Matthew Brooks never dreamed he would hear such rebellious words. At this moment, even if he wanted to back out, it was already too late. “Your Highness, the power of each prince is already set. What exactly do you plan to do?” He finally threw caution to the wind. After more than three years of treatment, and now that the Seventh Prince was almost fully recovered, he had unwittingly offended Consort Yu. He might as well see what this always-timid prince could actually accomplish.

“Help me meet Samuel Clark.” Ethan Foster said firmly, “I want to see this person with my own eyes!”

“Your Highness!” Emily Clark couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, “If His Majesty finds out, then…”

“We’ll be sentenced to death, right?” Ethan Foster smiled indifferently. “If I’m really that unlucky, then it’s just my fate. But if I have your help, I think my chances of success are still quite high.”

After hearing Ethan Foster’s plan, both Dr. Brooks and Emily Clark were left gaping. It was too crazy. If it were any other prince, maybe they wouldn’t have so many doubts, but Ethan Foster had still been bedridden just a month ago—how could he have changed so much?

“People always change.” The Ethan Foster before them no longer had the childishness of a thirteen-year-old. “So, can you help me accomplish these things?”

Emily Clark and Matthew Brooks exchanged a glance and finally nodded. From this moment on, the three of them, each with different backgrounds, would become true allies, with no way to turn back.

The Imperial Kitchen was responsible for preparing meals for all the concubines in the harem and the emperor—a hard and thankless job, now busier than ever. Ever since Samuel Clark entered the palace, because he was used to plain food and disliked the palace’s elaborate cuisine, the head eunuch of the kitchen, Mr. Foster, had to specially send someone to hire a cook from a small restaurant outside the palace to make home-style dishes. Poor cook Old Bolton had never seen such a grand scene in his life; when he saw the crowd of officials, he was nearly scared out of his wits. After much persuasion, he entered the palace as an imperial chef, but he wasn’t used to the palace’s high-quality oils, salts, sauces, and vinegars, so the dishes he made never quite had that simple, rustic flavor. Still, Samuel Clark didn’t complain further, and Old Bolton managed to avoid a few beatings.

Samuel Clark’s meals were always delivered by a eunuch from the Imperial Food Bureau named Little Samuel. Originally just a menial worker, he was assigned this task only because the eunuch who usually delivered the meals, Emily Thompson, had broken his leg, and no one else was available at the time, so the chief eunuch appointed this rookie. These days, every time he passed through the heavily guarded Diligence Hall, seeing the guards’ swords at their waists and their sharp gazes, he had nightmares almost every night, always worrying that one day he’d lose his head if he made a mistake. As a result, when serving Samuel Clark, he was even more respectful than to his own father.

That night, with everyone else out on errands, he was alone, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, when suddenly he heard a noise outside the window.

Little Samuel jumped up from bed in a panic, instinctively thinking he’d made some mistake and the emperor had sent someone to arrest him. He was terrified. The door opened silently, but instead of the expected armed guard, a graceful figure in white entered, beckoning to him gently. Little Samuel forced himself to calm down and saw that it was an exceptionally beautiful face, full of gentle smiles.

“Fairy sister!” Little Samuel blurted out, reaching out instinctively to grab the white figure, but caught nothing but air.

The white figure seemed to float effortlessly ahead, while Little Samuel stumbled after her. Although there were many night guards in the deep palace, the white figure seemed to know every path perfectly, leading Little Samuel without a trace straight to a rather desolate spot.

Suddenly, the white figure vanished. Only then did Little Samuel snap out of it a bit, looking around and wondering how he’d foolishly followed her here. Wait, that fairy sister was so beautiful and floated so fast—could she be a ghost? Just as he thought this, a strange shriek sounded in his ear. Already on edge, he couldn’t take the fright and bolted forward. There seemed to be a faint light ahead. As soon as he entered the hall, he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and collapsed straight to the ground.

Before losing consciousness, he heard a dissatisfied mutter by his ear: “So easily frightened!” But he couldn’t figure out who in this palace would play a prank on a lowly little eunuch like him.

He felt as if he’d been unconscious for a long time. When Little Samuel opened his eyes, he found himself in a beautiful, spacious room. A lovely young woman was looking at him with a half-smile. “Fairy sister?” he asked tentatively.

“You really have a sweet mouth!” The girl looked at the little eunuch with a meaningful gaze. “Do you know where this is? How dare you spout nonsense—such nerve!” The last sentence was deliberately emphasized.