The north wind blows snow at the beginning of the fourth watch, and the auspicious heavenly teachings arrive with the New Year. The half-bowl of tu su has not been lifted yet, and in front of the lamp, a small grass writes a peach symbol.

  At the end of the year, when the firecrackers were ringing in the sky, the imperial palace was suddenly thrown into commotion. What was supposed to be a joyful banquet for the whole family came to an abrupt halt midway through the celebration.

  Inside the imperial city, everyone was in a state of panic and unease. All gates within the inner city were guarded by the Imperial Guard according to the Empress's decree. Anyone who attended today's palace banquet was not allowed to leave.

  All the royal relatives were arranged by the eunuchs in the palace to rest in the palace, and none of them returned to their respective mansions after attending the banquet in the palace. Although the eunuchs came to reply that there was an important matter to be detained in the palace and would be sent back to their respective mansions soon, this unusual arrangement naturally caused concern and suspicion among the royal relatives in the capital.

  In three more days, a rumor began to circulate in the capital that something had gone wrong at the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace, and it was suspected that the emperor had eaten something bad and contracted an illness. At first, it was only spread within a small circle of imperial relatives, but as time passed, the rumor spread further and wider, and soon the whole city knew about it.

  Inside the emperor's bedroom, the crown prince was accompanying his wife to attend to the empress by her bedside. The empress and the emperor were childhood sweethearts, but now they had both aged, and even thick layers of makeup couldn't conceal the ruthless marks left on their faces by time.

  She knelt on both knees in front of the bed, following the imperial physician's orders to wipe the emperor's body. Her eyes were red and swollen like peaches, with dark circles underneath, clearly showing that she hadn't rested well for several days. Her hands moved continuously, but her face was solemn, with a hint of anger in her eyes that couldn't be concealed.

  Kneeling on the ground behind her were Huang Guifei, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. All three of them showed anxious expressions, especially the Crown Prince, who looked extremely distressed, as if he wanted to transfer the emperor's illness onto himself.

  At this time, a palace servant wearing an inner monitor uniform came to the outside of the hall and whispered a few words in the crown prince's ear. The crown prince looked at the empress who was still attending to the emperor's illness, saw that she was still focused on the emperor in front of her, and then quietly got up and slowly retreated to the back of the hall.

  "Your Highness, everything is ready, may I proceed?" asked the palace maid in a soft voice.

  The prince was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Has the news been delivered to Lao Da's place?"

  The eunuch bowed and said it was true.

  Standing under the corridor in front of the hall, one can still see the fireworks burning in the civilian areas outside the palace. This first month is destined to be not peaceful.

  "Alright then, let's get started."

  At this time, in the General's mansion far away in Xunyang, it was unusually lively. The old lady, the second and third wives, as well as Qin's family of three, a large group of people gathered together, with three tables set up, eating a banquet and chatting about interesting things.

  After all, this is the first Spring Festival in Xunyang, so Qin Miao specially invited a theater troupe from Jiangbei to perform a good play and celebrate the New Year together.

  It's not just that, the firecrackers and fireworks in Xie Mansion have been going on non-stop until late at night. Even from several streets away, you can still see them. However, in this lively Xie Mansion, a person has quietly disappeared, and that is Weiyuan Marquis Xie Yan.

  Inside the Yu Zhang Wang Fu, the flower hall in the backyard was also filled with wine cups and chopsticks, lanterns shining brightly, a scene of New Year's celebration. Behind the flower hall was a small ear house, where servants usually handled trivial matters. Now it had become the place where Yu Zhang Wang and his officials discussed important affairs.

  "Ah Chu, how are the defenses along the river?" Yu Zhang Wang asked Xie Zhuo, who was sitting beside him, nearing his 50th birthday.

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything is in order. All the strongholds along the river had completed their defenses half a month ago, and I personally inspected each one. The personnel arrangement at the Nanjing ferry crossing has also been properly arranged, and I have also asked Mingjian Mountain Villa to arrange for people to respond from the side, which can ensure that Her Majesty the Queen Mother will be safely escorted out."

  Xie Xuan said, then paused again, and still chose to speak: "Your Highness, I don't know if the Empress will...". The two words "be angry" reached his lips but were swallowed back down.

  At the mention of the Empress, Yu Zhang Wang's eyes turned red in an instant. "Mother... even if it's stealing, I want you to steal it for me!"

  All the attendants fell silent at this.

  The Empress Dowager in Pingyang was the deposed Crown Prince, and is now the mother of Yu Zhang Wang. When the Crown Prince was deposed, the Empress also lost her power to lead the six palaces, retaining only the position of Mother of the State. The original Guifei, who was the birth mother of the new Crown Prince, was promoted to Huang Guifei and gained the qualification to assist in governing the six palaces, enjoying great prestige.

  Even if the emperor treated them coldly, Yu Zhang Wang and his staff knew that the empress had a deep affection for the current emperor, an unchanging love. Therefore, even if Yu Zhang Wang made arrangements, he could not be certain that the empress would be willing to leave the imperial city, to leave the emperor.

  Xie Xuan nodded gloomily, but couldn't help thinking of his own wife and sighed. What is the world's sentiment? It only teaches people to be bound by life and death. Fortunately, he was able to retrieve Qin Miao in time, and now it can be considered a happy ending.

  The discussion in the inner chamber continued until the moon was slanting, and only then did it come to an end. A group of men emerged from inside, three or two at a time, dispersing along different small paths to various resting places within the palace.

  Xie Xun's residence was arranged in a guest room not far from the back house in the front yard, where only Po Feng served alone, and others in the mansion did not know Xie Xun's identity, thinking he was just a guest of the Wang Mansion.

  From the flower hall's ear house to the guest room, you need to go through the ear house's side corridor, then turn over a small garden, along the garden path can walk to the hanging flower door.

  Being careful on the road, Xie Xuan walked alone with a dim wind lamp. At this time, he suddenly bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction in the dark corner.

  "Ah!" The person who came face to face was short in stature and was startled by Xie Yan's sudden bump.

  It was a woman, Xie Yun thought to himself. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he didn't stop or apologize. He simply continued walking forward with the lantern, not caring who the woman was or why she appeared.

  The careless person, like Xie Yan, only thought about keeping a low profile to avoid making mistakes at such a critical moment. But the careful person was quite annoyed. Under the dim light, the woman could only watch the back of the man who had quickly walked away with a huff.

  She simply tidied up her bright red palace attire, silently scolding in her heart: You're really something, Xie Xuan, you truly don't know what's good for you!

  However, in the dim light, her exceptionally beautiful appearance was faintly visible, especially the red mole at the center of her eyebrows, which had a subtle flush of blood.

  In a flash, the woman's mouth corners slightly rose, and her slender fingers rubbed against each other. The previous touch still had a hint of warmth. Thinking of that stunning face, but with a sturdy figure underneath, she couldn't help but regain her interest.

  Hmph, indeed there's no need to rush for the time being.

  She turned around, picked up the flower lantern and walked solemnly towards the ear house in the backyard.