In those days, Zhandu Bridge was not called Zhandu, but Yugu.

Nor was it the massive bridge of today with its “first clouds emerging from moon, long rainbow drinking from the ravine,” having as many as sixteen bridge arches.

It was just an ordinary small stone bridge.

At that time, the capital had fallen, Xiao Jue had not yet ascended the throne, and Qin Chang Ge had not yet entered the palace.

One day, while discussing matters with Chu Feihuan, they walked to Yugu Bridge. The two stopped, and Qin Chang Ge gazed at the clear flowing water below the bridge, then looked at the bridge structure, saying, “The water beneath this bridge is extremely deep, yet the bridge railings are quite low. If children were to play and fall over, the consequences would be unthinkable.”

Looking far toward the direction where the water flowed away, she smiled and said, “Recently, while reorganizing the imperial palace layout, I inadvertently discovered that a lotus pool in one of the palaces has flowing water, with an underground passage leading directly outside the palace. It seems this water might be connected to that.”

After speaking, she leaned against the railing in silent contemplation. At that time, a long wind came from afar, stirring layers of her garments. The noble woman in plain clothes with black hair had a leisurely posture, with a smile at the corner of her lips that seemed both real and illusory, noble and sublime, as if possessing celestial qi.

Chu Feihuan always understood her thoughts. Gazing at her, he sighed softly and said, “The imperial palace is a place of demons and monsters, so having such things is not strange. But since you’ve discovered it, why not utilize it?”

Qin Chang Ge’s eyes brightened, and she couldn’t help but smile broadly, saying, “You still understand me best.”

They decided on the spot. After returning to the palace, Qin Chang Ge proposed to Xiao Jue to rebuild Yugu Bridge. Xiao Jue naturally approved. Chu Feihuan then brought a group of skilled craftsmen from Zhongchuan every night after work hours, working through the night according to blueprints provided by Qin Chang Ge, setting up a secret passage under the bridge. The passage was hidden underwater, connected to the imperial palace lotus pool. As a precaution, they opened another secret passage leading outside the city.

On completion day, the secret passage was also finished. The supervising officials requested a name to be bestowed, and Qin Chang Ge wrote with a grand flourish: “Zhandu.”

Though this name was somewhat strange, it wasn’t too outrageous, so it was successfully carved into the bridge structure.

Only Qin Chang Ge and Chu Feihuan understood each other tacitly. The so-called Zhandu meant: openly building plank roads while secretly crossing at Chencang!

That night, the two agreed to take a night tour of Zhandu Bridge. Qin Chang Ge finished her trivial palace affairs and waited on the bridge first.

Not long after, she saw that jade-like person appear in view. It was near the end of spring, and the peach forest in the West Garden near Zhandu Bridge was blooming like snow, though most had withered. Chu Feihuan walked slowly through the fallen petals, his light blue robes elegant and bright like an autumn sky among the pale pink and light brown.

His beautiful, handsome face that made even women feel ashamed was calm, but his gaze was deep and clear, seemingly with light mist and shallow water, reflecting hazy abundant flowers. Where he passed, the brilliant spring scenery seemed to gradually fade, leaving only his refined and distinct silhouette clearly visible, like nature’s stunning brush, carefully painting an exquisitely beautiful figure.

The two met each other’s gaze, their eyes connecting for an instant, then both simultaneously turned to look at the newly completed bridge. Qin Chang Ge gazed at her reflection in the water, lightly arranging her temples. Chu Feihuan stroked the jade-white bridge railing, seeming thoughtful.

Whether due to earth qi or something else, the peach trees on both sides of the bridge were late-blooming, having just produced tender buds. Qin Chang Ge picked a branch to play with in her hands, tilting her head to smile at Chu Feihuan, “I don’t know what meaning there is in doing this. Perhaps we’ll never need to use it in our entire lives.”

Chu Feihuan’s gaze was deep, not knowing whether he was contemplating the peach blossoms or the face more beautiful than peach blossoms. After a long moment, he said faintly, “As long as you like it, it’s worth doing.”

Smiling without answering, Qin Chang Ge turned to look at the flowing water. Chu Feihuan stood behind her, silent as the bright moon in the sky.

After a long while, Qin Chang Ge said, “Another day I’ll mention it to Qi Fan and the others. In the future, it might also be a retreat route.”

But she heard Chu Feihuan say, “No.”

Turning around in surprise, under the moonlight before the peach tree, Chu Feihuan’s eyebrows and eyes were hidden in half-light and half-shadow, more beautiful than peach blossoms, but his expression carried slight melancholy. “Chang Ge, I hope that in this lifetime, we can have a secret that belongs only to you and me.”

After a pause, he added, “A secret you give me alone.”

After silent contemplation for a moment, Qin Chang Ge smiled gently and said, “Alright.”

“However,” Qin Chang Ge looked at him sideways, her expression infinitely graceful, “if we encounter danger in the future and this passage proves useful, you still cannot keep secrets from everyone.”

“That goes without saying.” Chu Feihuan answered decisively.

Smiling slightly, Qin Chang Ge handed over that peach blossom.

“Feihuan, I have a premonition that this secret passage will be useful. It seems you ultimately won’t be able to enjoy your exclusive secret. To compensate you, let me give you this exclusive, late-arriving branch of spring.”

The moon was bright, clouds were light, spring waves were green below the bridge, and people were like jade above the bridge.

Slender white fingers handed over a slightly pink unbloomed peach flower.

That flower was so delicate, unable to withstand strong wind, trembling and swaying, like certain beautiful matters that couldn’t be spoken aloud, could only settle in the heart, wandering infinitely during midnight dreams.

He slowly extended his hand, with a cherishing expression, and accepted that peach blossom.

Accepting the most cruel prophecy of his lifetime.

Sighing slightly, returning the long sword to Qi Fan, Qin Chang Ge had originally wanted to blame Rong Xiaotian for being too rash, but now she had lost interest and didn’t want to say more.

Things had come to this point. What more was there to say?

The crux of the problem lay in that letter – black words on white paper, irrefutable evidence more shocking than any words.

Yet Qin Chang Ge vaguely felt that back then, she had done one thing wrong.

She looked sideways at Rong Xiaotian. Back then, she had valued his loyalty and courage. Though he was somewhat rash, paired with Qi Fan’s careful meticulousness and Feihuan’s calm intelligence, he would be the best partner. Feihuan was too cold, Qi Fan too meticulous – both were prone to insufficient action when encountering situations, likely missing opportunities. But adding someone with Rong Xiaotian’s passionate blood should have been perfect complementarity.

Looking at it now, no matter how careful the thinking or meticulous the arrangements, they ultimately couldn’t match the powerful turning of fate’s wheel, sweeping those caught within it into bloody pieces.

Sighing silently, she asked Rong Xiaotian, “Master Rong, suppose – I’m saying suppose – you wrongly accused Chu Feihuan and mistakenly killed him. What would you do?”

Rong Xiaotian angrily said, “How is that possible!”

Qin Chang Ge said nothing, only looked at him gently but persistently. Rong Xiaotian originally wanted to scoff and turn his head away, ignoring this absurd and impossible question. However, somehow, that calm gaze seemed omnipresent, as if growing barbs that forced him to turn back and face it directly.

Meeting Qin Chang Ge’s gaze, his heart suddenly trembled. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “If I wronged him, wronged my own brother, I would certainly commit suicide in apology!”

Qi Fan, who had been silently watching from the side, also said softly, “Yes, Fan would also commit suicide in apology, and cover my face with black cloth, never daring to see the late Empress again until death!”

Qin Chang Ge closed her eyes, sighing silently in her heart. In that instant, she suddenly hesitated – was it worth it… two lives for one life? However, in a moment her decision was made. Opening her eyes, she said, “Master Qi, I heard you have a merchant caravan under your command that specifically travels to Li Kingdom for trade. Have they continued these past years?”

“Yes,” Qi Fan said, “but they haven’t returned yet. It should be about three months before they return.” He looked at Qin Chang Ge strangely and said, “Miss Ming, why do you suddenly ask about this?”

Smiling, Qin Chang Ge said, “They haven’t returned yet… Then send a reliable person to help me deliver a letter to the Princess. I want to ask her for a favor.”

Speaking thus, she quickly wrote, finished the note, and handed it to Rong Xiaotian to take out. Seeing Qi Fan wanting to ask but hesitating, she smiled and said, “I’m asking the Princess to help me check the major events of Li Kingdom from three years ago in the Imperial Historical Archives. Li Kingdom is far across the continent in remote sea territories. Among Xiliang’s common people, some haven’t even heard of this country. Affairs of that country don’t reach here, and the merchant caravan hasn’t returned to the country. I have no way to inquire about what I want to know. But the imperial historical records hall responsible for recording Xiliang’s imperial history and world events certainly has relevant records, even if just fragments.”

“What do you want to know? Why Li Kingdom?” Qi Fan was greatly puzzled.

But Qin Chang Ge didn’t want to voice the speculation in her heart first. She needed concrete evidence to verify it. Vaguely, she felt that back then, respecting Chu Feihuan’s opinion and not telling Qi Fan and the others about his background might have already caused an irreversible mistake.

Sighing softly, she had already changed the topic, saying, “Tomorrow I must go to Prince Zhao’s mansion. There’s another matter I need to trouble you to handle now.”

Qi Fan had long been convinced by her step-by-step planning and having everything settled in her heart. He could no longer be frivolous and immediately bowed, saying, “Please instruct me.”

“The managing head eunuch Tong Shun at Empress Dowager Jiang’s place – doesn’t he have an old mother living outside the palace?”

“Yes, and she’s also raising his brother’s nephew who was adopted to him.”

“Empress Dowager Jiang’s birthday is approaching,” Qin Chang Ge nodded and smiled, “The things I asked you to prepare last time – are they ready?”

Qi Fan smiled and said, “It took quite some effort. The jade Guanyin wasn’t difficult, but the purple jade Guanyin, and it had to be the finest ‘grape purple’ – just for this base material, we spent half a year’s profit from Heng Records Silk Shop. This was already a priceless treasure with no market. Huang Meng’s people mobilized extensively and finally found this item in the home of an old scholar from a once-prominent family now fallen on hard times. Adding the cost of hiring master craftsmen for carving, tsk tsk, what a grand expenditure.”

“It must be purple jade,” Qin Chang Ge sighed, “Empress Dowager Jiang likes purple. Moreover, without this, we cannot conceal… This is the birthday gift I prepared for the Princess, to be presented on the birthday celebration day. But you know, the Empress Dowager doesn’t favor the Princess. Though the item is good, she may not necessarily offer it up. So we need someone to provide subtle assistance, and this assistance must be done without leaving traces.”

Qi Fan’s eyes lit up, and he smiled, “So, Tong Shun?”

“Correct,” Qin Chang Ge smiled, “Tong Shun is full of schemes, but he has one good point – he values family affection extremely, takes excellent care of his family, and especially dotes on that nominal son.”

“You mean…” Qi Fan’s eyes lit up again.

“Adding flowers to brocade is not as good as sending charcoal in snow. Bestowing favors on people must be done at the right point to make the recipient remember with gratitude.” Qin Chang Ge smiled lazily, “We’ll have the Princess help him with a great favor, seeking no reward. He’ll keep a portion of gratitude in his heart, and in the future, no matter how careful he is, when the occasion arises, he’ll also speak some good words for the Princess – his words carry unusual weight with Empress Dowager Jiang.”

“But where does the favor to bestow on him come from… his old mother and son are both doing well…” Halfway through speaking, Qi Fan suddenly stopped, staring wide-eyed at Qin Chang Ge. No way, this Miss Ming’s black heart could compete with the late Empress’s…

“Brother Qi, you’ve finally caught on,” Qin Chang Ge smiled ambiguously, “When there are no conditions, we create conditions.”