Volume One, Chapter Six: "Princess Consort, You Have Overstepped."

Xie Liwei was momentarily stunned as she gripped his wrist firmly. In that fleeting instant, he thought he saw his sister... Song Yaozhu took his hand to examine the wound; several joints on the back of his hand were scraped raw. Because of repeated cleaning, the skin around the injury had turned pale and swollen. She lowered her head tenderly, blowing softly on the wound. Xie Liwei instinctively tried to pull away, but could not.

"Princess Consort, you’ve overstepped," Xie Liwei said coldly. He did not want to seek his sister’s shadow in her anymore—that would be a betrayal.

"Must I just stand by and watch?" Song Yaozhu’s heart tightened with frustration. Though she didn’t know why he was hurt, his indifferent attitude toward his injury angered her deeply.

How could he be so careless about his own body?

"What does that have to do with you?" he retorted.

"I care," Song Yaozhu said with such certainty that it momentarily bewildered Xie Liwei. Rising, he stepped forward, stretching out his long arm to press against the desk, trapping her between him and the furniture.

"What did the Princess Consort say? I didn’t hear clearly," he murmured near her ear.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.

Song Yaozhu panicked for a moment but quickly realized Xie Liwei was trying to "force" her away.

Earlier, her flustered demeanor had revealed her "bottom line," and he assumed that feigning intimacy would suffice to get rid of her.

Ha, she would make him understand what it means that "it is easy to invite a spirit but hard to send it away."

Expecting her to shyly break free, Xie Liwei was caught off guard when she suddenly opened her arms and wrapped them around his waist.

"Prince, now there are only the two of us."

Then fell a prolonged silence...

Each could feel the other's stiffness, yet neither was willing to be the first to concede and push away.

After several breaths, Song Yaozhu could endure no longer.

Xie Liwei was no longer an inexperienced youth; he had become a mature man. The warmth from his body, transmitted through his clothes, made her skin flush and her mouth dry.

She felt utterly ridiculous.

Without hesitation, Song Yaozhu pushed him away. "Prince, if you don’t bandage that wound soon, it will heal on its own!"

---

"I’ll get medicine to tend to your injury!" she declared, leaving without giving Xie Liwei a chance to refuse.

Lowering his head, he looked at his wound. Song Yaozhu’s concern was genuine, but from her earlier probing, it was clear she had no intention towards him—she even seemed afraid to get close. Yet, why was she so attentive to his injury?

Song Yaozhu’s contradictions aroused suspicion in his heart.

"Fang Rao."

"At your service!" came a voice from the beams above.

"Investigate Song Yaozhu thoroughly. I want every detail."

"Yes!"

They had already looked into her before the wedding. He had thought Song Yaozhu was an uneducated, rustic village girl, but from yesterday until now, her clear thinking, sharp words, and impeccable etiquette before the emperor suggested otherwise. She was no mere country girl.

Or perhaps, the woman who entered his carefree princely mansion was not truly Song Yaozhu.

Song Yaozhu did not return home by herself. She had Nurse Qin deliver the wound medicine. Nurse Qin was no longer surprised.

A dark thought crossed Song Yaozhu’s mind: it seemed Xie Liwei had been self-harming for more than just a day or two.

The next day, she went to tell Xie Liwei about the upcoming formal visit to her natal home, but he was nowhere to be found. He had left early in the morning, and no one knew his whereabouts.

Helpless, she left him a note.

Early that morning, Xie Liwei received news that the Noble Consort had summoned Lady Song.

"Prince, is the Song family trying to seize power by stepping on our manor?"

The founding nobles all knew the emperor feared the Xie family. Even though they had withdrawn from court, their prestige among scholars nationwide remained unshaken.

Years ago, the emperor had sought a pretext to deal with the Xie family but found no suitable reason. Without one, the scholars would have condemned him as a tyrant.

He wanted not only to be emperor but also a "wise ruler," so he could not openly suppress the Xie family. He had to use his ministers.

The Song family had married in a woman bearing a striking resemblance to the late empress. It was clear their intentions were not pure.

"Keep a close watch on the Song household."

"Oh, by the way, this is a note from the princess consort."

Qin Yu handed over the note. Xie Liwei glanced at it briefly and waved him away.

He did not wish to see that face so similar to his sister’s.

Meanwhile, Lady Song returned to the Song residence frightened, recounting the meeting with the Noble Consort.

"The Noble Consort invited me into the palace to chat about family matters, then asked about Wen Yue, even inquiring if she was betrothed," Lady Song said, clutching her chest. "We barely escaped one carefree prince, and now another comes!"

"Mother, don’t worry," Song Qingyuan reassured her. "That carefree prince’s reputation is already notorious—womanizer and abuser, his harem filled with countless ruined beauties. Of course, our fourth sister cannot marry him. Did the Noble Consort mention which family she’s considering?"

Lady Song shook her head. "No, she didn’t specify."

"Perhaps the Noble Consort was just probing," Song Qingyuan suggested.

"Yes, yes!" Lady Song quickly agreed, as if this dispelled her anxiety. "The Noble Consort has two imperial sons; the eldest already has a wife, but the third son is still unmarried. He’s certainly at the age for marriage."

"The late empress left no heirs. The emperor has long mourned her and has not appointed a new empress. But the ministers urge him to name an heir. Among the princes, only the Noble Consort’s sons stand out..."

"Enough," Song Chengzhang interrupted his son. "We have no real power. Best not to get involved in court intrigues. If the lady intends well, find a match for our fourth daughter quickly. Haven’t we already considered several families? Fix it soon!"

After speaking, Song Chengzhang took his son to the study to review his lessons. Hidden within the inner chamber, Song Wenyue overheard everything. Once her father and brother had left, she threw herself into Lady Song’s arms.

"Mother, I’m scared! I don’t want to leave you so soon!"

Lady Song held her close, soothing her gently. "My dear, don’t be afraid. Mother will protect you."

Today’s summons from the Noble Consort was merely a test of her intentions. If word spread now that she was seeking a match for her daughter, it might anger the Noble Consort—but would the Noble Consort bother with a powerless family like theirs?

In the emperor’s eyes, the Song family simply refused to engage in factional struggles.

As long as they remained loyal to the sovereign’s heart, all would be well.

"Mother, I know you care for me the most!" Song Wenyue cooed, secretly delighted. Though she was not Lady Song’s biological daughter, her heart was clearly favored.