanhan, as the eldest brother, of failing to set an example and keep his younger brother in check. After ten lashes, Qi Yanhan had been sentenced to kneel in the ancestral hall all night, and he still hadn't been released.

Zhou Yao had the servant replace the tea set on her table with a fresh one, but the newly brewed tea had gone cold by the time she finally got up and headed for the ancestral hall.

The Qi ancestral hall stood apart from the other courtyards, with a water channel running along its front, giving the area a damp, chilly feel. Even in the height of summer, stepping inside gave her a shiver.

She hadn't gone far before she spotted Qi Yanhan kneeling on the ground.

The fabric of his back was soaked through with blood. He was holding himself upright in a rigid kneeling posture, not daring to slacken even a fraction.

"Are you alright?"

Zhou Yao spoke first. Qi Yanhan was in too poor a state to put on his usual airs.

He gave a slight nod and spoke in a weak, husky voice: "Your Highness has had it all figured out, hasn't she? All my scheming over the years—in your eyes, it must've been nothing more than a joke."

"I admit... the jade pendant I broke earlier... was just an ordinary piece..." Qi Yanhan paused to catch his breath. Having gone so long without food, his voice was hoarse and ragged. "Cough... earlier... when you were kicked out of that inn, that was also..."

Zhou Yao finished his sentence: "That was also your doing, right."

She looked down at him. "Remember this: don't play tricks behind my back. Qi Yanhan, don't forget—the one who actually holds power in the Qi family right now is Elder Qi. You're only alive because you still have some use to this family."

"Consider this your payment for deceiving me. If there's a next time, it won't end so lightly." Zhou Yao pinched his chin, her warning gaze fixed on his disheveled form.

After a moment's thought, she released him and turned to leave.

"Does Your Highness think I did all this... for myself...!" He called out with his parched throat.

Zhou Yao was nearly out of the ancestral hall when the words made her stop short. She turned the thought over, then let out a soft laugh. "Fine."

"I'll help you take back the real power. But what will you give me in return?"

Qi Yanhan blinked weakly, his lips moving as if to speak, but before any sound could escape, he blacked out. The wounds that had just stopped bleeding split open again, and blood soon soaked through his robes once more.

When Qi Yanhan opened his eyes again, Zhou Yao had already redressed his wounds and stopped the bleeding.

"You're awake?" Zhou Yao waved a hand in front of his face, checking his condition.

Qi Yanhan didn't speak, only gave a slight nod.

"Since you're awake, rest up. I'll handle Elder Qi on your behalf."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

From that moment on, their partnership was truly sealed. The incident at Qingyun Terrace had stirred up quite a commotion, and the next time Zhou Yao heard word of it, the establishment had been shut down on charges of harboring a suspect.

The women there had mostly been sold off to the slavers. The old madam who had kicked Zhou Yao earlier had died on the spot while interfering with the authorities.

Zhou Yao ran her fingers over the porcelain cup in her hand, turning it over and over, before she finally had Duyun secretly buy back the ill-fated women and settle them in a residence just outside the city walls.

A week later...

Beagle was frolicking with Zhou Yao in the yard when someone shouted from the distance, "Someone, hurry! The study... the study is on fire!"

Panic erupted as the servants scrambled in every direction. The well-fed Beagle also darted toward the fire, whimpering "wer, wer" in distress as it ran.

By the time Zhou Yao reached the study, she found Qi Yanhan standing calmly in the outer yard, a faint smile on his face, watching the flames devour everything inside.

The frantic cries of the servants and the crackle of burning wood reached her ears before the acrid smell of smoke hit her nose, but what she saw came first.

Beagle had followed her to the scene and was already tugging at a thick rope, dragging bundles of bamboo slips out of the burning building and helping the servants to and fro.

Qi Yanhan's fox-like eyes fixed on Zhou Yao. He pressed a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence, then said in a low, deliberate voice, "Once the fire has consumed it all, every trace of evidence turns to ash. Same for me, and same for those corrupt officials."

"Lunatic." Zhou Yao looked at his hypocritical display and said nothing, but her heart wasn't as calm as it had been before.

Qi Yanhan was putting on a show for outsiders.

"Your Highness flatters me." Qi Yanhan's gaze drifted to Beagle, who was hauling bamboo slips, and he praised, "Your Highness once told me you'd rescued it in the Western Regions? It's truly remarkably intelligent. If you don't mind, could I borrow it for a couple of days?"

Before she could answer, his eyes made the meaning clear. "As you can see."

Zhou Yao fell silent, then nodded in understanding.

Soon enough, the scrolls and books had been relocated to another spot. The once-bustling study was now nothing but endless ash and unburnt wooden stumps. When the pungent smoke finally stung her nose, Qi Yanhan spoke to her: "Your Highness need only keep her word, and I will give my all."

Qi Yanhan had been gone for a while when Zhou Yao finally found Beagle, all tuckered out, in front of a pile of scrolls. Strange as it was—normally the dog wouldn't struggle when she picked it up—today it was unusually agitated, refusing to leave the scrolls' side.

Left with no choice, Zhou Yao cast her gaze at the scrolls. It turned out to be a visiting card from General Sun's residence, full of polite pleasantries about having just returned from the front lines and not having seen Elder Qi in a long while.

General Sun? If that's the case, it seemed the Sun family was also preparing to align themselves with the Crown Prince's faction.

Before dawn the next day, General Sun and the elder General Sun indeed arrived at Qi Manor for a visit. Since Qi Yanhan's injuries had yet to heal and he couldn't receive guests, the generals were naturally taken to see Elder Qi in the adjacent courtyard.

Dressed neatly, Zhou Yao made her way to the front hall of Qi Manor and saw Elder Qi seated in the main seat, smiling.

As Grand Preceptor, he was greedy for power he had no right to claim. In his youth, he'd favored his concubine over his wife; in his old age, he stirred up chaos in the court.

He had to go...

The two generals of the Sun family had always remained neutral at court, stationed for years at the border strongholds, with irreplaceable merit in driving back the Xiongnu.

If they sided with the Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince's position would be all but secured.

The branches along the front hall's corridor rustled in the wind. Zhou Yao hadn't expected anyone to head her way. If she were caught eavesdropping, it would be quite the predicament...

Moving cautiously, Zhou Yao pressed herself against a tree behind her, trying to hide among the trunk and thick foliage.

The footsteps grew quicker. Zhou Yao peeked out to see what was happening.

A flash of light blinded her for an instant. Her opponent moved fast—before she could react, she was pinned to the ground, a blade a mere hair's breadth from her neck.

Realizing her danger, Zhou Yao's mind raced for a way out. Before she could think of anything clever, the sword at her throat was withdrawn.

The voice came from behind her, tinged with undisguised surprise: "You?!"

He released her and took two quick steps back.

"You... what are you doing here..." He seemed flustered, hurriedly helping her to her feet. "Oh dear, if I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have made a move."

"Get up, quick. The ground's cold. Your dress! I've dirtied your dress, haven't I?" He scratched his head in agitation. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I was too rash."