The life of Empress Jingxian had been quite legendary. From being the most privileged daughter of the Chancellor to becoming an Empress, she had experienced marital estrangement, schemes against her, and separation from her child. Yet in the end, she retaliated with equal measure, cleaning up the harem of Great Liang efficiently and decisively, which was extremely satisfying. She was the type of person who grew more determined rather than resigned when facing adversity. If there were any regrets in her life, the first would be that Xie Chi’s poison was incurable, and the second would be that she never had the chance to see Xie Yuan again.

The brothers Xie Chi and Xie Yuan resembled Empress Xiao more than anyone. Empress Xiao had been a renowned beauty in Long’e, so stunning she could be called peerless. Not only did Xie Chi and Xie Yuan inherit Empress Xiao’s beauty, but they also inherited her tactics. Since Xie Chi was part of the imperial family, he still carried some of Emperor Xiaowu’s shadow; for instance, when playing political games, he had to balance various factions and inevitably had to rely on the power of marriage alliances. Xie Yuan was different. He was far away in Ming Qi, naturally opposed to the Ming Qi royal family. He didn’t have a single trace of Xie Yilong in him. He had fulfilled Empress Xiao’s expectations for him—though he could hardly be called a good man, he was not a despicable person.

Shen Miao hadn’t expected Xie Jingxing’s background to be so complex and dramatic. Alongside her amazement at Empress Jingxian’s life, she couldn’t help but feel admiration. Empress Jingxian’s life had resembled her own previous life, yet in the end, she had become the victor of this empire. However, Shen Miao questioned whether she could do what Empress Xiao had done, having the determination to cut off her arm like a warrior and endure the pain of being separated from her flesh and blood.

Seeing her complicated expression, Xie Jingxing smiled nonchalantly and said, “Don’t pity me. I never met her, so naturally I have no attachment to her.”

He was a young man who had grown up alone in fierce storms, born carrying the threat of his father’s assassination attempts, and never having met his mother. This had created in him a more open-minded outlook than most people, and even the greatest matters in his eyes were worth nothing more than a laugh.

But his indifference toward people was probably because he had no expectations of them from the beginning.

Shen Miao was silent for a while before saying, “I will accompany you until the very end.”

Xie Jingxing’s eyes flickered slightly, then he smiled teasingly, “Since you feel sorry for me, why don’t you make it up to me?”

His mischievous smile instantly swept away the somewhat melancholy atmosphere. Shen Miao glared at him, suddenly remembering something, and said, “But if that’s the case, His Majesty’s illness…” She didn’t continue.

If the Gao family had declared that Xie Chi wouldn’t live past thirty-five, how many more years did the Yongle Emperor have left?

“His Imperial Brother has already passed his thirty-sixth birthday,” Xie Jingxing said. “So you can see that such predictions aren’t always accurate. However,” his expression cooled. “His Imperial Brother’s health is deteriorating.”

“Do the Lu and Ye families know about this?” Shen Miao asked.

“I’ve heard that after Emperor Xiaowu died, my Imperial Mother eliminated everyone in the palace who knew about it. Today, apart from the Gao family head, you, me, and the Empress, anyone else who knew about His Imperial Brother’s condition is probably no longer in this world.”

Shen Miao’s heart skipped a beat, thinking that Empress Dowager Jingxian’s methods were indeed ruthless, but they had also resolved many potential troubles.

“Did the Empress know about His Majesty’s illness before marrying him, or after…?” Shen Miao asked.

Xie Jingxing gave her an ambiguous smile. “What exactly do you want to know?”

Shen Miao wondered if Empress Xiande had known early on that the Yongle Emperor wouldn’t live past thirty-five, would she still have married him? After all, becoming a widow at such a young age was no easy matter. But if she had found out after the marriage, hadn’t she been deceived into spending her life with him?

“If it were you, what would you choose?” Xie Jingxing asked.

Shen Miao said, “When I married you, I didn’t like you enough to be willing to be your widow.” As soon as she said this, she looked regretful, thinking she was cursing Xie Jingxing.

However, Xie Jingxing was quite pleased upon hearing this. He pulled her over, pressed her head against his chest, and said with a smile, “Oh? Does that mean you like me enough now to be my widow?” Without waiting for Shen Miao’s answer, he thoughtfully continued, “In that case, you must have been quite fond of me when you married me.”

“Who was fond of you?” Shen Miao was pressed against his chest and couldn’t breathe properly, retorting in exasperation. But she heard Xie Jingxing’s leisurely voice from above: “If you like me, just say so. I’ve always cherished beautiful women and would never bear to let you live as a young widow.”

Shen Miao didn’t get angry but laughed instead, retorting, “A living widow, is it? Don’t worry, in today’s world, there aren’t many women who would docilely live as widows. There’s so much gossip around widows, and there are plenty of male brothels in Long’e.” She had been influenced by Xie Jingxing and no longer maintained her former dignified demeanor, occasionally even managing to infuriate him.

Indeed, hearing this, Xie Jingxing paused and stared at her intently, speaking gently, “Want to find a male courtesan?” His tone was mild, but Shen Miao felt an inexplicable chill down her neck. Before she could speak, Xie Jingxing suddenly picked her up in his arms and strode toward the bed, startling Shen Miao into a shriek. Xie Jingxing calmly said, “Since you’ve reminded me to ‘work harder,’ your husband naturally wouldn’t dare to be lazy.”

Outside, the guard Tieyi was unexpectedly embarrassed by the commotion from the couple, not knowing whether to leave or stay. His dark face turned bright red, creating quite a spectacle.

After the couple had exhausted themselves, they finally rested. Shen Miao lay on Xie Jingxing’s arm and pushed him, asking, “You still haven’t answered my question. Did the Empress know or not?”

“The Empress is such a clever woman. If she didn’t know and was tricked into the marriage, there would have been serious trouble,” Xie Jingxing sighed. “When my Imperial Mother was selecting a wife for His Imperial Brother, she once called the Empress into the palace and said something. You can imagine what. My Imperial Mother detested people who exploited others’ sincere feelings; even if she needed to balance power, she would let the other party know.”

Shen Miao said, “Knowing that and still marrying him, the Empress must truly love His Majesty.”

Xie Jingxing didn’t respond.

Empress Xiande’s family was a literary and historical household. In terms of actual power, they couldn’t compare to many noble families, yet Empress Dowager Jingxian had chosen Empress Xiande as the Yongle Emperor’s wife because her family, the Changshi household, was loyal. And Empress Xiande, just like her imperial title suggested, was gentle, kind, intelligent, and generous. Unlike Emperor Xiaowu, Empress Dowager Jingxian knew that the Yongle Emperor could elevate other consorts to balance power, but he could only have one wife—a life companion. Character was more important. She could share in both hardship and prosperity, a true lady of a great family who could withstand storms and handle splendor.

Empress Xiande’s family consisted of honest people, but whether she truly had feelings for the Yongle Emperor remained unknown. After all, speaking of true feelings within the imperial family was a luxury. However, Empress Xiande had always remained calm about the fact that the Yongle Emperor wouldn’t live past thirty-five.

Shen Miao said, “If it were only for power, she should have planned for herself.”

Xie Jingxing smiled. “The Empress is very clever and not greedy.”

Not being greedy was the best. Many tragedies, at their root, stemmed from greed—coveting power, desiring glory and wealth, or demanding too much affection.

Shen Miao pondered for a moment, then said, “Now that Noble Consort Jing is pregnant, how do you plan to deal with the Lu family?”

Xie Jingxing played with Shen Miao’s long hair, saying casually, “What does Lu Jing’s pregnancy have to do with us? Water can carry a boat but also capsize it. The Lu family thinks they can rest easy with an imperial offspring, but they’ve miscalculated. With a new father-to-be Emperor, some opposition will naturally switch sides. How many of the Lu family’s soldiers are fence-sitters? They can favor the Lu family, but they can also favor the imperial family.”

Shen Miao looked at him. “That can’t be all, can it?”

Xie Jingxing raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

“You’ve been preparing for so long, yet Noble Consort Jing’s pregnancy was unexpected—none of you had anticipated this. If Noble Consort Jing hadn’t become pregnant, how were you planning to deal with the Lu family?”

“Simple,” Xie Jingxing said. “Since His Imperial Brother took the throne, he has been plotting against the Lu and Ye families, gathering evidence of the Lu family’s military usurpation for years. Now that we’ve collected enough, it’s time to reveal it. This will silence the world, which is the first step. Second,” Xie Jingxing continued, “although the Lu family’s military power is significant in Great Liang, there are other military generals. Those generals have mostly become His Imperial Brother’s men in private, and the Moyu Army has also been accumulating strength. Now the matter is much simpler: reveal the evidence, and either the Lu family submits and admits guilt, or—since Lu Zhengchun has been arrogant all his life, he would never admit guilt and would surely turn against the imperial family—we can catch them all in one net.”

Hearing him speak this way, Shen Miao thought that Xie Jingxing and the Yongle Emperor were truly brothers, dealing with people in a manner that was not at all roundabout but simple and brutal, yet direct and effective. Perhaps this was also something they had inherited from Empress Xiao?

She said, “If that’s the case, why prepare for so many years? You could have confronted them from the beginning.” Starting the battle earlier would have saved considerable time.

Xie Jingxing leaned close to her ear and said, “Little girl, you should know that we men of the Xie family don’t like to drag things out, nor do we like the words ‘evenly matched.’ When we act, we uproot completely. The Lu family’s foundation is too deep—the earlier we attempted it, the harder it would have been to clean up. Now the time is ripe, and we can pull them out cleanly. Isn’t that better?”

Shen Miao frowned, and Xie Jingxing continued: “I know you naturally like to gamble. Back when you were alone and weak, you dared to scheme against Prince Yu. But that was too dangerous, with potentially high self-inflicted damage. I don’t like that.” He said, “A victory that costs too much is still a defeat.”

Shen Miao had to admit that Xie Jingxing made sense. In the past, she had dared to confront Prince Yu and even Fu Xiuyi simply because she was fighting alone. Using a stone to strike jade, the jade would always suffer more damage. Later, as the Shen family gradually became involved, she had to consider too many factors and could no longer act as freely as before.

And now with Xie Jingxing, if they engaged in an evenly matched confrontation, the longer they dragged it out, the more the common people of Great Liang would suffer. But if they could easily catch the Lu family in one sweep, as they now had sufficient power, they could minimize the sacrifices.

“But what about the Ye family? The Lu family is one thing, but what about the Ye family?” Shen Miao still had doubts, hesitating to speak, but ultimately holding back.

Previously, His Imperial Brother planned to win over the Ye family. After all, they have no heir except for a disabled young master and couldn’t cause much trouble,” Xie Jingxing said. “But since you told me about your ‘dream,’ the Ye siblings are enemies. How can we win over enemies? That would be self-destruction.” He said, “Rest assured, I will avenge you.”

Shen Miao was silent for a long time before softly saying, “Thank you.” Asking someone to change a plan that had been in motion for a long time wasn’t just a matter of words. All related matters had to be replanned—not only was it troublesome, but plans were most vulnerable to unexpected variables. Yet Xie Jingxing was willing to bear all possible future consequences for her sake.

How fortunate must one be to meet such a person in this life?

Seeing her unusual expression, Xie Jingxing hooked her chin, making her look up, and examined her carefully before clicking his tongue and saying, “Why are you so moved? Why not repay me properly with yourself?”

Shen Miao pushed him away, scolding, “What nonsense are you talking? How do you plan to deal with the Ye family?”

Xie Jingxing pondered for a moment and said, “It’s not difficult. If the Ye family can’t be on our imperial side, then naturally they are with the Lu family. We’ll find evidence of secret dealings between the Lu and Ye families. When the Lu family falls, the Ye family will go down with them. Aren’t you clever? How come you don’t know how to frame someone now?”

Shen Miao stared at him in disbelief. Xie Jingxing spoke of framing others as if it were a righteous, dignified deed—an outsider might think he had done something great and noble. Besides, framing the Chancellor of a country was not such a simple matter.

“The Ye family is easier to deal with than the Lu family. The Ye family’s complexity lies in their connections with the civil officials, but once the Lu family falls and the Ye family is implicated, those civil officials, if they’re not fools, will distance themselves from the Ye family. Over the years, Emperor Xiaowu’s two confidants have lost much of their former glory.”

Shen Miao thought for a moment and said, “It’s not that their strength has been diminished, but that your strength has grown to the point where you no longer need to be constrained by them.”

The young beast had finally grown into the king of beasts, and now it was time to deal with the court jesters in the forest one by one.

Xie Jingxing looked at her and teased, “Do you admire me that much?”

Shen Miao replied expressionlessly, “Yes, I admire you greatly.”

“Since my wife is so flattering, I must serve her well,” Xie Jingxing said solemnly, flipping over and pressing Shen Miao beneath him.

Shen Miao: “…”

…

At the Ye residence.

Madam Mei and Ye Ke were talking in a room.

Ye Maocai prided himself on being a scholar, so the room’s decor was naturally full of elegance, with various calligraphy, paintings, and orchids. But upon closer inspection, the calligraphy and paintings were all treasures by famous masters, the orchids were of the highest quality, and even the paperweight on the table was extremely valuable. It was evident that the Ye family was indeed wealthy. They were truly scholars, but perhaps not “frugal” scholars.

Exquisite pastries were laid out on the table.

Madam Mei wore a yellow silk short jacket embroidered with rusty lotus flowers and crystal, paired with a long skirt. Both the material and craftsmanship of the outfit were top-notch. She was naturally striking in appearance, and dressed this way, even the noble ladies in the palace would fall short. She exuded natural charm, beautiful and alluring.

Ye Ke sat across from her. His clothing was as simple as before, though the fabric was of a higher grade. The siblings were living quite well in the Ye family.

“Sister, what did you mean earlier?” Ye Ke frowned and asked.

Madam Mei picked up a cup of tea from the table, took a sip, and said calmly, “Earlier, when Madam Ye was looking for her daughter and insisted I was her child, things became too confusing—whether true or false, who knows? But it ultimately found us a good place. After our parents died, the shops couldn’t be maintained, and being the daughter of an official is certainly better than being a merchant’s daughter. The same goes for you. With Chancellor Ye as your father, your official career will surely be smoother.”

Ye Ke smiled bitterly, “I naturally understand this reasoning, but doesn’t Ye Maocai not believe in our identity at all?”

If there were such things as pie falling from the sky, Madam Mei and Ye Ke hadn’t believed it before. But ever since the Ye family’s search party found them, the siblings had no choice but to believe that such good fortune did exist in this world. They heard that during Madam Ye’s childbirth more than a decade ago, malicious people had interfered, causing her daughter to be lost. Finally, after searching, they found Madam Mei. Whether this was true or not, Madam Mei believed it certainly wasn’t.

Because she and Ye Ke were siblings born together.

But people can sometimes be obsessive, like the seemingly normal Madam Ye, who insisted that Madam Mei was her daughter and wouldn’t listen to any persuasion. Because of Madam Mei, she also brought Ye Ke into the Ye residence.

Madam Mei and her brother were wary. Later, Ye Maocai also came to see the two of them. Ye Maocai was much more clear-headed than Madam Ye and came straight to the point, saying that the siblings were not Madam Ye’s children. However, because Madam Ye insisted, he didn’t want to obstruct her and was willing to conceal the lie for the sake of his wife’s health, giving the siblings the identity of the Ye family children.

Madam Mei was a shrewd person and wouldn’t easily jump into a fire without understanding the pros and cons. She managed to learn about the Ye family’s situation, discovering their delicate position with the imperial family and the fact that the Ye family only had a disabled young master, essentially having no successor. Ye Maocai naturally needed a pair of “children” to silence the world.

Mutual benefit, each taking what they needed—a cripple couldn’t cause much trouble, and wouldn’t the Ye family’s wealth eventually fall into Ye Ke’s hands? And with the Ye family name, it would be natural for Madam Mei to marry into a noble family and live in luxury in the future. Even if Ye Maocai had other intentions, the siblings weren’t fools and would find ways to get what they wanted.

So the siblings entered the Ye residence, becoming the young lady and young master of the Ye family. Madam Ye trusted them, and Ye Maocai was wary of them, but it made no difference to the siblings. The Ye family was just a stepping stone, a backing that could help them progress more quickly in their future path.

Madam Mei said, “Whether they believe in our identity or not is unimportant. You and I both came from merchant families—just treat him like a businessman. It’s just that this business now seems to be a loss. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.”

“This way?” Ye Ke didn’t understand. “Sister, please be clearer.”

Madam Mei said, “Previously, I thought the Ye family had strong power in Long’e and didn’t need to fear much. Despite their delicate relationship with the imperial family, they could still maintain a balance. But recently, I’ve felt something’s not right. The Ye family isn’t as good as I thought; they seem to be in a precarious position. One step forward could indeed allow us to live worry-free, but one misstep could lead us into an abyss, losing both the wife and the army.”

Hearing this, Ye Ke’s expression also darkened. He said, “You mean the Ye family’s current situation is dangerous?”

“Whether it’s dangerous or not, I don’t know,” Madam Mei laughed coldly. “That old fox Ye Maocai is hiding everything tightly and won’t let us know the Ye family’s situation. Though Madam Ye trusts me, she trusts Ye Maocai more—getting information from her mouth is harder than ascending to heaven. But the more it’s like this, the more unsettled my intuition becomes. I feel that this Ye residence is not good at all.”

“Perhaps you’re overthinking,” Ye Ke thought for a moment, but shook his head. “After all, the Ye family is the Chancellor of Great Liang. How could they be in the situation you described? As for the Ye family being wary of us, it’s probably because not enough time has passed. We’re all in the same boat now; otherwise, when you proposed having someone assassinate Prince Rui’s Consort, they wouldn’t have agreed so readily. It’s just a pity that the Prince Rui’s Consort had great fortune and was saved by that scholar, escaping disaster.”

Madam Mei’s gaze sharpened, then she suddenly smiled again and said, “She is fortunate, truly lucky.”

“But Sister,” Ye Ke looked at her, “why did you want the Ye family to kill Prince Rui’s Consort in the first place? Was it really because you wanted to enter Prince Rui’s residence? This decision seemed hasty and somewhat lacking in consideration.”

Madam Mei paused, thought for a while, and then said, “If I told you that the first time I saw her, I felt I didn’t want her to exist in this world, would you believe me?”

Ye Ke was startled, but Madam Mei was already lost in her thoughts.

When she first arrived in Long’e with the Ye family, Xie Yuan had just returned from hunting in the capital. Ye Maocai gave her an antidote, wanting her to pretend to accidentally discover the bounty notice and save him. Naturally, if the Ye family could provide an antidote, Prince Rui’s injury was likely connected to them as well. If Madam Mei saved him as a member of the Ye family, it would inevitably raise suspicions about the Ye family. It would be more natural to say she came searching for relatives and later discovered she was a Ye family member.

Ye Maocai wanted to use Madam Mei to establish a connection with Prince Rui’s residence. Madam Mei was beautiful, and as Prince Rui’s savior, the more time she spent in his residence, the more natural certain things would become.

That was when Madam Mei met Prince Rui, Xie Yuan.

Regarding men, Madam Mei couldn’t claim to love or not love them. She had ambition and methods; men were tools for her to achieve her goals. If there was someone better, she would simply switch. For her, just like how beautiful people should have gorgeous clothes, precious jewelry, and wealthy mansions, they should also have noble husbands.

Xie Yuan was the best man she had ever seen since growing up.

Despite his young age, he held high power and was both handsome and elegant. Even lying still, he emanated nobility, attracting attention. Moreover, Madam Mei had learned from Ye Maocai that Xie Yuan was extremely capable and formidable. It was normal for her to want such a good man for herself, and Xie Yuan’s coldness made her want to conquer him even more.

She had heard that Xie Yuan had a consort, but Madam Mei had never seen her. She knew the woman was the daughter of a Ming Qi military official and didn’t think much of it. A military official’s daughter would be coarse and unrefined, and coming all the way here alone without any backing—Madam Mei didn’t even consider her a worthy opponent.

Until she saw Shen Miao for the first time.

Shen Miao’s clothes still had some dirt, her hair wasn’t neat, and her face showed signs of travel weariness. But she stood in front of Madam Mei, against the light, her posture elegant and dignified, like a domineering beast declaring its territory.

Madam Mei was the more glamorous one, and Shen Miao was disheveled.

But at that moment, Madam Mei felt an absurd sensation, as if even using all her strength, she couldn’t take anything from this woman’s hands.

In the days that followed, Shen Miao was quite cold to her. Occasionally, Madam Mei could sense faint dislike and hatred.

But since ancient times, women’s feelings have been relative. Not only did Shen Miao feel uncomfortable around Madam Mei, but Madam Mei also felt uncomfortable around Shen Miao.

She had heard that Shen Miao was loved by her parents, cared for by her older brother, had good friends and sisters, and was adored by Xie Yuan. Although they were in a cold war, observers could see clearly—if there were no feelings involved, why bother with a cold war? It was love to the bone, where every move affected one’s emotions.

The more she compared, the more Madam Mei felt resentful. Why should Shen Miao, alone, enjoy all the good things in this world? With her straightforward personality and inability to act coquettishly, why did she win Xie Yuan’s favor?

What was most unbearable was seeing someone less worthy than herself living better. Madam Mei was jealous and disgusted. She loved to seize others’ possessions and make them her own. But Shen Miao’s things seemed very difficult to take.

So what should she do? Make Shen Miao disappear.

Therefore, Madam Mei told Ye Maocai that only if Shen Miao died and the position of Prince Rui’s consort became vacant would she be confident in capturing Xie Yuan’s heart.

Rather than saying Madam Mei wanted to steal Xie Yuan, it would be more accurate to say that she couldn’t stand seeing Shen Miao live better than her. Madam Mei didn’t want to lose to Shen Miao.

Ye Maocai had already intended for Madam Mei to establish connections with Prince Rui’s residence, so he eventually agreed.

But who would have thought that Shen Miao wouldn’t die, that someone would be willing to protect her at the cost of their own life? Moreover, because of the Ye family’s rash action, Xie Yuan seemed suspicious and was watching the Ye family closely. Ye Maocai even blamed Madam Mei for this.

In her life, Madam Mei had never failed to get what she wanted. She had used all kinds of people to live smoothly and had always been adept at taking things from others—whether objects, people, or hearts.

But with Shen Miao, she had hit a wall.

She couldn’t take away Shen Miao’s man, nor could she take away Shen Miao’s life, and she couldn’t take away Shen Miao’s good fortune.