Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 188: Take Care

   “Your Ladyship,” Xiaoquanzi reported, “the Fifth Prince has arrived.”

“Oh?” Wei Yingluo slowly walked over to a large chest, lifted the lid, and climbed inside.

Xiaoquanzi: “…”

“Hurry up and close the box, will you?” Wei Yingluo urged from inside. “Then tell Fifth Brother that I’m not here!”

The moment the lid was shut, Yongqi walked in. He glanced around the room and asked, “Where is Mother Consort Ling?”

His mother was right at his feet, yet Xiaoquanzi could only force a smile and reply, “Her Ladyship lay down in the courtyard for a while, complaining of a headache, and then went to the bedchamber to rest.”

Hearing this, Yongqi frowned. “When I was little, Mother Consort Ling specially sent people to the Prince Residence to take meticulous care of my meals—everything was handled perfectly. How is it that when it comes to herself, she doesn’t know how to take care of her own health?”

When he was only seven or eight years old, he already carried himself like a seventy- or eighty-year-old man—mature beyond his years and especially fond of lecturing others. Even Wei Yingluo was somewhat afraid of him because of it.

“Amitabha, go away, go away quickly.” Inside the box, Wei Yingluo put her hands together and began to pray.

Sure enough, last-minute praying was useless. Yongqi started lecturing again: “Look at all of you—it’s only early summer, yet all the ice from the icehouse has been sent to Yanxi Palace. Ice grapes, ice watermelon—does she really think she can eat those? Put them all away immediately.”

“When will Mother Consort Ling wake up?”

“I received a family letter from my birth mother today. I want to read it to Mother Consort Ling, so I’ll just sit here and wait for her to wake up.”

The box was quite small. Hiding for a short time was bearable, but staying inside for long made Wei Yingluo feel suffocated. Hearing this, she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

“Three Pure Ones above, Mazu protect me, hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave.” She simply switched to praying to several different deities.

Last-minute praying was bad enough, but changing the deities one after another—who knows whether it was because her heart wasn’t sincere or because she had offended the gods—but the very next moment, Hongli’s voice suddenly sounded outside the box:

“Yongqi, I figured you’d be here. What’s wrong? Another fruitless trip?”

“Nothing escapes your eyes, Royal Father. The servants said Mother Consort Ling was taking an afternoon nap and hasn’t woken yet.”

But Hongli was not so easily fooled. Or perhaps after decades as husband and wife, he simply understood her personality too well. With one sweep of his eyes around the room, he immediately understood everything.

“Half a grape bitten and then discarded here, and she went to take a nap?” Hongli sat down grandly in the chair. “Fine. We’ll wait here for her… Yongqi, we didn’t finish that game of chess the other day. Let’s continue.”

Xiaoquanzi quickly said, “This servant will prepare the chessboard at once. Please allow Your Majesty to move to the main hall.”

“No need. Right here is fine.” Hongli raised one finger and pointed with a smile at the box right beside his leg. “Bring it over.”

With those imperial words spoken, the box was immediately moved to the middle between the two of them.

A chessboard was placed on top of it, and the two began to play, placing pieces one by one. No one knew how much time passed—until Hongli placed another piece, the chessboard suddenly tilted to the side, chess pieces scattered all over the floor, and Wei Yingluo struggled out of the box with great difficulty:

“Haven’t you two had enough?!”

Yongqi stared in shock. Hongli, however, crossed his arms and laughed. “You’re already a mother, yet you still pull stunts like this. Do you want the entire Forbidden City to laugh at you? Truly undignified as a mother!”

Wei Yingluo retorted irritably, “Your Majesty clearly knew I was in the box and still deliberately tormented me. Truly undignified as an emperor!”

The two of them bickered and bantered back and forth like an ordinary married couple. Finally, Hongli personally stepped forward and helped her out of the box. But the moment she emerged, she was met with Yongqi’s displeased face:

“Mother Consort Ling, do you drink your bowl of mutton soup every morning?”

Wei Yingluo hemmed and hawed. Not far away was a table covered with scattered grape and melon peels.

“When you gave birth to Zhaohua, you suffered postpartum illness. Whenever you catch a draft you get headaches. Were you sitting in the wind earlier?”

Xiaoquanzi hurriedly shifted his body to block the window, using his back to shield her from the breeze coming in.

“How can you not cherish your own health at all?” Yongqi’s expression was serious, even carrying a trace of disappointment. “If you were in good health, Zhaohua and the others could have stayed at Yanxi Palace to be raised by you. Why must mother and children be separated?”

Wei Yingluo was his elder, yet in front of him she felt unable to lift her head. After being thoroughly lectured by him, she only sighed as she watched his departing figure:

“I really don’t know who this child takes after. Always nagging and lecturing… He wasn’t like this when he was little.”

“He only cares about you too much. Otherwise, who would bother asking whether you ate lamb soup or grapes today?” Hongli smiled faintly, took her hand, sat down, and continued, “Besides, he’s still young and doesn’t understand… but I do.”

Wei Yingluo glanced up at him, her eyes seemingly asking: What exactly do you understand?

“In these ten years, we’ve had two sons and two daughters. It’s a pity Yonglu couldn’t be kept. The night Yonglu passed away, you stayed by his side alone, not sleeping a wink—I saw it all,” Hongli said slowly. “A month later, you sent Zhaoyu to Shoukang Palace to keep Zhaohua company, and you entrusted Yongyan to Consort Qing to raise. Everyone says you’re heartless and selfish, that you’re currying favor with the Empress Dowager and winning over Consort Qing. Only I know the truth. Zhaohua is your eldest daughter. You sent her to Shoukang Palace to comfort the Empress Dowager. Yingluo, ever since the incident with Chenbi, you’ve always carried deep guilt toward the Empress Dowager, haven’t you?”

Wei Yingluo shook her head firmly. “Your Majesty, Zhaohua is a person. I would never use her to atone for my guilt.”

Her denial only confirmed something for Hongli even more clearly: “So you’re worried that your own health is failing, and you want to find new protectors for them?”

Having her innermost thoughts suddenly exposed, Wei Yingluo was momentarily stunned.

“I’m warning you, Wei Yingluo—no such inauspicious thoughts, not even the slightest!” Hongli said sternly. “Your body was only injured when you gave birth to Yongyan. Didn’t the imperial physicians say that as long as you recover slowly, you’ll be as good as new? I want you to stay with me, for a very, very long time. If you leave me halfway like Rongyin did, I will never forgive you!”

Though his words sounded harsh, every line was filled with irrepressible tenderness.

Wei Yingluo couldn’t help but grip his hand in return. Pretending to be relaxed, she smiled and said, “Your Majesty, didn’t you once say that calamities live for a thousand years? I’ll do my best to live a very, very long time!”

Everyone in the world longs for things that last forever, yet even a lifetime has its end.

Caw——

A piercing, shrill scream rang through Chengqian Palace. Step-Empress hurried over and saw an empty parrot perch. Suddenly Zhener’s hand reached from behind her and covered her eyes: “Your Ladyship, don’t look…”

Step-Empress pushed her hand away. What she saw was the cold corpse of a bird lying on the ground.

She closed her eyes for a moment. Suddenly her head felt dizzy; she swayed a few times and collapsed into Zhener’s arms.

That night, Chengqian Palace summoned the imperial physician.

Yuan Chunwang was not on night duty, but when he received the news, he hurriedly dressed and rushed to the sleeping chamber. Just as he arrived at the door, he heard the Empress roaring inside: “Get out!”

The palace door flew open. Court Physician Zhang came scrambling out, practically rolling on the ground.

Yuan Chunwang stood at the doorway for a moment before stepping inside. He saw Step-Empress sitting on the bed with her long hair disheveled, clutching a bronze mirror and staring at her own reflection. She asked, “What did he just call me?”

Zhener looked at her worriedly. “Your Ladyship…”

“Old woman.” Step-Empress ground out the words through clenched teeth. “He called me an old woman!”

“Your Ladyship!” Zhener hurried to say, “Court Physician Zhang didn’t mean it like that…”

“Listen to what he said: ‘The Huangdi Neijing states that a woman’s heavenly gui arrives at two times seven and ceases at seven times seven. Your Ladyship is now forty-eight—your age is about right. That is why the sea of blood has declined; it is also called old-woman blood collapse—’ Hah…” Step-Empress scoffed with icy disdain, slowly turned her head, her slightly reddened eyes fixed on Zhener. “I really am an old woman now, aren’t I?”

Zhener felt both fear and pity; for a moment she didn’t know how to comfort her. At that moment Yuan Chunwang approached, holding a horn comb. In a gentle, unhurried voice he said, “Your Ladyship, your hair is in disarray. Allow this servant to comb it for you.”

His combing movements were as gentle and slow as his voice.

The teeth of the comb glided over her scalp again and again. Gradually, Step-Empress’s mood began to calm.

Zhener brought over a tray filled with pearl hairpins and phoenix ornaments. Yuan Chunwang selected a dangling-pearl phoenix hairpin and placed it in her coiffure. “Look—you are still the Empress whom His Majesty respects and loves most.”

Step-Empress gazed at her reflection in the mirror for a long time. Suddenly she said, “Zhener, help me change my clothes. I’m going to Yangxin Hall.”

To gain the evaluation of being “respected and beloved,” Step-Empress had nearly exhausted all her energy and effort. Wherever Hongli noticed something, she noticed it too; wherever Hongli failed to notice, she still noticed. The entire rear palace was managed by her in perfect order—every palace’s food, clothing, and daily necessities all depended on her arrangements.

Even the Empress Dowager, who hated her to the bone, could find no fault with her on the surface.

A hundred years from now, her posthumous title would surely include the character “Duan” (端, meaning upright/proper) or “Xian” (賢, meaning virtuous/wise).

…No, no. That was not what she wanted. What she desperately craved right now was nothing more than the embrace of a husband, the comfort of a husband.

The group hurried to Yangxin Hall. Step-Empress personally carried a bowl of iced lotus seed soup in her hands. The guarding eunuch was just about to announce her arrival when a sigh from Hongli came from inside.

“Lately I feel… the Empress has aged much more than before.”

As the Son of Heaven, Hongli took excellent care of himself. Compared to more than ten years ago, he looked almost unchanged—not because he lived without worries, but because whenever troubles arose, there was always someone to share the burden with him.

“In these past two years, her temperament has become increasingly strange,” Hongli said with a sigh. “When I talk to her, the more we speak, the less we seem to understand each other. Yet the moment I leave, she throws tantrums and becomes like a completely different person.”

On the table sat a bowl of iced lotus seed soup. Originally prepared by the Imperial Tea Bureau for Hongli, Wei Yingluo had eyed it greedily and taken it to eat herself. Worried she might upset her stomach with something so cold, Hongli had ordered it taken away to be warmed. Now it had become a bowl of braised lotus seed soup, steaming hot and placed on the table.

Wei Yingluo gave the soup a regretful glance, then withdrew her gaze and looked at him. “Your Majesty is in excellent health, in the prime of your years. You look no older than thirty-four or thirty-five. But for a woman at this age, it’s completely different. Facing the loss of youthful beauty naturally puts one in a bad mood—it’s only human.”

Hongli gave a snort of laughter. “Yingluo, you’ve aged too!”

Wei Yingluo rolled her eyes. “No matter how old I get, I’m still sixteen years younger than Your Majesty… Ah!”

“Still dare to say it?” Hongli reached out and pinched her cheek as if pinching a lump of rubber.

“No more, no more!” Wei Yingluo struggled. “I’m already this old—Your Majesty, please stop pinching my face! What if you pinch wrinkles into it? Let go! Let go!”

Step-Empress stood silently outside the door, listening to the laughter and cheerful voices inside.

In an instant, the bowl of iced lotus seed soup in her hands felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Her ten fingers could no longer bear the weight; it seemed the bowl would slip and fall at any second.

“…No need to announce me,” Step-Empress called out to stop Li Yu, who was about to go in and report. Forcing a smile, she said, “I’ll go back first. Make sure His Majesty doesn’t drink too much of this iced lotus seed soup—it might upset his stomach.”

Li Yu acknowledged with a “Yes, Your Ladyship,” took the bowl from her hands, and watched her somewhat desolate retreating figure. He couldn’t help shaking his head and thinking to himself: How pitiful.

She commanded the six palaces with awe-inspiring authority, yet the way His Majesty treated her compared to the way he treated Noble Consort Ling was like heaven and earth.

Back at Chengqian Palace, Step-Empress stood in front of the mirror for a moment. Suddenly she shed every trace of the dignified, virtuous demeanor she usually wore. With one sweep of her arm, she sent all the rouge, powder, and cosmetics on the table crashing to the floor. Then, like someone gone mad, she roared:

“They’re laughing at me! They’re all laughing at me!”

“Your Ladyship!” Zhener rushed over and hugged her tightly. “Every woman will grow old. Noble Consort Ling will grow old too!”

“Her?” Step-Empress gave a scornful laugh and turned her head. “But she’s ten years younger than me—ten years younger than this old woman!”

Zhener was at a complete loss for what to do when a man’s voice suddenly cut in, calm and light:

“The Empress Dowager has also grown old.”

Both women turned toward the sound. Yuan Chunwang had entered the room at some point. He closed the door behind him with one hand, then smiled at the two of them.

“Your Ladyship the Empress, the Empress Dowager is nearly seventy, yet she never worries. Do you know why?”

The topic was growing increasingly dangerous. Zhener’s expression changed; she was about to speak up to stop him when Step-Empress quietly said:

“…You mean to say she relies on her son, not her husband—is that it?”

“Your Ladyship is wise.” Yuan Chunwang smiled. “The difference between the two… Your Ladyship, have you truly thought it through?”

The Step-Empress stared at him coldly for a long moment before suddenly saying, “Go to the Bureau of Careful Punishment and receive forty strokes.”

Whether she had thought it through or not, a mere servant—a servant with a stained record—daring to instigate such greatly irreverent thoughts in his master deserved punishment.

“Yes.” Yuan Chunwang did not defend himself; he accepted the penalty with perfect obedience.

Zhener, however, who loved him deeply and could not bear to see him suffer, opened her mouth to plead for him—only to be met with a fierce glare from the Step-Empress. The words died on her lips.

“Zhener, if what he just said ever gets out, it will inevitably implicate me. If not for your sake, I would have him beaten to death on the spot!” The Step-Empress’s face was dark and grim. “Do not plead for him, and do not mention this matter again!”

She kept insisting that no one speak of it again, yet for several consecutive days she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Whether her eyes were open or closed, the same thought haunted her—Yuan Chunwang’s words.

“The difference between the two… Your Ladyship, have you truly thought it through?”

The Step-Empress refused to think about it, yet she could not suppress the idea. Tormented, more white hairs appeared. When she opened the drawer and saw the growing pile of white strands inside, she began taking dried placenta—essentially, dried infant placenta. The substance had an extremely strong, fishy smell; even when covered with thick layers of scented powder, a faint odor still clung to her.

Hongli naturally noticed it, but he only shook his head and said to those around him, “Never mind. The Empress wants to preserve her youth forever. As Yingluo once said, it’s only human nature—no need to pursue the matter.”

Since he knew, Wei Yingluo naturally knew as well. After a sigh and a few words of lament, she set it aside and picked up a fan painted with a scene of a small bridge, flowing water, and a beauty washing gauze.

“I like this one.”

Then she picked up a piece of zongzi candy, held it up to the sunlight, and examined it. “I like this too.”

“The zongzi candy is for Ninth Sister.” A hand reached over from the opposite side, took back the candy, and then went for the fan in her other hand. “The fan is for Seventh Sister.”

Both of Wei Yingluo’s hands were suddenly empty. She hurriedly hugged the last item—a wooden New Year picture print—to her chest.

“This is for Little Fifteen,” Yongqi said, leaving her with nothing at all.

Wei Yingluo’s eyes widened. “And mine?”

On the table and floor lay a large pile of gifts: brightly colored silks, a craftsman-made wooden horse, fragrant and soft pastries. Yongqi pointed to them one by one:

“Seventh Sister’s… Ninth Sister’s… Little Fifteen’s… Little Fifteen’s again… still Little Fifteen’s…”

Wei Yingluo waited eagerly the whole time. When the very last gift was assigned, she immediately flared up: “Look at you—so biased! Not only do I get nothing, but even my younger sisters got fewer things than Little Fifteen!”

“Seventh Sister and Ninth Sister have the Empress Dowager doting on them; they get the very best of everything in food, clothing, and daily use. But Little Fifteen—” Yongqi advised gently, “when he was little his health was poor. You took him running around wildly for two whole years. Now he’s a very healthy child. Still, he can’t keep idling like this forever. As a prince, if he remains uneducated and unskilled, how will he establish himself in the future? Once he grows sensible, he will blame you. From now on, I’ll take charge of his studies.”

This child was good in every way except that he loved to lecture. Halfway through, Wei Yingluo grew impatient and hurriedly interrupted: “I know, I know! Isn’t there a firearms demonstration today? Let’s go already! Leave all these gifts here—I’ll give them to the children.”

Yongqi looked at her suspiciously. “Really?”

Wei Yingluo quickly swore, “Really!”

“Fine then.” Yongqi stood up. “I’ll ask Little Fifteen later and see whether you secretly kept any for yourself.”

Wei Yingluo replied with perfect seriousness: “I’m not a child. Do I really care about these little trinkets?”

The moment Yongqi left, she immediately turned to Xiaoquanzi, still wearing that same solemn expression: “Hide everything.”

Xiaoquanzi blinked. “Hide what?”

Wei Yingluo chuckled with a slyness to the face, rapidly fanning herself with the fan that had been intended for her daughter, then took out the zongzi candy meant for her son and ate it—two pieces at once. “Look how stingy he is! I was planning to pocket it all anyway!”

Xiaoquanzi also chuckled. “The gifts for the two Princess and Fifteenth Prince were already sent over this morning. All of these are actually for you. Just now, Fifth Prince was deliberately teasing you!”

The chewing motion stopped abruptly. Wei Yingluo looked at the table and floor covered with gifts, feeling both touched and stifled. After a long while, she finally sighed, “Yongqi really is such a good child…”

“Isn’t he just?” Xiaoquanzi helped gather up all the zongzi candies, smiling as he said, “Fifth Brother said you’ve been coughing a bit lately. Although these mint zongzi candies are cooling and soothing to the lungs, they’re still sweets—too much isn’t good. You can only have one a day. Today’s portion is already finished… oh, and tomorrow’s portion is finished too.”

Wei Yingluo immediately withdrew her touched feeling: “All the praise I just gave—taken back!”

The older Yongqi grew, the more mature he became, while she seemed to be growing younger with age. Right now she was actually throwing a childish tantrum—refusing to let her eat, yet insisting on eating anyway. Xiaoquanzi tried to stop her for quite a while. Suddenly, Zhenzhu rushed in from outside, drenched in sweat, her face deathly pale, and cried out, “It’s bad! Fifth Brother—he, Fifth Brother he…”

Wei Yingluo froze. “What happened to Yongqi?”

Almost at the same moment, inside Chengqian Palace.

“Your Ladyship.” Yuan Chunwang stood behind the Step-Empress, holding a horn comb and slowly combing through her long hair. “Today Fifth Brother’s bird gun misfired. He fell from a startled horse and broke his leg. The imperial physicians said… it can’t be healed.”

The Step-Empress was stunned for a long time before suddenly asking, “…Was this your doing?”

STORY OF YANXI PALACE CHAPTERS HOME

  

   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 187: Making a Decision

   With a loud clatter, Yongqi turned his head and couldn’t help but frown slightly.

It was the Fourth Prince, Yongcheng—who, for some reason, had become irritated with the bow in his hand and simply threw it to the ground.

Among the three, the youngest boy—the Twelfth Prince, Yongji—advised him: “Fourth Brother! How many times has Royal Father told you not to take out your anger on objects? How have you forgotten again?”

“Twelfth, since when is it your place to lecture your Fourth Brother? No manners!” Yongcheng said darkly, though his gaze was fixed in Yongqi’s direction.

Yongqi smiled slightly and walked over: “I heard that Fourth Brother was injured in the arm during the hunt not long ago. It must not have fully healed yet. There’s no need to rush—taking proper care of the injury is what matters most.”

Among the three, Yongcheng was the oldest. In literary pursuits he couldn’t compare to Yongqi; in martial skills he still couldn’t compare to Yongqi. Under the constant—sometimes intentional, sometimes unintentional—comparisons from others, he had long harbored resentment toward this exceptionally talented younger brother. Having now lost to him again in archery, his anger was already smoldering. Yongqi’s words had been intended as a face-saving way out for him, but in Yongcheng’s ears they sounded like provocation.

Just as he was about to retort sarcastically, a hand suddenly reached down and picked up the bow from the ground.

Yongqi followed the hand upward and, seeing who it belonged to, a flash of delight appeared in his eyes: “Master Fucha!”

His temples touched with frost, Fucha Fuheng was no longer the elegant young nobleman of years past. The battlefield had weathered his features, giving him a much more seasoned appearance—yet it had also added the mature allure of a grown man, like a fine wine that grows richer and more fragrant with age.

As both a great general of the dynasty and a former instructor in mounted archery to several of the princes, everyone had to address him respectfully as “Master” in his presence and dared not act carelessly. Fuheng handed the bow back to Yongcheng: “Fourth Prince, do you remember the incident when the official in charge, Guicheng, drew his bow in front of His Majesty? Because of a momentary carelessness the arrow shaft broke, and he was fined six months’ salary. Do you know why?”

Yongcheng was taken aback.

“Perhaps because the realm is now at peace, some people have forgotten… that the Great Qing won its dominion on horseback.” Fuheng spoke calmly. “Every year during the Mulan hunt, His Majesty personally examines the riding and archery skills of the princes, nobles, civil and military officials—to ensure that everyone never forgets this truth. Guicheng was ill in bed for half a year and could not draw a bow—yet he was still punished. Even though you are injured, Fourth Prince, you must not grow lax. In His Majesty’s presence, there is no room for excuses.”

But Yongcheng did not feel this was said for his own good; instead he felt Fuheng was stepping in to defend Yongqi. He immediately scoffed with a sneer: “Many thanks for Master Fucha’s reminder. I will remember it!”

He snatched his bow back, unwilling to deal with either of them any longer, and turned to walk toward the far end of the training ground. Behind him came the sound of Fuheng and Yongqi’s conversation.

“Fifth Prince, regarding the firearm improvement you mentioned to me last time…”

“Nowadays most of the Green Standard Army’s bird muskets have thin, hollow barrels. During drills they’re mostly used on flat ground, but in actual combat when firing downward, the powder ignites before the bullet has even left the barrel…”

Yongcheng glanced back and saw the two of them already walking side by side away from the training ground.

With no one else around, he no longer needed to pretend. He viciously hurled the bow in his hand to the ground. The noise was so loud that the nearby Yongji turned to look.

“What are you staring at?” Yongcheng sneered. “I advise you to throw away that bow in your hand sooner rather than later. After all, Royal Father has already said it—the Fifth Prince is the most outstanding among us. What’s the point of us even trying?”

No matter how hard they tried… in the end, wouldn’t that position still go to him?

Just as new leaves replace the old on a tree, just as fresh blossoms replace the faded ones on a branch—when the young grow up, it is also the time when one generation ages and fades away.

Chengqian Palace.

As usual, Zhener was combing Step-Empress’s hair when suddenly her right hand clenched and slipped behind her back.

“Take it out,” Step-Empress said slowly and calmly.

Zhener hesitated for a moment, then brought the hidden hand forward and slowly opened it. Lying in her palm was a single white hair.

This was not the first one.

Step-Empress said nothing. After a long silence, she quietly pulled open a small drawer in the vanity box and placed the white hair inside… together with yesterday’s, the day before’s, and the one from the day before that…

An entire bundle.

When any single thing accumulates in sufficient quantity, it becomes startling.

For example, a single wrinkle on the face is nothing much, but once a dozen of them cluster together, any woman would go mad.

“The mistress of the six palaces—big matters, small matters, everything falls on her shoulders. No wonder she ages faster than anyone else.” Step-Empress sighed. “No wonder…”

“No wonder what?” Zhener asked.

“Back then I asked Consort-Ling—no, now she’s Noble Consort-Ling—why she didn’t want to be Empress. She said she couldn’t do it, that she didn’t have the fate for so much worrying. Look at these past ten years: she eats whatever is delicious, plays whatever is fun. The other day I looked at her carefully—her hair is still glossy black, not a single white strand. Really… a woman in her thirties…” Step-Empress gave a distant smile, “…and yet she lives like a child.”

“That’s just her being selfish and shameless!” Zhener curled her lip in disdain. “A few years ago when the Empress Dowager didn’t favor her, she had the nerve to send Seventh Princess to Shoukang Palace. After that the Empress Dowager couldn’t keep up the cold face anymore. And that wasn’t even the end of it—six years ago when Lady Qing was promoted to Consort Qing, Wei Yingluo wanted to win her over so badly that she even sent Fifteenth Prince away! I really can’t understand it!”

At first Step-Empress hadn’t understood either. Now she did.

“Doesn’t she always say, ‘A woman must first treat herself as a person’?” Step-Empress said. “I see now—she loves no one in the world except herself. She treasures herself like a pearl.”

Besides, the princes and princesses have their own wet-nurses and nannies to take care of them. When they grow older, respected scholars are invited to teach them. Whether they are raised in one’s own palace or sent elsewhere, it makes little difference. Sending them to be raised by others even sounds better on paper.

In any case, it’s not as if they will never see each other again. Once classes are over, don’t those princes and princesses still run straight to Yanxi Palace? Noble Consort-Ling gets all the good reputation and benefits, while she herself…?

“Royal Mother!”

The young boy’s voice carried a trace of pain. Step-Empress started and turned around. “Yongji, what’s wrong?”

Yongji had been helped back by someone. The person supporting him was tall and slender, strikingly handsome. Past a certain age, most people—man or woman—begin to show some sign of aging. Especially men: if they’re not careful, their bodies grow stout, extra layers of flesh appear under the chin, and if they become the least bit lazy, needle-like stubble covers the entire lower face.

None of these things had happened to him.

Because he was a eunuch—or rather, the most beautiful eunuch in this Forbidden City.

—Yuan Chunwang.

   “Your Ladyship, Twelfth Prince practiced archery under the blazing sun for two full hours. The skin on his hands is completely worn away,” Yuan Chunwang said. “This servant just had the imperial physician bandage and apply medicine. The physician instructed that he must not draw a bow again for at least a month.”

Step-Empress hurried over, took Yongji’s hands and kept examining them. The more she looked, the more her heart ached. Unable to hold back, she said, “Silly child, why do you push yourself so hard?”

“Royal Mother, don’t be sad. I don’t hurt at all,” Yongji said, his small face covered in sweat from the pain, yet forcing himself to smile. “Don’t worry—once my hands are healed, I will definitely win first place in riding and archery and bring honor to Royal Mother!”

The Step-Empress was stunned upon hearing this.

After Zhener supported Yongji and left, the Step-Empress sat alone in front of the diamond-patterned mirror in a daze, asking herself inwardly: Had she been too harsh on Yongji?

Yuan Chunwang stood behind her. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the bundle of white hair in the drawer. The corner of his lips lifted in an almost imperceptible arc as he reached out and picked up the ox-horn comb on the table.

“Empress,” he said, gently combing through the Step-Empress’s long hair stroke by stroke. “This servant has something to report.”

“What is it?” In the mirror, the Step-Empress smiled, a trace of mockery in her expression. “If it’s about trying to persuade me to deal with Wei Yingluo again, then spare your breath.”

Nothing could be hidden from her. She was the cleverest woman in the Forbidden City. But even the cleverest woman has her weaknesses.

“It concerns the matter of establishing the heir,” Yuan Chunwang said as he plucked out one white hair from her head. “There is news that His Majesty intends to appoint the Fifth Prince as Crown Prince.”

The Step-Empress said nothing, but her eyes were locked tightly on that single white hair in his hand.

“Empress,” Yuan Chunwang spoke in a tone that was half seduction, half persuasion, “it is time you considered the Twelfth Prince.”

In the past he would never have said this—because it would have been useless. But times had changed. That single white hair was a reminder to the Step-Empress: she was growing old. In the harem, women fought for favor when they were young; when they grew older, they fought to become Empress Dowager.

   Moreover, if one of the other princes became Crown Prince, it might still be bearable—but the Fifth Prince… he was completely devoted to Consort-Ling.

   “…Let me think about it,” the Step-Empress said in a low, heavy voice.

The struggle for the throne was no child’s game. Its brutality far exceeded the fights in the harem. When one side fell, entire groups often collapsed with them. The Step-Empress could not possibly make such a decision lightly.

After closing the door to give the person inside time to think carefully, Yuan Chunwang turned around and saw that Zhener was already waiting for him at the doorway.

“What did you just say to Her Majesty the Empress?” She pulled him aside and asked in a low voice.

Yuan Chunwang merely smiled without answering.

“…You’re not thinking of using the Empress’s hand to deal with Noble Consort-Ling again, are you?” Worry filled Zhener’s eyes. “Have you forgotten the suffering you endured in the Bureau of Careful Punishment back then?”

“How could I forget?” Yuan Chunwang said softly, though a flash of ferocity passed through his eyes.

Back then he had received over a hundred strokes in the Bureau of Careful Punishment—his flesh torn open, blood and flesh mangled. And because he had offended the most favored Consort-Ling, even after his release he had nowhere to go. If Zhener had not knelt before the Step-Empress for days and nights on his behalf, the Step-Empress would never have allowed him back by her side.

For more than ten years he had behaved obediently and kept his head down—not because he had forgotten the enmity and hatred from back then, but because he was like a snake in winter, coiled and dormant.

Until today…

“Zhener,” Yuan Chunwang said with a gentle smile, “Her Majesty the Empress has enjoyed ten years of peace and has completely forgotten that the struggle for the throne is imminent. If the Fifth Prince ascends to the throne, the Twelfth Prince—with his status as the legitimate-born son—will become a thorn in the new Emperor’s eye, a dagger in his flesh.”

Zhener was stunned. “His Majesty is in good health. He has no intention of establishing a Crown Prince so early…”

“Once the edict naming the heir is placed inside the box behind the ‘Upright and Bright’ plaque, it will be too late,” Yuan Chunwang shook his head. He took her hand and spoke tenderly, “This is for the Twelfth Prince, for Her Majesty the Empress… and for us.”

Zhener’s face flushed. Finally, she gave a small nod. “I’ll listen to you.”

Yuan Chunwang curved his lips into a smile and reached up to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Shy, Zhener lowered her head—and thus did not see the cold gleam that flashed through his eyes.

“If you cannot make up your mind,” Yuan Chunwang thought as he looked toward the main door, “then let me give you the final push…”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 186: An Appointment

   It is either the east wind that overpowers the west wind, or the west wind that overpowers the east wind. Today, the contest between Yanxi Palace and Chengqian Palace would finally see a clear victor.

Li Yu arrived at Chengqian Palace in a hurry, leading a group of people. He paid his respects: “This servant greets Her Majesty the Empress.”

The Step-Empress forced a smile. “Why has Chief Eunuch Li come here?”

Li Yu pointed at Yuan Chunwang. “Seize him!”

The eunuchs surged forward and grabbed Yuan Chunwang.

Yuan Chunwang struggled but did not dare resist too fiercely. He could only lift his head to look at Li Yu: “Eunuch Li, what is the meaning of this?”

Li Yu smiled coyishly. “Yuan Chunwang, was it not you who, on His Majesty’s orders, cut off all food supplies to Yanxi Palace?”

Yuan Chunwang’s heart jolted, yet on the surface he cried injustice: “Consort Ling suffers from a stomach ailment, which is why she is supplied only plain congee each day. This servant did it for Consort Ling’s own good!”

“What stomach ailment? Consort Ling has been carrying the dragon fetus for more than three months—the dates match exactly with those recorded by the palace historian.” Li Yu flicked his horsetail whisk. “If you wish to explain, do it at the Shixing Division. Take him away!”

To “invite” him to the Shixing Division was naturally not an invitation for tea.

“Chief Eunuch Yuan, forgive the offense!”

One blow after another landed heavily on Yuan Chunwang’s back. He clenched his teeth and made no sound. Soon the clothing on his back was soaked through with blood.

“Look at that—we slaves serve our masters loyally; that’s only right and proper. But one must also know how to weigh the risks. To end up like this—millennia of cultivation lost in a single morning—what a pity!” The duty officer gloated as he lectured the two young eunuchs beside him. “Don’t blame your master for not teaching you: in the Forbidden City, rises and falls happen all the time. Don’t be so eager to stomp on someone the moment they stumble. Step carelessly on a hibernating snake, and you’ll end up paying for it with your own life!”

“Who are you calling a snake?” Xiaoquanzi suddenly appeared from behind him, smiling sweetly as he asked.

The duty officer jumped three feet into the air. When he saw who it was, without another word he began slapping his own face: “Eunuch Quan! Look at this rotten mouth of mine—it deserves to be beaten, deserves to be beaten!”

He slapped himself repeatedly with loud smacks, then barked at the two young eunuchs to fetch a stool and serve tea.

Xiaoquanzi wasn’t short of that sip of tea anyway, and he had no desire to linger any longer in this sunless, dismal place. He waved his hand dismissively: “Fine, let him go.”

Yuan Chunwang, who had remained utterly silent until now, slowly lifted his head: “…Are you here to mock me?”

Yes—mockery.

What else could it possibly be?

Yuan Chunwang simply could not believe that Wei Yingluo would really let him go…

“You’ve been pardoned,” Xiaoquanzi said with contempt as he looked down at him. “Also, Consort Ling has a message for you: what she owed you, she has repaid in full this time. From now on, bridges are bridges, roads are roads—each of you goes your separate ways. You owe each other nothing!”

Yuan Chunwang’s expression changed instantly.

“…Stop!” He struggled to his feet and shouted at Xiaoquanzi’s retreating back: “Go back and tell her—she can never repay what she owes me in a lifetime! Don’t even think she can cut ties with me so easily! Don’t even think it!”

Everything that happened in the Shixing Division was naturally reported to Step-Empress.

With a thud, Zhener knelt before her, attempting to plead for Yuan Chunwang: “Your Ladyship…”

“Do you know why Li Yu didn’t wait until Yuan Chunwang had left the palace gates before arresting him?” Step-Empress asked without turning around, as she toyed with the parrot on its stand.

Zhener froze.

“Consort Ling suffered, and the Emperor blamed me for it. This was his way of punishing Yuan Chunwang in public—to humiliate me in front of everyone!” Step-Empress said sharply. “Under these circumstances, how could you expect me to speak up for him?”

A person must first protect themselves before they can afford to care for others.

Right now, Step-Empress was barely able to protect herself. She even had to temporarily bow her head to Wei Yingluo due to the circumstances. At a moment like this, how could she possibly spare any effort to save Yuan Chunwang?

Zhener understood at last. She lowered her head and wept silently.

“…You’re twenty-nine this year,” Step-Empress sighed, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Ordinary palace maids are sent out of the palace at twenty-five. Only you couldn’t bear to leave me and have stayed by my side all this time.”

“Your Ladyship…” Zhener raised her tear-filled eyes.

“I’ve long prepared a dowry for you, and I’ve even selected several reliable men for you to choose from—but you rejected every single one.” Step-Empress asked gently, “Tell me the truth: have you fallen for Yuan Chunwang?”

Her words struck directly at the heart of the matter. Zhener hurriedly lowered her head again, but the tips of her ears slowly flushed red with embarrassment.

“Yuan Chunwang has an exceptionally handsome appearance. Spending day after day with him, it’s only natural that fanciful thoughts might arise. Unfortunately, in the matter of Consort Ling, someone must take responsibility.” Step-Empress’s tone grew serious. “Moreover, that man is ruthless and cruel—he is truly not a good match. Zhener, you should find someone else to like.”

With that, Step-Empress ended the conversation. She ordered her palace servants to prepare several chests of gifts, then set out with full ceremonial pomp and procession toward Yanxi Palace.

Upon arrival, she was greeted by Wei Yingluo, who stood waiting with her prominently pregnant belly—clearly having received advance notice. The moment she saw Step-Empress, she smiled and asked: “Has Your Ladyship come to plead for Yuan Chunwang?”

“He’s merely a servant—I don’t take him seriously at all,” Step-Empress replied with a faint, indifferent smile. “Consort Ling, my dear sister, carrying the imperial heir and extending the royal line—this is such wonderful news. Of course I had to come personally to offer my congratulations.”

She glanced at the table, which was piled high with gifts: from jewelry and precious ornaments to silks and satins, from rare books and calligraphy to antique curios—some sent by other consorts, others bestowed by Hongli himself. Every item was of the finest quality.

“Look at the furnishings in this hall,” Step-Empress said, making no pretense of ignoring them. She walked slowly around the room, her expression one of appreciation. “From the smallest ruyi incense burners to the largest rosewood tables and chairs—everything matches His Majesty’s tastes perfectly. It’s clear how much care the Emperor has put into you.”

Wei Yingluo gave her a sidelong glance, knowing full well that the next words out of her mouth would surely begin with “but…”

“But…” The Step-Empress suddenly shifted her tone, her smile fading. “You are indeed clever and dedicated, but let me remind you of one thing: no matter how much favor you gain, I am the Empress of the Great Qing, and no one can replace me!”

Her words made Wei Yingluo instantly understand her true purpose.

Rather than a visit to check on her, this was more about marking her territory. Wei Yingluo smiled. “Do you know what I just sent Xiaoquanzi to do?”

The Step-Empress raised an eyebrow.

Wei Yingluo: “I told him to take yesterday’s unused yam and goat milk soup to Yangxin Hall and exchange it for a plate of Suzhou-style braised pork.”

The Step-Empress let out a scoff. “You really have some nerve!”

Wei Yingluo replied confidently, “That’s right! I dare to do anything, and I can do anything—that’s the privilege of a favored consort! But if I were to become Empress, bound by rules and restrictions at every turn, I could never manage it!”

The Step-Empress fixed her with a steady gaze for a moment before saying slowly, “You’re telling me you have no ambitions.”

Wei Yingluo smiled. “As long as Your Majesty the Empress doesn’t provoke me, I naturally have no ambitions.”

The Step-Empress: “And if you give birth to a prince, will you truly not plan for his future?”

“With His Majesty’s temperament, would he ever allow the harem to influence the choice of heir?” Wei Yingluo burst into laughter, as if a weight had lifted from her heart, allowing her to speak freely and unrestrained. “Let me be frank with you: I, Wei Yingluo, have never feared a fight. The more I fight, the more invigorated I become. If you wish to continue, I’ll keep you company to the end! But you can’t bring me down, and I can’t topple you. All this fighting back and forth is nothing but wasted effort! You’ve softened your stance today, clearly seeking peace, so why keep testing me? I’ll say this clearly: instead of fighting to the death, why not call a truce and let us both live in peace?”

“You’re certainly straightforward!” The Step-Empress laughed, thinking to herself: This woman’s next word will surely be ‘but’…

“But,” Wei Yingluo said, right on cue, “I have one condition.”

If she hadn’t mentioned any conditions at all, the Step-Empress would have doubted her sincerity.

The Step-Empress: “Speak.”

Wei Yingluo gently caressed her abdomen, her previously spirited expression softening instantly. “Your Majesty the Empress must promise me that no matter the time or the circumstance, you will never harm a child.”

The Step-Empress, sharp as ever, asked, “Your child, or someone else’s?”

Wei Yingluo looked at her deeply and emphasized, “The children of the Forbidden City!”

The Step-Empress sneered, “I have no interest in harming innocent children. To suggest otherwise underestimates me!”

“Good! As long as Your Majesty keeps your word, the Forbidden City will remain calm, and all will be at peace!” Wei Yingluo extended a hand. “Let us make a pact!”

The Step-Empress struck her palm in agreement. “It’s a deal!”

Their hands clasped, and from that moment, the Forbidden City knew peace.

   Time passed, year after year. The gardenia flowers in front of Yanxi Palace bloomed and fell. Though rivalries and struggles persisted in the harem, they no longer endangered the children.

   On the rare occasions when the Step-Empress couldn’t restrain herself, consorts—whether pregnant or leading their children—would kneel before Yanxi Palace, and she would reluctantly back down. The courtyard filled with gardenia flowers became a sanctuary for the children, guarding them and protecting them as they grew up safely.

The consorts who benefited from her protection and knew the truth couldn’t help but sigh: “With her here, tragedies like that of the former Empress will never happen again.”

The tender cries of “Your Ladyship Consort Ling” gradually turned into clear, confident calls of “Your Ladyship Mother Consort Ling.” In the blink of an eye, the children she had cared for—those who had flown kites and caught crickets with her—had grown into dashing young men and graceful young women.

In the 30th year of Qianlong’s reign, at the martial training field:

   From left to right, two young men and a boy held bows and arrows, aiming at the targets ahead.

With a whoosh, the arrows flew from their bows, their tips striking the targets with a series of sharp thud-thud-thud sounds.

A eunuch announced in a singsong voice: “The Fifth Prince fired thirty arrows and hit thirty.”

The young man standing in the very center lowered his bow, revealing a handsome and refined face. His demeanor was that of a scholar from the Wenyuan Pavilion; it was hard to believe he was actually a divine archer who never missed.

The boy had grown up—this was none other than the Fifth Prince, Yongqi, whom Consort Yu had entrusted to Wei Yingluo. Although Wei Yingluo herself had little interest in raising children, this boy had possessed a steady temperament from a young age. Even without anyone supervising him, he still studied books and practiced martial arts every day without ever slacking.

And so, little by little, he had grown into the most outstanding among all the princes.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 185: Madness

   Ever since hearing those words from Wei Yingluo, Hongli had been mad with joy.

Everything under heaven, every inch of land within his domain—as long as it was something he possessed—he wanted to place it before Wei Yingluo to win her favor.

Even when she wanted to enter Baoyue Tower to see Chenbi one last time, he hesitated only briefly before agreeing—though he refused to let her go alone and sent a large group of people to accompany her.

The grand procession arrived at Baoyue Tower amid great bustle. Almost every window and door were surrounded by several eunuchs, some holding wooden planks, others raising hammers, busily nailing the doors and windows shut. Since Hongli had been able to build Baoyue Tower for Chenbi, he could just as easily build her a prison that would never see daylight again.

When they saw Wei Yingluo approaching, the eunuchs immediately stopped their work: “This servant greets Your Ladyship Consort Ling.”

Wei Yingluo paid them no attention. She stared blankly at the nailed-shut doors and windows.

“Your Ladyship, you mustn’t feel any sympathy for Consort Rong,” Xiaoquanzi hurriedly leaned in beside her. “All the suffering you endured while confined—she ought to taste some of it too!”

Wei Yingluo shook her head with a faint smile, not bothering to respond.

Xiaoquanzi, that opportunist, had ultimately bet on the right side. Though he had once defected to the Step-Empress, in the end he had firmly planted himself on Wei Yingluo’s side and even helped her severely sabotage Chenbi. For that reason, Wei Yingluo had ultimately kept him by her side.

“Stand guard outside,” Wei Yingluo ordered, then prepared to step into Baoyue Tower.

“Your Ladyship, no—please don’t!” Xiaoquanzi was greatly alarmed. “I’ve heard Consort Rong has gone mad. She cries and screams all day, and she scratches people without warning!”

“Stand guard outside!” Wei Yingluo spoke with the authority of a mistress. Once she had made up her mind, he only needed to obey.

Sure enough, Xiaoquanzi proved himself a useful servant. Seeing that Wei Yingluo’s decision was final, he shut his mouth and stood motionless at the entrance like a wooden statue.

Wei Yingluo ascended the stairs of Baoyue Tower step by step.

The higher she climbed, the dimmer the light became. Only an occasional thin ray of sunlight slipped through the gaps between the wooden planks, drawing crisscrossing lines on the floor.

She found Chenbi on the top floor.

The vast open space—once her dancing hall—was now empty except for dust. Chenbi sat in the center of the room with her back to Wei Yingluo, her head tilted as she hummed a childish nursery rhyme.

Wei Yingluo walked around to face her, sat down, lifted her chin, and stared at her for a long moment before suddenly smiling: “You’ve grasped the art of feigning madness as a means of survival quite well.”

The singing stopped abruptly. The crooked head slowly straightened. Chenbi brushed the disheveled hair from her face. Having been deprived of sunlight for so long, her skin was pale as paper. “You came.”

Wei Yingluo: “Yes, I came.”

Chenbi giggled: “Why have you come?”

Wei Yingluo: “I came to tell you that because of this assassination attempt, your three elder brothers have been implicated. Those who were to be beheaded were beheaded; those sentenced to exile were exiled.”

The moment Chenbi heard this, she suddenly covered her face. Sobs leaked out from between her fingers, as though in the next instant she would burst into loud weeping.

Yet Wei Yingluo said: “There’s no need to act in front of me.”

“…Ha…” Chenbi slowly lowered her hands, revealing—not tears—but a smiling face. “Hahahahaha!!”

Wei Yingluo stared fixedly at her: “Chenbi, at first I didn’t understand. You had so many opportunities to kill the Emperor—why choose to assassinate him in public? You clearly knew that once you did it this way, your brothers would surely lose their lives!”

Chenbi was still laughing—laughing unrestrained, wildly, joyfully!

Seeing her like this, an answer finally rose in Wei Yingluo’s mind. She murmured: “So… what you’ve wanted all along… was their lives.”

Perhaps because she was in such a good mood, Chenbi actually laughed and gave her a straightforward confirmation: “Yes. I wanted their lives.”

Wei Yingluo was silent for a moment before asking: “Can you tell me why?”

“I’ve already gotten what I wished for—there’s nothing I can’t tell you now.” Chenbi seemed like a horse that had finally shaken off its reins, a bird released from its cage; her whole body radiated ease. She casually sat down right on the floor—as though the cold marble of Baoyue Tower were instead the lush, green grassland. Smiling, she said: “Tuerdu day and night coveted the great authority of the Huolan tribe. After helping the Qing army exterminate the rebel leaders, he scoured the entire tribe for beauties to present as tribute to the Emperor of Great Qing! In the end, he chose me!”

Wei Yingluo: “I already know about this!”

Chenbi: “Then do you know that he got me drunk with wine and put me on a carriage? When I woke up, they told me: if I wanted my son to live safely, I had to obey obediently. With no other choice, I agreed.”

Wei Yingluo: “Since you agreed, why stir up trouble?”

Chenbi giggled again: “Halfway along the road, the maid accompanying me could bear it no longer. She told me that my son, Asha had secretly slipped out to search for me, but was discovered by Tuerdu and the others. They pursued him through the night. In a moment of carelessness, he fell into a trap set for catching wild beasts! He fell… fell until his flesh was mangled and bloody!”

What happened afterward needed no further explanation.

Chenbi had originally intended to follow her son in death, but unexpectedly she was rescued by Fuheng. Since he wanted her to live a life worse than death, she saw no reason not to repay him in kind—using his own methods against him.

“I came to the Forbidden City not to win favor, but for revenge. I wanted to see the Emperor kill Fuheng, then kill you, and finally tell him the truth—so he would live the rest of his life in torment.” Chenbi sighed. “I was only one step away from succeeding. That one step… so close, yet worlds apart.”

The word “love” runs deep once it takes hold.

Chenbi had been only one step away from entering Hongli’s heart. Yet even if she had crossed that step, she would have found that in that not-particularly-large heart there was already someone living inside—leaving no room for anyone else.

That was the true meaning of “so close, yet worlds apart”—utterly despairing… From the very beginning, Chenbi’s plan was doomed to fail. Because that proud and fiercely protective heart would desperately shield the one person who truly resided within it.

“Enough.” Wei Yingluo stood up. “We’ve said all there is to say. It’s time for us to part ways.”

Chenbi watched her retreating back and giggled: “By the way, I heard you’re pregnant.”

Wei Yingluo’s footsteps halted.

“Congratulations,” Chenbi said. For the first time, a trace of envy colored her voice. “Your child will have a proper name and identity—and the most powerful, yet also the most petty and fiercely protective father in the world.”

“…Why have you never once mentioned a husband?” Wei Yingluo turned back to ask. “Where is your husband?”

Chenbi lowered her eyes for a moment, then said calmly: “I have no husband.”

Wei Yingluo was stunned: “No husband—then where did the son come from?”

An extremely strange smile appeared on Chenbi’s face: “A beautiful face isn’t always a good thing. They call her the tribe’s Holy Maiden, but in truth she was nothing more than a woman for entertaining guests. Where would a husband come from?”

Wei Yingluo stared fixedly at Chenbi. She opened her mouth as if to speak, yet no words came out—she didn’t know what to say.

   Beauty is a woman’s greatest weapon. Sometimes it can wound others; sometimes it only wounds oneself. Was Chenbi not intelligent enough? Was her background not distinguished enough? Or was her personality simply unlikable? No—she was clever, of noble birth, and her temperament was charming. Otherwise, she could never have toyed with so many people in the rear palace, making them love her to the depths of their souls while hating her with equal intensity.

   Yet such a rare person in this world—almost like a celestial maiden—had lived a life no different from that of a prostitute.

   She didn’t even know what surname her own child bore…

   Chenbi laughed: “Wei Yingluo, you are very fortunate. You met two men who truly love you. No matter how hard I tried with every trick I had, I still couldn’t make the Emperor fall in love with me. My tongue may be as eloquent as blooming lotuses, yet Fucha Fuheng still wants to protect you. I really want to know—which of these two men do you actually love?”

“Chenbi,” Wei Yingluo called softly.

Chenbi tilted her head, looking at her as though waiting for an answer.

But Wei Yingluo did not give her what she wanted. She buried the answer to that question deep in her heart and only said lightly, “Go mad. Stay mad for a lifetime—and that way, you can go on living.”

Chenbi froze.

Yingluo: “Take care of yourself.”

She descended the Baoyue Tower step by step. When she stepped out through the main gate, sunlight once again fell upon her. Behind her, that eerie nursery rhyme started up again—mingled with weeping and laughter, seeping out through the cracks in the windows and doors, echoing in everyone’s ears.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 184: Crime

   The person who had rolled out of the water barrel was not Wei Yingluo, but Xiaoquanzi.

Xiaoquanzi gave an obsequious smile: “Your Majesty, please forgive this humble servant. This slave was acting on the orders of Your Ladyship Consort Ling and hid inside the water barrel.”

Hongli let out a long breath of relief. Seeing Li Yu and the others looking at him, he immediately put on a stern face again: “What on earth is she playing at with all this trickery!”

Xiaoquanzi cast a sidelong glance at Chenbi: “My master said that someone in the Forbidden City intends to harm her. To draw that person out, she had this slave hide in the water cart!”

Hongli: “Summon Consort Ling!”

Li Yu: “Yes!”

It took Li Yu some time to locate Wei Yingluo in Yanxi Palace. To deceive Yuan Chunwang, she had swapped clothes with Xiaoquanzi. Then she had him lie in the room pretending to be ill and refusing to come out. Only when Li Yu came searching did she push open the door. She asked Li Yu to give her a moment to prepare herself—coughing all the while, she dabbed rouge onto her pale face to add a touch of color, freshened her appearance slightly, changed into formal attire, and only then emerged from Yanxi Palace.

Like a warrior who has finished arming herself, she set out for the battlefield that belonged to her alone.

The moment Hongli saw her, his eyes lit up—only to quickly darken again as he schooled his expression: “What exactly is going on here!”

“Consort Rong first tempted me to elope, then staged a grand ‘catching in the act’ drama.” Wei Yingluo curtsied to him, a faint mocking smile playing at the corner of her lips. “Unfortunately for her, neither ploy deceived Your Majesty.”

“Yingluo, even now you still quibble.” Chenbi sighed, as though grieving over her stubborn refusal to see reason. “His Majesty has already sent people to Xizhi Gate to search. I’m afraid it won’t be long before they bring Master Fucha back…”

Before she could finish speaking, two guards requested an audience, and walking beside them was Fuheng.

When she saw him, the corner of Chenbi’s lips lifted for a moment before quickly falling again. She said sadly: “Your Majesty, look—they really had arranged to meet outside Xizhi Gate.”

Fuheng gave her a calm glance, then turned to the guard beside him: “Speak.”

The guard looked at Chenbi in bewilderment before kowtowing to Hongli: “Your Majesty, there was only an empty carriage outside Xizhi Gate. This humble servant encountered the master on the way back to the palace to report—at Shenwu Gate!”

Chenbi’s delicate brows slowly furrowed. Her gaze darted back and forth between Fuheng and Wei Yingluo.

Fuheng spoke with perfect composure: “Your Majesty, that day Consort Rong suddenly appeared and incited this humble servant to take Consort Ling and flee far away. This servant found it truly unbearable and wished to report the matter to Your Majesty. But on second thought, I had no evidence in hand. Openly accusing a favored consort without proof would be hard to believe. With no other choice, I decided to cast a long line to catch the big fish—I pretended to agree…”

Before he could finish, Chenbi suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“So that’s how it is. The two of you joined forces to stage this entire performance.” Chenbi extended a finger tipped with nail polish, pointing first at Fuheng and then at Wei Yingluo. Her tone was innocently sweet yet laced with faint bitterness: “Was it all to make His Majesty suspect me?”

“Consort Rong,” Wei Yingluo said, calmly returning the very words the other woman had once used against her, “even now you still quibble.”

“Emperor, do you really think I’m the one framing them?” Chenbi clung to Hongli’s arm, gazing up at him with innocent eyes. “Even if I wanted to frame Consort Ling, why would I drag Lord Fucha into it? He’s my lifesaver!”

In the struggles among the imperial consorts, court officials were almost never involved. Moreover, if Chenbi truly wished to deal with Wei Yingluo, there were far better and subtler ways—she had no need to make the matter blow up to such proportions.

Hongli lowered his head to look at her and suddenly smiled. The smile was so strange that a chill ran down Chenbi’s back.

“Li Yu,” Hongli said, “bring the box that Hailancha sent by eight-hundred-li express.”

“Yes!” Li Yu immediately withdrew. When he returned, he was holding a wooden box covered in dust.

Hongli: “Open it.”

Li Yu opened the box. Inside lay a set of old children’s clothing from the Huolan tribe, a silver necklace, and small wooden toys—a hobby horse and a wooden sword.

They were the most ordinary of objects, yet the moment Chenbi saw them, her expression changed completely.

Hongli: “Fuheng, this is the reason Consort Rong framed you.”

Fuheng was stunned. “Your Majesty, this is—”

Hongli: “I sent people to the Huolan tribe. The very first thing I ordered was to investigate Consort Rong’s past. Tuerdu claimed she had remained unmarried for so long only because of her extraordinary beauty—she had been consecrated as the Holy Maiden of the Huolan tribe and served the heavenly gods year after year. But according to Huolan custom, the Holy Maiden steps down at the age of twenty, to be replaced by a newly chosen woman, while she herself marries in accordance with tribal tradition. Tuerdu tried his best to conceal it, but I still uncovered the truth!”

With every word he spoke, Chenbi’s expression grew colder. By the time he finished, she was no longer the innocent, radiant young girl. Perhaps this icy, unapproachable woman—cold as frost and distant from all—was the true Holy Maiden of the Huolan tribe.

Chenbi said coldly, “When did you start suspecting me?”

Hongli’s reply was firm and decisive: “Wei Yingluo would never, in a moment of anger, impulsively harm someone.”

In other words, from the very beginning, Hongli had stood on Wei Yingluo’s side. He did not believe she would stab anyone with scissors. He did not believe a single word that came out of Chenbi’s mouth.

Such blatant favoritism could only stem from one reason…

A warmth bloomed in Wei Yingluo’s heart. Their eyes met, and in that single glance, it was as though they had gazed at each other for ten thousand years.

Chenbi scoffed with icy disdain.

Wei Yingluo snapped back to the present and looked at her. “Chenbi… you’ve been married? You’ve borne a child?”

“Yes.” Chenbi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, exuding the languid air of a mature woman. “I was married. I gave birth to a child. And yet I was still sent into the palace—all to satisfy your Emperor’s lust. I was forced to be separated from my own flesh and blood.”

Fuheng suddenly understood. “That time you fell from the horse…”

“I did it on purpose,” Chenbi said calmly. Once the mask of innocence was removed, her true face revealed a faint weariness—an exhaustion with the world, with everyone in it, even with herself. “I wanted to die, but you wouldn’t let me. Do you know how much I hated you? I hated you so much I wanted to see you ruined and disgraced, so that in the end you’d do the same as me—jump from a cliff.”

“So that’s why you staged this entire elopement drama?” Wei Yingluo looked at her with complicated emotions. “You deliberately approached me, became my friend… all just to win my trust and then incite me to elope? I’ve never wronged you. You…”

“But he loves you.” Chenbi began to laugh. “The Emperor loves you too. Without you, how could the two of them turn against each other? How could they ruin their reputations? How could the whole world mock them? And how… could I ever vent this resentment?”

“Madwoman,” Wei Yingluo murmured. The same kind of madness—she felt she had only ever seen it in one other person: Erqing, that woman who, just to vent her own grudge, had caused countless innocent deaths.

“Yes, I’m mad. But this madwoman can’t go on the journey alone!” Chenbi suddenly raised her hand and yanked a long hairpin from her hair. The tip gleamed with cold light—it had long since been sharpened into a deadly weapon. Lowering her body, she charged straight toward Hongli, swift as an arrow loosed from a fully drawn bow.

“Your Majesty!”

Without a second thought, Wei Yingluo rushed straight toward Hongli.

But another figure moved even faster—almost in the blink of an eye, he placed himself between them. His broad, imposing back stood like the most loyal and unregretting shield.

…It was Fuheng.

Drip, drip, drip. Fresh blood fell from his horizontally outstretched arm. A hairpin was deeply embedded in his flesh.

“Seize her!” Hongli roared in fury, pointing at Chenbi and ordering the guards who had hurried in to protect him: “Lock her back in Baoyue Tower! Li Yu—where is Li Yu? Hurry and call the imperial physician!”

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

“Yingluo?” He turned his head in shock. “Yingluo, what’s wrong with you?”

Wei Yingluo had already been frail and weakened by illness, compounded by days of insufficient food and water. Now, after such a violent shock, she couldn’t catch her breath and fainted right onto Hongli’s shoulder.

Only when she was this close did Hongli notice that the flush on her face was merely rouge hastily applied. Holding her in his arms, he could feel nothing but bones. Panic and anger surged within him. He shouted frantically: “Li Yu! Li Yu! Useless fool—why isn’t the imperial physician here yet?”

Your Majesty, imperial physicians can’t fly! Swallowing those words, Li Yu could only reply: “This servant will go urge them at once—this servant will go urge them right now…”

Yangxin Hall descended into utter chaos. Under Hongli’s repeated urgings, half the entire imperial medical bureau crowded into the hall.

Before they could even reach a diagnosis, the Empress Dowager entered Yangxin Hall, supported by Aunt Liu’s arm. The first words out of her mouth were: “Release Chenbi at once!”

Hongli glanced back at Wei Yingluo, who lay unconscious on the bed. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly lifted the hem of his robe and knelt before the Empress Dowager.

“Empress Dowager.” Afraid she would blame Wei Yingluo, he took all the responsibility onto himself: “Chenbi is not the reincarnation of He’an…”

He calmly recounted the entire sequence of events. When he finished, the Empress Dowager pointed a trembling finger at Wei Yingluo on the bed and said in a shaking voice: “She dared—she actually dared… Guards!”

“Empress Dowager!” Hongli would never allow her to arrest someone in front of him. “This matter… I forced her to do it!”

The Empress Dowager was stunned.

Hongli continued: “First, to protect Consort Rong, and second, to make you happy…”

“I’m not blind!” The Empress Dowager let out a short, incredulous laugh, cutting him off. “Clearly she started this, yet you’re shouldering the entire blame. Your Majesty… is this how deeply you love her?”

Hongli was silent for a very long time—so long it seemed he was questioning his own heart. Finally, he slowly arrived at an answer: “Yes. I love her.”

The Empress Dowager stared at him in disbelief. An emperor falling so deeply in love with one woman—was this a blessing or a disaster? Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. At last, her expression darkened, and she said coldly: “I am the Empress Dowager. I have been played for a fool for so long. Your Majesty, I can forgive your filial piety—but I cannot forgive her!”

“Empress Dowager…” Hongli was taken aback. Suddenly he saw the deep fear hidden in her eyes.

She feared he would become addicted to beauty, feared he would repeat the mistakes of countless past rulers. She intended to find any pretext to eliminate Wei Yingluo once and for all!

Hongli’s own expression gradually grew grave. Calmly, he said: “Yingluo has already suffered greatly. From this day forward, I will not allow anyone to harm her.”

The two of them stood in tense confrontation, the situation on the verge of becoming irreconcilable—when Li Yu led an imperial physician over: “Your Majesty…”

“How is she?” Hongli kept his eyes fixed on the Empress Dowager, sparing only a fraction of his attention.

The physician replied: “Consort Ling is with child. Judging from the pulse, she is already more than three months along.”

“What did you say?” Hongli froze for a moment. Then he rose abruptly, rushed to the bedside, and carefully took Wei Yingluo’s hand. The gaze he fixed on her was as precious and reverent as an emperor regarding his imperial seal.

Watching this scene, the Empress Dowager’s expression became complicated. She gave Wei Yingluo on the bed one last look, then turned and left without another word.

“This child has arrived at exactly the right moment,” Hongli murmured, gently holding Wei Yingluo’s hand. “Even the Empress Dowager cannot harm you now.”

He suddenly smiled and lightly pinched her cheek with his other hand: “All right—you can wake up now.”

Wei Yingluo sighed and slowly opened her eyes, gazing at him with a complicated expression.

She had already been awake for some time, but she hadn’t dared open her eyes because the Empress Dowager had arrived.

Though her eyes were closed, her ears were not. She had heard every single word he said—heard him take all the blame upon himself, heard him protect her regardless of the cost, heard him say… “Yes, I love her.”

“Your Majesty…” Wei Yingluo parted her lips, hesitating.

Hongli’s expression suddenly became extremely tense.

“I…” Wei Yingluo said slowly.

Hongli grew even more uneasy. Even from such a distance, one could almost hear the pounding of his heart. He was afraid—afraid that Wei Yingluo didn’t want this child, afraid that the moment she opened her mouth she would demand a bowl of abortion decoction.

“I… am ready.” A single tear suddenly slipped from the corner of Wei Yingluo’s eye. One hand slowly moved to rest on her lower abdomen as she smiled and said, “I’m ready… to love you wholeheartedly. And I’m ready… to bear children for the one I love.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 183: Elopement

   The wild wind tousled the flowers; the moon floated over hills and valleys. Fuheng sat alone at his desk. Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling upon the ruby gardenia earring resting in the palm of his hand.

The gem shimmered with flowing light, much like her eyes—quietly gazing at him in silent depth.

In his ears echoed the words Chenbi had spoken that morning: “Tomorrow, the Empress Dowager will go to the Medicine King Temple to offer incense. Most of the guards will be reassigned away from the palace, leaving the security lax. That will be the only opportunity. If you truly intend to elope with her and fly far away, prepare a carriage and wait for her outside Xizhi Gate…”

He sighed, as though finally making up his mind, and gripped the earring tightly in his hand.

By a strange coincidence, in Yanxi Palace, Wei Yingluo lay on the cold bed and slowly opened her palm. In the center of her hand rested the same gardenia-red ruby earring.

In her ears, too, rang the words Chenbi had said that morning: “The Cangzhen Gate near Yanxi Palace is the route the water carts pass every day. That is your only chance.”

After tossing and turning for a long time, Wei Yingluo finally sighed, sat up on the bed.

Was it her imagination? The night seemed unusually quiet.

Yuan Chunwang was absent, and even Xiaoquanzi was nowhere to be seen. Wei Yingluo sat on the bed for a moment, then quietly got down, tiptoed to the door, and cautiously pushed it.

Creak—

The door opened. A sliver of moonlight slipped through the crack and fell across her face.

…Even the night-watch eunuch was gone. Where had everyone disappeared to?

Whether they had gone to relieve themselves or sneaked off to sleep, this seemed to be Wei Yingluo’s perfect—and only—opportunity.

One embroidered shoe stepped out from behind the door.

Then she walked all the way from the sleeping chamber into the rear courtyard.

In the courtyard stood rockeries, strange stones, exotic flowers, and rare plants—yet one thing looked completely out of place: a large water barrel.

Wei Yingluo had no idea where the barrel had come from, just as she had no idea where the night-watch eunuchs had gone.

“Most likely Chenbi’s doing,” she murmured to herself. Then she walked to the barrel, lifted the lid, and peered inside…

The next day was the day the Empress Dowager would leave the palace to pay respects to the Buddha.

   Silk and bamboo music floated sweetly through the air; the qin sounded like a gentle lament. Inside Baoyue Tower, Chenbi danced to the rhythm. As she bent her waist in a graceful turn, her gaze flicked toward Hongli. He sat with one hand propping his cheek, clearly distracted—his eyes were on her, but his mind had wandered somewhere far away.

“Ah!”

Hongli snapped back to reality and hurried over to help Chenbi up from where she had fallen: “How could you be so careless? Li Yu, summon the imperial physician at once!”

Li Yu responded with a quick “Yes!” and hurried away.

“How can you be so absent-minded even while dancing?” Hongli scooped Chenbi into his arms and carried her to the couch. “Later we have to accompany the Empress Dowager to the Medicine King Temple. If you injure your foot, you won’t be going anywhere—you’ll just have to stay here in Baoyue Tower and stare into space.”

Seeing the anxious look on Chenbi’s face, he suddenly smiled and playfully tapped the tip of her nose.

“I’ll stay behind too,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll keep you company while you daydream. How about that?”

Chenbi stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she suddenly rolled off the couch, knelt before him, and said through streaming tears: “Your Majesty, there is something I have kept hidden in my heart for a very long time. I never dared to report it. But you have treated me so kindly—if I don’t tell you the truth now, I truly cannot bear it!”

Hongli was taken aback: “What is it you want to say?”

Chenbi pressed her lips together, as though waging an intense internal struggle. Finally, gritting her teeth, she said: “Your Majesty, Yingluo, she…”

The candle flame burned steadily on the table, yet it brought no warmth at all.

When Li Yu rushed back with the imperial physician, what greeted them was Hongli’s face as cold as frost. In an instant, the entire Baoyue Tower seemed to plunge into winter; every person present shivered uncontrollably from the chill.

“Your Majesty!” Chenbi suddenly cried out, then limped after him. “Where are you going? You… you promised this consort you wouldn’t make things difficult for Yingluo!”

But how could Hongli listen to her? He strode out quickly and headed straight for Yanxi Palace.

   Inside Yanxi Palace, the place was already deserted—people gone, building empty.

Looking at the bare, vacant bed before him, Hongli suddenly spoke: “Li Yu.”

“This servant is here!” Li Yu hurried forward.

“Transmit my decree,” Hongli said coldly. “Seal the Shenwu Gate.”

Li Yu was stunned. “Today the Empress Dowager is going to the Medicine King Temple. If we seal the gate now, it will inevitably alarm Her Majesty—”

Hongli: “Seal it!”

Li Yu knelt. “As you command!”

A donkey cart, driven by two young eunuchs, slowly approached the Shenwu Gate.

Several water buckets on the cart were covered with a large tarpaulin. The buckets were all identical in style—exactly the same as the ones used in Wei Yingluo’s courtyard.

One of the young eunuchs yawned. “We have to go fetch water from Yuquan Mountain at the third watch every day. Walking all the way to the Forbidden City is enough to wear a person stupid with exhaustion! What’s the difference between the palace wells and Yuquan Mountain water? Isn’t it all just water?”

The other young eunuch elbowed him, signaling him to watch his words.

The first eunuch pursed his lips. “Yes, yes, I know—the water for His Majesty and the Empress Dowager must of course be the best water in the world! Yuquan water is sweet and pure—how could any ordinary well compare?”

As the two chattered, the front wheel of the donkey cart passed through the gate.

Clop-clop-clop—the sound of hooves grew louder from the distance. Li Yu, mounted on a tall horse, pointed at the donkey cart from afar: “By His Majesty’s oral decree—seal the Shenwu Gate! Quick—stop that donkey cart!”

Even if the guards didn’t recognize him personally, they recognized his robes—he was clearly a high-ranking eunuch from the palace. Moreover, he was followed by so many imperial guards.

The upright spears immediately crossed in front, blocking the donkey cart’s path. The two young eunuchs stood frozen in panic before the cart, trembling with fear.

Li Yu dismounted. Beside him stood Yuan Chunwang. Yuan Chunwang strode quickly to the side of the donkey cart. His narrow phoenix eyes flicked toward the half-man-high water bucket on top, and he sneered coldly: “Palace treasures have been stolen and are suspected to be hidden in the water cart. Come—arrest them all and take them back!”

And so, under the watchful eyes of a grand procession, the donkey cart was escorted all the way to the front of Yangxin Hall.

Hongli was already waiting there.

Yuan Chunwang bowed respectfully. “Your Majesty, the water cart has been fully recovered.”

Hongli’s hands shook with rage. He struggled to keep his voice calm: “Li Yu!”

Li Yu waved his hand.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Yuan Chunwang’s mouth. He led the crowd away, leaving only Hongli, Chenbi, Li Yu, and the four trusted guards who had escorted the water cart.

“Your Majesty.” Chenbi clung to his arm, pleading tearfully. “Yingluo has always been proud and unyielding—how could she endure the desolate chill of Yanxi Palace? Those cries of anguish were only begging me to save her life! I truly couldn’t bear it, and since I also owe Lord Fucha a debt for saving my life, I agreed to help the two of them elope.”

She had such a talent for twisting black into white with just a few words.

“I was wrong, and Yingluo was wrong too.” Tears streamed down her face, her expression innocent and lovely, yet her words seemed spoken entirely for the sake of others. “Please, for the sake of past affection, spare her life—will you?”

But hearing her words only made Hongli angrier. He flung Chenbi’s arm away, strode to the donkey cart, reached out, and seized the tarpaulin—yet for a long moment, he could not bring himself to lift it.

Li Yu said nervously, “Your Majesty?”

Every one of his fingers was trembling. Hongli took a deep breath: “Come here!”

Li Yu: “Yes.”

Hongli stepped back half a pace and closed his eyes.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Li Yu yanked off the covering cloth and was about to lift the lid of the water barrel when, unexpectedly, the barrel swayed twice and then rolled off the cart with a thunderous crash.

The barrel rolled several times on the ground, the lid popped open, and a person tumbled out from inside.

“You… you…” Li Yu pointed at the other person, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long while.

Hongli had kept his eyes tightly shut, unable to bear watching—until now. Only then did he slowly open them. When he clearly saw the face of the person who had emerged, he was stunned and blurted out: “How could it be you—”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 182: Convenient for Action

   Chenbi was an utterly enigmatic person.

The words that came out of her mouth were half true, half false—and until the very last moment, no one could tell which sentence was true and which was false.

Fuheng could not distinguish truth from lies in her words, so he simply… believed none of them.

“Desheng.” Fuheng hurried to the outside of Yangxin Hall. “Please report for me—I wish to see the Emperor!”

Before Desheng could reply, a string of tiny bell-like sounds rang out behind Fuheng.

In the inner palace, the only person whose footsteps produced such a sound while walking was almost certainly one individual.

“Master Fucha in such a hurry—what is the matter?” Chenbi approached with her tinkling steps, a bright smile on her face. Then, with a gentle smile as she entered the inner courtyard: “Desheng, please also report that I have something to discuss with His Majesty.”

Desheng acknowledged with a “Yes” and turned to enter Yangxin Hall.

Outside the door, Chenbi tilted her head and glanced at Fuheng’s face, giving a mocking smile: “It seems Master Fucha your reason has triumphed over emotion after all. Even if it means watching her die with your own eyes, you still choose to remain loyal to your master.”

Fuheng turned his back, unwilling to engage with her. But the next moment, Chenbi circled around to stand in front of him. She raised her hand, and a ruby gardenia earring dangled before his eyes, its scattered flecks of light melting into his pupils.

Chenbi held the earring and smiled at him: “She agreed.”

Just those two words struck like lightning and thunder in Fuheng’s ears, numbing his scalp. In that instant, his hearing, vision, and even his ability to speak all vanished.

She forcefully pressed the right-ear earring she had obtained from Wei Yingluo into his hand. Chenbi’s voice dropped low: “Master Fucha Fuheng, you failed her once already—are you going to fail her a second time?”

Fuheng lowered his head to look at the earring in his palm, as though he were looking at a heart that had been brutally ripped from his chest. He remained silent for a long time.

“Consort Rong.” The door suddenly opened. Desheng came out from inside and addressed the two of them: “His Majesty says he has matters to attend to. Please return to Baoyue Tower, Your Ladyship. He will have time at noon and will certainly come to see you. Master Fucha, please come in.”

Fuheng gave Chenbi a deep look, then turned and entered Yangxin Hall.

Behind him, Yizhu seemed somewhat uneasy and lowered her voice to ask Chenbi: “My lady, will he tell anyone?”

“Fame, wealth, power, and status—he has it all, yet he’s still not happy.” Chenbi’s steps were light and sprightly, like those of a young deer. The bright sunlight shone on her face as she smiled with contentment. “So in this world, the only one who can make him happy… is a single person.”

Inside Yangxin Hall.

   Fuheng paid his respects and said, “Your Majesty, this servant has come regarding the military report from the Huolan tribe.”

“I already know about this matter,” Hongli replied. “I have dispatched Hailancha with troops to assist General Zhaohui in suppressing the rebellion. Is there anything else?”

Fuheng: “Since Your Majesty has already made proper arrangements, naturally there is nothing else.”

Hongli: “Then you may withdraw.”

Hongli watched Fuheng’s departing figure with a thoughtful expression. Suddenly he asked, “Hailancha, how is Fuheng’s memory?”

Hailancha: “He never forgets anything he has seen.”

“A man with a photographic memory, yet he forgot that he already presented the memorial last night?” Hongli stroked the stack of memorials on the table. The top one was precisely the military report from the Huolan tribe, submitted by Fuheng. After a moment of reflection, Hongli suddenly issued an order: “Hailancha, there is another important task. I want you to handle it personally!”

A single rider galloped out through Shenwu Gate, Hailancha on horseback, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

Inside Yangxin Hall, Hongli held a book in one hand while the other was clasped behind his back. He stood beside the curio shelf, yet the book in his hand remained unturned for a long time—he seemed distracted and restless.

“Your Majesty.” Li Yu came in to report. “Yanxi Palace has summoned an imperial physician.”

Hongli, with his back to him, said coldly, “When did I ever instruct you to monitor news from Yanxi Palace? Acting on your own initiative!”

Li Yu: “This servant knows his crime.”

He stood in the room for a long while, yet Hongli’s book still had not turned a single page.

“…What illness?” Hongli suddenly asked out of the blue.

Li Yu snapped back to attention and hurriedly replied, “Consort Ling has long been vegetarian, eats irregularly, and has developed a stomach ailment as a result. The Imperial Medical Bureau has prescribed medicine and instructed that she take plain congee daily to nourish the stomach and recover gradually.”

Seeing that it was nothing serious, Hongli finally turned a page in his book and said coldly, “A calamity endures for a thousand years—I knew she wouldn’t die so easily!”

He never mentioned Wei Yingluo again, nor did he go to Yanxi Palace to see her. It appeared he no longer cared about her at all.

But his indifference did not mean others were indifferent.

In Chengqian Palace, Zhener was reporting to the Step-Empress: “Your Ladyship, Consort Rong went to Yanxi Palace today. Yet after she left, Consort Ling is still perfectly alive and well.”

The Step-Empress was brewing tea. The water boiled, steam rising like mist—mist that looked like flowers, like leaves, like birds, like fish. One didn’t even need to drink the tea; merely watching it was already a pleasure.

There were still many days ahead. The Step-Empress knew her own limitations—she could not captivate with beauty alone, so she had to attract Hongli in other ways. There was much to learn, and the art of tea was one of them.

But the future was for the future; what needed to be done now still had to be done promptly.

“So that’s how it is.” The Step-Empress began to smile.

Zhener was puzzled. “What are you smiling about, Your Ladyship?”

The Step-Empress laughed softly. “If I can borrow a knife to kill, naturally Consort Rong can do the same.”

While Zhener was still bewildered, Yuan Chunwang entered from outside, leaned close to the Step-Empress’s ear, and whispered a few words. The Step-Empress immediately laughed again: “See? Here it comes… Yuan Chunwang, you know what to do, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Yuan Chunwang bowed his head respectfully. “When the time comes, this servant will withdraw all personnel from Yanxi Palace, making it convenient for Consort Rong to act.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 181: True Heart

   “What is this?” Chenbi opened the sachet in front of her and took out a dried gardenia flower.

Yizhu said, “Your Ladyship, this is a token that someone from Yanxi Palace sent to Yangxin Hall. This servant intercepted it on the way. That lowly woman is counting on His Majesty changing his mind. You must guard against her!”

Chenbi toyed with the gardenia flower, smiling with amusement.

Yizhu pressed: “If you don’t cut the grass at the root, trouble will return in the future. My lady, it’s time to make up your mind!”

Chenbi: “Everyone thinks I want to kill Consort Ling—even you believe that?”

Yizhu froze.

“Besides, it’s still uncertain whether this thing really came from Yanxi Palace.” Chenbi twirled the gardenia flower in her fingers, but her gaze passed through the window lattice, looking toward the direction of Yanxi Palace.

The gardenias of Yanxi Palace had bloomed and fallen. Once proudly at the top of the branches, today they were crushed into the dust.

Wei Yingluo no longer had the strength even to stand. With longing eyes she stared at the teapot on the table. Forcing herself up, her body tumbled off the bed. Bit by bit she crawled across the floor, finally managing to climb up to the table and desperately clutch the teapot to her chest.

She lifted the lid—only to find it empty.

From that moment, Wei Yingluo had no strength left. She lay sprawled on the ground like the dead, not making the slightest sound.

After an unknown amount of time, a pair of hands helped her up and brought a cup of clear water to her lips. Her lips were already cracked and dry; the moment they touched the water, it was like parched fields meeting sweet rain—she drained the entire cup in an instant.

“Feeling a little better?” a familiar voice sounded beside her ear.

Wei Yingluo recognized that voice. She slowly opened her eyes: “…What are you here for?”

Crouching in front of her was none other than Chenbi—the very woman who had driven her to this state—yet her face still wore that innocent, guileless expression: “I came to help you.”

Wei Yingluo found it utterly laughable: “Help me? You just came to see how miserable I’ve become, didn’t you?”

“Place someone in a position of certain death, and then they will survive.” Chenbi looked at her with utmost seriousness. “If I don’t push you to the absolute limit, how could you ever be willing to give up the life you have now?”

Wei Yingluo gazed at her suspiciously.

“Isn’t that true?” Chenbi helped her back onto the bed. Seeing that she couldn’t even sit steadily, she thoughtfully placed a bolster pillow behind her back and spoke in a gentle voice. “The Forbidden City is full of fame, profit, and riches, but all of it is nothing more than fleeting clouds and smoke—including the Emperor’s favor. He seems to cherish you greatly, yet with just a little scheme on my part, he immediately began to suspect and dislike you. This shows that in his heart, you are merely a plaything—something that can be replaced by a better one at any moment.”

Wei Yingluo’s face turned pale at her words. Though she wanted to refute them, for a moment she couldn’t find anything to say.

She hadn’t touched a drop of water or a single grain of rice. She had endured torment until now, yet he hadn’t come to see her even once. Did he truly still have her in his heart?

“Yingluo, everything I’ve done has been to help you—to help you see clearly the reality of the Forbidden City and the Emperor of the Great Qing.” Chenbi moistened a handkerchief with water and placed it on her burning forehead. “He is a hypocritical, selfish, and heartless man. He is not worth wasting your entire life on.”

Wei Yingluo slapped her hand away and said coldly, “What exactly do you want?”

“I want to repay a kindness.” Chenbi looked at her with sincere devotion, like a devout believer confessing her wish to a Buddha. “To repay the grace you showed in protecting me, and also to repay Lord Fucha for saving my life.”

Wei Yingluo was stunned. She had no idea why the name Fuheng would suddenly come out of her mouth.

“On my way to the capital, I once fell off a cliff. If not for Lord Fucha, I would already be nothing but dry bones by now,” Chenbi said. “He is a good man—young, handsome, gentle, and considerate. I have always wanted to repay him, but I didn’t know how—until I discovered that he loves you.”

Wei Yingluo: “That’s all in the past!”

Chenbi: “But his love for you has never changed!”

Her resolute and certain manner made Wei Yingluo suspect that she had already met with Fuheng. Fuheng, oh Fuheng—do you even know what kind of woman is standing before you? Cooperating with her is no different from bargaining with a tiger.

   “You still don’t trust me—is it because of Ming Yu?” Chenbi carefully observed her expression and sighed. “Even now, I have no regrets. I’m glad she’s dead—because now you have one less burden… Yingluo, a person cannot always be bound by obligations and gratitude. You should think more about yourself.”

With that, she held out a dried gardenia flower to Wei Yingluo.

“Someone sent a dried gardenia flower to Yangxin Hall in your name, but it ended up in my hands,” Chenbi said. “Guess who that person might be?”

Who else could it be? Wei Yingluo answered firmly: “The Empress.”

This was yet another of the Step-Empress’s usual tricks.

When she wanted to harm someone, she would never dirty her own hands. Instead, she would use every possible means to incite others to act.

In the end, no matter who won or lost, the Step-Empress’s ten fingers would remain spotlessly clean—not a trace of blood on them.

This time was no different. The Step-Empress had someone send a withered gardenia flower to Yangxin Hall under Wei Yingluo’s name, but deliberately arranged for people from Baoyue Tower to intercept it along the way.

If Chenbi truly had ambitions to compete for favor, she might very well have taken the discarded pearl’s suggestion, kept the flower hidden, and then used Wei Yingluo’s illness as an opportunity to take her life.

—Wasn’t Consort Chun back then ensnared by a similar plot, and then acted on the Step-Empress’s behalf to harm the previous Empress?

But this time, something unexpected happened.

Or rather, neither Wei Yingluo nor the Step-Empress had truly seen what kind of person Chenbi really was.

She could never have anticipated that Chenbi would go straight to Wei Yingluo, openly presenting the withered gardenia flower along with her own suspicions:

“Yes, it was the Empress. She wanted to use my hand to completely end your life. But even without me, she can still borrow someone else’s hand. If you don’t leave now, you will surely die in the Forbidden City!”

Chenbi was not exaggerating.

Right now was the perfect moment to deal with Wei Yingluo.

One could say: once this village is passed, there will never be such a shop again. Having learned this harsh lesson, Wei Yingluo will surely raise her guard against the Step-Empress, against Chenbi, and against everyone around her. She will never again trust people lightly, nor will she ever allow herself to fall into such a desperate situation again.

   It will also be difficult for others to deal with her now—because Wei Yingluo no longer has any weaknesses. The only weakness she once had, Ming Yu, is already gone.

   The person who will stand before everyone from now on will be a flawless Wei Yingluo: one without weaknesses, with a heart of stone, perfect and unassailable.

   “…Even if I wanted to leave, could I actually get out?” For example, right now Wei Yingluo had no intention of paying the other person any real attention. She replied perfunctorily, “Once you enter the palace gates, it’s as deep as the sea. Do you really have some way?”

“I do,” Chenbi unexpectedly answered. “I have a way to help you escape.”

Wei Yingluo looked straight at her, as if trying to peer through that beautiful face to see clearly the heart beneath.

“Yingluo, I was sent to the Emperor like tribute. I lost my flesh-and-blood kin, lost my personal freedom. Every time I look in the mirror and see myself in these Manchu robes, the pain is unbearable! I cannot leave… because I carry on my shoulders the hopes of my clan for peace. I can only remain here until my flesh rots and my bones turn to ashes.” Suddenly Chenbi grasped her hand. “But you are different. You still have a chance!”

The way she looked at Wei Yingluo was exactly the same way Wei Yingluo had once looked at Ming Yu.

Forcing one’s own dreams onto another person, earnestly hoping, longing for you to achieve the happiness in my place.

Wei Yingluo was stunned into silence.

“Promise me—leave.” Chenbi stroked her cheek, her voice soft and bewitching like an enchantment. “Leave before this monstrous purple forbidden city completely swallows you whole…”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 180: Regret

   Yuan Chunwang summoned all the palace maids and eunuchs serving in Changchun Palace to one place and ordered:

“From this day forward, no one is to deliver meals to Consort Ling!”

His gaze swept across the crowd before he finally raised his hand and pointed at one person:

“Everything concerning Yanxi Palace will now be handled by you!”

“Yes!” Xiaoquanzi replied meekly with lowered eyes.

After dismissing the others, Yuan Chunwang kept him behind to speak privately.

Yuan Chunwang said calmly, “In the past you constantly opposed me. Do you know why I’m giving you this chance now?”

Xiaoquanzi knelt before him, head bowed submissively, and answered:

“Because this servant betrayed Consort Ling. If she lives well, there will never be any good days left for this servant.”

Yuan Chunwang patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, “I don’t want to hear a single word of gossip or rumor.”

In his eyes—and in the eyes of others—Xiaoquanzi had once again betrayed his former master.

This man had always been like this: constantly betraying old masters and pledging allegiance to new ones. Precisely because of that, Yuan Chunwang dared to use him. At the very least, until a better master appeared, he was the most useful dog available.

Though he used him, he never fully trusted him. Occasionally Yuan Chunwang would secretly observe him at work. For example, today he hid quietly by the doorway. Inside, Xiaoquanzi set down a bowl of extremely thin, clear-as-water congee with a sharp clack.

Wei Yingluo was startled. “It’s you?”

Xiaoquanzi remained expressionless. “Time to eat.”

Wei Yingluo glanced down at the congee and said coldly, “This is my meal? Is this congee… or just plain water?”

Xiaoquanzi dug at his ear impatiently. “Right now, besides me, who else would bother coming to this godforsaken place? If you don’t want to appreciate it, then don’t drink it—just starve!”

Outside the door, Yuan Chunwang took in the entire scene, gave a cold smile, and left satisfied.

Inside Yanxi Palace he held absolute power. Outsiders, unaware of the palace’s internal affairs, simply believed Wei Yingluo was merely undergoing quiet self-reflection; apart from that, her clothing, food, housing, and daily life supposedly continued as before.

Fuheng originally thought the same.

After morning court ended, as he was about to leave the palace, a little eunuch suddenly approached him:

“Lord Fucha! Lord Soulun has been drowning himself in wine every day. Please find a way to persuade him!”

Fuheng didn’t know who had sent the boy, but he knew what he said was very likely true. Although Hailancha usually appeared carefree and even a bit careless, he was someone who loved deeply. Once Ming Yu entered his heart, she would remain there for the rest of his life.

With Ming Yu’s death now, it was as though a piece of flesh had been brutally torn from his heart. The only reason he hadn’t followed her in death was because there was still a widowed mother at home.

But human hearts are unpredictable. No one had expected Ming Yu to take her own life that day—so how could anyone be certain today that Hailancha wouldn’t do something equally foolish?

The moment this thought arose, a thread of anxiety appeared in Fuheng’s heart. Without waiting for anyone to lead the way, he hurried familiarly to the guards’ quarters and pushed open the door:

“Hailancha!”

The person wearing the clearly ill-fitting guard uniform—sleeves and trousers too long, like a child sneaking into an adult’s clothes—turned at the sound of Fuheng’s voice, reached up, and removed the hat. A cascade of black hair poured down over the shoulders.

This was not Hailancha at all. It was clearly… Chenbi.

Fuheng froze for a second, then immediately turned to leave.

Chenbi: “Master Fucha, please stay a moment.”

But Fuheng refused to stay—or rather, did not dare stay: “Consort Rong, you openly set a trap to lure an outer-court minister here. Aren’t you afraid someone will find out and your reputation will be ruined?”

Chenbi smiled a little. One sentence was enough to halt his steps. She said softly:

“If you are willing to sit by and watch Consort Ling meet with disaster, then go.”

The door closed again. The pearl left behind, disguised as a little eunuch, stood guard at the entrance.

“Speak,” Fuheng said warily. “What exactly do you want?”

Chenbi, however, took out an embroidered handkerchief and slowly toyed with it. On the handkerchief were two dragonflies leaning against each other. In a gentle voice she said:

“Your sachet and Yingluo’s handkerchief—they turn out to be a matching pair.”

Fuheng frowned.

“Master Fucha,” Chenbi looked at him curiously, “Yingluo belonged to you. You watched with your own eyes as she was taken by someone else, and now she has been discarded like trash. Doesn’t that pain you at all?”

Fuheng’s wariness deepened. He knew very well that the power struggles in the inner palace were no less vicious than those at court. He immediately flicked his sleeve and turned to go:

“This humble official doesn’t know what you’re talking about. I take my leave!”

Behind him Chenbi called out:

“The current Wei Yingluo is merely holding on with the last breath of stubbornness!”

Fuheng’s footsteps paused.

“She has offended far too many people,” Chenbi continued calmly. “When she finally falls into ruin, there will be plenty of people ready to settle accounts. Cut off from news, given only plain water each day—how long can she really hold out?”

Fuheng could no longer hide his anger: “And all of this is thanks to you!”

Chenbi: “No—it’s thanks to you.”

Fuheng was stunned. Because of him?

“You and Yingluo were once betrothed, yet in the end you parted like flying geese. Who betrayed whom first?” Chenbi challenged him.

Fuheng was speechless.

“If she hadn’t been rejected, at her age now she should long since have become the mother of several children, shouldn’t she?” Chenbi looked at him earnestly. “Supporting her husband, raising children, mutual respect between husband and wife—that was supposed to be her life. Now… she has nothing. Who do you think is responsible for that?”

Fuheng’s fingers clenched into a fist; the knuckles cracked audibly.

“See.” Chenbi glanced at his hand and giggled. “You’re clearly furious, yet because of propriety, status, and hierarchy, you still don’t dare strike me even once.”

She slowly lifted her gaze to his face. That look—tinged with faint contempt and pity—was something no one could bear.

“Just as you, bound by propriety, status, and hierarchy, could only watch while he took the woman you loved most, yet failed to cherish her properly.” Chenbi said softly, “And in the end you still have to bow and scrape before him, obedient and submissive. Master Fucha, you really are pitiful.”

“Enough!” Fuheng could bear no more. He said stiffly, “This humble official has other matters to attend to. I’m leaving!”

Chenbi’s voice suddenly came from behind him:

“Are you running away again?”

With a whoosh.

A fist came smashing toward her with a whistling wind. Chenbi neither dodged nor evaded. Just as the fist was about to strike her face, it veered off at the last moment and slammed heavily into the wall beside her. Blood instantly bloomed like a flower. Fuheng bit down hard on his lower lip, his body trembling slightly from rage.

Looking at the nearly out-of-control Fuheng, the corners of Chenbi’s lips slowly curved upward into a chilling, mesmerizing smile.

“That’s more like it,” she said softly, her voice like an enchantment. “The Emperor has made you endure again and again, but what has he done? He harms his own brothers, steals other men’s wives… Is someone like that worthy of being your master? Fuheng, listen to my advice—for your sake, and for Yingluo’s sake—wake up!”

Wake up…

   “Water…”

In Yanxi Palace, Wei Yingluo lay weakly on the bed. She struggled for a long time but still could not open her eyes. In her half-conscious state, a single word escaped her cracked lips: “Water…”

Xiaoquanzi walked in holding a teacup, but instead of giving it to her, he handed it to Yuan Chunwang, who was seated inside the room.

Yuan Chunwang took a sip of tea and smiled slightly. “Didn’t we already finish the daily cup of plain water?”

Wei Yingluo was already ill, yet not only was she denied treatment, her food rations had been cut back severely: one bowl of thin congee and one cup of plain water a day. Often before nightfall she would grow so dizzy from hunger that she could only lie in bed and sleep—both to conserve energy and because, when asleep, she didn’t feel the hunger.

“…The Emperor only ordered me placed under house arrest. If I die, do you think you can escape responsibility?” Wei Yingluo finally managed to open her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and every word came out as faint as a thread of breath.

“If you want to eat, or want to drink water, it’s very simple—just one sentence.” Yuan Chunwang hinted meaningfully. “You know what I want to hear. Why won’t you say it?”

“Beg you?” Wei Yingluo gave a mocking laugh. “I’d rather starve to death.”

Suddenly pain exploded across her scalp. Amid Wei Yingluo’s scream of agony, Yuan Chunwang seized her by the hair and dragged her from the bed all the way to the bronze mirror.

“Look at yourself now.” Yuan Chunwang pressed her face against the mirror and smiled. “Are you still that glorious, untouchable Consort Ling?”

Disheveled and filthy, gaunt as a skeleton—less a favored consort now than a discarded consort banished to the cold palace. Her flesh and blood had been worn away inch by inch into ashes, leaving only a pair of eyes still burning with light, like flames smoldering in the cinders.

Yuan Chunwang: “Beg me.”

Wei Yingluo: “No.”

“…Call me Brother.” Yuan Chunwang seemed to compromise a step.

Wei Yingluo gave the same answer: “No.”

“…My patience has its limits.” Yuan Chunwang suddenly laughed—a gorgeous, bewitching smile that was nonetheless cruel to the bone. “I’ll give you one last chance. Tell me—do you regret leaving me?”

Wei Yingluo looked at his reflection in the mirror. His gaze was extraordinarily complex, a turbulent mix of affection and resentment, like a blizzard sweeping across the sea.

All he really wanted was one sentence—even if it was a lie, even if it was just to deceive him… Yet after waiting so long, what he received was her soft, quiet reply: “I don’t regret it.”

“…Is that so?” Yuan Chunwang’s heart suddenly felt hollow. After a long silence, he finally lifted Wei Yingluo in his arms, placed her gently back on the bed—as if performing one last brotherly duty—then took her hand and forced it, inch by inch, to trace across his own face: his jaw, his lips, his nose, his eyes…

“Remember this face,” he instructed her. “Remember it well. In your next life, come find me to settle the score.”

Then, at last, he let go.

Leaving behind Wei Yingluo, who was coughing uncontrollably, Yuan Chunwang walked out of the room without looking back. To Xiaoquanzi he said, “Starting today, skip even that bowl of plain congee.”

Xiaoquanzi sucked in a sharp breath. “That won’t do, sir—if something really happens to her—”

Yuan Chunwang smiled: “Consort Ling has a fiery temperament. After such a blow, she’s become completely dejected, fallen into depression and illness. Do you understand?”

Xiaoquanzi shivered, bowing his head deeply: “Yes, understood!”

Since they couldn’t be siblings in this life, he would simply send her on her way—and they could meet again in the next. That was what Yuan Chunwang thought, and that was exactly what he did. It wasn’t difficult at all; in the rear palace, making a disfavored consort “die of illness” was far too easy.

There was only one thing to worry about: while this could be hidden from Hongli, it could not be hidden from Step-Empress.

After a moment of thought, Yuan Chunwang returned to Chengqian Palace. Without a word, he knelt before Step-Empress: “I beg Her Majesty the Empress to forgive my offense.”

On the stand, an emerald-green parrot was pecking at the grains in Step-Empress’s hand. With her back to him, Step-Empress said, “I haven’t said anything yet, and you already know where you went wrong?”

Yuan Chunwang’s heart skipped a beat. He knew his actions couldn’t escape Step-Empress’s notice, but he hadn’t expected her to find out so quickly. Clearly, she didn’t fully trust him—she must have placed someone to watch him closely.

His mind raced, but his face showed only fear and sincerity: “This servant took it upon himself to deal with Consort Ling—not for my own sake, but to share Your Majesty’s burdens.”

He had chosen these words carefully, guessing at Step-Empress’s true thoughts. Hearing them, she laughed softly: “You bribed the imperial physicians, fabricated medical records, and arranged for Consort Ling to ‘die of illness.’ It would have been perfectly reasonable—if you hadn’t been so impatient. You left traces. Too hasty, and you’ve given others something they can hold against you.”

Yuan Chunwang was stunned: “Then what does Your Majesty mean—?”

“Consort Ling must die, but she cannot die by my hand. Prepare two things immediately. Send one to Yangxin Hall, and the other…” Step-Empress paused, then turned back to him with a mysterious smile, “…also send it to Yangxin Hall.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 179: Confinement

   Wei Yingluo, who had been furious beyond measure, gradually calmed down.

She finally realized it—the woman before her was extraordinarily dangerous.

Innocent and guileless, warm and generous, always seeming to stand on your side, speak for you, consider your feelings… but when you thought back carefully afterward… was she really thinking of you?

   Was the one who truly benefited from her actions really you?

   “Yingluo.” Chenbi stepped closer step by step, smiling as she pressed the golden scissors into Wei Yingluo’s hand. “If you refuse to forgive me, then use these scissors to stab me.”

An indescribable sense of crisis surged over her. Wei Yingluo struggled hard: “Let go! What are you all standing there for? Stop her!”

Only then did the palace maids snap out of their daze. They rushed forward in a flurry, reaching out with many hands to try to wrest the scissors away.

Chenbi gave them a cool glance, then directly seized Wei Yingluo’s right hand—along with the golden scissors—and stabbed them straight into her own right shoulder…

“Ah!!”

The palace doors burst open amid a chaotic rush of footsteps.

Clearly having heard Chenbi’s scream of pain, the Empress Dowager—supported by Aunt Liu’s arm and without even waiting for an umbrella—hurried into Baoyue Tower. When she saw the scene inside, her face changed dramatically. She let go of Aunt Liu’s hand, rushed to Chenbi’s side, and pressed her own hand over the wound: “Quickly summon the imperial physician!!”

Another wave of frantic chaos ensued.

The Empress Dowager held Chenbi protectively in her arms, like a mother cow shielding her calf, allowing no one to come near.

“Chenbi, tell me.” The Empress Dowager looked around warily. “What exactly happened? Who had the audacity to injure you like this!”

Under countless watchful gazes, Chenbi slowly raised her head. Her tear-filled eyes swept across the crowd before finally settling on Wei Yingluo’s face. With a look of aggrieved fragility, she said in a trembling voice, “Yingluo… why would you do this to me?”

Wei Yingluo’s face gradually drained of color.

“What are you waiting for?” The Empress Dowager thundered in fury. “Seize Consort Ling at once!”

When Hongli received the news and hurried over, the first thing he saw was the Empress Dowager’s face, still burning with residual anger.

“Empress Dowager.” After paying his respects, Hongli quickly asked, “How is Consort Rong?”

“The imperial physician has just left. The Empress is inside keeping her company right now.” Seeing that Hongli was about to head straight into the bedchamber, the Empress Dowager called out to stop him. “Don’t go in yet… speak!”

Kneeling on the ground was the senior palace maid Yizhu. At the sharp command, she hurriedly spoke up: “Yes, yes! Today Consort Ling stormed in aggressively and accused Consort Rong of having something to do with the death of Ming Yu. But heavens know, Ming Yu was already terminally ill and beyond any cure. Out of pity, Consort Rong had concealed the true severity of her condition—and for that she was greatly blamed! Consort Ling became too agitated and, in a moment of impulse, stabbed Consort Rong!”

Hongli frowned deeply and asked in a low voice, “Empress Dowager, have the others been questioned?”

The Empress Dowager cast him a sidelong glance. “Aside from Yizhu, only the palace maid Zhenzhu remains. I’ve already ordered her sent to the Shixing Division for interrogation. As for Consort Ling, I leave her to be dealt with by Your Majesty!”

Hearing the implication in her words, Hongli fell silent for a moment before saying, “Empress Dowager, I thought you had always been fond of Yingluo…”

Before he could finish, the Empress Dowager cut him off angrily: “But I cannot tolerate anyone who harms He’an!”

Hongli replied quietly, “Empress Dowager, Consort Rong is not He’an.”

“She is!” The Empress Dowager insisted firmly. “Your Majesty, whether it was an accident or deliberate, Consort Ling’s action was far too arrogant. She must be taught a lesson!”

The commotion outside was too great to be concealed from the Step-Empress.

She soon arrived at Chenbi’s side under the pretext of visiting the injured consort, and smiled slightly. “Impressive.”

Chenbi’s arm was wrapped in a thick layer of white bandage. The blood loss had left her face somewhat pale, yet that pallor did nothing to diminish her beauty—instead it made her appear even more delicate and pitiful, arousing an instinctive desire to protect and cherish her, to shield her from any further harm. She blinked innocently at the Step-Empress like a child: “What are you talking about?”

Admiration and wariness flickered in the Step-Empress’s eyes. “Consort Ling served the Empress Dowager with utmost devotion. Three years in the Yuanmingyuan earned her an affection few could match. In the Forbidden City, the Empress Dowager was her greatest backer! Yet you—you stepped directly on Wei Yingluo to climb up. In less than three months, you’ve made the Empress Dowager regard you as her own flesh and blood, protecting you at every turn. Truly… eye-opening.”

Chenbi gave an innocent smile. “You flatter me.”

But the Step-Empress did not take her innocence at face value.

Wei Yingluo had been an extraordinarily capable woman—yet she had been toyed with like a monkey in Chenbi’s hands. Her most trusted palace maid was dead, she had lost the Empress Dowager’s favor, and now she had also lost Hongli’s trust. Everything she once possessed had been taken from her, piece by piece, by Chenbi.

…All because she trusted her once.

   How could the Step-Empress possibly dare to trust her after seeing such an outcome?

   “Empress.” Chenbi patted the space beside her on the bed and shifted inward slightly, leaving room for someone to sit—intimate and familiar, just as she had once been with Wei Yingluo. “Would you be willing to work with me?”

The Step-Empress, however, had no intention of following in Wei Yingluo’s footsteps. She kept a safe distance, remaining at the edge of the bed, and said coolly, “You and I are mortal enemies. How could we possibly cooperate?”

“We should become friends,” Chenbi said earnestly, looking straight at her. “Because we share the same enemy.”

—The name of that enemy was Wei Yingluo.

   The Step-Empress slowly curved her lips into a smile. “Consort Rong, I find myself liking you more and more.”

She was right—the two of them could indeed be friends… at least until Wei Yingluo’s death.

Chenbi raised a single finger to her lips and made a soft “shh”: “The Emperor is coming.”

The two women exchanged a knowing smile; everything was understood without words.

Footsteps approached from afar. Hongli entered with a heavy heart. He casually raised a hand, excusing Step-Empress from performing the formal greeting, then sat down beside Chenbi and asked with concern: “Chenbi, the imperial physician said your old injuries haven’t healed yet, and now you’ve added new ones. You mustn’t be willful anymore—you have to stay in bed and rest properly.”

Chenbi nodded with a gentle smile.

“The Empress Dowager demands severe punishment for Consort Ling. You’ve always been close to her, so I want to ask you—what do you think should be done with her?” Hongli gazed at her, his eyes carrying a deeper meaning.

This was not an easy question to answer.

Even if an answer had to be given, it shouldn’t come from her. So Chenbi pretended to think it over, while her peripheral vision flicked toward Step-Empress. Receiving the glance, Step-Empress immediately spoke up: “Your Majesty, Consort Ling lost her dearest friend and loyal servant, and she was provoked by others—her feelings are pitiable. But she let her emotions get the better of her and accidentally injured someone; that crime cannot be overlooked. In my opinion, the servants who whispered and instigated her must be severely punished. As for Consort Ling… let her reflect behind closed doors.”

The arrangement wasn’t particularly good, but it wasn’t terrible either. A faint smile finally appeared on Hongli’s face: “Chenbi, what do you think?”

Chenbi gave a soft, tender smile, looking as though her only concern was for Wei Yingluo’s well-being: “I believe Consort Ling truly did not intend to hurt anyone. I beg Your Majesty to show her leniency.”

Hongli let out a breath of relief: “Then let her reflect behind closed doors properly. You just focus on recovering—don’t overthink things.”

The decision regarding Wei Yingluo had been made, but the actual handling of the matter did not fall under Hongli’s direct control. Even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn’t—every move he made was watched by everyone. If he showed too much favoritism toward Wei Yingluo, how would the Empress Dowager react? She would likely be even less willing to spare her.

The person in charge of dealing with Wei Yingluo was Step-Empress.

Using the pretext that palace servants had instigated Consort Ling to commit violence, she replaced every single servant in Yanxi Palace in one sweep. Old-timers like Xiaoquanzi vanished overnight. Those who remained were all new faces. Rather than being there to serve Consort Ling, they were clearly there to monitor her.

An unfamiliar young palace maid placed a food box on the table: “Please have your meal, Consort Ling.”

Wei Yingluo coughed heavily several times: “Just leave it there.”

The young maid handed her a pair of chopsticks. Wei Yingluo reached for them, but her vision suddenly doubled. It took several moments before she managed to grasp them.

“Are you alright, Your Ladyship?” the maid asked worriedly. “Have you caught a cold? This servant will go and—”

Her words cut off abruptly.

Because Yuan Chunwang was standing right behind her.

Like a snake flicking its tongue, he ordered: “You may leave first.”

After dismissing the maid and closing the door behind her, he sat down naturally in front of Wei Yingluo, reached over, and took the chopsticks from her hand: “The Empress has already joined forces with Consort Rong.”

Wei Yingluo stared straight at him.

Step-Empress hadn’t skimped on her meals. Though not as lavish as before, there were still three meat dishes and two vegetable ones. Yuan Chunwang picked up a lion’s head meatball and popped it into his mouth, saying as he chewed: “The Emperor’s favor, the Empress Dowager’s trust, your closest friend’s company, your personal freedom—one by one, you’ve lost them all. If I were you, I’d seriously think about why you’ve ended up in this situation.”

Wei Yingluo remained completely silent.

Seemingly provoked by her demeanor, Yuan Chunwang suddenly slammed the chopsticks onto the table, stood up, and looked down at her coldly: “Because of Ming Yu—for the sake of a mere servant, you actually went to confront Consort Rong, and that’s how you fell into the trap.”

“Ming Yu was my best friend,” Wei Yingluo finally spoke. “No—not just a friend. She was the only family I had left in the Forbidden City…”

“Family?” Yuan Chunwang suddenly seized her chin, forcing her to lift her head and look at his face—a face both beautiful and twisted, both alluring and terrifying. “Little sister, isn’t your only family member me?”

Wei Yingluo struggled and said, “Let go!”

“What is Ming Yu to you? Has she done more for you than I have?” Yuan Chunwang refused to release her. His fingers clamped onto her face like iron pincers as he pressed aggressively, “I’ve protected you like an older brother, giving up chance after chance to climb higher for your sake, even abandoning everything to accompany you in the Yuanmingyuan. And how have you treated me in return, Yingluo… Answer me!”

Wei Yingluo struggled even harder. In their pushing and pulling, they accidentally knocked over the food box. The dishes shattered into several pieces, and one sharp fragment sliced across Yuan Chunwang’s hand.

He lowered his head to look at his hand—blood was dripping freely.

“I’m sorry to you,” Wei Yingluo said. Her voice drew his attention back. The light in his eyes had just begun to brighten when she continued coldly, “But you have also wronged me. From now on, we are strangers. Don’t ever mention brother and sister again.”

“Is that so?” The light in Yuan Chunwang’s eyes dimmed. He let out a laugh.

While laughing, he picked up the remaining plates one by one and dumped all the food onto the ground.

“Starting from today,” Yuan Chunwang announced with a smile after emptying the last plate, “in Yanxi Palace, there will be no one else besides you. Enjoy it well. I hope you can persist without a single grain of rice or drop of water… and never come begging me.”

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