Heavy rain poured throughout the night, but by day the scorching sun blazed like fire, baking the earth.

Thinking about what had happened early this morning at Cishou Palace, Qing Yang sat restlessly in the great hall.

Palace rules were strict. The few people she could trust in Changxin Palace were all those who had accompanied her from Shu as part of her dowry. But if she sent them to gather information—should nothing be amiss it would be fine, but if something were wrong, it would only alert the enemy.

In the afternoon the sky clouded over, but the weather became even more stifling.

“Daoist Master Yun sent someone to say he found a musical score these past few days. It appears to be an incomplete score left by the great master Gu Pudao from the previous dynasty. He asks if Your Ladyship would treasure it…” a female attendant came in to report.

This summer the weather had been brutally hot, with torrential downpours at the slightest provocation, making travel inconvenient. Qing Yang was too lazy to visit Chongfu Abbey to pay respects to the Dao, and too lazy to summon Yun Puzi into the palace to speak. Yet unexpectedly, Yun Puzi had been constantly finding rare treasures to present over these past few days.

Had it been before last night, Qing Yang would not have thought much of it. Just as she was about to have someone simply accept the musical score Yun Puzi presented without requiring him to enter the palace to pay respects in such hot weather, her thoughts shifted. Chen Ruyi’s relay of Viscount Liyang Yang En’s words, His Majesty’s strange behavior at Cishou Palace today, and his special visit to Noble Lady Zhao’s quarters at noon where he stayed quite a while—could these things have some connection with Yun Puzi’s frequent dispatches of people to present gifts these past few days?

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Daoist Master Yun. I’ve been reading Daoist texts these past few days and have several passages I cannot fully comprehend. It would be perfect to have Daoist Master Yun enter the palace to explain them. I must also thank him properly for thinking of this palace even in such hot weather…” Qing Yang said, having someone go invite Yun Puzi into the palace.

As the imperial Daoist abbey, Chongfu Abbey was located within the imperial city, not far from the palace walls. The time it took to burn a stick of incense passed, and Yun Puzi came rushing over.

Qing Yang sat in the great hall feeling unbearably stifling, yet somehow Yun Puzi—whether he had practiced some cultivation technique—walked into the great hall with a ruddy complexion beneath his snow-white hair and beard, his brows and forehead showing not a trace of sweat.

“Han Qian dares to defy the world’s greatest taboos, yet this time when he petitioned to establish his eldest son Han Wenxin as heir to the marquisate, this palace heard most people discussing that he generally still wants to arrange his posthumous affairs before taking one final gamble by personally leading troops to participate in the Hehuai war. Probably many in the court would be quite pleased to see Tangyi and the Mongols fight each other to mutual destruction, wouldn’t they?” Qing Yang asked Yun Puzi, keeping only a few trusted female officials by her side.

“It should be so,” Yun Puzi said, seeing nothing unusual in Changxin Palace at this moment. “His Majesty was able to disregard the opposition of officials from the Censorate and Ministry of Rites and approve the Marquis of Qianyang’s memorial so readily—he probably has such thoughts as well?”

“His Majesty does have such thoughts, but ultimately he still worries that should Han Qian truly meet with some mishap, no one in the court could restrain the Marquis of Xinjin, which would instead be unfortunate. He’s somewhat anxious about this,” Qing Yang said. “Three days ago, His Majesty specifically had Chen Ruyi go to the Viscount of Liyang’s mansion to seek counsel on this matter. The Viscount of Liyang said that though the Marquis of Xinjin and Han Qian seem at odds, in all major matters they are never truly at odds. I don’t know what this Chen Ruyi was thinking—when he returned to the palace from the Viscount’s mansion the day before yesterday, he didn’t immediately mention the Viscount had said this. Only last night, when His Majesty inquired in detail about what the Viscount of Liyang speculated regarding the Marquis of Xinjin’s attitude, did he suddenly bring it up…”

“Impossible!” Even though Yun Puzi had long anticipated that either Chen Ruyi or An Jixiang must be Lü Qingxia’s hidden agent, confirmation still shocked him beyond his ability to suppress. His voice became shrill as he said this.

“How is it impossible?” Qing Yang asked, eyeing Yun Puzi.

Yun Puzi realized he had been somewhat indiscreet, straightened himself slightly in his seat, and said: “Yang En was involved in the Empress Dowager’s secret edict affair back then. He should have a clearer understanding of the relationship between the Marquis of Qianyang and the Marquis of Xinjin than court ministers. How could he possibly say such things?”

“The Viscount of Liyang may indeed understand more clearly the relationship between the Marquis of Qianyang and the Marquis of Xinjin, but how can Daoist Master Yun be so certain that Han Qian and Li Zhigao are not feigning their discord and putting on a show for the court rather than anything else?” Qing Yang’s expression grew involuntarily stern as she asked.

Though over these years she had been forced to rely heavily on Yun Puzi, though she and her brother Wang Yong had extremely deep ties with Yun Puzi, it did not mean she completely trusted that Yun Puzi was wholeheartedly loyal to her without any other allegiances.

Moreover, Yun Puzi had made his position clear long ago—he was absolutely not her private minister. Who knew which side Yun Puzi stood on at this moment?

“I do indeed know certain secrets unknown to outsiders, which allows me to determine that the discord between the Marquis of Qianyang and the Marquis of Xinjin is absolutely not feigned. Of course, they may still choose to cooperate in the future. However, just as this old Daoist would never reveal Your Ladyship’s secrets to outsiders, please forgive me for not being at liberty to disclose what secrets exist on the side of the Marquis of Qianyang and the Marquis of Xinjin.” Yun Puzi said.

“How frank of you.” Seeing Yun Puzi adopt such a transcendent posture, Qing Yang had no way to press him with words about what secrets he actually knew. Frowning, she asked: “Since Daoist Master Yun is so certain Yang En would never say such things, why would Chen Ruyi deliberately muddy the waters at this time? What he said only benefits Han Qian and Tangyi more, as it will make His Majesty more guarded against Li Zhigao—surely Daoist Master Yun won’t also definitively claim he’s not Han Qian’s man?”

“This matter superficially appears beneficial to Tangyi, but Tangyi has no need to do such superfluous things,” Yun Puzi asked hesitantly. “Has anything else unusual occurred in the palace these past two days?”

Though Qing Yang did not completely trust Yun Puzi either, at this moment she had no choice but to rely on him. She thus recounted Yang Yuanpu’s various abnormalities at Cishou Palace and his special visit to Noble Lady Zhao’s quarters before noon, saying: “Today’s events are truly strange…”

As Yun Puzi furrowed his white brows in thought, a eunuch serving at Chongwen Hall walked in carrying a horsetail whisk, saying:

“Zhou Wengui greets Noble Consort. His Majesty’s oral edict: The summer heat is unbearable. His Majesty wishes to go to the Southern Garden to escape the heat and requests that Noble Consort and the Crown Prince accompany him…”

“Leave the palace for the Southern Garden at this time?” Qing Yang looked with shock and suspicion at the eunuch proclaiming Yang Yuanpu’s oral edict. Seeing nothing suspicious in his expression, she could only suppress her inner shock for now and indicated he should return first.

Of course she would not doubt the oral edict was false. After all, Yang Yuanpu leaving the palace to escape the heat would involve tremendous commotion—definitely not just thirty or fifty people leaving Jinling. Consorts, eunuchs, plus guard troops and accompanying officials—a mighty procession of at least ten thousand people.

Moreover, Yang Yuanpu’s early morning summons of Huang Lü and Guo Liang into the palace was very likely to arrange this “leaving the palace to escape the heat” matter.

Of course, Qing Yang would not naively believe Yang Yuanpu’s sudden decision to leave the palace at this time was truly just to “escape the heat”!

Since Yang Yuanpu had decided thus, unless Shen Yang and other great ministers or the Empress Dowager could dissuade him, as a harem consort she could only obey the edict. Carrying trepidation about her unknown fate, Qing Yang said to Yun Puzi:

“Daoist Master Yun, please return to Chongfu Abbey first. Perhaps His Majesty will also issue an edict ordering you to accompany us—with such a major matter happening so suddenly, I’ll first go to Cishou Palace to see what’s happening.”

Yun Puzi said with a grave expression:

“No! Your Ladyship absolutely must not go to Cishou Palace or Chongwen Hall at this moment. There’s still some time before the palace gates close. The imperial edict for His Majesty to leave the palace to escape the heat should not yet have reached Chongfu Gate. Please, Your Ladyship, take the Crown Prince with this old Daoist to Chongfu Abbey to avoid calamity. The situation in the palace could change drastically at any moment!”

“Why do you say this?” Qing Yang stared at Yun Puzi and asked.

She also suspected the situation likely had problems, but if she took her son and left the palace at this time, in perhaps just half the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Yang Yuanpu would dispatch someone to question why she was defying the edict.

How should she respond then?

Could the palace situation truly be as Yun Puzi suggested—that within this half stick of incense’s time, an earth-shattering upheaval would suddenly occur?

Leaving the palace to avoid calamity was absolutely not a decision that could be made lightly.

Yun Puzi deeply understood palace rules. Even if Qing Yang was willing to go to Chongfu Abbey at this moment, if she could not persuade those around her in Changxin Palace and they obstructed her, or if she lacked a complete ceremonial procession and just the Noble Consort and Crown Prince alone tried to run out of the palace, even getting through the heavily guarded Chongfu Gate to reach Chongfu Abbey would truly be miraculous.

Of course, for Qing Yang to visit Chongfu Abbey, as long as she didn’t leave the imperial city, the rules weren’t particularly strict. She didn’t need to request an edict or require the Palace Attendants Bureau to dispatch a formal procession or guards.

Fortunately, the palace directors, attendants, and female officials of Changxin Palace were mainly old retainers Qing Yang had brought from Shu. At this moment, Yun Puzi’s priority was still to persuade Qing Yang. He said urgently:

“The Second Prince at Cishou Palace is not the true Second Prince. From His Majesty’s various actions today, we can determine he must already know this from Chen Ruyi. And Chen Ruyi is very likely another hidden agent Lü Qingxia placed by His Majesty’s side. So all of His Majesty’s reactions today, including suddenly wanting to leave the palace to escape the heat, are actually within Lü Qingxia’s grasp—he should be preparing to have a showdown with the Empress Dowager. His Majesty still cannot maintain composure. He actually didn’t summon great ministers for secret consultation but let a few eunuchs incite him to rashly decide on this matter. This is forcing the Empress Dowager to strike and kill him! Of course, His Majesty probably no longer trusts any minister! Your Ladyship, if you go see the Empress Dowager now, you will surely be detained, and even you and the Crown Prince will face mortal danger. His Majesty most likely won’t survive until the escort troops arrive or even make it out of Chongyang Gate!”

“Why do you say the Second Prince is not the Second Prince? What proof do you have of this?”

Princess Qing Yang stared at Yun Puzi in shock, finding it hard to imagine that Yun Puzi, who usually seemed so harmless, would know so many earth-shattering secrets. At this moment, she couldn’t help but tremble slightly, never having imagined a palace coup could occur at any moment.

“And even if what you say is true, though the Empress Dowager and His Majesty may be at odds over this matter, it wouldn’t necessarily reach the point of mother and son killing each other, would it?”

If the Second Prince’s identity was indeed false, this was not impossible—in the previous dynasty there were consorts who gave birth to daughters but secretly switched them for male infants. If such matters were revealed, they would certainly stir up tremendous waves. But Qing Yang didn’t believe this would cause Yang Yuanpu and Wang Chan’er to cross directly into mutual slaughter.

Even if the final outcome was Yang Yuanpu deposing Wang Chan’er and confining her deep in the palace, or Wang Chan’er deposing Yang Yuanpu and installing a new emperor, as a harem consort, she could only drift with the tide, couldn’t she?

If she left the palace to avoid calamity now, where could she flee to? When the time came, whether Wang Chan’er deposed Yang Yuanpu or Yang Yuanpu placed his mother under house arrest, with one imperial edict she would still have to obediently return to the palace. Where could she flee?

Of course, at this moment she absolutely would not unreservedly trust that Yun Puzi was worthy of her trust.

Yun Puzi had frequently sent people into the palace bearing gifts these past days, and now he urged her to leave the palace to avoid calamity—who knew if he was trying to lure her into taking the Crown Prince and falling under the control of the forces behind him?

Was everything happening in the palace being manipulated by whoever stood behind Yun Puzi?

“All of this is under Lü Qingxia’s control. She won’t give His Majesty and the Empress Dowager a chance to calmly sit down and share mother-son sentiment. But the actual strike will happen in an instant. And apart from Empress Li, no one can verify the Second Prince’s true parentage. Terrible! When Cishou Palace moves against His Majesty, they will certainly also dispatch assassins to kill Empress Li to silence her!”

At this moment, Yun Puzi suddenly understood all the connections and slapped his forehead, crying out before continuing.

“Please believe this old Daoist, Your Ladyship—that Chen Ruyi is absolutely Lü Qingxia’s man. Everything they’ve done today is to force His Majesty and the Empress Dowager into enmity, to force the Empress Dowager to resolve to eliminate His Majesty. When the time comes, whether His Majesty dies suddenly or is assassinated, as long as the Empress Dowager is under their control, they’ll have legitimate authority to control the Imperial Guard Army and both the inner and outer courts. And Lü Qingxia is doing all this because she cannot wait to throw Jinling and Great Chu into chaos before the Marquis of Qianyang sends troops to Hehuai!”

“Are you saying you’re Han Qian’s man and have been lurking in the imperial city under his orders all these years?” Qing Yang asked Yun Puzi warily. “However, there’s one thing this palace doesn’t understand. The Marquis of Qianyang is about to dispatch troops, but what reason does Lü Qingxia have to throw Jinling into chaos now? Wouldn’t Lü Qingxia launching a palace coup after the Marquis of Qianyang dispatches troops give her greater odds of success? And if I’m not mistaken, years ago in Fanchang you were instigated by Yao Xishui to urge me to lobby His Majesty about the marriage between Han Qian and Wang Jun?”

“If Your Ladyship hadn’t lobbied by His Majesty’s side back then, if His Majesty hadn’t raised the marriage agreement again during the Marquis of Qianyang’s mourning period, how could the Marquis of Qianyang have had an excuse to leave Fanchang directly?”

Yun Puzi couldn’t guess at this moment why Lü Qingxia had been drawn out of her hole at this time, but the urgent danger before them was unmistakably clear. He employed every means to persuade Qing Yang:

“The Marquis of Qianyang not only long ago guessed there was something wrong with this Second Prince at Cishou Palace, he also guessed this Second Prince is the illegitimate son born of the Empress Dowager’s illicit affair with Han Jun. He even knows the Marquis of Xinjin Li Zhigao is the son of the previous dynasty’s Prince Lu. This old Daoist is but a wandering cloud and wild crane. Though my years are numbered like a candle flickering in the wind, my lifetime of insight and capabilities may not match Li Yu or Lü Qingxia, but now that the Marquis of Qianyang has determined when chaos will strike Jinling, I can at least see clearly in whose hands the great momentum of the realm lies. As for why Lü Qingxia chose to strike at this time, perhaps she has her unavoidable reasons—because lurking in Jinling is not just her one venomous snake!”

Qing Yang found it hard to imagine all of this before her, hard to imagine Han Qian had long known so many palace secrets. Her heart filled with shock and doubt, even her heart twitched slightly with palpitations. Only after quite a while did she recover enough to continue questioning:

“How can I be certain you weren’t also caught in a trap regarding the Fanchang affair, but now you’re turning false play into reality to deceive me?”

With the current situation, one wrong step would mean eternal damnation. She even doubted whether Yun Puzi truly was a hidden agent Han Qian had deployed. She worried even more this was a trap set by the mastermind behind everything.

Apart from the Fanchang affair, in the eight years since, she had detected no obvious signs of Yun Puzi favoring Tangyi—otherwise she wouldn’t have been so slow to notice. More critically, when she asked why Lü Qingxia chose to strike at this time, Yun Puzi could not directly answer her doubts.

One wrong step would mean eternal damnation, mother and son’s corpses obliterated. Without this question explained clearly, how could she act rashly?

Once she chose to leave the palace to avoid calamity, it meant she would have no second path to choose.

“Does Your Ladyship remember this verse: ‘The great river flows east, waves washing away a thousand ages of heroes’?” Yun Puzi didn’t even know if assassins from Cishou Palace were already on their way to Changxin Palace, but staying one moment longer would certainly add one measure of danger. He said urgently.

“Many people in Shu knew that verse back then. What are you trying to say, Daoist Master Yun?” Qing Yang asked.

“The great river flows east, waves washing away a thousand ages of illustrious figures. West of the old fortress, people say, lies Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms’ Zhou Yu. Chaotic rocks pierce the sky, startling waves crash the shore, rolling up a thousand piles of snow. Rivers and mountains like a painting, how many heroes in that age,” Yun Puzi took up a brush and wrote half the verse on the rice paper before him, saying: “This old Daoist only knows this half verse from the Marquis of Qianyang. As for what the second half is, this old Daoist has never heard the Marquis of Qianyang mention it. But the Marquis of Qianyang said Your Ladyship has seen this half verse, so you should believe this old Daoist’s friendship with him is genuine.”

Qing Yang stared blankly at this half verse, momentarily becoming somewhat transfixed…

……

……

“Madam Deng, quickly bring Bin’er. We’re going to Chongfu Abbey!”

Qing Yang’s emotions remained relatively composed as she instructed a middle-aged female official by her side.

The four female officials currently serving in the great hall were all old retainers Qing Yang had brought from the Kingdom of Shu. Though they had heard this entire conversation between Qing Yang and Yun Puzi, they had restrained themselves from interrupting casually. But at this moment, their hearts surged with wild waves, their faces pale.

They never imagined that the Chu Palace, where yesterday everything had been calm and everyone complained only of the scorching weather, would on the verge of erupting in bloody palace upheaval overnight.

They had thought the Shu Palace dangerous enough, never imagining the Chu Palace’s dangers were a hundred times worse.

The Second Prince wasn’t the Second Prince but the Empress Dowager and Han Jun’s illegitimate son?

The greatly trusted Chen Ruyi by His Majesty’s side had always been Lü Qingxia’s hidden agent?

Yet Yun Puzi was a hidden agent the Marquis of Qianyang Han Qian had deployed in the palace?

And why, after confirming this, did Her Ladyship disregard everything and resolutely insist on leaving the palace to avoid calamity? After Lü Qingxia arranged people to assassinate His Majesty, wouldn’t they install the Second Prince—actually a Han family descendant—as emperor? Wasn’t there still the possibility of Han Qian colluding with Lü Qingxia?

Though the four female officials by Qing Yang’s side were worldly and had secretly practiced martial skills, the current situation—complex and dangerous to the extreme—left them in complete disarray.

This also had one benefit: Qing Yang had made up her mind, or rather Qing Yang’s will was firm enough. Though they had deep doubts in their hearts, before thinking of better methods, they would still resolutely follow Qing Yang’s orders and not appear so helpless.

They arranged for a carriage to visit the abbey for Daoist rites while also confirming the imperial edict to leave the palace to escape the heat had not yet reached the duty post at Chongfu Gate—perhaps Yang Yuanpu (or Yang Yuanpu under instigation and manipulation by those around him) still knew to avoid alerting Cishou Palace as much as possible. But this only made Qing Yang recognize more clearly his weak strength and poor planning.

As she took Bin’er’s hand and mounted the carriage, she couldn’t help but look back.

Once she left the palace gates, she would have no road back. If Yang Yuanpu by chance did not die in the palace coup, her best outcome would perhaps be granted death while keeping her corpse intact.

“Fire at Changyang Courtyard!” a female official suddenly cried out, pointing at a roof corner on the north side of Cishou Palace.

Standing on the carriage shaft, Qing Yang looked over the carriage wall toward Changyang Courtyard. She saw two columns of smoke rising without warning, clearly indicating the fire must have blazed up in an extremely short time.

She had been shocked too many times today and had become somewhat numb. But seeing the scene before her, coldness still seeped from the bottom of her heart.

Changyang Courtyard was where Li Yao had been confined after being deposed. As Yun Puzi said, Lü Qingxia should have dispatched people to kill Li Yao and silence her at this time.

Li Yao was the only person who could verify the Second Prince’s authenticity. With Li Yao dead and her corpse destroyed, who could question the Second Prince’s legitimacy?

When the time came, no one could stand forth to question that the Empress Dowager had dispatched people to assassinate Yang Yuanpu, nor could anyone stand forth to question the legitimacy of the Empress Dowager designating the Second Prince to ascend and inherit the throne.

Lü Qingxia’s scheme was so vicious, so flawless!

Would Han Qian, for her sake and Bin’er’s, bear the infamy of rebellion and turn against Lü Qingxia and the Empress Dowager? Or would she and Bin’er ultimately still become bargaining chips in negotiations between Han Qian and Lü Qingxia and the Empress Dowager?

Qing Yang stood lost in melancholy thought for a while.

“Your Ladyship, we should go. If we don’t leave now, it will be too late,” Yun Puzi reminded her.

“Let’s go.” Qing Yang drew herself into the carriage.