chapter 9

I woke Lizhi to take over my watch and went through the blizzard to the side hall.

I placed the cracked white-glazed vase in its wooden case, turning the least damaged side outward.

With the case in my arms, I set out for the bedchamber again.

The night was black.

Snow continued to fall.

Each step sank ankle-deep into the path. I nearly slipped more than once.

Leaning into the knife-edged wind, I hugged the case tight and stumbled on, one deep step followed by one shallow.

The Empress would be happy when she saw the vase.

When I finally reached the bedchamber, I heard an anguished cry.

“Your Majesty—!”

…

The Empress was dead.

She left a final decree entrusting the Ninth Princess to the Empress Dowager. Even in that decree, she asked the Emperor to treat the servants of Kunning Palace well.

Lizhi had originally been a Shen family servant. Now that she was twenty-five, she was permitted to leave the palace and return to the Shen household.

On the day of the funeral, Lizhi knelt in the mourning hall with bloodshot eyes.

“The Shen family?

“The moment they threatened Her Majesty with the princess’s future, I severed every bond I had with them!”

Tears streamed down her face. Her grief was beyond bearing.

When no one was watching, she suddenly leaped up and dashed her head against a pillar in Kunning Palace.

Her death was horrifying.

Only after her body had been carried away for burial did the Emperor enter the mourning hall, snow clinging to his robes.

He watched me kneeling blankly before the coffin. After a long silence, he said, “You are loyal.”

Eunuch Li hurried to my side. “Miss Lin Fu, His Majesty has been moved by your devotion to the late Empress. He wishes to transfer you into the imperial household.”

I knocked Eunuch Li’s hand away and raised my head.

For the first time, I looked straight into the Emperor’s eyes without fear or avoidance.

“Does Your Majesty truly not know why the Empress died?” My voice was raw.

Everyone froze.

“She always believed she had failed you because she could not give you a legitimate son.

“You knew the little prince was frail. Why did you let Noble Consort Yan arrange the full-month celebration and bring a troupe in from outside?

“When the Shen family forced the Empress to support a new woman in the struggle for favor, where were you?”

The Emperor stared as though my words had stunned him.

“We… did not know,” he finally said, his voice low.

I laughed.

“No, Your Majesty did not know. Your Majesty did nothing…

“But Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, supreme and all-powerful. You were the husband the Empress relied upon more than anyone.”

My voice broke into a scream.

“How could you stand by and watch other people drive her to her death?”

“Insolence!”

Enraged, the Emperor kicked me.

I struck the floor. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth as pain folded me in half.

His eyes were red with fury. He pointed at me, but for a long moment could not speak.

At last he gave a cold laugh. “Since you were so loyal to the Empress, perhaps We should grant you death and let you accompany her in the grave!”

From the moment I began speaking, I had not intended to live.

Whoever wanted this harem could have it. I was done serving.

I slowly straightened on my knees and bowed until my forehead touched the floor.

“This servant obeys.”

The Emperor was too furious to answer. He flung his sleeve and strode away.

Eunuch Li hurried after him, flustered. “Y-Your Majesty, are we still… putting her to death?”

The Emperor’s roar came from far down the corridor.

“Get out!”