His grip on her hand tightened slightly before he continued: “It has been many years. The Directorate of Operations investigated that you spent your childhood in a nunnery but did not delve into who your birth parents were.”

She thought quietly for a moment before nodding: “Your Majesty is right. It was an event from twenty years ago. The empire is vast, and it would not be easy to discover who this subject’s parents were. It was improper of this subject to ask Your Majesty about such matters.”

He simply looked at her without speaking further.

Though she said nothing, he could see the deep disappointment in her eyes. From the nunnery’s women’s school, and the women’s school to the imperial court, she had never enjoyed a single day of parental love in these twenty years. If he had not happened to rescue her when he traveled north to Chao’an twenty years ago, she would likely have become nothing but a pile of white bones long ago. How could she then be nestling before him like this now? He deeply understood the layers of inferiority hidden beneath her bold and fearless exterior and also knew how lonely and dependent she was in this flourishing capital.

She suddenly raised her face to him and smiled. “Why has Your Majesty stopped speaking?”

He pulled her into his embrace and said: “Someday, I will let you know your parents’ names.”

But she shook her head. “There are countless people without fathers or mothers under heaven. This subject is merely one among them—how could court officials make special efforts for this? This subject only hopes to assist Your Majesty in governing this peaceful and prosperous realm, so that one day children will no longer suffer the pain of abandonment and abuse. That would be enough.”

The morning sunlight slanted into the room onto the bed, carrying the distinct clarity and warmth of winter days, illuminating his deep, cold eyes. The blue-brown heterochromia was as transparent as amber, exceptionally brilliant.

After a long while, she saw him lower his eyes and smile, heard him say gently to her: “Accompany me to offer prayers for blessings.”

In the new imperial reign, the western suburban sacrificial ceremony was essential. However, she had thought that after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the court would determine the sacrificial rituals, and then with the accompaniment of all civil and military officials, a grand procession would go to the Auspicious Cloud Temple for the western sacrifice to heaven.

He stood up. Seeing the doubt in her heart, he added: “Yesterday, while at Jinming Tower, I already instructed the relevant officials. Today, we will go to the Auspicious Cloud Temple on West Mountain to pray for blessings for the Emperor and Prince Ping.”

Hearing this, she got out of bed, arranged her clothes, and put up her long hair. “Will other officials be coming to West Mountain to stand in formation today?”

He remained silent, his gaze lingering on her white fingers entwined in her hair, with some intensity.

She suddenly understood.

How could others be coming?

He had only issued the order to the officials one day in advance about praying for the Emperor and Prince Ping. He had left the city alone at night, rushing to the Auspicious Cloud Temple on West Mountain. It was all because she had returned to the capital just a day earlier. Though he knew of her return, he had not summoned her to the palace for an audience. In just one day, he had arranged all these things. Using the pretext of offering prayers at West Mountain, he openly left the palace and the city, concealing one fact from the court officials—he had also brought her along.

The beautiful snow on West Mountain and the deep emotions—this piece of imperial sincerity made her afraid to accept it presumptively, yet also afraid not to accept it.

Though moved, she still knew her place, understanding that he could never neglect the Emperor and Prince Ping for her sake. Since he said it was to pray for blessings, it must truly be his sincere desire to pray for his parents.

Thinking this way, she couldn’t help but be moved.

She had never heard how he interacted with his parents. It was always said that the imperial family was the most unfeeling, with the heavy responsibilities of imperial power and the realm making it impossible to compare their familial affection to that of ordinary families. He shouldered the efforts of two people’s lifetimes; the responsibility of succession ultimately outweighed the filial duty of a son.

Sitting in the highest position under heaven, yet unable to accompany his parents for even a day, he could only pray for their health in this manner. This must also be difficult for his heart.

“Come here,” he said softly in front of her, extending his hand.

She came back to her senses, her expression somewhat hesitant. Looking up, she saw his determined expression and finally slowly placed her hand in his palm, allowing him to lead her out the door and into the temple.

On the way, he spoke with slow, heavy steps: “My father spent many years in military campaigns when he was young. The hidden dangers of his old injuries have not been eliminated. For many years, he has not concerned himself with political affairs to avoid mental strain, yet the old ministers at the court believe it is to allow me to take control of the government. My mother’s health has also been weak for consecutive years. Their shared wish for many years has been to abdicate the throne and retire together to the Western capital. Even if I tried to persuade them otherwise, it would be useless…”

She could hear the deep affection for his parents in his words and was moved that he would share these thoughts with her. She couldn’t help but grip his hand tightly in return, saying softly: “Your Majesty need not worry. The Emperor and Prince Ping will certainly be safe and well in the western capital.”

In the sunlight, he turned to look at her, the deep meaning in his eyes intensifying. The corner of his mouth moved slightly as he nodded and said: “The two of them have been fearless all their lives. Now, even more so, nothing will happen to them.”

In the Auspicious Cloud Temple, the guards had already prepared everything, just waiting for his arrival.

Not requiring civil and military officials to accompany him was also to avoid those elaborate ceremonies. The high sacrificial altar was covered with snow, cold and chilling. The snow-covered distant mountains formed a continuous range of peaks, under the blue sky and brilliant sun, a flawless vista.

He released her hand, stepped forward toward the mountain, lifted the apron of his dragon robe with a turn of his palm, and knelt heavily before the sacrificial altar. He raised his chin and closed his eyes slightly.

“At the beginning of this year, following the Great Emperor’s abdication, I, fearing to fail the mandate entrusted to me by the Emperor and Prince Ping who governed day and night, have taken the position. The ruler regards heaven as father and earth as mother. Today, I come to the suburbs to meet heaven and earth, humbly beseeching heaven’s witness. May the peaceful realm be forever secure without collapse, may the people of the realm live without worry, may the Emperor and Prince Ping be safe and well without concern…”

His voice came from the front, sinking into the earth, gathering strength to shake the heavens.

The mountain was quiet, with distant echoes off the cliffs undulating continuously.

She also lifted her skirt and knelt, hands clasped at her knees, head lowered.

If heaven had a spirit, it would surely hear the prayers in her heart.

…May the peaceful realm be forever secure without collapse; may the people of the realm be nurtured without worry; may the Emperor and Prince Ping be safe and well without concern.

…May this subject forever stand by the sovereign’s side, watching as my emperor secures the realm, nurtures the people, and achieves great peace.

…This subject fears not the judgments of loyalty or treachery for herself, only wishing—

My emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years.

On the second day after returning to the residence, a formal edict was issued from the inner court, appointing Meng Tinghui as Acting Drafter of Proclamations, jointly in charge of the Personnel Ministry’s Internal Division, Head of the Examination Bureau, and bestowing her with gold and purple.

Unlike previous occasions, this time no one in court vociferously criticized the Emperor’s special promotion of Meng Tinghui. Even the officials of the Hanlin Academy, who usually viewed Meng Tinghui as a disgrace to the academy, did not raise objections when they heard she had been appointed to the position of drafting imperial edicts.

Everyone at court knew that when the imperial troops in the Northern Route of Chao’an had mutinied, the Emperor had summoned important ministers for an overnight discussion, intending to send high-ranking officials to pacify the rebel troops. However, not one of the court ministers was willing to recommend such officials to leave the capital to suppress the rebellion. Instead, they had pushed this heavy responsibility onto Meng Tinghui, who was young, had recently entered the court, and was a woman.

Now that Meng Tinghui had returned with merit, although there were suspicions of her being excessively harsh in interpreting the imperial decree, she was not a high-ranking official, yet she was willing to go north to pacify the rebel troops on behalf of those high officials. Now that the Emperor had granted her an exceptional official position, how could it be considered beyond protocol? Moreover, even the old ministers of the Eastern Faction had not said a word, so what could others say?

They could only watch with envy as Meng Tinghui entered the ranks of high officials in one step. Looking across the court, no other female official held a higher position than her, and no one had been promoted faster. Everyone privately commented that from the high offices to the central government was only a few steps away. If she achieved another meritorious deed, it would not be impossible for her to be appointed as an Associate Chancellor next year.

Furthermore, she now oversaw the Personnel Ministry’s examinations—

The court officials were not fools. Those skilled in official affairs would certainly understand the implications. Knowing that Cao Jing had been promoted to two ranks due to her recommendation, more and more young officials began to align themselves with her. Even the Western Faction officials who had previously not interacted much with her now sent calling cards to the Meng residence and invited her to banquets.

The long-standing division between the Eastern and Western factions at court was subtly changing. The young officials who aligned themselves with Meng Tinghui were openly criticized by the older ministers as the “Meng Faction,” determined to label Meng Tinghui as “forming a faction disloyal to the throne.”

In early March, when the court should have been organizing the first provincial examination for imperial scholars since the Emperor’s ascension, Meng Tinghui’s memorial “On Imperial Scholar Examinations at Court” caused an uproar throughout the court—

The memorial stated that to fulfill the former Emperor’s wishes, female officials who had shown excellent governance in local prefectures and counties should be allowed to hold important positions. Moreover, she requested the Emperor to abolish the separate imperial scholar examination for women next year, allowing women seeking official positions to take the same imperial scholar examination as men this year!

It was rumored that when the Prime Minister of the Central Secretariat was reviewing this proposal under imperial order, Right Chancellor Xu Ting had privately whispered to Associate Chancellor Ye Wen: “If women become high officials, once they hold important positions, it will surely lead to great chaos!”