This was an invitation letter, urging Shen Wei to secretly leave the palace tonight.
After just one glance, Shen Wei tossed both the letter and the dart into a gilded bronze brazier, watching them burn to ashes.
First, she wasn’t sure if this was truly Li Yuanli’s handwriting—it could very well be a trap set by Li Yuanjing to test her loyalty.
Second, even if the letter had been written by Li Yuanli himself, Shen Wei would never abandon the life she had painstakingly built over the years to elope with a stranger.
She couldn’t fathom why Li Yuanli had taken such an interest in her.
The man had appeared out of nowhere, bringing her endless trouble.
Once the letter was reduced to ashes, Shen Wei summoned Cai Lian, the palace maid on duty, and ordered her to reinforce the night guards at Yongning Palace. A dart striking the bed curtains of a noble consort in the dead of night was a clear sign that security needed tightening.
With the arrangements made, Shen Wei slipped back under her covers and fell asleep almost instantly.
...
...
The night wind was chilly as a carriage stood by the roadside near the eastern gate of Yanjing City.
Inside the city, the night watchman struck his gong, announcing the arrival of the late-night hour.
The coachman lowered his voice and spoke to Li Yuanli inside the carriage, "Your Majesty, if we wait any longer, dawn will break. The chaos in Southern Chu demands your swift return to restore order."
Who would have guessed that Li Yuanli, the Emperor of Southern Chu, was still hiding in Yanjing City?
Inside the carriage, Li Yuanli slowly opened his eyes.
After a long silence, he sighed. "Let it be. It was merely wishful thinking."
Deep down, he knew that even mountains of gold and silver wouldn’t sway Shen Wei’s heart. Yet, he had chosen to linger in Yanjing City for a few more days—for no other reason than to be closer to her.
Just knowing they stood under the same sky, separated only by towering palace walls, filled Li Yuanli with an unprecedented sense of peace. The scars and pain he had carried from his years in Southern Chu miraculously faded whenever he was near her.
Li Yuanli realized he was fond of Shen Wei.
But his feelings for her ran deeper—they were an obsession.
After his mother’s death and his failed bid for power, he had wandered destitute before arriving in Southern Chu. Relying on his partial Southern Chu royal bloodline, he had thrown himself into the ruthless struggles of the imperial court.
Time and again, he had teetered on the brink of death.
Time and again, he had clung to life by a thread.
In those moments of exhaustion, he would always think of Shen Wei—a humble farmer’s daughter, a lowly maid in the palace, frail as an ant yet rising to prominence through sheer will and cunning.
She became his motivation, his healing balm, the light in his blood-soaked years. That faint glow had guided him out of the abyss.
"Second Brother, you truly are fortunate," Li Yuanli murmured, his eyes closing as jealousy festered within him.
He and Li Yuanjing were cut from the same cloth.
Li Yuanli believed that if Shen Wei had never existed, Li Yuanjing would have inevitably grown just as cold and ruthless, standing aloof to scorn the absurdity of the world.
Yet, Li Yuanjing always seemed to have luck on his side!
"Has anything been found in Qiuliang Palace?" Li Yuanli suppressed his resentment and asked the coachman outside the carriage.
The coachman replied, "Our men have searched Qiuliang Palace—the former residence of Southern Chu’s founding empress—countless times, even prying up the floor tiles. But we’ve found no trace of her supposed legacy. The only oddity is a female physician named Moxun, who often stays there overnight."
Li Yuanli frowned. "Moxun, the legendary healer? Why would she stay in Qiuliang Palace?"
The coachman shook his head. "This servant does not know. I will investigate her connection to the palace at once."
Qiuliang Palace in the Da Qing imperial harem was once the dwelling of Southern Chu’s empress, a woman of boundless ingenuity who had left behind countless treasures for her kingdom. Rumors claimed she had hidden a relic within Qiuliang Palace—one capable of altering fate itself.
For years, Li Yuanli had searched for it, to no avail.
The night wind howled as the carriage’s path was set. With a heavy sigh, Li Yuanli declared, "Return to Southern Chu."
The carriage sped into the darkness, racing toward the distant south.
Life was long, and the future uncertain. But Li Yuanli would never give up on Shen Wei. One day, he would claim everything he desired—by any means necessary.
...
...
In the coastal mountains of Qing State, the framework of a long dam stretched across the valley. Shen Xiuming, dressed plainly like any common traveler, walked along the riverbank, inspecting the progress of the hydraulic project.
As night fell, Shen Xiuming and his subordinates returned to the modest government residence at the foot of the mountain. The compound was shabby and unadorned, but having grown up in hardship, Shen Xiuming showed no disdain. He even helped repair the collapsed courtyard walls with his own hands, earning admiration from his colleagues.
Spring nights were chilly, and the courtyard buzzed with insects. Shen Xiuming remained awake, reviewing county affairs by lamplight. Years of experience had stripped away his past recklessness, leaving him composed and dependable.
In recent years, he had handled every task assigned by the emperor with excellence. Shen Xiuming quietly hoped that after five or six more years of service, he would earn a promotion back to the capital—reuniting with his family and Moxun.
Now that the Tantai and Lu families had fallen, the court was purged of corruption, and Qing State flourished under clear governance.
In the imperial harem, his sister reigned as Noble Consort Chen, unchallenged in her favor.
Shen Xiuming smiled to himself, believing the Shen family’s fortunes were finally turning.
"Sir, the emperor’s response to your memorial has arrived," Fu announced, placing the document respectfully on the desk.
In high spirits, Shen Xiuming picked it up. But as he read the emperor’s words, his smile froze.
Fu brought tea and, noticing his master’s stunned expression, asked, "Sir, what’s wrong?"
Shen Xiuming took the cup and drained half of it in one gulp.
The emperor had rebuked the Shen family for lax discipline!
The words drenched him in cold dread. He had assumed that with the downfall of the major families, his sister would live undisturbed in the harem.
Yet the emperor’s reply had extinguished all his joy.
"My sister is virtuous and guileless. How could she possibly breach palace decorum? The emperor must be deliberately finding fault," Shen Xiuming muttered, his heart aching for his sister trapped behind palace walls.
He would work harder—rise through merit and return to the capital as soon as possible.
...
...
Time flowed swiftly, and a month passed.
No secret could stay hidden forever. Whispers spread through the harem once more—ever since the Lu family’s downfall, the emperor had grown distant from Noble Consort Chen.
For an entire month, he had not once stepped into Yongning Palace.
Like all favored consorts before her, Noble Consort Chen had failed to hold the emperor’s heart for long.
The palace staff sighed.
It seemed no woman could ever claim an emperor’s enduring devotion.
Court officials, ever perceptive, began submitting memorials urging the emperor to hold a new imperial selection. Li Yuanjing withheld approval, leaving the courtiers baffled by his intentions.
