The Everlasting Autumn Palace was like a crystal fortress deeply embedded in the seabed's reefs, silently observing the shifting currents around it while remaining as tranquil and serene as ever. Seeing Shao Shang both exhausted and covered in wounds, the Empress indeed asked no questions, merely summoning the Imperial Physician in an orderly manner and instructing Zhai Nanny to arrange for her to bathe and change clothes.
After having her shoulder and back wounds freshly bandaged, Shao Shang lay down without eating anything, her body and mind feeling as though they were submerged in perfectly temperate deep water. Hazy, indistinct images flickered dizzyingly in her mind. She felt as though she had dreamed of something very important, yet it also seemed as if nothing had happened at all.
By the time she woke again, it was well past noon.
The Empress still refrained from questioning her, only showing concern for her appetite and urging her to eat more porridge and soup.
Shao Shang took a bite without any appetite, glanced at the Empress, lowered her head, and took another bite.
Understanding perfectly, the Empress said gently, "Don't worry. Zisheng has already been brought up. Though he's injured, none of the wounds are life-threatening—they'll heal. It's you I'm worried about. You've lost weight in just a few days. Women should be a bit plumper—how else can they bear children? In the future, you and Zisheng—"
Shao Shang suddenly raised her head, tears in her eyes, her expression utterly resolute.
The Empress paused, sensing something: "You... you and Zisheng..."
Looking at the Empress's kind face, Shao Shang was overcome with shame: "Your Majesty, he secretly mobilized troops and caused great harm to the Crown Prince! Yet I still defended him before His Majesty..."
The Empress slowly waved her hand, stopping her from continuing: "From childhood, I've tasted the bitterness of being controlled—when told to be meek and yielding, I had to be meek and yielding; when told to marry a man already wed, I had to marry him. Did anyone ever ask if I was willing? The affairs of men are not ours to dictate. Shao Shang, how could I not understand your suffering?"
Eyes brimming with tears, Shao Shang silently lowered her head and drank the porridge.
"There's something you don't know yet," the Empress said. "Last night... or rather, early this morning before dawn, the Third Prince forcibly stormed into Prince Ruyang's Secluded Residence and arrested Chunyu Shi and her children for interrogation. The Old Princess was furious, shouting about filing an imperial complaint—"
Shao Shang gasped.
"—but she didn't succeed. Two hours later, the Third Prince found irrefutable evidence of Ling Yi's treason from sixteen years ago," the Empress finished.
"So quickly!" Shao Shang nearly dropped her spoon—she had thought it would take at least ten days or half a month of threats and coaxing.
"Did the Third Prince resort to torture?" was her first thought.
The Empress smiled slightly: "No torture was used."
Admiration welled up in Shao Shang: "Wow, I never realized the Third Prince was so eloquent."
"The Third Prince didn't waste words on Chunyu Shi either," the Empress added with a faint smile.
Though the Third Prince was hot-tempered, he was far from careless—on the contrary, he was sharp and perceptive. Once Shao Shang pointed him toward Chunyu Shi, he acted like an arrow loosed from a bow.
First, he abruptly asked Chunyu Shi if she had evidence of Ling Yi's crimes. The sudden change in her expression gave the Third Prince greater confidence. After handing her over to his trusted aides for further interrogation, he personally began searching for evidence.
Though searching blindly seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack, there were actually traces to follow. While Chunyu Shi was tight-lipped, her servants were not. The Third Prince dispatched all his advisors and scribes to interrogate them separately.In just one short hour, the true nature of Chunyu Shi's character and habits became apparent—aside from the sensational divorce case from years ago, she was in every other aspect just an ordinary noblewoman. Ling Yi had neither given her much wealth nor allocated many personnel for her use, so she couldn't extend her influence in all directions like Madam Xiao.
Though she had a few close female friends, due to her humble origins and her relationship with Madam Huo, Chunyu Shi wasn't particularly intimate with them. Over the past decade, the only person truly close to her was Old Princess Ruyang.
At this point, the Third Prince made the decisive statement—without a maternal family or personal influence, where would such a defenseless woman hide a life-saving secret? It must be within easy reach! Yet it couldn't be hidden in the Ling household either, because Ling Yi's meticulous nature would eventually uncover it.
Thus, everyone turned their attention to the old princess, who met with Chunyu Shi ten times a month. However, Prince Ruyang's estate was already vast, and with the addition of secluded residences, manors, and Taoist temples, a thorough search would take nearly two months.
"Then how was it found so quickly?" Shao Shang asked, puzzled and curious. "Where was it discovered?"
The Empress replied, "Inside a Nuwa Statue in the old princess's chamber."
Just as everyone was at a loss, it was once again the Third Prince who saw through human nature.
Though Prince Ruyang's estate was extensive, Chunyu Shi couldn't just stash it anywhere—what if a servant misplaced it? Therefore, the evidence must have been presented openly to the old princess, and it couldn't be just an ordinary flattering gift, lest the old princess dismiss it and pass it on to someone else.
So, among the mountain of gifts Chunyu Shi had sent to the estate over the years, the Third Prince noticed the Nuwa Statue.
First, it had been brought in over a decade ago when the old princess was gravely ill, procured by Chunyu Shi from some shrine to pray for her recovery. Second, after the old princess recovered, she revered the statue as divine, burning incense and bowing to it daily, never letting it leave her sight. Third, Chunyu Shi's maternal grandfather was a bricklayer, and her family even owned a pottery kiln...
Ignoring the old princess's heart-wrenching screams and threats, the Third Prince resolutely seized the foot-tall ceramic Nuwa Statue and smashed it heavily onto the ground—inside was a thick roll of silk letters, the irrefutable evidence of Ling Yi's correspondence with the enemy!
"Thank goodness they found the evidence. If the statue had been empty, the old princess would have fought the Third Prince to the death!" Shao Shang exclaimed.
But the Empress said, "Nothing in this world is certain. A true man, whether leading troops or discerning hearts, must take risks. To hesitate at every step invites ridicule."
Sensing deeper meaning in the Empress's words, Shao Shang looked up at her. "Your Majesty, you must have long suspected that Lord Zisheng isn't loyal to the Crown Prince, haven't you?"
Gazing into the distance, the Empress replied calmly, "I wouldn't say I suspected. I've just seen enough—a phoenix will only perch on a parasol tree. Zisheng is the phoenix, but the Crown Prince is not the tree. The Second Prince is even less so. The Third Prince is..."
Feeling sorrowful, Shao Shang brought up the matter of the Winter Cypress Mausoleum, adding, "Actually, Lord Zisheng met the Third Prince earlier, which is why he's so fiercely loyal to him...""I see." The Empress fell into reminiscence. "I had my suspicions at the time. If it was truly an accidental drowning, why would Zisheng only be wearing undergarments? The Crown Prince insisted it might have been childish play, that Zisheng had entered the water himself. But I knew Zisheng was mature beyond his years—he wouldn't take unnecessary risks. Even if he didn't know how to swim and still entered the water, he would have had someone watch over him or tied a rope around himself... Ah, this is just like the Crown Prince. When it comes to discerning people's hearts and decisive action, he falls far behind the Third Prince."
Shao Shang said softly, "Please don't speak of the Crown Prince like that. He is kind and benevolent, only..."
"For a ruler, kindness and benevolence are not the most essential qualities—fair rewards and punishments are," the Empress stated firmly. "This is the way of sovereign and subject. Subjects should brave all dangers for their ruler, even at the cost of their lives, while the ruler must trust and value them, offering protection and rewards."
"These past two days, the Third Prince has been rushing about without regard for suspicion—visiting the Court of Justice, interrogating soldiers, storming into royal manors, pressuring his uncle, even speaking recklessly in Zisheng's defense before His Majesty. He's drawn no small amount of gossip, with rumors claiming he and Zisheng had long been colluding... Yet I know that in the eyes of discerning observers, such a ruler is precisely what makes a good sovereign. Were I in their place, I too would be willing to risk my life for a lord like the Third Prince."
"Just like in the days of Qian'an Royal Manor. My uncle's forces and reputation far surpassed His Majesty's, yet in the hearts of many officials, His Majesty was the wise ruler worth pledging allegiance to. That's why when my uncle later plotted treason, half his advisors and generals refused to follow."
Shao Shang knew the Empress spoke truthfully, and her heart grew heavier.
The early spring chill lingered, and dusk fell quickly. After just these few words, darkness had already enveloped the world outside. At this moment, Cen Anzhi personally came to deliver a message—the Emperor had summoned the Empress.
Seeing Shao Shang's confusion, the Empress explained, "I told His Majesty I would come once Zisheng awoke. You shall accompany me."
Shao Shang hesitated. "Lord Ling..."
"He goes by Huo now. His Majesty wished to restore his original name, Wushang, but Zisheng firmly refused—to honor the late Madam Huo and that poor child who died in his place."
A wave of melancholy washed over Shao Shang—A-Li had taken A-Zheng's name, allowing A-Zheng to escape death and live on under A-Li's name. Collecting herself, she asked softly, "Will the Crown Prince not be joining us?"
The Empress sighed. "I've instructed him to remain in the Eastern Palace these days and not interfere... Not that he could even if he tried."
Seated beside the Empress in the phoenix carriage, Shao Shang gazed at the flickering lanterns in the dark palace corridors, feeling as though she were in a dream. The scene around her seemed surreal, like something conjured from imagination. Tonight, the palace felt unusually solemn and silent, with palace maids and eunuchs moving soundlessly through the shadows—expressionless, voiceless.
The Emperor's chambers were thick with the scent of medicine. A crowd of Imperial Physicians waited in the outer hall, ready to be summoned at any moment.
Instead of entering through the main doors, the Empress was led by a junior palace attendant through a side passage. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived at an exquisitely quiet inner chamber. Thick carpets muffled their footsteps.
Facing them in the chamber was an enormous floor-length curtain—layer upon layer of heavy brocade embroidered with intricate, ferocious beast patterns, separating the inner and outer spaces.The Empress seated herself on a low stool beside the embroidered curtain and beckoned Shao Shang over. Shao Shang approached and followed the Empress's pointing finger to peer through a narrow gap between the densely hanging curtains, which afforded them a view of the outer chamber.
Through this slit, Shao Shang focused her gaze outward. Two figures knelt in the center of the outer chamber—one was the Third Prince, and the other... Her vision swam, and she nearly lost her balance. Earlier, the Empress had remarked that she'd grown thinner, but without a mirror, Shao Shang hadn't understood what "a full circle thinner" meant. Now she knew.
The Third Prince was speaking while Huo Bu Yi listened attentively, his body slightly turned.
He wore white silk underwear beneath a heavy black velvet robe draped loosely over his shoulders. The collar gaped open, revealing a jade-like chest wrapped in bloodstained bandages. His raven-black hair was secured simply with a plain white jade hairpin, and his pale, gaunt face bore a cold, almost bluish tint at the temples.
"...Ji Zun gathered over a dozen scholars to compare handwriting samples. That scoundrel Ling Yi wasn't educated enough to master multiple scripts, so the comparison was straightforward—it's undeniably his handwriting!" The Third Prince scoffed. "What more can those blind fools say now? Hah! They were the ones who vouched for Ling Yi with such confidence before, and now they've all scurried into hiding!"
"Your Highness, please temper your words," Huo Bu Yi murmured, his voice hoarse.
"Last night, His Majesty already confirmed Zisheng's identity, yet those wretches still prattle on, questioning how Ling Yi could have breached and destroyed an entire city with so few men. Nonsense! A thousand-mile dike can collapse in a single breach—when the schemer strikes the unprepared, there are countless ways to succeed!" The Third Prince sneered.
The Emperor, appearing to have aged several years overnight, spoke with sorrow: "A-Zheng, did your father say anything before he passed?... Did he die instantly? Tell me... tell me everything."
Huo Bu Yi's heart had long been numbed by pain. The image flashed before him—his towering father collapsing like a mountain. In that brief moment, his childhood of parental love and sibling harmony had ended.
"We'd been besieged for a long time by then. The city lacked everything—food, warmth, supplies. Fortunately, we were backed by Xunyang Mountain, and the water supply still held. At noon that day, A-Li came boasting with two apricots, offering to trade them for my clothes so he could go out and play—my aunt always kept him confined. I hadn't tasted fresh fruit in so long that I agreed." Huo Bu Yi's voice grew quieter.
The Emperor's chest ached.
The Huo family of Feng County had once been among the wealthiest. No matter what disasters or turmoil struck the land, the Huos had never wanted for anything. Yet Huo Chong's youngest son had craved even a mere apricot—such was the desperation of the siege!
In a daze, the Emperor recalled Huo Chong's question before his departure.
"Your Majesty is marching to confront the Canghu Army. How long must I hold the rear against the Barbarian Armor Thieves?"
"A month to advance, a month to return, half a month for battle formations—three months at most should suffice!"
"The Canghu Army consists mostly of forced rebels from the greenwood, and their leaders lack unity. I advise against brute-force suppression, Your Majesty. Instead, strike while negotiating, secretly winning them over—if we can recruit those 300,000 fierce warriors, Your Majesty's foundation for unifying the realm will be secured!"
"...Then we'll need at least half a year."
"In that case, I shall defend for half a year!"The Emperor clutched his aching chest, his tiger-like eyes brimming with tears, wishing he could turn back time. He would rather delay unifying the empire by twenty years than lose his sworn brother in such agony.
Huo Bu Yi continued, "A-Li and I look very much alike. He was wearing my clothes and swaggering off to play in the Martial Arts Field. I ate an apricot and remembered Mother saying Father also loved them, so I didn’t eat the second one. I sneaked into Father’s study and placed the apricot on his desk. Just as I set it down, I heard voices outside. Panicked, I hid in the secret compartment behind the bookshelf."
"Father and Ling Yi entered. From their conversation, I learned Father had been wounded on the city walls two days prior. Father claimed it was a minor injury, but it was actually quite severe. To avoid shaking morale and worrying Mother, he told no one, only secretly letting Uncle Li tend to his wounds. But Ling Yi had noticed. Since Ling Yi knew some medicine, he volunteered to treat Father."
"Father was impatient with Ling Yi, telling him to hurry back to the city walls instead of lingering behind. Ling Yi agreed readily. I watched as he stood behind Father, stitching his wounds needle by needle..." Huo Bu Yi’s face twisted in pain. "Then something flashed from Ling Yi’s sleeve—a dagger slid out. With one slash, he cut Father’s throat. Father couldn’t even cry out, only clutching his throat as he stared at Ling Yi before collapsing in a pool of blood."
The Emperor let out a mournful cry, covering his face as he wept.
"After succeeding, Ling Yi didn’t leave immediately. He rummaged through Father’s study, then severed Father’s head and hid it in his robes before slipping away. Before leaving, he set the study on fire. Trapped in the compartment, I thought I would burn to death. Fortunately, the rainy weather and Ling Yi’s lack of oil meant only half the study burned."
"The compartment was built of brick, with ventilation shafts leading further back, but I still passed out from the smoke. When I woke, it was pitch black outside, the air filled with the sounds of battle and corpses strewn everywhere." Huo Bu Yi recalled that nightmarish scene—
Bodies and blood covered the ground. Maids with torn clothes, servants with missing limbs. Why was the pretty maid who embroidered flowers on his clothes stripped naked, her limbs severed? Why was the young guard who dreamed of joining the army missing half his head, his intestines spilled across the ground? Where was Mother? His three elder sisters? And his two brothers—young heroes who would never surrender without a fight.
After running for who knows how long, little A-Zheng heard fighting in the distance. He turned and saw Huo Junhua, surrounded by guards, frantically searching for her son. She kept crying, "A-Li, where is my A-Li? Where are you...?"
Then Huo Junhua spotted her nephew wearing A-Li’s clothes, and he saw his usually stern aunt. They stared at each other in shock. A guard, fending off attackers, shouted, "Madam, we’ve found the young master!"
Just as little Huo Bu Yi was about to yell, "Uncle killed Father!" Huo Junhua suddenly screamed, rushed forward, and clutched him tightly, sobbing and laughing hysterically. "A-Li, Mother finally found you! We must go—the city has fallen!"
He froze. Even if the whole world mistook him for A-Li, his aunt never would. He didn’t understand why, but he knew he couldn’t reveal the truth now. So he let Huo Junhua carry him away."That treacherous dog Ling Yi is useless in battle but cunning in schemes," the Third Prince sneered. "Those blind fools should see his silk letters and learn what 'meticulous calculation' truly means!"
How many men and how much authority does it take to plot against a well-defended city? Many misunderstand—when no one suspects you, a little poison in the right place is enough.
—From the separate accounts of Huo Bu Yi and the Third Prince, Shao Shang gradually pieced together the truth of that year.
Huo Chong had initially led only his troops, but the city had just been reclaimed from enemy bandits, its people unsettled. To show his resolve to stand or fall with them, he brought his entire household into the city. After two months of restoring order—rooting out spies, taking stock of provisions, punishing unscrupulous merchants—the citizens revered Huo Chong for his character and prowess.
As the half-year deadline approached, reinforcements never came. The city's soldiers were exhausted, its officers wounded, while the 200,000 Barbarian Armor Soldiers outside had also suffered heavy losses. Both sides were blood-drunk, knowing the city's fall would mean slaughter. That was when Ling Yi hatched his plot.
The isolated city had four gates, each guarded by one of Huo Chong's four family generals. When one, Lieutenant Li, was injured and slow to recover, Huo Chong hinted at letting Ling Yi take his place. After assassinating Huo Chong, Ling Yi used his seal to take command of the gate, and the original guard handed it over without suspicion.
By then, Huo household servants had just put out the fire in the study and discovered a headless corpse. The body was too charred to identify, and the household troops couldn’t fathom their peerless lord being murdered. They went to seek Huo Chong’s wife for guidance.
While the household’s attention was fixed on the study, Ling Yi opened the gates to the enemy and set fires across the city, shouting, "Huo Chong has abandoned the city and fled!" The Barbarian Armor Soldiers, already outnumbering the defenders, poured in like wolves among sheep.
When the defending officers began regrouping to counterattack, Ling Yi had the barbarians hoist Huo Chong’s severed head high. Leaderless, morale collapsed. The barbarians surged forward, slaughtering the entire Huo clan!
Huo Bu Yi whispered, "Aunt took me into Xunyang Mountain. Fleeing the city, I saw Father’s head mounted on the wall, next to A-Li dressed in my clothes. Aunt wept bitterly upon seeing it, then told others I was too shocked and ill to be seen. When Ling Yi and General Wu were out fighting, she took advantage of the chaos to escape with me."
Husband and wife shared an understanding—Huo Junhua must have sensed something. She had indeed gone looking for her son, but upon seeing the Huo estate littered with corpses, she realized everything. Under the "protection" of Ling’s guards, she acknowledged A-Zheng.
But Ling Yi knew none of this. He stayed hidden, watching until the Huo clan was annihilated before he could rest easy.
Yet he never expected General Wu to arrive just half a day later—while the barbarians were still reveling in slaughter and plunder, giving Ling Yi the news first.
Ling Yi acted swiftly. Not only did he return to Xunyang Mountain, but he also feigned grief and cowardice before the newly arrived General Wu while vowing vengeance. He then helped General Wu seal three city gates, trapping most of the barbarian army inside...
At this point, the Third Prince curled his lips. "As for Wu Cheng, Father Emperor knows—once he gets carried away with killing, no one can stop him. Normally, he'd fear accusations of unjust slaughter if he went too far, but this time it was vengeance, so he could cut loose. In short, every Barbarian Armor Soldier who entered the city was killed, even those who surrendered. The next day, General Wu pursued the remaining barbarian forces outside the city and achieved a great victory."
The collusion with Ling Yi had always been a closely guarded secret, known only to a few barbarian leaders. The sudden outbreak of war left no time for further arrangements. Ling Yi was fortunate—General Wu killed indiscriminately and then burned the barbarians' supply camps, ensuring no one remained to expose his crimes.
By then, Ling Yi had already learned that his wife and child were lost in the chaos of battle. Panic-stricken, he and the Ling Brothers hastily devised a plan overnight—they couldn’t let the Huo family perish entirely while the Ling family remained unscathed.
So, while General Wu was still fighting on the front lines, they pushed some of their "own people" into the fray. This included their uncle's family, who had attached themselves to the Lings, the entire family of Ling the Second’s wife who had come seeking refuge, and the families of Ling the Third’s sworn brothers...
In the end, apart from the three Ling brothers, the children left on Xunyang Mountain, and Ling the Third’s wife—who was lucky enough to be in the countryside awaiting childbirth—the Ling family could also be considered "loyal martyrs."
"Why didn’t you come to me back then!" the Emperor slammed the table in frustration.
Huo Bu Yi smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty, had I not been only five or six years old at the time, I would have come straight to you to file an imperial accusation."—If the young A-Zheng had possessed the wisdom and courage of the present Huo Bu Yi, he would have known to bypass all formalities and report the crime directly.
But he wasn’t.
Back then, at just five or six years old, he was terrified and helpless, with Huo Junhua as his sole support.
Huo Junhua believed neither the Emperor nor General Wu would trust her word. Moreover, if Ling Yi insisted that A-Zheng was his son, the Emperor would dismiss her claims as baseless. If Ling Yi successfully reclaimed his "son," wouldn’t A-Zheng fall into the hands of the enemy? And if Ling Yi intended to harm him, how could they possibly guard against it?
Only after entering the palace did Huo Bu Yi gradually realize that he and Huo Junhua had already missed their best chance for justice.
—His appearance had changed; no one could prove whether he was A-Zheng or A-Li. Those "trusted aides" who knew of Ling Yi’s treason had also been "disappeared" over the next two or three years.
All he could do was endure silently while searching in secret for evidence Ling Yi might have overlooked.
For sixteen years, Huo Bu Yi and Ling Yi seemed locked in a race. Huo Bu Yi grew up desperately, expanding his influence year by year to investigate covertly, while Ling Yi retracted his claws, meticulously covering his tracks and erasing all past mistakes.
In the end, it was Huo Bu Yi who lost.
Author's Note: Have any of you read Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy? Whether the book or the adaptation, there’s a chilling idea that still unsettles me—murder isn’t difficult as long as no one suspects it’s murder and no one is on guard.
And have you seen the movie U-571? It’s one of the best submarine war films I’ve seen. The protagonist once resented not being promoted to captain despite treating his crew like brothers and risking his life for them. He couldn’t understand why his superiors still refused to promote him—how infuriating!Then his superior told him that as a leader, you must not only love your soldiers like your own children and be willing to die for your brothers, but you must also have the resolve to let your brothers die for you when the moment calls for it!
Later, the protagonist did just that—he made the difficult but correct decision to send a small-framed sailor on a perilous mission. The sailor died, but the entire ship was saved. That sailor had once adored the protagonist beyond measure.
Such is the cruelty of leadership—kindness has no place in commanding troops.
Finally, there will be another update tomorrow, but it won't be until around 8 or 9 p.m.
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