Chapter Sixty-Two: Empress Zhang Pays a Visit!

Xu Boqing recounted the incident that had befallen the Xu family in Jianyang a year prior, when they were beset by bandits. Because they had fled in the dead of night, he had never actually seen the faces of the marauders; all he could provide were the time, place, and the fact that it was the Xu family of Jianyang who had been targeted.

However, during the journey to the capital, when they were again ambushed, the original body’s owner had been present and witnessed the perpetrators' brutality firsthand. Relying on the fragments of those memories, Xu Boqing sketched several portraits of the assailants and handed them over with instructions.

Investigate!

Though the Liang Empire was vast and the clues he offered were pitifully sparse, the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard possessed a sophisticated intelligence network, their reach extending far beyond the imperial city itself.

With silver to pave the way and the coveted post of Chief Supervisor dangling before them, the Western Depot’s staff threw themselves into the task with fervor. Orders barely needed repeating before everyone sprang into action—pulling strings, rifling through archives, searching for pertinent information, or mobilizing their secret agents to quietly gather clues.

It was as if a well-oiled machine had been set in motion: one cog began to turn, and all the rest followed suit.

Seeing his subordinates disperse and the sky darkening, Xu Boqing returned to the Cining Palace.

The old eunuch on duty at the gate brightened at his return, tottered over in quick, shuffling steps, and murmured, “Chief Steward, Her Majesty the Empress from Kunning Palace has come to visit.”

“The Empress?”

Xu Boqing halted at the palace gates, glancing toward the Empress Dowager’s quarters, puzzled. “What could bring Her Majesty the Empress to the Cining Palace at such an hour?”

“I do not know…” The old eunuch shook his head, then, as if recalling something, added in a lowered voice, “This afternoon, Consort Liu from Yongning Palace also called upon the Empress Dowager. As she was leaving, she asked me to relay a message to you.”

“Consort Liu came as well?” Xu Boqing’s brow furrowed with suspicion. “What message did she leave?”

The old eunuch grinned knowingly. “Consort Liu said His Majesty had bestowed a piece of exquisite jade. She’s heard that you, Chief Steward Xu, are a connoisseur in such matters, and she wishes to invite you to appraise it.”

Xu Boqing nodded silently.

Appraising jade, gifting jewelry to the Empress Dowager—these were merely coded phrases he and Consort Liu had agreed upon in secret.

He reflected. Ever since Chief Eunuch Huang’s death, he had not set foot in Yongning Palace. Though Consort Liu had called on him many times, she had never truly gotten what she wanted.

He supposed the time had come.

Now, with Empress Zhang still at Cining Palace, it would be awkward to visit the Empress Dowager’s chambers. Besides, he would be leaving the capital in a few days; it was only right to mollify Consort Liu before he went.

“If Consort Liu invites me…”

He pondered a moment, then nodded. “No time like the present. I’ll go to Yongning Palace to appraise the jade for Consort Liu. If the Empress Dowager asks, simply tell her the truth.”

“Yes, Chief Steward…”

In Yongning Palace…

Consort Liu sat before her dressing table, chin in hand, lost in her own thoughts.

At noon, Empress Zhang had visited. In their idle chatter, they spoke of the spectacle at the martial training grounds—how Xu Boqing had awed a dozen martial experts with his display of “Soaring Dragon Ascends to the Heavens.” The recollection left Consort Liu both vexed and resentful.

She was vexed for not being present to witness the rascal’s prowess firsthand; resentful, too, for his heartlessness—ever since Chief Eunuch Huang’s passing, he had not visited her for months, leaving her anxious and uneasy.

Yet recalling their past encounters, especially the playful moments in the bath, a sweetness suffused her very core—her body and even her heart trembling with longing.

Once Empress Zhang departed, Consort Liu hurried to the Cining Palace, only to return empty-handed, having missed him entirely. After airing her grievances to her dear sister and sending word to the rascal, she returned to her palace to wait.

And wait she did—all afternoon.

Glancing out the window at the star- and moon-lit night, Consort Liu sighed, convinced the rascal would not come.

She let out a plaintive sigh, removed her hairpins and silken robes, slipping out of her inner garments. Gazing at her own reflection—a beauty beyond compare—her sense of grievance only deepened.

She lingered a moment in solitary sorrow.

With another drawn-out sigh, her hazy eyes slowly regained focus. Lightly, she moved past the curtains, her delicate, pearl-like toes testing the temperature of the bathwater. Finding it just right, she submerged herself, body and spirit, into the pool.

Scooping up a ladle of fragrant water laced with petals, she tilted her graceful neck and let the water cascade over her.

The stream glided over her curves like a waterfall, petals slipping over her skin—petals blushing against her milky flesh, her skin lending the petals a rosy hue.

Together, they created a vision of exquisite beauty.

Just then, the window slid open in utter silence.

A figure clad in a robe embroidered with golden pythons slipped inside, crossing the curtain. Seeing the enchanting, graceful back before him, he teased, “Consort, you seem to be in high spirits tonight~”

At the familiar voice, Consort Liu’s body trembled, the ladle falling from her hand.

She turned to find the object of her longing standing by the curtain, eyes burning as they fixed upon her.

Hurriedly, she crossed her arms over her chest, shielding herself.

But the heat in his gaze only grew, making her skin tingle, her excitement heightening.

She raised her chin, feigning indifference, and said, “How does the ever-busy Chief Supervisor Xu find time to visit my palace?”

Xu Boqing detected the reproach in her words and chuckled sheepishly. “Chief Eunuch Huang passed not long ago. As his junior, it is only right that I mourn him. But as soon as I heard your message, I hurried over.”

Even as he spoke, he was disrobing.

“Tsk, tsk…” Consort Liu teased, her words soft but barbed. “Today, I heard the tale of Chief Supervisor Xu, subduing a dozen martial masters with his ‘Soaring Dragon Ascends to the Heavens.’”

She paused, sighing with feigned self-pity. “Alas, I was not fated to be present to witness your heroic bearing myself~”

“There’s no time like the present~~”

With a splash, the silence of the room was broken…

…

Meanwhile, in the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber at Cining Palace.

Two women sat side by side on the phoenix couch. Empress Zhang, eyes rimmed red, clasped the Empress Dowager’s hand, tearfully protesting, “Sister, you must know—my son has always been gentle and kind. How could he consort with traitors? Someone must be plotting against him…”

“There, there, don’t cry…” The Empress Dowager’s own heart ached as she dabbed away the tears with a handkerchief, comforting her. “The Emperor is furious after the attempt on his life, and there are those scheming in the shadows. When his anger has cooled, all will be well.”

“But my poor son—so obedient since childhood—why must he suffer so?” Empress Zhang’s voice broke as she sobbed, “Forgive me for disturbing you, sister, but I do have a favor to ask.”

The Empress Dowager sighed. “The Emperor is in a rage. Even if I were his birth mother—which I am not—there’s little I could do.”

“I understand…” Empress Zhang gently wiped her tears, her voice soft and frail. “I do not mean to trouble you. The one who can help is Chief Steward Xu Boqing from your palace.”

“Xu Boqing…” The Empress Dowager’s heart skipped a beat, something flickering in her mind. She instinctively shook her head. “Xu Boqing has not been in the palace long, but his bond with Chief Eunuch Huang ran deep. With Huang’s death at the hands of those assassins, I doubt he would wish to complicate matters further.”

“No matter…” Empress Zhang’s eyes gleamed, a subtle and inscrutable smile flitting across her lips as she leaned close to the Empress Dowager and whispered, “If I am not mistaken, Xu Boqing should be at Consort Liu’s palace this very moment. He’s unlikely to return tonight…”

The Empress Dowager’s breath caught.

“You wouldn’t want others to learn of what passes between you, would you, sister?” Empress Zhang, reading her expression, pressed her advantage. “Tonight, I shall stay here with you. I only ask that you introduce me to Chief Supervisor Xu tomorrow. I am sure he will lend his aid.”

“You—!”