Chu Qiao waited for a while, but Yan Xun did not return, and she couldn't help but feel anxious. Soon after, A Jing lifted the carriage curtain and said that Yan Xun had boarded the Crown Prince's carriage, advising Chu Qiao not to wait for him and to proceed on her own.
Spring always arrived late on the Hongchuan Plateau. While Biantang and Huai Song were already bathed in warm summer sunshine with birds singing and flowers blooming, the lands of Daxia still shivered in the lingering chill of spring, with occasional icy winds blowing from afar.
Carriages and horses could proceed no further once they reached the Yuhua Gate. Chu Qiao alighted and followed the palace attendant leading the way, entering the Front Corridor and making nine turns along the path toward the front hall.
Perhaps because it was still early, the Holy Gold Palace was exceptionally quiet. White birds soared across the azure sky, and the cool breeze rustled through her sleeves, making them flutter like butterfly wings.
"Eunuch Bai!"
A young eunuch suddenly came running from the direction of the Camphor Hall, panting as he addressed the elderly eunuch leading the way. "Eunuch Bai, Lady Qin of the Shuyi Bureau has passed away!"
"What?" Eunuch Bai froze, his face paling in shock. The horsetail whisk in his hand clattered to the ground as he stammered, "What happened?"
"The people at the Shuyi Bureau said she suddenly fell ill after eating date paste cakes from the Western Kitchen. The staff from the Internal Affairs Court have already entered the palace."
"How could this happen?" The old eunuch furrowed his brow deeply.
As he turned to speak, Chu Qiao said, "Please attend to your matters, Eunuch. I know the way to the front hall."
"Thank you, Lady Chu." The old eunuch bowed and said to the young eunuch, "Let's hurry."
Chu Qiao held the fourth-rank position of Lady Fangyi. Having lived in the palace for many years, she was quite familiar with the consorts and eunuchs. To be precise, the Emperor of Daxia was not particularly lustful, and the women in the palace had never experienced extreme favor or neglect. She vaguely remembered Lady Qin of the Shuyi Bureau, named Wanwan—a quiet and gentle woman who never drew attention to herself. Among the eighty singing and dancing ladies of the Shuyi Bureau, she was always the most serene and often visited their Shangyi Ward to borrow books. Who would have thought that even someone who stayed aloof from worldly affairs could not escape such a tragic fate?
Setting aside her thoughts, she passed through the Camphor Hall and arrived at the Eight Channels Ming Lake. The willow trees on both banks had sprouted tender, vibrant green branches, and a gentle breeze rippled the emerald surface of the lake. Standing on the Eight Channels Corridor Bridge, with the wind tugging at her robes as if she might take flight, Chu Qiao felt a sense of expansiveness stir within her.
She quickened her pace past the Ronghua Pavilion, and ahead lay the Fortune Gate of the front hall. She took a side path, usually quiet and seldom traveled. Walking under a row of vermilion-lacquered, gold-tiled corridors, she saw artificial hills, clear waters, willow trees, and blooming flowers in the distance. Dressed in a white gown with dark hair, she appeared exceptionally elegant.
Just then, a piercing scream shattered the young woman's progress.
Chu Qiao halted and looked up to see a snow-white eagle plummet from the sky, landing with a thud. A sharp arrow had pierced its chest and abdomen, blood dripping profusely.
The sound of chaotic footsteps quickly approached. Frowning, the young woman pushed open a palace door along the corridor and slipped inside.
However, the moment the door closed, a powerful force surged toward her—a palm strike as sharp as a blade, cutting through the air.The opponent's strength was immense, and caught off guard, Chu Qiao was subdued. Reacting swiftly, she didn't even have time to see who it was before turning around, seizing the wrist, and using a Coiling Snake technique to lock onto the opponent's throat. Yet, at the very moment she succeeded, a slender but icy-cold hand tightly gripped her snow-white neck.
Swift as lightning, they were evenly matched.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, not a sliver of light entering, leaving the room dim and obscure, making it impossible to discern each other's features. Their faces and figures were concealed in the darkness, only their sharp eyes gleaming with an eerie light, like two beasts meeting on a narrow path.
Though restrained, neither delivered a fatal blow. Almost simultaneously, they tacitly loosened a finger. Seeing the other do the same, they continued to release their grip until they stood facing each other, yet the tension in the air remained palpable.
"Sister Yun, why must you be like this?"
A gentle voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard. A woman in a blue brocade gown adorned with colorful phoenixes, a purple-gold carved floral crown, cloud-like flowing sleeves, and a slender waist, her face as radiant as spring peach blossoms and her eyes like the lakes of June, stepped forward slowly, surrounded by a crowd of palace attendants.
"As sisters, how could I bear to see you commit such a grave mistake?" The servants brought forward a nanmu reclining chair. Consort Shu smoothed her sleeves and sat down slowly, a faint smile on her face as she took the letter removed from the white eagle, opened it, and read it carefully. "For a woman of the inner palace to privately correspond with someone outside is a serious crime. You have managed the six palaces for many years, Sister. How could you not know this? Why would you make such a mistake?"
The once most revered woman of the imperial court stood in the center of the courtyard, dressed in a deep purple gown embroidered with colorful flowers, her neck held straight, followed by two palace maids. Her noble elegance remained undiminished, though her face was thinner and slightly pale. Muhe Nayun did not even glance at Consort Shu and coldly said to the two attendants behind her, "Let's go."
"Halt."
Muhe Nayun acted as if she hadn't heard and continued walking. Several eunuchs immediately stepped forward, blocking her path, and said sternly, "Your Majesty, please stay. Consort Shu has something to say."
A sharp "crack!" echoed as Muhe Nayun delivered a fierce slap to the eunuch's face. The Empress of Daxia raised her phoenix-like eyes and coldly shouted, "What is your status? How dare you block my path?"
The eunuch froze, then immediately knelt on the ground with a thud. Having been Empress for ten years, Muhe Nayun's accumulated authority was enough to render these servants silent and trembling.
Consort Shu's eyes turned cold as she said indifferently, "Rivers and mountains may change, but one's nature remains the same. Sister, your majesty and elegance are as formidable as ever. Congratulations."
Muhe Nayun's face was as cold as ice as she said sharply, "You and I have never been close, nor do we share any friendship. I never feared you in the past, and I have no intention of regarding you now. The rise and fall of women in the palace is commonplace. Since we are enemies, not friends, there's no need for you to address me so sweetly as 'sister.'"
Consort Shu smiled and said, "Sister Yun, your temper is as fiery as ever, and you speak your mind. I find myself liking you more and more."
"I dare not accept such praise. I have matters to attend to and will not linger to chat or admire the flowers with you."
With that, she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Consort Shu's pretty face hardened as she slowly stood up, holding the letter in her hand, and said sternly, "Aren't you going to explain this, Sister?"“If you are out to condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge,” Muhe Nayun snorted coldly and said slowly, “If you like, you may take it to the Emperor. His Majesty is wise and will make an enlightened decision.”
“But I wish to hear Elder Sister’s explanation.”
Muhe Nayun slowly turned around, her phoenix eyes cold as snow, gazing icily at Consort Shu. The dignified aura of the imperial family radiated from her. She smiled arrogantly, the corners of her lips lifting slightly as she said faintly, “If I were you, I would never do this today.”
Consort Shu had not expected her to say this so abruptly and was momentarily stunned. Muhe Nayun continued, “Women in the palace are judged by three things: their family background, the emperor’s favor, and the children they bear. Consort Shu, you and I entered the palace in the same year, both starting as minor consorts. You are in no way inferior to me, so why is it that I became Empress ten years ago, while you remain a consort to this day? Have you ever considered the reason?”
Consort Shu’s face turned cold, not a trace of a smile remaining. Muhe Nayun said gravely, “Because you are foolish, only capable of petty tricks, shortsighted, arrogant, and domineering—with the smug look of a petty person who has gained power. In the end, you will never achieve greatness. The only fortune you have is being born into a good family and having a capable elder brother.”
“How dare you!” the palace maid beside Consort Shu immediately shouted.
The female official behind Muhe Nayun retorted sharply, “How dare you! When the Empress is speaking to your mistress, how dare a lowly servant like you interrupt?”
“The Muhe Clan has fallen. If I were you, I would not remain standing here now. Don’t you think that, at this moment, the one in Lanxuan Palace poses a greater threat to you than I do?”
Muhe Nayun curled her lips into a mocking smile. “Do you think the Emperor will allow the Wei Clan to become the next Muhe Clan? Though the Muhe Clan has fallen, I am still the best candidate to balance the various factions. You will never become Empress in this lifetime. No matter how glorious the Wei Clan may be outside, you are merely a consort in the Daxia imperial palace. I advise you to learn what propriety means from now on, to understand the way of advancing and retreating, and the rites of paying homage. The Empress of Daxia can only be me, Muhe Nayun. It was so in the past, it is so now, and it will be so in the future. You? Give up.”
A long wind swept by, lifting the deep purple hem of Muhe Nayun’s robes. The woman in her forties had sharp features and cascading black hair, making her appear as if she were in her thirties. Her posture and movements were filled with nobility and pride.
Consort Shu stood in place, watching Muhe Nayun’s retreating figure with gloomy eyes. She then turned around and paused as she passed the eunuch kneeling on the ground. In a low voice, she said to those beside her, “Take him away and execute him.”
“Your Highness!” The eunuch was terrified, kneeling on the ground and crying out loudly, “Your Highness, spare me!”
Consort Shu did not look back, quickly disappearing into the courtyard. Sparrows chirped as they flew past the corridors, and the lake shimmered softly, reflecting a gentle light.
The door opened, and the outside light streamed in. Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced to the side.
A tall, elegant man stood there, dressed in dark red ceremonial robes embroidered with black flying eagles on the sash. His eyes were like stars, his lips crimson, and he slowly turned his gaze toward her.
A cold wind passed between them, carrying a faint chill. The man’s eyes were as icy as ever, devoid of any emotion.
This man always seemed to be this way—cold, like a statue.Chu Qiao slowly retreated two steps, gazing calmly at the man before her as if he were a stranger. The early spring wind stirred dust from many years past, swirling through the chilly air. Then, they simultaneously averted their gazes, looking toward their respective paths ahead, passing by each other and continuing straight forward.
From beginning to end, they had never walked the same path. Even if fate occasionally arranged teasing encounters, they could only be brief intersections before diverging again, vanishing into the vast sea of stars like meteors following their own trajectories.
Zhuge Yue suddenly recalled that night many years ago, when a white-bearded elder stood in the desolate maple forest, his silhouette lonely, robes fluttering in the wind.
"Master, why me?"
"No particular reason," the aged man replied, his voice carrying undeniable weariness. "Because if you don't bear these responsibilities, no one else will. Child, born into an aristocratic family, you have your own duties."
"Young Master," a man dressed in palace attendant's clothing approached and said solemnly, "Everything is prepared."
In the dense bamboo grove, dark red robes fluttered in the wind. Zhuge Yue frowned deeply but remained silent for a long while. Though the weather wasn't hot, the servant grew so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.
After roughly the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Zhuge Yue finally nodded and said, "Proceed."
The cold wind swept backward through the Holy Gold Palace, where the scent of blood permeated the air.
Just as she reached the front hall, she saw figures moving about. The square was filled with vast arrangements of purple hibiscus flowers, and Yan Xun stood tall and graceful in the distance, waiting for her.
Chu Qiao quickened her pace. Yan Xun spotted her too, a smile touching his lips as he walked toward her.
"Qiaoqiao!" Li Ce stood to the side, dressed in magnificent crimson robes, waving energetically at Chu Qiao.
Before Chu Qiao's expression of distaste could fully form, a sharp bell chime suddenly reverberated throughout the imperial palace. Everyone looked up in alarm toward the direction of Xiefang Hall.
"Assassins! The Empress has fallen!"
The eunuch's shrill voice, choked with sobs, spread across the front hall square like a funeral bell. Instantly, everyone paled with shock. Guards in black military uniforms darted between palace buildings, dense waves of soldiers flooding toward Xiefang Hall where the incident occurred. After a moment of stunned silence on the square, someone suddenly began weeping, soon followed by the entire crowd standing dumbfounded in dark masses, their cries echoing through the Holy Gold Palace.
Empress Nayun of the Muhe Clan, descendant of the once-leading among the seven great aristocratic families, had entered the palace at thirteen, ascended to the throne at thirty, and held the phoenix seal for ten years, commanding respect throughout the six palaces with no one daring to oppose her.
Chu Qiao's face turned ashen. She lifted her head to look at Yan Xun, only to see the same terror reflected in his eyes.
At this very moment, that chaotic palace was precisely where she had just passed through. Had the assassination occurred just moments earlier, she would certainly not be standing here alive!
The funeral bells rang continuously—nine heavy tolls. All moving or standing soldiers, palace maids, eunuchs, princes, ministers, and officials turned toward the rear palace and bowed in unison. The imperial palace fell into deathly silence; even the noisy front hall momentarily lost all sound. The bells and drums paused briefly before resounding again, even more piercingly loud.
Then, first one person, then two, ten, hundreds and thousands—all knelt down simultaneously, bowing their heads toward Xiefang Hall in profound reverence.Chu Qiao opened her mouth but found herself speechless. Her mind instantly recalled that formidable woman who represented the Muhe Clan, occupied the position of Empress, and nearly controlled half of Daxia's territory for a decade. She remembered the woman's resolute words, still ringing in her ears: "The Empress of Daxia can only be me, Muhe Nayun—it was so in the past, it is now, and it will always be."
The words still echoed, yet the person was already gone. What terrifying blades lay hidden within this seemingly glorious palace?
A tremendous wail suddenly pierced the clouds, carrying from beyond the Purple Gold Gate.
I'm feeling much better now, thank you, sisters. Starting tomorrow, I'll resume regular updates. Since I still need to limit my time online, I won't be able to update very quickly, but I'll do my best not to break the streak. Thank you all for your support during this period—I'll keep pushing forward.
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