For several days in a row, Shi Xuan spent her time listening to music at the Zuifang Pavilion. However, the lingering melody of strings outside her elegant private room troubled her mind, occasionally leaving her nursing a hangover. Xianglan had tried multiple times to enter the room to entertain her or give her a shoulder massage, but was consistently driven out by her overwhelming reek of alcohol.
“The wine of the mortal realm is indeed inferior to the immortal nectar of the Heavenly Realm, but… it has a unique flavor of its own.” She reclined on her couch, supporting her forehead with one hand, her clothes slightly disheveled. An occasional cool breeze seeped through the cracks of the wooden window, causing her gauze skirt to sway gently.
She closed her eyes, feeling the wind brush past her face. Her strands of hair danced with the breeze, delicately grazing her skin.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shi Xuan opened her eyes and glanced at Chu Ling, who was sitting quietly to the side. A mischievous idea instantly popped into her head.
“Hey, tell me, that palace servant hasn’t come looking for you in nearly half a month. Could he have abandoned you here?” Shi Xuan sat up and downed her wine in a single gulp.
The wine cup was tossed casually onto the carved round stool beside her, spinning unevenly a few times.
“These past few days, you’ve eaten my food, used my things, and stayed in my quarters, yet you haven’t paid a single piece of silver,” she walked over to Chu Ling and carefully scrutinized this remarkably distinct princess.
“How do you plan to repay me?” She leaned down, doing her best to balance herself so she could meet Chu Ling’s gaze at eye level.
Chu Ling was still young, but she was not timid at all. Whether out of ignorance or fearlessness, she stared straight into Shi Xuan’s face. Her eyes were round, with the outer corners tilting upward just right—glamorous yet unrefined with innocent youthful charm. Her eyes were as clear as spring water, making Shi Xuan feel that her own playing the villain was somewhat unbecoming.
Shi Xuan tilted her head, then smiled at Chu Ling and said, “How about I leave you here at Zuifang Pavilion to play the zither and dance alongside the older sisters here to earn some silver to repay me?”
“No.” The moment the tender voice spoke, Shi Xuan laughed again.
“No? That’s not up to you.” She scooped Chu Ling up into her arms. “I’ll take you to see the madam right now.”
Struggling to break free from Shi Xuan’s embrace, Chu Ling tightly hugged her clay doll, looked around for a moment, and made a dash toward the wooden door.
“The kid actually took it seriously?” Shi Xuan chuckled and shook her head. Just as she lifted her foot to chase after her, she heard a commotion outside the door. The chaotic noise was so loud that it even drowned out the grand music and dancing on the floor below.
“There’s a thief! There’s a thief!”
Downstairs, the sound of clattering, shattering cups, and tumbling tables and chairs echoed continuously. Several charming women were likely startled out of their wits by the intruder; forgetting all propriety, they hoisted their skirts and scrambled in all directions. In Shi Xuan’s mind, a picture of the scene had already formed.
At that moment, Chu Ling had already pushed open the door of the private room and was standing in the corridor outside.
Shi Xuan frowned, her thoughts pausing for a beat: “Not good.”
She rushed out the door just in time to see a masked intruder dressed in black dashing toward Chu Ling, a scimitar in his hand gleaming with chilling cold light.
Shi Xuan’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. In the heat of the moment, she threw out the folding fan in her hand, managed to block the lethal weapon just before it fell upon Chu Ling.
She quickly stepped up to Chu Ling’s side, shielded her behind her back, and kicked the intruder down the wooden staircase. The intruder clutched his wounded flank and tumbled down the wooden steps, coming to a firm stop right before a pair of clean, crisp black boots after several rolls.
Shi Xuan looked up; the newcomer was none other than Xie Ying. Behind him followed a group of imperial palace guards. Unlike his disheveled and miserable appearance when they first met, his current attire was that of a high-ranking official, causing Shi Xuan to raise her guard slightly.
“Our benefactor truly possesses impressive skills,” Xie Ying smiled warmly and raised his hand to signal the guards beside him. Several of them stepped forward and hauled the intruder away.
“You flatter me, it’s just basic martial arts. As long as the princess is unharmed, that’s all that matters.” She released Chu Ling and signaled her to return to Xie Ying’s side.
This time, however, Chu Ling stood stubbornly in place, refusing to budge a single step.
“Your Highness, you have been frightened. Please follow this servant back to the palace,” Xie Ying spoke in a softened tone as he looked at Chu Ling.
Chu Ling turned her head and glanced at Shi Xuan.
Completely bewildered, Shi Xuan scratched her head, pondered for a moment, and actually let out a laugh: “Why are you looking at me? Just a moment ago, weren’t you worried that I…” Before she could finish her sentence, she swallowed her words back, fearing Xie Ying might overhear and place the blame on her.
“It seems Your Highness was well taken care of by our benefactor today. Look at her—she’s even a little reluctant to part.” Xie Ying’s smile grew increasingly stiff, though his words attempted to smooth things over.
“Your Highness, the palace turmoil has been quelled. Please follow this servant back to the palace immediately to prepare for your ascension to the throne.” Xie Ying bowed slightly in salute.
Ascend the throne? Shi Xuan almost suspected her ears were playing tricks on her.
From the time Xie Ying fled the palace with Chu Ling due to the coup until today, it had been barely half a month at most. How could it already be settled and prepared for an ascension? Anyone with common sense would find this somewhat suspicious, wouldn’t they?
“Pardon the display, benefactor. The late Emperor was advanced in age and plagued by chronic illnesses for years. He suffered frequent relapses and had many offspring, yet he delayed appointing a Crown Prince. When he passed away days ago, the princes in the palace turned on each other fiercely, resorting to any means necessary for power, resulting in a fratricidal bloodbath. To speak of it is truly a disgrace to the royal family.”
“However, as a result of this internal strife, the princes are now either dead, injured, or missing without a trace to this day. With the throne vacant, the common people are already in a state of panic. A court cannot go a day without a sovereign, and a country cannot go a day without a ruler. After careful consideration, the best course of action right now is to have the Twenty-First Princess return to the palace to ascend the throne and stabilize our Zhaoning.”
Shi Xuan pondered for a moment, suspecting that Xie Ying likely harbored ulterior motives. However, it was not her place to meddle in mortal affairs, so no matter how many thoughts she had, she let the matter rest. She waved her hand, signaling him to take Chu Ling away.
As Chu Ling left, she turned back once more to look at Shi Xuan. At that moment, Shi Xuan was stretching her arms, intending to head back to the private room for a nap. Her loose, emerald-green long sleeves dragged loosely along the ground, picking up a bit of dust.
Feeling a gaze upon her, she turned sideways and casually glanced out through the wooden window, meeting the eyes of the departing Chu Ling. It was those same expressive eyes, but now, unlike the past few days, they held an unfamiliar coldness that felt like stepping onto thin ice.
Shi Xuan thought nothing of it. She lazily adjusted her clothing and was just pushing open the wooden door to her private room when it suddenly hit her that Chu Ling’s rush out of the room earlier might not have been because of her joke.
The wooden window of the room was wide open. Outside, the spring sunshine was delightful. In the third month of spring, the weeping willows outside hung down like mist and smoke, blurring the bustling crowds and distant street calls on the street below.
Shi Xuan paused in a daze for a few seconds when a knock sounded at the wooden door behind her once again. Before she could even speak, a voice she had not expected came from the other side of the door.
“Benefactor, it is I.” Xie Ying’s voice was gentle and steady, conveying a image of a rigid, upright, and poised posture cultivated by strict etiquette, even without seeing his face.
“Didn’t you just leave, sir? Why have you returned? Did the princess leave something behind at my place?” Shi Xuan opened the door, looking somewhat puzzled.
“The princess is throwing a tantrum and refusing to return to the palace. Could you please carry your good deed through to the end and accompany Her Highness back to the palace? You can soothe her emotions so the ascension can proceed smoothly. Once the matter is settled, you will be lavishly rewarded.”
“Are you so sure I can soothe the princess? I’ve only spent a few days with her; you overrate me, sir.” Shi Xuan rested her hand on the wooden door, wanting to close it and rest, but was promptly stopped by Xie Ying.
“The palace is filled with countless beauties. Whatever you desire, benefactor, I can grant you.” Xie Ying was exceptionally skilled at reading people. After meeting only twice, he seemed to have grasped Shi Xuan’s preferences completely, speaking these words with total confidence.
And as it happened, Shi Xuan was precisely that kind of person.
“Then I shall reluctantly agree, sir.” Upon hearing the words “countless beauties,” Shi Xuan’s eyes lit up instantly, and her previous fatigue vanished in a heartbeat.
She snatched up an unfinished, silver-carved wine jug from the side, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp directly from the spout before saying with great satisfaction: “Sir, there’s no time to lose. Let us set off immediately so as not to delay Her Highness’s ascension schedule!”
Shi Xuan legitimately boarded Chu Ling’s carriage. By this time, the child was exhausted from crying and was sleeping peacefully on a golden-thread couch off to the side.
The road back to the palace was long and winding. Sitting upright inside the relatively cramped carriage, Shi Xuan began to doze off, feeling a sense of confinement.
“Hey, the princess is really strange. She couldn’t even be coaxed by Eunuch Xie, whom she’s known since birth, yet a peculiar woman from a entertainment house managed to soothe her so easily. Could it be… that peculiar woman knows dark magic?” whispered a palace maid walking alongside the carriage.
Hearing this, Shi Xuan nearly tumbled off the couch.
“Nonsense! Where would all this dark magic come from? If you ask me… it’s Eunuch Xie who has ulterior motives,” another maid replied, her voice growing quieter and quieter.
“How dare servants like you casually gossip about the manager’s actions? Someone, drag them away!” a supervisor shouted loudly, followed immediately by the piercing screams of the palace maids.
Shi Xuan couldn’t help but knit her brows. Upon realizing what had happened, she rubbed her temples.
For reasons unknown, Chu Ling truly refrained from throwing tantrums whenever she was by Shi Xuan’s side. Upon arriving at the palace, the ascension proceedings commenced immediately.
Even though many veteran ministers in the imperial court strongly opposed the princess taking the throne—some even suggesting bringing back several lords from distant border fiefs to ascend instead—Xie Ying, as a trusted confidant of the late Emperor and an educator to the princess, held a position second only to one person. He overruled all objections, allowing the young Chu Ling to sit firmly on the dragon throne.
The day after Chu Ling successfully ascended the throne, this immensely powerful chief eunuch, Xie Ying, eradicated the opposing court factions under various pretexts. This stern warning silenced the entire court in submission, noticeably quieting down the rumors within the palace.
Shi Xuan paid no mind to any of this. What pleased her, however, was that on the very day of Chu Ling’s ascension, a troupe of talented dancers and singers was dispatched to her residence, keeping her hall lively and festive for three whole days.
Xie Ying finished handling court affairs near evening. By now, the sky above the palace walls was painted with continuous layers of sunset clouds.
“Benefactor, my colleagues and I still have official duties to attend to. Her Majesty is still young, and the palace cannot lack a talented individual like you. Starting today, please assume the post of Grand Preceptor and relocate to Her Majesty’s palace to assist her.” Xie Ying’s tone left no room for refusal, nor did Shi Xuan have any way to refuse, considering she was already deep in the tiger’s den.
“The post of Grand Preceptor concerns Her Majesty’s future governance techniques. As a mere commoner, I fear it wouldn’t align with propriety. It would be more appropriate to let the previous Grand Preceptor continue in the role,” Shi Xuan feigned deep concern, “Besides, my status is humble; I wouldn’t be able to command the respect of the court.”
“Rest assured. In the entire court today, the only two people Her Majesty is willing to interact with are you and me. Since I am occupied with official duties, that leaves only you, benefactor.” Xie Ying paused, then added: “As for commanding respect, you certainly will. Those who refused to comply have already joined the former Grand Preceptor in following the late Emperor to show their loyalty.”
The corners of Xie Ying’s mouth curled up into a dark, chilling smile.
Shi Xuan knew full well in her heart that Xie Ying’s move was merely an attempt to put her in a nominal role as Grand Preceptor to fracture court factions. In the end, these struggles in the mortal palace were all about power.
She didn’t care. As long as Xie Ying fulfilled what he promised her, what harm was there in enjoying captivating music and dance in a different place?
As her thoughts reached this point, she felt a sudden trace of melancholy.
The only truly innocent and pitiable person was Chu Ling, a child of barely four or five years old, forced onto the dragon throne to become a puppet emperor in the court’s power struggle.