Volume One, Chapter Seven: Mars Guards the Heart

After the bitter taste between her lips and teeth subsided slightly, Lou Hongling relaxed the furrow between her brows and exhaled deeply.

Xu Qing stared at her slightly parted mouth, his face full of astonishment.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, have you finished drinking the medicine?”

At that moment, the eunuch outside the door grew more impatient.

“The emperor has finished; please wait a moment, eunuch,” Lou Hongling replied hastily. She hurriedly placed the bowl and cup back onto the tray, wiped her mouth, and just as she was about to step toward the door, she seemed to remember something. She picked up the teacup in front of Xu Qing, drank all the water inside, swished it around her mouth, swallowed quickly, and then proceeded to the door.

Xu Qing remained motionless, his eyes following her fluid movements in stunned silence.

It was over. His reign as emperor had failed more completely than he could have imagined. Not only had a palace maid seized the medicine meant for him, but she hadn't even left him a sip of tea.

He might as well have been poisoned to death.

“Eunuch, here you go.”

Lou Hongling pushed open the door, bowed her head respectfully, and extended the tray with both hands, leaning back slightly to avoid the scent of medicine on her breath reaching the man opposite her.

The attendants for the Empress Dowager must have already informed him. The eunuch on the other side, whose eyes flickered briefly upon seeing Lou Hongling, thought nothing more of it, took the tray with relief, and left to report back.

Lou Hongling finally relaxed. Turning back, she suddenly remembered she had left Xu Qing standing alone.

She quickly returned to the table, met Xu Qing’s inscrutable gaze, knelt, and apologized:

“Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

Silence. A long, heavy silence, as if the very air had frozen.

He had originally suspected there was some trick in the medicine, but since her complexion showed no sign of distress after drinking it, shouldn’t she have offered him an explanation?

“Your Majesty, do you believe your humble servant—”

“Enough. You may withdraw.”

Xu Qing nodded slightly, picked up a fallen scroll from the ground, unwilling to say more.

Lou Hongling was momentarily stunned. Looking up at Xu Qing’s displeased expression, she found herself unable to speak further.

“Here.”

Feeling somewhat dejected, she could only retreat with a heavy heart, unaware that after she turned away, Xu Qing finally lifted his eyes and his thoughts slowly drifted along her departing figure.

This woman, who seemed to save him time and again, had been assigned by Empress Dowager Deng herself. What hidden designs lay behind this?

As Lou Hongling pushed open the palace door to leave, it nearly collided with three figures standing outside. Lin Lang and the others were startled and quickly stepped back.

Lou Hongling said nothing, only narrowing her eyes and slowly advancing. Her imposing aura instinctively pushed them back.

“What are you doing here?”

At that moment, her mood was dark, and she demanded sharply, her peripheral vision wary of the tortoiseshell girl beside her.

God forbid she overhear anything.

“What are we doing?”

Lin Lang caught on and scoffed, hands on her hips:

“We just heard the emperor kicked you out when we passed by. What’s the matter? Failed to seduce His Majesty, huh?”

“Definitely,” chimed in another, “look at her crestfallen state.”

“Utterly delusional.”

Tortoiseshell and Peiyu’s mocking voices piled on.

It seemed they hadn’t caught the crucial part after all. Thankfully, Lou Hongling’s expression softened. She sighed, quickened her pace, and skirted past them.

A gust of wind swept through, and the three vanished as if into thin air.

“That woman!”

“...What arrogance?”

The other two were flustered and awkward in an instant.

Lin Lang’s smug face froze once again, turning slowly in disbelief. This woman had once more ignored her. Lin Lang glared fiercely in the direction Lou Hongling had gone:

Lou Hongling, just you wait.

Huff—

No matter what, at least the first step had succeeded, and Lou Hongling felt slightly comforted. She raised her head to the fiery sunset hanging low in the sky, gauged the time, and veered right from Xuanshi Palace toward the Internal Affairs Bureau to collect her monthly stipend.

At the opposite end of the palace path, a figure clad in white, like skilled silk, moved with steady steps and crane-like grace. The hem of the robe fell naturally like flowing water.

There was an otherworldly aura about him, seeming untouched by mortal dust, though he occasionally frowned and raised a sleeve to cover a light cough, as if hiding some ailment.

Yue Luo quietly observed Lou Hongling’s retreating back, a subtle hesitation flickering in his unfathomable eyes.

Having received Xu Qing’s permission outside, Yue Luo then pushed open the door and entered.

“I humbly greet Your Majesty with wishes for your well-being.”

Yue Luo bowed deeply.

“Master Yunyi, please rise.”

Xu Qing raised his hand in acknowledgment, curious why Master Yunyi would visit without cause.

After bowing, Yue Luo let his hands fall to his sides and said:

“I have come to present Your Majesty’s monthly divination.”

Xu Qing heard this but merely cast a faint glance back at his scroll, unconcerned.

“I have said I do not believe in such things. Master, please report to the Empress Dowager as usual.”

Yue Luo remained standing, serious:

“This month, I have drawn a certain hexagram that I urge Your Majesty to examine.”

With that, he produced a fine silk paper from his sleeve used for divinations and placed it before Xu Qing without further ado:

“A red mole appears upon the forehead; the great crane tilts its courtly stance.”

This...

Xu Qing’s gaze instantly fixed on the words on the silk paper. His mind immediately recalled Lou Hongling’s arrival earlier that day and the series of events connected to her.

“Who is this person?”

“I do not know,” Yue Luo replied calmly and plainly, as if truly unaware of the figure in his divination.

Xu Qing pondered briefly before asking:

“Is the Empress Dowager aware of this?”

“Just reported yesterday,” Yue Luo answered truthfully.

“What is the star alignment to accompany this hexagram?”

Xu Qing pressed further.

“Mars guards the heart.”

Xu Qing’s expression faltered upon hearing this.

The celestial phenomenon termed “Mars guarding the heart” was anciently believed to herald disaster for the emperor and chaos for the realm, closely tied to the ruler’s life and the nation’s fate.

Could this be why the Empress Dowager sent a palace maid with a red mole on her forehead to stand by his side?

Yue Luo, usually sparing with words, fixed his gaze intently on Xu Qing’s expression and asked:

“Is there such a person near Your Majesty?”

After a moment's reflection, Xu Qing replied slowly, his eyes free of heavy concern:

“No such person.”

Seeing no fear or avoidance in Xu Qing’s demeanor regarding the figure in the hexagram, Yue Luo seemed relieved and said no more, bowing and taking his leave:

“Then I humbly withdraw.”

As he turned, Xu Qing could not help but ask hesitantly:

“If such a person does appear, would it truly bring misfortune to me and the great crane?”

Yue Luo turned slightly, hastily replying with words as if long prepared, flowing forth:

“The fiery star hanging in the heavens gleams brightly, a sign of courage and battle. The Heart Constellation, located in the star field, is closely linked to the emperor’s fate and the rise and fall of the nation. When this star occupies its position, though its energy is turbulent, it also signals transformation, like thunder shaking the old order and breaking ground for the new.”

Xu Qing nodded thoughtfully, carefully weighing Yue Luo’s words and considering what he knew of her. Perhaps he could now interpret Lou Hongling’s arrival in a new light.

Having said his piece, Yue Luo strode out.

Meanwhile, Lou Hongling, clutching silver coins with a reasonably good mood, was returning to Xuanshi Palace.

“Stop right there!”

Lin Lang’s voice rang suddenly from behind her.