On the day Mu Fulan left for the capital with Xi’er, Yue City was deserted from end to end. The crowds who came to see them off packed every inch of the street running from the palace to the city gate, the scene alive with noise and color.

The feared war had proven to be a false alarm after all — and more than that, the Kingdom of Changsha would endure, and their own Lady Mu was to be empress of the new dynasty. Such joys had come one after another; how could the people not feel proud to share in them?

In Changsha now, everyone had forgotten their former resentment and contempt for the man named Xie Changgeng. In the eyes of the people, he was not only the founding emperor of the new dynasty — the true son of Heaven — but also a husband who had borne humiliation with quiet endurance, faithful in love and deep in feeling.

The caravan rolled out through the city gates, growing gradually more distant amid the reverent kneeling and joyful farewells of the people on both sides of the road, until it was gone, on its way to the capital.

More than a month later, in the spring of the first year of the new Great Cheng dynasty, the carriage bearing Mu Fulan drew slowly toward its destination.

The carriage eased to a halt; the entire convoy came to a stop as well, and finally rested before a postal relay station located several li outside the imperial city gates.

From ahead came the voice of an attending eunuch: “My lady, the Prince of Qin has come out of the city in person to receive you. Please, my lady, and the young lord — please change to a different conveyance to enter the city.”

The carriage door opened. Mu Fulan looked forward.

On the road ahead, a long ceremonial procession had halted. It was the procession of an emperor — Xie Changgeng had not yet officially ascended the throne and still went by his former title, but the full ceremonial trappings of his comings and goings were already on par with those of an emperor.

“Welcome, His Highness the Prince of Qin!”

“Welcome, Her Ladyship! Welcome, the young lord!”

On both sides, the officials and attendants traveling with each party dropped to their knees in greeting. Amid the orderly calls of welcome, Mu Fulan watched as he swung down from his horse and strode in broad, unhurried steps toward her.

His gaze, from the very beginning, seemed fixed solely on Xi’er at Mu Fulan’s side.

There was a smile on his face. He walked up to the carriage and lifted Xi’er down from it himself, then cast a glance at Mu Fulan. His hand paused for a moment in midair — then at last extended slowly toward her as well.

Mu Fulan bent forward and stepped out of the carriage. Under the watching eyes of many around her, she placed one hand, barely resting, in the man’s broad and slightly calloused palm, lifted her skirts slightly, and stepped down using the small mounting block a eunuch had quickly placed below.

The moment she was down, she withdrew her hand and instead reached out to take Xi’er’s, who had been watching both her and the man with attentive eyes.

Xie Changgeng turned quietly and moved forward. She, guided with great deference by several officials, boarded another splendid carriage that was waiting on the road.

The caravan set off again. The majestic outline of the imperial city ahead gradually became clear through the haze of willow catkins drifting like smoke across the sky.

The road had already been cleared. The carriage finally passed through the city gates and traveled along the smooth, wide avenue leading to the imperial palace in the capital.

If things could go on like this from now on, it should be considered a good ending.

That man had ascended to the position he had dreamed of all his life. Xi’er had made up for what had been missing before — though Xi’er himself did not know it. The people of Changsha no longer needed to fear war or upheaval in their lives. And those retainers who had served the Mu clan for many years were able to keep all that they had originally possessed.

A happy ending all around. So she thought.

……

Three days later, Xie Changgeng was acclaimed by his hundred officials and performed the enthronement ceremony, becoming the founding emperor of the Great Cheng dynasty. On the same day, Mu Fulan was officially invested as Empress.

The next day would be the investiture ceremony of the Crown Prince.

The ceremony was to be held at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Astronomer-Royal, who oversaw celestial observation and divination, had calculated the auspicious hour. At that time, the Emperor would personally preside over the ceremony and place the crown that belonged to the Crown Prince upon his head.

The Emperor took the matter with such gravity that the officials below naturally dared not show the slightest negligence. Every preparation had been made well in advance; they waited only for the ceremony to come the following day.

Over those two days, Mu Fulan had been extraordinarily busy. From the moment the investiture ceremony was concluded, she had been receiving the wives and mothers of the officials in an unbroken stream — among them the new nobles who had risen with the new dynasty, and the old figures left over from the previous era. Today she had only just finished receiving them all, after the banquet she had hosted in the palace had ended. By the time she returned to her sleeping quarters, it was already the middle of the first watch of the night, and she asked after Xi’er.

This palace had once been the residence of her aunt. During the one year she had spent in the palace as a child, she had lived here as well. After the death of the original Empress, this place had stood empty for nearly twenty years, gathering nothing but cobwebs.

Now the palace had been renamed Ziwei Palace. In just a few short months, it had been splendidly decorated and refurbished, with many trees and flowering plants transplanted to the front and rear — breathtaking in its beauty, like a paradise of the mortal world.

Xi’er had originally been given separate sleeping quarters of his own, but after he arrived, he said himself that he wished to be closer to her.

Since he had not yet come of age, Mu Fulan naturally consented, and had him stay with her for the time being, sleeping in the side hall of Ziwei Palace.

The palace attendants said that His Highness the Crown Prince had been summoned to Yuanchen Palace by the Emperor.

Yuanchen Palace was where the new dynasty’s emperor used as his imperial study for handling affairs after morning court. With the new dynasty just established and state affairs coming from all directions at once, Xie Changgeng was naturally even busier than she was. Since her arrival at the capital and entry into the palace, she had not seen him in these past several evenings — he was presumably still resting there.

Mu Fulan waited, and waited for a long while. Deep into the night, approaching the end of the last watch, there was still no sign of Xi’er returning.

She checked the hour, hesitated briefly, and made her way to Yuanchen Palace.

She passed through the palace corridors, which were stationed with imperial guards, and arrived before the hall. From a distance, she could see lights burning within. Several eunuchs standing watch outside the hall saw her coming and hurried down the steps to kneel in greeting.

Mu Fulan asked after the Crown Prince. The eunuch said that the Emperor had been inside all evening with the Crown Prince, reviewing memorials and receiving officials.

“The Emperor has given word that the Empress may enter at any hour she comes.”

Mu Fulan walked slowly inside, and when she reached the outer chamber of the imperial study, she stopped.

The study door was half open. Through it, she could see the interior bright as daylight with lamplight. Two figures — one tall, one small — sat behind the desk. Before them knelt more than ten officials: those on the left were civil ministers, those on the right were military commanders.

She recognized several familiar backs — all old acquaintances from the years in Hexi.

Xie Changgeng was dressed in his dragon robes, his expression grave. He spoke to those kneeling before him: “You are all veterans who have followed Us for more than a decade. Your loyalty needs no further declaration — We know it well. The honor you enjoy today is what you have earned. As for the fear that the bow is stored away once the birds are gone — those of you present here need have no such worry at all. We will speak plainly: everyone summoned here tonight is someone We have recognized as a loyal and worthy official or commander.”

The likes of Liu An, kneeling on the ground, were moved with gratitude, and prostrated themselves to express their thanks.

Xie Changgeng glanced at the small boy beside him and continued: “Tomorrow is the day We establish the Crown Prince. Though the Crown Prince is young, the quality of his character and conduct — you all are witness to it. We have summoned you here to tell you this: from this day forward, you are to serve the Crown Prince with the same loyalty with which you serve Us — to assist and guide him, and to help him become a wise ruler in the future.”

“Is that understood?”

The officials answered as one.

The voices drifted faintly to Mu Fulan’s ears.

She stood quietly for a moment, then withdrew and returned to her sleeping quarters. About the time it takes an incense stick to burn, sounds came from outside the hall — the voice of a palace attendant calling, “Your Majesty.”

Mu Fulan turned her head and saw the man walk in — but he did not come fully inside. He stopped at the side of the floor-length curtain that separated the inner and outer chambers of the sleeping quarters, and stood looking at her in silence.

Mu Fulan walked a little toward him. “Has Xi’er gone to sleep?”

He gave a small nod.

“I have already seen him to the side hall to rest. As it was late, I told him there was no need to come here to pay his respects to you.” He spoke quietly.

“The attendants told me you came by earlier. There were many matters tonight and I was late returning — I have kept you waiting long. Going forward, I will have someone bring him back earlier; you need not worry.” He continued.

Mu Fulan, thinking of the scene she had just witnessed, suddenly found she did not know what to say in response.

He, too, seemed to have nothing more to say. He stood a moment longer in the shadow where the palace lanterns did not quite reach, then said abruptly: “It is late. You should rest.”

And with that, he turned and left. His figure vanished quickly into the night beyond the hall doors.

That night, Mu Fulan lay alone on the elaborately decorated phoenix bed beneath her, unable to sleep for a long while. The following morning, she rose early, personally helped Xi’er dress and put himself in order, and then led him out to the eunuchs waiting outside.

By the customary rules, the Empress did not need to attend the Crown Prince investiture — the Emperor was to bring the Crown Prince to the Ancestral Temple himself.

The eunuch said the Emperor was at this moment already waiting at Zishen Gate, the gate leading to the Ancestral Temple.

After Xi’er took his leave of her and followed the eunuch away, Mu Fulan stood on the steps outside the hall and watched his figure disappear from view, then turned and made her way to Xingning Palace.

Xingning Palace was the residence of Xie Changgeng’s mother, the present Empress Dowager.

On the day of the pavilion crisis over the water, she had apparently been so frightened that when she regained consciousness, her spirits had never been quite right. Later, she had recovered somewhat — only to learn that her son was to become emperor, and she had become so elated and unsettled that she could not sleep properly at night. Her age was already considerable, and some days previous she had accidentally caught a chill and promptly fallen ill — and fallen ill severely. Despite careful treatment by the imperial physicians, she had remained confined to bed. Before Mu Fulan’s arrival in the capital, the Empress Dowager had been bedridden for nearly a month. Only in the past few days, with Xi’er’s arrival — he was so well-behaved and visited her often — had she seemed to cheer up considerably, and her condition appeared to be improving a little.

Since entering the palace, Mu Fulan had also consulted with the imperial physicians and attended to her care several times.

She was halfway to Xingning Palace when she suddenly saw a thick plume of smoke rising in the direction of Xingning Palace ahead of her — it looked very much like a fire.

The palace buildings were largely constructed of great timber, so the rules governing the use of fire were bound to be strict. Moreover, it was early morning, with all candles extinguished — how could a fire suddenly start?

“Something is wrong!” At this moment, several palace maids from Xingning Palace came running toward her in panic. Seeing Mu Fulan, they dropped to their knees.

“Your Majesty the Empress, the Empress Dowager’s sleeping chambers have just caught fire! While we were fighting the flames, the Empress Dowager was seized by a palace maid who had slipped in from the Office of Gardens amid the chaos. She is threatening to kill the Empress Dowager unless you, Your Majesty, come in person!”

Mu Fulan was struck with shock. She immediately sent someone to summon the palace guards and notify Xie Changgeng, then rushed to the Empress Dowager’s quarters herself.

Within Xingning Palace, in the chambers where the Empress Dowager resided, fire had spread along the curtains and hangings — which had caught instantly — and was now extending further. The palace guards had not yet arrived. Among the dozens of palace maids and eunuchs, some lay on the ground, howling and beating at the flames that had caught on their clothing; others ran about in blind confusion, shouting of fire and calling for help. Everyone was in utter disorder.

Through the door that had already caught fire, Mu Fulan could see the Empress Dowager held by a woman who appeared to be an elderly palace maid — a pair of scissors pressed against her throat. Both were trapped inside. On the ground lay a figure who seemed to have been struck unconscious with a blunt instrument — it was A’Mao.

This palace maid had presumably worked outdoors in the Office of Gardens for many years; her skin was deeply weathered and dark. Combined with the billowing smoke filling the hall, Mu Fulan could not make out her face clearly at first. At a glance, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, yet could not place who it was — let alone understand how anyone could be so brazen as to use the current Empress Dowager as a hostage against her.

“Mu Fulan — do you still know who I am!”

The palace maid cried out her name through the smoke and flames.

Mu Fulan finally recognized her.

The old palace maid across from her — was none other than Qi Lingfeng.