With Chancellor Wen accused of colluding with the enemy, he was thrown into the Imperial Prison.
Empress Wen, who had been bedridden for more than two months, finally stepped out of Weiyang Palace.
By the time Wen Zhiyi received the news and rushed over, the Empress had already been kneeling outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony for half an hour.
The Emperor refused to see her.
“Big Sister!”
The chill of early spring still lingered in the air, and the morning mist was damp and biting.
From afar, Wen Zhiyi saw her sister kneeling on the freezing stone pavement. Panic seized her, and she sprinted forward, nearly stumbling as she threw herself down beside her.
The sight of the Empress’s pale, bloodless face filled her heart with unbearable pain.
She had gone through so much trouble to leave the palace unnoticed, hurrying back as quickly as she could.
Yet she was still too late to stop her sister.
In her previous life, it was this very kneeling outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony that had permanently damaged her sister’s health. By the time she was cast into the Cold Palace, her illness had become terminal, and she had little time left to live.
The Empress had only just begun recovering from her long illness, yet after kneeling for so long, a thin layer of frost had settled upon her hair and eyelashes.
Seeing Wen Zhiyi’s reddened eyes, the Empress slowly parted her pale lips. It took her a long while before she managed to speak in a weak, fragile voice.
“Be good, Little Nannan. I’m fine.”
Standing beside them, Yunjian’s eyes were already brimming with tears.
“Your Highness,” she pleaded to Wen Zhiyi, “please persuade Her Majesty. If she keeps kneeling like this, she’ll fall ill again.”
“Wait here, Sister. I’ll bring His Majesty out myself!”
Wen Zhiyi immediately strode toward the palace entrance, intending to force her way inside.
Before she could take another step, the Chief Eunuch Wang Qi, who stood guard outside the hall, hurriedly blocked her path.
“Your Highness, please don’t act rashly!” he cried anxiously. “His Majesty is discussing state affairs with Lord Tang inside. Her Majesty has been kneeling here for half an hour, and His Majesty still hasn’t summoned her. If you barge in now, His Majesty will surely be furious!”
“Lord Tang? Tang Huaiyuan from the Court of Judicial Review?”
“That’s right.”
As they spoke, the doors of the Hall of Supreme Harmony opened.
Tang Huaiyuan stepped outside.
The moment he saw Wen Zhiyi, surprise flickered across his face. It vanished almost instantly as his gaze quietly shifted past her, settling on the frail figure swaying unsteadily in the distance.
For the briefest moment, an almost imperceptible trace of heartache flashed through his eyes.
He lowered himself into a respectful bow.
“This humble official greets Your Highness, Consort Wen.”
Wen Zhiyi’s voice turned icy.
“While you were discussing state affairs with His Majesty inside, did you know the Empress was kneeling out here?”
“His Majesty knew.”
He paused.
“And… so did I.”
“So you knew as well.”
Wen Zhiyi let out a cold laugh.
“Now that your important business is finished, does His Majesty finally have time to see the Empress?”
“His Majesty…”
Before Tang Huaiyuan could finish, Yunjian suddenly cried out in panic.
“Someone, hurry! Her Majesty has fainted!”
Both Wen Zhiyi and Tang Huaiyuan’s expressions changed dramatically.
Even Li Jinghuai, who had refused to come out until now, hurried from the hall.
“What are you all standing around for? Summon the Imperial Physicians at once!”
Li Jinghuai merely stood with his hands behind his back, issuing orders.
Tang Huaiyuan, overcome with worry, instinctively reached toward the unconscious Empress, intending to carry her into the hall himself.
Before he could touch her, Wen Zhiyi shot him a fierce glare.
Great Qi was prosperous, and its customs were relatively open. Men and women were not burdened by excessive restrictions regarding physical contact.
But Wen Zhiyi simply could not bear the thought of anyone else touching her sister.
Gritting her teeth, she helped the Empress onto her own back. With Yunjian and Hongyi supporting her from either side, she staggered toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The normally solemn palace hall was thrown into complete chaos.
It had not been this lively in a very long time.
While the Imperial Physicians treated the Empress, Wen Zhiyi turned around, knelt before Li Jinghuai, and lowered herself until her forehead touched the floor.
“I understand that the dignity of the empire cannot be compromised. If the charges of colluding with the enemy are proven beyond doubt, then every member of the Wen family deserves whatever punishment awaits us.”
She paused before continuing.
“But the Imperial Prison is bitterly cold. I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of my elderly father’s age, please allow me to deliver him some warm clothing.”
She lowered her head even further.
“So… the Empress may have some peace of mind.”
However long Li Jinghuai remained silent, Wen Zhiyi stayed prostrated before him.
This young Emperor was the ruler of Great Qi.
He was the father of her sister’s child.
He was also the husband of both sisters.
Yet the only woman he had ever truly regarded as his wife was Lu Ningrou.
Neither her sister nor she had ever held a place in his heart.
On the couch nearby, one of the Imperial Physicians appeared to have increased the force of the acupuncture needles in an effort to wake the Empress sooner.
A faint groan escaped the Empress’s lips.
Only after what felt like an eternity did Li Jinghuai finally let out a quiet sigh.
“I grant your request.”
Wen Zhiyi bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Imperial Physicians finished removing the needles, and the Empress slowly regained consciousness.
She was still far too weak to speak.
Knowing Li Jinghuai had no desire to see the two sisters any longer, Wen Zhiyi promptly instructed Yunjian and Hongyi to prepare the imperial sedan chair and escort the Empress back to Weiyang Palace.
After the sedan had traveled more than ten meters away from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, she heard her sister’s gentle voice.
“Little Nannan…”
The tears Wen Zhiyi had been holding back for so long finally slipped silently down her cheeks.
Their maternal family was the Yin family of Liangxi.
Among ordinary families in Liangxi, the youngest daughter was often affectionately called Nannan.
But only three days after Wen Zhiyi was born, their mother passed away.
Their father was devastated by her death and spent a long period consumed by grief, leaving him with neither the strength nor the heart to care for his newborn daughter.
It was Wen Zhiyun, not yet four years old herself, who bore the pain of losing her mother and stayed beside her crying baby sister every single day.
An elder sister became a mother.
Though still only a child, she quietly took on the responsibility of raising her younger sister.
Before her death, their mother had called Wen Zhiyun “Nannan.”
She had once laughed that whether her next child was a boy or a girl, she couldn’t keep using the same nickname. She would have to choose another one with a beautiful meaning.
But Wen Zhiyun had not even finished learning the Thousand Character Classic.
She had no idea what counted as a good nickname.
So she simply copied their mother’s way of speaking and began calling her baby sister…
“Little Nannan.”
She had called her that for twenty years.
“Little Nannan, why are you crying again? You’re already all grown up. How can you still cry like a little girl?”
Wen Zhiyi quickly turned her face away to wipe her tears before replying in the same spoiled tone she had used as a child.
“Big Sister always loves teasing me.”
The Empress chuckled softly.
“Sister, when you fainted just now… you were pretending, weren’t you?”
“Oh my, Little Nannan really is clever. Nothing can be hidden from you.”
The Empress spoke as lightly as though it were nothing.
But seeing her forcing herself to smile only made the lump in Wen Zhiyi’s throat harder to suppress.
“Little Nannan, tell the palace attendants to walk a little slower.”
“Of course. Whatever Big Sister wants.”
“Do you remember our childhood? In that enormous Chancellor’s residence, only the three of us siblings were children. But Aji was quiet by nature and spent all day with his wet nurse. Father’s students were all nearly grown men preparing for the imperial examinations. There wasn’t anyone our age to play with.”
“I remember. They were all busy studying for the examinations, but I cried all the time, and I cried so loudly that they couldn’t avoid me fast enough.”
“Fortunately, there was Tang Huaiyuan. He was in his mid-teens then, right at the age when boys loved to play. He couldn’t sit still studying with Father’s older disciples, and since he was much closer to us in age, he often came to play with us instead.”
A smile appeared on her lips.
“He especially loved making you cry. Back then, you absolutely couldn’t stand him.”
“Who would have imagined that the most mischievous child back then would become the most accomplished one today?”
The Empress let out a quiet sigh.
“Truly, the ways of the world are ever changing, beyond anyone’s prediction…”
She slowly turned her head.
“…Wouldn’t you agree, Brother Huaiyuan?”
Her smiling eyes met the complicated gaze of the man standing not far behind them.
It was the same warm, graceful smile she had worn all those years ago.