Liu Wenji stood outside the chamber holding a golden cup, a neatly folded white handkerchief in hand. Further down the palace corridor, palace maids approached gracefully, carrying medicine.

Liu Wenji caught their eye, gesturing toward the palace before shaking his head. The maids had just brought medicine from the Imperial Dispensary for the Emperor’s use. The lead maid tilted her head to listen, hearing Princess Danyang’s intermittent sobs from within.

No one dared disturb them, though the maids anxiously pleaded with Liu Wenji, worried the medicine would lose its efficacy if it cooled.

After a moment’s consideration, Liu Wenji said he would go in to inform His Majesty. Using this excuse to enter, he could hear Princess Danyang’s quiet sobs more clearly—

The Emperor reclined on his couch while Mu Wanyao wept at his knees.

As Liu Wenji entered, he caught Mu Wanyao’s reflection in the gilt bronze mirror as she raised her face—surprisingly bare of makeup, entirely lacking her usual striking beauty. Instead, she appeared delicate and pitiful.

Mu Wanyao sobbed, “Father, I’ve made many mistakes lately with my elder brother, and haven’t dared see you. I felt too ashamed to come home, fearing I’d disappointed you. Father, are you angry with me?”

The Emperor had grown thin, appearing even more haggard than when Mu Wanyao last saw him. He raised his withered hand to pat her shoulder, indicating she needn’t be this way.

Mu Wanyao looked up. In the dim lamplight, she saw her Imperial Father gazing down at her. Perhaps it was the dim light, but she thought she caught a glimpse of tenderness in his eyes.

While Mu Wanyao stayed frozen, the Emperor sighed, “You’re my little daughter. We’re family—what is there to be angry about?”

Mu Wanyao bit her lip. “But I was bewitched and took many wrong paths.”

The Emperor smiled faintly. “Knowing you’ve gone astray and returning—aren’t you still my good child?”

Mu Wanyao spoke anxiously, “Father, are you especially angry with me? I haven’t done anything terrible. When Yan Er mentioned the seventy-two lives lost in Yizhou, I only learned what happened these past few days. Once I knew, I felt it went too far.

“I can’t sleep at night; I keep having nightmares. The Vice Minister of Revenue left my residence, and everyone said everything he did was on my orders. These days, the court officials are all impeaching me, wanting you to send me to Danyang. I know I’ve done many things wrong, but Father’s health isn’t good—I want to stay by your side and care for you…”

Danyang was Mu Wanyao’s fief, but unless a princess was truly out of favor, which princess would be banished to live out her remaining days in her fief?

Half-truthfully, she called him “Ah-Father” in the common way rather than “Imperial Father.” She called him this, again and again, weeping at his knees. Under this emotional assault, the Emperor seemed to soften as though soaked in her tears.

The Emperor said, “Yaoyao, don’t be afraid. No one can drive you back to Danyang. Don’t worry about those officials’ impeachments. After all, you are the ruler, they are subjects. You are the master, they are the servants. How can servants drive the master from their own home? Rest assured.”

Mu Wanyao paused, then said dejectedly, “I thought you would be very upset that I’d lost the people’s hearts.”

The Emperor’s answer was quite telling: “The people’s hearts are easy to lose and easy to gain. As long as the overall situation remains under control, that’s enough. Yaoyao, remember—we are rulers, we are masters.”

Mu Wanyao froze.

She felt vaguely confused and lost. It was as though Yan Shang’s constant reminders to be good to the common people had almost swayed her, but as soon as she returned to her father’s world, she realized—no one really cared that much.

The Emperor only wanted to maintain stability.

Only Yan Shang truly cared about the common people.

While Mu Wanyao was lost in thought, she heard the Emperor coughing into his handkerchief. Catching the sight of Liu Wenji in her peripheral vision, she suddenly remembered it was time for the Emperor’s medicine. As the Emperor’s coughing worsened, Mu Wanyao quickly rose to attend him, while Liu Wenji hurried forward.

Liu Wenji helped the Emperor lie back on his couch while Mu Wanyao stared at the handkerchief the Emperor had used to suppress his coughing. She saw the blood stains, dripping and spreading.

Though she had always known her father’s health was poor, seeing it each time made her feel his life slipping away bit by bit…

Even though she despised him, Mu Wanyao couldn’t help feeling desolate.

Yet it was the Emperor who turned and, seeing his daughter staring dazedly at the handkerchief, spoke to comfort her: “It’s just an old ailment, don’t worry about it.”

Mu Wanyao looked back, gazing at him with tear-filled eyes, saying, “Father must take care of his dragon body.”

…At least for now, the Emperor’s health couldn’t suffer any setbacks.

Otherwise, the Crown Prince would naturally ascend to the throne.

She might not fare so well then—

Mu Wanyao’s cooperation with the Crown Prince had always been primarily based on mutual benefit, each taking what they needed. But she had thought that after working together for so long, the Crown Prince should trust her somewhat. She hadn’t expected that at the slightest disturbance, he would still suspect her.

The Crown Prince had never truly considered her one of his own.

Their superficial peace in normal times would cause major problems when real crises arose due to the gulf between them.

Just like this time.

Mu Wanyao had come to the palace to cry to the Emperor, though she hadn’t said anything particularly important. She wasn’t even sure how much her father, in his condition, understood about the court affairs. But at least Mu Wanyao had gotten his assurance that although the Ministry of Revenue had fallen, the Emperor had no intention of investigating her.

With this guarantee, Mu Wanyao felt much more at ease, and less panicked. She began to consider more ways to save herself—

In her view, her situation had deteriorated completely, with most of her capable officials destroyed. Though she hated Yan Shang to death, more important now was extricating herself.

After the Crown Prince refused to see her on two more visits to the Eastern Palace, she stopped trying to deal with him and instead pondered on her own. She studied the court officials now speaking up for Yan Shang and discovered that most were officials with shallow roots, with few from powerful established families.

Mu Wanyao couldn’t help but wonder thoughtfully—these officials had no strong foundation yet supported Yan Shang. Were there so many righteous officials at court, or was someone directing them?

If someone was directing them… was it her father?

And did her father want to… support those from humble backgrounds?

Mu Wanyao froze. If her father wanted to use this opportunity to give officials from humble origins more voice in court, didn’t Yan Shang’s actions align with her father’s goals? Could it be that this time, her father would protect Yan Shang?

As Mu Wanyao sat in her chambers analyzing the current situation, she caught sight of her maids standing in the corridor beyond the pearl curtains, speaking quietly about something. Mu Wanyao, feeling irritable, found even their whispers exceptionally annoying and shouted angrily, “What are you all talking about?!”

The whispering maids outside jumped in fright, stammering without daring to answer until Xia Rong came in to report to the Princess: “The servants were discussing what’s happening next door.”

Mu Wanyao fell silent.

She sneered, “What, planning to desert my princess’s residence and arrange to visit Young Master Yan in prison together? How did he bewitch you all—are you planning to become his seventeenth or eighteenth concubine?”

Xia Rong wouldn’t dare involve herself in the Princess and Young Master Yan’s relationship matters, so she smiled apologetically, “The servants weren’t talking about that—they were saying the officials from the Court of Judicial Review came to search the neighboring residence.”

Mu Wanyao froze.

She murmured, “The Court of Judicial Review came to confiscate property?”

She thought: What does it matter to me? In Yan Shang’s current situation, property confiscation is only natural.

Xia Rong observed Mu Wanyao’s expression and said, “But the neighboring residence was given to Young Master Yan by Your Highness. Isn’t the Court of Judicial Review’s confiscation somewhat disrespectful to Your Highness?”

Mu Wanyao lowered her eyes to her book and said coldly, “They’re carrying out their official duties. I should avoid any appearance of impropriety.”

Xia Rong couldn’t say anything more and withdrew.

However, after Mu Wanyao had only read for a short while in her chamber, Xia Rong returned, requesting an audience outside the pearl curtain. When Mu Wanyao glared at her in anger at the disturbance, she saw Xia Rong looking both panicked and confused: “Your Highness, the officials from the Court of Judicial Review have come to our princess’s residence.”

Mu Wanyao was stunned.

Then she erupted in fury: “What do they mean by this?! I don’t interfere with their search next door, let them confiscate as they please, and now they dare come to search my princess’s residence? Do they think I’m easy to bully?!”

In her extreme anger, Mu Wanyao strode out to meet these Court of Judicial Review officials.

The judicial officials were blocked at the alley entrance to the princess’s residence, with Fang Tong and other guards from the princess’s residence blocking their way, preventing them from entering.

The lead official was negotiating with Fang Tong, saying they were carrying out their official duties, when they heard an angry female voice approaching from afar: “What grave crime have I committed that the Court of Judicial Review dares to search my princess’s residence? Am I a criminal? This is treason!”

The judicial official looked up to see Princess Danyang descending the steps in her red silk robes, her maids following behind. Mu Wanyao’s gaze held three parts smile but seven parts icy fury.

Seeing the Princess’s misunderstanding, the judicial official quickly explained: “Your Highness misunderstands—we wouldn’t dare search the princess’s residence. We came to search Yan’s residence but found some items there that required explanation. Young Master Yan’s conduct has been improper, so we naturally must investigate, but we’ve only come to ask Your Highness some questions.”

Mu Wanyao thought: So this is the fire Yan Shang has brought down.

But what could Yan Shang do when they had nearly tormented him to death?

Thinking of how she had seen Yan Shang in prison that day, Mu Wanyao felt unsettled and spoke somewhat perfunctorily: “What do you wish to ask?”

The judicial official said, “We found Your Highness’s portrait in the chambers of that courtesan Chun Niang. We naturally know someone as noble as Your Highness couldn’t possibly have dealings with a courtesan. This must have been Young Master Yan’s deliberate doing. Thus we obtained orders to search Young Master Yan’s residence.”

Mu Wanyao stared at them for a long moment, then said, “You found my portrait in a courtesan’s chambers, suspected Yan Shang and I had an affair, suspected I directed Yan Shang to investigate the Ministry of Revenue with some hidden purpose. So you came to search Yan Shang’s residence, hoping to find evidence of improper dealings with the Princess to prove he and I were involved.”

The judicial official immediately looked embarrassed.

Mu Wanyao said coldly, “Did you find evidence of our involvement?”

The judicial official spoke politely, “Your Highness is pure as ice and jade—naturally we found no such things in Young Master Yan’s residence.”

Mu Wanyao said nothing.

She had never given Yan Shang any of her personal belongings, and he had never wanted them. So no matter how much the officials openly speculated about her unusual relationship with Yan Shang, they had no physical evidence. In all their time together, Mu Wanyao had only given him one thing last month—an ugly embroidered pouch.

Such an ugly pouch probably wouldn’t draw anyone’s attention.

Even if they saw it, they wouldn’t think it was something a princess had given to an official.

Thinking of this, Mu Wanyao couldn’t help feeling sad.

The judicial official continued, “However, we found some items in Young Master Yan’s residence that exceed his rank’s regulations.”

Mu Wanyao suddenly raised her eyes to look at him.

The official smiled slightly, “Given his rank, there are some items he absolutely couldn’t possess. But we heard Your Highness once had a master-servant relationship with him, so we wanted to know if these were gifts from Your Highness.”

As Mu Wanyao listened, her first thought was that they were trying to trick her. But as she opened her mouth to angrily denounce their nonsense, she suddenly froze, her pupils contracting—

Someone as self-disciplined as Yan Shang would never use anything above his official rank. In the past when Mu Wanyao gave him things, he would always find ways to return them. But there was one time he hadn’t returned them or rather hadn’t had the chance to return them.

It was that time when she had pressured Yan Shang into fooling around in the carriage, when Yan Shang had momentarily given in to her wishes, and they had run into Yang Silai looking for her.

Yan Shang had left in shame and anger, and Mu Wanyao had sent many precious items to his residence next door to apologize.

But afterward, they had quarreled over the matter of children, Mu Wanyao had left Chang’an for Jinling, and Yan Shang had gone to Yizhou. When they returned, they had fought again over the Yizhou affair.

Those precious items she had sent to apologize had never been returned.

Now these people from the Court of Judicial Review would probably use these items to tie her and Yan Shang together.

Mu Wanyao asked, “What did Yan Shang say?”

The judicial official smiled, “With the physical evidence there, what could he say? If we didn’t have evidence, how could we come to question Your Highness?”

Mu Wanyao: “Are you saying Yan Shang admitted these were gifts from me?”

The judicial official replied, “The evidence is all here.”

Mu Wanyao’s lips curved in a mocking smile.

She said, “Yan Shang didn’t say that, did he? Did he admit to his relationship with me? Did he personally say our relationship was unusual, that everything he did was inextricably linked to me? Under your torture, did you make him speak?”

The judicial official evaded the key points: “Your Highness is aware of our interrogation methods.”

Mu Wanyao said icily, “Still not daring to answer my question directly.”

She lifted her chin slightly, regarding the officials in the alley with cold detachment. She said, “When you get concrete evidence from Yan Shang’s mouth, when he speaks and puts his mark on it, then come question me.”

The judicial official asked, “So Your Highness denies it?”

Mu Wanyao said, “I’ll wait for Yan Shang’s testimony. Fang Tong, see them out!”

As she turned to enter her residence, her face became rigid and pale, her palm cold with sweat as she held onto Xia Rong’s hand. Xia Rong looked up at the Princess, seeing her expression somewhat blank.

Xia Rong whispered worriedly, “If Young Master Yan speaks about the Princess…”

Mu Wanyao said softly, “He won’t speak.

“He’s not that kind of person.

“The Court of Judicial Review must not be able to pry open Yan Shang’s mouth, can’t prove that Yan Shang and I are in league together. The Crown Prince is pressuring them, so they came to trick me. But Yan Shang won’t admit it… he’s not that kind of person.”

Her eyes held tears, like misty stars.

Even though things had come to this point, she still insisted he wasn’t that kind of person—

She said, “Let Yan Shang say it himself.”

But when the politely dismissed judicial officials interrogated Yan Shang, he remained completely silent.

Under torture, Chun Niang couldn’t endure and cried out that Young Master Yan had said the woman in the painting was his wife. But everyone knew this was Princess Danyang. The Crown Prince had finally found his breakthrough—he wanted to prove this was Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao’s conspiracy, to push all wrongdoing onto Mu Wanyao…

Even though Chun Niang had identified them, Yan Shang wouldn’t speak.

The Court of Judicial Review and Ministry of Justice had no choice but to go to the Princess’s residence.

And then Mu Wanyao responded like this—

When the Crown Prince learned of it, he sneered: “Yaoyao is stubborn as a mule, I certainly know that. But I didn’t expect Yan Er would refuse to admit his affair with Yaoyao. Does he think we’re all blind?

“Someone must take the blame for this.”—

The difficulty was that Yan Shang wouldn’t speak.

Because as soon as he spoke, whether denying or confirming, the Court of Judicial Review would find ways to charge him with crimes.

If he said he had no affair with Mu Wanyao, that he only collected the Princess’s portraits out of admiration, then the items found in his residence that exceeded his rank would be enough to prove his lack of innocence—and if he wasn’t innocent, how could he speak about the Ministry of Revenue’s corruption;

If he admitted to an affair with Mu Wanyao, it would make everything more intriguing. This would mean the Princess and Crown Prince had a rift, the Princess deliberately used this matter to harm the Crown Prince, most of the Ministry of Revenue affairs were done by the Princess behind the Crown Prince’s back—the Crown Prince knew nothing, it was all the Princess’s fault.

As long as Yan Shang spoke… he could be convicted!

This was the solution the Crown Prince had devised after realizing he couldn’t escape the Ministry of Revenue matter.

It showed the Crown Prince had no other options, and could only throw someone out as a scapegoat…

The best scapegoat was Mu Wanyao, who had been close to the Crown Prince—

Mu Wanyao sat in her dark chamber, lost in thought.

After the judicial officials left, she pondered, contemplating.

The portrait Yan Shang had left with Chun Niang, Yan Shang’s refusal to speak… he had said in prison that he had left her an escape route, though he didn’t know if she would take it.

When the Court of Judicial Review and Ministry of Justice questioned him about the portrait, he didn’t know how she would choose, so he wouldn’t speak no matter what. He was just that kind of person… the Court of Judicial Review tried to use Yan Shang to trick Mu Wanyao, but how could Mu Wanyao believe Yan Shang would implicate her?

There was only one person like Yan Shang in this world. Such a person would die under torture before speaking a single word against her.

Such a hatefully devoted man.

Mu Wanyao closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, her fingers resting on the table also quivering slightly. She suppressed the turmoil in her heart when thinking of Yan Shang, forcing herself to stay calm and think about how to save herself.

The Crown Prince had already moved against her, was ready to abandon her. She had to act before the Crown Prince, do the same thing he was doing. She had to race against time with the Crown Prince!

When Mu Wanyao walked out of her chamber, Xia Rong and the other maids were startled—the Princess’s hair was slightly disheveled, her clothes in disarray, as she ordered them: “Prepare the carriage to enter the palace.”

Xia Rong: “The Princess’s appearance…”

Mu Wanyao: “This is exactly how I want to appear before Father Emperor.”—

She needed to appear pitiful.

She needed to say she was innocent.

She needed to say she had been framed, forced into this.

She needed to display her feminine fragility, let Father Emperor know she was just an ignorant princess… make Father Emperor love her, believe her, want to help her!

Support those from humble origins!

She needed Father Emperor to save her with this answer himself!—

The scheming Mu Wanyao entered the palace once again for an imperial audience.

This time her clothes were disheveled, crying all the way. She seemed to have fallen along the way, her originally magnificent clothes now stained with mud. Her face was also smeared with dust, the ornaments in her cloud-like hair loosened, swaying gently. She cried all the way looking for the Emperor, her jet-black hair half undone.

The Emperor had just finished taking his medicine when his little daughter knelt beside his knee and began crying about how the Court of Judicial Review had humiliated her at her residence today—

“Father, please save Yan Shang. I didn’t dare admit it to the Court of Judicial Review, but Father knows, Yan Shang and I are involved, if they investigate further, they’ll surely say I directed Yan Shang in the Ministry of Revenue matter. They want to kill Yan Shang, and they want to bully your daughter!

“What did I do wrong? I just love Yan Shang, I can’t bear to see him die. I secretly went to see him in prison, they wanted to prove Yan Shang’s innocence, and they beat him so terribly. I can’t take it… I’m so miserable.”

It was all false.

She was just deliberately crying to make the Emperor think she was a foolish princess who only cared about love. If the Emperor thought her foolish, thought she just loved a man, he would pity her, would help her.

But as she cried, thinking of Yan Shang, real tears began to form, and she truly cried until she could barely breathe. True and false mixed together—her heart ached, and such pretense made it almost seamless.

Sure enough, as she cried, the Emperor had her sit up and gave her a handkerchief. The Emperor said, “That courtesan had your portrait?”

Mu Wanyao sobbed even more, raising her snow-white face in confusion, tears flowing: “Elder Brother wants to use this to harm me. He wants me to take the blame for him. Now they want to make Yan Shang appear corrupt, and me too. Elder Brother wants to abandon me, but I haven’t done anything.

“I just want to save Yan Shang. I don’t know how to save him…”

She didn’t want to save Yan Shang.

She wanted to protect herself.

She wanted to draw a clear line between herself and the Crown Prince.

She wanted to wash herself clean of this matter, even if it meant clipping her wings, she couldn’t be made into a scapegoat.

Mu Wanyao: “I also want to help Father purify the court, I don’t want to be used by them, then discarded. Father, is there any way I can save Yan Shang? Father, is there anything I can do to help you?”

His daughter’s intense crying softened the Emperor’s heart. For many years, no girl had cried like this before him. Mu Wanyao’s continuous tears, like falling rain, reminded him of the distant A-Nuan.

The Emperor’s mind was hazy as he looked at Mu Wanyao, half in reality, half in fantasy. He couldn’t tell if the girl before him was his daughter or his dead wife. Just seeing this girl sobbing continuously made his heart ache again and again.

Don’t cry, don’t cry… it’s nothing.

The Emperor spoke the answer Mu Wanyao had been waiting for: “…support those from humble origins.”—

The court situation changed dramatically again after Mu Wanyao’s reversal.

Mu Wanyao led her sparse but firmly loyal officials in openly opposing the Crown Prince. She began standing on the side of justice, supporting the rise of officials without strong foundations, letting these people contend with the Crown Prince.

The Prince of Qin also stirred up trouble.

The Ministry of Revenue’s inevitable collapse was no longer the Crown Prince’s greatest blow—it was Mu Wanyao’s sudden betrayal. Mu Wanyao took away a group of officials to oppose him, Mu Wanyao held evidence of some of their past dealings, Mu Wanyao used these to threaten him, Mu Wanyao suddenly wanted to stand with the common people, to seek justice for them.

In the depths of winter, after morning court one day, the Crown Prince walked out of the hall with a cold face and unexpectedly saw Mu Wanyao sitting in her palanquin, leisurely preparing to pay respects to the Emperor again.

Mu Wanyao smiled at the Crown Prince, cold and indifferent, while the Crown Prince remained expressionless.

As the Crown Prince was about to pass by, Mu Wanyao had her palanquin stop and said, “Elder Brother, if you don’t admit defeat soon, the Ministry of Revenue will slip completely from your grasp. Better to admit your mistakes early, clear Yan Shang of the false charges against him, acknowledge that the Ministry of Revenue did indeed make mistakes before.”

The Crown Prince said flatly, “Did Father teach you all this?”

Mu Wanyao smiled at him, the gold powder at her eye corners lifting slightly: “I’m thinking of Elder Brother’s interests. If Elder Brother remains obstinate and loses the Ministry of Revenue, now in the dead of winter, the border troops need military pay, aren’t they? If Elder Brother loses the Ministry of Revenue, if it stops listening to Elder Brother completely, then Young Master Yang’s days at the border this year won’t be pleasant.

“After all, who else but Elder Brother would care so much about military pay?”

The Crown Prince stared at her, suddenly smiling: “You’re using Yang San to threaten me?”

Mu Wanyao: “Just a reminder.”

The Crown Prince: “You’re truly remarkable. Yang San spoke up for you many times before me in the past, yet today you use him as a tool, a chess piece, to make me admit defeat. Mu Wanyao, you’re completely changed today, wasting his past protection of you.”

Mu Wanyao was silent for a moment.

She smiled: “I don’t care.”—

As long as she held power.

As long as she could rise again.

Nothing else mattered—

At least she wouldn’t be thrown out as a scapegoat.

At least she had found her position at court again.

At least she knew what the Emperor was thinking.

At least… Yan Shang would live—

By the end of the twelfth month, the court situation developed favorably. Voices supporting Yan Shang increased at court, and when the Crown Prince went to the palace to remove his crown and admit guilt to the Emperor, this major year-end case was concluded.

The Emperor confined the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace to properly study the way of rulership again.

Afterward, the Emperor received Yan Shang.

Two months of imprisonment ended on this day.

In his haziness, the Emperor received Liu Wenji’s reminder that Young Master Yan had arrived. The Emperor roused himself and had Young Master Yan enter the inner cabinet. Yan Shang bowed to pay respects from the side, and the Emperor raised his eyes to look at him.

He thought this person seemed much thinner. Yet he remained pure and beautiful, gentle and calm.

Ah, imprisonment.

The Emperor said softly, “In this case, the Crown Prince has admitted his mistakes and temporarily surrendered the Ministry of Revenue. Your false charges have been cleared, and soon, Young Master Yan’s reputation as a ‘renowned minister of the realm’ who ‘breaks but does not bend’ will spread throughout the court and beyond.”

Yan Shang clasped his hands and lowered his sleeves.

The Emperor asked, “If something like this happens again, will you still dare?”

Yan Shang said quietly, “It was merely what this humble official should do.”

The Emperor stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled mockingly.

He said, “It’s a pity you can’t stay in Chang’an anymore. If you stay here any longer, your life will be in danger, and Yaoyao will come crying to me again.”

Yan Shang remained silent, almost numb.

The Emperor said, “Go to Nanyang, be a county magistrate.”

Yan Shang looked up at the Emperor.

Nanyang wasn’t particularly special—what was special was that Nanyang was where the Prince of Qin’s maternal family held influence.

The Emperor would use this tool… until it could no longer be used.