Father Emperor’s reaction had already confirmed that he had long seen through the Empress’s plan of secretly making a substitution.

Though devoted to the Dao, he was not truly deaf and blind. With Prince Yong and his son coveting power from the side and the situation unstable, Father Emperor could not allow the throne he had seized from his brother to be passed to his brother’s line. Therefore, he chose to go with the flow, using Zhao Yān as a cover.

Zhao Yān was gambling—gambling that Father Emperor cared about the imperial family’s face, gambling that he had a shred of remorse and pity for his wife and his early-deceased son.

The Emperor slowly paced, his jaw slightly tense.

“For a woman to scheme to usurp power is intolerable by heaven’s principles. Those people associated with you only because of the Eastern Palace. Once the ‘Crown Prince’ mask is removed, no one in the world will help you. But since you have taken all responsibility upon yourself, you still show some filial piety.”

The Emperor looked at the youth kneeling before him and said gravely, “I can agree, but you’d better accept your fate from now on.”

Zhao Yān had won.

She raised the corners of her lips slightly and touched her forehead to her palms: “Your son thanks Father Emperor.”

Leaving the warm chamber, twilight had fallen. The bitter cold wind cut like a blade against her face, making her robes flutter noisily.

Armed guards with four men waited at the front steps. Eunuch Feng had received instructions and smiled apologetically while holding his duster: “The wind is cold, and night is falling. His Majesty has graciously allowed Your Highness to rest in Chaolu Hall, with no need to return to the Eastern Palace.”

…

…

Zhao Yān glanced at Empress Wei kneeling on the platform and said to Eunuch Feng: “Allow me to say a few words to Mother.”

Eunuch Feng felt compassion and secretly gave the guards a look. The guards then stepped aside.

Zhao Yān walked against the wind and, together with Liu Ying, helped up the hairpin-removed, loose-haired Empress Wei.

Empress Wei was ice cold all over, perhaps from being in the wind too long. Her eyes were severely red, burning with restrained regret and hatred.

“Mother is the calmest and resolute woman. Don’t do anything foolish or confront Father Emperor. Father Emperor said I have filial piety, but that’s not entirely correct, because only by keeping you safe can the hundreds of lives connected to the Eastern Palace be preserved.”

She exhaled a white breath and smiled calmly, “This is already the best outcome. Consider this your son’s final request as ‘Crown Prince’—please take care of yourself.”

Empress Wei’s straight body suddenly trembled, as if suddenly nailed to the spot. The cold wind was like a blade, yet it could not compare to the dense pain these words brought her.

Zhao Yān still believed that Mother would only listen to her words for Zhao Yǎn’s sake.

She tucked her sleeves and performed the Crown Prince’s bow to her mother before turning to the guards: “Let’s go.”

“Your Highness!”

Liu Ying released Empress Wei and chased after them, lifting her skirt to kneel and kowtow fiercely toward the warm chamber: “I beg Your Majesty to allow this slave to go to Chaolu Hall to serve the Crown Prince!”

Zhao Yān frowned and sighed lightly, truly not wanting anyone else to be implicated, and quickly urged the escorting guards: “Let’s go, let’s go, don’t dawdle.”

“…” The guards were speechless for a long time.

It was the first time they had seen someone so eager to go to confinement. This frankness and composure were most rare, inspiring their respect and adding to their reverence.

Liu Ying still wanted to chase after them, but was stopped by the eunuchs. Her voice gradually faded away, disappearing into the sobbing wind.

Chaolu Hall—even the name sounded inauspicious. It was said to have once imprisoned a criminal consort from the previous dynasty.

Fortunately, the imperial family had maintained some dignity. Zhao Yān was currently only confined, not yet convicted and sentenced. Apart from her lack of freedom, it was quite peaceful.

However, with the “Crown Prince” not returning to the Eastern Palace for so long, it eventually caused a great stir in the court.

Although the Emperor officially stated that “the Crown Prince remains in Taiji Hall to attend to the Emperor’s illness,” with the prophecy from the “divine stone” at the banquet, everyone tacitly understood: Princess Changfeng impersonating the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace—a woman dressed as a man causing harm to the court—was an undisputed fact.

The entire court was in an uproar—this was the first such occurrence in a hundred years!

The court was in turmoil, and the pressure could not be suppressed. Besides demanding an announcement of the truth about the Crown Prince’s death, how to deal with Princess Changfeng became the topic of controversy.

The fourth day of the New Year, Zhao Yān’s fifth day of confinement in Chaolu Hall.

Waking up, she saw whiteness beyond the screen partition.

The great hall was cold as an ice cellar. Zhao Yān sat cross-legged behind the table, wrapped in bedding, her sleeves rolled up as she dipped her brush in ink. Just then, she heard the sound of guards arguing with someone outside the hall.

It was somewhat distant, but she could vaguely make out that it was probably a girl.

At the front platform, Huo Zhenzhen stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a cape of rabbit fur.

“Officially, I am the Lady of Yongle of Great Xuan, and Uncle Emperor has permitted me to move freely in the palace. Privately, the one confined in this hall is nominally my childhood friend. Why won’t you let me in!”

Huo Zhenzhen came on aggressively, “I just want to ask her a few questions. It won’t take long. If you don’t allow me in, I’ll tell my mother to reason with Uncle Emperor!”

The guards looked at each other, not daring to use force to stop her but also not daring to respond casually.

The captain heard the commotion and came over. Unable to offend this little ancestor, he made a decision: “This subordinate can give the Lady a quarter of an hour, but the Lady must be searched by a female official before entering. If anything happens, the Lady must take responsibility. This subordinate is only following orders and hopes the Lady understands.”

There was no further noise from outside for a long time.

Zhao Yān sat in the hall, ears perked to listen. Just as she was wondering whether to get up and take a look, she heard the door latch and Huo Zhenzhen pushing the door open indignantly.

Behind her followed a tall palace maid with lowered head and eyes.

Zhao Yān was stunned: this palace maid’s figure and bearing… why did they seem so familiar?

The door closed again, and the cold light from the newcomers dimmed, leaving only two floor lamps casting a faint glow.

Zhao Yān looked at Huo Zhenzhen, who stood at a distance with a complex expression, then at the tall palace maid behind her. After her initial surprise, she suddenly chuckled.

“Lady, Baiwei, why have you come?”

She sat under the dim light, her slender figure surrounded by a halo, “Is it snowing outside? When I woke up this morning, I saw the windows were white, and my breath was white too.”

“Yes, it snowed heavily all night. What kind of place is this? Not even a charcoal basin for warmth!”

The ‘palace maid’ stepped out from behind Huo Zhenzhen, revealing Liu Baiwei’s face with its flamboyant red makeup. “Your Highness can still laugh.”

“Sorry, I suddenly remembered what Father Emperor said to me that day. He said you all associated with me only because of the Eastern Palace, and without the identity of Crown Prince, no one would help me…”

Zhao Yān put down her brush, tucked her sleeves, and smiled, “I won another round, and couldn’t help but smile.”

Though she deliberately flattened her sleeves, Liu Baiwei immediately noticed the shackles on her wrists. The cold black iron rubbed against her delicate white wrists, unbearably eye-catching.

“Why are you still wearing these?”

Liu Baiwei’s eyes were full of heartache. He squatted down, wanting to touch the shackles but not daring to. “Your Highness should exchange clothes with me and let the Lady take you out.”

“Liu Baiwei, you’ve always been clever to the point of seeming supernatural. Why have you become foolish now?”

Zhao Yān smiled and shook her wrist, making the thumb-thick iron chain rattle delicately. “How could I leave like this, in this state?”

Liu Baiwei was speechless, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

“What Mother did, Father Emperor knew all along. That’s why I used that bit of guilt in his heart to exchange for the safety of Mother and others. What the Father Emperor wants is simply to prevent a woman from having a hand in imperial power after the situation stabilizes. So he will only deal with me alone.”

Zhao Yān analyzed calmly, without taking medicine, her voice revealing a woman’s soft gentleness, “You and Mother must not act emotionally. The colder you appear, the better. Don’t waste all my efforts.”

“What about you?” Liu Baiwei’s eyes were slightly red, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he said, “Do you know that the court officials are now competing to discuss how to deal with you… those bastards!”

Zhao Yān lowered her eyelids, looking at the shackles on her wrists, “Yesterday, when they were ordered to put these on me, I guessed the court must be in an uproar.”

“And yet you still…”

“To be honest, I don’t care at all what they say about me now. What I care about is that women across the land will suffer even more severe shackles because of me. The women’s schools that were finally established will die prematurely. I worry that women will be confined to the back courtyards, that poor families will abandon their daughters’ education, that the shadow of disciplinary whips will loom over Great Xuan.”

A small gasp came from the corner. Zhao Yān paused and looked toward Huo Zhenzhen, who was constantly rubbing her eyes.

She was silent for a moment, then tried to make her voice lighter, teasing: “Lady, why are you standing so far away? If you want to look, you can come closer.”

Huo Zhenzhen suddenly addressed, stiffening.

She took small steps forward, walking into the light, and stared at Zhao Yān with a complex expression: “Is what they say true? Are you… Zhao Yān?”

Zhao Yān nodded in admission: “Yes.”

Huo Zhenzhen stepped forward, almost urgently asking: “What about Crown Prince brother? Where have you hidden him?”

“Lady…”

“Where have you hidden him?”

Huo Zhenzhen asked loudly again. Zhao Yān pinched the base of her thumb and could only tell the truth: “Zhao Yǎn is no longer in this world.”

These words stabbed the hearts of all three present.

“How is that possible…”

With the rumors confirmed, Huo Zhenzhen swayed and almost collapsed to the ground.

Like a helpless child, she desperately refused to accept the truth, murmuring, “You’re lying to me, you’re all lying to me, aren’t you?”

“Would the Lady think I would joke about Zhao Yǎn’s life and death?”

Zhao Yān asked hoarsely, “Does the Lady know why I hate Prince Yong and his son so much, why I hate Wei Yan?”

Huo Zhenzhen was dazed.

Zhao Yān said: “Because the charge against them of ‘plotting to harm the imperial heir’ was not empty talk.”

Huo Zhenzhen’s lips suddenly drooped, her fingertips tightly twisting her sleeves, her large eyes brimming with tears.

“When I returned to the palace this time, I knew the Crown Prince’s brother was different toward me… I thought he had just grown up, that he just didn’t like me.”

“I’m sorry for deceiving you for so long.”

Zhao Yān lowered her gaze and repeated, “I apologize.”

Huo Zhenzhen’s tense jaw trembled slightly. Liu Baiwei felt compassion and wanted to offer some words of comfort, but was pushed away by her.

“Zhao Yān, I’m not standing here because I like you! You stole the Crown Prince’s brother’s affection and then stole his identity. It’s truly despicable! But you avenged Crown Prince brother…”

Huo Zhenzhen fiercely wiped her eyes, stood up, and said with a choked voice, “What do you want me to do? Shall I ask Uncle Emperor for mercy? Is that possible?”

Zhao Yān was surprised.

She and Huo Zhenzhen had often quarreled as children. She had thought that once Huo Zhenzhen knew the truth, she would hate her even more. Zhao Yān had even prepared not to argue back if insulted, but she hadn’t expected to hear this.

“Why would you…”

“Don’t overthink it. Despite my willfulness, I understand the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. As fellow women, if I don’t speak up today, the knife might fall on my head next.”

Huo Zhenzhen clenched her small fists, almost beside herself with anger, “Hurry and tell me, or I’ll change my mind!”

Zhao Yān estimated that the quarter-hour was almost up and had to focus on the important matters.

“Let me think…”

She asked Liu Baiwei, “What is the court’s current attitude?”

“Not good.”

Liu Baiwei crossed his arms over his chest and frowned, “Shen Jingming’s father and several officials who have received Your Highness’s favor have indeed petitioned His Majesty for leniency. But most court officials still feel this matter needs to be concluded with dignity.”

“By ‘dignity,’ they probably mean that I should commit suicide.”

Zhao Yān laughed and recalled a story she had heard recently: the wife of a wealthy family encountered bandits on the road. Though she was rescued at the cost of lives, her father, ashamed that she had been in the company of bandits, which disgraced the family name, forced his daughter, who had just escaped death, to commit suicide to preserve her reputation.

This woman was none other than Rong Fuyue as a young girl.

If Wenren Cang hadn’t ridden to the Rong family with a spear, intimidating Rong’s father, Rong Fuyue, would now be just a cold memorial arch.

The moral code kills without a blade, yet every word drips with blood.

“You can still laugh. Now the court is almost turning this into a debate on moral principles.”

Liu Baiwei cursed through gritted teeth, “Those stubborn old tortoises!”

“A debate on moral principles might not be a bad thing. Where there’s debate, there’s half a chance for life.”

Zhao Yān felt relieved and habitually propped her chin, “What’s most feared is a conclusive judgment, where I don’t even have a chance to fight back.”

“How will you fight back?”

“It’s not fighting back, just struggling for a ray of hope.”

After thinking, Zhao Yān fiddled with her shackles and handed a stack of rice paper on the table to Liu Baiwei, “These are the petitions and arguments I’ve written in the hall these past days. I’ve clearly outlined why I substituted for Zhao Yǎn and what I did. Find a way to take them out and see how the scholars react.”

Liu Baiwei immediately understood: “You want to use the power of the literary tradition?”

“Yes. I told you, you all are my backup plan.”

Zhao Yān smiled slightly, “Since we’re debating ritual, let’s debate thoroughly. The Mingde Academy now gathers scholars far and wide—it’s not what it used to be. Father Emperor won’t easily move against it. I had planned to use this move at the Lantern Festival, but now I have to use it early on myself, even though the timing isn’t ideal. So I can only rely on you… and all of you.”

Just then, the captain knocked on the door from outside, reminding them: “Lady, your quarter-hour is up.”

Liu Baiwei hurriedly folded the papers and tucked them into his voluminous bodice. He then took out a medicine bottle, a package of crab roe pastries, and a package of preserved fruits and dried meat. Zhao Yān blinked in amazement, not knowing how he managed it.

“I’m leaving. Your Highness, please take care.”

Liu Baiwei patted his chest, looked at Zhao Yān with reluctance, and said softly, “I will come to see Your Highness again.”

Zhao Yān was surprised as she opened the still-warm pastry wrapping and sniffed it, then shook her head: “There’s no need to come again. Just do well with the matters outside. If you’re not afraid for yourself, at least consider the Lady.”

She smiled and looked at Huo Zhenzhen, who was listening carefully: “Lady…”

“If it’s an apology, there’s no need to say it. I don’t care for it.”

Huo Zhenzhen turned her head and snorted.

Zhao Yān was helpless and said lightly but sincerely: “Thank you.”

Huo Zhenzhen paused, and under the captain’s repeated urging, she led Liu Baiwei out with large strides.

The ground was all white. The cold, clear snow light came flooding in, then disappeared again as the partition door closed.

In the warm light, Zhao Yān rested her chin on her bent elbow, took a small bite of the crab roe pastry, and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction: “Delicious.”

Scattered snow fell as they passed through the three palace gates. Liu Baiwei watched Huo Zhenzhen walking briskly ahead with her head down and couldn’t help calling out: “Huo Zhenzhen.”

Huo Zhenzhen stopped, her fists tightly clenched, not turning back.

Liu Baiwei slowly approached and said quietly: “Don’t hold it in anymore. You look awful.”

These words seemed to unlock something. Huo Zhenzhen’s tightly held heartstrings suddenly snapped.

Her tears poured out like broken strings of pearls, from choking to sobbing, and finally to wailing loudly like a child without restraint.

“Crown Prince brother! Wuwu… Crown Prince brother!”

She sought comfort, burying her head in the bosom of Liu Baiwei, who was dressed as a palace maid, sobbing brokenly.

“What should I do, wuwu, I feel so terrible! I liked him so much!”

Liu Baiwei was pushed back half a step by her, his arms awkwardly suspended in midair, not knowing whether to push her away or not.

In the end, he could only sigh deeply and let the young girl cry until she was breathless.

……

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the voices in court “requesting Princess Changfeng to commit suicide to uphold moral principles” grew increasingly intense. Even the scholars in the capital were drawn into this unprecedented debate.

At Mingde Academy, patches of snow remained.

Scholars gathered in the open space, discussing heatedly.

“A princess impersonating the Crown Prince—unheard of.”

“The Princess was also thinking of the greater good. Given the situation two years ago, without a Crown Prince to stabilize hearts, Great Xuan would have fallen apart. The Princess certainly overstepped, but does her crime warrant death?”

“Although she stepped in at a critical moment for the sake of stability, she deceived the world and violated ritual and human relations. In my view, the Princess taking her own life would be the wisest course, earning her a reputation for loyalty and righteousness.”

“That’s complete bullshit!”

Liu Baiwei pushed out from the crowd, pointing at the middle-aged scholar who had just suggested the Princess commit suicide and berated him, “Without her, Prince Yong and Wei Yan’s ilk would have dominated the court, darkening the heavens! Mingde Academy would never have been revitalized. How many scholars from humble backgrounds couldn’t even cross its threshold, let alone receive stipends and rewards for excellence! Without her, you ungrateful wretches wouldn’t even have a chance to stand in this academy spouting nonsense!”

Soon, people in Mingde Academy recognized him, and a momentary silence fell.

After a while, someone said loudly: “But she is, after all, a woman.”

“Besides being a woman, what other fault does she have? Did she ever use her position as ‘Crown Prince’ to do evil or seek personal gain?”

Liu Baiwei said with a flushed face, “Is being a woman a crime? Is it?” He stared at the person who had just spoken, pressing for an answer.

There was no reply.

The person looked around, seeing no one supporting him, and quietly retreated into the crowd.

Liu Baiwei took out the petitions and arguments he had copied and said breathlessly, “If she were truly a criminal usurping power, would she have protected Mingde Academy according to the Crown Prince’s wishes? Would she say these heartfelt words to you?”

Scholars gradually gathered around, taking the stack of papers from Liu Baiwei’s hands, eagerly passing them around to read.

Gradually, everyone’s expressions became solemn. In the courtyard, except for the rustling sound of paper being passed, there was not a single other noise.

Finally, someone timidly broke the silence.

“The unjust deaths of Jingming, Jixing, and Master Linjiang… was it Princess Changfeng who uncovered the truth and captured the real culprits?”

“The expansion of Mingde Academy, the money for our studies—were they all funded by the Princess?”

“Yes.”

Liu Baiwei’s words rang out clearly, “Now do you still think she should die?”

“…”

His answer was only a prolonged silence.

What faced these scholars was a tug-of-war between ritual principles and human feelings.

“Brother Liu, these truths must be made known to more people.”

A young man stepped out from the crowd, tucked his sleeves, and bowed: “Shen Jingqiu is willing to lend a hand.”

“The Princess did not judge people by wealth or poverty; we should not condemn by gender. Count me in.”

“And me.”

The second person, the third person—gradually, more people stood up and gathered around Liu Baiwei.

Liu Baiwei unclenched his fists and returned the bow deeply: “Liu Baiwei of Mingde Academy thanks you all.”

In the teahouse across the way, Zhou Ji silently watched these scholars braving the cold to grind ink, make copies, and spread the word. His Adam’s apple bobbed several times.

That bright, vivid face gradually became clear in his mind.

A winter bird spread its wings, soaring across the vast sky.

Outside Luo City, several riders galloped forth, crushing the dark red blood that had frozen into ice.

Wenren Lin, with deep, dark eyes, looked toward the silhouette of distant mountains shrouded in cold mist—the direction of the capital.