Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I sat upon the principal seat in Kunning Palace, listening as the clash of arms beyond its doors dwindled, weakened, and finally fell silent.

It was over.

The only question was—who had won?

A long, long time later, the palace doors opened from outside. Light footsteps approached.

I looked up. The man walking toward me through the morning light was the emperor’s chief eunuch, Wang Xi.

The dust had settled. The last man standing after this bloody palace coup was my husband, Liu Cong.

Wang Xi stopped before my seat and bowed with impeccable respect. “Your Majesty, Heaven has blessed Great Liang and His Majesty. The traitor Xiao Chuo is dead, and the rebellion within the palace has been quelled.”

I could not bring myself to smile. The traitor he spoke of was my father, and the young eunuch behind him carried a golden tray bearing three golden cups filled with clear liquid.

I ran my left hand over the arm of my gilded seat and kept my voice steady. “Oh. That is good news.”

Wang Xi smiled as well. “Indeed it is. His Majesty has therefore bestowed fine wine upon Your Majesty in celebration.”

My personal maid, Wenzhu, went deathly pale. In the imperial palace, a gift of wine could only mean a death sentence.

Her voice shook. “Her Majesty cannot hold her liquor. Please allow this servant to drink in her place.”

Wang Xi’s smile vanished. “Insolent slave. How dare someone as lowly as you presume to drink wine bestowed by His Majesty? Take her away.”

Tears spilled down Wenzhu’s cheeks. Several eunuchs from the rear of the procession seized her and dragged her out.

Once she was gone, Wang Xi put his mild smile back on. “Your Majesty, please.”

The young eunuch lowered his head, stepped before me, and raised the tray over his own head.

The three wines differed slightly in color, but each gave off an intoxicating fragrance. Even someone like me, who cared little for wine, could tell they were exceptional vintages.

How thoughtful of Liu Cong. Even when poisoning me, he had remembered to pick something fruity and floral.

I snatched up the cup of pear-blossom wine and prayed the poison would be potent enough to spare me a painful death.

I steeled myself and was about to toss it back when Wang Xi spoke again.

“A moment, Your Majesty.”

I froze at once.

“Is there anything you wish this servant to convey to His Majesty?”

Ah. He was asking for my final words.

I rolled my eyes. “Am I allowed to curse him?”

Wang Xi gave me a pained smile. “Please do not make things difficult for this servant.”

“Then I have nothing to say.”

He studied me, hesitating.

I bit my lip against the ache in my chest. “Consort Wei is alive. Xiao Chuo deserved his death, and his accomplices deserve punishment, but the women and children of the Xiao clan are innocent. Please ask His Majesty to spare them… in return for my having saved Consort Wei.”

I knew I was probably inviting humiliation, but over the past six years, I had helped Liu Cong once or twice. I had even saved the precious consort he held closest to his heart. Surely those favors were worth the lives of the Xiao women and children. It was not an entirely impossible bargain.

At the news that Consort Wei still lived, Wang Xi’s eyes lit up. “Where is Consort Xian now?”

“The moment His Majesty accepts my condition, he will learn where she is hidden.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Wang Xi said, “Please wait, Your Majesty.”

I waited in suspense for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Wang Xi returned with an imperial edict pardoning the Xiao women and children.

I stared at Liu Cong’s bold, forceful handwriting on the brilliant yellow silk, bitterness swelling in my heart. Wei Wushuang truly had been the wound he had carried for years. Her name alone could purchase dozens of lives.

I looked up. “I count as a woman of the Xiao clan too, don’t I? Could I keep my life as well?”