Hao Yue lunged forward — and was kicked back at an even greater speed.
The blow caught her full in the chest. She lay face-down on the ground for a long while before she could draw breath.
It truly was Gu Yanxi. Hao Yue laughed. Only he would strike a woman without the slightest mercy or restraint. This man — from first to last, he had never once looked upon her with any regard. She had been foolish. She had actually thought to use him as her means of changing her fate. Never had she imagined that this life would fall so far beneath the last — at least in the previous one she had not been this wretched. At least she had not had blood on her hands. At least… she had still been Hao Yue, not the creature she had become, this unhinged self she no longer recognized.
If he had rejected all women from the very beginning, that would have been one thing. But he had not — he had set his heart on another woman. He had been willing to defy the Emperor for her sake, willing to give up everything for her. He was not without feeling — he was only without feeling for her.
That was why she had been unable to resign herself. That was why she had gone step by step to where she now stood. Everything she had fallen to was caused by those two people — how could she be at peace?
She struggled to sit up. Hao Yue looked at Gu Yanxi, her vision still somewhat blurred, yet she could see his coldness with perfect clarity. “I have said I am skilled at divination. Have you ever believed it?”
“Never.”
Hao Yue let out a short, scornful laugh. She was not surprised. The one person before whom she had dared reveal her true depth did not believe her — while before the Emperor she had never dared show even a trace of it. Deep down she had always known who could be trusted and who could not.
But she could no longer bear to go on living like this. Why should others live in glory while she suffered so?
She swayed to her feet and moved slowly toward the light that came through the door, her expression contemptuous. “I am no diviner. I have merely lived this life twice over. In my previous life…”
Hao Yue pointed at the figure Chen Qing had casually dropped on the floor. “In my previous life, I was his imperial consort.”
Gu Yanxi glanced back. Chen Qing caught his meaning, looked once at Hao Yue, and quietly withdrew beyond the door to stand guard. He was privately grateful that there was now no one else left in the Hall of Ruyue.
“What is there to fear? Even I am not afraid. Even if someone learned of it, it is I who would be burned alive as a demon woman. Though…” Hao Yue laughed with a loud, brazen arrogance. “I will not be the only one to die. Because I lived one more life, I knew that the Fourth Prince would die, that the Fifth Prince would be crippled, that the Sixth Prince would not survive to this day — I knew that Yuan Shifang was a member of the Chaoli clan, that Wu Yong had been poisoned to death, and that the entire Hua Family should by all rights have been exiled and perished at Yinshan Pass, bringing students across the realm to rise in fury, throwing the court into turmoil, and leaving the Hua Family huddled in some forgotten corner — leaving Hua Zhi utterly unknown and obscure.”
Hao Yue tilted her head back in silent laughter. “And yet because of one extra person, the Emperor died ahead of time. The Fifth Prince was not crippled. The Sixth Prince became Crown Prince. Wu Yong is still alive. The Hua Family still lives and breathes at Yinshan Pass. Hua Zhi became Grand Tutor as a woman — unprecedented and glorious. Two lifetimes, two completely different courses. Those who should have died are still living. Those who should be living have died. Gu Yanxi — do you truly believe that the one you hold as precious as jade is brilliant entirely by her own merit? Perhaps she too has only benefited from two lifetimes of advantage — or perhaps something unclean has taken up residence within her. Look at the network of connections she has built around her now. Are you not afraid she will overturn the rivers and mountains of your Great Qing?”
Gu Yanxi listened to everything she said without making a single sound. When he finally spoke, what he said had nothing whatsoever to do with it. “You were induced to encourage the late Emperor to consume the heart’s blood of a child. Who gave you that idea.”
Hao Yue’s smile froze. She had said all of that, and this was Gu Yanxi’s response? He was not afraid? Not the least bit suspicious?
“How do you know it was someone else’s idea? I hated the Emperor. I hated you. I wanted to see Great Qing destroyed — what need would I have for anyone to give me ideas?”
“Before, this official only suspected. Now, it is confirmed.”
“And what of it? Do you think I will simply tell you?”
Gu Yanxi’s lips curved in a cold arc — not the slightest intention of pressing her — and he turned and walked away.
Hao Yue refused to let it end there and raised her voice after him. “Gu Yanxi — are you not afraid that Hua Zhi is nothing more than the skin of the Hua Family’s eldest daughter, and inside is something hideous and foul?”
Gu Yanxi did not turn back. Yet his voice fell clearly, each word measured and deliberate: “And what of it? She is Hua Zhi, and that is enough. Ghost or demon, I am devoted to her all the same.”
Hao Yue’s mind went utterly blank. This was not the answer she had wanted to hear. It was not supposed to be like this. How could there be such depth of feeling? It was impossible — it could not be. What lifetime of fortune had Hua Zhi cultivated, to deserve such profound and unwavering devotion from Gu Yanxi?
“Gu Yanxi — Hua Zhi is only using you! She is using you! Do you think she truly cares for you? She is putting on an act — all of it is to pull her family out of their plight, to secure the Hua Family’s wealth and honor. She is using you!”
Gu Yanxi finally stopped. In the instant that Hao Yue’s heart leapt with triumph, certain her scheme had worked, he slowly turned around — and there was even a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. “I am very glad I am worth being used. Never mind being used — even if she wanted my life, I would offer it with both hands.”
“Why do you insist on deceiving yourself…”
Gu Yanxi ignored her entirely. He flicked a pill into the room, then calmly gave his order: “Seal them in together. Board up the door as before.”
Chen Qing received the command, stepped forward, hoisted the Fourth Prince — who had gone completely limp — and threw him inside, then shoved Hao Yue, who had realized what was happening and tried to bolt, far back into the room. He seized the moment to shut and lock the door, then took up the hammer himself and drove the boards back one by one.
The pill his master had tossed in — he knew the scent of it. It was an aphrodisiac. The Fourth Prince had already been castrated, and now he would be struck with this —
Outside the hall, Yuxiang was waiting.
Without a word spoken, he fell in silently and followed toward the Hall of Longevity and Prosperity.
Shao Yao was rubbing the Empress Dowager’s temples. When she heard movement she grinned at Yanxi — in her world there was no such thing as being forbidden to smile during a mourning period. She might have been called callous, but the truth was that in her heart, the only people she was close to were Yanxi, and then Hua Zhi who was certainly going to become her sister-in-law, and then Little Six, with the Empress Dowager ranking still further after, and everyone else being strangers — including the late Emperor.
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and allowed Yuxiang to help her sit up, then beckoned. “Come and keep Grandmother company.”
Gu Yanxi came and sat beside her. Looking at those hands that had grown ever more gaunt and thin, his heart softened. “Rest well. Do not let your thoughts run on — what has already happened will pass.”
“Grandmother does not dwell on it. It is only that having done too many things that trouble the conscience, the heart feels unsettled.”
“Your decisions have never been for your own sake.”
“It is precisely because I know you understand Grandmother that Grandmother feels all the more guilty.” The Empress Dowager sighed. “The late Emperor said that only after the Crown Prince is wed will he permit you and Hua Zhi to marry. And Grandmother agreed. After all, Grandmother is a woman too — I know better than anyone that once a woman marries and has children, her life ceases to be her own. Grandmother was also afraid. Afraid that her heart might stir toward other thoughts. Afraid that your heart might shift. Afraid the Crown Prince might harbor undue wariness.”
A faint bitterness crept into the Empress Dowager’s smile. “Yanxi, your wife’s family will be the Hua Family — the Hua Family, foremost among scholarly officials. Setting aside what they have contributed through the generations, reckoning by Hua Zhi alone, the debt is beyond calculation. If we do not hold her in check somewhat, how is the Crown Prince to manage in the future? How is he to maintain his footing with you?”
“Your grandson understands. And your grandson has already spoken with Hua Zhi about this matter. She said she can wait.” Gu Yanxi’s voice suddenly turned hoarse. “Grandmother — Hua Zhi has already pushed herself to the very outermost limits of what she is capable of. Please do not ask any more of her.”
The Empress Dowager’s lips trembled. After a long silence, she answered him. “Grandmother knows.”