The scene that occurred in Chongming Palace did not reach Tie Ci.

Tie Ci would not place spies in her father emperor’s palace, and there were no attendants serving in the hall that day.

After Rong Luchuan, He Zi and the others left, that very night, a eunuch in Chongming Palace fell ill and was moved out.

Because someone had fallen ill, Chongming Palace conducted a thorough inspection and moved out all those suspected of contagion.

Tie Ci was still working around the clock. The memorials in front of her piled mountain-high, then disappeared without trace.

The entire staff of Ruixiang Hall was also working overtime – Jian Xi’s dark circles could practically hang to the ground.

During a break from overtime work that night, Tie Ci suddenly heard rustling sounds outside. She rose from the couch and opened the window, only to discover it was snowing.

The capital’s first snow came silently and soundlessly. The sky overhead was like an abyss, countless uniquely shaped snowflakes drifting down from the depths, spinning winds carrying the fragrance of early plum blossoms and the cold of chaotic snow. In an instant, it lightly covered the bright yellow glazed tiles. The deep red palace walls became even more vivid in color, while the three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two pavilions turned white early along their paths. All things seemed frozen in this moment.

Under the first snow of the capital, countless flames rose from the earth.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, third day of the eleventh month: After thirteen court deliberations, a resolution was finally passed to cancel the Directorate of Ceremonial’s authority to review memorials in red ink. All internal and external memorials would be submitted to the Inner Cabinet, which would draft responses for Ruixiang Hall’s final decision.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, sixth day of the eleventh month: Li Gui, former Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was stripped of office and imprisoned for crimes of dereliction of duty, bribery, land enclosure, seizing family property, and corrupting the palace. He died in prison three days later.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, seventh day of the eleventh month: For disrespecting His Majesty, Prince Zhao was rebuked in court and ordered to guard the imperial mausoleum for three years.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, eleventh day of the eleventh month: The second branch of the Dongming Xiao clan accused the main and fourth branches of oppressing and murdering brothers, along with various illegal activities. Xiao Wen, a daughter of distant Xiao family relatives, testified, exposing how the Xiao family used charity halls as a front to sell orphans for medical experiments. The next day, several small corpses were excavated beneath the charity hall, and a list of orphans sold by the Xiao family was discovered. When these heinous crimes were exposed, they immediately caused an uproar. Public outrage boiled over, demanding severe punishment for the Dongming Xiao clan. The following day, urgent orders from the capital commanded that all Xiao family members involved in the case be immediately arrested and brought to the capital for trial by the Ministry of Justice.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, nineteenth day of the eleventh month: News arrived that during transport to the capital, the Dongming Xiao clan had attempted to resist, ambushing the escorting officers with hidden private troops. Due to the officers’ preparedness, they failed to succeed. In the ensuing battle, seven Xiao clan members died and twelve were wounded. The captured Xiao family members afterward loudly protested their innocence, claiming the Blood Cavalry had violated orders by leaving Yongping to ambush them. Unfortunately, no one paid attention.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, twentieth day of the eleventh month: Censor Fang Nayan of the Censorate presented a memorial at the grand court assembly, directly targeting Grand Secretary Xiao Liheng of the Wenyuan Pavilion, listing seventeen crimes including collaborating with enemies, usurping power, forging edicts, leaking secrets, forming factions, pursuing private gain, exceeding protocol, violating regulations, and competing with the people for profit. The court and countryside were shaken. That day, censors and Xiao faction officials emerged in full force, denouncing Fang Nayan for fabricating charges and spreading alarmist rhetoric. Fang Nayan debated the assembled officials with fearless expression, even cutting off one of his fingers in the hall to show he would rather spill blood in the palace than share the same hall with this treacherous minister.

The severed finger rolled to Xiao Liheng’s feet. Xiao Liheng’s face turned ashen.

Simultaneously, over a thousand students from the Imperial Academy staged a sit-in at the palace gates, protesting treacherous ministers monopolizing power and misleading the country, demanding severe punishment for the Xiao clan who acted perversely and disrupted court order.

That day, the Emperor ordered Xiao Liheng suspended from duty pending investigation.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, twenty-second day of the eleventh month: Thirteen officials were imprisoned, all officials involved in the Xiao family’s orphan-selling list. Additional crimes of bribery and hiring assassins were discovered among these people.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, twenty-third day of the eleventh month: An official from the Ministry of Personnel voluntarily surrendered to the Ministry of Justice, confessing to bribing examination officials to buy test questions during the Dingyu year spring examinations, and identifying others who cheated in the same examination.

Twenty-third year of Shun’an, twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month: The Five Military Commandery received orders to go to the Xiao family mansion to arrest Xiao Bixing and Xiao Chen. One was Xiao Liheng’s nephew, the other his second son. The former was suspected of being responsible for colluding with various capital officials in the charity hall case and was implicated by these officials. The latter served as Left Vice Minister of Personnel and had been deputy chief examiner during the Dingyu spring examinations, suspected of the grave crime of leaking test questions.

From early November until now, the encirclement of the Xiao family had gradually moved from distant to near, from peripheral to close family. When the blade pointed toward direct Xiao family descendants, it was finally approaching the moment of complete exposure.

That day, the Five Military Commandery dispatched three thousand elite troops to the Xiao residence to arrest people, prepared for a hard assault.

Three thousand men completely surrounded the vast Xiao family compound. Without even climbing a tower, one could see the high spears erected outside the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, wailing shook the heavens. The family members of Xiao Bixing and Xiao Chen knelt outside Xiao Liheng’s study door, kowtowing continuously.

The door to Xiao Liheng’s study was tightly closed, with faint roaring sounds vaguely covered by the crying.

Inside the study, Xiao Liheng sat behind his desk with eyes tightly closed, seemingly fondling something in his hand.

Xiao Bixing knelt before his desk, tears streaming, saying miserably: “Uncle, if the Xiao family doesn’t act to save itself, we’re truly finished!”

Xiao Liheng didn’t open his eyes, gently shaking his head.

Xiao Chen had a violent temper. He suddenly smashed a flower vase and roared: “Endure! Endure! From when Li Gui got into trouble, we advised you to act while there was still time. You said endure. Now the army surrounds our mansion to arrest Bixing and me. We’re just the first and second – as long as the Xiao mansion gates open today and we’re taken away, there will be a second, a third, and everyone else! Father! We can’t endure anymore! Tie Ci won’t spare us!”

“Uncle! Even if Achen and I are taken today, when they come for you tomorrow or the day after, when they come for the Old Dowager, will you continue to endure!”

“Father, we still have many officials, still have merchants and banks sufficient to shake the capital. Even if you don’t act, you can negotiate with the Crown Princess, just like when the Crown Princess returned from her training. Why do you always keep your hands tied, retreating step by step, allowing others to slaughter us? If you’ve lost your courage, we can still flee! We have three thousand household guards, we have preparations along the route. We can take the waterway up to Qingzhou and go to sea from there!”

“Uncle!”

Xiao Liheng slowly opened his eyes, shook his head, and said softly: “No, the time hasn’t come yet.”

Xiao Chen roared and punched the ground. Xiao Bixing wept tears streaming down his face and collapsed on the ground in despair.

“Why, why…”

“Because I want more than you do. I don’t want to live desperately, don’t want to withdraw from court, don’t want the family to fall into decline, don’t want to flee overseas forever.” Xiao Liheng said, “We still have a chance. As long as this opportunity comes, all evil consequences won’t occur, all oppression will leave us. But before then, we must endure, must wait.”

“What chance! What chance! Everyone back home is dead, enemies are at our doorstep, we’re about to be dragged out and killed, and we’re still waiting – waiting for someone to dig a big pit and throw our entire Xiao family into it!”

Xiao Bixing wept and choked: “Uncle, whose bewitchment have you listened to? Our Xiao family was originally first in court. We’ve been weakened like this by the Crown Princess – who still has the ability to overturn the situation? How do we know this isn’t a psychological strategy set by the Crown Princess to trick our Xiao family into surrendering without resistance?”

“Stop talking, go out.”

“Father!”

“Uncle!”

“Where can we go – to the Ministry of Justice prison!”

The corner of Xiao Liheng’s mouth twitched slightly. After a long moment, he said hoarsely: “Even if you go, I’ll have people look after you. Endure for a few days, and you’ll be able to come out…”

Xiao Chen suddenly stood up, laughed coldly, and without a word, kicked open the door and left.

Xiao Bixing wiped his face, kowtowed once, then turned and left as well.

The room returned to deathly silence. After a long time, Xiao Liheng slowly opened his eyes.

Throughout the entire argument, his thumb had been gently fondling something in his palm.

As if that small piece could give him the confidence and determination to persist.

A slight gap appeared between his fingers and palm, faintly revealing a lustrous yellow gleam.

When Xiao Bixing and Xiao Chen burst through the door, everyone around quickly avoided them, afraid of touching bad luck.

But one figure emerged from behind the flower bushes, looking at the tightly closed study door with puzzled eyes.

After a moment, this blue-clothed, small-capped figure departed, returning to his servant quarters.

He spread out paper and brush on the wooden table and began writing carefully.

After another moment, a pigeon flew over the servant quarters’ roof ridge into the blue sky.

Outside the gate, a deputy commander of the Five Military Commandery looked coldly at the tightly closed Xiao mansion gate and said coldly: “Shout to those inside – if people don’t come out after one quarter-hour, we’ll have to go in ourselves!”

…

In the rear courtyard of the Xiao residence, chaos also reigned.

No lamps were lit in the room, making it rather dim. The young woman sitting in the shadows gazed distantly at the half-open window as continuous crying and running sounds came through.

Suddenly great wailing arose in the courtyard, accompanied by urgent footsteps and someone crying out: “The Second Madam has fainted!”

The Second Madam was her aunt, the wife of her second uncle Xiao Chen.

Soon came another commotion of crowds, heading toward her courtyard.

Xiao Wenliu slowly stood up and straightened her skirt.

The crowd swept over like wind, the curtain at the door constantly swaying from the wind stirred by passing skirts, creating undulating light and shadow.

Lan Xian had been standing by the window, watching the crowd in the courtyard, and said coldly: “The Old Dowager is coming with almost all the women of the mansion… Miss, I’ll go block them.”

“No need.” Xiao Wenliu said, “This is the Old Dowager’s first time coming to my courtyard – how can I not welcome her?”

Lan Xian wanted to speak but stopped, saying nothing more, and stood beside her.

Someone lifted the curtain, and the Xiao Old Dowager entered.

The others remained in the courtyard.

Xiao Wenliu performed proper greetings. The Xiao Old Dowager sat on the couch and silently observed her for a while.

The curtain had been lowered and the outer door closed. The Xiao Old Dowager looked at Lan Xian, who kept her eyes downcast as if she hadn’t seen.

The Xiao Old Dowager had come to ask for help and could only give up, beckoning to Xiao Wenliu.

“Come sit.”

Xiao Wenliu silently sat beside her.

“These past days the mansion has been chaotic. Though we brought you back, we haven’t been able to look after you much. Are you settling in well?”

“Thank you, Grandmother, for thinking of Wenliu during such times and bringing Wenliu back from Prince Zhao’s mansion.”

“Their whole family is going to guard the imperial mausoleum – that desolate cold place. Why should a daughter of the Xiao family accompany them in suffering?”

Xiao Wenliu paused slightly and said: “When you marry a rooster follow the rooster, when you marry a dog follow the dog. Wenliu was actually prepared.”

“No matter whom you marry, you are ultimately still a daughter of my Xiao family.”

Lan Xian suddenly lifted her eyes, but Xiao Wenliu still kept her head lowered.

The aged, withered hand gently covered the white, tender hand, grasping those slender, lustrous fingers and examining them carefully. The Xiao Old Dowager’s tone seemed gentle and sentimental, yet carried the chill of light snow.

“You are a daughter of the Xiao family. For over ten years, you enjoyed all the wealth and glory the Xiao family gave you. Your marriage was also a high marriage, achieving the exalted position of imperial consort that women throughout the realm dream of. Now, it’s time for you to repay.”

Xiao Wenliu raised her head. This once carefree young woman still had skin delicate as jade magnolia, but her eyes were like old plum blossoms that had endured countless winds and frosts.

“Grandmother, what do you want Wenliu to repay?”

The Xiao Old Dowager examined her carefully and stroked her cheek.

“Go see the Crown Princess, go beg her, beg for the family, beg her to show mercy. The Xiao family is willing to resign from office and return to our hometown, never again involving ourselves in government affairs, only asking to spare the lives of all the old and young in our family.”

Xiao Wenliu was silent for a long moment, then slowly stood and said: “Alright, I’ll go beg.”

But the Xiao Old Dowager grasped her hand again.

“Don’t rush, Liu’er. I have other words to instruct you.”

Xiao Wenliu suddenly felt something smooth and cold appear in her palm. She looked up sharply.

The Xiao Old Dowager still gripped her hand tightly, staring fixedly into her eyes: “Have your people withdraw. I have more to instruct you!”

A long silence.

Lan Xian secretly clenched her fists.

After a long moment.

Xiao Wenliu: “Go out.”

“Miss!”

“Go out.”

Lan Xian bit her teeth, bowed, and withdrew, standing straight outside the curtain.

The Xiao Old Dowager pushed the small bottle further into Xiao Wenliu’s palm and said: “Colorless and odorless. Hide it in your fingernails. When you weep and plead, she will certainly go to help you up… Liu’er, you should know what to do.”