Shi Xuan returned to Qiankun Palace and slept heavily for three full days without stepping foot outside. Whispers even circulated through the palace that the newly appointed Imperial Grand Tutor had followed the late Immortal Emperor into the afterlife to prove her loyalty.
Inside the hall, court maidservants and eunuchs were in a complete frenzy—summoning imperial physicians one moment and preparing celestial remedies the next, nearly wearing down the threshold of Qiankun Palace.
When she finally awoke, she saw Chu Ling standing by the couch with tear-brimming eyes, completely silent. Startled awake, Shi Xuan thought for a moment before offering an apologetic smile: “Sorry about that, Your Majesty. Your soft couch was just too comfortable, and I accidentally slept for way too long.”
“It’s fine, as long as you’re awake.” Chu Ling rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Her long eyelashes, coated in tears, appeared even thicker and darker as they fluttered gently, making Shi Xuan’s heart ache.
“Were you… worried about me?” Shi Xuan scratched her head, laughing sheepishly. She pulled Chu Ling into her arms and whispered soothingly, “Don’t cry, alright? Am I not completely fine?”
She gently wiped Chu Ling’s cheek with her finger. Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind—the vision of “destiny” she had witnessed a few days ago while purging the demonic energy at the imperial mausoleum.
In that place of extreme Yin, she seemed to have glimpsed Chu Ling’s inherently doomed, extreme-Yin fate. She didn’t know whether to blame her own overly playful nature for causing this innocent child to suffer such a calamity, or to blame Xue Shen for being so heartless as to write her the tragic fate of a short-lived empress and the ruler of a fallen nation.
At this thought, she let out a soft laugh and looked at Chu Ling: “Are you really that afraid of me dying?” She then lowered her eyes, watching the child’s small hand tightly clutching her finger, grasping even tighter the longer she looked.
Shi Xuan patted Chu Ling’s head with her other hand, her voice tender: “Don’t worry, I’m right here.”
From that day on, Chu Ling stuck to Shi Xuan constantly.
Shi Xuan found herself rather restricted whenever she tried to inquire about state affairs.
“Hey, manager, please wait a moment,” she called out to a senior maidservant passing by while holding Chu Ling’s hand.
“I heard Eunuch Xie is preparing to arrange the burial in the imperial mausoleum. Do you know when the date is set?”
“Replying to the Grand Tutor: I heard Eunuch Xie intends to conduct the burial at the beginning of next month during the Qingming Festival, handling the sacrificial rites at the same time.”
Shi Xuan nodded thoughtfully.
“That soon? That doesn’t seem quite right,” she muttered to herself. Raising her eyes, she noticed dark clouds pressing down and fierce winds sweeping through. “It really is almost Qingming… the rainy season is coming too.”
“Chu Ling, let’s go.” As Shi Xuan walked, something suddenly came to her mind. She smiled and asked Chu Ling, “Speaking of Qingming, the Cold Food Festival is coming up soon too. I saw the imperial kitchen is already preparing almond curds. Would you like to try some?”
Chu Ling pondered for a few seconds and nodded.
At the hour of You (5:00 PM – 7:00 PM), as dusk settled, a light drizzle began to fall.
As soon as Chu Ling returned to Qiankun Palace after finishing her daily lessons, Shi Xuan rushed out to greet her, looking at her with a beaming smile: “Did you bring me almond curd? The kind made by the imperial kitchen!”
“I brought it.” Chu Ling signaled to the maidservant to open the carrier box. Inside sat a jade bowl filled with freshly prepared almond curd, looking like glistening white jade fat. A faint, cool, sweet fragrance wafted out—delicate without being cloying—soaking the surrounding air in a gentle, refreshing sweetness.
Just as Shi Xuan was about to pick up her chopsticks, she suddenly remembered the proper etiquette between ruler and subject. She pushed the wooden chopsticks forward: “Your Majesty, you eat first.”
“I’ve already eaten. It’s very delicious,” Chu Ling said, shaking her head.
Hearing this, Shi Xuan did not stand on ceremony and dug in heartily.
“Chu Ling, after Qingming, there’s a temple fair at the Dongwang Temple in the capital. Do you want to go?” Shi Xuan asked suddenly.
“…”
Chu Ling remained silent for a long time without answering. Only then did Shi Xuan notice that her mood had been quite low over the past few days; aside from holding hands and seeking hugs, she barely spoke at all.
“Were today’s lessons very difficult?” Shi Xuan asked.
Chu Ling shook her head.
“Did your clay doll break?” Shi Xuan guessed.
She glanced at the intact clay doll held safely in Chu Ling’s arms.
“Ah, it’s been raining lately, so our little Majesty’s shoes must have gotten wet. Those servants are so thoughtless, not even noticing something like this.” Shi Xuan bent down, but the moment she lifted the hem of the dress covering the shoes, Chu Ling quickly shrank back.
Shi Xuan paused, her hands freezing mid-air. She raised her head to meet Chu Ling’s gaze, but Chu Ling deliberately turned her head aside.
“Why are there injuries on your legs? The bruises are different shades, and there are old and new wounds layered over each other. Who has been hurting you for so long?” Shi Xuan’s tone dropped to absolute freezing point.
“Chu Ling, tell me. Don’t be afraid.” Suppressing the boiling rage inside her, Shi Xuan pulled Chu Ling into her embrace and comforted her in a gentle voice.
The next second, Chu Ling burst into tears with a loud “waa,” burying her face into Shi Xuan’s robes. Her shoulders shook violently as her back heaved up and down, as if years of suppressed grievances were finally pouring out all at once.
“It’s… Eunuch Xie… He… wouldn’t let me tell anyone…”
Shi Xuan gently stroked her back: “It’s alright, take your time. I’m listening.”
Chu Ling’s words were choked with sobs and hard to understand. After listening to her account, Shi Xuan made several discrete inquiries around the palace to piece together the full truth.
Chu Ling was young, her birth mother was of low status and had passed away early, and she had never been favored by the late Emperor, who relied heavily on his eunuchs. Thus, she was entrusted to Xie Ying.
The wildly powerful Xie Ying held no regard for this unfavored twenty-first princess, let alone the other palace maids and eunuchs. In her former palace residence, she often suffered from hunger and cold, endured frequent verbal and physical abuse from the servants, and Xie Ying treated beatings as a daily routine under the guise of her education.
Chu Ling had started her lessons late, and no one was specifically assigned to teach her how to speak or write. She had learned the bare minimum entirely on her own, scrambling through the constant mistreatment of the servants.
As for that clay doll, her birth mother had crafted it with her own hands and given it to her before she died. She cherished it as her most precious treasure, keeping it by her side every single moment.
“You’re the enthroned Emperor now, and Xie Ying still hits you?” Shi Xuan let out a cold, enraged laugh.
Chu Ling nodded, clutching Shi Xuan’s sleeve tightly and refusing to let go, as if releasing it for even a second would cause the person in front of her to vanish completely just like her mother. In this vast, cold palace, she had no one else to rely on, but she didn’t want to be left all alone in the cold anymore.
“This is truly pushing things too far.” Shi Xuan used a handkerchief to gently dab away the tears at the corners of Chu Ling’s eyes.
“Chu Ling, you must remember: you are the Empress of the Zhaoning Kingdom, the supreme ruler of all the common people. You are the sovereign of nine-five status—no one is allowed to treat you this way. Xie Ying will get his retribution.” As Shi Xuan uttered the last sentence, she practically gritted her teeth, wishing she could pull out Qingming right this instance and hack him into pieces.
However, the child in her arms had already gone quiet—she had likely fallen asleep from utter exhaustion after crying so hard. Shi Xuan shook her head and carried her over to lay her on the couch.
She squatted by the couch for a long time before finally letting out a quiet sigh. Gently lifting the hem of her dress near her legs, the sight of the shocking wounds made her gasp in cold air.
Shi Xuan ultimately felt a surge of pity. She mobilized her immortal power to heal her, yet the wounds showed not the slightest sign of improvement.
“How could this be? Xue Shen, do you really have to go to such lengths?” Shi Xuan shook her head and quietly walked out of Qiankun Palace.
At that moment, a sudden flash of lightning accompanied a burst of thunder. Downpours of torrential rain cascaded off the eaves, gathering into several curtains of water in the courtyard. The wind blew, sending the water curtains floating inward and outward. A few stray raindrops struck Shi Xuan’s face, bringing a sting of pain.
A few days later, she inquired again with an on-duty eunuch nearby.
“During the Qingming sacrificial ceremony, if Her Majesty attends, what will happen with the imperial court?” Holding an umbrella, Shi Xuan raised her voice as much as possible to keep it from being drowned out by the roaring rain.
“Her Majesty is young and frail of health; she cannot endure the hardships of long travel. Eunuch Xie has spoken—he will not let Her Majesty go. Grand Tutor, rest assured, we won’t disrupt your schedule for her lessons.”
“That is good then. Eunuch, please accept this small token of my appreciation.” Shi Xuan slipped a heavy bag of silver into his hands as a gesture of thanks.
The Qingming sacrificial ceremony would last for several days. By then, most of the palace guards would be reassigned; slipping out of the palace amidst the chaos would not be difficult.
The next morning during the early court session, Chu Ling sat upright on the dragon throne holding her clay doll. Xie Ying stood in front of her holding an imperial edict, reading aloud in a high voice: ” The palace coup was bloody, and corpses lay strewn across the forbidden grounds. Heaven is angered and the people are resentful; it is unfit for the bodies to remain long in the palace. As Qingming approaches with nationwide sacrifices, the Ministry of Rites petitions: ‘Execute an expedient, swift burial with the rites of national mourning to appease the departed souls and suppress the malevolent energy.’ Approved—thus it is decreed!”
Below the dais, the hundred officials of the court bowed low on their knees in silence.
After court was dismissed, Chu Ling wanted to return straight to Qiankun Palace as usual, but was pinned to her seat by Xie Ying’s cold, harsh voice, unable to move.
“Your Majesty.” Xie Ying’s eyes were bloodshot and terrifyingly dark, yet Chu Ling still met his gaze directly.
“We… want to return to Our palace.” It was the first time Chu Ling referred to herself with the royal “We,” which took Xie Ying somewhat by surprise.
“This subject knows. But before that, this subject still wishes to tell Your Majesty that being the ruler of a nation is not so easy. Your Majesty had better behave dutifully and not keep this subject constantly worried.” The pupils of Xie Ying’s eyes seemed covered by a layer of haze—cloudy and inscrutable.
“Let me go back!” Chu Ling grew angry, her voice rising several pitches. Her tiny brow furrowed as her eyes glared fiercely at Xie Ying.
Xie Ying, however, paid it no mind at all. Leaning down, he snatched the clay doll straight out of her arms.
“Filthy junk like this is not allowed to appear in the imperial court ever again.” With those words, he slammed it heavily onto the ground. The doll shattered instantly into pieces; the fine mud turned into dust at that moment, kicking up a small cloud of dirt.
“No!” Chu Ling stared blankly at the fragments on the ground, her eyes rimmed with red. She clenched her fists tightly, glaring at Xie Ying.
“I will… kill you!” Chu Ling lunged forward. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had hidden a dagger in her sleeve, and now she drew it out, thrusting it straight at Xie Ying.
With the vast gap in height and strength, Xie Ying simply raised his foot and kicked her to the ground, sending the dagger flying three meters away.
Xie Ying lowered his head and grabbed Chu Ling by the collar, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips: “Overestimating your capabilities. Believe it or not, though I raised you to the throne today, I can depose you tomorrow.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand to strike. But before the slap could fall, he was stopped by Shi Xuan’s loud, frantic shout as she rushed over.
“Eunuch, spare her!”
Shi Xuan, who usually disregarded all etiquette and acted entirely nonchalant, was now prostrate on the ground, pleading softly for Chu Ling: “Eunuch, Her Majesty is young and ignorant; her words are merely innocent childhood foolishness. If she has offended you, please forgive her.”
“It is entirely due to my poor discipline as her tutor. If you feel displeased, Eunuch, you may punish me instead. I will not utter a single word of complaint—just please do not harm Her Majesty.”