Nine years ago, the Hongwu Emperor thought Noble Consort Guo was too foolish and hoped she would become wiser so she could suppress the harem and prevent fires from starting in the rear court, giving him a peaceful harem.

Nine years later, the Hongwu Emperor wished Noble Consort Guo could be more foolish. If Hu Shanwei had been able to deceive Noble Consort Guo, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have had to die.

But in this world, even though he was the emperor, there were too many unsatisfactory things, and he couldn’t even protect his children.

He was an emperor, but also a father. Watching his children kill each other one by one, falling down and dying in agony, he too would feel pain. Noble Consort Guo had lost her son, and fifty days later, he lost another son.

Moreover, this son died because of his miscalculation—he had underestimated Noble Consort Guo’s judgment.

Just like that, the son in whom he had placed such high hopes, the heir he had cultivated for twenty-five years, died under arsenic.

Everything had to start over from the beginning.

The Hongwu Emperor stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked toward Noble Consort Guo. This woman had initially been just a political gift sent by the Guo family to warm his bed and show their loyalty—lively, docile, without much ambition, a beautiful foolish woman.

She had so coincidentally given birth to his tenth son just two months after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and even her ranking was so perfect. So for a long time, he had treated this woman like a pet, watching her grow step by step, transform, clumsily copying Empress Xiaoci, cultivating the shell of a virtuous empress for herself, bringing him surprises.

Then, just as he had begun to approve of her and planned to make her empress, she brought him the “surprise” of poisoning the Crown Prince.

Watching the Hongwu Emperor approach her step by step, Noble Consort Guo first retreated two steps, then stopped. She straightened her plain mourning clothes, even dipped her finger in the cold tea in her cup and smoothed back the stray hairs at her temples, still maintaining dignity and composure.

The Hongwu Emperor waved his hand, and a eunuch brought over a tray with a cup of poisoned wine.

The Hongwu Emperor said, “Don’t blame me for being heartless. This is the path you chose yourself. Your Guo family is filled with loyal martyrs who have served the court faithfully. There cannot be a concubine who murdered the Crown Prince. I will not take my anger out on the Guo family. Your death will be recorded as dying from excessive grief over Prince Lu Huang’s death, suddenly developing heart disease. I will give you a grand burial.”

Noble Consort Guo’s two brothers—her eldest brother, Marquis Gongchang Guo Xing, had died of illness in the seventeenth year of Hongwu after patrolling the northern frontier. The Hongwu Emperor posthumously elevated him to Duke Shanguo with the posthumous title “Xuanwu” and granted him burial at Jubao Mountain.

Her second brother, Marquis Wuding Guo Ying, still commanded the imperial guards. Besides this, Guo Ying’s eldest son Guo Zhen was the consort of Princess Yongjia, and Guo Ying’s second daughter Lady Guo had married the Hongwu Emperor’s twenty-fourth son, Prince Ying Zhu Dong. She was the Princess Consort of Ying, and the couple had already gone to their fiefdom in Anlu, Hubei.

So the Guo clan had a noble consort, a prince, a duke, a marquis, a prince consort, and a princess consort. Moreover, the brothers Guo Ying and Guo Xing were very fertile, mostly brave and skilled in battle, serving as pillars of the nation.

The Guo family’s influence was vast, their power deeply rooted throughout the court, and they were utterly loyal. Therefore, Noble Consort Guo had correctly guessed that for the sake of the bigger picture, the Hongwu Emperor would only order her death and wouldn’t touch the Guo family at all. This was why she dared to brazenly set up the Hongmen Feast to poison the Crown Prince without worrying about implicating nine generations of her clan.

The formerly naive Noble Consort Guo Ning, after nine years of tempering, had learned to skillfully gauge the emperor’s mind and weigh pros and cons. Poisoning the Crown Prince wasn’t an impulsive act of anger from losing her son, but a decision made after weighing pros and cons, deep consideration, and repeated deliberation.

She had even sent away her confidant Wet Nurse Guo to the Guo family for retirement before the Hongmen Feast, and sent her “strategist” Hu Shanwei to Xiaoling under the pretext of burning scriptures for Empress Xiaoci, clearing her of suspicion of passing information while also using the Hongwu Emperor’s feelings for Empress Xiaoci to help Hu Shanwei avoid being drawn into the political whirlpool of the Crown Prince’s death.

The only thing Noble Consort Guo hadn’t considered was herself. She never planned to escape unscathed—she had decided to sacrifice her life for revenge.

Noble Consort Guo bowed to the Hongwu Emperor. “I thank Your Majesty for your grace. The Crown Prince killed my son, and I killed the Crown Prince. Both crimes are unforgivable. I willingly die to atone for my crimes and settle this grudge.”

Noble Consort Guo calmly picked up the poisoned wine. At this moment, the Hongwu Emperor felt somewhat reluctant—this was the woman he had almost made his wife! She bore so many traces of Empress Xiaoci that he couldn’t help but transfer some of his feelings.

The Hongwu Emperor asked her, “Before you die, do you have anything else to say?”

Noble Consort Guo looked toward the northeast direction of Xiaoling. “If possible, please trouble Your Majesty to tell Hu Shanwei: I’m sorry, I deeply regret it. I have failed her expectations. I know she worshipped Empress Xiaoci and very much wanted to train me to become a second Empress Xiaoci. I tried, really tried very hard. With her assistance, even I, whom others considered beyond help, could work miracles. But I simply cannot accept a position as empress that was bought with my own son’s life.”

“Indeed, I dreamed of becoming empress. When Your Majesty ordered the reconstruction of Kunning Palace, I was so happy I went mad with joy, prancing around so deliriously that I didn’t even notice losing a shoe…”

A teardrop fell into the poisoned wine. Noble Consort Guo smiled through her tears: “At that time, I was so silly, yet genuinely happy from the bottom of my heart. I felt those days were filled with hope, felt that if I worked hard, I would be rewarded… But I never imagined that becoming the Ming Dynasty’s empress would require paying such a terrible price, requiring me to sacrifice my most precious son in exchange. I don’t want it anymore. I cannot sit calmly in the empress’s position, pretending to be a loving mother with my son’s killer, the Crown Prince, every day. I am not Empress Xiaoci. Even if I spent my entire life, I could never possess Empress Xiaoci’s endurance. Your Majesty, I go to the underworld to accompany our son. I imagine that on the road to the Yellow Springs, he hasn’t gone far. Your Majesty, take care. I depart.”

Having said this, Noble Consort Guo drained the poisoned wine in one gulp.

Noble Consort Guo died quickly. Her limbs convulsed, her breathing became rapid. The Hongwu Emperor closed his eyes and only opened them when he heard Noble Consort Guo’s movements completely stop.

He saw Noble Consort Guo had died with her eyes wide open and a smile on her face.

At this moment, a eunuch ran in from outside: “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince… has passed away!”

Noble Consort Guo and the Crown Prince died almost simultaneously.

The Hongwu Emperor collapsed in exhaustion beside Noble Consort Guo’s corpse. In an instant, all considerations of the bigger picture, strategies, and balance of power vanished. He was just a man who had lost two loved ones.

Why had it come to this? He had calculated everything, confident he had arranged everything for the best and minimized losses, but reality stubbornly refused to develop according to his arrangements, instead moving toward the worst possible outcome he hadn’t even anticipated.

As the Hongwu Emperor pondered this, a young man’s crying pulled him back to reality:

“Imperial Grandfather! Father is gone! What should I do, Imperial Grandfather!”

It was the Imperial Eldest Grandson Zhu Yunwen. The Hongwu Emperor covered Noble Consort Guo’s face with the handkerchief he hadn’t given away, slowly walked out of the room. Outside, wailing could already be heard, with Crown Princess Lu’s voice being the most heartbreaking.

“The Crown Prince… died of illness. Do you understand?”

On his deathbed, the Crown Prince had bled from all seven orifices, his face twisted and contorted from pain, his scattered pupils red as if he had gone mad from cultivation, the bedding soiled with incontinent waste and blood. How could he possibly have died of illness?

The Chief Judge of the Imperial Medical Academy had seen more terrible deaths—like the two sons born to Consort Da Ding, who had jumped from buildings together at Xiaoling, their skulls shattered. The imperial physicians had pieced together the broken bones and sutured them.

Therefore, the Chief Judge’s first reaction was: “Indeed, the Crown Prince died from overwork and illness.”

As an emperor, one must consider the bigger picture. Everything must prioritize the stability of the Ming Dynasty’s realm. As for the truth… the truth wasn’t important.

Everyone said: “We respect Your Majesty’s decree.” Crown Prince Zhu Biao died from overwork and illness—this was the truth. Anyone who dared speak of poisoning would be defying the imperial decree and would be executed.

Imperial Eldest Grandson Zhu Yunwen looked at his father’s tragic condition and was about to say something when his mother, Crown Princess Lu, covered his mouth.

The Hongwu Emperor said: “You all withdraw. Prepare the Crown Prince’s funeral. The imperial physicians and the Chief Judge stay behind to clean the Crown Prince’s body.”

The Chief Judge was experienced and skillful. The Crown Prince’s eyes were wide open and wouldn’t close—they used glue to stick the eyelids shut. His face was hideous—they used hot towels to compress it, inserted silver needles at acupoints, and slowly massaged with fingers to restore the facial muscles to their original position. Blood flowed from all seven orifices—they used cotton wrapped around small sticks to slowly wipe and clean…

Half an hour later, when people saw the Crown Prince lying on the funeral bed, he already looked peaceful and clean, as if he were merely sleeping.

In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao died at only thirty-seven years old.

When the Hongwu Emperor was thirty-seven, he was fighting a decisive battle with Han King Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake, burning connected camps, achieving a victory against superior numbers. Chen Youliang retreated to Caoxie Mountain, refused to surrender, and while breaking out, was shot through the eye by Noble Consort Guo’s second brother Guo Ying, the arrow piercing through his skull.

Early the following spring, Chen Youliang’s son opened the gates and surrendered. Driven by conquest, the Hongwu Emperor took Chen Youliang’s concubine Lady Da as a consort, who bore him two sons.

Fifteen years later, Consort Da Ding seduced Noble Consort Guo’s son Prince Lu Zhu Tan into taking elixir pills for “cultivation.” This was exposed by Hu Shanwei, Consort Da Ding was poisoned to death by the Hongwu Emperor, and her two sons, after failing to attack Xiaoling and capture Prince Lu Zhu Tan, held hands and jumped from the city wall to their deaths.

Nine years later, Prince Lu Zhu Tan’s elixir addiction relapsed, giving the Crown Prince an opportunity. He was poisoned to death with arsenic mixed in alum. Fifty days later, Noble Consort Guo put the same poison in plain crab and poisoned the Crown Prince.

At the same time the Crown Prince breathed his last, Noble Consort Guo drank the poisoned wine bestowed by the Hongwu Emperor, resolutely following her son in death.

Revenge was an endless cycle of death, forming a closed loop of cause and effect. Wherever this loop passed, countless living beings were mercilessly crushed. No matter how cruel the truth, in the end, it still had to be covered up with false peace.

The next day, news of the Crown Prince’s death reached Xiaoling. The court and the people were shocked. Mu Chun, who had just sent his father into the tomb, didn’t even need to change his mourning clothes—he went directly to the palace wearing them to participate in the mourning, following protocol to weep for the Crown Prince at Chunhe Gate together with civil and military officials.

The Hongwu Emperor suspended court for one day, wore mourning clothes for twelve days, and civilian marriages were suspended for sixty days in the capital, while officials’ marriages were suspended for thirty days.

The Hongwu Emperor determined Crown Prince Zhu Biao’s posthumous title as “Yiwen,” thereafter to be called Crown Prince Yiwen.

Since Crown Prince Yiwen had died at only thirty-seven, no tomb had been prepared. The Hongwu Emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to bury Crown Prince Yiwen on the east side of Xiaoling. There had never been a precedent in history of a crown prince being buried adjacent to an imperial mausoleum, but the Hongwu Emperor insisted on this arrangement. The Ministry of Rites had no choice but to comply.

When Hu Shanwei at Xiaoling heard this news, her first reaction was that Noble Consort Guo had struck!

The Crown Prince was dead, which meant Noble Consort Guo’s revenge had succeeded. Then the Noble Consort now… Hu Shanwei was filled with dread and immediately decided to end her leave early and return to the palace.

But before she could leave Xiaoling, Mao Qiang arrived with the Jinyiwei to seal off the area. Behind him followed a carriage containing a coffin.

Hu Shanwei realized what this meant. She rushed to the carriage and pushed open the coffin lid with her bare hands, seeing Noble Consort Guo’s smiling face in death.

Nine years of effort, teaching Lady Guo from scratch how to be a qualified empress, constant guidance and admonishment, sometimes stern correction, sometimes gentle persuasion. She had spent nine years of her youth and countless energy on Lady Guo, hoping she could manage the harem like Empress Xiaoci, stabilize the court situation, prevent further turmoil, and stop more innocent people from dying.

She had completely reformed Lady Guo, whose faults were “too numerous to record,” using Empress Xiaoci as a model. Like a craftsman, she had reshaped Lady Guo one cut and one chisel at a time. Fortunately, Lady Guo had been very cooperative. No matter how harsh her words, she never turned against her. When she made mistakes, she corrected them immediately; if she erred again, she corrected again. The two worked together toward the same goal, and success had been within reach.

Nine years of dedication, all for naught.

“No!”

Hu Shanwei couldn’t believe it. She reached out to touch Noble Consort Guo in the coffin: “This isn’t real! Your Ladyship, wake up! Stop sleeping! Without Prince Lu Huang, Your Ladyship still has grandsons, still has Guo’er. Your bloodline hasn’t been cut off. Your Ladyship is about to be made empress—this has been Your Ladyship’s long-cherished wish. No matter how noble a consort is, she’s still a concubine! Haven’t you always told me you wanted to be the legitimate wife? Wake up! Wake up quickly!”

Hu Shanwei was on the verge of collapse. In the end, she even forgot the respectful title “Your Ladyship” and began addressing her directly as “you.” Ji Gang forcibly pulled her away from the coffin and covered it.

“The Noble Consort left final words for you. She said she was very sorry, she had failed your expectations. She knew you wanted to train her to become a second Empress Xiaoci, and she had tried hard, but she couldn’t accept an empress position bought with her son’s life. She apologizes.”

Mao Qiang said: “Noble Consort Guo cannot die on the same day as the Crown Prince, otherwise rumors would spread throughout the city, and the Guo family and the Eastern Palace might become hostile. So Noble Consort Guo’s death will be kept secret for now, her body lying in state at Xiaoling. Publicly, it will only be said that she fell seriously ill from excessive grief over Prince Lu Huang’s death and cannot participate in the Crown Prince’s funeral. Hu Siyan must keep this secret. His Majesty has spared you this once, but there won’t be a next time. His Majesty commands you to return to the palace immediately, take charge of Zhongcui Palace, and continue serving as a liaison as before. Otherwise… you’ll be charged with defying imperial orders.”

The Hongwu Emperor was threatening to kill her entire family again.

Since Noble Consort Guo was still “alive” and seriously ill, her most trusted female official Hu Shanwei had to stay by her side, managing affairs on her behalf, performing this “empty city stratagem.”

Hu Shanwei didn’t know how she returned to the palace. Her mind was filled with every detail of her nine years with Noble Consort Guo. Now she understood that through nine years of interaction and adjustment, she understood Noble Consort Guo, and Noble Consort Guo understood her. Noble Consort Guo had seen through her lies but didn’t expose them, and before taking action, she had sent her away to avoid implicating her.

This behavior from Noble Consort Guo was completely different from before.

When Hu Shanwei first met Noble Consort Guo, Lady Guo was still Consort Guo Ning. When Empress Xiaoci had issued the “Exemplary Consort Instructions of the Zhao and Song Dynasties” and ordered Fan Gongzheng to explain it, all consorts from the six eastern and western palaces had to go to Kunning Palace to stand and listen.

Consort Guo Ning had been pampered since childhood—how could she endure such hardship? After the first day, she claimed to be sick from exhaustion. As the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, Empress Xiaoci immediately ordered the female official in charge of arranging imperial visits to remove her name from the rotation, telling her to “rest well and recover.” Consort Guo Ning learned her lesson and obediently attended lectures the next day.

Later, when the little princess’s foster mothers died one after another, Consort Guo Ning sent Hu Shanwei expensive gifts, hoping to bribe her into speaking well of her to Empress Xiaoci to obtain custody of the little princess… Hu Shanwei accepted the gifts but showed the gift list to Empress Xiaoci in detail, causing Consort Guo Ning to lose face again.

Consort Guo Ning seemed to hit every wall—eastern wall, western wall—but relying on her family’s backing, she blundered around like a headless fly. However, no matter what foolish things she did, she was always straightforward about it, never pushing others forward as scapegoats. She truly made mistakes through her own ability, taking responsibility for her own actions.

Her son Prince Lu Huang had exactly the same temperament.

Even though she had built up considerable resentment with Hu Shanwei, after encountering heavy resistance while temporarily managing the harem’s affairs, she could forget past grievances and make three trips to Xiaoling like visiting a thatched cottage, treating Hu Shanwei like a treasure as she invited her to the harem, trusting her completely and following her advice without reservation.

Just like that, nine years passed in a flash. Consort Guo Ning underwent a complete transformation, becoming the current Noble Consort Guo. She became intelligent, capable of handling affairs, able to shoulder the responsibilities of the nation’s mother. She learned to use strategies, and when dying together with the Crown Prince, she still used clever methods to pull Hu Shanwei out of disaster, using Xiaoling as protection.

Now, Hu Shanwei was still Hu Siyan, while Noble Consort Guo had become a cold corpse in a coffin, hidden in the underground chamber of Xiaoling beside Empress Xiaoci’s coffin.

A month later, Noble Consort Guo “died,” and following Crown Prince Yiwen, the palace had to hold another funeral.

The Hongwu Emperor determined her posthumous title as “Duanjing.” Following the abolished Consort Hu, Noble Consort Chengmu Sun, and Virtuous Consort Huixian Li, Noble Consort Duanjing Guo became the fourth deceased Ming noble consort.

The Hongwu Emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to model the funeral after the much-respected Noble Consort Chengmu Sun’s funeral to give Noble Consort Duanjing Guo a grand burial.

Not only this, the Hongwu Emperor also issued an edict ordering all enfeoffed princes to return to the capital, and they must bring their princess consorts and children—the entire family had to come participate in Noble Consort Duanjing Guo’s funeral.

The court and people were shocked, discussing among themselves. They thought that since Crown Prince Yiwen had died, the Hongwu Emperor wanted to select one of the adult enfeoffed princes to establish as heir apparent, so he was using Noble Consort Duanjing Guo’s funeral as an opportunity to summon the princes back to the capital for selection.

His Majesty was sixty-two years old and had to establish the foundation of the state early by determining a new crown prince, otherwise it would cause national instability. Therefore, all the princes brought their families and traveled day and night to reach the capital, fearing that arriving late would earn them the label of being unfilial and lose their chance at the throne.

Within a month, all the princes had arrived. According to the new mourning system, all sons had to observe one year of mourning for their stepmother. Noble Consort Guo was different from the previous three consorts—Lady Guo came from a prominent family, and if she had lived longer, she would have become the Ming empress. The Guo family had two dukes, one marquis, one prince consort, and one princess consort—truly a great family.

So at Noble Consort Duanjing’s funeral, the princes competed in crying, as if mourning their own birth mother.

After the funeral, the Hongwu Emperor sighed to the princes: “I am old. Your tenth brother Prince Lu Huang, your eldest brother Crown Prince Yiwen, and your stepmother Noble Consort Duanjing Guo have all left me one after another. I am very lonely. This time you brought your children to the capital, and I haven’t seen many of my grandsons and granddaughters before. I want to make up for lost time and spend more time with them to comfort my heart full of holes. You have busy affairs in your fiefs, especially those princes guarding the frontier. You and your princess consorts should return first, but leave the children here to keep me company and talk.”

When a father requests to enjoy time with his grandchildren, what son dares refuse?

Refusing would be unfilial, and being unfilial would disqualify them from succession.

Moreover, leaving children in the capital could also help put in good words for their fathers. So the princes eagerly agreed, leaving their children in the capital to fulfill filial duty on their behalf.

After the princes and princess consorts gradually returned to their fiefs, the Hongwu Emperor suddenly announced the establishment of Imperial Eldest Grandson Zhu Yunwen as Crown Imperial Grandson, determining the foundation of the state!

After establishing the Crown Imperial Grandson, the Hongwu Emperor kept the eldest sons or heir apparent of various princes in the capital for study, while gradually sending other grandsons and granddaughters back to their fiefs.

Among them, the Hongwu Emperor kept the four children of the most powerful Prince Yan in the capital: Prince Yan’s heir apparent Zhu Gaochi, second son Zhu Gaoyu, third daughter Princess Ancheng, and fourth daughter Princess Xianning.

News of the Crown Imperial Grandson’s investiture and their own children being detained in the capital reached the various princely residences almost simultaneously. Only then did the princes understand what a grand chess game their father had played to consolidate the Crown Imperial Grandson’s position!

We were all deceived! From beginning to end, Father never intended to choose a crown prince from among us brothers! From beginning to end, Father had determined that the heir would be Imperial Eldest Grandson Zhu Yunwen!

The chicken wasn’t stolen, but the rice was lost. They didn’t get the crown prince position and lost their children in the bargain.

How could the various Ming princes not be filled with sorrow!

In Zhongcui Palace, when Hu Shanwei heard this explosive news, she didn’t even raise her eyebrows. She sighed at the portrait of Noble Consort Duanjing Guo: “Did you hear that? The imperial family is heartless. His Majesty will drain every person of their utility value, not even sparing the dead. His Majesty used your funeral to stage a ‘dismissing military power over wine,’ deceiving the princes into leaving their heirs and children in the capital. This way, when His Majesty invested the Imperial Eldest Grandson as Crown Imperial Grandson, none of the uncle princes dared object. They had no choice—their children were hostages in the capital. Who dared act rashly?”

Hu Shanwei lit a stick of incense and murmured: “Now I think it’s good that you left. This place devours people without spitting out their bones. Brothers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, even grandparents and grandchildren must scheme against each other. I hope in your next life, you won’t have any involvement with the imperial family. Rest in peace.”