A month had passed since the new emperor ascended the throne. The late emperor rested peacefully in the imperial mausoleum, and the turmoil that had shaken the capital was buried along with him.
After a rain shower, summer faded away, replaced by the crisp chill of autumn that enveloped the capital.
The Chu Garden seemed transformed overnight, like a beauty shedding her delicate summer attire for vibrant autumn robes.
Pavilions and towers were encircled by golden and crimson leaves.
"How lovely," Qi Leyun remarked, plucking a fallen leaf from her skirt and holding it up to examine. She pointed toward another area. "The Floating Cloud Pavilion is even more beautiful over there."
With that, she lifted her skirts and led the way briskly.
"Everyone, follow me."
She then instructed her maid beside her.
"Move the tea and snacks over there."
Yet the other girls did not follow cheerfully. One even curled her lip and said, "Qi Leyun, this isn’t your home."
Qi Leyun heard her and snorted. "I’m staying here as a guest, so for now, I am the host."
The Qi family still resided in the Chu Garden, as rebuilding their own home would take time. Even after learning that Chu Zhao had been named Empress, the Qi family deliberated and decided to remain at the estate—what a rare opportunity to strengthen their ties with the Empress, not to be missed.
It was said that late one night, Qi’s mother whispered to her husband that their house burning down might have been fate’s way of connecting them with the Empress.
Qi’s father scolded his wife for her foolish words, saying it was a case of misfortune blessing them.
In any case, the couple cast aside their sorrow over losing their home and stayed joyfully at the Chu residence, showing no intention of leaving. When friends and relatives cautioned Qi’s father about the impropriety, he retorted, "This is the Empress’s magnanimous kindness. Besides our family, many others have also found shelter in the Chu Garden."
Qi Leyun saw nothing wrong with it either.
"What kind of person is Chu Zhao?" she said.
Before she could finish, she noticed the girls’ odd expressions. What kind of person Chu Zhao was—everyone knew well enough. She had hit people, scolded them, been arrogant and domineering—
Qi Leyun snorted again. "Chu Zhao is precisely the kind of person who upholds justice, hates evil, and defends the weak against the strong."
The girls couldn’t hold back their laughter.
"Enough, Qi Leyun," one girl chided. "Stop calling her Chu Zhao. She’s the Empress now."
Though only a short time had passed, Chu Zhao was no longer their peer but the most exalted Empress.
"Chu Tang—" a girl whispered, gesturing toward another part of the estate. "Has she still not been seen?"
Since the turmoil, the Chu family’s main gate had remained shut. During the late emperor’s funeral and the enthronement ceremony, arrangements were made outside the gate as protocol required, but the door never opened. Many visitors were turned away.
Due to the late emperor’s passing and the Crown Prince’s tragic death, the Chu couple had fallen gravely ill from grief, unable to sit with guests and share tears of sorrow, much less accept congratulations.
……
……
A ladder was propped against the wall. Qi Leyun climbed up. Though the girls felt somewhat uneasy, their youthful curiosity outweighed their nerves, and they watched with a mix of tension and excitement.
"Chu Tang, Chu Tang," Qi Leyun called out repeatedly.
Before long, light footsteps sounded from the other side, and Chu Tang’s voice carried over. "Qi Leyun, what are you doing climbing the wall again?"
She emerged. The girls below stirred with excitement, some softly calling Chu Tang’s name.
Leaning over the wall, Qi Leyun said to the girl on the other side, "Everyone’s worried about you. We came to see how you are."
Chu Tang smiled. "Worried about me? More like here to fish for information."Though separated by a wall and unable to see each other, that familiar tone and coquettish words signaled the return of the familiar Chu Tang. The girls called out to Chu Tang even more loudly.
Some girls began looking for ladders to climb up.
"No need for ladders, and no need to ask me," Chu Tang said from the other side. "We'll all be meeting soon anyway."
What did she mean? Qi Leyun asked curiously from atop the wall, "Meeting where?"
Chu Tang looked up with a smile. "Her Majesty the Empress is hosting a banquet, summoning the noblewomen and allowing them to bring their children."
A banquet!
A summons!
Qi Leyun raised her hand excitedly, shouting "Wonderful!" and nearly fell off the ladder, causing another round of laughter and commotion among the girls.
...
...
The Imperial City hosting a banquet again signaled the restoration of normalcy in the empire.
Carriages and horses crowded before the Imperial City, with imperial guards, eunuchs, and officials standing everywhere to guide and maintain order. Despite this, the scene remained unavoidably noisy.
Walking among the crowd, Qi Leyun couldn't help looking around. She had heard the Imperial Palace suffered worse disasters than their own homes, but looking now, there was no sign of it at all—
"Stop looking around," Lady Qi warned in a low voice, keeping her daughter in her peripheral vision.
Qi Leyun quickly averted her gaze, but her eyes continued darting about, observing who was here and there, what they wore and carried.
Lady Qi had no choice but to grab her arm, whispering through gritted teeth, "This is the Imperial City. If you don't behave, I'll send you home immediately."
This threat would normally have worked, but not today. Qi Leyun even perked up: "Her Majesty specifically wants to see us."
Nearby girls who overheard Qi Leyun immediately giggled softly, exchanging meaningful looks and nudges.
The procession instantly grew more animated.
The matrons could only sigh in resignation. While no such edict had been issued, these girls had been the first to learn about and spread news of the Empress's banquet. Considering the Empress was Chu Zhao, everyone could guess what this meant.
Normally, when noblewomen entered the palace, they brought only their daughters-in-law at most—not these fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girls. But this time was different; they had to bring them along.
Just look at how unruly these children were.
"What's there to fear?" Qi Leyun muttered. "She was even more undisciplined than us back then. She won't punish us."
Such reckless words! Lady Qi forgot all decorum and swatted her daughter. "One more word, and see if I dare not send you home! I'm your mother—no one can punish me for that. Besides—have you forgotten how poorly and unfriendly you all treated her before?"
The adults might not have paid close attention to the girls' affairs, but that didn't mean they were unaware—they simply rarely needed to intervene.
"How did you treat her before? When she first arrived, unfamiliar with everything, she didn't dare react. But things are different now."
"Today she's inviting you to reminisce, but who knows which memories she intends to revisit?"
Under her mother's torrent of words, Qi Leyun was stunned into realization. Right—she had almost forgotten what kind of person Chu Zhao was. When Liang Qin had insulted her father, Chu Zhao had beaten and scolded her, ultimately getting the Liang family exiled to the Border Commandery as criminals—
Before the Chu Garden Literary Gathering, their attitude toward Chu Zhao had been even worse than Liang Qin's!
Could today really be about settling old scores?For a moment, the girls all hunched their shoulders and cautiously looked ahead—they had now reached the inner palace, where all the noblewomen had stopped to wait for the Empress to ascend her throne before entering the hall.
However, there was one exception.
A girl stepped forward past the crowd, ascending the steps one by one. Her attire was plain, but the girls recognized her at a glance.
Chu Tang.
"Chu Tang is actually here too," someone muttered under their breath, not quite processing the sight.
The thought was immediately dismissed by those around as utterly redundant.
Although ever since Chu Zhao was appointed Empress, the Chu family had seemingly vanished from the capital, with their doors and windows tightly shut, the moment they stepped outside, they were imperial relatives.
Of course, the Chu family would attend this banquet, even though the Chu couple still hadn't appeared—only a girl had come.
This girl was Chu Zhao's cousin, a genuine imperial relative.
Chu Tang kept her head lowered as she climbed the steps, acutely aware of the countless gazes fixed on her from behind—filled with envy and awe.
It had always been her, Chu Tang, following behind others, casting envious, awestruck, and ingratiating glances. She had indeed dreamed of being treated this way herself, but she never expected this day to come so soon.
And it was even more overwhelming than anything she had ever imagined.
Chu Tang lifted her head and looked toward the grand hall ahead, where she could vaguely make out a woman seated inside.
...
...
The light in Chu Tang's eyes was visible to Chu Zhao, who felt somewhat distracted. In that previous life, when she became Empress, the first time Chu Tang saw her, there had been light in her eyes too.
But that light was directed at the palace, not at her.
When Chu Tang looked at her, there was no attempt to conceal her coldness.
But now, it was different.
"How should I bow?" Chu Tang asked softly, tentatively bending her knees in a curtsy. "Greetings to Her Highness the Empress."
A Le laughed beside her: "Miss A-Tang, even as a young lady of the capital, you don't know how?"
Chu Tang sighed: "Not every young lady in the capital has the privilege of entering the Imperial Palace. This is my first time here."
As she spoke, she glanced around, her expression full of wonder.
"This is the grand hall of the Imperial Palace."
Though she said this, aside from her excitement, Chu Tang didn't feel nervous, even with many palace maids and eunuchs standing silently in the hall. Perhaps it was because the girl seated at the center, dressed in the Empress's ceremonial robes and holding a cup of tea, seemed as relaxed and at ease as if she were at home.
Chu Zhao smiled: "There's no rush for these things. You'll learn them in no time. Please, take a seat."
Chu Tang acknowledged with a "yes" and sat down below Chu Zhao.
"Is everything well at home?" Chu Zhao asked.
Since that night she entered the palace, she had never left. The Chu family was being monitored by the people Xiao Man had left behind, and any instructions she had were conveyed through Xiao Man—such as confining Chu Lan and forbidding anyone from seeing him.
Chu Zhao asked again: "Did your father not get angry?"
Chu Tang nodded and shook her head: "Everything is fine at home. Father didn't make a fuss and hasn't said a word."
She deliberately added this to show that she knew nothing.
In reality, when she saw her father's terrified expression and recalled the events of that night—the Little Highness hidden in their home, escorted out by Chu Zhao in a fight—what did that mean?
It meant the Little Highness had nearly been in danger at their home.
And that danger must have been related to Chu Lan.
Otherwise, after Chu Zhao was rewarded by the late Emperor for her heroic rescue, how could Chu Lan not rush out to claim credit? Instead, he was so frightened he fainted, muttering that he was finished and his entire family was doomed.Chu Tang immediately confined Chu Lan and Jiang Shi, dismissed all attendants, and personally supervised them to ensure not a single word of information would leak from the Chu family.
Jiang Shi seemed to have guessed something, clutching Chu Tang’s hand as she wept, “Will she silence us?”
Chu Tang had considered this possibility but shook her head. “No.”
Silencing them now would bring Chu Zhao no benefit. If she had intended to eliminate them, she could have disposed of everyone guarding the entrance that very night, along with them—adding greater merit to Chu Zhao’s name by framing it as the entire family sacrificing themselves to protect the Little Highness. Acting now would only invite suspicion.
Chu Zhao was not that foolish.
Nor was she that ruthless.
The young woman before her nodded and said, “Good, I trust you to handle this.”
Chu Tang replied, “I dare not claim I’ve done exceptionally well, especially since you, A Zhao, are dealing with matters of great importance.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I will do my utmost, hoping only not to cause you any trouble.”
Chu Zhao glanced around and said, “A Le, take them away first.”
A Le acknowledged the order with a bow and gestured for the palace maids and eunuchs to withdraw immediately.
“That night, your father intended to kill the Little Highness,” Chu Zhao told Chu Tang.
Chu Tang’s face instantly paled, and she rose from her chair. Her suspicions were confirmed. The words that followed from Chu Zhao seemed both clear and indistinct, ringing in her ears—
It’s over, it’s over. Even if Chu Zhao becomes Empress, the Emperor will never spare them.
“But there’s no need for you to be overly afraid,” Chu Zhao’s voice came again. “Your father is your father, and you are you. They are not the same.”
Not the same? Parents and children are one; children repay their parents’ debts. Chu Tang stared at her in confusion.
“Your father was deceived by the Crown Prince of Zhongshan, seeking to serve Prince Zhongshan,” Chu Zhao explained. “As long as you are not swayed by Prince Zhongshan and remain loyal only to His Majesty, all will be well.”
She smiled faintly.
“Just like my father and me. You see, both the late Emperor and His Majesty have always trusted us without reservation.”
That’s true. Chu Tang’s spirit returned to her, and she slumped back into her seat. “A Zhao, I am naturally aligned with you and your father.”
Chu Zhao nodded and pushed a cup of tea toward her. “Try it—tea from the palace.”
Without hesitation, Chu Tang picked it up and drank it all in one go. “It’s indeed better than what we have at home.”
Chu Zhao chuckled. “Sister A Tang, you are far bolder than I imagined.”
To calmly drink tea right after learning what her own father had done.
“That’s only because you are here, Sister A Zhao,” Chu Tang said sincerely.
Chu Zhao looked at her. “What if I weren’t here?”
Not here? What did she mean? Chu Tang was stunned.
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