Now the entire imperial palace was under Xie Zheng's control. The events of that night's coup were temporarily announced to the public as Grand Tutor Li and Wei Yan's rebellion, with the emperor falling severely ill from shock. All involved parties had been imprisoned, but the specific charges would wait until the emperor "recovered" to be discussed.
The court officials saw the situation clearly. After the absurd incident at the palace banquet, the emperor's "illness" would likely never improve, and the dragon throne would soon change hands.
Qi Min was severely injured and had been temporarily placed in a detached palace under heavy guard by Gongsun Yin's orders.
In order to seize the firearms of the Divine Machine Battalion, Qi Min had dispatched many elite Shadow Guards to the Western Garden. After a fierce battle with Fan Changyu and the Left Flank Battalion, those Shadow Guards were completely wiped out. The remaining guards protecting Qi Min had also been killed or injured while shielding him from cannon fire and arrows, with only a few survivors now in custody.
When Fan Changyu entered the detached palace, she saw a pale-faced man lying half-dead on the bed, coughing violently.
Fan Changyu had never met Qi Min before but noticed that he bore some resemblance to the young emperor—likely because they were uncle and nephew. Both had an air of deep melancholy in their features.
Noticing her presence, Qi Min finished coughing, leaned against the soft pillow, and spoke weakly yet mockingly: "General of the Cloud Banner? What a rare guest."
As if he weren't a prisoner but still the descendant of the Chengde Crown Prince, destined for the throne.
Fan Changyu had no patience for pretense and cut straight to the point: "What exactly did Wei Yan and the Sui family do in the Jinzhou massacre seventeen years ago?"
Why had the Sui family refused to send troops to aid Jinzhou? And why had Wei Yan, even after the Sui family rebelled, never exposed their failure to act in time?
Qi Min lowered his eyes with a faint smile: "Naturally... they committed acts worse than beasts."
Fan Changyu snapped coldly: "Speak!"
The curve of his lips deepened as he made his terms clear: "With the Blood-Clad Cavalry's sharpness, you must have already found my concubine. If you want to know about Wei Yan and the Sui family's dealings, fine—let me see her."
Fan Changyu immediately retorted: "Dream on!"
Her gaze was icy, sharp as a blade coated in frost.
She still vividly remembered how this man had ruthlessly tried to kill Yu Bao'er—a mere child—to prevent her from falling into their hands.
Yu Qianqian had barely escaped his clutches. Fan Changyu would never let her see this scum again.
Qi Min lowered his eyes: "Then... I have nothing to say."
Suddenly, Fan Changyu drew her sword and pressed it against his throat, her expression frigid: "I'm not here to negotiate with you."
Her time climbing through the ranks—from the military camp to the court—had taught her how to threaten someone with ruthless severity.
Yet Qi Min only smiled faintly: "Since I've fallen into your hands, death is inevitable. If the General of the Cloud Banner only wants my life, go ahead and strike."
He referred to himself with imperial arrogance, exuding pride even in his wretched state, as if telling Fan Changyu there was nothing left to discuss.
Fan Changyu held the sword against him for two breaths, the blade breaking the skin at his neck and drawing blood. Yet not a trace of fear showed in his expression.
With a furious frown, she finally sheathed her sword, pressed her lips tightly together, and left the detached palace without another word.No sooner had she stepped out of the palace gate than she spotted a figure ascending the white marble steps outside the detached palace. Snowflakes dusted the gold-embroidered cloak draped over his shoulders, his face as cold as jade, eyes dark as lacquer.
Fan Changyu paused in surprise. "What brings you here?"
At the sight of her, the chill in Xie Zheng's eyes softened slightly. Noticing she wore only thin soft armor, he immediately pulled the cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her. "I came to investigate some matters in the palace. Heard you were here at the detached palace, so I came to check on you."
The cloak still carried his body warmth and the crisp scent of winter. Changyu, shorter in stature, was nearly swallowed whole by the garment, leaving only her striking face and high-bound long hair exposed—like a young boy sneaking into his elder brother's clothes, her features clear and bright yet undeniably heroic.
She adjusted the cloak and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Xie Zheng down the steps, recounting the Sui family's forgery of the Tiger Tally and deliberate refusal to send troops. "I thought the imperial eldest grandson might know something, so I came to question him. He demanded to see Qianqian before he'd talk."
At the mention of the forged Tiger Tally, frost instantly returned to Xie Zheng's gaze: "The palace maid from the Cold Palace died three days ago."
Unable to extract information from Wei Yan in the dungeon, he'd turned to investigating the man's connection with Shu Fei.
Changyu wasn't surprised. "The emperor's doing?"
Timing suggested the maid had died right after New Year's Eve.
But Xie Zheng shook his head. "I interrogated Qi Sheng's eunuch. After the Cold Palace scheme failed, Qi Sheng rushed to Wei Yan for protection that very night. That maid was his bargaining chip to force Wei Yan's compliance—he wouldn't be foolish enough to destroy his own lifeline."
Changyu looked at him. "Wei Yan then?"
Xie Zheng remained silent, tacitly confirming.
Utterly perplexed, Changyu mused, "Wei Yan killed that maid before Grand Tutor Li's palace coup—was he afraid his scandal would reach Li? Or unwilling to leave any leverage in others' hands?"
Xie Zheng gazed at the snow blanketing distant palace walls, saying only, "He's always been ruthless. Having driven the Li family to desperate measures with the coup, he wouldn't tolerate any remaining threats in the palace."
Recalling Grand Tutor Li's revelation about Wei Yan's sister being close with Shu Fei in their youth, and Wei Yan having served under Old General Qi, Changyu realized Wei Yan and Shu Fei must have known each other before their respective marriages. Combined with Wei Yan's purely nominal marriage, his relationship with Shu Fei appeared increasingly questionable.
Hesitantly, she ventured, "So Wei Yan's affair with Shu Fei... is eighty percent true?"
If false, why would Wei Yan silence the maid after controlling the young emperor?
Xie Zheng remained silent, striding steadily through the heavy snow. Without his cloak against the storm, his usually imposing frame suddenly seemed fragile—like that bereaved child of long ago. After a long pause, he finally spoke with deliberate nonchalance: "Perhaps as Qi Min said—he orchestrated the Jinzhou defeat precisely to sow chaos in the harem and covet the throne."
Changyu glanced sideways at him and abruptly stopped walking.
"What's wrong?"
Xie Zheng turned back. Fine snow settled on his shoulders, the black and gold Coiled Dragon Python Robe accentuating his frost-pale features.
Suddenly Changyu threw her arms around him in a fierce embrace, her voice muffled but firm: "From now on, I'll walk this path with you."
He concealed his emotions masterfully, but in that instant, Changyu had unmistakably sensed his turmoil.Indeed, no matter how wicked Wei Yan was, he was still the uncle Fan Changyu had called family for over twenty years, his only remaining kin in this world.
Yet this sole relative was also the murderer who had taken his parents' lives.
How could he not grieve? It was just that... he no longer knew how to grieve.
Xie Zheng lowered his gaze, quietly staring at the dark crown of the girl’s head nestled against his chest. The force with which she had collided into him had been slight, yet it sent a tremor through his heart, a tingling numbness and faint ache spreading from that quiver all the way to his fingertips.
He remained stiff for a long moment before finally raising a hand to press against the cloak draped over her back, drawing her fully into his embrace. His long lashes, dusted with fine snowflakes, drooped slightly as he murmured stubbornly and earnestly, "Naturally, you won’t get away."
Snow fell thick as cotton floss as the two walked side by side back the way they had come.
—
After failing to gather any useful information about Shu Fei from the palace maids, Fan Changyu went on Xie Zheng’s behalf to visit An Taifei.
To be precise, when Xie Zheng had initially asked Gongsun Yin to facilitate contact with the princess to investigate the Sixteenth Prince, his true aim had been to reach An Taifei.
Though the palace servants had been replaced batch after batch over the years, An Taifei was one of the few consorts who had remained detached from court intrigues since seventeen years ago. She undoubtedly knew more about the events of that time than the average palace servant.
Perhaps because the current political situation had already become clear, An Taifei did not hesitate in the slightest when Fan Changyu stated her purpose for visiting.
"Her Ladyship and Shu Fei were acquainted even before entering the palace. To this day, Her Ladyship still prefers to call her by her maiden name, Rong Yin."
The palace doors were shut tight, leaving the small prayer hall dim and shadowed.
Clad in monastic robes, An Taifei lit incense before carefully replacing the intricately carved gold-inlaid lid of the Boshan censer with her well-maintained, delicate hands. Wisps of blue smoke curled through the perforations, lazily drifting upward into the hall’s lofty ceiling.
She paused, her expression tinged with a fleeting melancholy. "She liked it when Her Ladyship called her by that name too."
Fan Changyu sat upright on the opposite side of the low table, silently committing Shu Fei’s maiden name, Qi Rongyin, to memory.
It was a rather beautiful name, she thought.
An Taifei returned to the low table and settled gracefully into her seat, every movement exuding the refined composure honed by years of experience. "Her Ladyship entered the palace at the same time as her. Thanks to Empress Dowager Qi’s influence, she was immediately granted the rank of consort, while Her Ladyship was only made a jieyu. Back then, Jia Guitaifei enjoyed the Late Emperor’s utmost favor, and any consort who caught his eye suffered under her jealousy. Rong Yin once helped Her Ladyship out of a predicament, and after a few such exchanges—along with the bond they had formed in their youth—we grew close."
The clear sound of pouring water accompanied An Taifei as she slid a freshly poured cup of tea toward Fan Changyu. A faint smile touched her lips, as if lost in reminiscence.
"Rong Yin was a woman of exceedingly tranquil temperament, hardly the type to enter the palace and vie for favor to uphold the Qi family’s prestige. Yet it was precisely that unassuming nature that made the Late Emperor desperate to lay everything at her feet, much to Jia Guitaifei’s envy for a long time."
An Taifei chuckled softly, then shook her head. "Or perhaps it had nothing to do with temperament. After all, what man in this world wouldn’t be moved by such beauty? When she wasn’t smiling, she was as cold and distant as a night-blooming cereus; when she smiled, she shone as brilliantly as a lotus in bloom. In those days, the capital’s most handsome men were Wei Yan and General Xie, the twin pillars of civil and military prowess, while among its beauties, Rong Yin and Wei Wan stood as peerless."
Fan Changyu knew—Wei Wan was Xie Zheng’s mother.Perhaps it was because An Taifei's voice was light yet carried a timeless melancholy that Fan Changyu found herself absorbed in listening to the past events, holding the teacup without taking a single sip.
"In the palace, Rong Yin was never truly happy. No matter what the Late Emperor bestowed upon her, it was difficult to bring a smile to her face. She loved heights, and the Star-Picking Tower was a place she often visited. Sometimes she would stand there for an entire morning. Later, for reasons unknown, the Late Emperor ordered the tower to be demolished and distanced himself from Rong Yin for quite some time."
"I once asked Rong Yin what she always looked at from the tower. She said she missed home."
An Taifei poured herself a cup of tea, took a small sip, and smiled—though her smile carried the sorrow of years gone by. "I didn’t know whether her words were true, but in the second year after she entered the palace, Wei Yan got married and had a son by the end of that year. During the New Year's Eve banquet that year, the Late Emperor had intended to bring her before the court officials, but she fell ill. In the end, it was Jia Guitaifei who accompanied the Late Emperor. Jia Guitaifei thought Rong Yin was showing weakness and became quite smug for a while. During that period, the palace was rather peaceful."
Fan Changyu had already begun to suspect something. She asked, "Was Shu Fei’s death truly connected to Wei Yan?"
OpenNovel