Qi Junmu soon set these thoughts aside. He summoned Qi Junzhuo, Yang Jinglei, and Yue Yunzhou.
Standing in the imperial palace once more, Yang Jinglei felt somewhat dazed.
He had thought he would never have this chance again. But then, in a sudden turn, overnight, an imperial edict had arrived.
The worry on his mother's face had vanished, replaced by endless reminders to present himself well at court and not disappoint the Emperor. His wife had reverted to her gentle, tender self. The tense atmosphere that had filled their household in recent days seemed never to have existed.
In that moment, Yang Jinglei clearly understood what power truly meant.
After the three had paid their respects, the Emperor offered them seats.
Yang Jinglei and Yue Yunzhou knew well enough that they were seated only because they were in Prince Jin's company.
Qi Junzhuo sat down, raised his eyes to the Emperor, and gave him his full attention.
Qi Junmu smiled at him and laid out the plan for the three to go to the North Frontier. After yesterday's deliberations with Lin Xiao and the others, the matter was no longer a secret.
Aside from Yang Jinglei, both Yue Yunzhou and Qi Junzhuo had heard at least some whispers. So when the Emperor spoke, Yang Jinglei was the most surprised. He had not expected the Emperor to still be willing to entrust him with such a task. His eyes reddened slightly, and he became so flustered that he didn't even know what to say.
Fortunately, the Emperor did not expect him to say much. He said, "Prince Jin knows nothing about investigating cases. You don't need to be overly deferential to him—just do what must be done. His presence there is merely to lend authority."
Though the Emperor said this, Yang Jinglei and Yue Yunzhou dared not take it lightly. As they rose to accept the mission, they each said a few good words about Prince Jin.
Qi Junmu was satisfied with their response. "Do you have any other questions?" he asked.
Yue Yunzhou hesitated, then steeled himself and said, "Your Majesty, forgive this humble subject's impertinence—if the investigation reveals that the disappearance of the West Frontier General is connected to the North Frontier Army, how should this be handled?"
Qi Junmu replied calmly, "Whatever you find, report it truthfully in a memorial."
With the Emperor's attitude, Yue Yunzhou felt reassured.
He could investigate, and he was not afraid to investigate—he was only afraid that in the end, there would be no good outcome.
"Anything else?" the Emperor asked again.
Yue Yunzhou and Yang Jinglei said no, and the Emperor dismissed them to go home and prepare, setting out on an auspicious day.
The two were perceptive enough to know that the Emperor had words for Prince Jin alone, so they withdrew.
When only he and Qi Junzhuo remained in the hall, the Emperor looked at his younger brother, the one he held so dear, and let out a sigh.
Qi Junzhuo rose and said, "Is something troubling Your Majesty? Might your subject be of help?"
Qi Junmu said, "There is indeed something on my mind, and only you can help me with it."
Qi Junzhuo adopted an attentive posture, and Qi Junmu spoke solemnly: "On this trip to the North Frontier, if anything arises that could harm Shen Nian, you must deal with it promptly. Under no circumstances must rumors reach the capital. Moreover—Chang Sheng disappeared in the North Frontier, and the conclusion must be that he brought it upon himself. Keep an eye on Yue Yunzhou in this regard."
Qi Junzhuo had not expected Qi Junmu to say such a thing. No matter how much favor Qi Junmu showed Shen Nian, everyone assumed it was false favor—a ploy to turn the Shen family's Northern Army into his own.
Qi Junzhuo thought so too, which was why he had been keeping a close watch on Shen Nian, wary of any disloyalty.
But now, Qi Junmu's tone suggested something deeper. He valued Shen Nian far too highly.
Qi Junzhuo was full of questions, but he did not voice them. Qi Junmu was the Emperor, with many matters to consider; he did not need to ask about everything.
What the Emperor asked him to do, he would do well. The Emperor had specifically mentioned Yue Yunzhou—clearly not wanting him to meddle too much in the North Frontier.
Qi Junzhuo inwardly pondered how to handle this.
While Qi Junmu and Qi Junzhuo were still talking, a palace maid serving Fuhua suddenly rushed in, weeping and begging. She said that Fuhua had angered the Empress Dowager and had been punished, and she pleaded with the Emperor to go to the Empress Dowager's palace and save Fuhua.
The palace maid beside Fuhua was named Jiaoyue. She was one of the attendants Fuhua had personally trained and was considered a capable aide.
But now, as she wept and stammered out the single word "save," Qi Junmu's expression darkened instantly. He said coldly, "How dare you. Even if Fuhua angered the Empress Dowager and was punished by her, that would still be within reason. Surely you don't mean to say the Empress Dowager would have her killed?"
Qi Junmu had clashed with the Empress Dowager before, and he cared little for his own reputation—but Fuhua was different. The world was always harsher on women. If word of this got out today, it would no longer be a simple spat between mother and daughter. Ill-intentioned people would twist it into rumors that Fuhua, as a princess, had shown disrespect to the Empress Dowager, and her reputation would surely suffer.
Even if Fuhua was a princess, she would still face public criticism and live under the weight of others' gossip. A strong-willed person might ignore such talk and live freely anyway, but someone more fragile could easily wither away from the sorrow.
He remembered that in his past life, Fuhua had also been less than satisfied with her arranged marriage and had had minor conflicts with the Empress Dowager. In the end, though, she had compromised and accepted the match. Of course, in that previous life, his mind had been entirely consumed by state affairs, and from the very beginning he had taken it for granted that Fuhua and Lin En would marry—so he hadn't paid much attention to whether there was friction between Fuhua and the Empress Dowager.
Still, in his previous life before he died, everyone had taken it for granted that Fu Hua and Lin En would eventually marry—though the engagement had never been officially announced.
The emperor's sharp reprimand made Jiaoyue realize the ambiguity in her words. She quickly kowtowed and corrected herself: "Your Majesty, this servant misspoke in her panic. I beg you to go to the Empress Dowager's palace and persuade both Her Highness and Her Majesty."
Qi Junmu glanced at her and said flatly, "Who sent you here?"
Jiaoyue wiped her tears, sniffled, and said softly, "It was the Empress. After the Empress Dowager punished the princess, Her Majesty told this servant to leave and request Your Majesty's presence."
In the entire palace, the only one who could overrule the Empress Dowager was the emperor. Empress Wen Wan was indeed thinking of Fuhua's wellbeing.
Qi Junmu dismissed Jiaoyue. As he walked out of the hall with Qi Junzhuo, he said quietly, "I'll go over there. You go back and pack." He paused and smiled—his brows and eyes bright and radiant, as if lit from within. "By the time you return from the North Frontier, your Prince Jin mansion will be finished. I've had underfloor heating installed, so when winter comes and you light the fires, you won't feel the cold. Since your health has never been robust, I'll assign a royal physician to reside permanently at your estate—that way, if anything happens, you'll have someone right there to look after you."
Every furnishing and ornament in the Prince Jin mansion had been personally selected by the emperor. When Qi Junzhuo was young, he had been tortured in the imperial prison, before his body had fully matured. He was weaker than most and fell ill easily every winter.
That root condition could not be fully cured—only carefully managed. Qi Junzhuo was proud and stubborn; if his discomfort was only minor, he would simply bear it in silence. He also disliked being confined within the palace walls; he loved studying military strategy and arranging troops and formations.
Just as Qi Junmu wanted to protect him, Qi Junzhuo wanted to be his brother's steadfast support. For an emperor, having strong armies and firm control over power was the only way to sit securely on the throne.
Qi Junmu understood Qi Junzhuo's intentions, so he did not hold him back or confine him. In critical moments, he was willing to place his trust—and his back—in his younger brother's hands.
But in this life, he had done everything he could to keep Qi Junzhuo away from the West Frontier—the place where he had gone missing and never returned.
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