Winter clouds hung thick with heavy snow approaching. Cold wind surged through Hua Jing, driving away pedestrians and battering windows.
Seeing Li Rong remain silent, Pei Wenxuan took this as tacit permission. He rose and knelt facing Li Rong, sitting across from her.
Li Rong looked at the clear, bright eyes of the person opposite and couldn’t help but smile. “From your tone, it seems you know much I don’t.”
“You know roughly what happened, Your Highness, but in this world, hearing a general account versus hearing the details are entirely different matters.”
Hearing this, Li Rong thought for a moment and finally spoke. “Then tell me.”
“Then let this humble official begin with what Your Highness knows least about,” Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment and finally found an entry point. “Su Ronghua and Shangguan Ya—this should be considered the earliest beginning for all of us.”
“You knew about their affair early on?” Li Rong frowned. Pei Wenxuan shook his head.
“In the third year of Dexu, Qin Zhenzhen was poisoned to death. His Majesty ordered me to investigate. I traced it all the way to Su Ronghua. It took me five years of investigation before I learned about his and Shangguan Ya’s past.”
“Your Highness should know that Su Ronghua is actually the legitimate eldest son of the Su clan and by rights should have been the family head’s successor. But in his youth, he studied under Gu Zixiao.”
“That man was a lunatic.”
Li Rong knew of him—a rare anomaly among the noble families. Though he was fairly proper in his youth and had a considerable reputation for talent, it was normal for the Su clan to engage him as Su Ronghua’s teacher.
“Gu Zixiao didn’t actually teach Su Ronghua for very long. He eloped with a woman from a humble family and was struck from the Gu family registry. Later his whereabouts were unknown—whether he truly wandered the world or was eliminated by the Gu family, no one knows. Perhaps influenced by Gu Zixiao, Su Ronghua was rebellious from childhood. At age eleven, he declared to everyone he wouldn’t inherit the family head position. From then on, he wandered outside, spending most of each year away, engaging in commerce everywhere, enthusiastically befriending people from all walks of life.”
“In the fifteenth year of Yuanhui, Su Ronghua returned to the capital and was summoned to become Prince Su’s teacher. From then on, he gambled and staged cockfights daily, becoming a complete wastrel.”
“In the eighteenth year of Yuanhui, Shangguan Ya arrived in the capital. At the Jucai Pavilion,” Pei Wenxuan emphasized his tone, “the two met.”
“In the eighteenth year of Yuanhui, you and Shangguan Ya encountered each other by chance at the Jucai Pavilion.”
On the other side, Su Rongqing simultaneously began his account.
“That day you came home and told me you’d met a young woman dressed as a man gambling at a casino. She gambled ten rounds with you, lost all ten, and agreed to gamble again the next day.”
Opening a white porcelain jar, he used a tea spoon to take out tea leaves and placed them in the teapot.
“You laughed happily that day, saying this young lady was very interesting. After that, you often mentioned her to me. When she wouldn’t pay attention to you, you kept teasing her. She avoided you and changed casinos, so you went to each one. Finally, one day on your way home, someone put a sack over your head and beat you.”
Hearing this, Su Ronghua couldn’t help but chuckle.
Su Rongqing also smiled and glanced up at Su Ronghua. “You were unwilling to accept this, so naturally you plotted revenge. You schemed secretly and on the road when she was going to a cockfight, you pretended to be a kidnapper and abducted her. But after leaving the city, you actually encountered bandits and were both captured. I don’t know what happened while you were kidnapped, but when we rescued you, you told me you’d made up your mind to marry her.”
“You knew the Su clan held high position and great power. With your status, if you went to propose marriage, the young lady would have to agree even if unwilling. So you decided to ask her wishes first. That day I selected clothes for you. You personally ground a jade hairpin and brought it to find her. When you returned that evening, you came back in the rain. I asked what happened. You told me it was nothing.”
“From that day on, you rarely went out until a palace banquet where you, as Prince Su’s teacher, were forced to attend.”
“At the banquet, he saw Shangguan Ya.”
Pei Wenxuan’s voice was very soft. Li Rong rested her chin on her knees. “A palace banquet?”
Li Rong frowned, vaguely recalling that before becoming Crown Princess, Shangguan Ya had attended a palace banquet once. That banquet should have been when Li Chuan proposed marriage, but he refused, and she had argued with him over it.
“The very one where you and His Highness the Crown Prince quarreled fiercely. His Highness the Crown Prince went against the Empress’s will and didn’t propose marriage. You came down and argued with him, scolding him harshly, asking how he could be so willful as Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was convinced by your scolding and later agreed that next time, he would propose.”
“That day he told me privately that he could actually see Shangguan Ya didn’t like him and didn’t yearn for the palace. He was already pitiable enough here alone—why drag another person in? He also told me that everyone called him Crown Prince, called him noble, but nothing was up to him, nothing was his choice. He felt none of the nobility being Crown Prince brought him. He only felt like when standing by the lake, he wanted to jump in.”
“Those were childish words from him. Aya was much more mature than him.” Li Rong didn’t care. Pei Wenxuan smiled.
“Yes. Shangguan Ya didn’t speak a single word to Su Ronghua at the palace banquet, but this glimpse made Su Ronghua understand why she rejected him, so naturally he wouldn’t give up so easily. He later stopped Shangguan Ya’s carriage and asked if she liked him, saying if she did, he would come in a grand eight-bearer palanquin to formally propose marriage.”
“How could that be possible?”
Li Rong was somewhat puzzled. “Shangguan Ya came to the capital for Chuan’er. This was already decided by the Shangguan family. The Su clan isn’t that foolish—they couldn’t possibly get involved in such matters.”
“How could Su Ronghua not know this?”
Pei Wenxuan sighed. “But people always want to try once. So they decided to try.”
“When you returned from the palace banquet, you went to find Father. You said you wanted to go to the Shangguan family to propose marriage, but Shangguan Ya was the designated candidate for Crown Princess. You were competing for the future Crown Princess—how could Father tolerate you? Father refused, so you informed him you would voluntarily request to be expelled from the Su clan, severing family ties, and petition the Shangguan clan for marriage. Life or death, you would bear alone.”
The water in the kettle boiled. Su Rongqing poured boiling water into the teapot containing tea leaves.
“You took three hundred lashes according to clan rules, then went to the Shangguan house covered in wounds.” Su Rongqing’s voice carried some hoarseness, but he maintained his usual calm. “The Shangguan family didn’t dare let you remain at their gate, so they let you into the inner courtyard. You knelt before Shangguan Xu, begging him to marry Shangguan Ya to you. You analyzed the advantages and disadvantages for him, telling him that if Shangguan Ya married into the Eastern Palace, it would only hasten the Shangguan family’s destruction. But how could Shangguan Xu listen to such nonsense? He couldn’t drive you away, and because of your status as eldest son of the Su clan, he couldn’t kill you either. So he made you kneel at the Shangguan residence.”
“You knelt for three days. During those three days, the imperial decree was already prepared in the palace, ready to grant the marriage.”
“During the three days Su Ronghua knelt at the Shangguan mansion, Shangguan Ya was confined in the back courtyard. You know her temperament now—clear in love and hate, decisive in action. With Su Ronghua reaching such lengths for her, how could she disappoint him? So she kept pleading with Shangguan Xu, kept crying out. She said the Shangguan family had so many daughters—why must they choose her? She had someone she liked. She didn’t want to be Crown Princess. Let her go.”
“The Shangguan family ignored her until the imperial decree granting marriage entered the Shangguan mansion. Shangguan Xu took the decree directly to Shangguan Ya and told her the Shangguan family had given her over ten years of wealth and glory—was she going to abandon the Shangguan clan at this time? The imperial decree had already arrived. If she left with Su Ronghua, the Shangguan clan would become the greatest laughingstock in all of Great Xia.”
“Shangguan Ya couldn’t accept that.” Li Rong didn’t know why, but suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. “She couldn’t possibly let her family suffer such humiliation for her own love.”
“You’re not wrong,” Pei Wenxuan knew she was suffering but had to continue. “So Shangguan Ya personally went to the inner courtyard to persuade him, and then she saw Su Ronghua kneeling on the ground, his body covered in blood. Seeing him, Shangguan Ya cried.”
How could she not cry?
This was the first time in her life someone had cast aside life and death for her.
This was also the first time in her life she had broken through the layers of constraints imposed by her noble family to see the most gentle and bright existence outside, trying desperately to grasp it.
But she couldn’t hold on.
That day it was raining heavily. She looked down at the young man kneeling before her. She should have scolded him directly, humiliated him, but when she opened her mouth, tears fell.
She couldn’t say anything. She could only crouch down and place the jade hairpin he had given her on the day he confessed his feelings into his trembling hands.
“Let me go,” she said hoarsely, “and let yourself go too.”
“Love doesn’t count for much, and affection doesn’t count for much either. While we’re alive, we have responsibilities we must fulfill. I will enter the palace. I will become Crown Princess, become the future Empress. The future me—you won’t like her. Just pretend you never met me. As you said, leave Hua Jing.”
“Go far away, to many places. The mountains and waters you see, consider them seen for me. The happy things you do, consider them done for me. If one day you can meet someone you like and marry her happily, that would be best.”
“Su Ronghua,” she said trembling, “don’t force me anymore.”
“How could you bear to force her?”
Su Rongqing’s tea had been brewed once. He raised his hand to pour water a second time.
“So you came home. Seeing your condition, Father’s heart softened and he let the matter drop. The affair between you and Shangguan Ya was concealed by both families. Shangguan Ya entered the palace to properly be her Crown Princess. You also left Hua Jing and went to many places.”
“What happened after?”
Su Ronghua lowered his eyes. Su Rongqing finished brewing the tea, poured it into a tea bowl, and pushed it toward Su Ronghua. “Later, as you predicted, the Shangguan clan’s alliance with Li Chuan through marriage became a knot in His Majesty’s heart. He supported Prince Su and deposed the Crown Prince. After deposing the Crown Prince, Pei Wenxuan lobbied the noble families, hoping they would send troops.”
“Actually, the noble families were still hesitating about whether to send troops. In the end, you were the first to step forward, hoping the Su clan would send troops. You had countless reasons, and it was indeed appropriate, but I knew in my heart that no matter how many reasons there were, they couldn’t cover that improper thought deep in your heart.” As he spoke, Su Rongqing raised his eyes. “You were worried about Shangguan Ya.”
“I wouldn’t gamble with the Su clan for my personal feelings alone.”
Su Ronghua spoke calmly. Su Rongqing nodded. “You weren’t gambling. It just so happened this decision was more appropriate. Your choice wasn’t wrong. Supporting Li Chuan was indeed the choice the Su clan should make at the time. Li Chuan was known for his wisdom and represented legitimacy. His ascension to the throne was most proper and justified, preventing future dissent and rebellions everywhere. If we wanted to end the chaos, Li Chuan’s ascension was best.”
“So the hundred families assembled armies and attacked the imperial city together with Qin Lin to install Li Chuan on the throne. After Li Chuan ascended, Shangguan Ya became Empress, and you also stayed in Hua Jing. In the first year of Dexu, Li Chuan had just ascended when warfare broke out in the north. The entire court advocated peace, but only Li Chuan, Qin Lin, and Pei Wenxuan advocated war. Later, Li Chuan and Pei Wenxuan worked everywhere on Qin Lin’s behalf to secure funds and forcibly started the war.”
“After the war began, they discovered they had miscalculated. They had theory but no practice. The money they secured was fundamentally insufficient to support the northern front. So they were forced to halt. Immediately after came southern floods. All the money had been used fighting in the north, leaving no funds for disaster relief. At that time, corpses were strewn everywhere in the south with constant uprisings. Then Li Chuan began to have ideas.”
“What did he want to do?”
“He wanted to reform.” Speaking of this, Su Rongqing couldn’t help but smile. “Implement the imperial examination system, levy taxes on noble families, limit the number of fields and servants noble families could purchase, establish a merit-based system requiring the Ministry of Personnel to promote officials based on scores. When scoring, noble families would be deducted ten points while those from humble origins would be given ten additional points.”
Hearing this, Su Ronghua frowned. “Too hasty.”
“He had just ascended the throne and made such drastic moves. Naturally, many local wealthy clans disagreed. He gave orders from above, but below they simply didn’t execute them, or deliberately twisted his meaning and increased the burden on the common people. He wanted to kill to establish authority but couldn’t even move a second-tier noble family. At the end of winter in the year of Dexu, disregarding Pei Wenxuan’s advice, he had Qin Lin kill a local minor clan’s patriarch. This resulted in three continuous years of uprisings in that region. What had originally been a passable city became desolate and devoid of people in the end.”
“Just after His Highness the Crown Prince ascended, warfare broke out in the north. Qin Lin calculated the needed military funds based on battlefield experience. We calculated that there was a ninety percent chance of success if we went to war, so we insisted on fighting.” Speaking of those times, Pei Wenxuan said, “But once the war actually started, we discovered that military pay dispatched from Hua Jing to reach the north was stripped away layer by layer by noble families along the way. Cui Qinghe and I tried every method but couldn’t salvage the defeat, so the northern expedition was forced to stop.”
“That was already reckless on your part,” Li Rong said with some bitter laughter about this past. “Do you think I stopped you back then for the sake of the noble families? I knew what state Great Xia was in. Going to war at that time was pushing Great Xia to its death. But did you listen?”
Pei Wenxuan remained silent. After a long time, he continued. “Immediately after came the southern floods. There was no money in the treasury. I thought of many methods and accompanied His Majesty on a southern tour for disaster relief. After arriving in the south, noble families hoarded grain and inflated prices. Relief funds couldn’t reach the localities at all. Your Highness, you haven’t seen Great Xia outside of Hua Jing. On battlefields, corpses lay everywhere. In disaster areas, people resorted to cannibalism. Yet Hua Jing was singing and dancing. Heaven and hell separated by so little. We were indeed naive and impulsive then. After returning, to save the southern disaster victims, we formulated a plan and attempted reforms.”
“You were too hasty.” Li Rong’s voice was steady. “Chuan’er was too young. He didn’t understand that a country is like a great ship—you must proceed slowly. The slightest gesture of an emperor’s hand crushes countless common people below. I knew about Chuan’er’s policies. I understood his intentions. But it’s not enough for him to issue good policies—they must be properly executed.”
“But in His Majesty’s eyes, his heart wasn’t wrong and his policies weren’t wrong. Wrong were only those noble family officials who didn’t execute them. Moreover, at that time, what other method was there besides reform? Abolish one noble family to save thousands upon thousands of common people—how should His Majesty choose?”
“But did he have the capability to kill?” Li Rong stared at Pei Wenxuan.
Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly. “Back then, Your Highness asked His Majesty the same thing. Every time you asked, His Majesty would lock himself in the imperial study for an entire night. Your Highness, nothing is more humiliating than recognizing one’s own powerlessness. Especially when an emperor recognizes his own powerlessness—that kind of humiliation can drive a person mad.”
Li Rong said nothing. Pei Wenxuan continued. “Although the Shangguan and Su clans among the great families didn’t exploit the people like those local wealthy clans, they needed to preserve the system of noble families, so the conflict between His Majesty and the noble families couldn’t be resolved and grew increasingly sharp. Caught in the middle was Shangguan Ya.”
“Shangguan Ya was His Majesty’s cousin. His Majesty held some affection for her in his heart, but he couldn’t restrain his inner disgust toward noble families. His Majesty told me that every time he entered Weiyang Palace and saw Shangguan Ya dressed in gold and silver, he would think of those starving common people.”
“But Shangguan Ya only thought she couldn’t compare to Qin Zhenzhen. She dressed up more elaborately, became more gentle and considerate, but His Majesty only grew more disgusted. Later, as His Majesty’s feelings for Qin Zhenzhen deepened, he couldn’t even share a bed with her. His Majesty told me that every time he was intimate with her, he felt nauseated. He was disgusted with himself—he didn’t like Shangguan Ya, and felt he was betraying his beloved. So when he saw Shangguan Ya, he couldn’t even feel any impulse.”
“With Shangguan Ya out of favor, the Shangguan family naturally grew anxious and constantly pressured her, urging her to work harder and strive to bear a legitimate eldest son. Backed into a corner, she came to find you and asked you to help her.”
“I remember,” Li Rong lowered her eyes. “I heard that Chuan’er only slept in the Central Palace and left. I went to scold him. At that time, he was pushing his policies too hastily. The Shangguan family was his foundation. If he severed even the Shangguan family, I feared something would happen to him.”
“When you confronted him, he felt guilty. He knew in his heart the Shangguan family supported him to gain a Crown Prince. Shangguan Ya was also innocent. So His Majesty later used medicine. Every time he went to see Shangguan Ya, he took medicine beforehand, then vomited incessantly after returning.”
Hearing this, Li Rong’s eyes widened in shock. “Did Shangguan Ya know?”
Pei Wenxuan contemplated for a moment, then nodded. “She should have known. Actually, Shangguan Ya herself also used medicine.”
Li Rong couldn’t speak. In that instant, she suddenly felt an enormous sense of tragedy.
Shangguan Ya was such a proud person, yet trapped in this deep palace like livestock, all just to bear a Crown Prince. She also had to face the reality that her husband needed medicine to touch her and secretly vomited afterward, remaining silent about it all.
Two people who didn’t love each other to the point of nearly mutual hatred still had to engage in sordid acts on brocade beds for the sake of a child.
And such secrets no one knew. Only the two of them could swallow and hide them.
Li Rong felt an indescribable chill in her heart.
“What happened after?”
“Later, His Majesty finally discovered Shangguan Ya was also using medicine. He realized this was a dead end for both. His Majesty made up his mind, drank wine, went to the Central Palace, found Shangguan Ya, and discussed with her that she could be her Empress. Whatever power she wanted, he could give her. The two of them shouldn’t pretend anymore. His Majesty hoped he and Shangguan Ya could solve their problems together and not trap both of them to death in the palace.”
“But Shangguan Ya couldn’t accept it.”
“In her heart, this was a sign Li Chuan wanted to depose her. She couldn’t accept it.”
“She had cast aside herself, cast aside the love she should have had, to come to this deep palace. Not to hear His Majesty naively tell her they could each be well. Much less to enter the palace to fulfill His Majesty’s wishes. Shangguan Ya cried terribly that night. She asked His Majesty why she had to be buried in this palace while His Majesty could live willfully?”
“His Majesty also felt guilty and asked what she wanted. She said she wanted a child. His Majesty originally agreed. The two of them took medicine together, undressed, and got into bed. But when His Majesty touched her, he still couldn’t help it and ran out.”
“I heard from Shangguan Ya’s palace attendants that she dry-heaved all night, crying while heaving. The next day, Shangguan Ya proactively found His Majesty and made peace with him. She appeared very understanding and pitiful, so His Majesty promised her that no matter what, she would remain Empress and hoped she would be at ease.”
“Li Chuan found touching Shangguan Ya disgusting and refused to share a bed with her, saying he hoped they could each be well. But the day after he said this, Qin Zhenzhen was found to be pregnant. That very evening, Shangguan Ya sent word from the palace to the Shangguan family saying His Majesty had firmly decided he would never touch anyone in the harem except Consort Qin. She needed a man—anyone would do. She wanted a child.”
When Su Rongqing spoke these words, the hand with which Su Ronghua held his tea bowl trembled slightly. He tried to make himself calmer, but still felt pain.
Even now it was like this—he simply couldn’t imagine that if this truly happened, how agonizing he must have been at that time.
“At that time, Elder Brother, you were planning to leave again, but the Shangguan clan found Father. Adulterating imperial bloodlines—the Shangguan clan didn’t dare do this themselves. But if they watched helplessly as Qin Zhenzhen’s child inherited the throne, that meant from the Qin family—a humble clan completely supporting His Majesty’s reforms—a Crown Prince would emerge.”
“The Shangguan clan hoped to use this child to ally with the Su clan. A child born of Shangguan and Su bloodlines, jointly assisted by both clans in the future. At that time, the court was extremely dissatisfied with His Majesty. Father strongly disapproved of Li Chuan’s actions. The two clans secretly deliberated for a long time and finally decided on this matter. Because of your and Shangguan Ya’s past, the Shangguan clan hoped you would go. You were about to leave. You had even told me this trip meant you wouldn’t return. But when Shangguan Ya was placed before you, you thought for a night and finally still stayed.”
Staying meant sinking into the deep palace together with that person.
There would be no more distant lands she spoke of, no more freedom and beauty she described.
But he was still willing to stay. So under arrangement by both families, in the palace, when Shangguan Ya waited for that strange man to enter and humiliate her like Li Chuan did—
What she saw was the most beautiful dream of her youth, arriving under the moonlight.
He knelt before her, looking up. “I have met Your Ladyship.”
Shangguan Ya looked at this distant yet familiar person. After a long time, she said hoarsely, “What are you here to do?”
“To accompany you.”
To accompany her in falling into hell together, to accompany her in heading toward the Yellow Springs together.
Tears streamed down Shangguan Ya’s face. She could accept anyone, but not him. She said trembling, “Go. I don’t want you.”
“But you have no choice,” Su Ronghua took her hand and kissed the back of it. “And I have no way to retreat.”
From the moment he entered the palace, he became her burial companion.
So they entangled in the darkness. Those nights were the most beautiful dreams of Shangguan Ya’s life, filled with guilt and sin, yet the only refuge in her life where she could escape.
“Two months later, Shangguan Ya was diagnosed as pregnant. Su Ronghua participated in the imperial examinations and became that year’s second-place scholar, entering officialdom. The timing of this child was too awkward. Actually, even now, I don’t know whose child it was.”
“Did Chuan’er know?” Li Rong hugged herself, her voice very soft. Pei Wenxuan shook his head. “At that time, His Majesty didn’t even know about Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua’s affair. That was the third year of Dexu. His Majesty had already cultivated a group of his own people. Seeing His Majesty’s favor for Qin Zhenzhen while she was pregnant, people from humble families spread rumors among the populace and fabricated divine signs. After the child was born, humble family officials even submitted memorials saying this child was the eldest son and should be established as Crown Prince.”
“They were forcing Qin Zhenzhen to death.”
“Many officials from humble families were poor, with no family elders who had participated in court politics. How could they know these intricacies? His Majesty actually knew Qin Zhenzhen was in danger. To demonstrate she and the child had no designs on the throne, Qin Zhenzhen personally submitted a memorial requesting that Li Xin be established as Crown Prince.”
“At that time, His Majesty didn’t plan to have too great a conflict with the noble families and felt indebted to the Shangguan clan, so he was already prepared to establish Li Xin as Crown Prince and had me draft the investiture decree. But rumors ran rampant among the people. That year, a strange bird happened to land at the gates of Huguo Temple. Everyone said this strange bird was a phoenix, that it was a sign of deposing the Empress.”
“So before waiting for the investiture decree to be issued, the noble families couldn’t restrain themselves.”
“Su Ronghua personally acted,” Li Rong understood what followed, “to poison Qin Zhenzhen.”
“You originally intended to poison Li Ping,” Su Rongqing looked at Su Ronghua, whose expression was somewhat scattered, “but Qin Zhenzhen protected Li Ping day and night, eating and living with him. Every mouthful of water, every dose of medicine, every bite of food—she tasted first. So she was poisoned first and saved Li Ping.”
“After Qin Zhenzhen died, His Majesty’s temperament changed drastically. He no longer cared about warfare, common people, or justice. He only wanted to overthrow the noble families. In those years, Great Xia was in turmoil with flames of war everywhere. He heavily employed people from humble families and indiscriminately killed noble families. Many of those selected from humble families were cruel officials and corrupt officials. Top to bottom, the people suffered terribly. The Su clan expended tremendous effort—advising the ruler above, comforting the people below, spending countless wealth on disaster relief and saving people, depleting troops and provisions to suppress rebellions. Actually, looking back, all of this was deliberate on his part. He used these repeated rebellions to deplete noble family strength.”
“In the eighth year of Dexu, to consolidate military power in his hands, he falsely accused Prince Su of treason and demanded the Su clan send troops to suppress him. You knew this was all pretense and stood up to speak for Prince Su. He then imprisoned all the Su clan on charges of colluding with the enemy. At that time, I didn’t yet know about your affair with Shangguan Ya. I only felt it was unjust. Princess Pingle knew the Su clan was wronged and tried to save us. In the end, he spared the Su clan, but Li Chuan subjected all Su clan males to castration.”
Su Ronghua’s pupils constricted. He clenched his fists. “Castration?”
“How could my Su clan bear such humiliation? They all committed suicide in prison. I harbored resentment, willing to become an evil ghost remaining in this world. So I lived ignominiously. Thanks to Princess Pingle’s rescue, I survived.”
“After Qin Zhenzhen’s death, His Majesty’s last bit of tolerance for noble families disappeared. Not only because of a favored consort’s death, but because His Majesty recognized his own incompetence so clearly for the first time. He had already been driven mad.”
Pei Wenxuan spoke of his past-life friend with some compassion in his expression. “When he kept vigil for Qin Zhenzhen, noble family court officials knelt outside, forcing him to invest Li Xin as Crown Prince. His Majesty said to me that day that when entangled with evil spirits, only by becoming a ghost oneself does one have a chance to win. Then he walked out and invested Li Xin as Crown Prince.”
“The noble families thought this was His Majesty’s compromise. From then on, His Majesty became a tyrannical ruler. He was temperamental, levied harsh taxes, heavily employed people from humble families, and indiscriminately killed noble families. He used tax revenue to support Qin Lin’s troops, used cruel officials from humble families to intimidate noble families, and drew close to the Shangguan clan, appearing to greatly favor Li Xin, making the Shangguan clan his shield.”
“So local noble families rebelled. The Shangguan clan helped suppress them. For great clans like the Su clan with traditions of benevolence, amid national turmoil, they could only contribute troops and funds. Through this ebb and flow, His Majesty finally gained his own power. As I investigated, I also found the true culprit behind Qin Zhenzhen’s death.”
“In the seventh year of Dexu, I delivered the full account of Qin Zhenzhen’s death to His Majesty. His Majesty imprisoned the Empress Dowager, killed Shangguan Xu, and exterminated half the Shangguan clan. He originally wanted to kill Li Xin and depose Shangguan Ya, but Shangguan Ya insisted to the death this child was His Majesty’s and proactively proposed a blood recognition test. His Majesty tried the blood recognition—the blood indeed fused. Shangguan Ya cried and begged His Majesty, saying he had promised never to depose her. Then the Empress Dowager committed suicide in the Cold Palace, begging His Majesty to spare Shangguan Ya and Li Xin. His Majesty, constrained by familial affection, ultimately didn’t kill her.”
“Mother Empress…” Li Rong’s lips trembled slightly. “She committed suicide.”
Pei Wenxuan said nothing. He remained silent for a long time. “In the eighth year of Dexu, His Majesty assembled troops intending to launch a northern expedition. The Su clan adamantly obstructed, saying the treasury was depleted and Great Xia couldn’t sustain continuous warfare. But they didn’t understand His Majesty wasn’t aiming for a northern expedition—he wanted their military authority. He wanted to drain the noble families to death. However, by then the Su clan actually had little power to resist. His Majesty only needed an excuse. So he deliberately framed Prince Su, claiming he was plotting rebellion, and demanded the Su clan send troops. Su Ronghua stood up denying Prince Su’s rebellion. His Majesty imprisoned the Su clan on charges of colluding with the enemy. His Majesty truly wanted to kill them, but Your Highness pleaded. His Majesty finally, as humiliation, subjected the entire Su clan to castration.”
“Su Ronghua couldn’t bear the humiliation and died in prison. When His Majesty and I arrived, we discovered he held a jade hairpin in his hand. His Majesty took the hairpin from his hand. That very evening, he went to find Shangguan Ya. He described in great detail how Su Ronghua died. When he handed the jade hairpin to Shangguan Ya, she suddenly let out a piercing scream.”
“Shangguan Ya screamed in anguish while crying. His Majesty slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. I stood outside. I felt it was absurd and tragic. Actually, at that time, I especially missed Your Highness. Your Highness was like the only bright lamp in the entire palace. All lamps would extinguish, but Your Highness alone would always wield your sword and move forward.”
“At that time, Chuan’er wanted to depose Shangguan Ya, didn’t he?”
Li Rong hugged herself. “Only Shangguan Ya had allied with the noble families. The Su clan was a clan of righteousness and benevolence in the hearts of all under heaven. Even if Chuan’er had his reasons for such false accusations and entrapment, people wouldn’t accept it in their hearts. After years of continuous warfare, the common people could no longer endure it. The noble families’ patience had reached its limit. To my knowledge, at that time, no fewer than twenty clans intended to rebel.”
“Yes.” Pei Wenxuan responded. “Your Highness also allied with those noble families, didn’t you?”
“If I hadn’t taken over the noble families’ cause, someone else would have. At that time, I feared Chuan’er wouldn’t even have a way to survive.”
“His Majesty understood this too,” Pei Wenxuan leaned against the wall. “So after His Majesty drove the Su clan to their deaths and completed the northern expedition, he proposed pursuing immortality. It wasn’t that he had truly fulfilled his revenge and achieved his wishes, but rather he knew Great Xia no longer needed this tyrant. It was time for Great Xia to recuperate.”
“In those eight years, humble families had risen, noble clans had fallen. Now the noble families were at the end of their strength. He couldn’t drive them to death, or it would result in mutual destruction, everything perishing together. So he chose to pursue immortality, made Your Highness the Regent Princess representing imperial will in governance. This signaled to the noble families that he had ceased hostilities, allowing them to feel at ease.”
“For this reason, he couldn’t move against Shangguan Ya, nor dared to. He could only plan for another opportunity to make decisions.”
“I represented the humble families, Your Highness represented the noble families. You and I balanced each other while also being allies. For the remaining twenty-two years of Great Xia, recuperating and recovering, prosperity was finally welcomed again.”
“But twenty-two years—”
Li Rong raised her eyes to look at Pei Wenxuan.
“But twenty-two years—”
On the other side, Su Rongqing looked at Su Ronghua before him and smiled bitterly.
The two, in different spaces, sighed together in unison: “Was too long.”
Long enough to make people unrecognizable, to make people forget their original appearance, to lose sight of the path ahead and forget the way back.
So the sword-wielder looked around bewildered, slashing wildly, hurting others and themselves.
The one who became a ghost sank into hell, using any means necessary, mistakenly killing those they loved.
Who remembered the original intention of the northern expedition and reforms? Who remembered the purpose of obstructing the tyrant?
Who remembered that in the palace, when promising the northern expedition, who it was for?
Even less remembered, under the long corridor, that promise made to the sovereign: to repay kindness even in death, never to betray.
Only two silhouettes remained in this muddy pond, separated by time’s veil, each wielding a long sword, serving as each other’s beacon, brushing past one another.
Now the great wheel of destiny turned once more, reaching another moment of choice.
Pei Wenxuan gazed quietly at Li Rong. “Your Highness, now that you know the past, will you still abandon the Crown Prince?”
Su Rongqing poured the last cup of tea into the bowl, raising his head to look at Su Ronghua. “Elder Brother, the story is complete. Will you still obstruct the succession struggle?”
Within the palace walls, Great Xia’s first snowflake of the year drifted down. A palace attendant galloped through the imperial road on horseback, shouting loudly: “Your Majesty—Prince Su is safe and sound!”