When he spoke these words, the light in Mu Wanyao’s eyes flickered, her hatred growing sharper. The immense mockery and malice made her laugh—she couldn’t understand how things had come to this point.
Mu Wanyao: “Are you trying to gain sympathy? Did I abandon you? You abandoned me! When you chose to take this path… you planned to break with me from the very beginning! You gave up on me first! You’re the villain! You’re the one who hurt me!”
Yan Shang’s face was pale in the candlelight.
Whether from her words or his blood loss due to prison life, it was unclear.
He merely trembled his lips, accepting her words without protest. As long as she was happy, he would accept whatever judgment she wished to make.
Seeing him like this, Mu Wanyao’s gaze grew colder.
She forced him to look up at her, attacking him with every barb: “Are you satisfied with the current situation? Because so many people despise you, even if you leave prison, in all of Chang’an… you’ve offended half the officials, haven’t you? Even if you don’t die here, you’ll just be killed on some pretext once you’re out. Without my protection… who cares if you live or die? Those people would drown you in their spit if they could.
“Yet this is how you treat me!”
Mu Wanyao screamed: “Yan Shang, I may have lost everything, but you haven’t won either!”
Yan Shang kept his eyes downcast. The more his heart ached, the paler his face became, yet he remained silent. He let her vent, let her beat him, let her look at him with hateful eyes.
They had agreed to part ways, but his heart had been torn open—how could Mu Wanyao feel any better?
He had no defense to offer.
Mu Wanyao most hated his passive acceptance. It was precisely this gentleness that had deceived her, making her believe he would always be this way. Yet at some point, he had become so cruel—”Speak, Yan Shang! Why did you insist on taking this path? Don’t you know that by getting involved, you’re also a loser? You gamble with your life, but who cares?”
He hadn’t wanted to argue, but in the end, he didn’t want her to drift further away.
Yan Shang said: “I gamble with my life to seek justice. Perhaps the court officials don’t care and think I’m throwing eggs at stones. But the common people care, the disaster-stricken Yizhou cares, and all those lives lost in the Yizhou disaster care. After the disaster… those seventy-two lives that were exterminated care!
“I know you’re wondering why I had to be so impulsive. Even though the Vice Minister of Revenue died, I still had to stand up. Yaoyao, this wasn’t impulsiveness at all. I thought it through… I struggled for a long time. You blame me for going back on my word, but I never imagined you would later exterminate entire families.”
Mu Wanyao: “What extermination?”
Yan Shang gazed at her for a long while: “You don’t know?”
Mu Wanyao fell silent for a moment. She truly didn’t know what Yan Shang meant by the seventy-two lives.
But Mu Wanyao kept her face cold: “Let’s not discuss that now. I always knew our positions were subtly different, but I always thought we could coexist peacefully. Because you weren’t originally someone who would break rather than bend—you were quite adaptable, quite smooth. You could befriend people of all personalities… yet this time you couldn’t endure.
“Even if… even if you were dissatisfied with these things, you could have waited until I was established before doing this! You could have waited until you had enough power before doing this! Endurance isn’t wrong—temporary endurance is for later revenge. But you chose to strike now! Not only did you walk down a dead end, but you’ve also implicated me in this.”
Yan Shang said softly: “Wait until you dominate the court? By then our contradictions would only be greater. With so many years between, I and Your Highness would grow further apart, our hearts and love distancing. Does Your Highness think that would be better?
“Wait until I dominate the court? How many more people would die from such things in the meantime? Some die each year, some die each year… Your Highness, are human lives mere numbers, mere achievements? Are lives so easily dismissed, of no consequence in Your Highness’s eyes, never warranting even a glance? If I wait until then to settle accounts… even if I could endure all those years without going mad and still maintain today’s mindset, by then, how corrupt would the court have become? When there are problems, is it right to not solve them but only let them accumulate?
“Perhaps Your Highness would say I should plan thoroughly before acting. Your Highness, in matters like these, there is never truly a day of ‘complete preparation.’ In ancient times, even Shang Yang’s reforms ended in his being torn apart by chariots! Don’t I know this? In such matters, no matter how much you plan, it comes down to that final step. Originally, if the Vice Minister hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have needed to stand up… but he did die, and if I didn’t stand up then, you would all be on guard, making it harder for me to break through later. Perhaps only this chance to catch everyone off guard was the best timing.
“Perhaps Your Highness thinks I should have waited until my power grew stronger. But court power… isn’t so simple. After those years of wearing down, I fear my blood would have run cold.
“Or perhaps Your Highness thinks I would die from this, that I should let others do such things, that I should do more meaningful things. Your Highness, in this world’s necessary tasks, there’s no logic in letting others sacrifice while one enjoys the benefits. In Your Highness’s eyes, only lives like yours are worth respecting. But in my eyes… all are the same. My background makes it impossible for me to disregard human life.
“The only ones I’ve wronged are Your Highness. And… my family.”
Mu Wanyao listened quietly as he spoke.
After he finished, she said coldly: “Different classes, different positions. So you know this too. Then do you know that what you’ve done can’t cure the court’s illness? Even if you bring down the Ministry of Revenue, it only serves as a warning to the court. Given time, it will all happen again. Unless you eliminate it from the root… but such things cannot be eliminated from the root.
“The common people you want to protect die because of what you see as official-merchant collusion, superiors protecting subordinates. And this protection exists because people like me want to maintain our interests. When disaster strikes, merchants want to profit, and officials want to avoid trouble, preferring the situation to remain unchanged. Did the Vice Minister not manage the affairs below? He did. He sent you for disaster relief. What’s wrong with making some profit in between?
“You’ve also been in the Ministry of Revenue, you know how many people reach out for money. Don’t border military supplies need money, don’t Public Works repairs need money, even Personnel Ministry official selection… don’t they need money?
“I know, you’ll say small corruption is acceptable, but we’ve gone too far. Yan Shang, who decides the boundary between too far and not? You? Can you guarantee that after this upheaval, the waters won’t become too clear for fish to survive? You’ve only brought down the Ministry of Revenue, appointed new officials, and caused losses to me and the Crown Prince… is that very meaningful?”
Yan Shang: “It is very meaningful.
“Because the matter has grown so large, His Majesty will investigate, and those excessive actions of the Crown Prince will all be stopped. After seeing the Ministry of Revenue’s losses, for at least five or six years, no official would dare to be so blatant. The court can select more inspectors, and add more measures. The time gained in this process is very necessary.”
Mu Wanyao: “Just five or six years.”
Yan Shang: “Five or six years is enough.”
Mu Wanyao sneered: “Your life is worth just five or six years.”
Yan Shang replied calmly: “If my life can buy five or six years of peace, I am content.”
Mu Wanyao: “Seems you’ve lived enough, don’t want to live anymore.”
Yan Shang: “It’s just each person’s choice.”
Mu Wanyao fell silent.
In the end, no matter how much they talked, it came down to their different positions, different thoughts. He protected what he believed in, she protected what she believed in. Neither could convince the other, neither would bow their head. This exhausted Mu Wanyao, made her sad, made her feel…
Mu Wanyao murmured: “You make me feel that in this world, no one truly loves anyone.”
It must be because of not loving, that he would choose this path.
Having said this, she felt there was nothing more to say to Yan Shang and rose to leave. Who would have thought that while Yan Shang had been so calm when explaining his thoughts earlier, this one sentence of hers would make his eyes immediately turn red? As she rose to leave, he suddenly looked up at her, reaching out to grab her wrist.
His eyes were rimmed with red, the light in them wavering like tidal waters.
Yan Shang’s voice trembled slightly: “Don’t think like that. Of all things… what I fear most is you thinking this way.
“I chose to walk this path, I don’t deserve your affection, I shouldn’t have approached you that day. I already regret it deeply, shouldn’t have made you suffer because of me… but don’t think like this. It’s just that I’m not good, not that everyone in the world isn’t good. Don’t close yourself off because of me, never trust anyone again.
“I finally managed to get you to… come out a little. I don’t want you to hide away again.
“Actually… actually… I left a path for you, I just feared you wouldn’t want to take it.
“Have you thought about what consequences await if you continue down this single-minded path with the Crown Prince? If lucky enough, you become a princess with power and influence, but you’ve witnessed his past, and your power overlaps with his—if you threaten him, won’t he move against you? Cooperating with others, doing nothing without profit, what kind of relationship is that?
“Your Highness, you went for a political marriage because of the balance between noble families and His Majesty. Now you’ve returned and chosen to cooperate with the noble families. You face such threats because you want such power, there’s nothing wrong with that. But you can step out… people should walk toward better places, not always stay in the mud.
“Your Highness… don’t become disheartened because of this, don’t cut off all emotion and love because of me. I’m not worth Your Highness doing this…”
Mu Wanyao stood with him gripping her wrist, listening to his rare rambling, his words unusually disordered, unlike his usual self. He was pale, and thin, his long hair loose. Like hazy moonlight, he looked up at her as she stared down blankly, suddenly hearing footsteps approaching from outside. Mu Wanyao turned her head to see the prison door, which had been only slightly ajar, being opened fully as Ministry of Justice officials appeared.
Seeing them, Yan Shang’s ice-cold fingers that had been gripping her wrist withdrew as if burned.
Mu Wanyao was puzzled until she heard those officials bow and smile ingratiatingly at her: “Your Highness, we need to interrogate the prisoner and question him about some things.”
Mu Wanyao was surprised: “Interrogate the prisoner? At this hour?”
She looked up at the moonlight through the small window in the wall: “The Ministry of Justice interrogates prisoners in the middle of the night?”
The officials smiled apologetically: “This is precisely the time, when prisoners are less clear-headed than during the day, better to make them speak the truth.”
The officials hesitated, not saying more. Seeing the unusual relationship between Princess Danyang and Young Master Yan, they feared saying too much would upset Princess Danyang. After all, she was a delicate lady who shouldn’t see their unsavory business. There was no need for the princess to know about Yan Er’lang’s repeated nighttime torture.
Mu Wanyao’s gaze became slightly chaotic.
She immediately understood what the officials meant.
Her face suddenly went white, her first reaction was to look at Yan Shang kneeling at her feet. She saw again the bloodstains on his white undergarments, but this time realized there must be more wounds hidden beneath his clothes. She stood there speechless, and the officials, taking the princess’s silence as consent, grabbed Yan Shang’s arms and pulled him up.
Only then did Mu Wanyao realize Yan Shang was so weak he couldn’t even stand.
She was about to tell them to stop, to not hurt him like this, but the words reached her lips and seemed to burn them, not a single sound coming out.
Yan Shang is an enemy! An enemy!
Yan Shang was supported by the officials, trying his best to hide his injuries, trying his best to walk on his own. But seeing Mu Wanyao’s helpless, bewildered gaze directed at him, Yan Shang paused briefly, showing a slight smile, saying softly: “Your Highness, could you leave this place?”
Mu Wanyao was confused.
He lowered his eyes, speaking quietly but firmly: “At least… given our acquaintance, please grant me some dignity.”
Mu Wanyao was bewildered: did her watching make him lose dignity?
So Mu Wanyao said nothing more and turned to leave. But she didn’t leave—she only walked toward the prison exit, but her steps grew slower and slower. Because in the empty prison, in the middle of the night, only Yan Shang had the honor of being questioned.
Mu Wanyao heard the sound of whips cutting through the air, heard the officials’ harsh questioning shouts, occasionally interrupted by the sound of water being thrown.
Facing the prison exit, Mu Wanyao’s back grew increasingly rigid, increasingly straight.
She held her breath, not daring to listen more, quickening her pace like one fleeing, leaving this place.
Yan Shang was right.
She couldn’t listen more, couldn’t bear to look even once. Because… if she looked even once, she would never let them treat Yan Shang that way. She would lose her head, she would cry, she would protect him… but he was so hateful! She neither understood nor wanted to understand… she just wanted to fight for what she deserved. Even if he died… even if he died, she wouldn’t shed a single tear for this person who betrayed her—
Xia Rong met the princess outside the prison.
She had expected to see a princess with reddened eyes, or one who had already been crying.
Yet Mu Wanyao was so cold, without a trace of expression.
Xia Rong: “Young Master Yan…”
Mu Wanyao said icily: “Nearly dead. What, want to join him in death?”
Xia Rong dared not ask more—
The case Yan Shang had stirred up continued to ferment, causing the entire Ministry of Revenue to be dismissed and investigated.
The Ministry of Justice was unusually busy lately, this was a golden opportunity to bring down the Crown Prince, but the Prince of Qin wasn’t actually as happy as he had imagined.
The Prince of Qin was somewhat frightened by Yan Shang’s ruthlessness in dragging everyone down with him. He feared that one day he might suffer the same blow the Crown Prince was experiencing today.
That day if Yan Shang had returned to the city, if they had only interrogated the Vice Minister of Revenue, the situation likely wouldn’t have developed to this irreversible point… but there were no ifs. Now the entire court was focused on this matter, and the Prince of Qin dared not seek personal revenge, investigating as he should.
Just one Ministry of Revenue had implicated all six ministries. The Ministry of Justice was under great pressure, and the Prince of Qin couldn’t help but blame Yan Shang for causing trouble, secretly taking personal revenge during interrogations, making Yan Shang suffer more.
However, the Prince of Qin wouldn’t let Yan Shang die during interrogation.
While the Court of Judicial Review nearly took half his life with each interrogation, the Ministry of Justice had to ensure Yan Shang didn’t die. At least Yan Shang shouldn’t die at this time… after the Crown Prince fell first, the Prince of Qin wouldn’t care how Yan Shang died after release—
As this case was investigated, no matter how many people were unwilling, how many people concealed things, they watched helplessly as more evidence was presented to the imperial desk.
The entire court was in an uproar.
The kickbacks the Ministry of Revenue had taken under the Crown Prince’s management over these years were even more enormous than anyone had imagined. The Ministry of Revenue had been embezzling year after year, with countless silver flowing into the officials’ households. Many noble families were implicated, and many people used the ministry to make money.
The Ministry of War discovered their annual funds had been cut, but the Ministry of Works hadn’t been cut much, suddenly becoming dissatisfied.
The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites were also arguing about who had spent certain taxes the Ministry of Revenue had collected one year.
Yan Shang systematically listed out the Ministry of Revenue’s old accounts during the joint trial of three courts. When the ledgers he had seen in the Granary Department came out, they were found to not match the actual situation. So there were more interrogations, more people summoned… in the chaos, most officials got involved.
The Crown Prince and Mu Wanyao’s side kept denying it, and when they couldn’t deny it anymore, they found scapegoats.
Officials sent by the Crown Prince confronted Yan Shang in court, and that official was dismissed and exiled after returning that day.
Mu Wanyao’s officials used connections to ask the Ministry of Justice to be lenient, but with the Secretariat, Censorate, and Chancellery monitoring the case, the Ministry of Justice dared not be lenient.
The situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Crown Prince’s side, gradually, the court’s wind began to change, and tentatively, the Hanlin Academy began submitting memorials sympathizing with Yan Shang. While the Hanlin Academy’s memorials were merely laughed off, when more ministries submitted memorials… it became extremely difficult for the Crown Prince and Mu Wanyao to respond.
The decline was inevitable.
Having spoken with Yan Shang, Mu Wanyao already had this realization, and though she was angry, her emotions were still stable. However, the Crown Prince was most furious, repeatedly smashing his desk in the Eastern Palace, vowing not to spare Yan Shang.
The Eastern Palace was in daily turmoil, Mu Wanyao had wanted to discuss with the Crown Prince which officials were reporting on them, but now she was tired of hearing him talk like this.
During this incident, while the Crown Prince concealed his emotions toward those advisers and officials, he would return and vent his anger on Mu Wanyao, using her as an outlet.
She remained expressionless, so the Crown Prince blamed her again, saying it was all her indulgence that let Yan Shang reach this point today. Mu Wanyao was impatient with the Crown Prince’s constant suspicious glances, and immediately turned and left, making the Crown Prince even more furious at her temper—
With all these matters troubling her, Xia Rong and Fang Tong urged her to walk among the common people to clear her mind.
Mu Wanyao was initially unwilling, but not wanting to return and argue with the Crown Prince, she let them take her out.
In the late afternoon twilight, Mu Wanyao drove to the East Market, but just as she entered with her maids, she felt it was much quieter than usual, with fewer commoners than normal. Mu Wanyao was puzzled and had Fang Tong investigate. After a while, Fang Tong said everyone was gathered in one place, so Mu Wanyao went over curiously.
Indeed, as Fang Tong said, the commoners were all gathered in one place.
There was a tent set up, where young maids gracefully served tea, while a young lady sat at a desk, surrounded by commoners talking all at once. That lady was writing, and each person who emerged from the crowd could receive a cup of hot tea from the maids.
Just for free hot tea, these commoners would gather here.
Mu Wanyao recognized the lady surrounded by commoners writing—it was Liu Ruozhu.
She murmured: “What is Sister Ruozhu doing here? Could these commoners’ homes have precious books for her to collect?”
“Isn’t it all for Young Master Yan?” a cold male voice came from beside her.
Mu Wanyao turned her head to see an elegant young man had appeared beside her.
She looked for a long while: “…Lin Yan?”
The man’s face darkened: “This official is called Lin Dao, courtesy name Yanzi.”
Mu Wanyao was indifferent: “Oh.”
She asked: “Are you leading Sister Ruozhu here to play?”
Lin Dao said quietly: “It was her own idea. Given Yan Shang’s current situation, few court officials speak for him, originally those Imperial Academy students should stand with Yan Shang… but Your Highness knows, most Imperial Academy students also come from noble families, this time they probably received words from their elders not to stand up.
“So we can only let the court hear the true voices of the common people. Ruozhu is collecting these… she will take these to show Young Master Yan, and I will present these to His Majesty. The more such voices there are, the more court officials will be influenced.”
Mu Wanyao’s voice was even colder than his: “I know, the Hanlin Academy’s first memorial speaking for Yan Shang was submitted by you. Unfortunately your luck was bad, it was intercepted by the Crown Prince first. The Crown Prince has remembered you.”
Lin Dao: “It doesn’t matter. I spend most of my time in the Hanlin Academy anyway, at worst it will just be like this.”
Mu Wanyao: “You also come from a noble family, Liu Ruozhu also comes from a noble family, I didn’t expect you would both stand with Yan Shang.”
Lin Dao: “It’s not about standing with Young Master Yan. Ruozhu stands for justice, I stand for… her.”
Mu Wanyao slowly raised her eyes to look at him. She saw that within his cold expression, much tenderness emerged as he gazed at the young lady writing under the tent. Lin Dao stared intently in that direction, his feelings revealed.
Mu Wanyao couldn’t help saying: “She is so rash and naive, writing these words of the common people, I fear even Minister Liu won’t present them to His Majesty, yet why do you help her? Don’t you know this is completely useless? The power of words doesn’t lie here but in the hands of court officials.”
Lin Dao smiled slightly.
He said: “I also think it’s useless. If His Majesty wants to protect the Crown Prince, Yan Er’lang will die in prison; if His Majesty wants to protect Yan Er’lang, after being abandoned by the Crown Prince and Your Highness, he might still be killed by those officials after release. What use is there in Ruozhu doing these things, besides encouraging Yan Er’lang a little?”
Lin Dao paused for a moment, then said softly: “But I… just really admire such a fool. Just trying to protect her a little.”
He said: “Your Highness loves Yan Er’lang, isn’t it this aspect of him that you love?”
Mu Wanyao’s face was cold: “Who says I love him? He’s a mortal about to enter the ground, I’m a high and mighty princess. How could I love him.”
Lin Dao smiled mockingly but said nothing.
Meanwhile Liu Ruozhu turned her head, probably looking for Lin Dao here, but unexpectedly saw the princess standing talking with Lin Dao. Liu Ruozhu was surprised for a moment, her eyes suddenly brightening, having misunderstood something unknown, her eyes revealing joyful colors.
Liu Ruozhu said something to her maids, then came over here. She looked happily at Mu Wanyao: “Your Highness has also come? I knew Your Highness loves the people like children, Your Highness is just implicated for some reasons, Your Highness is with us… Your Highness, do you also want to write a few words?”
Mu Wanyao: “I came to browse the market, meeting you was purely accidental.”
But Liu Ruozhu didn’t believe it, firmly believing she was just being stubborn and not admitting it. Liu Ruozhu felt Mu Wanyao must also have many words she wanted to tell Yan Shang, and even asked if the princess would like to take these fragments of the common people’s words together to see Yan Shang in prison, to encourage him.
Mu Wanyao thought she was truly foolish, their positions were opposed, how could she go see Yan Shang.
Moreover, she and Yan Shang had already parted ways.
But somehow, Mu Wanyao perhaps truly couldn’t resist someone who spoke so gently and softly, that she was pulled in by Liu Ruozhu. Mu Wanyao refused to write for the common people, as that would violate her position. But Liu Ruozhu pushed a brush into Mu Wanyao’s hand, then turned back to help write for the common people, leaving Mu Wanyao holding the brush in a daze.
Mu Wanyao still didn’t help Liu Ruozhu.
Half a moment later, from among the words written by Liu Ruozhu and her maids, Lin Dao found one sentence left by Mu Wanyao:
“To love a hero, such love is most difficult.”—
Going to the East Market didn’t improve Mu Wanyao’s situation much.
The next day, she was again impeached by those court officials, saying she interfered too much in political affairs, asking the emperor to properly control his daughter.
This was surely another move by the Prince of Qin’s side.
Previously Mu Wanyao hadn’t cared about such memorials, but on this day, when Mu Wanyao went to the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace to participate in their political affairs, the Eastern Palace was politely distant, saying the princess had just received impeachment, it would be better to keep a low profile lately.
Mu Wanyao’s heart stopped for a moment.
After returning, she sent a message to an official she had planted in the Eastern Palace, asking them to tell her what the Crown Prince meant by this.
That official secretly told the princess—
“It’s said that at the courtesan Chun Niang’s place, they found a portrait of the princess. The Crown Prince suspects the princess and Yan Er’lang had long conspired to bring down the Ministry of Revenue.”
Mu Wanyao instantly found it laughable: “The Vice Minister of Revenue is already dead! What benefit would bringing down the Ministry of Revenue have for me?”
The official smiled bitterly: “This old official will help persuade His Highness the Crown Prince… His Highness the Crown Prince is having a very difficult time lately.”—
But who wasn’t having difficulties?—
In her private chamber, Mu Wanyao closed her eyes, thinking quietly.
It seemed the Crown Prince was going mad.
Should she still keep her boat tied here?
Mu Wanyao hesitated for a long while, thinking of the escape route Yan Shang said he had left for her… she had some premonition, but didn’t yet fully grasp it.
That night, Mu Wanyao drove to the palace to pay respects to her father emperor. She had to save herself… she couldn’t count on that Crown Prince who had grown distant from her!