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The Emperor pondered for a moment, "Lead the way, I shall take a look."

"Your subordinate follows the command."

The Emperor dismounted and followed the Guard forward.

It wasn’t a muddy path, so walking was much smoother.

After a duration of time that it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Guard stopped and pointed at the large tree in front: "Your Majesty, previously your subordinate saw the residence located just behind this Green Hawthorn."

The Emperor examined the Green Hawthorn in front of him, its trunk thick and rugged, certainly decades old, while behind it was a dense forest.

He glanced around the vicinity of the Green Hawthorn and saw a path paved with green stone slabs leading up to a lake where there was a stony area, mostly used for washing things.

If there were no households nearby, then this stony area would be redundant.

As the ruler of a nation, he naturally noticed the irregularity of this place.

"You go and look around to see if there is some sort of mechanism."

"Your subordinate follows the command." The Guard, together with a few other Guards, went to investigate nearby, but as they walked behind the Green Hawthorn tree, they entered the Array.

Eunuch Li watched in shock as several Guards suddenly disappeared behind the tree, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, they’ve vanished."

The Emperor naturally saw it happening and was much calmer compared to Eunuch Li’s alarmed response, "Indeed, there is an issue here."

Eunuch Li looked around curiously and asked, "Your Majesty, is there a deception here?"

The Emperor said, "If Zhèn’s guess is not wrong, an Array should have been set up here."

The Empress is avoiding Zhèn!

"An Array?" Eunuch Li had heard of Arrays and knew getting lost in an Array might mean never getting out.

The Emperor gazed at the rough Green Hawthorn tree, where the entrance to the Array should be.

"Summon the Crown Prince and Minister Lu here."

"Your subordinate follows the command." The Guard mounted his tall horse and galloped away.

When Xiao Jinyan and Lu Zhaoyan arrived, an hour had passed.

Jinyan from the Fuyao Residence had been here several times and was naturally familiar with this place.

He hadn’t expected the Emperor to find the Fuyao Residence so quickly.

Taking a few steps forward, he found the Fuyao Residence gone, a flicker of puzzlement crossing his eyes.

"Father Emperor."

The Emperor glanced at the Crown Prince and Lu Zhaoyan, "There was a residence here before. If Zhèn’s guess is correct, an Array has hidden it nearby. You and Minister Lu, see if you can break the Array."

Xiao Jinyan looked towards the familiar Green Hawthorn tree. With the residence gone, only an Array could have quietly concealed a whole residence.

He asked beside him, "Minister Lu, do you have a way?"

Lu Zhaoyan said, "This humble official excels in nocturnal observation of the stars, but at night, one can break the Array by following the trends of the constellations."

The Emperor stared at the Green Hawthorn tree for a good while. If there were no secrets, why then conceal the residence?

Having no news of the Empress after such a long search, this residence ignited a glimmer of hope in him.

"Then we shall wait until nighttime."

When night fell,

the Guards lit torches and led by Minister Lu, entered the Array.

Xiao Jinyan naturally followed suit.

The Emperor strode to the tree, about to enter, when Eunuch Li blocked him.

"Your Majesty, what lies inside is fraught with more peril than luck. It would be better for you to wait outside."

"Zhèn insists on taking a look." The Emperor ignored Eunuch Li’s dissuasion and followed behind Xiao Jinyan into the Array.

With no other choice, Eunuch Li also followed in.

*

Everyone was having dinner at the dining table.

A Guard walked in from the outside to report, "Master, someone has broken into the Array."

Ye Chu ate his meal leisurely and upon hearing the report, he raised his head to look at Chang Wenling.

The Empress paused in her chewing, lifted her head to look at the Guard, "How many people? Who are they?"

The Guard replied, "To answer the Master, both the Emperor and the Crown Prince have come in."

Upon hearing that Xiao Jinyan had arrived, Shen Chuwei looked toward the Empress with a touch of concern and asked, "Empress Mother, there’s no danger in that Array, is there?"

She remembered that some Arrays were perilous, with one misstep potentially proving fatal.

The Empress looked at Ye Chu, who spoke indifferently, "It’s no trouble, just a simple Array."

Shen Chuwei and the Empress both breathed a sigh of relief.

After finishing dinner, Shen Chuwei had to nurse the two babies—three-month-old infants who were no longer as well-behaved as when they were one month old, lying still.

Taotao and Susu were almost always prone and liked to play by biting things with their mouths.

Susu in particular would bite anything she could get.

Taotao often woke up with his face covered in his sister’s drool and would then see his sister laughing gleefully.

"Susu, you can’t chew on your brother," the phrase Shen Chuwei repeated most every day was this, because Susu still hadn’t grown teeth yet. When the teeth came in, it would be a problem if she bit and marred Taotao’s appearance.

The brother was to inherit the high good looks of Xiao Jinyan’s genes.

Once the two little ones were asleep, Shen Chuwei went to bathe.

The Empress, not in the mood to sleep, sat at the table drinking tea.

Then came a knock at the door.

Qing Ying opened the door and saw Ye Chu standing outside.

Ye Chu said warmly, "Has Aling retired to rest yet?"

"Not yet, Young Master Ye, please come in." Qing Ying pushed the door open.

Ye Chu walked in slowly and sat down at the round table, noting her drinking hot tea, "Can you still sleep after drinking tea at night?"

"Of course I can sleep. I sleep very well," the Empress said, continuing to sip her tea.

Ye Chu looked at her and simply smiled faintly.

Meanwhile at the entrance of the Fuyao Residence, Xiao Jinyan and the others, after walking for a long while, finally made their way in.

The Emperor looked at the tightly closed vermilion gate and ordered, "Open it."

Two Guards effortlessly scaled the wall and soon, the gate was opened from the inside.

The Emperor eagerly proceeded inside.

Xiao Jinyan took a glance around; there was no one guarding the place, which confused him as he walked in.

Inside the residence, all was quiet.

The Emperor glanced at the residence—a place this large without a single Guard was highly irregular.

"You go and search," Eunuch Li commanded.

The Guards branched off to search the various chambers.

The Emperor looked towards a chamber ahead with lights on, faintly hearing voices.

As he drew closer, he recognized the familiar voice of the Empress.

Then, he heard a man’s voice.

ps: Second update

Three thousand words per Chapter