Deng Ying raised his head.

Through the doorway, the snowy wind carried the lingering smell of meat and wine, a pungent mixture that seemed at odds with the woman wrapped in soft silks before him.

“This servant will remember Your Highness’s words,” he said.

Consort Ning shook her head. “Don’t call yourself a servant before me. You and Zheng Binbi are both like jade beneath the dust. Though I cannot match Wan’er and become a duster to polish you, I hope that as an Imperial Consort, my respect for you both can ease your suffering somewhat.”

After hearing these words, Deng Ying finally dared to look at Consort Ning.

“Your Highness’s words today, Deng Ying will never be forgotten.” He finished with a deep bow.

Consort Ning acknowledged his bow with a nod and replied evenly, “Then promise me you won’t make Wan’er cry anymore.”

Since crying before Consort Ning, Yang Wan had been in a daze for several days.

As the year drew to a close, besides preparing for the New Year festivities, the palace was also preparing for another major event—Concubine Jiang’s impending delivery.

The Emperor was even considering declaring a general amnesty for this occasion.

Meanwhile, due to the Emperor’s attitude toward this child whose gender was yet unknown, the court had begun the final great debate of Zhenning’s twelfth year—the establishment of an heir apparent.

Yang Wan remembered that Emperor Zhenning had never designated an heir during his reign. After his death, the court and inner palace had split into two factions. One faction, led by Yang Lun and Zhang Cong, supported the elder prince. The other faction, led by the Grand Empress Dowager’s clan and the head eunuch of the Ceremonial Office, supported the younger prince.

Both sides’ intentions were obvious.

Yang Lun and Zhang Cong were imperial tutors. Yi Lang was their strictly trained student who embodied all of the Ming civil officials’ dreams of an enlightened ruler. They were unwilling to establish a child whose potential they couldn’t even gauge as the new emperor.

The Ceremonial Office’s thinking was even more straightforward.

Yi Lang, educated in ancestral law, viewed eunuchs as servants and maintained a strict attitude toward the Ceremonial Office, showing no favoritism. However, his younger brother Yi Jue was quite close to the eunuchs, having been raised in their arms.

As for the imperial clan at the time, due to Emperor Zhenning’s previous indulgence, they had continuously annexed land and depleted the Ministry of Revenue’s coffers, becoming an intractable problem. To protect their vested interests, they naturally didn’t want Yi Lang, who had been educated by reformists, to ascend the throne. Therefore, they encouraged the Grand Empress Dowager to oppose the cabinet.

Although it seemed complicated this power struggle was very brief.

The reason was that Yi Jue suddenly died shortly after Emperor Zhenning’s death.

Historical scholars have long debated the cause of Yi Jue’s death.

The initial mainstream view held that Yi Jue must have died from political assassination.

However, the evidence refuting this view was also straightforward. Yang Lun, Zhang Cong, and other civil officials had no power to carry out assassinations. To suggest they borrowed the power of jianghu sects would be turning history into fiction.

Therefore, another view emerged later: Yi Jue died at Deng Ying’s hands.

The initial reasoning for this view was simple. After Yi Jue’s death, Yi Lang naturally inherited the throne, and his first act was to have He Yixian beaten a hundred times with the rod and banished to the Nanjing Imperial Tombs. As for the later head eunuch of the Ceremonial Office, Hu Xiang, because Yi Lang didn’t trust him, the position became essentially powerless, while Deng Ying became the de facto leader of the Ceremonial Office.

Supporting evidence for this view appeared in the “Hundred Crimes Record” written by Yi Lang for Deng Ying’s death by Lingchi.

This article wasn’t long, but it listed a hundred crimes of Deng Ying, written by the Emperor’s hand and proclaimed to the world.

One of the crimes was “harming imperial relatives.”

This crime had no corresponding historical evidence against Deng Ying, so some historians believed this must refer to the prince’s case from that year.

Of course, this was still far in the future from Yang Wan’s current time, so what concerned her more now was Yi Lang and Consort Ning’s situation in this political debate that would yield no results.

And… how to face Deng Ying.

However, with two major events coinciding, the Six Offices and Twenty-four Inner Palace Departments were so busy there was barely any breathing room.

Yang Wan had almost no free time to organize her notes and thoughts.

She was naturally an efficient and meticulous person. When she couldn’t sort out her emotional problems, she simply buried herself in work, to the point that even Song Yunqing became worried seeing her like this.

This day, just after the fifth watch, Song Yunqing carried a candle into the main hall of the Ceremonial Office and saw lights on in the archives. Yang Wan was alone on a wooden ladder, searching for official documents on the shelves.

“Haven’t you gone back yet?” she asked, putting down her candle and holding the ladder steady. “Why bother? Wait for the gate staff to come on duty, let them climb up.”

Yang Wan looked down, “My mind’s been in chaos these past few days. It’s better to stay busy.”

Song Yunqing said, “What are you looking for? Come down, I’ll search for it. Go get some sleep, how can you go on like this?”

Hearing this, Yang Wan leaned against the ladder and rubbed her eyes.

“I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.”

Song Yunqing said, “Li Yu says you fought with Secretary Deng.”

“What? He’s talking nonsense.”

“I thought so too. How could someone like Secretary Deng fight with you? But speaking of which, why haven’t you gone to see him for so long?”

“Oh.” Yang Wan lowered her head to hide her expression. “Her Highness hasn’t been feeling well these past few days. And we’re so busy here.”

Song Yunqing sighed, “That Concubine Jiang, hmph… she’s nearly turned the Six Offices upside down. If she bears a prince, I imagine she won’t even acknowledge the Empress. I don’t understand why His Majesty would favor such a woman. No wonder the officials outside are petitioning to establish a crown prince.”

Yang Wan nodded silently.

Song Yunqing continued with another sigh: “I heard… Her Highness was punished to kneel in the Hall of Mental Cultivation the other day.”

Yang Wan didn’t deny it.

“Mm.”

“Ai.”

Song Yunqing sighed. His Majesty wouldn’t even give face anymore; yesterday the entire palace knew about it. The palace servants from Yanxi Palace were saying all sorts of nasty things in private.

Yang Wan remained silent, knowing this was meant to pressure Yang Lun.

When Consort Ning returned, she said nothing, only held Yi Lang and softly told him stories until he fell asleep. Only then did she let Heyu and Yang Wan apply medicine for her.

Seeing her silence, Song Yunqing thought she was troubled and quickly said, “Alright, alright, hurry down and go get some sleep. You standing there without speaking, I’m afraid you’ll get dizzy and fall.”

Yang Wan followed Song Yunqing’s advice, climbed down the ladder, and straightened her clothes.

“Then I’ll head back, and come again later.”

“Go on.”

Yang Wan walked out of the Ceremonial Office and after a few steps reached the entrance of the Ceremonial Department.

Deng Ying was standing at the door talking with Zheng Yuejia.

He wore the official uniform of a Secretary Eunuch and seemed to have lost some weight.

Seeing him look her way, Yang Wan quickly turned and walked back, but just as she rounded a corner, she saw Deng Ying standing at the end of the path.

“You… where did you come from…”

Deng Ying walked closer to Yang Wan. “There’s an ungated water passage behind, built to prevent fire in the western pavilions.”

Yang Wan pressed her lips together. “Did you design it?”

“Yes, built ten years ago. Later when the moat was rebuilt, I took down the wall in the back and connected it to the path you just walked. However, because four auspicious vats were placed on that path, few people use it.”

After hearing his words, Yang Wan nodded and smiled, “I was foolish, trying to hide from you in the imperial city—where could I hide?”

Deng Ying looked down at Yang Wan. Her face was reddened by the snowy wind. She sniffled and looked to the side. “I’m a bit afraid to see you now.”

“Why?”

Yang Wan pressed her lips together. “Because I did wrong, making you kneel before Yi Lang, letting you hear those words… I haven’t said anything… I…”

She didn’t continue, and Deng Ying waited until she had fallen completely silent before saying softly, “I don’t mind.”

After speaking, he supported himself on his knees to crouch down slightly. Though not very close, Yang Wan could still feel his warm breath.

“You know in your heart that the young master’s words were right, don’t you?”

Yang Wan didn’t agree. “No…”

At this moment, she didn’t know if she was speaking from her own heart or representing the more advanced civilization of the future in these two words.

“Wrong as hell…”

Hearing her words, Deng Ying couldn’t help but smile.

He released his hand from his knee, turned it over, and lightly made a fist, extending it toward Yang Wan. This motion caused his official robe’s sleeve to naturally fall, revealing his wrist with a faint mark—an injury from the shackles in the Ministry of Justice prison before last year’s punishment.

“Look, these are marks from the shackles, and the wounds on my ankles are also very difficult to heal. Although I’ve been following your words, taking medicine properly, and taking care of my health, the effect isn’t great. At first, I didn’t understand why I had to receive such punishment when I hadn’t done anything treasonous, but now, I want to accept this punishment and continue living.”

“You can accept it, but I can’t.”

Yang Wan stared at his wrist. “How can anyone accept this…”

“Because of you.”

“What…”

Yang Wan was stunned.

Deng Ying continued without pause: “I, a mere insect, coveted you, was rebuked by the young master, yet still didn’t know to repent and reform. Since that’s the case, whatever punishment I receive isn’t excessive.”

Yang Wan was silent for a while, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked back at Deng Ying. “You’re using yourself to comfort me again.”

“Aren’t you doing the same?”

Yang Wan pressed her lips together.

“So… you won’t avoid seeing me?”

“Mm.”

He nodded gently to Yang Wan, “Today you were the one hiding from me, I came looking for you myself.”

After speaking, he slowly lowered his hand, stood straight, and said looking down, “In the future, no matter what the young master says or does to me, just watch like you did that day. Master Yang and Vice Minister Zhang have put much effort into him, he is a prince I am willing to serve, and his protection of you is also a grace to me. Now that Concubine Jiang is about to give birth, the court situation is unstable, and His Majesty’s intentions are still unclear. The young master is young and inevitably anxious. You are his closest relative in the palace, don’t make both of you uneasy for my sake.”

Yang Wan nodded.

“I was confused.”

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Mm.”

Deng Ying looked up in the direction of Chengqian Palace.

“I know Consort Ning was humiliated in the Hall of Mental Cultivation the other day, so I brought up the matter of inappropriate speech by palace servants in Concubine Jiang’s palace before the Palace Disciplinary Office. If the Disciplinary Office investigates and deals with these people fairly, it will improve Chengqian Palace’s situation somewhat. And Master Yang and the others won’t be so passive. But as internal supervisors, neither Zheng Binbi nor I can be too involved in this matter.”

“I’ll report it.”

Deng Ying didn’t stop her, only said, “Be careful yourself.”

Yang Wan nodded: “I’ll be discreet.”