Hot flashes

midnight.

The lights in the west warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace were still on, the candlelight flickering, casting long and short shadows on the window paper. Xiao Jue leaned against the couch, a book in his hand, but his eyes were not on the pages.

Footsteps echoed softly in the corridor.

When Chen Shen entered, he brought with him a chilly night breeze. He knelt outside the curtain, head bowed, and did not speak immediately.

Xiao Jue didn't look up, but turned a page of his book.

"Speak."

Chen Shen lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, we still... haven't found anything."

Xiao Jue paused for a moment as he turned the pages of the book.

"Regarding the place that Young Master Zhou mentioned, I had my men search every prefecture and county within its borders. We sifted through the sons of wealthy families, farmers from remote rural areas, sons of merchants, and students of scholars—anyone who even remotely matched the description was vetted."

He paused.

"No. Nothing at all. He's just like..."

He couldn't continue.

Xiao Jue still didn't look up.

The warm room was so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling of the candle wick burning.

After a long while, Xiao Jue spoke.

"Step down."

Chen Shen raised his head, as if to say something, but then swallowed his words. He kowtowed, got up, and left.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Xiao Jue put down the book.

He leaned against the couch, watching the flickering candlelight for a long time. Candle tears slid down the candle, drop by drop, landing on the candlestick and gathering into a small patch.

The investigation has been ongoing from the very beginning.

From the moment he noticed Zhou Heng, he had people investigate him. At the time, he thought Zhou Heng was a spy for some organization and wanted to find out his background so he could control him. But no matter how much he investigated, he found nothing.

Later, when the investigators arrived, they investigated even more thoroughly. They searched from wealthy families to impoverished households, from the capital to prefectures and counties, and from prefectures and counties to remote and impoverished villages. They checked household registers, family genealogies, neighborhood records, shops, and private schools—everywhere they could go.

There was nothing there.

This person seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Xiao Jue stood up.

He walked past the curtain, through a door, and into the inner room.

Only a small lamp was lit in the inner room, casting a dim, yellowish light. The person on the bed was fast asleep, wrapped tightly in the blankets, with only their face showing.

Xiao Jue walked over and squatted down beside his bed.

The candlelight softly illuminated half of Zhou Heng's face, while the other half remained hidden in shadow. His long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath his eyelids.

Xiao Jue looked at his slightly rising and falling chest and listened to his even breathing. He reached out to touch his face, but his fingers paused in mid-air before he withdrew them.

He would rather he were a spy.

The spy has a background, a purpose, and a mastermind behind him. He has countless ways to keep him by his side.

But he appeared out of thin air.

Can a person who appears out of thin air also disappear out of thin air?

As this thought crossed Xiao Jue's mind, a sudden, sharp pain surged in his chest.

It was sudden and violent, like being stabbed in the heart with a blunt knife. He reached up and pressed his hand to his chest, where his heart was still pounding, rapidly and erratically.

He took a deep breath, then another, and the pain slowly subsided.

He looked up at the person on the bed.

The person was right in front of him, beside him, on his bed, within his reach. Yet he always had a feeling that this person could disappear at any moment.

That feeling is hard to pinpoint, but it just won't go away. It's like a thorn stuck deep in my heart; I don't feel it normally, but it hurts the moment I move it.

He sometimes laughs at himself.

When did it become like this?

Anxious and suspicious, you're right beside them. What more could you want?

But that feeling still lingers.

It was as if... as if he had actually seen this person disappear.

Zhou Heng turned over in his sleep, and the blanket slipped down a little. Xiao Jue reached out and gently pulled the blanket up to cover his shoulders.

Zhou Heng's eyelashes fluttered, he mumbled something indistinctly, and then fell asleep again.

Morning assembly

Before dawn, the area outside Chengtianmen was already packed with people.

Today's topic is the imperial examination.

This is nothing new. After Zhou Heng submitted his memorial, the court argued about it for months, until everyone was tired of hearing it. Today, they're going to decide on the chief examiner.

The drums sounded three times, and the officials filed in.

Xiao Jue sat on the throne and waited for everyone to stand before speaking.

"The matter of the imperial examination has been discussed for several months, and it should be decided by now." He paused, "I have already made a decision on the selection of the chief examiners."

There was a moment of silence in the imperial court.

Xiao Jue said, "Zhou Heng."

Those two words fell like pebbles thrown into water.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

The first person to step forward was Zhao Xun, the Vice Minister of Rites. He held a tablet in his hand and spoke in a loud voice.

"Zhou Heng has only been in the court for a little over a year and is still relatively inexperienced. How can he possibly shoulder such an important responsibility as the chief examiner of the imperial examinations?"

Xiao Jue looked at him.

Zhao Xun continued, "The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talent for the nation, and the chief examiner must be a person of high moral character and prestige, deeply respected by the people. Zhou Heng is young and lacks prestige; how can the scholars of the land be convinced of his worth?"

Another person stepped forward. He was from the Censorate, surnamed Du, the old censor.

"I second that opinion. Although Zhou Heng is talented, the imperial examination is no child's play. If the chief examiner makes a wrong choice, the consequences will be disastrous."

Xiao Jue remained silent.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

One after another, they stepped forward, giving the same few reasons over and over again: lack of seniority, insufficient prestige, and young age.