Chapter 5

As I faced Jiang Yanjun in the great hall without yielding an inch,

Father finally arrived.

He exchanged a glance with Jiang Yanjun, then tried to smooth things over.

“Enough. It’s a trifling matter. You’re brother and sister—why make such a scene?”

“Shuyi, put away your sword. Whatever else may be true, Yanjun is still your brother.”

Brother.

The word struck me, and the pain I had deliberately ignored for so long surged through my heart.

For the rest of the banquet, I said nothing, keeping my head down and drinking.

When it was over, I climbed into my carriage with my sword at my side.

Before I could speak, a slightly rough hand settled over mine.

“I heard what happened in the palace.”

I looked up into a pair of clear eyes that seemed to see everything.

Fang Jingyu held my hand beneath hers and said, calmly and without haste,

“Your Highness shouldn’t have acted rashly.”

I had spent three years fighting on the frontier and retaken several cities.

She was my strategist.

My most trusted companion.

Under her warm, dry palm, my agitation slowly began to settle.

Letting out a long breath, I gave a soft laugh. “It won’t happen again.”

“Have you found anything about what I asked you to investigate?”

“I have the full story.”

Her expression grew serious.

“His Majesty knew perfectly well that you took the blame when you were exiled. That was why he also withdrew his favor from the Second Prince. Later, the prince used a case to gain Noble Consort Zhou’s support. Gradually, His Majesty began entrusting him with responsibilities again and named him heir.”

I laughed coldly. “So he became crown prince by fawning over our enemy.”

The carriage jolted through the deep snow.

In the dim candlelight, all I had to do was close my eyes,

And I could see Mother as she had been at the end of her life.

She had drunk the nourishing soup Noble Consort Zhou sent through Jiang Jingyue, laced with a slow poison, and wasted away day by day.

In the end, she leaned beside her couch, her life almost spent.

Her hands, like withered branches, stroked my face and my brother’s, over and over.

“Your father is a foolish, faithless ruler. From now on, the two of you will have only each other in this palace.”

“Yanjun, remember what I’ve told you.”

“No matter what happens, protect your sister.”

Twelve-year-old Jiang Yanjun clasped her hand, biting his lip almost hard enough to draw blood.

But he hadn’t done it.

I opened my eyes and looked at Fang Jingyu opposite me. Slowly, I smiled.

“The position of heir should go to whoever is capable.”

“If Jiang Yanjun is useless, then let someone else be crown prince.”