When Nalan Xingde saw Zhao Chang, the melancholy on his face instantly vanished and was replaced by the stern, resolute expression of an ordinary imperial guard. His friend Gu Zhenguan was so startled that he nearly spat out his mouthful of tea.

Ever since the death of his first wife, Nalan Xingde had worn a constant air of sorrow. Countless women in the capital had their hearts broken over him, and even men secretly called him "the most devoted lover under heaven."

Gu Zhenguan had known him for years and had never once seen such a masculine, steely expression on Nalan Xingde's face.

Not even when facing Mingzhu himself.

"Third Master requests for Guard Nalan to come upstairs for a talk," Zhao Chang said with a smile.

Third Master…

Every hair on Nalan Xingde's body stood on end. The grief-clouded haze in his mind was swept away as if an icy wind had blown through it, instantly snapping him awake.

He glanced back at Gu Zhenguan, who immediately understood and cupped his hands in farewell.

Anyone who could make the son of Mingzhu this nervous had to be a high-ranking noble or perhaps even imperial kin. Gu Zhenguan was merely an impoverished juren scholar and could not accompany him.

But before Gu Zhenguan could leave, another attendant approached with yet another message.

"You are Gu Zhenguan?" the attendant asked. "'If life were only as when we first met, why should the autumn wind grieve over a painted fan?' Was that poem written for you by Guard Nalan?"

Gu Zhenguan: "...I am Gu Zhenguan."

Zhao Chang looked surprised. "That poem was written for you?"

Nalan Xingde gave a bitter smile. "D-don't tell me Third Master has read my poems too?"

Zhao Chang laughed. "The young master is very fond of Guard Nalan's poetry. You should both come upstairs."

He was subtly doing Nalan Xingde a favor.

Zhao Chang knew both Kangxi and the Crown Prince well. The moment he heard the attendant's question, he guessed it was the Crown Prince who was curious about Gu Zhenguan, so he discreetly hinted as much to Nalan Xingde.

Nalan Xingde sucked in a sharp breath.

Could it be that the Crown Prince was here too?

Remembering that Kangxi and the Crown Prince had appeared at the city tower earlier that day to announce victory, he nodded at Zhao Chang. "Thank you."

Zhao Chang smiled. "Then hurry up. Second Master and Third Master are waiting upstairs."

Second Master…

Prince Yu was here too?

Nalan Xingde tugged at his friend's sleeve and warned him, "Whatever you do, don't commit any breach of etiquette. If you do, even I won't be able to protect you."

Gu Zhenguan nodded immediately. "I understand."

The two went upstairs together.

Yinreng sat there with his little legs swinging, animatedly telling Kangxi and Fuquan all sorts of folk romance stories about Nalan Xingde.

As soon as Nalan Xingde entered, Kangxi beckoned him over.

"Come sit. I have something to ask you."

Knowing Kangxi was traveling incognito, Nalan Xingde merely bowed and sat obediently.

Yinreng waved at Gu Zhenguan. "Sit over there. Don't be nervous. My father doesn't eat people. Ow!"

Kangxi casually smacked him on the head.

Clutching his head, Yinreng pouted. "Bad Father! If you keep hitting me, I'll really turn stupid."

"I think you're already pretty stupid," Kangxi said as he rubbed the little topknot on Yinreng's head.

The room was warm with charcoal braziers, so Yinreng had taken off his little hat, giving Kangxi free access to his precious topknot again.

"Third Master, what instructions do you have for me?" Nalan Xingde asked.

Kangxi smiled. "There are rumors among the common people that the poem 'If life were only as when we first met' was written for a woman you loved but could not have?"

Nalan Xingde: "?"

Gu Zhenguan, the "beloved woman": "?"

Kangxi continued with a grin, "And I hear this beloved woman was some cousin of yours from my inner palace?"

Nalan Xingde: "!"

Gu Zhenguan, now fully invested in the gossip: "!"

Patting Nalan Xingde on the shoulder, Kangxi sighed dramatically while suppressing laughter.

"You're being too distant with me. Tell me, which cousin is she? I'll make the arrangements for you. It's long past the anniversary of your wife's death, and Mingzhu sighs every day over finding you a new wife. If I had known that your sweetheart was in my palace, I would have sent her back to you long ago."

Gu Zhenguan, fifth-generation descendant of Gu Xiancheng of the Donglin faction: "..."

You Manchus really play wild. Women from the rear palace can just be given away?

Then he thought about records from the late Ming dynasty. Noblemen exchanging concubines and maidservants actually had been fairly common, and was even considered elegant.

Oh. Never mind then.

The stern expression on Nalan Xingde's face cracked completely.

"There is absolutely no such thing! My cousins are all Aisin Gioro, Third Master!"

Nalan Xingde's mother was the daughter of Prince Ajige of the Aisin Gioro clan. Even though Ajige had been stripped of his titles, his mother was still unquestionably Aisin Gioro by blood. If he had female cousins, they would naturally have the surname Aisin Gioro.

How could an Aisin Gioro woman enter the imperial harem?!

Kangxi burst into loud laughter.

Even Fuquan couldn't help but laugh.

Yinreng tilted his head in confusion.

Kangxi kept teasing him. "If not your maternal uncle's daughters, what about your maternal aunt's daughters?"

Nalan Xingde's face nearly twisted in agony: "Third Master, absolutely not!"

Kangxi went on, "The daughters of Mingzhu's sisters would also work."

Nalan Xingde was almost in tears: "Third Master, surely you know exactly what relatives my family has! Please stop teasing me. That poem really was written for a friend."

Who started these rumors? They'd even spread into the palace now!

Could this be the work of the Nalan family's political enemies?

Was it you, Songgotu?!

(Songgotu: Achoo!)

Swinging his legs, Yinreng asked, "Really none at all?"

"None! Truly none!"

"There's another rumor among the people," Yinreng continued. "That it was written for a maidservant in your household. But because of the difference in status, you couldn't marry her?"

Nalan Xingde replied weakly, "I didn't. There's nothing like that."

Women in the household… Even if there had been one he couldn't marry, he still could have taken her as a concubine. For all his reputation as the Qing dynasty's greatest romantic, Nalan Xingde was still a feudal nobleman. Warm-bed maidservants were hardly uncommon. In fact, he currently even has a concubine with a child in his residence.

Yinreng sighed. "So the truth is this boring? It was just written for a friend? I even asked Father to play matchmaker."

Nalan Xingde: "..."

So it was the Crown Prince himself who had been spreading these rumors.

"Baocheng, who told you all these… absurd stories?" Kangxi asked, nearly pounding the table with laughter.

He absolutely had to share this with Mingzhu later. After teasing Mingzhu's son, he'd tease Mingzhu himself.

"So tell me, which woman in my harem has your son fallen for? I'll send her back to her maiden family and arrange the marriage for him personally, hahaha!"

Kangxi could already imagine the horrified look on Mingzhu's face.

"A lot of people," Yinreng said. "Those are the two most common versions. Everyone says Gu Zhenguan is just a cover, and that the poem was really written for your first love."

"A lot of people… hahaha! Rongruo, just look at the image you've cultivated," Kangxi laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

Fuquan sighed with amusement. "It really does sound like the sort of rumor that would spread about Rongruo."

Nalan Xingde: "?" What do you mean, the kind of rumor that would spread about me? Everyone knows how deeply devoted I was to my late wife! How could these ridiculous stories possibly be true?!

And besides, if people wanted to spread scandalous stories about me, rumors involving famous courtesans would at least be more believable than palace women or household servants!

Nalan Xingde felt like he was about to break down.

"So it was fake after all." Yinreng sighed again in disappointment. "Such a tragic romance, passed down for ages in later generations, and the truth turns out to be this dull."

You scholars really need to stop writing friendship and loyalty in the tone of abandoned women lamenting lost love.

Yinreng turned toward Gu Zhenguan.

"So the poem really was written for you? You weren't just a smokescreen?"

After a moment's thought, Gu Zhenguan understood what "smokescreen" meant.

He immediately cupped his hands respectfully.

"That poem truly was written for me. I personally heard Rongruo recite it while drunk. It absolutely was not written for any woman."

"Oh." Yinreng shrugged with exaggerated world-weariness. "Father, I'm hungry."

"Don't think you can dodge this. You made a bet with me. You lost, so now you have to bark like a dog," Kangxi said mercilessly, unconcerned that outsiders were present.

After all, this was just his son before him, not the Crown Prince of the Great Qing. No need to preserve dignity.

"Hmph." Yinreng hopped down from his chair.

He raised both hands beside his head like dog ears, curling his fingers to mimic twitching ears.

"Woof, woof, woof woof woof!"

He even bounced twice while barking, putting his whole heart into the performance.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Hahaha! Excellent! Come here, reward time!"

Kangxi stretched out his arms, and Yinreng ran over, only to be scooped into his lap.

Since Gu Zhenguan didn't know their true identities, his expression remained relatively normal.

Nalan Xingde, however, felt like his entire worldview had shattered.

Your Majesty! Crown Prince! What are you two doing?!

Fuquan was still chuckling foolishly, seeing absolutely nothing strange about this.

"Guard Nalan, don't mind us. I'm simply entertaining my father in colorful robes," Yinreng kindly explained upon seeing Nalan Xingde looking as though he might collapse.

"I-is that so? Ah… I see…" Nalan Xingde forced himself to calm down.

"'Entertaining one's parent in colorful robes,' that's quite an accurate description," Kangxi said as he rubbed Yinreng's head again. "I reward you with head pats."

Yinreng's eyes narrowed indignantly.

So perfunctory!

Kangxi kept rubbing his head enthusiastically until the waiter arrived with the dishes.

Once Yinreng returned to his seat, Kangxi personally used serving chopsticks to place food in his bowl. Yinreng attacked the meal with chopsticks and spoon flying, eating with fierce determination and needing no help at all.

Nalan Xingde kept secretly glancing at him.

Though he was just mercilessly teased by the emperor and crown prince, the prince truly did seem more obedient, sensible, and beloved by the emperor than the rumors claimed.

He thought of his wife who had died in childbirth, and of the son he had neglected ever since. He still couldn't separate the child from the grief of losing her. His heart darkened.

Suddenly, he remembered that Empress Xiaochengren had also died in childbirth. Yet the emperor had raised the Crown Prince at his side like a treasured jewel. Compared to Kangxi, the way Nalan treated his own child was like heaven and earth apart.

Seeing the sensible little Crown Prince reminded him of the son being raised by his mother, and guilt rose in his heart.

Maybe… when he returned home, he should try to build a relationship with his son.

But every time he saw the child, he thought of his late wife. His emotions were painfully tangled.

After finishing his meal, Yinreng discreetly suppressed a burp behind his hand.

Inside the palace, he could be carefree, but outside, he still had to maintain etiquette.

While stifling the burp, he noticed the deep sorrow in Nalan Xingde's eyes.

After wiping his mouth, Yinreng looked up.

"Guard Nalan, are you sad?"

Nalan Xingde immediately snapped back to attention. "No."

"Then you are sad."

Setting the napkin down, Yinreng straightened his little back.

"Earlier, Father and I were only joking. Those rumors have already spread into… our household. If they're false, they should be clarified. If they're true, my father is a very good person and would gladly help bring about such a refined romance. Lord Mingzhu has always worried about you. If you could recover your spirits, he would be very happy."

Cold sweat broke out across Nalan Xingde's back again.

The rumors had spread into the palace already?!

As a guard of Qianqing Palace, being linked romantically with women of the inner palace was practically a political attack!

Addressing the matter jokingly like this and brushing it aside publicly really was far more effective than a solemn denial.

Nalan Xingde was clever enough to immediately understand Yinreng's intentions.

Kangxi laughed. "The moment I said I'd assign you to follow him, he already started looking out for you. He even risked barking like a dog just to clear this matter up for you."

Yinreng sighed helplessly. "Father, stop making things up. You were the one trying to bully me. I never said I'd bark like a dog. I said I'd meow like a cat."

Nalan Xingde: "…Thank you, young master."

Was there really any difference between barking and meowing? Why was the young master so insistent on clarifying that point?

"Why are you so nervous? Third Master knows your family circumstances perfectly well. He was only teasing you," Fuquan added.

Though inwardly he amended: The emperor wasn't teasing you. He was using you to tease his son.

Nalan Xingde hurriedly replied, "This subordinate understands."

At this point, he still hadn't realized what it meant for Kangxi to say that he would have him accompany Yinreng.

After interrupting Nalan Xingde's melancholy, Yinreng happily resumed eating.

A true foodie lives to eat, and eating well makes one king among men. Since he rarely got to leave the palace, he intended to make every bite count.

The imperial chefs in the palace were not lacking in skill, but in order to accommodate the health and tastes of the nobles, they avoided using strong seasonings.

Yinreng was still a child, and the food specially prepared for him by the small kitchen was practically cat food with low oil, low salt, and almost no spices.

Although he could freeload off Kangxi's meals, Kangxi still wouldn't let him eat heavily salted or oily dishes, much less anything strongly spiced.

What made it even more infuriating was that Kangxi himself loved richly flavored grilled and fried foods. He would eat happily while deliberately teasing Yinreng, thoroughly enjoying the sight of the boy drooling over the food he couldn't have.

Restaurants outside the palace, however, relied on bold and distinctive flavors to entice customers, so Yinreng ate with immense satisfaction.

This time, Kangxi let him eat whatever he liked without nagging him.

After stuffing himself until his belly was round, Yinreng let out a deeply contented sigh.

Kangxi then pulled the noticeably heavier child back into his arms and personally wiped his mouth and face clean.

Nalan Xingde also set down his chopsticks.

Only then did he realize that, without noticing, he had eaten quite a lot today.

Ever since his wife's death, the one person in the household who truly understood the sorrow in his heart had vanished. Since then, he had eaten little, drunk much, and gradually lost weight, unable to taste any pleasure in food.

That rare feeling of fullness now filled him with a warm sense of satisfaction.

Unable to help himself, he secretly glanced once more at Yinreng in Kangxi's arms.

Clearly, it was because the child ate with such obvious happiness that he himself had unconsciously eaten more.

No wonder the emperor doted on the Crown Prince so much. Who wouldn't cherish a child whose very presence made others feel happy?

After Yinreng finished wiping his face clean, his gaze landed on the silent Gu Zhenguan.

Everyone at the table was Manchu nobility, while Gu Zhenguan was merely a Han juren scholar. Aside from the single question Yinreng had asked him earlier, everyone else had unconsciously ignored him.

Gu Zhenguan himself was very tactful. He silently lowered his head and ate, only picking at the dishes directly in front of him. He made no noise at all, doing his utmost to minimize his presence.

Seeing that Yinreng seemed interested in Gu Zhenguan, Kangxi did not stop him.

Children were naturally curious; it was a good thing for Yinreng to meet more people.

Besides, Kangxi himself was somewhat curious. What kind of person was worthy of inspiring Nalan Rongruo to write poetry that would be passed down through the ages?

Yinreng had the same thought.

"Guard Nalan," he asked, "does your friend also write good poetry?"

Gu Zhenguan's body trembled slightly.

Nalan Xingde thought for a moment before replying, "He does. There is one line of his that I can only admire from afar. Perhaps for the rest of my life, I may never write anything better than that single line."

Even Kangxi grew curious. "Even you admit inferiority? Which line?"

Gu Zhenguan looked toward Nalan Xingde.

Nalan Xingde gave him a reassuring look.

If the emperor took a liking to this poem, perhaps his friend's long-cherished wish might finally come true.

Closing his eyes briefly to gather his emotions, Nalan Xingde recited:

"I too have drifted for so long! For ten years now, I have failed the deepest kindnesses, friends in life and death alike."

Gu Zhenguan lowered his head. His shoulders bent slightly, as though some invisible burden had crushed him down.

Kangxi's eyes trembled faintly.

Fuquan paused with his teacup halfway to his lips.

Yinreng blinked, then sighed.

"So 'Gold-Threaded Robe' was written by you. You're Gu Zhenguan, the man who spent twenty years struggling for the sake of a friend."

Only now did Yinreng remember who Gu Zhenguan was.

Gold-Threaded Robe: I Too Have Been Drifting for a Long Time

Many later critics would say that Nalan Xingde's poetry was an insurmountable peak in early Qing literature. Yet there was one contemporary whose single ci poem, even a single line from it, surpassed that peak.

That line was:

"I too have drifted for so long! For ten years now, I have failed the deepest kindnesses, friends in life and death alike."

Nalan Xingde's poetry was ornate and melancholy, graceful in the style of Li Yu of the Southern Tang.

But the promises and pain carried within Gu Zhenguan's poem to his friend felt even weightier.

Originally, Nalan Xingde had regarded Gu Zhenguan as just another ordinary hanger-on seeking patronage. Only after reading this poem did he come to treat Gu Zhenguan as a true confidant and become willing to help rescue Gu's close friend. It was also because of this that he later wrote Magnolia Flower: A Farewell Poem in the Ancient Style to a Friend.

In that poem, Nalan Xingde subtly expressed to his friend his longing for unwavering devotion through the sorrowful stories of Ban Jieyu and Yang Guifei, who were abandoned by faithless men.

Scholar-official friendships really were this clingy.

Kangxi looked puzzled. "You know about this?"

Even I didn't know. How does Baocheng know? Ah, of course, his chatterbox grandfather must have told him.

Kangxi raised his teacup to hide the drooping corners of his mouth.

Now that Yinreng remembered who Gu Zhenguan was, he wanted to help him.

Even without intervention, with Nalan Mingzhu's influence, Gu Zhenguan's friend Wu Zhaoqian would likely be allowed back within two or three years at most.

But if Yinreng spoke up now, Wu Zhaoqian might suffer two or three fewer years of hardship. Perhaps he wouldn't die so early, and perhaps Gu Zhenguan would not spend the rest of his life in sorrow and retirement after his friend's death.

Gu Zhenguan was talented. He could be useful.

For a brief moment, Yinreng's "Crown Prince brain" switched on.

"In the fourteenth year of Shunzhi," he said, "there was the imperial examination cheating scandal that arose from the continuation of the Northern-Southern factional conflict inherited from the late Ming dynasty."

Gu Zhenguan jerked his head up, then immediately lowered it again.

Nalan Xingde stared at Yinreng in astonishment, entirely forgetting proper decorum.

Fuquan scratched his head. "That did happen, didn't it?"

Kangxi's eyes flickered slightly as he smiled.

"Ah, yes, the Northern-Southern factional struggle."

Uh… I know about the exam scandal, but what's this "Northern-Southern factional struggle"? Kangxi maintained an expression of complete calm, as though these ideas had all been taught by him personally.

Yinreng also assumed that Kangxi already knew.

Wasn't this all recorded in history books? How could his book-loving father not know?

What he forgot was that no historical text of the time would explicitly frame it as "Northern-Southern factional conflict." That was a later scholarly interpretation, derived from broad historical analysis and materialist historiography.

Without a sweeping perspective or higher-level theoretical framework, ancient people would never have viewed it that way. In their eyes, "upright gentlemen forming associations" did not count as factionalism.

Trusting Kangxi too much, Yinreng casually laid out what he thought was obvious historical context regarding the lingering Ming-era Northern-Southern factional divide and explained how the Shunzhi court had handled both sides.

He did not speculate about why Shunzhi acted as he did, but in reality, the scandal first punished the Southern faction before later purging members of the Northern faction as well.

"Wu Zhaoqian truly was talented," Yinreng concluded, "but the late emperor gave him a chance, and he failed to seize it. The late emperor couldn't exactly arrange a special re-examination just for him."

With that one sentence, he made it sound as though Shunzhi had everything under perfect control.

After all, since Yinreng constantly praised Shunzhi as a "sage emperor for the ages," he had to polish up his scapegoat grandfather's image a little.

Fuquan nodded vigorously, looking as though he understood everything perfectly.

"Right, right. Just like those candidates in the palace examinations who become so frightened they can't even write. Talent means nothing if you can't produce anything on the spot. The late emperor ordered all the successful candidates to retake the exam. Those who passed were cleared; those who failed were deemed cheaters. That really was the best way to silence public criticism."

Kangxi smiled and turned to Gu Zhenguan.

"This poem of yours was written for Wu Zhaoqian?"

With a thud, Gu Zhenguan dropped to his knees and bowed to the floor.

"Yes."

Kangxi sighed emotionally. "It's been nearly twenty years, hasn't it? And you never gave up?"

Tears streamed down Gu Zhenguan's face.

"Yes."

Kangxi sighed again.

"In poems of parting at the bridge and elegies for departed friends, this makes the third great example. Very well. I understand this matter now."

The imperial I*? (T/N: Zhen)

Gu Zhenguan's body went limp.

Kangxi continued, "A man with such loyalty and character is admirable."

Gu Zhenguan kowtowed repeatedly, too excited to speak.

"Enough, enough. Stop bowing already. I finally got a chance to come out and have fun. Don't make the mood so gloomy," Yinreng complained like a spoiled child. "Father, Father, I'm full now. Let's go shopping! I still want to play!"

"All you ever think about is playing!"

Seeing that his precious Crown Prince had only displayed brilliance and wisdom for less than fifteen minutes before immediately reverting to his usual adorable self, Kangxi vigorously ruffled Yinreng's little head.

"Let your father rest a while and drink some tea before we continue. You two will accompany us."

Since his identity had already been exposed, Kangxi no longer bothered pretending.

Fuquan only competed with him for the child's attention anyway. Better to bring along two more companions for entertainment.

These two were skilled in poetry and likely knowledgeable about antiques and calligraphy, too. It means they could actually hold a conversation with him.

Fuquan, meanwhile, only ever said things like, "This one's expensive, buy it!" Truly a hopeless boor.

"Yes, sir!"

Nalan Xingde clasped his fists excitedly.

"Why aren't you thanking Third Master and the young master already?!"

Gu Zhenguan kowtowed so hard his forehead turned red.

"Thank you, Third Master! Thank you, young master!"

He secretly wiped away tears, but they simply wouldn't stop flowing.

Twenty years. Twenty full years.

At last, his dear friend could finally be saved.

Watching a grown man kneeling on the ground sobbing uncontrollably, Yinreng was worried that Gu Zhenguan might ruin Kangxi's mood and accidentally create complications after finally getting his wish granted.

He jumped down from Kangxi's lap and handed Gu Zhenguan a little handkerchief.

"Don't cry anymore. If you damage your health, how will you happily welcome your friend home?"

Kangxi shook his head helplessly.

His son was still too kind. That temperament has to be corrected.

Fuquan's eyes reddened even further.

A kind-hearted son wouldn't survive easily in the imperial palace, but he would in a prince's residence. Ah… why wasn't this child his son instead?

Nalan Xingde, meanwhile, pressed his lips together as doubt stirred within him.

The Yehe Nara clan stood firmly with the traditional Manchu aristocracy and was not favorably inclined toward the Crown Prince. Naturally, Nalan Xingde had always followed his family's political stance.

Yet Nalan Xingde himself had always been close to Han literati and was deeply influenced by Han culture. Thus, he personally held no strong aversion toward the Crown Prince.

Now, seeing such a kind and intelligent child, and comparing him to those Manchu nobles with whom he felt utterly incompatible, his convictions inevitably began to waver.

People all believed Nalan Xingde became spiritually dead because of his wife's passing.

But Nalan Xingde knew that while he deeply loved his wife, he would never have allowed grief over her death alone to consume him to the point of causing his parents and family such worry.

Knowing firsthand the agony of losing a beloved, how could he willingly inflict pain on his family in return?

The true source of the sorrow lodged in his heart was something even the thoughts of family couldn't soothe.

Indeed, it was his family itself that caused that sorrow.

Both the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors had studied Han learning. Nalan Mingzhu, deeply aware of the emperor's preferences and highly talented himself, had educated his eldest son almost entirely in the mold of a traditional Han scholarly household, raising Nalan Xingde into a genuine scholar.

A true scholar believed in loyalty to ruler and country, cultivating himself, managing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.

However, those ideals stood completely opposite to the true political goals of the Yehe Nara clan.