Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Empress, Dead After late autumn, the weather grew increasingly bleak. In the towering Forbidden City, the lanterns had just been lit, and the chrysanthemums were in full, brilliant bloom. Charcoal braziers burned in every palace, while song and dance filled the air. It was a world of splendor and wealth. Yet in a corner of the imperial palace, there was one palace compound that was unusually cold and quiet. “Your Majesty the Empress! This is terrible!” A young eunuch hurried into Yujong Palace, his face full of panic. He fell to his knees outside Ling Jiayue’s door, his expression filled with grief. “I know.” The voice from inside was calm, as if everything had already been within her expectations. Ling Jiayue was helped out by Qinghe, the maid who had accompanied her when she married into the prince’s residence. She was dressed in the wedding gown that had taken an embroiderer three months to make when she had first entered the royal household. Against the coldness of the Forbidden City, the gown made her look especially stunning and aloof. Over it, she wore the phoenix-and-golden-silk python robe bestowed upon her by the late emperor, further accentuating her noble bearing. “Where are they now?” Ling Jiayue closed her eyes. Her lashes trembled, and a crystal tear slid from the corner of her eye. The young eunuch answered fearfully, “At Shenwei Gate.” Shenwei Gate was where traitorous officials and the most heinous criminals had been beheaded throughout the ages. Ling Jiayue drew a deep breath. A trace of resolve and lonely courage flashed through her phoenix eyes. “Qinghe.” Qinghe immediately understood and called out in a loud voice, “Prepare the carriage for Shenwei Gate!” Shenwei Gate was packed so tightly that not even water could pass through. Countless palace maids and eunuchs had followed their masters and mistresses there to watch. After all, this was the execution of traitors—and, moreover, the Empress’s own family. Such a spectacle was rarely seen even once in a century. Chu Chaoci wore a yellow robe embroidered with golden dragons and sat in the lofty Zilu Pavilion. His ink-black hair was bound atop his head with a golden dragon hairpin. With his swordlike brows, bright eyes, and sharply defined features, he had the unmistakable bearing of an emperor. Yet the way he looked at the blood-soaked corpses beneath the city wall and the Ling family survivors who had yet to be beheaded was wolfish and predatory, inspiring terror in all who saw it. “Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived!” a young eunuch came to report. Chu Chaoci’s expression remained impassive, as if he had expected this. Looking down coldly, he saw Ling Jiayue approaching with graceful steps, dressed in the incomparable red wedding gown she had worn when she married him ten years ago. Her makeup was exquisite and radiant, her brows delicately painted, her skin fair as snow. But times had changed. Even her beauty, capable of toppling cities and kingdoms, could no longer stir the slightest ripple in his heart. It had been three months since he had ordered her confined to the palace, and he had not seen her in all that time. “What has the Empress come here for?” Chu Chaoci was displeased by her appearance and scolded her angrily. “As the Empress, how dare you wear such a gaudy wedding gown within the palace!” Ling Jiayue curved her lips into a smile. She leaned forward and looked down at the familiar faces beneath the city wall. “With such a grand spectacle taking place, how could I not come and see it for myself?” That long-lost smile momentarily bewitched Chu Chaoci. He soon turned cold again. “Since that is the case, I grant you permission to bid them farewell. If the Empress has anything to say, say it quickly. I have kept your father, your brothers, and even the commander of the Liuhuo Army you painstakingly trained. They are all waiting for you.” Ling Jiayue turned around and bent at the waist in a formal bow. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Each lotus step she took felt as though she were walking on the tips of knives, sending pain through her entire body. Beneath her wide sleeves, her flawless jade-white palms had been pinched pale by her fingernails. “Your Majesty the Empress!” Ling Nantian’s voice rang out from beneath the city wall. “Do not trouble yourself over this old minister! It is all the will of Heaven! Your Majesty, take care of your health and do not say another word!” “Father…” Ling Jiayue’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at the members of the once-mighty Ling military household. Now they all wore prison garments and were covered in wounds, barely clinging to life beneath the city wall. Grief surged through her heart. Ten years ago, she had entered the residence of the North Prince and become Chu Chaoci’s principal consort. From that day on, the Ling family had served him loyally, joining forces to help the North Prince ascend the throne. After he became emperor, she naturally became the Empress of Dayi. But great trees attracted the wind, and meritorious subjects invited the ruler’s suspicion. The Ling family was framed by treacherous men and conveniently branded with the crime of treason. The men of three generations of the family were beheaded as a warning to others, while the women were sent to the border frontier as slaves, where life was worse than death. “Zhi’er! Leave! Don’t look anymore! You must stay alive. Don’t do anything foolish, do you hear me?!” The three Ling brothers looked at the grief-stricken Ling Jiayue, their hearts filled with anxiety. That foolish little sister of theirs had never once let them feel at ease, from childhood until now. “Your Majesty the Empress, if there is a next life, the Liuhuo Army will still serve you!” The commander of the Liuhuo Army led the several hundred remaining soldiers in a hoarse roar. Their voices shook the four quarters, filled with tragic heroism. Hundreds of pairs of eyes gazed at her. They had already resigned themselves to death and showed not the slightest trace of fear. Ling Jiayue forced down her grief and called out loudly, “In this life, I am the one who wronged the Ling family, and the one who wronged the Liuhuo Army! If there is a next life, I will create a peaceful and prosperous age for you all. Never again will you suffer such humiliation!” As soon as her words fell, everyone beneath the wall shouted in unison, “Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress!” Chu Chaoci’s heart tightened faintly. But as he hesitated, he thought of Consort Yu, who had been bedridden because of Ling Jiayue, and the imperial child in her womb, not yet five months along. His teeth clenched with hatred for the enchantress before him. He wished he could cut her into a thousand pieces. “That is enough. The auspicious hour has arrived. Empress, take your seat.” Ling Jiayue’s face was already streaming with tears, but she refused to turn around. Chu Chaoci no longer paid her any attention. He issued the order: “Execute them!” At his command, several members of the Ling family and the Liuhuo Army were cut down in an instant by cold blades. From that moment on, Dayi would have neither the Ling military household nor the Liuhuo Army. “Return to the palace.” Irritated, Chu Chaoci rose and flicked his sleeves, preparing to leave. Ling Jiayue turned around and bowed. “Your Majesty, please wait. I have something to say!” Chu Chaoci’s face darkened with anger, and he said impatiently, “Empress, I have not held you accountable only because you are my first wife. Do not challenge my bottom line again and again!” “That is precisely why I must speak.” “For three generations, the Ling family swore to serve the late emperor unto death. After I entered your household, my father and brothers followed Your Majesty with unwavering loyalty. Yet with only a few slanderous words from treacherous men, Your Majesty erased all of the Ling family’s contributions. I learned martial arts from childhood and accompanied you on campaigns, saving you from danger several times. Yet because of an imperial physician’s words, Your Majesty decided that I had harmed Consort Yu and caused her miscarriage, and confined me to Yujong Palace. The three thousand iron-armored soldiers of the Liuhuo Army risked their lives countless times on the battlefield and earned innumerable military merits, yet Your Majesty decided they had colluded with outside forces and annihilated them all!” Every word struck directly at the emperor. The people in Zilu Pavilion were terrified and hurriedly fell to their knees, trembling all over. “Your Majesty the Empress, please stop speaking!” Eunuch Yuan, the chief eunuch beside Chu Chaoci, hurriedly tried to dissuade her, terrified that she would provoke the imperial wrath. Chu Chaoci waved him off. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Do not stop her. Let her speak.” He looked at Ling Jiayue, his eyes filled with ruthlessness and mockery. “So the Empress is this dissatisfied with me. What else is there? Say it all at once. Once you return to Yujong Palace, do not ever come out again for the rest of your life!” Ling Jiayue stroked her flat abdomen. A bitter smile twisted her lips as she addressed him by name. “Chu Chaoci, do you know that I once carried your child in my womb as well? But you do not deserve to be his father! Jiang Peiyu’s miscarriage was the consequence of her own crimes. It can also be considered vengeance for my child! If there is a next life, I will claim your life on behalf of the unjustly dead souls beneath this city wall and my innocent child!” With that, Ling Jiayue leaped from the city wall without hesitation. Father, my brothers, and my loyal soldiers… I was too weak. In this life, I had no strength to avenge you. In the next, I will bring Chu Chaoci and the treacherous men’s heads before you and kowtow as I beg your forgiveness… Chu Chaoci’s expression changed dramatically. His mind went blank, and without thinking, he flew down from the city wall in several swift steps. “Ling Jiayue! I forbid you to leave!” The golden python robe was torn away by the wind, revealing the red wedding gown beneath. Her wide sleeves billowed across heaven and earth, while her jet-black hair spread in distinct strands behind her head. Hearing his cry, Ling Jiayue opened her eyes. She saw the panic in his expression—and, astonishingly, the remorse filling his eyes. Ling Jiayue smiled. Beneath her breathtaking yet desolate features lay a heart saturated with bitterness and pain. Before he had issued the order for her family’s execution, she had knelt on the hard floor outside Qianqing Hall for three whole days and three whole nights. He had been as cold-hearted as stone, unmoved by her suffering. What meaning could his remorse have now? “Chu Chaoci, then let me hate you!” Ling Jiayue gave a bitter laugh. Secretly channeling her inner force, she sent a strip of white cloth flying from her sleeve. Chu Chaoci had no time to dodge. It struck him head-on, and the concealed force drove him backward, sending him tumbling into the pavilion. Chu Chaoci scrambled to his feet and lunged toward the railing, roaring, “Yue’er!” The place where Ling Jiayue landed had already become a pool of crimson. The most beautiful, most radiant flower in all of Dayi had ultimately been unable to escape the fate of withering. Suddenly, a strange wind rose in all directions, obscuring everyone’s vision. When they opened their eyes again, pure white snowflakes and glaringly red petals were swirling through the sky together. “Your Majesty! The flowers in the plum garden have bloomed!” Eunuch Yuan exclaimed, scarcely daring to believe his eyes. Chu Chaoci lifted his gaze to the miraculous sight before him. Beneath his dark, ink-colored brows, his eyes grew increasingly profound. The plum blossoms seemed almost to possess a spirit. They floated down from the city wall in great clusters alongside the snowflakes, circled Ling Jiayue’s corpse several times, and then drifted down onto her body. The autumn wind howled, producing a sound like muffled sobbing—perhaps a wail, perhaps a sigh. “Your Majesty, let us return…” Eunuch Yuan ventured when the snowflakes ceased to fall and the miraculous sight vanished. Chu Chaoci seemed not to hear him. He turned around and looked at Qinghe kneeling at his feet, his imperial fury erupting. “Qinghe, what exactly did the Empress mean just now? Why did no one tell me that she had carried my child?” Everyone else trembled anew, but Qinghe remained neither servile nor overbearing. “Your Majesty, the Empress herself did not know. After she knelt outside Qianqing Hall for three days and three nights, she was kicked in the abdomen by Consort Yu on her way back to Yujong Palace! Her Majesty the Empress had long suffered from a cold constitution and poor health. Her entire body was aching, and she had no strength to argue with Consort Yu. Who could have known that the pain in her abdomen would become unbearable once she returned to the palace? Before she could summon an imperial physician, news arrived that Consort Yu had suffered a miscarriage. The Empress was then demoted and confined to Yujong Palace. That very night, she suffered a massive hemorrhage and only then learned that she had miscarried.” Chu Chaoci stood stunned, his brows drawn tightly together. He shouted harshly, “Is this really the truth?!” She had accompanied him for ten years. He had treated her like a chess piece, using her at every step to secure the empire. To say that he had felt nothing for her would be a lie. From the first moment he had seen her, he had been captivated by her beauty and intelligence. But emperors were heartless—and he was no exception. Qinghe raised her eyes. A trace of resolve flashed through them. “Everything this servant has said is true. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may summon the palace maids and eunuchs from both palaces and question them. This servant is willing to swear upon her blood to defend the Empress’s reputation and follow her in life and death!” With that, Qinghe drew a dagger from her sleeve and slit her own throat, dying on the spot. Chu Chaoci’s brows furrowed even more deeply. His jade-dark eyes were filled with anger, and a dangerous aura emanated from his entire body. After a moment of silence, his thin lips coldly uttered a single sentence. “The Empress has died. Consort Yu, out of sisterly devotion, is willing to be buried with her and accompany her to the Yellow Springs!” “Understood!”