Whether Zhou Ziqi can continue to live in the palace, and what his fate will be, will only be truly determined a month later.

At present, apart from the emperor and two or three important ministers, no one is willing to keep the late emperor's posthumous child in the palace.

After all, it's a fate of misfortune and calamity, and no one dares to take the risk and gamble again.

A month later, Zhou Ziqi's fate would be either to be granted the title of king and continue to enjoy wealth and honor in the palace.

Or, he will end up like the late Crown Prince.

He was demoted to a commoner and sent to the Sanqing Temple, never to return to Yong'an for the rest of his life.

...

With only two days left until Lunar New Year's Eve, many other matters have been put aside.

The Imperial Household Department had long planned to hold a grand banquet on New Year's Eve this year, but unfortunately, the mourning period for the late emperor had not yet ended, so the banquet was canceled.

Alcohol was banned both inside and outside the palace, as were all forms of entertainment. The Chunfeng Tower in Yong'an City had also been closed for a long time.

Su Tiyue had already told Liu Wan and Qingwu that on New Year's Eve, Tingyulou and Yelange would prepare a table of good food together, and after eating the New Year's Eve dinner, they could stay up together to welcome the new year.

There were few people in Yelan Pavilion; it was estimated that only Li Xun and Xiao Heye were there.

Besides Su Tiyue, Tingyulou also has Liu Wan, Qingwu, and Xiao Anzi.

It seems there aren't many people in total.

We couldn't even get everyone together for the whole table.

But Xiao Heye has always preferred quiet, so this should suit his taste perfectly.

*

Wen Yan has recently been harassed by a rogue.

It all started with that drunken experience at Chunfeng Tower.

At first, she didn't take it to heart, but one day, the young master who was pestering her called out another name for Wen Yan.

The once quiet, gentle, beautiful, and kind-hearted female doctor suddenly revealed a barely perceptible hint of murderous intent in her calm eyes.

Later, Wen Yan took the initiative to invite the young master who was persistently pestering her back to the Wen residence for a cup of tea, which was laced with a large amount of sleeping potion.

After that, the young master was transported to the dungeon of the Eastern Depot in a daze.

Wen Yan is a doctor who heals the sick and saves lives; she wouldn't easily commit murder.

Isn't Han Zhou's favorite killer?

Wen Yan thought that if she gave this young master to him, Han Zhou would definitely be happy to help.

Autumn Water Residence, inside the dungeon.

The young master remained unconscious. He was now forcibly bound to a cross-shaped wooden stake in the center of the dungeon, with his arms outstretched and his feet firmly chained to the bottom of the stake.

In the dark and damp torture chamber, Han Zhou, dressed in a thin green robe, held a white handkerchief in his left hand, gently covering his mouth and nose, and slowly walked around the wooden stake, looking the person in front of him up and down.

This man had a face like jade, was exceptionally handsome, and dressed in white, exuding an air of refined elegance.

"Oh……"

Han Zhou suppressed a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth and said coldly, "It's like finding a needle in a haystack. Wen Yan, what did you just ask me to help you with?"

Wen Yan rolled her eyes at him, abandoning her usual gentle demeanor, and said irritably, "Kill him. It's that simple."

"Tsk tsk tsk... Wen Yan, don't blame me for not helping you. Others can kill him, but neither of us can touch this person." Han Zhou dragged his slow steps, sitting lazily and unrestrainedly on the wooden chair, his long legs crossed, his clothes fluttering.

He said slowly, "Instead of being so eager to kill and silence you, you should think carefully about how you'll explain yourself when my brother arrives."

Wen Yan frowned and asked, "What do you mean? You actually dared to alarm the Chief Supervisor over such a trivial matter?"

"A small matter?"

Clearly, Wen Yan has not yet realized the seriousness of this matter.

Han Zhou whispered a reminder: "This is no small matter. You've already slept with this person, don't you know who he is?"

Wen Yan said dismissively, "Isn't he just Su Lang, that idle and dissolute playboy from the Su family? What's so great about him?"

"Didn't you see Consort Shu at Qiushui Residence that day? Wenyan, they are siblings."

"So what if we're siblings? Su Lang is always bothering me. I've wanted to kill him for a long time. Besides..." Wen Yan didn't finish her sentence.

Moreover, Su Lang already knows her other identity, so he definitely cannot let her live.

If this gets out, Wen Yan will risk her life for it, but she's afraid it will cause trouble for her master, which is what she's most worried about.

Han Zhou raised an eyebrow and asked, "You've always been meticulous in your work, attentive to detail, intelligent, and decisive. How did you let this person find a weakness?"

Speaking of this, Wen Yan was also very annoyed.

She said, "That night at Chunfeng Tower, I drank some wine and was already feeling dizzy. Then I accidentally bumped into Su Lang, who was also completely drunk. At the time, I only thought he was handsome and had clear features... In a moment of passion, I didn't care about anything else."

Wen Yan rubbed her temples: "I remember when I regained consciousness, I told you about this. I asked you to help me deal with this person, but now it seems you haven't solved this problem. Speaking of which... you also bear some responsibility for this."

Wen Yan and Han Zhou were old acquaintances and had a good relationship.

In other words, you could say they are the same kind of people.

...

After hearing what she said...

Han Zhou also remembered.

That's true.

At that time, Han Zhou only cut off one of Su Lang's fingers, then went to the palace and used that finger to threaten Su Tiyue into performing a dance for the late emperor.

Han Zhou really wanted to kill Su Lang, but Xiao Heye wouldn't allow it.

He felt a little guilty and didn't answer Wen Yan's question directly. Instead, he said casually, "The problem now is that you and Su Lang that night... when things got intense, you exposed your identity, didn't you?... Lin Yan."

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!