By the time Huang Qiaoli opened her eyes again the morning after that day, she was greeted by an elaborate yet unfamiliar canopy. She was surprised to find that her limbs weren't tied together. She was wearing new clothes and she could feel her minor wounds were treated underneath.

"Lady is awake." Maids entered the room one after another as they sensed her movement on the bed. Their foreheads were held high as they looked down on the woman.

A cold light reflected from Qiaoli's eyes as she said straightforwardly. "I don't need you."

"Xiaohu!" From somewhere in this... whatever this place was, Si Hai entered the room.

Qiaoli rose from the bed, alert. "Where are we?"

"Lady, please calm down."

"I'm not talking to you." She deadpanned at the head maid who was trying to appease her, then she turned to Si Hai.

She was actually bewildered by the fact that the fox didn't abandon her.

But Si Hai seemed to be shaken for some reason and kept a distance from her. "Milady, you're in the rear court of the royal palace of Great Han."

Huang Qiaoli paused. That was fast. She was just thinking about how to meet the main leads and now she was here.

The palace maids, no matter how reluctant they were, had to feed and clothe her.

The child, Si Hai was very careful around her as though afraid that he would trigger a bomb. Qiaoli didn't know what was wrong with him.

"You seem fine now." The fox started the conversation once she finished eating a late breakfast.

"What happened to me anyway?" She asked, puzzled. The last thing she remembered was meeting Mao Zhu in the middle of the woods.

Si Hai's eyes widened. "You don't recall at all? I thought you finally went crazy!"

He got a halfhearted 'oh' as a reply so he narrowed his eyes at her. He had a feeling that she knew what happened but she was determined to brush it off. However, Qiaoli's curiosity was piqued on another matter. "How come we're here? Mao Zhu brought us here? He seemed reluctant to let me meet the Emperor though."

"No, he was about to bring you to the Mao family residence but a eunuch was waiting at the gates of Hanjing and summoned him to the palace. I don't know what happened but I heard that when the Emperor knew he was holding a prisoner, he ordered Mao Zhu to bring you here."

There was another 'oh' from the lady. "That's all you can say?!" Si Hai exploded.

Qiaoli laughed at his reaction. "What else can I say? Judging from what you said, Long Yi Ran seems to know me. I also want to meet him and his waifu."

Si Hai was flabbergasted. This woman was really something. He didn't even know the Emperor's forbidden name but the person she would refer to with the surname Long could only be the Emperor. And the waifu was probably the Empress.

Was she taking this trip as some kind of vacation?

They spent the rest of the morning bickering back and forth. Si Hai wanted to leave the palace while Qiaoli wanted to stay for a little while.

In Huang Qiaoli's reasoning, if the Emperor did something like putting her in jail, she could just have Si Hai wreak havoc. She didn't have any direction in life and this opportunity to see the main leads was quite tempting. The problem of food and lodging would also be solved if it was in the palace.

But Si Hai had reservations about staying at the palace. Having experienced being a servant of the former house of Prime Minister, he knew the rules, etiquette, and treachery of the royalty and nobility of Great Han. Why would a female prisoner unrelated to the royal clan be forced to stay in the rear court of the palace?

It was either to keep her hostage or to keep her as the Emperor's woman. But this wasn't the main reason why Si Hai couldn't keep his cool.

It was the fact that Huang Qiaoli didn't care at all. When Si Hai tried bringing the topic of danger, she just laughed at him. Who wouldn't be annoyed?

Later that afternoon, a rigid palace maid in traditional wraparound robes bowed in front of the lady with untameable ginger locks.

"Lady, her Majesty, the Empress has summoned you to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility."

---

Inside the imperial study...

"How is the girl?"

The man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties wore yellow robes. He was scanning memorials but Mao Zhu knew this man was still aware of what was happening around him.

He answered, "The lady was summoned by the Empress. She's heading to her palace now."

Long Yi Ran lifted his gaze from the scroll he was reading.

"No, I'm asking how is she to you?"

Mao Zhu went stiff for a moment. It wasn't just because the Emperor was actually using the pronoun I, he was getting used to it already. It was because his Majesty's question was strange but decided to be honest nonetheless. "Your Majesty... This subject has mistaken the Lady for someone else."

At these words, Long Yi Ran had a faint smile. He stopped pretending to read the memorials and walked to a nearby window.

"Does she look like your supposed-to-be fiancé?"

Mao Zhu froze. "There is... a resemblance."

He wanted to ask the Emperor what he meant by asking that. Sensing his subordinate's burning questions, Yi Ran didn't make him wait that long.

"It won't be a surprise. After all, they might be the same person."

"Yo-your majesty--" Mao Zhu breathed in and out just to calm himself. He could almost hear his brain exploding. How could that be? He was the one who found her body.

"It's true. The person the Hong family held burial rites for might not be Miss Hong Chun. However, for Us to find her first, We had to declare her dead. You did a good job, bringing her here though. Is she still smitten by you?"

Long Yi Ran smiled with warmth but Mao Zhu was getting more confused by the second.

"But your Majesty, the Lady..."

"Is a foreigner, that's correct." The Emperor cut him off. "The reason is unknown but the Scholar's Guild got their hands on her and held her hostage."

Long Yi Ran faced his subordinate as he continued. "They hid her for many years, even Imperial Father didn't know about it. If not for Su'er, We also won't know."

The Empress, Nuo Ying Su was the one who uncovered the Guild's secret accidentally. One of the wives of high-ranking members of the Guild was a great friend of the Empress and she unknowingly slipped about the godchild of Fan Taifu1 and how she was adopted by the Hong family. It was said in passing and Nuo Ying Su didn't even know which Hong family she was talking about but she caught this little piece of information.

If not for the fact that the Duke who came from Huo Ai acted a bit strange, they wouldn't uncover this earth-shattering secret. Why was a high noble lady kidnapped and raised in Great Han? The Emperor still didn't know the answer to that but there was something he needed from the girl.

Mao Zhu clenched his fist. "Th-that..."

"Holding someone from another country hostage might be treasonous. Yes, that was also what I thought but the Guild is not an organization We can abolish without rhyme or reason. Without the Guild, this country will be in chaos."

The Scholar's Guild helped in building the foundation of the Great Han. Centuries of rich history between the Emperor and the Guild were stored in the Palace's sacred treasure hall. It was something that couldn't be thrown away even if one wanted.

An Emperor's greatest bane wasn't his enemies. It was the ally of the common people. And the Scholar's Guild was a prime example of the people's righteous hero.

Where there were corrupt officials oppressing the commoners, the Guild would step up and investigate. Where there was a natural calamity, the members of the guild would donate whatever they could and deliver it sometimes even faster than the person tasked by the former Emperors.

"Forgive your subject, your Majesty but this is still too much to take. Does she know all of these? Where's her real family? Why is she being chased by assassins? This subject-"

"Mao Zhu, you're too anxious. Calm yourself and We shall speak."

The soldier paled, realizing that he had almost forgotten who he was talking to. Heeding the Emperor, Mao Zhu inhaled and exhaled.

He thought he was already good at handling classified information. But when it came to that special person, he still couldn't contain himself.

Hong Chun was Lady Huang. This was almost a certainty.

The dragon of Great Han was the one telling him this and yet, Mao Zhu didn't want to believe it.

Those eyes that looked at him weren't the same gaze he was familiar with. The Lady looked at him as a stranger would and after his blunder, there was even faint disgust in her eyes.

"You look so perplexed." The Emperor commented. "You don't believe Us?"

"This subject doesn't dare, your Majesty!"

"Then, what's with the look of reluctance?" Long Yi Ran asked like someone teasing his friend.

He was a humble Emperor through and through, one of the things Mao Zhu realized since deciding to serve under his flag.

"Your Majesty, this person... doesn't seem to care about me."

Upon hearing this, Long Yi Ran's pupils dilated but such a trivial detail wasn't noticed by Mao Zhu.

"Worry not, my beloved official. We'll never know the truth for sure until We see her." For a brief moment, a savage smile passed the Emperor's face.

But Mao Zhu was too preoccupied to mind it.