Since the owl had appeared in Tangquan Palace, it proved that Li Ying’s judgment was correct—Jin Ni was indeed hiding there. Cui Xun and Li Ying searched for a while longer, but only found a set of chaotic footprints in a cave and the remains of a bamboo rat. Jin Ni must have realized something was wrong and fled again.

But it didn’t matter. The owl was dead, which meant Jin Ni had lost his eyes and ears. Even though he could speak with birds, training another scout as intelligent as the owl would be extremely difficult. He surely wouldn’t be able to hide for many more days.

Cui Xun and Li Ying returned to the Cui residence. Cui Xun planned to enter Daming Palace the next morning to report to the Empress Dowager. However, at the fourth watch, a carriage covered with black cloth slowly drove out of Daming Palace. When it arrived at Pei Guanyue’s residence in Shengye Ward, a woman wearing a veiled hat was helped out of the carriage by palace attendants and entered a side chamber. She removed her veil, revealing a face marked with a vibrant lotus tattoo.

Inside the chamber, Ashina Wuduo was listening to Pei Guanyue’s scheming with little interest, seemingly unimpressed by his strategies. Pei Guanyue was truly confused. The Turkic princess before him had entered the palace three years ago and, although she had exclusively won Emperor Longxing’s favor, she had never participated in political affairs. This time, she had suddenly approached him, saying she knew of his bad blood with Cui Xun and wanted to join forces to eliminate him. He had been overjoyed, but now that he had racked his brains to devise a brilliant plan, she seemed disinterested. Pei Guanyue probed, “Does Consort Hui have a better plan?”

Ashina Wuduo shook her head. “We Turkic people are not skilled in scheming and intrigue. That is what you Han people excel at. So, do whatever you want. I have no objections.”

Pei Guanyue was startled. He smiled awkwardly and said, “In that case, I will proceed as planned.”

Ashina Wuduo nodded but added, “Do whatever you want, but you must return a living Cui Xun to me.”

Pei Guanyue was dumbfounded. “But this plan is meant to take Cui Xun’s life!”

“It’s just making him officially dead,” Ashina Wuduo said. “Can’t you simply find a death row prisoner to be beheaded in his place? Surely you and Minister Lu have that much capability?”

“This…” Pei Guanyue was troubled. He had plotted meticulously to kill Cui Xun, not to find a death row prisoner to die in his place. He asked, “May I ask why Consort Hui doesn’t want Cui Xun to die?”

Ashina Wuduo twisted the ruby ring on her finger. The ruby was as large as a pigeon’s egg, as brilliant as fire, and priceless. It was a birthday gift from Emperor Longxing. After a long while, Ashina Wuduo finally said firmly, “My eagle hasn’t been tamed completely.”

Pei Guanyue didn’t understand, but he had long known that the Consort Hui before him was not Ashina Jia, but Ashina Wuduo, who had assumed her identity. That incident happened two years ago. A Turkic slave in his household had informed him upon entering the palace that Consort Hui didn’t resemble Sutai Khan’s daughter Ashina Jia, but rather looked like the late Nidu Khan’s daughter Ashina Wuduo. He had been shocked at the time. Rumors suggested that Ashina Wuduo had an unclear relationship with Cui Xun and wasn’t even a virgin—how could she come to the Great Zhou for a political marriage? The matter was too significant for Pei Guanyue to tell anyone except the Vice Minister of the Right, Lu Yumin. Whether Lu Yumin had reported it to Emperor Longxing, he didn’t know. He only knew that thereafter, Consort Hui continued to enjoy the emperor’s favor. Given her exalted status, Pei Guanyue had no choice but to pretend ignorance and never mention it again.

Though he could feign ignorance before, now he felt compelled to remind Ashina Wuduo not to spare Cui Xun because of their past relationship. He said tactfully, “Consort Hui, taming eagles is a Turkic pastime, but Consort Hui is now in the Great Zhou.”

Hearing this, Ashina Wuduo didn’t refute him but simply asked, “Minister Pei, you come from a humble background in the Great Zhou, don’t you?”

Pei Guanyue wasn’t sure what she meant by this question. He hesitantly nodded. Ashina Wuduo said, “His Majesty taught me that the Great Zhou is divided between humble scholars and aristocratic families. You came from a humble background, yet you betrayed them and rose to power by aligning yourself with the aristocrats. In truth, from beginning to end, what you’ve wanted is power, isn’t it? From age twenty to fifty, your goal has never changed. You can pursue one thing consistently for decades; why can’t I do the same?”

Pei Guanyue was embarrassed by her bluntness. He felt her reasoning was completely twisted. How could a man’s pursuit of power be compared to a woman’s obsession with an old flame? But since Consort Hui was the emperor’s most beloved consort, he couldn’t offend her. So he could only ask, “Then how does Consort Hui plan to deal with Cui Xun?”

Ashina Wuduo glanced at him. “Rest assured, once an eagle’s wings are broken, it will never have the chance to oppose you again.”

This time, Pei Guanyue understood. He reluctantly said, “That could work.”

Ashina Wuduo didn’t dwell on this issue further but instead asked, “Why didn’t Minister Lu come tonight?”

Pei Guanyue was momentarily stunned. “Well…”

“Never mind,” Ashina Wuduo snorted. “I know. He is utterly loyal to His Majesty. He must be thinking, who am I, a Turkic barbarian woman, to receive His Majesty’s favor? He considers me His Majesty’s blemish.”

Pei Guanyue laughed awkwardly. “Minister Lu has always prided himself on his lofty character. Consort Hui shouldn’t take it to heart.”

“Lofty character? A lofty character still…” Ashina Wuduo suddenly stopped. She said, “Forget it. I’ll never understand you, Great Zhou people, in this lifetime.”

After finishing her conversation with Pei Guanyue, Ashina Wuduo put on her veiled hat again and boarded the carriage. With the fish tally bestowed by His Majesty, the carriage entered Daming Palace without any hindrance.

After entering Daming Palace, Ashina Wuduo removed her veiled hat and slowly walked back to her chambers. Her heart was filled with irrepressible pleasure. That day in Furong Garden, she had been frightened by Cui Xun and fled in disarray. Afterward, her anger grew the more she thought about it, turning into determination not to be outdone, which quickly transformed into a desire to conquer mixed with hatred.

From the first moment she saw him, she wanted to conquer this handsome Han captive. But after torturing him for two whole years, he had never submitted. In the end, he had even set a great fire that claimed her father’s life and destroyed her once-proud face.

Wasn’t that like spending a lifetime taming an eagle, only to have one’s eyes pecked out by it in the end?

Ashina Wuduo couldn’t accept this. Her feelings for him had evolved beyond mere desire to conquer—they now included hatred for her father’s murder. She was determined to kill him to avenge her father. But before killing him, she had to conquer him first, to fulfill her pride as Ashina Wuduo. After conquering him, she would kill him and then die alongside him.

Lost in her thoughts, Ashina Wuduo didn’t notice the Imperial Guards approaching quickly, surrounding her.

In Penglai Hall, the Empress Dowager, who should have retired for the night, sat solemnly on her throne. She coldly watched as the Imperial Guards forced a disheveled Ashina Wuduo to kneel before her. Although Ashina Wuduo knew she was in trouble, her expression showed no fear. She raised her head and asked, “May I ask why the Empress Dowager has summoned me to Penglai Hall?”

“Summoned you?” The Empress Dowager laughed instead of showing anger. “As a consort, you secretly left the palace and colluded with officials outside. How dare you ask about my intentions?”

Ashina Wuduo’s face paled. So, from the moment she left the palace to when she entered Pei Guanyue’s residence, she had been under the Empress Dowager’s surveillance. The Empress Dowager looked at her mockingly. “What’s wrong? Lost your voice?”

Ashina Wuduo simply didn’t bother defending herself. “If you want to kill me, then do it.”

The Empress Dowager didn’t wish to waste words with her either. “Very well! I shall grant your wish!”

She glanced at the eunuchs below, who understood her meaning. Several of them stepped forward with white silk, tightened it around Ashina Wuduo’s neck, and pulled in opposite directions. Ashina Wuduo immediately found it difficult to breathe, her vision blurring. At the brink of death, she smiled.

What a pity to die before you.

But just as her life hung by a thread, hurried footsteps were heard. Emperor Longxing had arrived and waved away the eunuchs who were strangling her. Ashina Wuduo fell into his arms. The emperor was both shocked and angry. He looked up at the Empress Dowager. “Mother, what are you doing?”

“Killing her!”

“Why kill her?”

“She secretly left the palace and went to Pei Guanyue’s residence. Isn’t that reason enough to kill her?”

The emperor looked at Ashina Wuduo in astonishment, but soon pressed his lips together and said to the Empress Dowager, “I was aware of this matter. I sent Consort Hui to Minister Pei’s residence on an errand. Consort Hui is innocent.”

The Empress Dowager was furious. “Your Majesty, don’t you find your excuse absurd? What urgent matter would require your consort to visit an official’s residence in the middle of the night?”

“The nature of the matter is not convenient to explain to Mother,” the emperor said. “In any case, Consort Hui left the palace on my imperial order. She has done nothing wrong.”

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she clenched her teeth. The emperor ordered his attendants to escort Ashina Wuduo back, while he remained alone in Penglai Hall to face the Empress Dowager’s wrath.

Still considering his dignity, the Empress Dowager dismissed everyone from the hall, leaving only mother and son in the vast Penglai Hall.

The Empress Dowager’s chest heaved violently. After a long while, her anger subsided slightly. She spoke, “Are you determined to protect that barbarian woman?”

The emperor had always been filial and benevolent, but this time he wouldn’t yield an inch. “Mother asks if I am determined to protect Consort Hui. Then I must also ask Mother, as the Empress Dowager overseeing the inner palace, shouldn’t you be magnanimous and compassionate? Why do you arbitrarily punish my consort?”

The Empress Dowager raised her voice. “This is not the Empress Dowager punishing a consort! This is a mother dealing with someone who endangers her child!”

The emperor was stunned. The Empress Dowager calmed herself and said, “She has been in the Great Zhou for three years. You made her Consort Hui, favoring her above all others in the six palaces. I could overlook all that as long as she behaved properly. I could indulge your wishes. But now she’s acting inappropriately, and I absolutely cannot tolerate it!”

“Even if Consort Hui is behaving inappropriately, it’s not directed at me.”

The Empress Dowager was so angry she nearly fainted. “By the time she targets you, it will be too late! Anyone else can stay by your side in the inner palace, but not such a treacherous barbarian woman!”

Hearing this, the emperor gave a bitter laugh. “In the inner palace, the Empress was chosen by Mother, Consort De and Consort Shu were chosen by Mother, and the Imperial Concubines were chosen by Mother. Is it wrong for me to make one choice of my own?”

“It is wrong! Of all people, why choose such a woman?” The Empress Dowager spoke plainly. “Do you think I don’t know whether she is truly Sutai’s daughter, Ashina Jia?”

The emperor was shocked, but he replied, “Regardless of who she was before, now she is my Consort Hui.”

The Empress Dowager looked incredulously at him, at this son she had raised with her own hands. When had he become so unfamiliar, actually opposing her for the sake of a barbarian woman of dubious origin? She couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly do you like about that barbarian woman? In this world, there are plenty who surpass her in beauty. In terms of talent, she can’t compose a single line of poetry. In terms of character, she is neither gentle nor kind, but selfish and cruel. What exactly do you see in her?”

The emperor murmured, “Mother says Consort Hui is selfish and cruel, and asks what I like about her? But I like precisely her selfishness and cruelty. Since childhood, Mother has taught me to be a sage, to be a model for all people. But I get tired too. I also envy others who can do whatever they want.”

“You are the emperor. How can you possibly do whatever you want?” the Empress Dowager rebuked. “Since you enjoy supreme power, you must accept the constraints that come with it. Otherwise, wouldn’t you have all the good things in the world? Is there anything so carefree under heaven?”

The emperor’s eyes grew vacant at her rebuke, just as they had countless times when he was scolded in childhood. The Empress Dowager suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness. “You have truly disappointed me. Mingyuezhu would never be like this.”

Upon hearing the name “Mingyuezhu,” the emperor suddenly looked up. He said angrily, “Enough! I’ve had enough! Why does Mother always compare me to my sister? Sister is dead—dead for thirty whole years—but I’m still alive. Can a living person not compare to a dead one? Can a son who has brought his mother supreme honor not compare to a daughter who died young?”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened. She gave a slight laugh. “Good, so that’s what you think.”

The emperor also calmed down. “Yes, that’s what I think. Saying it aloud feels much better.”

Mother and son, one sitting and one standing, no longer argued, but simply gazed at each other silently. After a moment, the Empress Dowager spoke, calling his childhood name, “Pusa Bao…”

Before she could finish, the emperor said, “Mother, there is no Pusa Bao here. There is only the sage that you raised with your own hands.”

The Empress Dowager was stunned. The emperor said nothing more, but knelt before her, kowtowed once, then rose and left, wooden-faced.