When the first light of dawn appeared, Shaoshang returned home utterly exhausted. Concealing matters related to deposing the Empress, she explained the whole sequence of events to her parents and siblings once and for all. The five members of the Cheng family were shocked into prolonged speechlessness, especially the Cheng-Xiao couple. Despite their extensive experience, Huo Buyi’s tragic and convoluted background and Ling Yi’s utterly insane, vicious, and meticulous nature far exceeded their imagination.

Shaoshang had absolutely no interest in consulting her family’s opinions. She only instructed: “Soon His Majesty will announce this matter to the realm. At that time the court will also hand down judgments on the Ling family and Huo Buyi. Father, Mother, and three elder brothers should understand in your hearts—don’t publicize it too early. Especially regarding Huo Buyi’s unauthorized midnight troop deployment, you can only say it was to add personnel to surround and attack the Ling clan and had nothing whatsoever to do with Third Prince. If people outside insist on implicating Third Prince, Father, brothers, and Mother should immediately turn hostile on the spot.”

Cheng Song was somewhat puzzled: “Is this His Majesty’s meaning?”

Shaoshang said: “If we as ministers need His Majesty to speak up for every little thing before we understand, we won’t last long either.”

Old Master Cheng praised decisively: “Well said.” He then rebuked his second son: “In the future you’ll support your Uncle Wan’s household—you should also learn to be more steady. Think things through before opening your mouth.”

Cheng Song scratched his head: “Niao Niao has always been cleverer than me!”

Shaoshang said lightly: “Not really clever. After staying in the palace long enough, you can’t help but become steady even if you don’t want to.”

Old Master Cheng looked at his daughter’s haggard, indifferent appearance and felt a pang in his heart.

Cheng Yong hastily changed the subject: “No wonder Uncle Wan wants to take Song to his posting in Xu Commandery. Second brother should indeed gain some experience. Hey, Shaogong, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Usually talkative Cheng Shaogong had been silent until now. Only then did he say: “Niao Niao, let me accompany you back to rest.”

Shaoshang smiled weakly: “Thank you, third brother. I can go back myself.” Before rising to leave, she turned back: “I’ve broken off the engagement with Huo Buyi. I hope Father, brothers, and Mother will forgive my arrogance and willfulness.”

Old Master Cheng froze. Cheng Song immediately opened his mouth to ask, but Madam Xiao pressed them all down with one hand and said first: “Good, we understand. Go rest. At noon today your third aunt will arrive. You two can talk properly then.”

Shaoshang smiled self-mockingly.

Speaking of which, today was originally her wedding day—Third Uncle Cheng Zhi couldn’t leave his posting without permission, but Third Aunt had specially rushed here to attend the wedding. When Lady Sang arrived and learned everything, who knew what her expression would be?

She spoke no more, bowed respectfully, then took her leave.

The girl’s entire sequence of movements flowed like water. When her gaze was level, it was courteous yet distant. When her eyes lowered, it was respectful yet not servile. When she turned to leave, her skirt hem swirled in a beautiful ripple, her waist bending just right—graceful yet showing not a trace of coquettishness. These were the strict habits cultivated in the deep palace.

The Cheng family members suddenly realized that this beautiful young woman before them with impeccable etiquette was no longer the aggressive, bouncing Cheng Niao Niao of before.

The three brothers looked at each other, each feeling a wave of inexplicable loss. Old Master Cheng also felt melancholy for a long while. When he turned to look at his wife, he discovered Madam Xiao’s form was actually trembling slightly.

Once Shaoshang lay down, the illness and exhaustion suppressed for several days immediately surged back magnificently. At first it was just physical weakness and fatigue, swollen throat—before Lady Sang could arrive she was already burning with fever.

This illness was different from the previous night. It seemed she didn’t even have the strength to cry out in pain. Whether wounds split open or bones and flesh ached, she was like a newborn lamb—aside from weak, soft bleating, she could only be slaughtered at will.

In her delirium, Shaoshang heard Old Master Cheng’s roars, Madam Xiao’s weeping (she suspected she might have heard wrong), and Lady Sang’s calls—she greatly missed Third Aunt. This past year she had saved up a bellyful of things to tell her, but now when it came down to it, she felt she had nothing to say.

Even Madam Cheng, who usually looked down on her, came twice. The first time she didn’t know what was said. The second time she seemed to say “should prepare for the funeral,” provoking Old Master Cheng to erupt in fury. Mother and son had a bird-and-beast fight before both were driven out by Madam Xiao.

She burned with high fever for days without abating. The entire Cheng household was frantic with anxiety. Though it was cold early spring, the sweating caused by fever, once it infected wounds, could easily turn to inflammation—light cases meant festering, severe ones meant death. Old Master Cheng and Madam Xiao had both rolled around military camps for decades and deeply understood the dangers, so they were even more worried.

After enduring several rounds day and night without sleep, Shaoshang finally cooled down somewhat. Seeing everyone exhausted to the point of haggard yellowness, Old Master Cheng refused to let the whole household crowd here—everyone should do what they needed to do.

Besides Madam Xiao and Lady Sang, the one who stayed longest in Shaoshang’s room was actually Cheng Shaogong—his reasoning was quite sufficient. He didn’t need to prepare for official appointment like eldest brother Cheng Yong, nor did he have baskets of Wan clan relatives to meet like second brother Cheng Song.

Looking at his frail sister on the sickbed, Cheng Shaogong felt guilty for the first time in his life. Thinking carefully, it would have been better if he’d been left behind ten years ago instead. He wasn’t afraid of meeting terrible men, and sister might have been able to find a suitable husband among Father’s colleague’s sons, like Wan Qiqi had.

Regarding third son Shaogong requesting leave from the academy without a word, Madam Xiao rarely gave her tacit permission. Everyone in the Cheng household understood the reason—Yuan Shen had come.

Shaoshang returned home before dawn. That very afternoon Yuan Shen came to the door. At first he still made up nonsense about “paying respects to Lady Sang.” After learning Shaoshang was unconscious with illness, he stopped even looking for excuses—running to the Cheng household four times a day, more often than mealtimes.

Sometimes bringing physicians maintained by the Yuan family, sometimes carrying large and small packages of medicinal materials, sometimes just coming out of the Confucian lecture hall—even empty-handed, Yuan Shen had to come see Shaoshang. If not allowed this one glance, he could sit in Jiuzhui Hall for two hours, then catch curfew and could only spend the night at the Cheng residence.

Regarding this, Cheng Shaogong expressed: “This fellow finally knows putting on airs is useless. Now not only has he stopped putting on airs, he’s even given up face.”

The Cheng family’s attempts at dissuasion were ineffective. They couldn’t lock him outside the gate, so they could only have Cheng Shaogong accompany him—what could you do about someone who didn’t even want face? Fortunately at this time, attention both inside and outside the court was on the Huo and Ling families, so few people noticed Yuan Shen’s flamboyant positioning.

The day Shaoshang awoke, the court’s edict was finally handed down. The Ling clan received unprecedented severe punishment.

First, the Ling brothers’ acts of collaborating with enemies and betraying the nation were carved in stone and erected as pillars to warn the people. Then the three men’s corpses were whipped and their bones hung for display. Additionally, all Ling family children over five years old were granted death—including married daughters (what if Ling daughters revered their fathers and brothers, secretly teaching descendants to seek revenge and wait for opportunities?). Ling clan women and children under five were all exiled to the northern desert. The Ling ancestral graves were dug up and destroyed, the clan forced to change surnames. Not only that, all marriage connections and old friends who associated closely with the Ling family received demotions across the board.

This ruthlessly decisive measure involving extensive implications made it clear to discerning eyes that it was to forever eliminate future troubles.

Chunyu Shi and her children were certain to die. They were forced to drink poisoned wine before Princess Yuchang’s eyes. Princess Yuchang fainted on the spot.

And old Prince Ruyang’s good days had finally come. The Emperor also didn’t demand uncle divorce—he felt divorce papers and house arrest were more suitable for the former uncle’s wife. The Heir Apparent of Prince Ruyang wanted to defend his mother a bit. The Emperor very kindly indicated: “I know cousin you’re very filial. You can completely go support the old princess outside the capital. However, this way you won’t be able to shoulder the heir apparent’s heavy responsibility.”

Upon learning the situation, the heir’s consort without a word dragged a pile of children threatening to die before her husband’s eyes. The heir shut his mouth.

Thinking how the evidence of Ling Yi’s collaboration with enemies and betrayal had been in that Nüwa statue, kept by the old princess day and night for sixteen years, everyone in Prince Ruyang’s household broke out in cold sweat. Though they themselves knew the old princess didn’t have that kind of depth to knowingly harbor Ling Yi’s deeds as if nothing was wrong, they dared not imagine what outsiders would speculate.

Thus, when the Emperor conveniently found Princess Yuchang a husband and ordered marriage within three months, Prince Ruyang’s household had no objections.

In this thunderstorm-like judgment, only two cases were exceptions.

One was the daughter of Ling Er’s former wife. When the city broke she was already ten years old and vaguely knew her maternal grandfather’s family and birth mother died somewhat suspiciously. Though she never thought much of it, she had always been hostile to her birth father. Later when Ling Er remarried the widowed sister of a powerful general and had sons and daughters with a comfortable life, he increasingly disliked this eldest daughter. Within a few years he married her to an elderly, violent widower from a high-born family.

Fortunately this Ling daughter had good luck. Not long after marrying she became a widow. An elderly aunt in the husband’s family pitied her for losing her mother young and having a heartless birth father and stepmother, so arranged for her to remarry into a middle-ranking official household. Afterward the couple got along harmoniously with many children.

After Ling Yi’s crimes were exposed, originally this Ling daughter should also commit suicide. Her husband risked death to memorialize, requesting clemency from his wife’s death sentence.

The other was Ling San’s concubine-born daughter, born when Ling San was drunk with a maidservant. Her birth mother was sold off early by Ling San’s wife. She herself had been “accidentally” crippled in one leg when young. Ling San already had numerous concubines and consorts. Seeing this daughter would be difficult to marry into a good family, he casually married her to an impoverished household.

That household had neither wealth nor power. They could only kneel at the Ministry of Justice gate, begging Ji Zun to plead on their behalf, stating that since the Ling daughter entered their household she never again associated with the Ling family, and had always been filial to elders and kind to siblings—a virtuous wife praised by everyone in the countryside.

Old Ji was someone cold-faced but warm-hearted, so he reported everything truthfully to the Emperor.

—After carefully hearing the report, the Emperor approved both cases. All the ministers breathed sighs of relief, all praising the Emperor’s wisdom.

Having resolved the Ling family, it was Huo Buyi’s turn.

Killing the Ling brothers could be considered avenging his father—this was where great righteousness lay. Due to special circumstances, Huo Buyi’s crime of privately seeking revenge wouldn’t be pursued. However, unauthorized troop deployment causing turmoil in six camps was an ironclad grave crime.

Facing dozens of bright eyes in the court hall, the Emperor was also quite forthright, stating I will absolutely not show favoritism—though sons using father’s troops hasn’t been a crime since the previous dynasty, though my adopted son only transferred a few more soldiers to be more certain of revenge, though I don’t take it to heart at all, though… but still, I will handle this according to law!

The assembled ministers were speechless.

In the end, Huo Buyi was stripped of all official positions and demoted to the northwest border city to defend against Hu tribe incursions—and breaking the engagement with Old Master Cheng’s daughter also counted as one of the punishment items.

Less than half an hour after the Emperor’s punishment was handed down, Cui You’s memorial leapfrogged levels to be presented. First he copied a segment about Hu tribes knocking on borders and common people’s suffering that seemed plagiarized from books, then volunteered to lead troops to garrison the border city.

The Emperor’s anger flared as he cursed alone in the hall: “You Cui Monkey! Ever since Junhua passed away you’ve been crying and wailing wanting to live or die, claiming illness every few days. Whenever I ask you to do anything you drag your feet, and when pressed you cry about wanting to retire—just like a woman whose man died! Now you’re suddenly full of vigor wanting to serve the nation and plead for the people!”

Cursing aside, the Emperor also knew entrusting his adopted son to Marquis Cui was the most appropriate arrangement. He could only roll his eyes while signing and sealing the appointment.

Cui You had an unremarkable appearance and didn’t enjoy charging into battle, but when handling matters he was second to none in brilliance—both meticulous and efficient. In just five days he arranged all needed provisions for clothing, food, housing, and travel along the way.

Seasonings had to include all four flavors of roasting, steaming, and boiling. Bed curtains had to change through all four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Physicians had to be skilled in external injuries, internal injuries, and recuperation—several of each. Even mosquito-repelling incense was prepared in five different fragrances—actually the Emperor had opened his private treasury for him to take from.

On the day of departure from the city, Marquis Cui led a vast procession of supplies and personnel. Colored flags flew overhead, fine horses neighed beneath—those who didn’t know would think they were going on an excursion.

Huo Buyi lay fully clothed in the carriage, covered with thick furs, his eyes always looking out the window—when they reached the ten-li pavilion outside the city, he ordered the carriage to stop and rest. After a good long while, Liang Qiufei rode over and called loudly: “Young Master, Marquis Cui asks if we should depart!”

Huo Buyi said: “Wait a bit longer.”

Liang Qiuqi looked at his pale face and said with pity: “Young Master, stop looking. She won’t come.”

Huo Buyi lowered his long lashes: “The journey to the border city is difficult. It’s better she doesn’t go…”

Just then, Cui Da and Cui Er dragged a young man over. Liang Qiufei’s eyes lit up: “Hey, isn’t this the Cheng family’s third young master! Surely the young lady has entrusted him to deliver a message!”

Huo Buyi’s deep eyes instantly lit up with hopeful brilliance.

Cheng Shaogong forcefully shook off Cui Da and Cui Er’s arms: “You two kids—how can you lead away my horse as soon as we meet? Truly rude!”

Cui Da and Cui Er grinned shamelessly and apologized profusely.

Huo Buyi said in a trembling voice: “Shaogong, does she, does she have something to say…”

Cheng Shaogong said nothing, pulling a small brocade pouch from his bosom and tossing it to Liang Qiuqi.

Liang Qiuqi felt the pouch seemed to contain a small, square hard object, then passed it into the carriage with both hands.

Huo Buyi grabbed the pouch and shook it open. It was actually the private seal he’d originally given to Shaoshang. For a moment his face turned ashen.

Liang Qiufei said indignantly to Cheng Shaogong: “The young master’s sister is too heartless! Our young master is already in this state…”

“That day after leaving the palace, Shaoshang burned with high fever for a full three days. Afterward she fluctuated between better and worse for another six or seven days. Even today she still can’t get out of bed. Twice during this time physicians told the household to prepare for the funeral, but fortunately she managed to endure.”

Cheng Shaogong looked at Huo Buyi and said word by word: “Father and Mother privately discussed their worry that sister, having suffered such severe illness, might have her lifespan reduced. I heard you suffered grave injuries and lost half your life. Now Shaoshang has also lost half her life. She’s done right by you.”

Huo Buyi gripped the private seal so tightly his knuckles turned white. The four sharp corners of the seal pierced his fingertips but he felt no pain.

The Liang brothers and Cui brothers looked at each other.

Cheng Shaogong continued: “Your late father was loyal and brave, admirable and rare in this world. Everyone in the Cheng household feels this deeply. But one matter is one matter. If you have no fate together, you have no fate together. Please Lord Huo stop forcing it.”

Huo Buyi slowly breathed in and out, struggling to steady his breathing: “I understand your meaning. Does she have no other words?”

Cheng Shaogong was silent for a moment: “Yes. She said—we’ll never meet again.”

Huo Buyi immediately pressed one hand against the carriage wall to avoid falling over.

That night’s scene was vivid before his eyes. The wind was cold with dew, the sounds of surrounding vegetation howling like blade edges piercing to the bone. He rode on a galloping horse, tightly holding his beloved girl in his arms. Abandoning her hurt more than severing his own limbs, but he still cast her down.

At that time he had said: We’ll never meet again.

She was this kind of person—repaying every slight, never forgiving.

Huo Buyi leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes: “I understand. Young Master Cheng, please return. A Fei, ask Uncle Cui to depart.”