As March drew to a close, peach blossoms climbed the branches, scattering across the streets, alleys, tiled roofs, and eaves.
Wen Zhuo’s assignment had already come to an end. It was now time for Emperor Shunyuan to personally preside over the palace examination.
But before the examination even began, the palace received a piece of joyful news—
The people Consort Zhen had sent to pray at famous mountains and ancient temples had returned to the capital. Apart from bringing back protective charms blessed at each temple, they had also brought back a divination slip from every place.
Every line on the slips foretold good fortune.
The first read: “Clarify the law and illuminate its standards.”
The second: “Across the four seas, no war shall rage.”
The third: “In accordance with the seasons, all things shall revive.”
The fourth: “When the dragon soars, a glorious destiny shall unfold.”
The fifth: “The Director of Rites shall uphold the imperial inheritance.”
Every one of them was an auspicious omen symbolizing the emperor’s good health and the prosperity of the realm. After reading them, Emperor Shunyuan felt that Great Qian was flourishing more with every passing day and that even the gods were blessing it. Naturally, he was delighted.
It happened to be the season when spring warmed the rivers and all things began to revive. Emperor Shunyuan’s spirits improved day by day as well, and he specifically rewarded Consort Zhen with a generous amount of gold, silver, and jewelry.
Consort Zhen covered her lips with a light laugh and curtsied gracefully in thanks.
Emperor Shunyuan then remembered Princess Zhaoyue and hurriedly told Consort Zhen to bring the girl over. He wanted to see how she had been faring lately.
Before long, Princess Zhaoyue came bounding into the Hall of Mental Cultivation and threw herself into Emperor Shunyuan’s arms, calling out brightly, “Father!”
Consort Zhen quickly chided her. “Slow down. Don’t crash into your father.”
Zhaoyue pouted, obediently retreating half a step and lowering her head.
Emperor Shunyuan merely laughed and waved his hand. “It’s fine. How much strength could this little girl possibly have? I like her lively spirit.”
Zhaoyue’s face brightened again. She threw herself back into his arms and proudly raised her chin at Consort Zhen.
She always felt that her mother was too strict with her, constantly picking at her faults and leaving her disheartened.
As she grew older, she also became increasingly sensitive, and had even developed a rebellious streak toward her mother’s lessons.
Her father was the one who truly doted on her. He indulged her in everything and always argued with her mother on her behalf.
Emperor Shunyuan reached out and stroked her two little braids, smiling as he said, “Our Zhaoyue is so lovable. Why don’t you stay by Father’s side from now on? Father will protect you. How does that sound?”
“Good!” Zhaoyue answered brightly. She reached over to the plate on Emperor Shunyuan’s desk, grabbed a piece of peach blossom pastry, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Emperor Shunyuan tapped her lightly on the head. Seeing her cheeks bulging as she chewed, he could not help bursting into laughter. “You’re already thirteen, yet you still look like such a little girl.”
Consort Zhen stood to one side, the faintest smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She gently brushed a fingertip over Zhaoyue’s collar and straightened the slightly rumpled edge of her robe.
After spending half the day playing around with Zhaoyue, Emperor Shunyuan grew tired and wanted to rest. Consort Zhen urged Zhaoyue to leave.
“Go play with your wet nurse, and don’t run off anywhere.” She placed a hand on Zhaoyue’s shoulder and spoke softly. Then she turned around, her expression darkening as she instructed the maid beside her, “Go summon the Fourth Prince. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him.”
Shen He had heard that the capital had recently come up with all sorts of peach blossom delicacies—peach blossom pastries, steamed peach blossoms, and more—so his mouth had begun to water. He had therefore taken his wife out to search the entire city for them.
They ate their way from Guanqi Street to Grass Sheep Street. Only after their bellies were stuffed did the two of them finally feel satisfied.
He had not forgotten to bring Consort Zhen and Zhaoyue a portion of peach blossom stuffed duck as well.
He entered the residence of the imperial princes in high spirits, but had barely stepped inside when he heard that his mother wanted to see him. Without giving it much thought, he carried the food box over to pay his respects.
The moment he entered the inner room, he glanced around. He saw only Consort Zhen; Princess Zhaoyue was nowhere in sight.
“Mother,” he said, lifting the food box as though presenting a treasure. “I brought some food from outside the palace. It smells wonderful. You and Zhaoyue should try some.”
Consort Zhen gave it a perfunctory glance and said indifferently, “Put it over there.”
Shen He rubbed his nose, immediately feeling deflated. He had brought it back especially for her; it was a token of his affection. Yet Consort Zhen was clearly preoccupied and did not show the slightest appreciation.
“What did you wish to see me about, Mother?” he asked respectfully all the same.
Consort Zhen suddenly rose and led him to the desk. She rolled up her sleeve and pointed at the bamboo paper spread across the tabletop. “Look. Do you know what this is?”
Shen He took a close look and could not help freezing. “These are… the divination slips brought back from the prayers?”
“Exactly.”
Shen He grew even more confused. He did not understand why she had shown them to him.
A confident smile curved Consort Zhen’s lips. “These are the slips obtained from five famous mountains. Arranged according to the order in which they were sent back to the capital, they form these five lines. To anyone else, they would appear to be blessings for Great Qian and for His Majesty.”
Shen He immediately frowned. “There’s another meaning hidden in them?”
Consort Zhen rolled her eyes at him, a trace of exasperation showing through her expression, as though he were hopelessly slow on the uptake. She then picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and rearranged the order of the five lines.
This time, however, she had completely reversed the order:
“When the dragon soars, a glorious destiny shall unfold; clarify the law and illuminate its standards; in accordance with the seasons, all things shall revive; across the four seas, no war shall rage; the Director of Rites shall uphold the imperial inheritance.”
Shen He read the lines one by one, yet still could not make sense of them.
Consort Zhen placed the brush into the inkstone and gave a cold laugh. “These are divination slips, not ordinary lines of poetry. The five mountains I chose are all places where dragon veins run. If they are arranged according to the direction of the dragon veins, from beginning to end, they form the order you see now. Take the first character of each slip and read them together.”
Shen He’s heart jolted. He blurted out, “Dragon… chapter… answer… four… order?”
“‘Dragon chapter’ comes from the Book of the Later Han: ‘Red light illuminated the room; looking into the courtyard, one saw the glow of fire—a dragon’s bearing and a phoenix’s form.’ It signifies the bearing of an emperor.
“‘Order’ means rank, so ‘fourth order’ is an elegant designation for the Fourth Prince.
“In other words, the full message is: ‘The Fourth Prince bears a heavenly-endowed appearance.’”
Cold sweat instantly soaked through Shen He’s back, and his face turned deathly pale.
Consort Zhen did not notice at all. She continued speaking to herself, “I deliberately scrambled the order because I was afraid it would seem too obvious and arouse His Majesty’s suspicions. In a few days, I’ll find an excuse to pass these slips to the Directorate of Astronomy and have them explain the matter to His Majesty. He has always believed in such things, so he will certainly treasure them. When that happens—”
“Mother!”
Shen He cut her off with a sharp cry, his voice filled with alarm.
Consort Zhen froze.
Ever since she had rescued Shen He from Empress Liu and raised him at her side, he had always been gentle and obedient, following her wishes in everything.
This was the first time he had ever dared interrupt her.
Shen He’s chest rose and fell violently. He drew a deep breath, and when he exhaled, the anger he had been suppressing had already broken through.
He raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice trembled with barely controlled panic.
“Are you trying to get me killed?”
For a moment, Consort Zhen failed to understand. She had gone to such lengths merely to secure a better future for him. How had it become, in his eyes, an attempt to kill him?
Shen He’s arms moved restlessly, and his neck flushed red.
He wanted to shout, but was afraid that someone might be listening through the wall. Thus, he could only lower his voice and say furiously, “The Fifth Brother has won the hearts of the people, and Father has taken a liking to him as well. His achievements are not something I can compare with! If you present these divination slips now, you’ll be placing me over a fire! Do you really think the Fifth Brother will willingly give up after seeing these words? Do you think the men Father appointed as the Crown Prince’s Three Tutors will be content to see all their efforts come to nothing? And what about House Jun? Will they simply accept their fate?”
“Your son knows that I’m of mediocre ability, and I have no great responsibility toward the people of the realm. I have never wanted to contend for the position of Crown Prince. All I wish is to be an ordinary prince and live in peace. Now that Fifth Brother and I get along well, he certainly won’t mistreat me in the future! Why are you doing this today? Do you want him to kill me to eliminate a future threat?”
“I have no ambitions. I don’t want to spend every day coveting things beyond my reach. Mother, please let me go! I can take this path to repay your kindness, but what about Qin Rui? She is the love of my life. We don’t want to suffer through this!”
“Suffer?” Consort Zhen was so furious that her entire body trembled. She nearly raised her hand to slap him. Pointing at Shen He, she said in a quavering voice, “You say you don’t want to suffer, but what about your sister? Do you know how much she’ll have to suffer? Who else can she rely on besides you? Those people will only treat her as a tool for obtaining benefits!”
Shen He lowered his eyes and took several deep breaths before barely suppressing the anger in his heart. In a muffled voice, he said, “Your son will certainly protect Princess Zhaoyue.”
A moment ago, Consort Zhen had been blazing with fury, but now her eyes reddened. A tear fell onto the back of her hand, and she looked utterly disappointed.
“You’re lying to Mother.” Her voice carried a trace of despair. “You’ve never thought about how to protect Princess Zhaoyue. Otherwise, you wouldn’t spend all your time indulging in food, drink, and amusements!”
Shen He felt as though those words had pierced him. He was not heartless, and he hurriedly defended himself. “Mother, don’t say that. Princess Zhaoyue is so clever. I’ve always cherished her with all my heart.”
Consort Zhen merely let out a cold laugh and shook her head. Tears slid down her cheeks. “If Princess Zhaoyue wants to live a life of peace and security, you must ascend the imperial throne. Otherwise, her fate will be no different from that of every princess in Great Qian.”
At the founding of Great Qian, the founding emperor had feared that maternal relatives would seize power, so he established a rule: princesses were forbidden to marry into prestigious and powerful families. They could only choose husbands from among the sons of poor households.
But there were countless poor households throughout the realm. As for whom a princess should marry, that was not for the princess herself to decide.
Thus, the custom of “fengyi” came into being. Whoever paid the court the most money would earn the right to marry a princess.
Poor scholars could not possibly possess that much money, so they would “borrow from wealthy families, all at interest rates that doubled the principal.”
Once they had the money and married a princess, they would use her identity to associate with the powerful, curry favor with aristocratic families, and gradually claw the money back from the common people.
Hardly any of Great Qian’s princesses lived happy lives.
They entered their husbands’ households with lavish dowries, only to discover that those households were desperately poor and that they themselves had to use their dowries to support the family.
If they could no longer live in silks and luxury, so be it. To help their husbands build prosperous estates and care for their children, they were forced to set aside their dignity as princesses and help their husbands curry favor with the powerful.
Once the husband’s household prospered, the thoughts of those poor-born scholars began to wander. They started taking concubines and seeking new lovers, casting the princess aside.
Yet for a princess to return to the palace, request a divorce, or even complain to her parents was nearly impossible.
Every time she returned to the palace, she had to pass through layer upon layer of scrutiny by the palace eunuchs and matrons. As long as her husband bribed even one of them, she would never be allowed to return home.
Princess Ruzhen of Emperor Zhaoxi was beaten to death by her husband while she was pregnant. After sobering up, the husband fled to Nanping, yet there were actually people in the court who claimed that his crime did not warrant death.
The reason was that once a princess married, she was no longer considered a member of the imperial family. She belonged to her husband’s household. He was a husband first and a subject second.
Princess Ruzhen’s mother wanted revenge for her daughter, but she had to rack her brains and weigh every consideration. And that was only because she held the position of a consort.
Consort Zhen knew full well that her Princess Zhaoyue would one day face the same fate.
She wiped away her tears and gazed at the sky beyond the window. Her voice was frighteningly calm. “Your father can show someone incomparable favor, but don’t let that create any illusions in you. When he has no choice but to abandon someone, he is more ruthless than anyone.”
“Look at the Crown Prince. He is now deeply favored by His Majesty. But when the emperor sent him away, did he spare even a thought for their bond as father and son? I saw Jun Mulan kneel outside the hall until she miscarried. That woman was so formidable—she had fought her way through countless battlefields and had never bent her knee to anyone. Yet she could not save her own son. And I cannot save my Princess Zhaoyue either.”
“I have always known that he is an emperor first and a father second. Every choice he makes is for the sake of Great Qian. No one is beyond sacrifice.”
Shen He listened to Consort Zhen’s heartfelt confession and remained silent for a long while. The warm chamber was so quiet that the dripping of rainwater from the eaves could be heard—once, and then again.
At last, he moved his lips. Yet he kept his eyes lowered, and his voice was as soft as wind brushing against the window lattice.
“But isn’t that how it should be?”
Consort Zhen whipped around. Thinking she had misheard, she stopped breathing for a moment.
Shen He finally raised his head and met her gaze directly. The filial affection he had once shown was gone, replaced by a cold, almost cruel clarity.
He knew that if he continued to fob her off, Consort Zhen would only charge down this path to the bitter end, staking his life on a distant and uncertain dream.
“Princess Zhaoyue is a princess. She enjoys the privileges of royalty and lives on the support of the people of Great Qian. Shouldn’t she give something in return for the stability of the nation? Why are you being so unreasonable, Mother? You only want her to enjoy the benefits, but refuse to let her suffer even a little?”
Consort Zhen stared at him blankly. All at once, the child she had held in the palm of her hand and watched grow up seemed terrifyingly unfamiliar.
He could actually say something like that.
He actually thought this way.
She staggered back a step and braced herself heavily against the table before barely managing to steady her swaying body.
Jun Mulan’s pardon and Shen Zheng’s appointment as Crown Prince had crushed her fighting spirit time and again, but she had always clung to a sliver of hope.
Only now was everything she had poured her heart and soul into utterly trampled beneath her feet.
Belatedly, she realized that Shen He, too, had been raised on the palace’s rites and teachings. He had studied the calculations of those in power and was accustomed to weighing gains and losses.
He did not intend to protect Princess Zhaoyue—not because he was foolish, lazy, or lacking in ambition, but because he regarded Princess Zhaoyue as an object that could be sacrificed at any moment, a chess piece that could pave the way for Great Qian.
There was no point anymore. None of it meant anything.
She no longer needed to think about placing Shen He on the throne, because he was just like his father. He, too, would exploit Princess Zhaoyue to the fullest, even if he still remembered to bring her a peach blossom stuffed duck.
Shen He slowly clenched his fists and turned his head away. Yet when he spoke, his voice was horrifyingly calm.
“Mother, don’t look at me like that. Whoever sits on that throne would think the same way I do.”
Consort Zhen suddenly laughed, though her laughter trembled faintly. “Shen He, don’t you also enjoy the privileges of being a prince and live on the support of the people of Great Qian? What have you given in return for the stability of the nation? Why are you allowed to indulge in beautiful wives and concubines, eat, drink, and amuse yourself as an idle prince, while my Princess Zhaoyue has to sacrifice a lifetime of happiness?”
Shen He was rendered speechless by the sharpness of her question. After a long moment, his face flushed red, and he stubbornly lifted his chin.
“Princes and princesses are different.”
“Get out!”
The moment those words left her mouth, Shen He knew that the last thread of affection between them had been severed.
Shen He’s tears finally fell, but he made no further attempt to defend himself. It was as though he had finally set down the heavy burden that had weighed on his heart for years, and his entire body radiated a sense of ease he had never known before.
At last, he no longer had to live for the sake of protecting Zhaoyue. He could simply be himself.
Consort Zhen flung the peach-blossom stuffed duck aside. The oiled-paper wrapping came undone, and the duck meat was smeared with dirt, turning gray and utterly unappetizing.
Shen He paused. He gave it one long look, then disappeared beneath the corridor without turning back.
Clutching her chest, Consort Zhen collapsed into a chair, overcome with pain. She shakily downed several cups of warm water before finally managing to catch her breath.
Her heart condition had begun two years ago. The imperial physicians had examined her countless times, yet it never seemed to improve.
She remembered that her mother had suffered from the same illness and had passed away less than three years later.
But she could not bear it.
She could not bear having only three years left. She could not bear the thought that, if Zhaoyue were bullied in the future, she might not even have the chance to stand up for her.
After wiping away her tears and straightening her collar, Consort Zhen walked unsteadily out the door to look for Zhaoyue.
She searched every corner of the palace but could not find the little girl, who had no doubt run off somewhere again.
It was only after she reached the imperial garden that she heard Zhaoyue’s clear laughter coming from behind the rockery.
Consort Zhen hurried around it. From a distance, she saw Shen Zheng bent over, his two fists clenched and held proudly in front of Zhaoyue.
Zhaoyue rubbed her hands together excitedly. After sneaking a glance at Shen Zheng’s expression, she cautiously reached out a finger.
“This one!”
Shen Zheng opened his palm, but there was nothing inside.
Zhaoyue’s eyes widened at once. “How could that be? It must be in this hand!”
With a smile, Shen Zheng opened his other hand as well. It was empty too.
Zhaoyue’s mouth fell open, her face filled with disbelief.
Shen Zheng chuckled, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. When he opened his palm again, two pieces of autumn-pear candy lay inside.
“Here. Someone was disobedient and secretly hid some candy. Since Zhaoyue was good, she gets to eat it.”
Zhaoyue instantly grew excited. She grabbed Shen Zheng’s sleeve and hopped up and down, shaking it gleefully.
“Crown Prince Brother, you’re amazing! Do another one! Do another one!”
Shen Zheng truly had nothing left. Wen Zhuo was as crafty as could be, and Shen Zheng had only managed to find this one hiding place for the candy. Wen Zhuo had refused to reveal any of the others.
Shen Zheng was just about to pat her on the head when he heard Consort Zhen’s shrill voice.
“Zhaoyue! Come here!”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Zhaoyue wilted as if someone had poured a basin of cold water over her.
She secretly pouted at Shen Zheng, lowered her head, and walked toward Consort Zhen one reluctant step at a time.
“Let me see what you’re holding!” Consort Zhen snatched the two pieces of autumn-pear candy away, but her wary gaze swept over Shen Zheng, and unease rose in her heart.
After all, she had harmed Jun Mulan. She could not bring herself to believe that Shen Zheng had any good intentions toward Zhaoyue. Yet with the Crown Prince standing before her, she could not simply throw the candy away.
So she seized Zhaoyue by the arm and said coldly, “I told you not to run around. Come back with me!”
Shen Zheng watched Zhaoyue’s awkward retreat, the little girl turning back every few steps to look at him, and let out a soft sigh.
If history followed the course recorded in the Qian annals, then this very day next year would be the anniversary of Zhaoyue’s death.
