He Yisheng suddenly smiled. “Are you all sure that, to them, I’m truly someone who’s already dead? I’m different from the others. I supposedly died of ‘smallpox.’”

“You’re absolutely dead. Not a trace of your bones remained in that bamboo mat.” Yan Shian gave him a cool glance. “If you hadn’t thought this through, I’d have died who knows how many times already.”

He Yisheng had only wanted to confirm it again. His heart was still uneasy—he kept fearing that the moment he closed and opened his eyes, he’d be back in that hell.

Since he was already dead, then his value was: “You all want to learn about matters inside the palace from me.”

“More precisely,” Shi Buyu shifted the topic back, “what we want is your understanding of the palace. You said there was a man and a woman surrounded by people, so that means there’s another woman. Who is she?”

He Yisheng answered this cleanly: “The Noble Consort.”

Shi Buyu wasn’t surprised at all. With no Empress in place, the Noble Consort held control over the harem. Only she could conceal such matters from others in the palace; no one else could hide things from her.

“Was it in the Noble Consort’s palace?”

“No, it was in another palace. Anyone who entered that place would only leave in death. I was the exception.” He Yisheng gave a slight smile at this unique detail. “After being castrated, they treated me as one of their own. The eunuchs didn’t stop me from leaving, only forbade me from going far. Only then did I discover—that hell was right behind the Emperor’s bedchamber.”

“From the sound of it, things inside must’ve been noisy. Why didn’t anyone in the palace know?”

“Why? Because from the main hall entrance there were two more doors. Every door, and every possible gap you can imagine, was stuffed tightly with fabric. Every time we were tormented, music would be played between the second and third doors. Even if we screamed until our throats tore, how could it compare to the sound of the music?”

He Yisheng’s voice grew louder, his body half-rising as he spoke. “The palace folk only thought that place was for the Emperor’s amusement. Only the most favored Noble Consort was allowed to enter. Anyone else who so much as glanced at it—dead. Was it that no one knew? It’s that anyone who knew was already dead!”

Shi Buyu was entirely unaffected by his emotional outburst. Her thoughts remained perfectly clear. “For the Noble Consort to be the only one who knows about this—it can’t just be because she’s favored. The Emperor isn’t stupid. If this matter were to get out, public trust would crumble. The old die-hard ministers would probably slam their heads into the court pillars on the spot. Yet he still dares to trust the Noble Consort…”

Seeing her lost in thought, Yan Shian voiced his opinion. “Is it possible—it’s not that the Emperor trusts the Noble Consort, but that all of this was her doing to begin with?”

“That possibility can’t be ruled out.” Shi Buyu looked at him. “Don’t forget, behind the Noble Consort stands Prime Minister Zhang, who’s still relentlessly hunting down the Shi family.”

“You think the people doing the hunting might be from Prime Minister Zhang?”

“It could be anyone,” Shi Buyu’s eyes gleamed, “just not the Emperor himself. The current emperor of Dayou Dynasty is a wily old fox—absolutely not easy to deal with.”

Yan Shian, knowing Miss Shi well, understood that this was more like a declaration of challenge than a complaint of difficulty.

Listening to their back-and-forth discussion, He Yisheng felt another wave of pain as he tried to sit upright. But the pain sobered him. He had thought he could endure the hatred, but once he spoke of it, once he remembered that bone-deep agony, he couldn’t control himself.

He wasn’t there yet. He still needed more tempering. He had to become truly calm—not just pretend to be calm when talking about the past.

“Yisheng.”

He Yisheng looked up and met her gaze.

Shi Buyu asked, “Is it all right to call you that? Was this your name in the palace?”

“In the palace, no one asks your real name. Everyone’s named after the color of the sheer robe they wore on their first day. Mine was Qizi—deep purple.”

“Then from now on, we’ll call you Yisheng.” Shi Buyu pointed to herself and the man beside her. “I’m Shi Buyu. He’s Yan Shian. From now on, rest easy here. When we need you, we’ll come to find you. If you want to go out, just let the steward know—no one will stop you. And you won’t lack for money. My cousin is rich.”

That last part slipped out so naturally—as soon as money was mentioned, it just came out. Shi Buyu felt lucky that her cousin truly was wealthy—otherwise, how could she afford to spend so freely?

Yan Shian was already used to this line. He didn’t find it odd at all. Seeing her pause, he picked up the thread: “I’ll have the steward bring you supplies. I’ll also assign two people—one to protect you, the other to look after your daily needs. Whatever you need, just tell them.”

“To monitor me as well?”

“They’re my people. If you act out of line, they’ll report to me. But if it’s just your day-to-day life…” Yan Shian chuckled, “honestly, I’m not that interested. It’d only waste my time.”

He Yisheng was still deeply suspicious of everything, having only recently escaped. But Yan Shian’s forthright explanation gave him unexpected peace of mind. What he had endured over those seven months would never truly heal—just like the part of him that had been removed.

Shi Buyu looked at his appearance. He truly had a delicate and graceful face. Dressed in women’s clothing, he didn’t look awkward at all—he even had charm.

“You don’t need to dress as a woman anymore. If you want to read, feel free to go to the library tower.”

“I like this look.” He Yisheng gently smoothed his hair, then touched his earlobe. “I’m still missing two piercings. Find someone to do them for me.”

“Yisheng, you don’t need to do this.” Shi Buyu walked up and removed the small flower ornament from his hair. “There are thousands of ways to live. You don’t need to choose the hardest, most painful one.”

He Yisheng raised his hand, as if wanting to stop her, but hesitated and didn’t. He merely turned his head to avoid her touch. “Only by living the hardest, most painful way can I feel like I’m still alive. Maybe only when I’ve taken my revenge will I be able to live differently.”

Shi Buyu didn’t press him. She patted his shoulder and walked to the door. Squinting at the brilliant sun overhead, she turned back and smiled. “The lotus seeds are ripe. Let’s go pick some!”

Yan Shian stood and followed, laughing. “I need to count how many you haven’t already poked with your finger.”

“I’m sure the untouched ones still outnumber the poked ones. Qingshan, Zhai Zhi, help Yisheng over. Let him enjoy the joy of harvest too.”

“If this counts as a harvest, what would we call it at Lord Zhu’s estate?”

“What’s a harvest? If I plant ten rice seedlings and nine of them yield heavy, full grain—that’s a great harvest. I have a lotus pond of just three mu. You’re comparing it to someone with dozens of mu—how is that fair?”

Yan Shian was curious. “You’ve planted rice before?”

“Of course! I’ve sown seeds, transplanted seedlings, and harvested rice. One year, I ate only what I grew myself.” Thinking of those happy days, Shi Buyu’s smile grew unrestrained. “When pulling weeds, I couldn’t tell them apart from rice seedlings. I yanked out a bunch of good ones. The old man with the white beard chased me, trying to hit me—but how could he catch me, ha ha ha!”

Wan Xia recalled—that batch of seedlings was eventually replanted by the Tenth Young Master. The old and the young returned home covered in mud.