Wen Zhiyun’s illness had grown increasingly severe.
Of the twelve hours that made up a day, she spent ten of them drifting in and out of consciousness.
Wen Zhiyi was frantic with worry, while Ning Wuyu could do little despite her best efforts.
In the haze of her fading consciousness, Wen Zhiyun seemed to hear her little sister’s voice again and again.
“Sister, wait for me. Just wait a little longer.”
People came and went around her.
Someone would help her sit up and force a little medicine down her throat. Someone else would take her pulse, remain silent for a long while, and finally leave nothing behind but a heavy sigh.
“Your Majesty, whatever else may be said, the two of you were once husband and wife, and she did give birth to one of your princes. Since the imperial physicians have already declared that her illness is beyond treatment, perhaps it would be better to send her out of the palace. It would be safer than keeping such a sickly person here and risking an outbreak of disease.”
“Approved.”
Was that the Emperor’s voice?
Had His Majesty come here?
And the person standing beside him…
It should have been Lady Zhaorong, Lu Ningrou.
Wen Zhiyun couldn’t see clearly.
She couldn’t hear clearly either.
In a daze, she seemed to see her little sister kneeling at Li Jinghuai’s feet, crying and begging the Emperor not to throw her out of the palace.
She was willing to trade her own life for her sister’s.
But Li Jinghuai showed no mercy.
He kicked Wen Zhiyi aside and coldly told her,
“Your life isn’t worth a single coin.”
Someone stepped forward and dragged the heartbroken Wen Zhiyi away.
Wen Zhiyun was carried out of the Cold Palace.
Her little sister’s anguished cries grew farther and farther away.
“Sister! Sister!!”
…
“Little sister… Little sister?!”
Wen Zhiyun suddenly jolted awake from her nightmare.
But the sight before her was completely unfamiliar.
Layers of gauze hung from the carved wooden canopy above the bed, while four exquisite sachets dangled from its corners. Everything about the room was elegant and steeped in antiquity, clearly belonging to a wealthy and powerful household.
Moonlight streamed through the lattice windows and spilled across the gilded beast-headed incense burner on the writing desk, filling the room with a warm, lingering fragrance.
This wasn’t the Cold Palace.
But it wasn’t Weiyang Palace either.
In fact, this wasn’t any palace within the imperial court.
Where was she?
And where was her little sister?
While Wen Zhiyun was still trying to make sense of her surroundings, the door creaked open.
A young maid carefully pushed it open, only to unexpectedly meet Wen Zhiyun’s eyes.
The maid’s face immediately lit up with delight.
“Miss, you’re awake?”
Wen Zhiyun watched her warily without answering.
Her expression remained calm, but inside, her mind was already being battered by wave after wave of suspicion.
This woman…
This room…
She thought she knew where she was now.
The maid didn’t seem bothered by her silence. Assuming Wen Zhiyun was simply still disoriented from sleep, she continued with a concerned expression.
“Miss, are you hungry? The food has been kept warm in the small kitchen this whole time. I’ll have someone bring it up right away…”
“Bring Tang Huaiyuan to me.”
The maid froze.
But she quickly concealed her reaction.
“Miss, are you still confused from your sleep? There is no one named Tang Huaiyuan here. If you’re not hungry yet, perhaps I can help you wash and freshen up first?”
“I know who you are.”
Wen Zhiyun’s voice was calm and unhurried, but every word carried absolute certainty.
“You’re the daughter of the steward woman who serves Old Madam Tang, Tang Huaiyuan’s grandmother. Old Madam Tang has been living in An’yang for years to recuperate. After she passed away at the end of last year, you were transferred from An’yang to work at the Tang residence. That’s why few people in the capital have ever seen you.”
She looked at the maid indifferently.
“But unfortunately for you, I saw you a long time ago. I remember your face, and I know exactly where I am.”
“This is one of Tang Huaiyuan’s private residences.”
The maid still refused to admit anything.
“Miss, is the Tang Huaiyuan you’re talking about the Tang official who serves as an Assistant Director at the Dali Temple? You really have misunderstood. My master isn’t Lord Tang. He has simply gone away on business recently. Once he returns, he will naturally come and meet you.”
“If he insists on refusing to see me…”
Wen Zhiyun’s expression remained completely composed.
“Then he’ll have to trouble himself with coming back a few days from now to collect my corpse.”
With that, she closed her eyes.
No matter how much the maid tried to persuade her, Wen Zhiyun refused to respond again.
She went without food for two days.
During those two days, the maid was frantic with worry, but there was nothing she could do.
Wen Zhiyun was already seriously ill. She had endured the miserable conditions of the Cold Palace for so long, and now she had gone two full days without even a drop of water.
Her body was already at its limit.
But fortunately, she had finally forced Tang Huaiyuan to show himself.
Looking at Wen Zhiyun’s cracked lips and her stubborn refusal to compromise, Tang Huaiyuan let out a long sigh.
He personally brought her a bowl of rice porridge.
“A-Wen, whatever happens, eat something first.”
Wen Zhiyun summoned what little strength remained in her body and barely managed to open her eyes.
She met Tang Huaiyuan’s gaze.
Her voice was weak.
“You lost.”
“Yes.”
Tang Huaiyuan sighed.
“I admit defeat.”
Wen Zhiyun smiled.
Her eyes shone with astonishing brightness.
She let Tang Huaiyuan help her drink the bowl of millet porridge. Afterward, she rested for a long while before gradually regaining control of her weakened limbs.
Only after seeing that her condition had stabilized somewhat did Tang Huaiyuan ask,
“How did you figure out it was me?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Wen Zhiyun lowered her eyes.
“How are my father and my younger siblings?”
“Your father and Aji are both being held in the Imperial Prison. They’ll be executed once the date is decided.”
Tang Huaiyuan paused.
“Zhiyi, she…”
Wen Zhiyun’s heart tightened.
“What happened to her?”
Tang Huaiyuan hesitated.
But when he saw the desperate look in Wen Zhiyun’s eyes, he could only tell her the truth.
“You were extremely ill at the time. There was no way you could have survived much longer in the Cold Palace. Lady Zhaorong wanted to save you, so she asked His Majesty to send you out of the palace under the pretext of preventing an outbreak of disease. She hoped you might at least have a chance to survive outside.”
“But Zhiyi…”
Tang Huaiyuan hesitated again.
“Because of that, she came to resent Lady Zhaorong.”
“…Why did you stop?”
Wen Zhiyun’s fingers unconsciously tightened around her sleeve.
Her throat was dry and painful, but she still forced herself to ask,
“Did she… do something foolish again?”
Tang Huaiyuan let out another heavy sigh.
He turned his face away, unable to meet her eyes.
“I heard that yesterday, when Lady Zhaorong went to the Cold Palace to visit Zhiyi, Zhiyi accidentally pushed her.”
“Lady Zhaorong was shaken badly enough to threaten the pregnancy.”
“His Majesty was furious.”
“He ordered Zhiyi to be beaten to death.”
For an instant, Wen Zhiyun’s vision went black.
The world spun violently around her.
She nearly collapsed back into unconsciousness.
“A-Wen!”
Tang Huaiyuan hurriedly reached out to support her.
But Wen Zhiyun violently shoved him away.
“That’s impossible!”
She forced down the metallic taste rising in her throat and glared at Tang Huaiyuan.
Her eyes were filled with grief and fury, and the sight made Tang Huaiyuan’s heart ache.
“A-Wen…”
He could only whisper,
“I’m sorry. You need to mourn and accept it.”
“Mourn?”
Wen Zhiyun’s eyes were bloodshot.
Tears poured down her cheeks.
“My son is dead. My sister is dead. My father and my younger brother are going to die too.”
“Everyone in the Wen family is going to die.”
She stared at him through her tears.
“And you’re telling me to mourn?”
“Tell me, how am I supposed to mourn?”
Looking at Wen Zhiyun’s utterly devastated expression, Tang Huaiyuan instinctively wanted to pull her into his arms.
He raised his hand halfway.
But for some reason, it stopped in midair.
After a moment, he slowly lowered it.
Hidden beneath his long sleeve, Tang Huaiyuan clenched his fist tightly.
He forced himself to turn around and leave.
“A-Wen, I still have some official matters to deal with. Stay here by yourself for a while.”
When he reached the doorway, Tang Huaiyuan suddenly stopped.
“Actually, I didn’t want to come see you this soon.”
He stood with his back to her.
“But for some reason, I’ve been having the same dream over and over these past two days.”
“In the dream, it was also this time, in this very room.”
“You refused my request.”
“You called me filthy and despicable.”
“And in the end, you left me with only one sentence.”
“Come back and collect my corpse.”
Tang Huaiyuan’s voice grew quieter.
“In the dream, while I was away, you set this room on fire.”
“The flames burned everything to ashes.”
“Including you.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“And you still had the nerve to tell me to come collect your corpse.”
“But you were so proud that you wouldn’t even leave a corpse behind for me to collect.”