Crack!

Another savage blow. The Emperor had brought this one backhanded — from the right shoulder to the left abdomen, the two marks forming a mirror image of each other. The Emperor smiled with satisfaction. Yue’er had not deceived him after all; his strength now far surpassed what it once was.

“Do not think that just because Yanxi is devoted to you, you can actually consider yourself remarkable. Wishful thinking. We have not given Our blessing for a single day, and for a single day you cannot become Yanxi’s wife. When the time comes We shall bestow him a marriage, and then see how many years he can still remember you!”

Crack!

“Speaking out of turn about imperial family matters — add one more count to the charges!”

“Imperial Father, please show mercy!” Xiao Liu was so desperate that his tears had already fallen. His mentor’s health was already poor — how could she endure the whip?

The Emperor turned to look at him, smiled, and brought down another blow.

“Begging for mercy? Oh?”

Watching the long whip rise high again, Xiao Liu despaired. He dared not say another word, terrified that his speaking up might bring his mentor even greater suffering.

Yet something fell faster than that whip could.

With almost no warning at all, the Emperor simply toppled and collapsed straight down. Xiao Liu happened to be closest to him at that moment, and because he had been watching the whip so intently, he was the first to notice that something was wrong with his Imperial Father. Without a second thought, he lunged forward and used his own body as a cushion beneath him. The force of the impact when the Emperor came down was so great that his face contorted with pain.

“Ahh—!” The cries of the consorts and palace maids nearly split the ceiling.

The Empress Dowager was the second person to notice the Emperor’s collapse. Her commands came in the same instant as the screams, steady and unhurried: “Send for the imperial physicians!”

A palace attendant scrambled out on hands and feet.

The Empress Dowager tucked her trembling hands into her sleeves and issued one order after another without faltering: “No one is to leave their place until Aijia gives the word. Fu Gang — keep the palace secure.”

“This officer receives the order.”

“Duke of Dingguo.”

The Duke of Dingguo, who had been kneeling outside for a long while, paid his respects: “This official is present.”

“Not a single person outside is to be missing.”

“Yes.”

“General Zhou of the Central Garrison should have arrived by now.”

Zhou Jing, who had entered only moments behind Hua Zhi, stepped forward and dropped to one knee: “This commander is present.”

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Aijia shall presume to act beyond her station. We order you to guard the Forbidden City, and further command the four outer garrisons to enter the city to protect the capital. Close the city gates, impose the lockdown — all members of the imperial clan are subject to the lockdown, and even the Prince of Ling shall receive no special privilege.”

“This commander… receives the Empress Dowager’s decree.”

Hua Zhi endured the burning pain across her body and knelt once more upon the ground. “Empress Dowager, the divine physician is at Shizi’s residence.”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes brightened. She turned and instructed: “Yuxiang, go and invite him — quickly.”

“Yes.”

Looking at Hua Zhi — pale-faced, in wretched disarray, yet not having uttered a single cry of pain — the Empress Dowager let out a sigh. She personally bent down and helped her to her feet. Looking at her trembling hands, she said: “Even to save Xiao Liu, this was reckless.”

Hua Zhi did not know how to reply and could only manage a strained smile.

At that moment, a commotion sounded behind them. The Empress Dowager glanced back to see Hao Yue had come forward, kneeling beside the Emperor with her rounded belly as she wept. By now Xiao Liu had been carefully lifted out from beneath the Emperor, and a large cloak had been laid as padding on the floor.

With undisguised contempt, the Empress Dowager averted her gaze and could not say anything more to Hua Zhi. She turned and walked over. Under the pretense of straightening the Emperor’s collar, she pressed her fingers to his pulse. Her bewilderment deepened — though he was now unconscious, why was his pulse still beating with such strength?

Hao Yue dabbed at the corners of her eyes and looked up, her voice choked: “Empress Dowager, the floors are cold and the weather is still cool. Should we not carry the Emperor back to the imperial bedchamber first?”

The Empress Dowager hesitated and was on the verge of nodding when she heard a voice from behind: “This young woman believes it is best not to move him. Shao Yao is in the habit of sharing tidbits of medical knowledge with me, and she once said that if a person has suffered a fall, it is best not to move them, so as not to compound any injuries with further harm.”

Hao Yue’s dislike of Hua Zhi must have been something she had accumulated over a past life — no, perhaps over several past lives. How else could she feel a flash of irritation at the very sound of her name, and upon seeing her in person, feel a murderous urge that went beyond words?

She could not bear to look at her alive for even a moment longer!

She did not even bother putting on a pretense in front of her. She immediately wiped away her tears and gave a cold smile: “Merely a condemned prisoner — what standing does she have to be speaking so boldly here?”

Hua Zhi lowered her gaze and paid her no mind. She could not allow the Emperor to leave the sight of everyone present. She could not give Hao Yue the chance to reverse the situation.

The Empress Dowager appeared to glance at Hao Yue almost as an aside, and said lightly: “I have heard that Yuepin is also skilled in medicine. Why not have you examine the Emperor and tell us what the matter is.”

“This…”

The Empress Dowager watched her steadily, waiting for her response.

Hao Yue bit her lip and turned back to her weeping. Her purpose achieved, Hua Zhi stepped back to a greater distance.

Watching her firstborn son lying there, unconscious and unresponsive, the Empress Dowager’s heart was flooded with desolation. Anyone with eyes could see that Hao Yue was no pure and innocent lotus flower — yet the Emperor had been blinded as if by lard, sheltering and protecting her wholeheartedly. The accumulated events of these past days and the Emperor’s deteriorating health — none of it could have come about without Hao Yue’s hand in it. If there was no such hand, then she, the Empress Dowager, would hand over her position to Hao Yue!

Xiao Liu slowly, carefully, doing his best not to draw attention, edged his way over to Hua Zhi’s side. Seeing his mentor in such a state, he was filled with grief.

Hua Zhi comforted him in a gentle voice: “The layers of clothing are thick. The Emperor’s strength is limited. It is only this part near the neck that aches a little — nothing serious.”

Xiao Liu wanted nothing more than to find a mirror and hold it up for his mentor to see what she looked like right now. A person who was ordinarily so capable of bearing things looked like this — he could not imagine the depths of the pain she was enduring.

But he still had to put on a show of believing her. He gave her a relieved smile and said: “That is good to hear. I will ask Grandmother shortly to have the physician prescribe some medicine to ease the pain.”

“Good.” As if she felt no pain at all, Hua Zhi raised her arm and straightened his clothes, then lowered her voice: “Conduct yourself well. Let the court officials see what a prince of Daqing ought to look like.”

Your mentor has paved a broad and open road for you to walk. The dark and filthy things — I hope you can come to them a little later. Wait until you are older, until your thoughts have grown more mature. Wait until you have absorbed enough goodness, righteousness, resilience, and courage as nourishment. Wait until your heart is filled with warmth, so that you can face these evils with mastery and emerge unaffected.

“Walk forward with your head held high. No need to hesitate — do not look back.” Hua Zhi patted Xiao Liu’s head one last time. Even with strands of hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, her smile was still warm and lovely. “I am behind you.”

Xiao Liu nodded hard, his eyes red. He believed every word his mentor said. It was because he believed in his mentor that he had walked step by step to this very place.

He knew his mentor would always protect him. As she had today. As she had so many times before.

The Empress Dowager glanced over in their direction. Before she could form any further thoughts, she saw the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy arrive with several others, hastening into the hall. After a thorough examination, cold sweat broke out on the chief physician’s forehead. He did not know how to deliver his report.

“Aijia wants to hear the truth.”

The chief physician looked out at the full hall of people and felt as though the head on his shoulders was already barely holding its place.

The Empress Dowager swept the room with her gaze and dismissed all the others, then beckoned the chief physician closer. “Speak.”

The chief physician begged her pardon and moved to a position one step from her, lowering his voice: “The Emperor… I fear things are not well.”

The Empress Dowager felt no surprise. Not a flicker of expression crossed her face. “Is there any way to rouse the Emperor?”

The chief physician hesitated briefly. “Until the very last moment, this servant would advise against it.”

“What can you do?”

The chief physician dropped to his knees on the floor. All the imperial physicians followed, prostrating themselves in unison.

The Empress Dowager’s phoenix eyes narrowed. She slapped the armrest in furious exasperation: “Then what use are any of you!”