Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That day, I wiped away all my tears at the side gate between the outer court and the inner palace. I went back and prepared a plate of blue-green glutinous rice cakes, then waited there.

When my Imperial Father finally arrived at the inner palace, I greeted him with a beaming smile.

“Imperial Father, even if you wish to be frugal, you cannot simply dismiss the palace guards. I walked all this way without encountering a single soul. If an assassin were to come for you, who would protect you? You are my closest relative in this world. I would rather go without an allowance for the rest of my life than see you come to any harm.”

At first, my Imperial Father laughed and called me thoughtful, but as he continued to smile, the expression slowly faded from his face.

He likely realized it too-how could the guards have suddenly vanished?

As he ate the rice cakes I had made, he forced a smile and said, “Your mother used to make this dish often. I didn’t expect you to know how.”

“Mother said you loved it. She told me that if I ever saw you again, I must make it for you.”

I lied again.

My mother lived a hard life. When she was on her deathbed, she loathed my Imperial Father with a passion. She hated him for being cold and heartless, for leaving and never once considering whether we, mother and daughter, lived or died.

She didn’t just have to scrape together a living amidst war and famine; she also had to evade those seeking to kill us for revenge.

Though she was young, her hair turned white, and wrinkles crawled across her face.

Before she died, she told me:

“Your father is a faithless man who values his great ambitions above all else. If you go to him, you will surely be targeted by the Beauties at his side. If you want to live well, do not think of him as a father. Treat him as a man of power. Coax him, deceive him-as long as it keeps you safe, use any means necessary.”

When I first met my Imperial Father, I still harbored expectations.

He gave me the title of Princess, announced it to his subjects, and declared a general amnesty across the land. He told everyone that I was his most cherished daughter.

But after he threw me into the inner palace and left me there, indifferent to whether I lived or died, I woke up.

This vast imperial palace is an invisible battlefield. I must either escape it or become its ruler. There is no other way.

That day, I begged my Imperial Father to let Pei Yi’an be my Grand Tutor to teach me literature and etiquette.

My Imperial Father agreed.

After finishing the rice cakes, he left at his leisure and immediately ordered the punishment of many people.

Then, he went to Noble Consort Sun’s palace and had a massive row with her, demanding to know if her reach was now extending into the outer court.

Zhao Mo’er came looking for me in a fury.

Her clear eyes were filled with rage, and she made no effort to hide the malice in her voice.

“Before you came, Imperial Father was deeply devoted to my mother. But as soon as you arrived, you threw our household into chaos. Zhao Yunwei, why didn’t you just die young like your mother and your brother?”

I stared at her coldly and said, “Since the lowly servant-girl has not died yet, how could I dare precede her?”

Our feud was cemented from that moment on.

This inner palace cannot accommodate two people surnamed Zhao. One of us must die.

We fought tooth and nail in the palace, both of us constantly on guard against the other.

However, this time, it wasn’t a hidden plot; it was an open scheme.

She wanted me to hear, clearly and unmistakably, that Pei Yi’an had no feelings for me.

The person I trusted second-most in my life was not only heartless toward me, but he even protected Zhao Mo’er and demanded that I bow my head and apologize to her.

The palm I used to strike Zhao Mo’er was still throbbing, but my heart hurt even more. A heart-wrenching pain, like spreading cracks, rapidly covered my parched heart.

Pei Yi’an’s brow was furrowed, his lips pressed thin, and his eyes were full of anger at being defied.

“Zhao Yunwei, when did I ever teach you to hit people?”

“You are a coward, Teacher, so you indeed never taught me. But my Empress Mother, Empress Gong’ai, did. She taught me that if anyone without eyes dares to bully or insult me, I should strike them and slap them until they submit. Mr. Pei, you teach me to swallow my pride, but I cannot learn it. Your tenure as my teacher ends here. Thank you for your three years of instruction, Mr. Pei. I shall keep it engraved in my heart.”

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, someone offered advice that sounded helpful but was meant to stoke the flames.

“Brother Pei, hurry and apologize to the Princess. Otherwise, it would be such a pity to lose the position of Grand Tutor.”

Pei Yi’an said coldly, “If I am not to teach, then so be it. Wrong is wrong. She needs to change that spoiled and willful temperament of hers. One cannot go through life without growing up.”

“But… the Princess is supposed to preside over the poetry gathering.”

“It will be the same if Princess Longyu is there.”

“Sigh, Princess Longyu is so virtuous and kind, yet she was bullied like this. It breaks our hearts to see it…”

Zhao Mo’er said softly, “Thank you all for speaking up for justice. I am truly grateful.”

I looked back at all of them, memorizing every single face.

Very well. A new batch of enemies has been born.