The coachman quickly pulled on the reins, and the carriage came to a halt.
Wen Lingrao hopped off and walked to the side of the road. She crouched down, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and smeared it across her face. Then, she aggressively rubbed her hair, turning her previously neat bun into a tangled mess. Finally, she dug her fingernails hard into her palm, the sharp pain instantly drawing tears to her eyes.
She looked at her reflection in a roadside puddle. Her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in dust, and her eyes were rimmed with red. She looked as miserable as anyone could possibly look.
Wen Lingrao nodded in satisfaction. She returned to the carriage and ordered the driver: “Let’s go.”
The carriage continued forward. Before long, they arrived at the palace gates. The guards on duty stepped forward to intercept them: “Who goes there?”
Wen Lingrao lifted the carriage curtain and poked her head out. Her disheveled appearance gave the guards a start.
“I am Wen Lingrao, the daughter of the Great General of the Wei Kingdom and daughter of the Princess,” she spoke, her voice thick with tears. “I am here to enter the palace and lodge an imperial complaint.”
The guards hesitated, then quickly sent someone to report. Soon, the palace gate opened. A eunuch ran out, bowed, and said: “Lady Wen, the Emperor summons you inside.”
Wen Lingrao nodded and got out of the carriage. She ordered them to drag Eunuch Feng and Chu Qirui out and march them into the palace. Eunuch Feng was supported by two junior eunuchs, his hand bloody and limp, looking utterly wretched. Chu Qirui was bound, a rag stuffed in his mouth, muffling his cries and struggles.
Wen Lingrao led the way, heading toward the Imperial Study. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes red, her hair messy, and her clothes stained with dirt—she looked pitiful beyond measure. Yet, her eyes were sharp, and as she walked, she memorized every path they took.
Inside the Imperial Study, the young Emperor, Su Junyan, was reclining on the dragon throne, a memorial in his hand, reading it distractedly.
He was nineteen this year and had been on the throne for three years, though half of the political power still rested in the hands of the Empress Dowager and several regent ministers. He was in no rush, however; he ate, slept, attended court, and watched plays—his life was reasonably comfortable. He had intended to finish reviewing these memorials before resting, but before he could finish one, he heard a commotion outside.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty—someone has broken in!”
Su Junyan lifted his head, his brow furrowing slightly.
Broken in? Who would dare storm the Imperial Study?
Before he could ask, the door to the Imperial Study was pushed open. A figure stumbled inside and flopped onto their knees. Su Junyan fixed his gaze on her and froze.
The woman kneeling on the floor was covered in large stains of blood, her hair was disheveled, and her face was a mixture of dirt and tear tracks; she looked utterly ruined. She lifted her head, revealing a pale face with red-rimmed eyes, her lips trembling slightly as if she had suffered a monumental grievance.
Su Junyan recognized her.
It was Wen Lingrao. His cousin, the daughter of the Princess, the only daughter of the Great General of Wei, and the wife of Chu Qirui, the Heir of the Changning Marquis’s estate.
“Lingrao?” Su Junyan put down the memorial and stood up. “What has happened to you?”
Wen Lingrao remained kneeling, tears streaming down her face. “Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to act on my behalf!”
Su Junyan’s brow furrowed deeper. He rounded the desk and walked over to Wen Lingrao, looking down at her. “Rise and speak.”
Wen Lingrao shook her head, remaining on her knees, looking up at him with teary eyes. “Your Majesty, I dare not rise. That I have lived to see Your Majesty today is already a miracle.”
Su Junyan’s expression shifted. “What is going on?”
Wen Lingrao took a deep breath, her voice trembling as she began. “Your Majesty, today, Eunuch Feng led a group of armed guards and stormed into the Changning Marquis’s estate.”
Su Junyan’s brows twitched. Eunuch Feng? That was one of Noble Consort Xi’s people.
Wen Lingrao continued: “He claimed repeatedly that he was acting on a verbal edict from Noble Consort Xi to arrest someone. I asked him who he was arresting, and he said it was me.”
Su Junyan remained silent, just watching her.
Wen Lingrao’s tears flowed even more profusely, her voice shaking harder. “Your Majesty, though I am but a woman, I understand what the law is. I am the daughter of a General, the daughter of a Princess, and Your Majesty’s cousin, married to the Heir of the Changning Marquis. What crime have I committed? What shameful thing have I done? By what right can the Noble Consort, with a single word, send armed guards to storm my home and take me away?”
She gestured to the bloodstains on her clothing. “Your Majesty, please look—this blood is what those guards left behind. They drew their swords, charged into my courtyard, and tried to silence me by killing me!”
Su Junyan’s gaze landed on the bloodstains, and his face darkened. “They resorted to violence?”
Wen Lingrao nodded, sobbing uncontrollably. “My secret guards fought to the death to protect me, and only then was I saved. I escaped in the chaos and ran all the way to the palace to beg Your Majesty for justice. Your Majesty, my mother is your aunt; I ask myself, have I ever done anything against the Royal Family or the Imperial Court? Why would someone want to kill me? Why?”
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, her entire body shaking.
Su Junyan was silent for a moment before he suddenly asked: “The secret guards you mentioned—how many were there?”
Wen Lingrao looked up at him, choking back a sob. “Eighteen.”
Su Junyan narrowed his eyes. “Eighteen? Where did you get secret guards?”
Wen Lingrao wiped her tears, her voice dropping a register. “Your Majesty may not know, but my father, fearing that I—his only daughter—would be bullied, specially left these men to protect me. They were all soldiers under my father’s command; after he passed, they followed me to ensure my safety. They do not usually live in the estate but wait outside. If it weren’t for them today, I would have long since…” She broke down crying again.
Su Junyan remained silent, simply watching her. Eighteen secret guards left by the Great General Wen. The explanation was plausible.
Seeing his silence, Wen Lingrao crawled half a step closer, looking up at him. “Your Majesty, I know they will claim I ordered the guards to resist, that I used violence against the law. But I must ask: they stormed my home with swords, intending to seize me, yet provided no documentation and could not name a single crime. What kind of law is that? My resistance was for self-preservation—it was legitimate defense!”
“The law states: one who enters a private residence at night may be slain, regardless of rank. Today, although they entered during the day, they had no warrants and no charges. How is this any different from bandits? My guards acted to protect me from being harmed by these bandits!”
Upon hearing this, Su Junyan could not help but look at her with renewed interest. This woman, disheveled as she was, spoke with impeccable logic. The daughter of a meritorious official, victimized and forced to defend herself. She had distanced herself from any blame.
And as for those who stormed the estate? Noble Consort Xi’s people, armed and unprovoked, storming the home of a meritorious official to make an arrest without warrants or charges. Who was right and who was wrong was crystal clear.
Su Junyan calculated quickly in his mind. That woman, Noble Consort Xi, had been growing increasingly arrogant these past few years, relying on the Empress Dowager’s favor. Her reach was growing too long and her influence too broad; she was nearly disregarding him as Emperor.
This incident—her people storming the Marquis’s estate, regardless of whether they were targeting Wen Lingrao or something else—had just given Su Junyan an opportunity. An opportunity to suppress her.