Luo Wei stared at the model wooden ship sitting atop the desk and smiled, “I gifted this to your imperial highness last year. I hope your imperial highness will forgive me for gifting you such a crude, ugly thing.”

Long Xuan asked, “Didn’t you make this yourself?”

Luo Wei responded, “I would’ve done a much better job than this.”

“It’s not that bad,” Long Xiang interjected, “I think it’s pretty well made, and my big brother must like it, or else why would he put it on his desk like this?”

Luo Wei sneered inside. Long Xuan had never considered anything gifted to him by Luo Wei as anything other than trash, like it? Never. Though Luo Wei was a little confused about why Long Xuan would have it displayed so close at hand, but whatever reason it was, it’s not because he liked it. “Your humble servant shan’t disturb your imperial highnesses any longer.” With Long Xuan there, Luo Wei’s interest in speaking to Long Xiang had dwindled to nothing, so he bid his farewell and excused himself, “Your humble servant shall take his leave.”

Luo Wei didn’t even look back as he left, and Long Xiang stood there, shocked, “Big brother, why did Xiao Wei leave? Doesn’t he remember that your birthday’s today?”

In the years past, the person most enthusiastic for Long Xuan’s birthday had been Luo Wei. But as Long Xuan thought of how Luo Wei looked with his eyes cold but lips smiling, he explained to Long Xiang rather lightly, “He’s become distanced from us, can you not tell?”

Long Xiang felt it was a little strange. When had Luo Wei ever not greeted Long Xuan with a smile, and begging to stick around for along as he can? Yet today he’d only stuck around to pay some casual smalltalk, and didn’t want to stay a moment longer than he had to. What’s going on?

Long Xuan stared at the wooden ship on his desk. A year ago, Luo Wei had given this to him as if it’d been a treasure, claiming that he’d made it by hand. How unexpected that a year later, the same person could look at the same object as if it were mere trash. Today was Long Xuan’s birthday, and he’d had a brief fantasy that Luo Wei would celebrate it with him like any other year. The reason that he’d put this ship out on his desk was really because he wanted Luo Wei to know that he did appreciate these little things. He hadn’t wanted it to end like this. From what Luo Wei implied, the third young master’s wish was to have Long Xuan discard this model ship as soon as he can.

“Big brother?” Long Xiang called out carefully as he watched the emotions play out on Long Xuan’s face, suddenly cool, and suddenly warm.

“I’ll come with you to visit our consort mother.” Long Xuan settled himself and stood.

After the miscarriage, the emperor had used her health as an excuse to defer the role of the overseer of the Back Palace to Imperial Concubine Li. Now that her health had returned, the emperor didn’t seem to want to give her back the control. Imperial Concubine Li was Ding Wei Hou’s daughter, and the Li family was one of the families that had supported the founding of Greater Zhou, with accolades piled high for their diligence and accomplishments. Compared to the families of Luo and Liu, their powers were evenly matched. To have Imperial Concubine Li take over the management of the Back Palace was not undue. Consort Liu’s rage was burning her up inside, but she didn’t dare let any of it show.

Long Xiang had never been particularly perceptive. After arriving at his mother’s, he’d gone and told her everything about his trip to Nan Zhao and all the fun he’d had, not recognizing a single shred of the anxiety and nervousness that plagued Consort Liu.

“Is that a gift from the imperial father?” Long Xuan pointed at the pile of silk brocade on the round table.

“Yes,” Consort Liu nodded, “A reward from your imperial father.”

Long Xuan’s brows creased, but he said nothing. Other than visiting Consort Liu after the miscarriage, Emperor Xing Wu had not set his foot here again. He sent over gifts from time to time to show that he hadn’t forgotten Consort Liu, but that’s all he did. The eyes in the Back Palace were all sharp and poisonous. The fact that Consort Liu had fallen out of favor was common knowledge, and the Hall of the Blossoming Beauty, once filled with people coming and going to vie for Consort Liu’s support, was now deserted.

Between mother and son, Consort Liu and Long Xuan both had the thought that perhaps the emperor knew their dealings behind the scenes of the miscarriage. How they’d tried to put the blame on the empress. Yet the two of them couldn’t believe, or rather, couldn’t dare to believe it as truth. Emperor Xing Wu’s moods were wild and raging. If he did know that they had a hand in the background, how could he have let the two of them live? But if he didn’t know, why would Consort Liu fall out of favor so quickly? Was it because the whole thing embarrassed the empress? Like two travellers on a foggy road, Long Xuan and Consort Liu couldn’t tell what lay behind them, or what lay ahead of them.