Wu Qian placed me under house arrest at the lodge, stationing a large contingent of soldiers to keep watch inside and out, turning the small lodge into an impenetrable iron fortress.

Stepping once again into that familiar courtyard and hall — everything exactly as I had left it — I had gone from mistress to prisoner.

I smiled faintly and sat down at my ease, gesturing for Wu Qian to take a seat. “Please sit, Official Wu.”

Wu Qian gave a cold snort, his complexion still the color of ash, his appearance disheveled and wretched. “Quite something, the Princess of Prince Yuzhang — you nearly made this old man walk straight into your scheme!”

I raised an eyebrow at him with a smile, which only made him more furious and humiliated. He said coldly to me, “Out of respect for the friendship we once shared, I will allow you to stay here for the time being. Your Highness would do well to behave herself! If you dare cause any more trouble, you cannot blame this old man for being ungracious!”

“If we are speaking of the friendship we once shared, it is entirely due to the Official’s service in assisting my father and your devoted loyalty to the Wang Family. And today, I am further indebted to the Official’s generous hospitality — this Princess is ashamed to accept such a gift.” I smiled at him with not the slightest trace of anger or irritation, until Wu Qian’s face turned a deep red.

“Silence!” he rebuked me harshly. “This official is a scholar of standing — I have been reduced to serving under your Wang Family without recourse, diligently devoted to my official duties for half my life, yet with no prospect of advancement! When Your Highness was robbed in Huizhou, it was not this old man’s fault, yet when I went to the capital specifically to report and plead guilty, the Left Chancellor vented his fury on me for no reason at all — not only reprimanding me in harsh terms but also confiscating my stipend, leaving me utterly disgraced before the court! Had the Right Chancellor not spoken up in my defense and pleaded for mercy, I would likely have had even this post as governor stripped away by your overbearing father…”

He continued to rage on, but somehow I could not take any of it in — I only caught the part about Father growing furious over what happened to me when I was robbed. Father… did he truly care so deeply about what happened to me? When I had set out from the capital, he had not tried to stop me; when I was robbed in Huizhou, there had been no rescue party he sent; and in that one letter I received from home, there had not been a single word of warmth or comfort…

I remember when I was a child, no matter how busy Father was, he would come home every day and ask after the progress of my brother’s and my studies. He often put on a stern face to scold my brother, yet with me he never failed to be full of praise, and delighted in showing off his treasured pearl of a daughter to relatives and colleagues. Up until the day he gave me away in marriage, he had been the most loving father in the world.

Until now I had believed that Father had already forgotten the daughter he had sent away with his own hands, had forgotten this useless chess piece. Whether I lived or died, whether I was happy or grieving — none of it concerned him anymore. After all, I now bore another family’s name…

And yet…

A sting of bitterness rose up in my eyes. I turned my head away and silently swallowed the ache in my heart.

Wu Qian laughed coldly. “So Your Highness now knows what it is to be afraid?”

I raised my eyes and smiled slowly. “This Princess is overjoyed… Thank you, Official Wu.”

He stared at me, momentarily caught off guard, then sneered, “Turns out she is a madwoman after all.”

“You have gone to all this trouble to capture a madwoman,” I said lightly. “I am afraid your new master will not be pleased when he sees her.”

Wu Qian’s face turned a shade of green. Having had his inner thoughts exposed, he erupted in fury and shame. “I am afraid that by that time, the Third Prince may no longer care for you.”

Zidan’s name, spoken from the lips of this despicable and petty man, made my expression turn cold instantly. “You are not fit to speak His Highness’s name.”

Wu Qian burst into loud laughter. “People say the Princess of Prince Yuzhang and the Third Prince have been conducting a secret liaison — and seeing you now, it would appear those rumors were not unfounded.”

I looked at him icily, my fingernails pressing unconsciously into my palm.

“Since Your Highness’s heart is no longer with His Highness the Prince, this old man has one more piece of happy news to tell you.” Wu Qian laughed with wild abandon, every shred of his former scholarly composure entirely gone. “Prince Jiangning’s forces have already fought their way to Chuzhou. After receiving this old man’s secret letter, he personally led his vanguard army on a separate march north, taking the route through Pengze, bypassing Chuzhou, and driving straight to the southern bank of the Long River — they will cross the river within days.”

A sharp pain in my palm — my fingernail had snapped off entirely.

“Impossible!” I slowly spoke, keeping my voice from betraying the slightest tremor. “Pengze is easy to defend and hard to attack. How could the rebel army take it so easily?”

Wu Qian looked as though he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, tipping his head back in unrestrained laughter. “Does Your Highness not know that the Governor of Pengze has also raised his troops in rebellion?”

My throat constricted, and I could not say a single word. It was as if a great hand had clutched my heart.

“Once Prince Jiangning crosses the river and enters the city, no matter how peerless a hero your husband may be, he will never get past my Huizhou!” Wu Qian drew close to me, his hands clasped behind his back, smiling with insufferable ease. “When the loyalist forces capture Chuzhou and strike straight for Linliang Pass, the Third Prince will be received from the imperial mausoleum and the procession will march into the capital, cutting down the wicked consort, eliminating the treacherous ministers, and enthrone a new ruler…”

He could not finish his last word — my palm shot out and slapped him across the face.

That slap used every last ounce of my strength. The crack was startling, and it left my wrist numb — yet my heart felt a surge of immense satisfaction.

Wu Qian covered his face and stepped back one pace, glaring at me, his whole body shaking. He raised his hand high — but did not dare bring it down.

“How dare you act so insolently?” I swept back my sleeve and smiled coldly. “Get out!”

Wu Qian left in fury and humiliation, leaving behind a fierce guard detail, imprisoning me within the lodge, with soldiers patrolling everywhere.

I sat stiffly in the hall for a long time, not moving, my whole body numb and cold.

“Your Highness! Your hand is bleeding!” Yuxiu let out a cry of alarm, jolting me out of my stupor. Looking down, I saw beads of blood seeping from my palm — the broken fingernail had pierced my skin, and I had felt no pain at all. Yuxiu cupped my hand in hers and called out repeatedly to the others.

Staring at the wound on my hand, that crimson color stung my eyes, and Wu Qian’s words from moments ago were still circling in my ears without fading. If things were truly as he had said, and Prince Jiangning personally led his vanguard in a surprise strike on Huizhou, cutting off the road to the capital, to ambush Xiao Qi by surprise at the foot of Huizhou’s walls… Even if Xiao Qi defeated Prince Jiangning’s vanguard, every day the main army was held up at Huizhou meant another day of danger for Father in the capital. Chuzhou was being attacked on three fronts and could not hold out long — once Linliang Pass fell before Xiao Qi arrived…

Father, my aunt, my uncle, my brother — every single person I loved would be plunged into utter ruin!

A cold sweat broke out over me. I bit hard into my lip, yet still could not keep back the chill rising from the very depths of my heart.

My hands and feet went cold in waves, and all my panic converged into a single thought — I cannot stand by while they bring harm upon my loved ones. No matter what, I cannot… I must find Xiao Qi! Find him and save my family!

I suddenly sprang to my feet, shook off Yuxiu’s hand, and rushed to the door in a frenzy, only to be stopped dead by the guards at the entrance.

Yuxiu cried out and rushed after me, throwing her arms around me. My legs went weak beneath me, and darkness closed in on my eyes. The heart I had held so tautly for half the day plummeted into a deep abyss. I could faintly hear Yuxiu calling to me, but could not find the strength to respond…

It seemed as though a long time passed. A woman’s soft, muffled sobbing reached me, and I dimly thought it was Mother.

“Poor child — she is, after all, still so young.” The compassionate voice sounded somewhat familiar, but it was not Mother.

A pair of warm, soft hands rested upon my forehead. My heart gave a sudden jolt of alertness, and I snapped my eyes open, flipping my hand to catch hold of her wrist.

She startled and flinched, nearly knocking over the medicine bowl Yuxiu was holding behind her.

“Her Highness is awake!” Yuxiu rushed joyfully to the bedside. “Your Highness, it is Madam Wu who has come to see you.”

My head was splitting with pain, my mind heavy and foggy. I struggled to push myself upright, and after studying the woman for a long moment, recognized that it was indeed Madam Wu.

Yuxiu quickly helped steady me. “You gave this servant such a fright! It is a good thing that Madam found a doctor in time. He says it is a light case of wind-chill combined with a sudden surge of anger and distress — nothing serious. Look at you — you are still running a fever, so please lie back down!”

But Madam Wu stood staring blankly at me, and then suddenly sank to her knees, choking with emotion. “This old woman deserves death. This old woman has let you down, Your Highness!”

Looking at her greying temples, I was silently reminded of the countless kindnesses she had shown me during my time in Huizhou. At the time I had taken it merely as ingratiating flattery. Yet now that I had fallen from the position of mistress to that of a prisoner beneath someone else’s authority, she still treated me with the same pure-hearted loyalty. It was truly in times of hardship that one came to know the true nature of a person’s heart.

I asked Yuxiu to go help her up, but she would not rise, only prostrating herself on the floor and weeping as she bowed her head again and again.

I sighed, got up from bed, and went to help her up with my bare feet and loosened hair.

She was a full-figured woman, and I could not quite lift her — weak and aching all over, I inadvertently leaned against her. She drew me close without a second thought, and I held her gently in return. Her soft, warm embrace carried a faint scent of incense from her clothing, and in a trance it felt as though I had returned to my mother’s arms. Neither of us said a word. We simply leaned against each other in quiet stillness, and Yuxiu stood to one side, her eyes already glistening with unshed tears.

After a long while, I gently pulled away from her and said softly, “Madam Wu, this Princess will never forget your kindness. The hour is already late — please return home, and do not come to see me again, so as to avoid upsetting Official Wu.”

She lowered her head in sorrow. “To speak honestly, this old woman came without my husband’s knowledge — he…”

“I understand.” I gave a gentle nod and let Yuxiu help support me as I rose, then helped Madam Wu to her feet as well.

I stepped back a pace, smoothed my robes, and gave her a deep bow.

Madam Wu flustered and did not know what to do with her hands. I lifted my gaze to look directly at her. “The kindness of sheltering and protecting me in my time of hardship — Wang Xuan will one day repay it.”

She sighed and wept again for some time before bidding me a sorrowful farewell. I smiled and nodded, watching her greying temples, not knowing what scene it would be when we met again after parting here. I was about to call out one last word of farewell, when a voice whispered from outside the door, “Auntie, it is getting late — Uncle is almost home!”

Madam Wu’s expression shifted slightly. She hastily bowed to me once, turned to leave, and stepped out.

I asked in surprise, “Who is that outside the door?”

“Your Highness need not worry — that is this old woman’s own nephew by blood,” Madam Wu said quickly. “My husband has ordered him to stand guard here at the lodge. This boy has a good heart and has always admired Prince Yuzhang greatly — he will absolutely not make things difficult for Your Highness. I have already told him to make things as convenient for Your Highness as possible… This old woman is powerless, and this is the only small thing within my means.”

Looking at Madam Wu’s sorrowful, guilt-ridden face, something flickered in my mind like a thread of light, appearing and vanishing in an instant, as though I had remembered something.

“Your nephew — could it be the Mou… you mentioned before…” I furrowed my brow, trying to recall, “Mou…”

“Mou Lian!” Madam Wu exclaimed in delighted surprise. “Yes, it is Mou Lian! Your Highness actually still remembers this foolish boy!”

I smiled, wrapped an outer robe around myself, and personally escorted her to the door.

The guards had indeed withdrawn to the far end of the corridor. Only a tall young man stood at the door, and when he saw us come out, hastily bent in a slight bow and lowered his head. I showed no reaction and handed Madam Wu over to his side, then lifted my gaze for a careful look, and could not help smiling to myself — this “foolish boy” that Madam Wu spoke of was probably older than me, with a large and sturdy frame, thick brows, and a tiger-like gaze, giving an impression of solid and sincere honesty.

I watched as Mou Lian escorted Madam Wu away, and remained standing at the door. A good while passed before I saw Mou Lian come striding back. Catching sight of me from a distance, he stopped, pressed his hand to his sword, and inclined in a slight bow. I glanced left and right, then gave him a slight nod of my head. Mou Lian hesitated for a moment, but still came forward to pay his respects. “This subordinate Mou Lian pays respects to Your Highness.”

The guards on either side were still moving about on patrol. I said in a mild tone, “Madam Wu left something behind just now. Please come with me.”

I then turned and walked straight back into the room. Mou Lian called out to me twice, and when he saw I did not stop, had no choice but to follow.

Stepping into the inner chamber behind the hanging curtain, Mou Lian stopped just outside, speaking awkwardly from behind the curtain. “This subordinate would not dare enter Your Highness’s private sleeping quarters without invitation.”

I took a jade bracelet set with pearls carved into phoenixes from my wrist and had Yuxiu carry it out. Through the hanging curtain, I could see Mou Lian accept it and bow his head to look closely at it. His expression immediately changed, his face flushing red, and he went down on one knee. “Your Highness has surely made an error — this bracelet is an imperial object of immense value. It could not have belonged to my aunt.”

I smiled at him through the hanging curtain. “Is that so? Then consider it a gift for your wife.”

Mou Lian was flustered and anxious. “This subordinate would not presume — I cannot live up to Your Highness’s generous intention. Please take it back.”

I continued to smile. “This was an object belonging to the late Empress Mingzhao, meant for her personal use. There is only one of its kind in the world, and its worth cannot be measured in mere riches.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Mou Lian’s voice took on an edge of anger as he said loudly to me, “I ask Your Highness to take it back!”

I studied his upright, unyielding face, and a single bright thread of clarity lit up in my heart.

“Madam Wu’s words were not wrong — General Mou is indeed a man of integrity and principle.” I drew back the curtain and stepped out, standing before him with a smile. Mou Lian froze, a glimmer lighting in his eyes. Only then did he relax, and hastily returned the phoenix bracelet to Yuxiu.

“Your Highness speaks too highly of me — I am unworthy of such praise.” He bowed his head to me in a salute, then said in a low, earnest voice, “Your Highness need not worry. Though this subordinate holds a position of little power and influence, I will do everything within my ability to ensure Your Highness’s safety.”

“Is that so?” I smiled, then abruptly let my expression turn cold. “You serve as a court officer, yet instead of devoting yourself to serving your country, you have thrown your lot in with rebel forces — this is disloyalty. Having already pledged yourself to Wu Qian, you now secretly go against his orders to protect me — this is faithlessness. A man of seven feet standing and full of ability — why do you devote yourself entirely to acts of disloyalty and faithlessness?”

Before I had even finished speaking, Mou Lian’s complexion had utterly changed. The veins at his temples stood out, and his dark face was flushed a deep shade of purple.

Yuxiu was so frightened that the color drained from her face. She sent me warning glances one after another, terrified that my words would provoke Mou Lian to anger and lead him to do something dangerous. I pretended not to see, and fixed my cold gaze on Mou Lian. I watched him lower his head and close his hand around the hilt of his sword — his knuckles white from the force — his entire body seeming to have gone rigid and frozen.

A long silence stretched between us, endless as a cold winter’s night.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, each word forced out as though from between clenched teeth. “Your Highness is not wrong. Mou Lian harbors in his heart a desire to serve his country, yet what he has done is an act of disloyalty and faithlessness, despised by both gods and men. Yet each person has his own fate — by now it is too late to turn back, and Mou Lian has no choice left to him… I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness!”

With those words, he could no longer conceal the helplessness and shame hidden beneath his impassive exterior. He bowed his head sharply, rose to his feet, turned, and strode off.

“One’s fate is given by Heaven, but one’s actions are one’s own. If you truly want to turn back, it is never too late.” I looked at his retreating figure and spoke softly.

His stride faltered, slowing slightly.

“Prince Yuzhang cherishes and treasures talented men, never judging by a person’s origins. Heroes should hold their fellow men of valor in esteem. You have served under Wu Qian for years, yet have accomplished nothing…” I spoke sharply and with force, leaving no room for him to respond. “Do you mean to say that after sharpening your sword for ten years, the General has yet to set foot even half a step onto the battlefield? And today you would turn around and fight your own comrades-in-arms? Once, Madam Wu told me that you admired Prince Yuzhang greatly, that you longed to follow under his command. Now that Prince Yuzhang’s great army is about to lay siege to this very city — would you truly choose to stand against him?”

Mou Lian stood motionless, his large and powerful back as rigid as stone. At my final words, his shoulders gave a visible shudder.

If neither profit, nor reason, nor righteousness could shake his resolve, then I too had exhausted my means.

Staring at that unmoving back, I felt a faint cold sweat forming in my palms. I knew that this man was my last and only chance. If I could not move him now, there would likely be no opportunity again. Father had once said that every person in the world, without exception, has a weakness that can be exploited… But of Mou Lian I knew almost nothing. I had only heard that he admired Xiao Qi, that he had always yearned to make a name for himself in service to his country, and had suffered from having no opportunity to do so. That was his weakness — the only place I could strike through.

I sighed. “Becoming a demon or a Buddha, to take or to relinquish — it all comes down to a single thought.”

A sound like the snap of a metal fitting — as though the ornament on the sword hilt had been crushed under too much force — and the noise made my own heart lurch.

Mou Lian turned around and fixed his eyes on me, his expression deeply shaken, his throat moving with a visible swallow.

It was as though a taut bowstring had been suddenly released. My heart eased, and a cold sweat soaked through my back.

“I have said all I have to say. I hope General Mou will take good care of himself.” I gave him a slight bow, then turned and stepped behind the curtain, leaving him standing alone.

Behind the curtain, I quickly pressed my hand to my chest, afraid my rapid, shallow breaths would betray my own anxiety.

Only after a considerable time did I hear Mou Lian’s heavy footsteps gradually recede — he had even forgotten to say his farewell. I leaned against the folding screen and let out a long, slow breath, turning to smile at Yuxiu. “Perhaps we have a chance after all.”

Yuxiu kept patting her chest. “You gave this servant such a fright, Your Highness… how could you be so bold? Just now, if your words had provoked him to turn on us, what would we have done!”

I sighed. “We are already in desperate straits either way — there is nothing to lose by going all in.”

“Can that man truly be trusted?” Yuxiu asked with fretful uncertainty, her face full of worry. “General Song’s life or death is unknown, and here we have, counting the serving maids who came with us, only some ten-odd women — and there are so many soldiers outside…”

I said nothing. My attempt just now to test and persuade Mou Lian had given me not even half a measure of confidence, and my own palms had been no less drenched in anxious sweat throughout. Mou Lian was older than me and was, after all, a man who commanded troops — how could he so easily be overawed by one small woman like me, or swayed by a few words? What I was relying on was no more than two things: first, his irresolute nature, and second, the mighty and far-reaching name of Xiao Qi.

For a young soldier with fire in his veins and an obscure standing, Prince Yuzhang’s name was probably already a myth too powerful to shake.

Earlier I had tested him with material wealth. Had he been a greedy and short-sighted man, he could never have been trusted. Fortunately this person was upright and sincere in character, with a precise and careful mind — if he could be made use of, he would undoubtedly be a rare and gifted talent… Seeing that he had already been swayed, I had stopped at the right moment. If I had pressed the flattery and persuasion too hard, provoked his resistance, it would only have spoiled things.

The fever from the wind-chill had not yet subsided, and after all this turmoil, I was already thoroughly exhausted. Yuxiu hurried to settle me down to sleep, and then, still too worried to leave my side, insisted on wrapping herself in her bedding and keeping watch in the outer room.

The moment I lay down, my mind began to drift. Dimly I seemed to see a rider in a flash of dust, a dashing young man on horseback in fine robes and an ornate saddle, his spirit soaring with vitality — it was my brother, riding the famous Ferghana horse that our aunt had gifted him, coming toward me with an air of immense pride and delight. Then I heard Father say coldly, arms folded behind his back, “Taming a horse is easy; taming a person is hard. Even the wildest horse is like a great general — have you grasped the art of winning people’s hearts?”

In my ear it seemed as though Father was asking me, “Have you grasped the art of winning people’s hearts?”

I felt a sweet surge of happiness, as though I had returned to the days of nestling in Father’s lap. I could still tug at his sleeve and act spoiled.

“A’Wu has grasped it…” I murmured with a smile, turned over, and pulled my bedding tight around me. The corners of my eyes seemed warm and damp, and then I dropped into a deep sleep.

The night was haunted by repeated nightmares.

After the fourth watch drum sounded, I could hear the faint clashing of blades in my ears. I pressed my face wearily into my pillow and quilt, making every effort to drive away the phantoms left behind by the nightmares.

Suddenly there was a sharp crack from the room door, and the stumbling footsteps of a maidservant rushed in, crying in alarm, “Yuxiu! Wake up — someone is fighting their way in — go wake Her Highness, quickly —”

I startled awake and pushed myself up to sit, grabbing my outer robe to put on.

“Your Highness, run! The rebel soldiers are here — this servant will protect you and break out!” Yuxiu came sprinting in barefoot, an iron candlestick in her hand, and without so much as a word, grabbed my arm to pull me outside. The maids who had been taken captive along with us scrambled after her in panic, each one with disheveled hair.

“What is all this panic!” I rebuked them sharply, shaking off Yuxiu’s hand. “Stand still!”

The crowd, thrown into disarray, was shocked into stillness by my sharp voice and halted, huddling in bewilderment. From outside came wave after wave of the sounds of clashing blades and battle cries — they were already close, and would likely reach us any moment. My heart was racing, yet I forced my mind calm and thought rapidly for a plan — whoever was attacking the lodge in the middle of the night, they were either here to kill me or to rescue me. Beyond Wu Qian, there were surely others in the city who wanted me dead. With friend and foe impossible to distinguish, I absolutely could not take the risk.

I immediately went to the edge of the curtain. Seeing the guards at the door standing at the ready, blades and swords already drawn, I turned back and said in a low voice to everyone, “If something happens, we will rush out under cover of the chaos — follow the winding corridor straight to the western wing, then through Orchid Court, past the winding stream bridge, past the Floating Cup Terrace, and you will reach the side gate of the lodge, which few people have ever known about. Have you all memorized this?”

Before I had finished speaking, the sound of battle cries had already reached the doorway — they had come so swiftly!