On this day, the Capital City was once again filled with the vibrant scenes of a new year. Tributes from all nations paraded through the streets towards the palace, while soldiers filled the streets. Inside the palace halls, the Qian Niu Guards in their crimson robes were lined up, and officials offered their birthday wishes. The sound of bells and drums echoed, interspersed with the officials’ loud shouts of “Long live the Emperor.”

The young Emperor, dressed in ceremonial robes, ascended the throne. Being young and without heirs, the grand court assembly in previous years was usually led by the Regent King, Xie Shiguan, who would be the first to offer birthday wishes. However, this year was different. The first to step forward was Grand Tutor Man, and the King of Yan, who should have been in the second position on the right, was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Mingjun, the Minister of Revenue, slightly turned to exchange a glance with the Minister of Justice beside him, both seeing a hint of confusion in each other’s eyes.

“Why is it Man Jingzhou?” Chen Mingjun whispered, “Why didn’t the King of Yan come today?”

“Who knows,” the Minister of Justice, holding an ivory tablet, glanced cautiously towards the hall and whispered in Chen Mingjun’s ear, “I heard that last night, on New Year’s Eve, before midnight, the King of Yan left the palace. Many people saw him being escorted by lanterns from the street merchants, and he had a head wound, bleeding all over his forehead!”

Chen Mingjun was also taken aback, murmuring, “How could that be?”

“Serving the Emperor is like serving a tiger,” the Minister of Justice sighed softly, “He even took leave from the grand court assembly on New Year’s Day. I heard he’s so ill he can’t get out of bed. This time, it seems the Sage is truly displeased with the King of Yan.”

Chen Mingjun didn’t believe this. He lowered his voice, “Displeased? I doubt it. Xie Ling isn’t someone who can be easily toppled.”

“Even though the Sage is young, it doesn’t mean he lacks imperial authority. The Miao family is, after all, his maternal family, and Miao Zongping is the Sage’s maternal uncle. If it were you, who would you support?”

Chen Mingjun looked towards the hall. The young Emperor wore a heavy crown, with five-colored tassels hanging in front and behind him. His face was covered with a layer of powder, making him look even paler and more frail.

As he stepped forward to offer birthday wishes, he keenly noticed a faint red circle around the Emperor’s eyes, and a hint of bluish-gray under his eyes, indicating he hadn’t slept all night.

The King of Yan had taken leave due to his injury, yet the Emperor looked even more exhausted than him.

With just one glance, Chen Mingjun knew that Xie Shiguan wouldn’t fall, nor could he.

Meanwhile, Xie Shiguan, who was supposedly “too ill to get out of bed,” was having breakfast in a side hall of the Prince’s Mansion. The wound on his brow had already scabbed over, leaving only a faint circle of bruising.

Shen Que was serving dishes beside him when Shen Xiangzhi, who had just returned from outside, reported to Xie Shiguan, “Your Highness, there’s a rumor outside today that the King of Yan has lost his power. A few shallow-eyed officials from the Ministry of Justice have already gone to curry favor with the Miao family after court.”

Xie Shiguan raised an eyebrow, not taking it to heart at all, “Their information is quite timely. They’re just a bunch of opportunistic fence-sitters. It’s better if they lean the other way.”

He paused and then instructed Shen Que, “Have someone from the outer mansion take down the red silk and lanterns from the Prince’s Mansion gate.”

Shen Que was a bit puzzled but didn’t ask further, nodding obediently.

“Xiangzhi,” Xie Shiguan turned to Shen Xiangzhi, casually playing with a white jade chopstick rest on the table, “Arrange for a few people to whisper a few words into the ears of those fools in the Miao family, and add fuel to the fire.”

At this point, Shen Que seemed to understand what Xie Shiguan intended to do.

Last night, the Emperor and the minister had a falling out in the palace. The young Emperor felt guilty towards Xie Shiguan, and soon the news of the King of Yan’s loss of power would reach the Emperor’s ears. If at this time… the Miao family took the opportunity to step on Xie Shiguan.

Too much is as bad as too little, and extremes will lead to the opposite.

The more the Miao faction flaunted their success, the deeper the Emperor’s guilt towards Xie Shiguan would grow.

Shen Que gradually understood, but he was still a bit frightened. He didn’t have the strong heart of the Prince. After returning from the palace last night, he was so scared he didn’t dare to close his eyes all night.

He feared he could never be as composed as the King of Yan, who could still smile even after almost falling out with the Emperor. To the Prince, power shifts and the rise and fall of fortunes were probably just a play.

He was in the play, but his heart was outside, coldly watching the people in the play, like a golden Buddha, so magnificent yet so unfeeling.

After finishing his duties, Shen Que took the New Year’s goods left by the little actor yesterday and took a donkey cart to the area near Pingkang Lane. He asked for directions at a merchant’s place. The old man selling flatbreads, seeing him mouthing “theater,” smiled and said, “You’re early, sir. Those theater troupes only come at night. Once it gets dark, they’ll set up stages on those painted boats. You see—that’s the lake.”

Shen Que looked in the direction he pointed, seeing a few boats sparsely scattered on the lake, looking somewhat desolate.

So Shen Que turned back, shook his head, and said, “I’m here to find someone.”

The old man, probably due to his age, had poor eyesight, almost pressing his eyes to Shen Que’s lips before finally understanding, “Ah, you said you’re here to find someone. There are quite a few theater troupes here. Who are you looking for? To the north is Boss Yun’s Jingshui Tower, and to the south is Boss Xu’s Listening Oriole Pavilion…”

Hearing the name “Xu,” Shen Que quickly raised his hand to interrupt, mouthing, “Xu Sixian?”

The old man clapped his hands, “Yes, that’s Boss Xu’s name.”

At this point, he paused slightly, winking at Shen Que, “Sir, I’ve been chatting with you for so long, delaying my business. Don’t you think…”

Shen Que understood his meaning and promptly took out four silver coins from his purse, handing them to the old man, who immediately beamed and wrapped two flatbreads for him, then cheerfully pointed the way, “There, just half a mile south, and you’ll be there.”

He walked briskly, eager to return the items, and soon arrived.

He saw a sizable courtyard by the roadside, with a pair of carved oriole birds on the door rings. Unlike the grand and imposing Prince’s Mansion, this place had a unique elegance.

Shen Que stood at the door for a moment, just about to knock when the door creaked open from the inside.

A young girl, about thirteen or fourteen, with bangs hanging over her forehead, her face half-covered in stage makeup, stood there. Despite the cold weather, she wore only a cherry pink water-sleeved costume.

“Who are you looking for?” she asked, her voice clear and crisp.

Shen Que was momentarily stunned, then mouthed, “Sixian.”

The little girl seemed curious, murmuring, “Why don’t you speak? Are you also preserving your voice like the troupe leader?”

Shen Que didn’t respond, following her inside. The little girl stopped in front of a room, calling out sweetly, “Troupe leader, your sweetheart is here, and he’s brought a bunch of gifts!”

Before she finished speaking, someone came out of the room, pinching her ear, “If I hear you talking nonsense again, I’ll slap your mouth!”

The little girl yelped, covering her ears with both hands, grumbling, “If he’s not here to watch the play and has a bunch of stuff, heading straight to your room, what else could he be?”

Xu Sixian pretended to hit her but stopped when he saw Shen Que watching him, giving him a cold sideways glance, “Come in.”

The furnishings in his room were quite luxurious, with a large red coral on the table in the main hall. Seeing Shen Que staring at the coral, the young actor laughed self-deprecatingly, “Is it beautiful? It was a gift from Eunuch An from the palace. These eunuchs are more generous than the officials.”

Shen Que didn’t speak, only finding the coral’s red color striking.

As if guessing what he was thinking, Xu Sixian touched the coral pot with his fingertips, “Do you think I want this? Old and smelly eunuchs, reeking of urine, unable to be men, so they hit hard… But if I don’t cling to him, my days would be even worse.”

“The plight of a small actor,” Xu Sixian sat down beside the coral, “you people wouldn’t understand.”

He was wrong, though. Before entering the Prince’s Mansion, the broker had also considered sending Shen Que to a brothel or theater. Given his unique condition, he could have been a rare plaything in a brothel.

Fortunately, he was undernourished in his youth, dark and thin, not pretty at all, and mute. Even if sold to a brothel, he would be disliked. By chance, Xie Shiguan bought him for the mansion, sparing him from such suffering.

Shen Que placed the items Xu Sixian had left at the Prince’s Mansion, along with the two flatbreads he had just bought, on the table.

As he set them down, he heard the laughter of children outside the window. Looking out, he saw the little girl who had opened the door for him earlier.

“They also…” Shen Que began to sign, but then stopped, unable to continue.

Xu Sixian couldn’t understand his sign language but could read the meaning in his eyes, “What do you want to hear? Is there anyone here who is clean? There was once someone with a strong character who refused to go, offended that official, and was forced to drink a bowl of raw lacquer, poisoning their voice and driving them mad. Last winter, they froze to death somewhere.”

As he spoke, his gaze was indifferent, as if discussing something utterly mundane.

Shen Que widened his eyes, thinking of the little girl from earlier, mouthing, “But she, they are so young?”

Perhaps finding him naive, Xu Sixian sneered, leaning back on the couch, “Do you know, mute fool, I was ten when I first took the stage, and when a powerful lord named me, I was only eleven.”

“No matter who you are, once you’re in this brothel or theater, there’s only one path to take, only one way to live. If you want ‘purity,’ you should have smashed your head on the stage before performing. In this life, you either bleed or cry.”

He paused, tears welling in his eyes, “I’m cowardly, too afraid to die, so I can only live in disgrace.”

“Leave,” the young actor wiped away his tears, turning his face away from Shen Que, “Take good care of Ding Xiang. He’s the only child who left here clean. If you don’t treat him well, everyone in the Listening Oriole Pavilion will fight you.”

After Xu Sixian left that day, Yuanzhi had mentioned the past of the Listening Oriole Pavilion, talking about how Sixian and his mother were once very close as master and apprentice. His mother was much older than Sixian, so she always took care of him.

They were a pair of qingyi and huadan, promising to always perform together, to stay together until old age.

But youthful promises are not to be taken seriously. Later, the huadan fell in love with a merchant lord who often came to see her, and within a few months, she secretly married him, becoming a concubine.

For this, Sixian had once made a scene, but his senior sister was already someone else’s wife, with a ‘bastard’ in her belly. He couldn’t possibly want her dead.

He was the loneliest person in the Listening Oriole Pavilion, because he was in the theater, yet yearned for a love that would never change.

Hearing this story, Shen Que felt more sympathy and pity for him, knowing that he wasn’t truly interested in him. What he wanted was the sincerity Shen Que showed when he spent a hundred taels of silver to redeem Yuanzhi, hoping for a love not driven by desire.

Unfortunately, Shen Que could offer him pity, but not love.

Shen Que wanted to say more to him, but the person in front of him didn’t understand sign language and refused to look at him. If he got closer or stayed longer, it might give the young actor false hope. He didn’t want to get entangled with people.

So, after much hesitation, Shen Que left without saying anything, turning to leave.