The rain had been falling for several days, covering the entire palace in a white mist.
Because he had been busy with official duties, it was already late when the Crown Prince left Zichen Palace.
Suhee held an umbrella over Li Xuan. As they walked down the jade steps, they saw Prince Yan, Li Huan, kneeling in the rain below.
Zheng Fu hurried out after Li Xuan. He placed a crane-embroidered robe over his shoulders and said, “His Majesty said that the inner hall is very warm because of the burning charcoal. When you came out, he forgot to remind you to put on a robe. He ordered this servant to bring one to you quickly. Your Highness’s health is weak, so you must be careful not to catch a cold.”
Li Xuan put on the robe and turned to look at Li Huan, who was still kneeling in the rain.
Li Huan was wearing light armor, but his clothes underneath were completely soaked. The wet fabric showed the outline of his strong body. Faint red stains had spread into the water beneath his knees, showing that his injuries had not fully healed. He looked miserable and exhausted.
Zheng Fu, the chief eunuch serving Emperor Chenming, noticed Li Xuan looking at the Prince of Yan and gave a helpless smile.
“People outside are already talking about this. His Majesty doesn’t want to see the Third Prince right now, but the Third Prince refuses to leave.”
Li Xuan nodded.
If someone made a serious mistake, they had to face the Emperor’s anger. Simply kneeling in the rain would not make that anger disappear.
Besides, Li Huan had never been favored by Emperor Chenming.
Even when they were young, their father had rarely paid attention to Li Huan. Whenever their father was speaking, Li Huan would always stand outside the door with a gloomy expression.
As the eldest brother, Li Xuan had always treated his younger brothers equally. He would take Li Huan’s hand and bring him into the main hall.
But that had been a long time ago.
Li Xuan pointed toward Li Huan.
“Give him a robe too.”
He wondered if Li Huan was jealous of the warm robe on his shoulders.
In truth, Li Xuan was somewhat jealous of his third brother’s strong body. Li Huan could kneel in the cold rain for so long without collapsing.
Just as he thought this, Li Xuan suddenly coughed. His body trembled beneath the robe.
Zheng Fu quickly urged him to return to the palace.
The two brothers were not close enough to exchange polite words. Li Huan remained completely still while Zheng Fu placed the robe over him, looking almost like a stone statue.
The stone statue finally moved when he heard a young woman’s voice.
Bao Shu came over holding an umbrella. She bowed to Li Xuan and bit her lip.
“The Princess has been ill for a long time and has been thinking about Your Highness. I wonder when Your Highness will be able to visit her at Luan Yi Pavilion?”
Before Li Xuan could answer, Li Huan suddenly turned his head toward Bao Shu.
Li Xuan asked, “Is her condition really that serious? Did Afu take the medicine I sent?”
Bao Shu replied, “The Princess has taken the medicine Your Highness sent every day without missing a dose. However, she has been very troubled and cannot settle her mind, so her illness has become worse. She keeps telling me that she wants to see Brother Xuan.”
Li Xuan glanced at her and smiled.
“Bao Shu, working in the palace is tiring. It is very different from the comfortable life you had at home. Have you gotten used to it?”
Bao Shu was stunned for a moment before quickly answering, “This servant… finds the palace very pleasant. The Princess is gentle and kind. I will do my best to serve her and take good care of Your Highness.”
“Just do your job well. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime.”
Li Xuan smiled warmly. Before Bao Shu could say anything else, he left with Suhee.
Bao Shu could clearly see the warning hidden behind his smile. She stood there, not knowing what to do.
A few days ago, she had heard that Consort Zheng had angered the Crown Prince and caused him to lose his temper.
She had thought this was a good opportunity for the Princess.
But now it seemed that she had said the wrong thing.
Behind her, Li Huan called out several times.
“Bao Shu.”
She ignored him.
Li Huan raised his voice anxiously.
“Where are the things I sent? There were medicinal herbs inside.”
After walking some distance, Bao Shu finally turned around.
Li Huan was still kneeling in the rain, desperately lifting his head to look at her.
This disgraced Third Prince really looked like a drowning man.
But even a drowning man did not wear such a frightening mask.
In this era, people cared greatly about appearance. Throughout history, most Crown Princes had been handsome and dignified.
Someone with a face so frightening that he could not even appear in public would have almost no chance of becoming Emperor.
So when Bao Shu bowed to Li Huan, she could not hide the disdain in her eyes.
“The Princess knew the things belonged to the Third Prince, so she ordered me to throw them away.”
She looked at him coldly.
“The Third Prince knows that the Princess dislikes you, so why do you keep bothering her? Let me give you some advice. You are already in a dangerous position yourself. Do you really want the Princess to spend the rest of her life living in uncertainty with you?”
After saying this, she turned around and left.
Rainwater ran down Li Huan’s bronze mask, covering his entire expression.
Meng Guanlou was used to drinking heavily in the evenings.
He staggered back to his private room, already half drunk. But the moment he saw the person sitting inside, he immediately became much more sober.
Li Xuan was sitting in a chair. His gold-embroidered round-necked robe hung loosely around him, while Suhee stood quietly beside him. Neither of them showed any expression.
Meng Guanlou noticed that all the servants inside the pavilion had been sent away and were waiting outside.
He quietly closed the door.
“In broad daylight, you caused a disturbance in the middle of the city. Who gave you permission to act so recklessly?” Li Xuan asked.
Meng Guanlou’s expression changed slightly. He was about to answer when Li Xuan spoke again in a cold voice.
“Was this your idea, or your father’s?”
Meng Guanlou’s eyelashes trembled violently.
He immediately raised his hands.
“It was me… Your Highness, it was all my doing. My father already punished me severely that day. If my mother had not protected me, I would not be standing here safely in front of Your Highness today.”
Li Xuan’s expression softened slightly, but his voice remained serious.
“Ninth Prince, even if you and Lu Huating had exchanged insults, it would have been nothing more than a small quarrel between officials. But you caused trouble by touching the Prince of Yan’s robes. Do you understand what that means?”
“This is a struggle between factions.”
Li Xuan raised his phoenix-shaped eyes and looked at him.
“Throughout history, how many countries have fallen because of factional struggles? The world has only just been brought under control, and Father has been Emperor for less than a year. Yet at a time when the people of Southern Chu should be enjoying peace, a group of people who have barely settled into their positions have already begun fighting over the Crown Prince’s position.”
“Your Highness is right,” Meng Guanlou said hesitantly. “But I see things a little differently. Your Highness thinks this way, but other people may not.”
He continued, “Now is indeed not the right time to fight for power. But if we wait until the whole world is completely peaceful, it may already be too late.”
“For years, the Li family’s army has been loyal to the Prince of Yan. They recognize the Prince of Yan, not the Crown Prince. Now that the Xiao family’s army has surrendered, the Prince of Yan has been ordered to station troops outside the city. He also has that ambitious Lu Huating beside him.”
“If the Prince of Yan wanted to, he could fill the entire palace with his own men. What if one day he surrounds the city and forces the Emperor to change the Crown Prince? How would Your Highness respond?”
Li Xuan shook his head.
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“How do you know he wouldn’t dare?” Meng Guanlou asked anxiously.
“Your Highness doesn’t truly understand the Prince of Yan, and you don’t understand people’s hearts either. Don’t forget, after the Battle of Feihu Pass, when your life and death were still uncertain, Father promised the Prince of Yan the position of Crown Prince. And he accepted it, didn’t he?”
Meng Guanlou hesitated before continuing.
“Once Your Highness’s health…”
Crack!
Li Xuan crushed the teacup in his hand.
Li Xuan’s mother had died in the Battle of Feihu Pass, and Li Xuan himself had suffered terribly because of it.
Meng Guanlou realized immediately that he had gone too far.
He quickly knelt down.
“Your Highness, look at this room. The soft couch, cushions, ice chest, and incense burner were all prepared in advance. Didn’t you feel that everything was just right when you came in?”
“I had everything prepared six hours ago. I like to enjoy things after everything has been properly arranged. Why should I leave anything to chance and allow things to become more troublesome?”
Meng Guanlou raised his chin.
“You must listen to me this time. We are not trying to kill the Prince of Yan. We only want to remove his chance of inheriting the throne while he is still not a threat.”
“That way, Your Highness can take the throne smoothly without having to worry about future threats. Isn’t that better?”
Li Xuan was silent for a moment before asking, “What happened to the people you brought in?”
“They are all street thugs with no family or relatives. I sent them to a manor at the foot of Wancheng Mountain. My bodyguard, Qu Feng, is watching them there.”
“Once things calm down, we can give them some silver and send them somewhere far away.”
“I came here today because I wanted to confirm something with you.”
Li Xuan poured himself another cup of tea.
“I heard a woman was involved that day, but she managed to escape. You said she was a guard from the Prince of Yan’s residence?”
“Absolutely,” Meng Guanlou said.
“I saw her with my own eyes that day. She was hiding among the crowd and working with Juan Su from inside. Lu Huating even risked his life and ordered his personal guards to move aside to protect her.”
“How could he have done that if she were not important?”
“This woman was so desperate to save Lu Huating that she pushed the situation to the point where it could no longer be controlled. She even damaged the reputation of the Prince of Yan.”
Meng Guanlou smiled.
“Even if we don’t find her, the Prince of Yan will punish her severely himself.”
Li Xuan said, “You’re wrong. That female guard from the Prince of Yan’s residence could not possibly be her.”
“But Your Highness, my spies told me that there is more than one female guard in the Prince of Yan’s residence.”
Meng Guanlou continued, “The Southern Chu assassins have tried to kill the Prince of Yan many times over the years, but none of them succeeded. It was all because Lu Huating recruited eight highly skilled guards.”
“One of them is a female secret guard named Wen Su. She is always stationed outside the residence and has never shown her face.”
Li Xuan suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked directly at Meng Guanlou.
“Did you see what that woman looked like?”
“No. She always kept her face covered, so I don’t know what she looked like or what she was planning.”
Meng Guanlou sounded frustrated.
“Lu Huating also seemed to be deliberately preventing other people from seeing her.”
“Besides, that woman was extremely careful. She wore no hairpins or jewelry, and she didn’t even lose a single earring at the scene.”
“The only thing she left behind was a knife mark.”
“A thrown knife injured someone with only a single cut. That proves she wasn’t an ordinary noblewoman.”
“Doesn’t that prove she was Wen Su?”
“If Lingxin’s place hadn’t been so crowded and chaotic that day, our people would never have lost track of her.”
Li Xuan’s expression changed several times.
“The place where the incident happened was very close to Lingxin Inn?”
Meng Guanlou nodded. “It was that pastry shop that sells lotus flower cakes, the one with the long line outside. It was right next door. Does Your Highness remember something?”
“Nothing.”
Li Xuan spoke casually, “Yesterday, a palace maid from Consort Zheng’s palace left the palace. Around nine at night, she happened to be near Lingxin Inn. I originally thought that, since she was a palace maid, there was a good chance she knew Lu Huating.”
“If she had witnessed the fight, she might have noticed something, so I had her detained. I simply didn’t expect that she might be an even more capable person.”
Before leaving, Li Xuan lowered his hand and gently rubbed Meng Guanlou’s forehead and temples.
Meng Guanlou obediently remained still, like a dog being petted.
Li Xuan said, “Your temperature really is a little high. If you’re feeling restless and uncomfortable, I’ll have Suhee find a physician to prescribe some medicine to calm you down.”
“Whether you’re doing this for my sake or because you want personal revenge, you know the truth yourself. Don’t provoke Lu Huating again. I understand him better than you do.”
Early the next morning, the gate of Qunqing’s residence was opened.
Suhee came to deliver an imperial order.
Qunqing had been confined for two days. She had spent enough time thinking about every possible outcome.
Perhaps Zheng Zhiyi had pleaded for her.
Perhaps the entire palace had pleaded for her.
But she never expected to see a golden tray.
On the tray lay a bolt of silver-red silk, bright and beautiful like the glow of the evening clouds.
Suhee announced, “His Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order. That day, His Highness was in a bad mood and lost his temper. He severely reprimanded the maid of Qingxuan Pavilion and frightened Consort Liang. His Highness deeply regrets this and has therefore awarded you a bolt of silk as compensation. He hopes you will be more careful in your duties from now on.”
A Meng and the others were stunned.
They knew that the Crown Prince was gentle and kind, but they had never imagined that he would actually apologize to a palace maid and reward her with silk.
Lan Yue looked at Qunqing with almost undisguised hatred.
Consort Liang’s heart had been broken, and she had not even received a visit from the Crown Prince.
Yet Qunqing had received a reward.
What kind of charm did this woman possess?
Could she really be a fox spirit reincarnated?
Ordinary things seemed to become strange whenever they happened to Qunqing.
Qunqing stood there without moving until Suhee reminded her to accept the reward and express her gratitude.
Only then did she take the golden tray.
In the imperial palace, the brighter and more vivid the color of the silk, the rarer and more valuable it was.
Even among the belongings of high-ranking palace women, silver-red silk was extremely precious.
Qunqing stared at the silk.
The Crown Prince’s excessive favor toward a mere palace maid felt more like a warning.
Instead of punishing her, he had rewarded her.
Was he deliberately trying to provoke Zheng Zhiyi?
Or was he trying to place her in a difficult position?
Would a Crown Prince really be so petty over a few women?
As soon as Lan Yue left, A Meng and the others immediately surrounded Qunqing.
“We knew Sister Qing was blessed by the heavens! Not only were you not punished, you were even rewarded!”
A-Jiang’s eyes kept drifting toward the silk.
“Sister Qing, you must remember that we helped you! We pleaded for you that day, and we even offended Sister Lan Yue because of it.”
A Meng immediately said, “It was clearly Ruochan who rushed forward to beg for mercy. She even used the sleeve that Sister Qing had repaired for her. You were the one who hesitated and didn’t dare to go!”
As expected, A Meng and A-Jiang spoke up for her.
They had already offended Lan Yue by taking Qunqing’s side. If they did not help her now, they would never be able to live peacefully.
But Ruochan had unexpectedly been brave enough to speak up for her.
Ruochan’s face turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
She clutched the hem of her skirt and whispered, “If Sister Qing leaves the palace, there will be no one to teach me embroidery anymore…”
“So you want me to teach you embroidery?”
Before Ruochan could explain, Qunqing smiled.
“Fine.”
Ruochan immediately became happy.
“Sister Qing, can you return to your room and sleep tonight?” A-Jiang asked. “That’s wonderful. I won’t have to worry all night anymore.”
Only then did Qunqing notice the gloomy expressions on everyone’s faces.
The wind swept fallen leaves and dust across the courtyard.
Looking at the messy yard, Qunqing asked, “Why hasn’t the courtyard been cleaned again?”
It had only been tidy for a few days before returning to its original state.
“What is the point of cleaning it?” A Meng said bitterly. “I guess we won’t have to clean it anymore.”
She gave a sad smile.
“Sister Qing, we’re finished.”
“Why are we finished?” Qunqing asked in confusion.
“Don’t you understand?”
A-Jiang glanced toward the inner room and said resentfully, “When His Highness sent the reward today, did he mention Consort Liang?”
“He was only compensating you to protect his own reputation. If Consort Liang still had even a little hope before, everything changed that day.”
“His Highness left with such a dark expression that the entire palace now knows that Consort Liang and His Highness have completely fallen out.”
“His Highness will never come to Qingxuan Pavilion again!”
Qunqing listened quietly.
A-Jiang could not understand why Qunqing’s eyes remained as calm as still water. She even looked somewhat confused.
“Sister Qing, is there really nothing you care about?” A-Jiang asked sadly.
There was, in fact, one thing Qunqing cared about very much.
She asked, “Did our salaries change? Is Steward Liu still here?”
“No… Steward Liu is in the kitchen. What does that have to do with anything?”
A-Jiang almost choked.
“We’ll never have any good opportunities again!”
“You two, take some people and clean the side hall and South Garden.”
After hearing her answer, Qunqing returned to her usual calm expression.
“Ruochan, clean the inner hall. It has been raining heavily these past few days. The wood is starting to rot, and that could cause illness.”
“If Consort Liang becomes seriously ill, then we’ll really be in trouble.”
Everyone thought about it and realized that she was right.
They quickly went to get their cleaning tools.
As long as she had enough money, food, and a stable life, Qunqing’s emotions remained very steady.
She was simply happy.
She picked up the silk from the golden tray and slowly unfolded it.
The brilliant silver-red silk flowed down like a waterfall.
“You all seem unhappy lately. Cut this silk into shawls. One for each of you.”
“Let’s all be happy today.”
Outside, the young palace maids were laughing and making a great deal of noise.
Inside, Lan Yue was changing Zheng Zhiyi’s handkerchief, but her heart was becoming increasingly uneasy.
Her mistress was seriously ill.
How could these ungrateful people have no conscience at all?
After the argument that day, the neighboring palaces had been filled with gossip.
The Crown Prince had left with a dark expression, and Zheng Zhiyi had not even gotten out of bed the following day.
She refused to wash or change her clothes. She simply lay on the bed with her eyes open.
Lan Yue tried everything to comfort her, but Zheng Zhiyi remained silent.
Qunqing brought in a full tray of lunch.
Lan Yue immediately threw a towel at her.
“You ungrateful girl! Even Her Ladyship can’t drink plain porridge anymore!”
The angry shout startled Zheng Zhiyi awake.
“Lan Yue…”
Lan Yue quickly helped her sit up.
Qunqing looked at the young woman sitting inside the bed curtains.
Zheng Zhiyi’s hair was messy, and in only a few days, most of the light in her eyes had disappeared. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
Zheng Zhiyi began to sob.
“I dreamed that I was back in Huaiyuan…”
“Li Xuan was very sick at that time. I used a small charcoal stove to boil medicine for him. The smoke made my face completely black.”
“When he opened his eyes, he actually smiled at me.”
“He clearly didn’t hate me, did he?”
“It was so cold back then… He even made sure to cover me tightly with the blanket at night.”
Lan Yue gently wiped the tears from her face.
But the more she wiped, the more tears came.
“Consort Liang… My lady… Please don’t cry…”
The mistress and servant could no longer hold back and began crying together.
Hearing their cries fill the room, Qunqing lowered her eyes.
For a moment, she felt sorry for Zheng Zhiyi.
Back when Emperor Chenming was still a military official, he had just arrived in Huaiyuan as the military governor.
The place was barren and windy, and bandits were everywhere. Even the military governor’s office struggled to survive.
One day, Li Xuan went out to deliver a message and was robbed on the mountain.
At that time, Zheng Zhiyi was the youngest daughter of a bandit family.
When she saw the handsome and refined Li Xuan, she insisted that he become her husband.
Zheng Zhiyi’s father spoiled his daughter so much that he did not think she was simply talking like a child. He actually wanted to arrange the marriage.
At that time, Li Xuan was still unmarried, and the Li family was weak.
Faced with a large group of bandits, they forced their eldest son to accept this humiliating marriage.
Li Feng had always been humble. After speaking with Zheng Zhiyi’s grandfather, he came to admire this future in-law.
The two families drank together and became friends.
In the end, the long-standing bandit problem was resolved.
Later, the Zheng family led all their troops to surrender to the Li family. They even served the Li family and died for them.
But that was another story.
Zheng Zhiyi’s teeth began to chatter.
It was difficult to tell whether it was because of sadness or fear.
“We went out to gather our horses, but the scattered enemy troops ambushed us.”
“We rolled all the way down the valley. We had no food and no water.”
“He gave me the last bit of food and waited there to die.”
“He used to treat me so well.”
“But it turns out he simply hadn’t met the right person yet.”
“Now that Yang Fu has bewitched him, he’s become like a completely different person.”
“He used to never speak harshly to anyone.”
“But now, when I finally have a maid I like, he shouts and kills someone right in front of me just to make an example of her…”
It was as if Heaven had secretly replaced her Li Xuan with a completely different man.
“My lady, I have something to tell you.”
Qunqing’s clear and calm voice broke through the crying like cool dew falling into a quiet pool.
Zheng Zhiyi stopped crying and looked at her.
Qunqing slowly said, “His Highness the Crown Prince went to Huaiyuan with the Emperor when he was eight years old.”
“After that, he only returned to Chang’an once a year, on New Year’s Eve, to pay his respects.”
“Besides, according to the palace rules, an unmarried former Chu princess was not allowed to speak with men outside the palace.”
“Even her maids had to use a round fan to cover her face.”
Qunqing took a breath.
“So the Crown Prince and Princess Bao’an only met a few times, at banquets and at Tonghua Terrace.”
“That cannot compare with the relationship you had with Consort Liang, when you spent your days and nights together and went through both happiness and hardship.”
Zheng Zhiyi’s expression immediately fell apart.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“How could that be?”
Her voice trembled.
“Are you saying that there was never anything between them?”
“Exactly.”
“How do you know?”
“You’re talking nonsense! They’ve only met a few times? How could they have only met a few times?”
Zheng Zhiyi refused to believe her.
Qunqing naturally knew the truth.
Because she had been the one who accompanied Princess Bao’an back then.
She had been the one holding the round fan that covered the princess’s face.
Yang Fu’s love for Li Xuan had always been nothing more than a one-sided dream.
And Li Xuan had never truly been in love with Yang Fu either.
Otherwise, after Yang Fu became the Crown Princess, why would the two of them treat each other with such formal respect?
And why would Yang Fu eventually become so unhappy that she turned to the Prince of Yan?
“I have lived in the inner palace since I was young, so it isn’t strange that I know many things about the former Chu royal family.”
Qunqing picked up a plate of delicious braised duck and placed it on the floor.
“Please look, Consort Liang. This is Princess Bao’an.”
Then she placed a bowl of plain noodles beside it.
“And this is you.”
Zheng Zhiyi stared blankly at the food on the floor, her brows tightly furrowed.
She could not understand what Qunqing was trying to do.
Qunqing placed several more dishes beside the braised duck.
“Among the civil and military officials in the court, four out of ten were former officials of Chu.”
“The four great families—the Xie, Cui, Meng, and Wang families—have also been connected to the former Chu royal family through marriage for many years.”
“Princess Bao’an is, after all, a princess of the former Chu Kingdom.”
“If she becomes Crown Princess and later Empress, these people will have someone they can rely on. They will naturally want her to become Crown Princess.”
“As for you, you have no powerful family connections.”
“So they will only watch and wait.”
“If the Crown Prince marries Princess Bao’an, he will win the hearts of the people, gain the support of the noble families, and secure the loyalty of the court officials. Everything will become much easier.”
Qunqing looked at Zheng Zhiyi.
“If you were the Crown Prince, would you choose to marry her?”
Zheng Zhiyi blinked.
Cold sweat slowly formed on her forehead.
What frightened her even more than the thought that Li Xuan could pretend to care for a woman he did not love was the empty bowl of plain noodles representing herself.
Qunqing asked, “Has Consort Liang ever thought about what you really mean to the Crown Prince?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself?”
Zheng Zhiyi’s confidence had already been shattered. Her voice trembled.
“We went through life and death together. We shared both happiness and hardship. We were together day and night.”
“That is true, but it is also not the whole truth.”
Qunqing said, “I heard that the marriage between Consort Liang and His Highness happened because of a joke you made when you were a child.”
“You were still young at the time. You didn’t know whether His Highness already had someone he loved or what kind of future he wanted.”
“And because of that marriage, you also suffered a great deal of gossip and ridicule.”
Zheng Zhiyi turned her head.
“You mean… he has been putting up with me all these years?”
She thought carefully about it.
Whenever Li Xuan saw her, he often seemed to be suppressing his emotions.
Yet he had never told her that he had suffered rumors and ridicule because of their marriage.
“His Highness does not necessarily hate you,” Qunqing said. “Perhaps what he hates is the time when he had to lower his head.”
“Princess Changping of Chu also chose her own husband. That man seemed obedient and gentle, but who would have thought that he would later rebel and seize the throne?”
Qunqing’s eyes were as dark as black glass.
“How many men, after gaining power, abandon the wives who stayed with them, even though those wives did nothing wrong, simply because those wives remind them of the difficult past?”
“And Consort Liang… you are also a reminder of the Crown Prince’s former humiliation.”
“Nonsense!”
Lan Yue shouted angrily, her whole body trembling.
Zheng Zhiyi, who looked as though she was about to collapse, grabbed her trembling hand.
“Lan Yue, go outside first.”
“But… but my grandfather died for the Li family. Doesn’t that count?”
Zheng Zhiyi still looked toward Qunqing.
“And the Emperor and Empress will stand by me… Yes. They told me that they would treat me like their own daughter.”
“That is true.”
Qunqing nodded.
“The Emperor is a man who values loyalty and gratitude. Everyone who helped him establish his rule was rewarded and given titles. Your grandfather was even honored with a title after his death.”
“At the beginning of the year, a scholar wrote an essay called Ode to a Dripping Water to praise this act of gratitude, and the Emperor rewarded him with the third position in the imperial examination.”
“The Zheng family has also been kind to the royal family. The Emperor will not forget that.”
Qunqing picked up a bright yellow orange and weighed it in her hand.
Then she placed it between the two bowls.
“But the royal family is not an ordinary family.”
“And your parents-in-law are not ordinary people either.”
“There may be kindness and gratitude in the palace, but compared with interests, they are like a paper sword facing a steel blade.”
Qunqing shattered Zheng Zhiyi’s last hope.
In her previous life, Zheng Zhiyi had angered Li Xuan because of her improper words and actions. She was eventually confined to Qingxuan Pavilion.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the second year of Emperor Chenming’s reign, Yang Fu was about to be crowned Crown Princess.
A malicious palace maid deliberately told Zheng Zhiyi the news.
Zheng Zhiyi ran barefoot through the palace, crying and asking Li Xuan whether he had forgotten all the kindness they had shared in the past.
In the end, because she had disrespected the Crown Prince, she was sent to the Cold Palace.
The Emperor remained silent.
Bringing up old grievances in front of a group of nobles was no different from accusing the Li family of being ungrateful.
That was something an Emperor could never tolerate.
The sad part was that young Zheng Zhiyi could never understand why the father-in-law who had once treated her so kindly could eventually stand by and watch so coldly.
Now, Zheng Zhiyi looked at the golden orange with tears in her eyes.
“According to what you’re saying, I’m already standing at the edge of a cliff.”
“Then… what should I do to save myself?”
“There is no need to be afraid, Consort.”
Qunqing comforted her.
“There is only one true master in the palace. The Emperor’s will is the most important.”
“As long as you treat the Emperor like your own father, you will constantly remind him of the Zheng family’s kindness.”
“Then the Emperor and Empress will naturally help suppress the Crown Prince.”
Qunqing gently placed the orange behind the bowl of plain noodles.
Then she lifted the bowl high.
“But if you keep talking about gratitude, it will eventually sound like you are asking him to repay you.”
“Rulers tend to think too much. You may have no such intention, but someone else can easily put that meaning into your words.”
“Words can also become sharp swords. Even wise people fear them.”
“No one likes having a sword pointed at their throat.”
“So it is better to…”
Qunqing suddenly moved as if she were about to throw the bowl.
If she threw it, the bowl would certainly shatter.
Zheng Zhiyi immediately jumped out of bed and snatched the bowl of plain noodles from Qunqing’s hands.
She held the bowl tightly, trembling all over.
Then she picked up a mouthful with her jade chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
Before she could finish eating, tears were already streaming down her face.
“Qing Niangzi, you want me to treat the Emperor like my father.”
“I can’t do it.”
“I only have one father, and he is already gone.”
Qunqing thought for a moment before asking, “Does Consort Liang want to return to Huaiyuan?”
“Why would I go back?”
“There is no one left at home.”
Zheng Zhiyi wiped her tears.
“If I don’t go back, I can only stay in the palace.”
“But I… I can’t do what you told me to do.”
“It hurts so much.”
“I feel like I would become a completely different person.”
“The old me… just like my grandfather… is gone forever.”
At that moment, Qunqing understood her pain.
She felt the same way.
She simply could not accept becoming the person she hated most.
“Then think of it as something temporary.”
“What does that mean?”
Zheng Zhiyi stared at her blankly.
Qunqing remembered her previous life and Zheng Zhiyi’s fate.
In the Cold Palace, where medicine and food were scarce, Zheng Zhiyi suddenly became seriously ill.
Lan Yue risked being beaten to death and ran outside to Princess Bao’an’s palace.
She knelt there and repeatedly kowtowed, begging for help.
She was clearly desperate.
Yang Fu was afraid of angering Li Xuan, so she did not dare to open the door.
She only sent the letter to Qunqing the next day.
Qunqing hesitated for fifteen minutes before finally taking a physician to the Cold Palace.
By then, Zheng Zhiyi’s body was already cold and stiff.
She was thin and curled up like a withered summer flower.
Lan Yue looked at her with hatred.
Then she smashed her head against the wall and died alongside her mistress.
Their blood stained Qunqing’s blue dress.
As Qunqing passed Luan Yi Pavilion, she saw Princess Bao’an sitting by the window and cutting paper flowers.
Her expression was still as innocent and peaceful as it had been when she was a child.
She looked carefree, without a single worry.
The princess looked very happy.
Yet for some reason, Qunqing did not go inside.
She simply wandered through the palace like a fallen leaf being carried by the wind, not knowing where she would eventually end up.
She remembered every obstacle she had placed in Zheng Zhiyi’s path.
She remembered those fifteen minutes when she had hesitated before going to save her.
All of it seemed to melt into crimson blood and stain her hands.
She had simply been carried along by events.
She had been unable to control her own fate.
She had not even had time to examine her own heart and ask herself what was right and what was wrong.
But now, she had the chance to change everything.
“An expedient measure is like a reed. It bends when the wind blows.”
Qunqing looked up.
“But we must never forget who we are, what we want, or what we believe in.”
“We must put down roots.”
“One day, when we have enough strength in our hands, we can stand up again, do what we want to do, and help others withstand the wind.”
After Zheng Zhiyi recovered from her serious illness, she not only began eating normally again but also got out of bed and dressed herself.
Lan Yue held up a mirror and looked at Zheng Zhiyi, whose vitality was slowly returning.
She smiled.
“Last time, Consort Liang said that our hairpin flowers were old. I went to the Shangfu Bureau and asked the ladies there to make us a new batch of large silk flowers.”
“No.”
Qunqing helped Zheng Zhiyi arrange her hair.
“The war in the west is still raging.”
“Even the Empress is no longer accepting new jewelry.”
“Consort Chen even scraped the gold from a screen to use as military funds.”
“It is better not to trouble the Shangfu Bureau at a time like this.”
“Then let’s not trouble them.”
Lan Yue quickly suggested another idea.
“We can ask for some silk thread and have Ruochan make velvet flowers for us.”
Qunqing thought for a moment.
“That probably won’t work either.”
“This year, the silkworm farmers suffered a disaster. Silk is now more expensive than silver thread.”
Lan Yue was so angry that she almost fainted.
Before she could say anything, Zheng Zhiyi spoke quietly.
“It’s only a flower.”
“It can’t be eaten anyway.”
“I don’t want it.”
After noon, not a single palace maid could be seen in either the front or back halls of Qingxuan Pavilion.
Lan Yue ran to South Garden and was shocked by what she saw.
“What are you doing?”
Under Qunqing’s orders, A Meng and A-Jiang had cut down the Xiangfei bamboo in South Garden.
They bundled the bamboo together and used it to make fences around several plots of land.
The inexperienced eunuchs were pulling out all the weeds inside.
Qunqing rolled up her sleeves and bent down.
She pushed her fingers into the soil and rubbed the clumps of earth between them.
“Loosen the soil a few more times.”
Ruochan did not dare to look up.
While working as hard as she could, she answered Lan Yue.
“Sister Lan Yue, Sister Qunqing said those withered trees keep dropping leaves. It is troublesome to sweep them every day, so she decided to pull them all out and turn this place into flower beds.”
In the past, Zheng Zhiyi had loved the South Garden of Qingxuan Pavilion so much that she had chosen this palace as her residence.
Unfortunately, she did not know how to care for the garden.
Most of the rare flowers and plants eventually withered and died, leaving the garden desolate.
Qunqing said, “If a consort wants to wear flowers but cannot request them from the palace, she can grow them herself.”
“Flowers such as jasmine can be propagated from cuttings. We can ask other palaces for a few branches.”
“As for flower seeds, I can get some from Yeting Palace.”
“It will take at least one month and at most three months before the flowers bloom enough for her to wear.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Lan Yue became furious.
“Our Consort is the Crown Prince’s wife!”
“How can she personally dig in the soil and plant flowers?”
“Her every word and action is already being watched.”
“If people find out about this, won’t the entire palace laugh at her?”
“Tear all of this down!”
“Is that so?”
Qunqing looked at her with a smile.
“Emperor Jing of the previous dynasty even grew rice inside his own palace.”
“How come people only remember him for being frugal and caring about the people?”
“No one looked down on him for planting rice.”
Lan Yue could not find a response.
Her fingernails almost dug into her palms.
She looked at A Meng and A-Jiang, who were quietly working.
A feeling of panic suddenly rose in her heart.
She did not know when it had happened, but everyone in the palace now seemed to follow Qunqing’s orders.
She, a maid responsible for clothing and personal matters, could no longer make decisions.
Zheng Zhiyi also ran outside.
The weather was bright and clear.
Seeing everyone digging in the soil, Zheng Zhiyi immediately took the shovel from Qunqing.
She began digging herself and asked excitedly, “When can we plant the flowers?”
“How deep should the seeds be?”
“When will they bloom?”
“How big will they grow?”
Before Lan Yue could complain, Zheng Zhiyi handed her a shovel.
“Lan Yue, hurry up!”
“Come help me dig up this big rock!”
A few days later, Lan Yue developed two painful blisters on her lips.
Even speaking hurt, so her mouth was slightly twisted whenever she talked.
Qunqing came over and stared at her face.
“Sister Lan Yue, I want to talk to you.”
“What do I have to say to you?”
Lan Yue suppressed her anger.
“Now that you’re so pleased with yourself, you’ve finally shown your true colors.”
After several arguments, Lan Yue had begun to worry that her position was in danger.
When Qunqing led her to a quiet place behind the hall, Lan Yue deliberately stepped away and pulled her shawl back.
She did not even want the edge of Qunqing’s clothes to touch her.
Qunqing pretended not to notice.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Why did you become Zheng Liangdi’s maid?”
“Do you want to enter the Six Palaces?”
“What Six Palaces?”
Lan Yue looked at her in confusion.
“I don’t want to.”
“So, you and Liangdi are very close. You became a palace maid just to serve her and stay by her side, hoping to earn her trust and affection. Is that right?” Qunqing glanced at her.
“Can those of you who only care about climbing the social ladder compare with my loyalty to Miss? I am her only maid. If I don’t protect her, do you think all of you will join together and bully her?”
“In a place like this, have you ever thought that protecting her this way might actually be hurting her?” Qunqing asked.
Lan Yue was speechless for a moment.
As Zheng Zhiyi’s maid, she was supposed to correct her mistress’s words and actions. But there were many times when she could not bring herself to punish her too harshly. Because of this, Zheng Zhiyi had always acted like a spoiled child and repeatedly offended the Crown Prince.
“Then why are you being so helpful? Is it because you want to enter Liushang Palace?” Lan Yue asked.
Qunqing shook her head and handed her a letter.
Lan Yue brought the letter closer and read it for a while. Her expression suddenly changed.
“You want to leave the palace?”
The letter Qunqing gave her was the family letter that A Meng had almost discovered, along with the instructions Fang Xie had written for her before she entered the palace.
“Sister, haven’t you always been curious about what was written in my family letter? I’ll let you read it so you can finally understand,” Qunqing said. “I want to leave the palace because I have someone waiting for me outside…”
Lan Yue said seriously, “I understand. You have a lover. But that’s strange. Didn’t you leave home when you were very young? Was it a childhood engagement?”
Qunqing was stunned.
At her age, Lan Yue had actually mistaken him for her lover.
Her long eyelashes lowered, hiding the emotions in her eyes.
“Yes. Now that I have the chance to leave the inner palace and be sent out of the palace, I have already started making plans.”
“It has been so many years since you last met, yet he still sends you a letter every year…” Lan Yue murmured. “Such a gentleman is much better than His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The change was so sudden that Lan Yue’s expression shifted several times.
“So that day, you deliberately provoked the Crown Prince… No wonder you were so nervous. You scared me half to death. But what exactly were you trying to achieve?”
Lan Yue turned to Qunqing.
“I’m not stupid. In the palace, no one does anything without a reason. Since you want to leave the palace, there is no reason for you to keep earning merit. Yet you have been managing Qingxuan Pavilion and helping the concubines in every possible way. And now you are telling me this…”
“Who said I don’t want anything?” Qunqing’s eyes were dark and deep, like a pool of water hidden in the shadows. When she looked at Lan Yue, a hint of cunning appeared in her eyes.
“Give me your position as a palace maid in charge of clothing.”
“What did you say?” Lan Yue’s face immediately turned red.
“You can stop being the maid in charge of clothing and let me take your position,” Qunqing repeated shamelessly.
A second-class palace maid was far superior to an ordinary palace maid in both status and salary. Lan Yue was the only palace maid who had risen to such a position because she had entered the palace as a maid from the beginning.
She was shocked and angry, and could not help feeling a little wronged.
“…Why?”
“To leave the palace, even palace maids have to meet certain requirements. You must have served in the palace for ten years and be at least a second-class palace maid before you can leave,” Qunqing explained. “I have already been in the palace for ten years. If I can become the maid in charge of clothing, I can leave Qingxuan Pavilion properly and eventually leave the palace.”
Lan Yue hesitated.
“How do I know whether you are telling the truth or lying to me? What if you are just playing with me?”
“Then I will do my best to help Liangdi become the Crown Princess again. Either way, you won’t lose anything.”
Qunqing knew exactly where Lan Yue’s weakness was—Zheng Zhiyi.
“You also know that Liangdi is different from Princess Bao’an. She comes from a humble background and has no powerful family behind her. In this palace, she is like a reed. Other than power and status, there is nothing that can protect her.”
The lives of low-ranking concubines were never easy.
In her previous life, no one knew exactly what had caused Zheng Zhiyi to become ill in the Cold Palace.
“What happened to you? I wouldn’t even dare to make this place look like this in my wildest dreams!” Lan Yue looked around. “After you left, Liangdi completely lost control of her emotions. She said all kinds of harsh things to the Crown Prince. His Highness will never come here again.”
Qunqing lowered her eyes to the shawl she had folded on the stones. Its silver-red color looked like an ominous dream.
“That’s not necessarily true. I have a feeling he will come.”
Soon, Zheng Zhiyi was summoned.
Because the war in the Western Regions had become urgent, Empress Ma took the lead in promoting frugality. However, most of Emperor Chenming’s concubines had only recently become accustomed to a luxurious life, so very few were willing to follow her example.
Some only pretended to comply, while others simply ignored her orders.
This made Consort Zheng look especially honest. She did not even wear her new autumn palace dress. Instead, she wore an old dress that had been repaired and embroidered again.
Empress Ma was very pleased and summoned Zheng Zhiyi to the palace.
The Empress was getting older and often felt lonely. Zheng Zhiyi was usually sharp-tongued, but that afternoon, the Empress unexpectedly spent the entire afternoon talking with her.
She also became certain that Zheng Zhiyi was a truly filial child.
Zheng Zhiyi suddenly realized that pleasing the Emperor and Empress was not actually difficult.
She simply had to stop treating them like parents she could depend on and instead treat them like strangers who could smash her bowl of noodles at any moment.
When Zheng Zhiyi stepped out of the palace gate, the golden rays of the setting sun fell across the stone path.
She was suddenly overcome with sadness.
She realized that she no longer had a family.
Under the lush trees, two women were waiting for her.
They were Qunqing and Lan Yue.
When Zheng Zhiyi saw them, she suddenly felt that she had found a new home.
Her home was beneath those trees, not inside the palace she had just left.
She quickly lifted her skirt and walked toward them, but her steps looked somewhat strange.
The Chu-style palace dress was long and reached below the ankles. Layers of skirts and shawls flowed around her like clouds.
In the past, Zheng Zhiyi would gather her skirt around her thighs as she walked. She looked proud and carefree, and the palace servants often laughed at her. Even the senior palace maids had failed to correct her.
But today, for the first time, she tried to imitate the graceful and dignified steps of the noble ladies in the palace.
As she walked down the steps, she finally stepped on her own skirt and stumbled.
Lan Yue hurried over to support her.
“Liangdi!”
“Don’t help me. I want to walk by myself.”
Zheng Zhiyi pushed her away.
“I still have a long road ahead of me.”
Zheng Zhiyi walked ahead while the two women slowly followed behind her.
Suddenly, Lan Yue grabbed Qunqing.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“I’ll give you my position as a palace maid in charge of clothing. All I want is…”
She took a deep breath.
“All I want is for Liangdi to live a peaceful and happy life.”
The cicadas chirped around them.
Qunqing looked ahead at the road before them. Under the trees, delicate willow seeds floated gently through the air.
The two lives that had weighed heavily on her heart for so long seemed to have disappeared into the wind.
A faint floral fragrance drifted through the breeze and brushed against her face.
Qunqing breathed in the warm scent.
For the first time, she felt an incredible lightness throughout her entire body.