The passage of spring time in Great Qian was easy to feel—waves of flowers bloomed in succession. When wintersweet opened, ice and snow hadn’t fully melted; when forsythia bloomed, spring light had already climbed to the willow tips; lilacs and apricot blossoms crowded together, passing fragrance along the branches; when peach blossoms opened, they were both delicate and proud, silently filling courtyards with beauty.
In past years, spring was always easy to pass—admiring flowers, taking spring outings, touring gardens, and it was over.
This year’s spring, however, people were not as leisurely as in previous years. A slightly anxious atmosphere permeated the air.
First, the spring examination dates were set—just three days away. This year’s spring examinations were later than usual, delayed until mid-March, reportedly to wait for the Crown Princess’s return.
The chief examiner for the spring examinations was finally decided, surprising everyone. There were two chief examiners: He Zi and Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Duan Yande. For the candidates, both were renowned great scholars, but for court and country, both were royalists.
Duan Yande was also a Yueli Academy graduate, counting as half a disciple of He Zi.
The conventional choices for examiners—the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretaries—the former belonging to the Xiao faction, the latter mostly from the Rong faction—none became chief examiners.
Reportedly, both the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had argued forcefully, but couldn’t overcome their candidates’ failures. The Minister of Rites suddenly fell ill the night before selections were made.
This time it was said to be truly ill. Anyway, Tie Ci asked Yang Yixiu, who proclaimed his innocence loudly.
The originally selected Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary also injured his leg the day before the decision.
Too coincidental—excessive coincidences harbor malice.
Moreover, that very evening, Xiao Liheng quite decisively withdrew from chief examiner candidate recommendations. The entire Xiao faction went silent, not even proposing alternative candidates.
This move was more sinister and vicious than continuing to compete—directly planting the speculation that “the Crown Princess has backers, anyone not from her faction who rises will fall, the Xiao faction had to withdraw to protect ministers” into every minister’s mind.
It must be said Xiao Liheng’s move was quite formidable.
Though the selections went to royalists, they immediately lost the entire court’s hearts.
After all, everyone feared becoming the next target.
Political struggle required rules—a heir who didn’t follow rules would terrify everyone.
Who would want an unscrupulous tyrant to ascend the throne?
At this point, the problems with the Six-Part Songs also became exposed. To wash away the puppet image and consolidate the Crown Princess’s new “strong and daring” facade, the Six-Part Songs described the Crown Princess’s decisions and methods quite thoroughly. While this gave Tie Ci a new image, overturning the existing impression of a puppet waste and making young people’s blood boil with worship, it also made some conservative old-school people feel the Crown Princess’s character was perhaps too hard and too unscrupulous.
Under this impression’s influence, speculation about “non-aligned chief examiner candidates being retaliated against and attacked” invisibly found corroboration in these people’s hearts, deepening their aversion to Tie Ci.
This was what Rong Pu had previously told Tie Ci—whether the Xiao clan competed or not, they would have methods to deal with Tie Ci.
Tie Ci wasn’t necessarily unaware of this point, but couldn’t avoid competing.
This was an open conspiracy.
The night the decision came out, Tie Ci urgently ordered Zhu Yi to also claim illness, withdrawing from competition for deputy examiner positions.
To some extent, this move was also counterattack, muddying the waters and slightly reducing her own suspicion.
Since two royalists had already become chief examiners, Zhu Yi’s withdrawal also preserved their faction’s strength, avoiding more suspicion, with the possibility of substitution if needed.
Tie Ci didn’t think the Xiao family’s retaliation would end there.
Under these circumstances, if anything happened to the two chief examiners, the royalist faction would suffer severe damage.
For this reason, Tie Ci had been incredibly busy recently—summoning subjects for deduction discussions while also addressing problems the Xiao family had previously exposed about their own side. Zhu Yi retrieved all his own poetry works, finding the source of his supposedly “greatly disrespectful” poems from years past. Tie Ci sent people to find those who had originally accused Zhu Yi of writing seditious poetry. Qi Ling routinely recruited troops, filling personnel gaps and making up for empty-pay silver. The Ministry of Revenue began self-inspection, preemptively punishing problematic clerks and allocating grain to Qing Zhou granaries…
As for He Zi’s suspected false accusations against Prince Tang and Prince Lu, this was originally obscure imperial family business involving the current emperor and empress dowager. The Xiao family wouldn’t easily expose it, but Tie Yan still issued an edict, clearly reiterating the great treason crimes of Prince Tang and Prince Lu. Though the two princes had been granted death originally, they retained dignity with royal burial rites—direct descendants executed, relatives exiled to Qiong Zhou, forbidden to return to the capital or enter service without imperial decree. This time they were directly stripped of commoner status, removed from the imperial clan, moved out of the royal cemetery, and sent to Qiong Zhou for reburial.
This confirmed Prince Tang and Prince Lu’s treason charges. Under these circumstances, even if He Zi had previously opposed them, there was no fault to speak of. For great treason, everyone could punish them.
Having finished patching holes, Tie Ci didn’t dare relax. She ordered the Crown Princess’s Nine Guards to protect the chief examiners well, even sealing the entire examination compound with its test questions.
After Zhu Yi withdrew from examiner selection, he relaxed considerably and the next day hurried to his publishing house to supervise printing matters for the seventh volume of Chronicles of the Merciful Heart.
The capital citizens’ anxious atmosphere was also related to this matter—they had been waiting for the continuation for over a month! The Crown Princess had been back nearly a month; surely the seventh volume should come out?
They still wanted to know how Liaodong was repelled that day, how the Crown Princess and female commander joined hands on the battlefield with a smile, coolly and domineeringly defeating the Liaodong barbarians.
Especially those women who had aided at the city gates that day—all eagerly anticipated that in the seventh volume, perhaps they too could show their faces in the legend, becoming immortal.
Outside the capital’s Sili Ward gathered many bookshops and printing houses. Recently, many citizens and scholars detoured here daily to ask whether the seventh volume was on shelves yet.
The Sili Ward bookshops were overwhelmed by inquiries.
However, these past few days, the bookshop owners in Sili Ward discovered with surprise that the usually dense crowds had diminished considerably. The scholars who used to lean against bookshelves earnestly asking about the seventh volume had also disappeared.
What was happening?
Zhu Yi’s Chronicles of the Merciful Heart writing team was hidden in an ordinary courtyard house among them.
Early in the morning, Zhu Yi’s roaring could be heard throughout the courtyard.
“What’s going on! What’s going on! Our manuscript just got finished and hasn’t been typeset yet—how is there already a seventh volume on the market? Who leaked it?!”
Zhu Yi shook the brand-new book with its faint ink fragrance in his hand. The plain blue cover displayed “Chronicles of the Merciful Heart” prominently—the title he had personally inscribed. The entire book’s printing, binding, typeface, and paper quality were completely identical to Chronicles of the Merciful Heart’s version, and the paper even seemed whiter.
In his fury, Zhu Yi flipped through the manuscript with rustling sounds. The more he read, the more his initial anger at suspected leakage diminished—he realized something was wrong.
The manuscript had just been finalized. Even if leaked, printing would take several days. Moreover, his Chronicles of the Merciful Heart printing spared no expense and was already uniquely exquisite in the industry. Besides here, what other financially powerful house could print such refined manuscripts in such short time?
So this was forgery?
“Outrageous! How dare they forge the Crown Princess’s biography! Once I find out who, I’ll make them bankrupt!” Zhu Yi normally had a good temperament but couldn’t stand “plagiarism” and “forgery”—conduct that insulted scholars. Already beside himself with rage, he grabbed the manuscript and headed out.
But someone said: “This book is written…”
“How is the book written? Crudely made?” Zhu Yi reflexively asked.
“Not exactly… I can’t say… see for yourself?” A bookshop helper smiled. “Can’t compare to ours, but… it’s quite thrilling.”
Zhu Yi became curious and actually sat down to read. As he read, his eyebrows rose higher and higher until they nearly flew off his forehead.
The surrounding bookshop helpers responsible for copying, promoting, and selling, along with the scholars responsible for collaborative writing, also began reading. These were what they’d discovered after noticing people suddenly stopped asking about the seventh volume—going out to other bookshops, they found shop owners placing these books in the most prominent positions, causing everyone to compete for them. They squeezed into crowds to grab several copies, and upon first touch, felt momentarily dazed, as if these truly were Chronicles of the Merciful Heart exclusively printed by their own bookshop.
Now opening the books, some were surprised, some excited, some blushed, some threw down books covering their eyes, some slammed books shut only to reopen them moments later, repeatedly examining and chuckling wickedly.
Zhu Yi rapidly read through, continuously saying: “Hey, the detailed descriptions of battles between Yongping Army and Liaodong are quite comprehensive—did this copycat also participate in the campaign?”
“Hey, where the Liaodong King was during the Five-Color Plain battle, who he brought—we aren’t clear either, but this writer places him on low mountains at the Five-Color Plain’s northwest corner, even bringing several princes to observe battle… true or false?”
“Rong Wei? How does he appear in the seventh volume? And he saved the Crown Princess? Wasn’t the Crown Princess saved by Rong Pu and others? Bah! Fame-stealing scoundrel!”
“What is this writing? War descriptions are brushed over, but Rong Wei and the Crown Princess’s various interactions are written so sensually?”
“What about meeting at sea, heaven and earth overturned, academy romance, you guess while I remain coy…”
Suddenly hearing sobbing sounds, he whipped around to see a group absorbed in reading, unable to extricate themselves. Among them, a young helper was hugging his book and crying.
“Wuu wuu wuu, so touching.”
“Wuu wuu wuu, what divine romance!”
Zhu Yi: “…”
This was outrageous.
Pirates defeating the original?
Zhu Yi set down the book, preparing to investigate the pirate publisher behind this, but after calling several times with no response—everyone was immersed in more delicate plots, unable to extricate themselves. That easily moved one still occasionally blew his nose and choked with emotion.
Zhu Yi: “…”
After a long while, he picked up the book and glanced at a few pages.
Then he also sat down.
“Know your enemy to win every battle,” he said. “I’ll read a few chapters first—after a few chapters I’ll know the opponent’s depth!”
Then his few chapters became more chapters.
Then he read to the last page.
Then, like the helpers, he missed breakfast.
…
Walking back from Zhu Yi’s courtyard, turning through three short alleys, there was another similar small courtyard.
Now the courtyard bustled with activity—people carrying books, holding papers, transporting printing blocks streamed endlessly.
At the gate, countless book merchants with large carts waved silver notes, crowding and pushing desperately to get inside: “Give me a thousand copies!”
“I want three thousand!”
“I was here first, move aside!”
“Nonsense! I’ve been sleeping at the gate with my bedroll since yesterday!”
The main gate suddenly opened, and a group rushed forward, silver notes still unwaved, flashing golden in front of the door opener’s eyes.
The door opener didn’t even look, snorted through his nose: “Sold out today. Next batch can be printed tomorrow—come early. By the way, the eighth volume comes out in three days.”
The crowd made disappointed yet excited sighing sounds.
Disappointed they couldn’t get stock today, missing a great money-making opportunity. This new volume, though from a different publisher, had better printing and more explosive content, with added romantic elements not originally present. The descriptions were bold and sensual, quite stimulating. It sold out immediately upon reaching shelves. More crucially, it was cheaper!
Thirty percent cheaper than the original!
This was incredible—even fools knew which to choose. Excited merchants instantly filled all capital bookshops, even attracting traveling merchants from other regions to buy some for testing markets.
Though they couldn’t buy today, this house’s new book speed was too fast!
The eighth volume was coming soon!
Some questioned: “This seventh volume already covered the Crown Princess’s return to the capital. There haven’t been any recent events—what will the eighth volume write about?”
“The eighth volume is a supplementary volume, mainly filling gaps in the protagonist’s emotional story from the previous seven volumes. The seventh volume only covered Yongping’s emotional storyline, briefly summarizing some classic romantic scenes through flashbacks and dreams, but don’t you all want to know detailed specifics?”
“Yes! Yes!”
They couldn’t want it more.
Hadn’t they seen maids sent by Mioci Society ladies practically blocking bookshop doors? They said their ladies had gone mad since reading the seventh volume, unable to sleep well for several nights, tossing and turning wanting to know every detail of what happened between Rong Wei and the Crown Princess before and after Yongping. All had bloodshot eyes from staying up.
These were all officials’ daughters—merchants would fawn over them given the chance, nearly losing their souls from the pressure. Hearing this great news now, everyone felt spiritually refreshed, eyebrows dancing with joy, thinking they finally had answers.
Zhu Yi, mixed in the crowd, couldn’t squeeze through at all and couldn’t even see what the door opener looked like. Hearing this, his eyebrows flew up again.
What?
An eighth volume too?
This was too arrogant!
Zhu Yi squeezed for ages without getting through. His attempts to question were drowned in various shouts. He could only struggle out of the crowd, ordering people to quickly take the pirate version into the palace to present to the Crown Princess.
The door opener slammed the door shut and walked back, entering the inner room full of ink smell. There sat rows of jujube wood printing blocks with countless printing craftsmen printing new books. In the adjacent small dark room, some people were cutting paper, some carving blocks, some sweating as they wrote.
Among the writing group, someone lay on a reclining chair with hands behind his head, long legs stretched out, appearing very leisurely amid the frantically busy crowd. However, his mouth wasn’t idle—he was rattling off words: “…as quick as lightning, Rong Wei suddenly emerged from the water, embracing the unconscious Tie Ci whose head had been knocked senseless…”
Mu Si said: “I seem to remember you once said it was Tie Ci who chased you, saving the unconscious you whose head was knocked senseless in the water…”
Murong Yi ignored him completely: “Tie Ci looked at Rong Wei with tears of gratitude, moved to embrace Rong Wei, suddenly feeling something wrong with her chest…”
“Clearly you realized you couldn’t hide it anymore and voluntarily pulled out those two fake breasts from your bosom to confess…”
The absorbed writers all turned around, roaring angrily: “Shut up!”
Why was this bastard constantly interrupting such crucial plot points about revealing identity!
Mu Si: “…”
Shameless.
Murong Yi said leisurely: “I’m wondering whether to include the Dongming County charitable hall investigation plot. It doesn’t really concern us much.”
Mu Si fell silent, then after a while said stiffly: “Don’t add it. Even if you do, you’ll just make things up.”
He left after speaking, no longer staying to nitpick.
Murong Yi shook his head: “Stubborn as a stone in a cesspit! If Zhao San were here, he’d definitely sweetly beg me to properly embellish his meeting and courtship with his Apricot Flower sister. Look how popular my Crown Princess romance writing is!”
The writers nodded convincingly. One asked curiously: “Young Master, are you more familiar with Crown Princess or Young Master Rong Wei? You write their interactions as if you personally experienced them.”
Murong Yi smiled: “Naturally familiar with both.”
Everyone clicked their tongues in envy.
Murong Yi sat up, radiant with joy, clapped his hands and smiled: “Alright, let’s continue working. Finish the eighth and ninth volumes early—I want to take the complete set as a birthday gift for the Crown Princess!”
…
Tie Ci had just returned from the imperial study when she saw Chi Xue enter with a book.
Seeing the cover, she smiled: “The seventh volume is out? So fast.”
Chi Xue’s expression was somewhat strange as she handed her the book: “Please look first. Minister Zhu had it sent to the palace.”
Tie Ci took the book, immediately noting: “This book’s binding and paper are more refined.”
Chi Xue hesitated to speak.
Tie Ci casually opened it. The stories inside were ones she’d experienced, so she just glanced through, but suddenly stopped.
Because she’d reached an illustration.
Previous Chronicles of the Merciful Heart volumes also had illustrations, but all depicted her noble character and personal abilities—like saving Miss Li in prison, exploring the ingeniously designed secret chamber under Cangsheng Tower, standing alone before students at the academy, saving people in floods.
However, this illustration was different.
The scene was Five-Color Plain.
Glaciers crisscrossed, corpses everywhere, most bodies wearing Liaodong armor.
She lay unconscious on the ice surface.
Beside her, someone half-knelt on the ice, kissing her lips.
Tie Ci stared at that illustration for a long time.
After a while, she suddenly flipped to the book’s end. Indeed, where publishing house names were customarily left at the back cover, it was no longer the original “Shicai Hall” edition, but “Wanjuan Pavilion” edition.
The publisher had changed.
Tie Ci looked at Chi Xue, who said: “This is an obscure small bookshop in the capital that never printed such books before, nor reached such print runs. Minister Zhu says overnight, it filled all large and small capital bookshops.”
Tie Ci remained silent.
Book printing wasn’t so simple.
Writing was just the first step—afterwards came block carving. Carving and printing were most time-consuming. For such a thick book, carving alone required over a month, not to mention large print runs meaning many blocks and workers. The blocks themselves couldn’t be made in great quantities overnight. Achieving such print runs and so rapidly dominating markets should require gathering most of the industry’s printing blocks, manpower, and paper—the financial resources involved were incalculable.
Definitely not what a small bookshop could accomplish.
This illustration only occurred between her and Murong Yi.
No one else knew.
Even she didn’t know.
Her first reaction was that this was Murong Yi’s doing.
Such boring yet malicious behavior was very much his style.
But considering the financial resources required, she was somewhat puzzled—did the eighteenth prince, unloved by grandmother and uncle, really have such wealth?
She flipped the book back. After the illustration was another illustration.
It showed Murong Yi leaning against a corpse resting, with her still unconscious nearby. Murong Yi was writing beside her: “I saved you. Don’t forget me.”
This time Tie Ci stared even longer.
She hadn’t seen these words.
Whether they were erased or damaged didn’t matter, but this pirate publisher was undoubtedly Murong Yi.
Only he could write such things.
Looking back at the content, after reading just a few pages she threw the book down.
After throwing it down and staring blankly for a while, she picked it up again, read a few pages and threw it down again.
After doing this three times, she finally stopped, turned to Chi Xue, and said with complete puzzlement: “How can some people be so shameless?”
Chi Xue deeply agreed.
Tie Ci set the book aside and remained silent for a long time.
Spring light gradually improved, flower fragrance secretly sent through curtains, willow tips drawing fine golden light that outlined her thick eyelashes like curved hooks, trembling slightly.
Her lip line pressed tight like a gently flowing river that would never change course.
After a long while, she said: “Order the Capital Prefecture to ban forged Chronicles of the Merciful Heart. Within three days, no copies shall remain on the market. Violators will be pillored for three days and have their merchant licenses revoked.”
“Yes.”