Gu Chusheng emerged from the palace late into the night. Spring arrived earlier in Hua Jing than in Qing Province, and the weather was much warmer. Standing alone on the long corridor, he took a deep breath before turning and disappearing into the darkness.
First, he sought out the people on Wei Yun’s list. After verifying their identities with Wei Yun’s jade pendant, he carefully inquired about Zhao Yue’s daily routines. Then, he instructed his subordinates: "Tomorrow night, contact The Eldest Princess. My men and Wei Yun’s will work together to bring her out of the palace."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After both sides mapped out a route, Gu Chusheng waited outside the palace gates the following night.
Meanwhile, a blind woman was escorted into the inner palace.
Clad in a moon-white gown, she moved with the ease of a sighted person despite her blindness. Upon entering the hall, she bowed respectfully to Zhao Yue, her voice calm and composed: "Yu Linlang greets the young master."
"Rise," Zhao Yue’s voice sounded weak. Yu Linlang’s ears twitched slightly as she stood. Zhao Yue lifted the curtain, his blurred vision barely making out her silhouette. He smiled faintly. "I’ve heard of Miss Yu’s exceptional medical skills, yet you were born blind. Why haven’t you cured your own eyes?"
"If I had cured my blindness, would you still allow me to stand here today?"
Yu Linlang’s laughter was light. Zhao Yue chuckled softly. "A clever girl indeed."
At this, Zhang Hui stepped forward, placing a wrist cushion for Zhao Yue before respectfully guiding Yu Linlang. "Physician Yu, this way, please."
Without assistance, Yu Linlang seated herself and rested her fingers on Zhao Yue’s pulse.
"I’ve consulted many physicians for this ailment," Zhao Yue murmured. "All claim it’s due to exhaustion, but I remain unconvinced. That’s why I sought your expertise."
Yu Linlang remained silent, switching to his other wrist. She meticulously questioned his daily habits, diet, and symptoms before prescribing a remedy. Once the decoction was brewed, she inserted silver needles into his acupoints. Upon withdrawal, she dipped them into the medicinal broth.
The liquid darkened instantly. "What color?" she asked calmly.
Zhang Hui hurried over, watching as the broth deepened into pitch black. "Black," he gasped in alarm.
Yu Linlang nodded knowingly. Zhao Yue smiled. "You’ve reached a conclusion, Miss Yu?"
"Just as you suspected, young master. You aren’t ill—you’ve been poisoned."
Zhao Yue’s expression remained unreadable; he’d anticipated this. Yu Linlang continued slowly, "This is a rare toxin—arsenic. It requires at least a month of gradual administration. Typically, the poisoner ingests it before intercourse to heighten pleasure. After two months, their partner begins experiencing numbness in the limbs, blurred vision, and frequent headaches. Two months later, speech fails, sight vanishes, the body becomes paralyzed, and finally, consciousness fades into death."
Zhang Hui paled at these words. Zhao Yue’s gaze grew distant. After a long pause, he asked quietly, "Besides intercourse... are there other methods of poisoning?"Yu Linlang gave Zhao Yue a strange look before lowering her head and saying, "The key to this poison lies in bodily fluid exchange—sexual intercourse, sweat, tears, saliva... any contact involving such fluids could transmit it. Of course, if the poisoner is patient enough to administer it through scent over a long period, that's also possible, but it would take at least several years. Most people wouldn't go to such lengths."
Hearing this, Zhao Yue slowly smiled. "Then, would the poisoner themselves be affected?"
This was the first time Yu Linlang had been asked about the poisoner. She found this young master increasingly peculiar, but since she was being paid, she nodded and answered, "The poisoner remains unharmed—it only enhances their pleasure during intercourse. Some nobles even use it as an aphrodisiac."
"Is there a cure?" Zhang Hui interrupted impatiently, dissatisfied with Zhao Yue's focus on what he deemed unimportant questions.
"In the early stages, perhaps. But given how deeply the poison has taken hold, I can only alleviate the symptoms. A complete cure... I'm afraid that's impossible."
"How long can you delay it?" Zhao Yue's voice was calm, as if indifferent to life and death. After hesitating, Yu Linlang finally said, "Survival time is hard to predict. Based on your current condition—it could be as short as half a month or as long as a year. But at the very least, I can ensure you depart with dignity."
"What do you mean by 'depart with dignity'?"
Zhao Yue laughed. Yu Linlang replied evenly, "You'll remain as you are now, no different from usual—not reduced to a living corpse. You'll be able to do everything you normally would, right up until the end. However, if we proceed this way... your remaining time likely won't be very long."
Zhao Yue fell silent. Beside him, Zhang Hui erupted in fury, "What nonsense are you spouting?! You quack, how dare you speak of death?! You must cure my young master, or I'll—"
"Uncle Zhang."
Zhao Yue's quiet voice froze Zhang Hui mid-sentence. Red-eyed, the older man finally stepped back.
"Miss Yu," Zhao Yue lifted the curtain, vaguely making out Yu Linlang's figure through the haze. His voice was soft. "My child is due in about four months. If I choose dignity... can you help me last until their birth?"
"This..." Yu Linlang hesitated before finally saying, "I'll try."
"My thanks."
Zhao Yue laughed again, his eyes crinkling with warmth. Were it not for the imperial yellow robes he wore, his gentle expression would have made him seem like an ordinary schoolteacher.
"Then," he sighed lightly, "please grant me this final dignity."
"You needn't worry, young master," Yu Linlang said calmly. "I'll do everything within my power."
Zhao Yue nodded. Yu Linlang called Zhang Hui over, handed him a prescription, and instructed him to prepare the herbs into medicinal packs. These were then bound with cloth strips and placed over Zhao Yue's eyes.
"Keep this on overnight. By tomorrow, your vision should return."
"My gratitude."
After seeing Yu Linlang out, Zhang Hui turned back to find Zhao Yue sitting alone on the Golden Throne. Dressed in bright yellow nine-clawed dragon robes with an ornate crown atop his head, the white cloth covering his eyes was tied at the back, its ends trailing down.
He remained there quietly, a faint smile on his lips. Zhang Hui approached, hesitated, then finally said, "Your Majesty shouldn't heed the ravings of some back-alley physician. This subordinate will send for proper doctors at once."“Don’t we both know whether she’s speaking nonsense or not?” Zhao Yue stood up, and Zhang Hui immediately moved to support him. Feeling his way toward the Palace Gates, Zhao Yue said slowly, “Have all the incense removed. From now on, no one around me is allowed to carry any fragrance.”
“Your Majesty…” Zhang Hui’s voice trembled. “All this time, you’ve only ever favored Consort Mei…”
Zhao Yue paused briefly, then said with certainty, “It’s not her.”
“You once caused the death of her husband, killed her brother, and sent her only daughter far away to marry a foreign chieftain…”
Zhang Hui had been shaking all along. He had wanted to say these words for a long time, yet no one dared to speak them. Everyone knew the place Consort Mei held in this emperor’s heart. But now, he had no choice but to voice them.
“Such deep-seated hatred…” Zhang Hui finally said. “Do you think she has let it go?”
Zhao Yue didn’t answer. He stood on the long corridor, where the night breeze was gentle, carrying the vitality of spring.
“When I was young,” he began slowly, “I used to think the world was full of beauty. I believed that if one lived a virtuous life, they would be rewarded. But my kindness brought me no returns—only endless humiliation.”
“I was the heir of Taizu, yet no one respected me. My stepmother and younger brother repeatedly tried to kill me, time and again shaming me, while my father stood by and did nothing. Many times, I felt that my death would be a relief to everyone.”
“Only she never treated me that way.”
A faint smile touched Zhao Yue’s lips. “She was good to me—exceptionally good. Everyone looked down on me, thought I was the unwanted one. Only she protected me, stayed by my side. I once wanted to be a good man, Uncle Zhang,” Zhao Yue’s voice softened. “When I had her, I thought that in this lifetime, I would just stay by her side. But later, I realized that my tolerance and soft-heartedness only led to her marrying Mei Hanxue. So I returned to Tai’an, became the heir, and caused Mei Hanxue’s death. Do you think she didn’t know? She knew.”
Zhao Yue let out a quiet laugh. “I suspect she knew. Yet when Taizu fell, she still saved me.”
“Between us lies the blood of generations. Her father killed my grandfather, her brother killed my father, and I killed her husband and her brother. Our history is steeped in blood and vengeance. Yet time and again, I’ve loved her, and time and again, she’s spared me. From my youth till now, in every moment of my downfall, she has never abandoned me. Uncle Zhang, in this lifetime, anyone might betray me—but not her.”
“If even she were to betray me,” Zhao Yue paused, then murmured at last, “who else could I trust?”
So she wouldn’t betray him. She couldn’t betray him.
In this lifetime, the only one he could trust was her.
“But people’s hearts can change,” Zhang Hui said urgently. “Your Majesty, a person might forgive once, twice, but not—”
“Zhang Hui!”
Zhao Yue raised his voice. “Silence!”
Zhang Hui froze. After a long moment, he knelt, closed his eyes, and said in a trembling voice, “This humble servant knows his mistake.”
Zhao Yue didn’t respond. He seemed to feel a chill. After a while, he adjusted his robes and finally said, “When the time comes, take Consort Mei out through the passage in the underground palace. Make sure she’s unconscious when you do. Once you’re out, protect her and the young prince. If anything unexpected happens… just leave on your own.”"I've prepared new identities for you and the other brothers in Northern Di. Go there and live well."
"Your Majesty..."
Zhang Hui's voice trembled with tears.
But he couldn't speak. He couldn't say anything. The sovereign he had served had, even in his final moments, given them a way out.
So it wasn’t that he didn’t know—he knew, yet had to pretend ignorance, desperately clinging to an illusory dream.
While Yu Linlang was treating Zhao Yue, Gu Chusheng’s men made contact with The Eldest Princess. Nowadays, Zhao Yue rarely visited her, leaving her to sleep alone at night. With her cooperation, the plan proceeded smoothly. Gu Chusheng waited outside the Palace Gates for a short while before The Eldest Princess hurriedly appeared before him, asking anxiously, "What’s going on?"
"Get in the carriage first."
Gu Chusheng lowered the carriage curtain and helped her inside. Once she was seated, he said in a low voice, "Chu Yu has been captured by Zhao Yue to blackmail Wei Yun. I plan to use you as leverage to exchange for her."
The Eldest Princess froze for a moment, then immediately nodded. "Fine. He cares deeply about the child now. Though he rarely comes to see me, he often sends people to ask about the baby."
"How is his health now?"
Gu Chusheng pressed quickly. The Eldest Princess stiffened before lowering her head. "He often suffers from headaches, has started forgetting things, and his vision is blurry. He doesn’t dare let others know, but I’ve noticed. Lately, he’s been searching everywhere for renowned physicians—as if I wouldn’t find out."
"Even if he finds one now, it’s too late to save him. But if he realizes you were the one who poisoned him..."
Gu Chusheng frowned. The Eldest Princess let out a soft laugh. "With so many concubines in his harem, do you really think he hasn’t slept with them all? Even if he investigates, how could he possibly trace it back?"
Her voice carried a cold edge. Sensing her unusual tone, Gu Chusheng glanced at her and said calmly, "Don’t grieve."
"What are you talking about?" The Eldest Princess smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I’m not grieving. I’ll be overjoyed when he dies."
Gu Chusheng hesitated before finally asking, "I’m curious—do you truly feel nothing for him anymore?"
"I do," The Eldest Princess chuckled softly. "How could I not? But, Lord Gu," she met his gaze, "life is never a straight path. Loving him doesn’t mean I won’t kill him. I love him, but the blood debt is real, the humiliation is real, his infidelity is real, his unworthiness as a ruler is real. Whether for my family, my daughter, myself, or the people and the nation, I must kill him. Afterward, I’ll have him buried in my tomb and name him my consort."
"I don’t deny that I love him," she said evenly. "There’s no shame in that. But it changes nothing. You needn’t worry, Lord Gu."
Gu Chusheng remained silent.
He wasn’t worried.
In their past life, The Eldest Princess had done exactly this—loved him, yet killed him without hesitation, then enshrined him as her consort and buried him in the imperial tomb.
Gu Chusheng lowered his eyes. The Eldest Princess studied him and remarked knowingly, "Since your return, you seem... different, Lord Gu?"
Gu Chusheng didn’t respond. The Eldest Princess turned her gaze toward the direction of the Guardian Temple and said lightly, "The Buddhist sanctuary is peaceful. Lately, whenever my heart feels unsettled, I recite sutras. If you can’t let go of your obsessions, Lord Gu, perhaps you should try it.""Thank you for your guidance, Princess."
Gu Chusheng expressed his gratitude sincerely.
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