Qin Yu remembered standing in this very place, weeks earlier, after the Emperor had stripped the Crown Prince of his title in front of all the court officials and had exiled him to one of the southern territories near the border.

He had been one of the few who had been directly privy to the sight of the immediate aftermath - the despondent prince walking down the stairs before tripping on his hastily put robe and stumble down the rest of the stairway to the shrieks of the eunuchs accompanying him. It had been hilarious.

And while he hadn't been present there physically at the moment of the edict, in lieu of his role as a palace guard; he had also learned from the gossip amongst the court officials in the next few days that there had been a lot of crying and begging involved on the prince's part which, if he was honest, was something he was sad to have missed.

Nonetheless, just seeing the defeated royal afterwards had been a beautiful sight for him.

The prince had never endeared himself to him, and most of the other palace attendants, due to his behavior which often bordered on the uncouth. The fact that the man had finally made a big enough of a mess that even the Imperial Noble Consort had not been able to smooth out for him, had made Yu inordinately happy at the prince's misfortune.

The next few weeks had been a bit chaotic - business as usual in the aftermath of a powerful figure losing their footing in the royal court - and he had seen a fair share of his colleagues moved in and out of the palace. Somehow, he had kept his position without any change, something he had thanked the gods and his ancestors for; but now he wondered if he should have cursed them instead as he watched Qiu Yuen, the once infamous 'villainess of the capital', leisurely climb the very stairs the now exiled Crown Prince had fallen down, a smile on her face.

Though he had been a minor palace guard at that time, he still remembered the stories of his seniors as well as the few times he had been a personal witness to the spoiled, rotten behavior of the girl who hid her demonic true self behind her beautiful visage and avoided any actual repercussions through her personal connections to the royal family.

Indeed, the whole capital had breathed a sigh of relief when the previous Minister of Personnel had suddenly given his resignation to the Emperor and then retired to his estates in Feihei, taking his daughter with him. All of them had thought that would have been the last they would see of her, yet here she was, back in the capital and on her way to greet the royal family.

He immediately switched his gaze away from her when her eyes fell on him, preparing himself for the fuss she was sure to raise. But she passed by him without even looking at him and he found himself blinking at the turn of events before he breathed a sigh of relief.

'Huh.' Well, at least it looked like the years away from the capital had helped in mellowing her out a bit. 

VVVVVVVVVV

Xiang Yue came to a sudden halt a few steps into the manor as she turned around and spoke to the two aides who had accompanied her. "Wait for me outside."

She saw curiosity spark in both of their eyes but despite that their discipline held and after an acknowledging nod in return from both of them, the two stepped out.

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Yue waited a few more seconds watching them leave, before she turned and moved deeper into the manor. It didn't take long before she could hear the angry voice of her liege resounding through the manor. She moved towards the direction where the voice came from until she stood at the training courtyard where two men were currently sparring with swords.

“This lowly maid greets Lady Xiang.” The sarcastic greeting had Yue turn to look at the person who had spoken it. It was a woman around her own age - dressed almost entirely in white, while boasting a figure and face that was the envy of most women in the capital. “Song Li.” Yue gave her an acknowledging nod in return, before she turned back to the spar.

“I presume the prince has already learned the news?” She asked the maid after she spent a few moments watching the two combatants in front of her. There was no need to specify what the news was; being the personal maid and a close companion of their lord from childhood, Song Li was more aware than most people of what exactly pleased and displeased the prince.

“Indeed.” She sighed aloud before a flick of her hand had all the nearby attendants and guards take fourteen steps away from them. “The bitch sent a letter early in the morning through one of her dogs - a new one by the looks of it.”

“What did it say?”

“Oh nothing much. She claimed to apologize for not writing sooner," she grinned at her sardonically, "And that she was giving her blessings for his union with the young Miss Yin."

Yue drew a sharp breath at her words, though before she could speak up, Song Li placated her worries with her next words.

"Don't worry, she's fine. And I've already increased the eyes on her. Still," Yue immediately grew suspicious when her voice turned coy and her suspicions were proven correct when she listened to her next words. "One would have thought you of all people should be grateful-"

"Don't:" She interrupted the woman glaring at her, who only pouted in return. "You're no fun."

"I am glad you think so, Miss Li." Yue replied whole-heartedly as the prince defeated his current opponent before he started yelling at him for such a poor showing.

VVVVVVVVVV

"Qiu Yuen humbly greets the Empress." The young woman smiled demurely towards the Empress before bowing deeply, who for her part seemed to be delighted by the greeting.

It appeared despite rumors to the contrary, the years in the countryside had not turned the girl into a savage. Cao Rui would admit to be a bit disappointed. He found the royal palace rather uninteresting as of late, he would have enjoyed watching a monkey liven the place up.

As the Empress moved forward to pull the girl up, he didn't let any of his amusing thoughts slip onto his face, a trivial matter from his years of serving in the palace.

"Come now, Yuen!" The Empress smiled genially as she looked at the girl. "We are all family here. Now tell me, how has my favorite niece been?"

"I am your only niece, dearest Aunt." The girl responded with a smile, which sent the Empress into a peal of laughter.

"Oh I have missed your wit, Yuen!" She finally said once she had finished laughing before she turned to him and spoke. "Leave us."

Cao Rui immediately bowed in response to the woman's words, the rest of the attendants following his lead. "As Your Majesty wishes."

As they stepped back, the Empress grabbed her niece's shoulders and started gently pulling her inside the palace, once more engaged in conversation. "Now tell me, how have you been? And how are my dear brothers?"

"Both Father and Uncle are in good health, Aunt. They send their-" The voices were suddenly cut off as the doors closed, the century old seals in the room taking effect and giving its inhabitants a veil of secrecy that even someone at his level of mastery of the martial arts couldn't pierce with his senses.

Oh well. While he didn't doubt the aunt and niece were plotting something inside the room, he had his doubts on how far they could push their agenda with so few of their men in the capital.

...Still, it wouldn't be remiss to pay a visit to the men the 'villainess' had brought with her.

With that thought in mind, he told the guards and attendants to wait outside the room until the Empress called on them, with orders to call upon him once Qiu Yuen left the rooms.