Liu Wenji had prepared two contingency plans. One was to send someone to intercept, the other was to seek out the Danyang Princess.
An elderly Taoist, brewing the medicinal soup prescribed for the Emperor in his own temple within the palace, carefully carried the bowl out of his quarters. He was the renowned physician Liu Wenji had brought from overseas for the Emperor, rumored to possess mystical abilities and medical expertise.
Regardless of the truth, while other imperial physicians held a pessimistic view of the Emperor’s condition, this old Taoist firmly believed he could restore the Emperor’s health. At the brink of life and death, it was clear whom the Emperor trusted more.
As the old Taoist was about to leave his temple, a eunuch intercepted him, pulling him into the corridor of the hall. The eunuch smiled and chatted casually with the Taoist, conveying Liu Wenji’s instructions: "...Gong Liu orders you to secretly remove a few ingredients from the formula. This soup must not truly render the Emperor infertile."
The old Taoist hesitated, "...But this is a crime of deceiving the sovereign."
The messenger eunuch did not press him further, saying only, "You, an outsider, are different from us lowly servants. Naturally, you wouldn’t understand who will hold power in the palace after His Majesty passes. Do as you see fit."
Trembling with fear, the old Taoist stood at the entrance of his temple, holding the medicine he had prepared, breaking into a cold sweat despite the frosty October weather.
After the eunuch delivered his message and left, the Taoist stood helplessly until another eunuch, sent by the Emperor to fetch him, arrived. Seeing the Taoist holding the medicine, the eunuch scolded, "If it’s ready, why haven’t you delivered it? Are you waiting for His Majesty’s punishment?"
The eunuch reached for the medicine, but the elderly Taoist, despite his advanced age, nimbly sidestepped.
The Taoist forced a wrinkled, chrysanthemum-like smile and bowed humbly. "Sir, I just remembered that this medicine is missing one ingredient. Ah, my memory fails me in old age."
Frowning, the eunuch instinctively doubted him. However, since the old Taoist was currently favored by the Emperor, he dared not offend him and simply waved him off to prepare the medicine again.
Meanwhile, Liu Wenji, upon hearing the report from a young eunuch, hurried toward the palace gates. His mind was in turmoil, and hesitation gnawed at him. Yet, the closer he got to the exit, the slower his steps became.
He wanted to help Yan Shang... but what if the Emperor discovered he had leaked information to the princess and used it as an excuse to kill him? The old Emperor had long wanted him dead but had found no opportunity while the princes remained unharmed.
Liu Wenji had no intention of handing the Emperor such an opportunity himself.
Crossing the Longshou Canal, he came to a complete halt just before the Danfeng Gate, the final exit from the palace. The eunuch following him asked, "Gong Liu, are we not leaving?"
Liu Wenji replied indifferently, "We’re not going."
As he turned to leave, his eyes narrowed at the sight of an ornate carriage bearing the insignia of Prince Jin’s estate entering through the Danfeng Gate. The carriage, not meeting the rank for direct passage, was undergoing inspection at the gate. Liu Wenji stared at it for a long moment before an idea struck him. He strode over purposefully.
The eunuch guards at the gate bowed respectfully. "Gong Liu."
Without a word, Liu Wenji approached the carriage and abruptly lifted the curtain. As he had suspected, inside sat Chunhua. Her eyes widened in surprise at his sudden intrusion, while the maids and guards outside were too stunned to react.
Clearly, Chunhua had been sent by the couple to fulfill her filial duties in the palace.Liu Wenji remarked with a sarcastic tone: "Prince Jin and his consort are absent, sending only a secondary consort instead. Isn't this disrespectful to His Majesty? I advise you, madam, to return and properly explain the stakes to your prince. What does it mean to dispatch a concubine?"
He boarded the carriage, leaned close to Chunhua's ear, and whispered a few words.
Chunhua trembled slightly, meeting his gaze before giving him a faint nod.
Liu Wenji smiled at her. When he smiled, his gloomy aura softened, his eyes carrying a spring-like charm that subtly enticed, reminiscent of his youthful, dashing demeanor. Chunhua was both moved by his kindness—thinking that despite his current circumstances, he still cared for old acquaintances—and pained for him, turning away unable to bear looking longer.
Seeing her still so compassionate, Liu Wenji couldn't help but scoff inwardly, suppressing a momentary pang of bitterness.
She still believed him to be pure-hearted, while he merely sought to drag Prince Jin down into the mire with him—using this to establish a connection with the prince.
Dropping the carriage curtain, he faced the apologies and inquiries from Prince Jin's maids and guards without a word, turning back toward the palace. The servants, relieved to have placated this favorite of the Emperor, thought they could now enter the palace, but then heard their secondary consort speak from within the carriage, her voice soft yet resolute: "I forgot the shoes I made for Her Majesty. Let's go back to retrieve them."
The crowd tried to dissuade her, but the usually amiable secondary consort paid them no heed today. Left with no choice, they had to leave the palace.
Once they were some distance from the palace grounds, Chunhua ordered: "To the Danyang Princess Residence."—
Mu Wan Yao was at her residence receiving Liu Ruozhu, with her sister-in-law Yan Xiaozhou also in attendance. The Yan family wished to seek the princess's help in arranging Yan Xiaozhou's marriage, so it was natural for Yan Xiaozhou to become better acquainted with Mu Wan Yao.
Liu Ruozhu had come to bid farewell.
With a cheerful smile, Liu Ruozhu distributed brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and various rare, solitary editions of books to the princess and her sister-in-law. Her voice was clear and melodious: "My husband has been transferred to Hexi Prefecture for his post. It's a place where foreigners and our Great Wei people live intermingled. I've heard that many ancient texts are burned as firewood there, which pains me greatly.
"After discussing with my family, I've decided to accompany my husband to Hexi. I may not see Your Highness for several years, so I came to say goodbye."
Mu Wan Yao felt a pang of reluctance. During her years in Chang'an, Liu Ruozhu had been a great help in her daily interactions with the city's young ladies. Though this lady was scholarly, she was no pedant. Liu Ruozhu was exceptionally perceptive and tactful; even the slight hostility that had initially arisen because of Yan Shang had faded away over the years.
Mu Wan Yao urged her to stay: "Then on another day, Yan Shang and I will host a banquet for you and your husband before you leave."
Liu Ruozhu curved her eyes, about to respond, when a maid hurried in to announce the arrival of Prince Jin's secondary consort. Mu Wan Yao was surprised, as due to delicate political stances, Chunhua never visited her. But today... The door curtain was lifted, and Chunhua entered in a rush, disheveled and lifting her skirts as she ran forward...
Yan Xiaozhou and Liu Ruozhu didn't catch what Chunhua said to the princess, but they saw Mu Wan Yao's face abruptly change color as she stood up suddenly. Without time to address the two of them, Mu Wan Yao hurried outward—Yan Shang stood in the hall, discussing official matters with the Emperor, particularly recent affairs in the Ministry of Personnel. The Emperor had kept his eyes closed until a bowl of sterilization soup was placed on the long table before Yan Shang. Only then did the Emperor open his clouded eyes, fixing them intently on Yan Shang.
Yan Shang lowered his gaze, staring at the bowl of medicinal liquid for a long while.
His heart ached with sorrow, grief, and melancholy, mingled with an indescribable sense of relief. He thought it might be for the best—at least it would put everyone at ease... He lifted the bowl and drank it all in one go.
The Emperor let out a soft sigh and leaned back.
Yan Shang stepped out of the hall, the bright sunlight glaring down on him. Dizzy and unwell, he stood dazed under the corridor, with the eunuch Cheng An following behind him, not urging him to move. Yan Shang watched as flocks of wild geese flew overhead, migrating from north to south, yet the sight felt desolate and lonely...
Mu Wan Yao’s voice came from below: "Yan Shang!"
Yan Shang snapped back to attention and looked down toward the vermilion steps, where Mu Wan Yao had appeared unnoticed. She gazed up at him, lifting her skirts as she ran toward him. Yan Shang offered her a faint smile, his eyes filled with sorrowful resignation, though the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Mu Wan Yao rushed over, grabbing his wrist. Staring at him, her tone urgent and almost shrill, she demanded, "Did you drink it? You drank it, didn’t you?"
Seeing her on the verge of hysteria, Yan Shang reached out to stop her: "Yao Yao, calm down. It’s nothing..."
Mu Wan Yao: "No, it is something! It clearly is something!"
She held onto his arm, pulling him down the steps. Frantic, she insisted, "Let’s go to the Imperial Medical Bureau. I want all the imperial physicians summoned! I’ll have them induce vomiting, have them neutralize the effects of this medicine..."
Cheng An tried to intervene from behind: "Your Highness, this is His Majesty’s decree. The Emperor did this for your own good..."
Mu Wan Yao turned back, her eyes fierce and cold: "I don’t accept it, I don’t need it! Go find the imperial physicians for me, bring the one who prescribed this medicine—I’ll kill him! I must kill him!"
Tears glistened in her eyes as she felt herself nearing collapse, tormented to the brink of madness by her ailing father—"If anything happens to Yan Shang, if you all get your way, I will never forgive you!
"If Father wants to kill the one who informed me, then kill me along with him! If Father wants to kill Yan Shang, then kill me too!"
She trembled all over, her hand holding Yan Shang’s icy cold. Yan Shang clasped her hand in return, and she looked up at him, utterly pitiful: "Do you feel like vomiting? Can you bring it up? Let’s try inducing vomiting, alright... Let’s find all the physicians to treat you, alright?"
Yan Shang whispered softly, "Why go to such lengths... I feel it’s nothing. As husband and wife, doesn’t this make us trust each other even more?"
Mu Wan Yao’s tears were on the verge of falling: "If marrying me requires such a sacrifice, how could I bear it? I don’t want you to become like me, I don’t want to prove anything this way... What sin did you commit to encounter a family as troubled as ours... I don’t want you like this!"
Her grip on his arm trembled with intensity, her anguish palpable: "Can you vomit it out? It’s possible, right? When did you drink the medicine? Second Brother Yan, listen to me, let’s get the medicine out... alright?"
Yan Shang looked down at her. Though his own heart was heavy, seeing Mu Wan Yao so pale and distraught, he had already resigned himself to fate. Yet, watching her like this, he managed a faint smile and said, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."Mu Wan Yao let out another sob, clinging to him—
Upon hearing the commotion Mu Wan Yao was causing, the Emperor sighed and let his daughter have her way. Cold-hearted by nature, he had consulted the old immortal who prescribed the medicine and, learning it was not easily counteracted, felt reassured.
If his daughter wanted to summon imperial physicians, he would not interfere. As for the person who had informed her, since they could not be executed, he merely imposed punishments: not only was Chunhua placed under house arrest in Prince Jin’s residence, but Liu Wenji’s salary was also docked. The Emperor believed that Mu Wan Yao, being a princess, would eventually understand that he had her best interests at heart.
He was convinced he was protecting Mu Wan Yao.
Yet Mu Wan Yao despised the Emperor deeply.
Yan Shang’s family still resided in Chang’an, right across from them… seeing each other constantly, was the Emperor trying to make Yan’s family loathe her utterly? Just because he had married her, did Yan Shang deserve such humiliation from the imperial family?
When the imperial physicians arrived at the Princess Residence, Mu Wan Yao dared not make a scene. She couldn’t reveal that Yan Shang was the one afflicted, instead claiming she felt dizzy and had summoned them for a check-up. Hearing of the princess’s illness, the Yan family grew particularly concerned. Usually hesitant to interact with the princess, they now sent Yan Xiaozhou to ask if there was anything they could do to help.
Yan Xiaozhou even brought a type of cane sugar from Lingnan that the princess adored, smiling warmly: "My second brother often writes to us, saying Your Highness enjoys this. If it’s inconvenient, we won’t disturb your rest. But if Your Highness finds the medicine bitter, you can have a piece of sugar after drinking it."
Yan Xiaozhou stood on tiptoe in the courtyard, worry etched on her face: "I just saw my second brother return as well. Is Your Highness gravely ill? If you recover, could you let him inform us?"
However, the staff at the Princess Residence only knew the imperial physicians were there to treat Yan Erlang. None of them understood the nature of his illness, the details likely known only to the princess and Yan Erlang. Qiu Si relayed Yan Xiaozhou’s words to Mu Wan Yao, who stood in the outer chamber of the bedchamber, watching the physicians come and go, each bowing their heads, too afraid to meet her gaze.
Mu Wan Yao lowered her head and sat down, staring at her palm. Her face was pale as snow, her eyes cold and dark, showing no reaction.
A bold physician approached hesitantly, explaining: once the medicine has been ingested, even if vomited, some of the medicinal effect would have already been absorbed.
Mu Wan Yao insisted firmly: "I don’t care. I want you to cure him. He just took the medicine—if he vomits it out, he’ll be fine. If you can’t heal him, all of you will die."
The physician demurred: "Perhaps the medicinal effect is too potent. Erlang has developed a fever; we should focus on reducing it first…"
Mu Wan Yao shrieked: "I don’t care what you have to do! You must—"
From inside, Yan Shang’s weak voice called out: "Yao Yao…"
She froze, then abruptly pushed past those around her and rushed into the inner chamber. Passing through the screen, she saw Yan Shang leaning over the bedside, vomiting clear fluid. Whatever medicine the physicians had given him, it had made him retch up even stomach acid, leaving him utterly exhausted, his face burning bright red from the fever…
Mu Wan Yao’s heart ached as she sat beside him, supporting him and letting him lean against her shoulder.
He sighed: "Stop this… Yao Yao, you’re going to be the death of me…"
Mu Wan Yao stubbornly replied: "Endure it a little longer. I want you healthy…"
Yan Shang closed his eyes, his breath faint. Yet as he held her icy hand, his voice remained gentle and comforting: "Would you love me any less like this? Let me rest—I truly have nothing left to vomit.""Rather than wasting time on me, wouldn't it be better to do something useful?"
Mu Wan Yao: "No."
Yan Shang sighed: "Yao Yao, be good."
Mu Wan Yao lowered her head, her voice indifferent: "Why won't you listen? If you'd just listen to the imperial physicians and let the toxins be expelled... You've just taken the medicine, it will definitely work..."
Groping weakly, he propped himself up slightly and pulled her into his embrace. Her cheek pressed against his neck as Yan Shang smiled faintly: "You..."
Always doing such futile things.
Mu Wan Yao looked up to coax him: "Don't speak anymore. We'll treat your illness, we'll help you recover. He wants you to be left without descendants, but we'll defy his wishes. Later we'll find you concubines, have you sleep with seventeen or eighteen women immediately, infuriating my Emperor father..."
Yan Shang couldn't help but laugh, his eyes crinkling: "What nonsense are you spouting again? Are you trying to anger yourself to death or exhaust me to death?"
Mu Wan Yao's gaze remained determined: "This isn't over. Brother, rest assured, I will definitely seek justice for you. This matter won't end like this... You must recover, you mustn't give up on yourself. Marrying me should have been a joyful thing, it definitely shouldn't have become something that hurt you. Second Brother Yan, don't worry, I won't—I absolutely won't... let you be hurt!"
Yan Shang watched her quietly.
He could see no trace of opportunism in her eyes—she hadn't found the slightest happiness in this situation. Though she couldn't bear children herself, she had never considered making him share her fate. This was his Yao Yao... the woman he loved. She was different from her Emperor father—she truly cared for him.
Love wasn't business, nor was it about fairness. It didn't mean "since I suffer, you must suffer equally." They had worked hard to nurture this love, handling it with care, afraid to damage it...
Mu Wan Yao whispered: "So please, listen to me. Follow the imperial physicians' instructions and receive proper treatment, alright?"
Yan Shang's voice was hoarse: "...Alright."—
In the afternoon, Yan Shang fainted from having taken too much medicine. The imperial physicians kept trying various methods while also working to reduce his fever.
Sitting in the outer chamber, Mu Wan Yao heard the continuous thunder outside and suddenly felt everything becoming unbearably oppressive. She could no longer remain seated there—the imperial physicians' worried expressions were driving her mad, and the concern from neighboring residences only made her feel ashamed.
Mu Wan Yao abruptly stood up and headed out of the Princess Residence. The moment she stepped out of the bedchamber, rain began pouring down noisily overhead.
The Emperor was sleeping fitfully in his own bedchamber when he was awakened by the commotion outside. Opening his eyes, he saw the palace doors opening one after another as his drenched, disheveled yet defiant daughter strode across the wet floor, entering his bedchamber amidst flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder.
The Emperor raised his hand to dismiss all the palace attendants.
Observing Mu Wan Yao's expression, the Emperor relaxed and said: "The medicinal effect can't be eliminated, can it?"
Standing in the great hall, Mu Wan Yao stared at the old man sitting wrapped in robes in the shadowy recliner. Her face was tense, her beautiful features twitching with emotional agitation, her expression becoming somewhat distorted.
She gritted her teeth: "You madman! You scoundrel! Having ruined me wasn't enough—now you must ruin my husband too! By destroying Yan Shang, you're trying to destroy the love between us. You clearly approved our marriage, yet look what you've been doing!
"Are you trying to make Yan Shang hate me? Do you want Yan Shang and me to become enemies? You old fool, what exactly are you doing!"The Emperor’s face darkened as he slammed the table in anger, though his illness weakened his imposing presence. “How dare you! Is that any way to speak to your own father? Everything I’ve done is for your own good!”
Mu Wan Yao couldn’t hold back a bitter laugh.
She felt like a madwoman—and indeed, she must have been mad to come here and vent her emotions. Yet as she stared at the Emperor, she felt no fear. She made no attempt to hide her resentment. “For my own good? Are you saying that to protect me from betrayal by a man, the man himself must be sacrificed? That only by ensuring Yan Shang cannot philander behind my back can my status be secured?
“Is that really for me? Stop deceiving yourself! You’re clearly afraid of Yan Shang gaining too much power… afraid he’ll slip from your control, afraid no one will be able to keep him in check… and if he has no children, all the better. Without descendants to pave the way for, he’ll have no choice but to remain—for generations—our tool, our slave!
“Toiling for us, managing state affairs his entire life, yet receiving nothing in return! You want him to end his bloodline… you’re forcing him to become a mere instrument. You’re doing this for your own throne, for your own sick and humiliating need for control! When have you ever done anything for me?!”
Mu Wan Yao took a large step forward, her voice sharp. “I’ve only just learned that you’ve long known I cannot bear children, that you knew my health was ruined among the Black Barbarians. This isn’t for me—you never had the imperial physicians examine me, never once asked me about it… As soon as others claimed I was barren, you wished it to be true! You never wanted to know the cause, never sought to remedy it!
“Have you ever spared a single thought for me? Have you considered that Yan Shang’s father is still alive, that his Eldest Brother and Third Brother still reside in Chang’an? They live right across from my residence! How are we to face them? How do we tell them—that because I cannot bear children, my Emperor has also rendered your son sterile, just to keep me company?
“How could I possibly utter such words?! You wield authority to oppress, use power to coerce, but you have no heart!
“You’re all too eager for me to have no heirs, for Yan Shang to have no descendants. No wonder you were willing to let me promote the humble-born, willing for me to marry Yan Shang… All these years, I thought you treated me well out of pity for my hardships, that you’d finally remembered I am your daughter and wanted to make amends… But it turns out you’ve never changed!
“Imperial power! Imperial power! That’s all that matters to you!”
The Emperor slammed the table again, a flash of lightning illuminating the dark hall and the pallor of death on his face. Trembling with rage at his daughter’s bluntness, he still exuded the aura of a sovereign, trying to intimidate her. “Where have I erred? This empire belongs to the Mu family! For millennia to come, it shall remain the Mu dynasty’s domain! I act for the sake of Great Wei, for the peace of the entire realm!
“As a princess, how can you not understand this?”
Mu Wan Yao stared at him.
Whether it was rain or tears, droplets clung to her lashes. With a slight blink, they traced down her cheeks and gathered at her chin.
Suddenly, Mu Wan Yao said, “I won’t play this game with you anymore.”
The Emperor was taken aback.
He listened as Mu Wan Yao declared with finality, “I no longer regard you as my father. I won’t run your errands anymore. If you wish to kill Yan Shang, then kill him. If you wish to kill me, then kill me. If you won’t kill us, then let us leave. I refuse to be this princess any longer… Find someone else to promote your humble-born scholars, find someone else to contend with the powerful families you so fear.
“We won’t be pawns in your game any longer!”
The Emperor roared, “Outrageous!”Mu Wan Yao turned and walked away. She strode outward, the cold wind whipping against her face, yet it was no match for the chill and exhaustion in her heart. She exited the main hall, ignoring the panicked gazes of the palace attendants. Dazed and disoriented, she continued walking out, and soon Cheng An caught up from behind:
"Your Highness, Your Highness please wait!
"Your Highness, the Emperor asks you to return! His Majesty is willing to negotiate terms—Your Highness, please turn back!"
Lantern lights snaked out from the palace as a crowd of palace attendants knelt in the heavy rain before Mu Wan Yao. Through the layers of lamplight, they pleaded with the princess to reconsider.
Mu Wan Yao stood rigid in the rain, torn between tears and laughter—she had won her gamble.
The Emperor still had to bow his head.
Because he had no one else to turn to.
Served him right—
Yan Shang's high fever had subsided. Rising from his bed, he asked the maids about Mu Wan Yao's whereabouts. Learning she had left that afternoon, he grew more anxious hearing the thunder and lightning outside.
He got up and, ignoring the maids' attempts to stop him, took an umbrella saying he would go to the palace to fetch Mu Wan Yao. The maids, following the princess's orders to prevent the Imperial Son-in-Law from wandering after waking, watched helplessly as physicians knelt outside sighing—how could the Imperial Son-in-Law be moving about?
Yet the usually gentle Imperial Son-in-law was unyielding that night.
Yan Shang stepped out holding a large black umbrella. As he left the alley, rain fell in torrents, drumming against the umbrella like floodwaters. Through the blurred vision of the rainy night, he saw a woman approaching through the wind-driven rain.
Maids and guards hurried after her with umbrellas: "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
Under the lantern light carried by a maid, Mu Wan Yao looked up and met the gaze of Yan Shang standing at the alley's entrance, watching her beneath his umbrella.
Yan Shang asked softly: "I woke to find you gone. What were you doing?"
Mu Wan Yao replied vacantly: "Threatening my Emperor."
Yan Shang paused before saying: "Didn't I ask you to be patient, to not go and worsen the relationship?"
Mu Wan Yao said flatly: "What does it matter? What can he do to me? After what he did to you, what have I left to fear?"
Yan Shang sighed: "What did you threaten him with?"
Mu Wan Yao drifted into momentary daze. As Yan Shang watched her quietly, she refocused and spoke as if in a dream: "He promised that as long as we don't commit treason, he would never strip my power. He wrote an imperial decree for the next emperor, saying you should become chancellor. He made Cheng An deliver the decree to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Imperial Clan Court right before my eyes.
"He said regardless of who becomes the next emperor, unless they wish to betray their ancestors, they must obey the decree and dare not violate it."
A slow smile spread across Mu Wan Yao's face: "I used this to secure our survival. Did I do well?"
Yan Shang's heart ached, but he smiled at her. Her political acumen no longer needed his guidance. She could easily seize any opportunity... He needn't worry about her, yet seeing her like this still pained him.
Yan Shang asked tremulously: "I've destroyed your chance for father-daughter affection, haven't I?"
Mu Wan Yao: "No. You helped me see reality clearly and completely abandon expectations of him. That's good too. Let's treat everything between us as business. From now on, I'll no longer see him as my father. All my relatives are tormenting demons—I want none of them."
Raindrops pattered.
She wouldn't even call him Emperor anymore.
In the darkness, candle flames flickered faintly.
Mu Wan Yao trembled: "He clearly loved my mother once, so why does he seem to understand nothing about love?"Yan Shang opened the umbrella and said to her, "Never mind all that. Yaoyao, come here and let me hold you."
Mu Wan Yao stood frozen, staring at him, then tentatively took a step forward. He continued gazing down at her with gentle eyes. Under his tender gaze, she found courage. She moved forward again until she threw herself into his embrace, where he held her tightly.
Her hands clutched his damp lapels as she wrapped her arms around his slender waist. Remembering the devastation he had endured, her heart ached even more, and she began sobbing in his arms.
Mu Wan Yao murmured with red-rimmed eyes, "I don't want any of them anymore. I only want you."
Yan Shang lowered his head, gently kissed her forehead, and smiled, "Alright now. Yaoyao jiejie, don't cry."
Yet his calling her "Yaoyao jiejie" only made her cry even harder.
In the deep alley, the maids and guards stood in a full row, some braving the rain and others holding umbrellas. Though they didn't know exactly what had happened between the princess and the Imperial Son-in-Law, for some reason, their eyes all began to sting with emotion.
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