Chapter 29
Chapter 29
On my way back to my chambers, the commander of the imperial guard handed me a letter. “A memorial sent in by one of the court officials.”
Naturally, I had planted trusted people at court over the years, but such connections could never see daylight. They would not communicate this way unless driven to the last resort.
I read it rapidly, then burned it to ashes with a fire striker.
The situation was even more dangerous than I had imagined. Naihe was an envoy of the remnant court in the west. Once he was convicted, that court could be accused of harboring savage ambitions and plotting rebellion. Chen Dong would likely dispatch troops immediately. Worse, the affair would reignite the hatred between north and south. Ten years of policies protecting southerners would vanish overnight, and every arrangement I had made – all the people of Southern Xu now serving at court – would end in slaughter.
“How is Naihe?” I asked.
“Your Majesty, they have already tortured him, but he has confessed nothing.”
I knew the severity of northern torture firsthand. Naihe possessed martial training, however, so he should endure for a time. First, I had to deal with Chen Dong’s personal troops inside the palace. They could move against me, or even Danchi, at any moment.
“And His Majesty?”
“He still refuses to see anyone. Our men and the First Prince’s remain at a standoff before his chambers.”
“Very well. Stay vigilant tonight. The instant His Majesty leaves his chambers, inform me.”
“Yes.”
As I was about to enter, the commander suddenly dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, this servant can infiltrate the imperial prison and kill the monk for you.”
Dusk was falling. I turned and regarded my loyal guard without expression.
“Your Majesty has been seen frequently in his company. If the First Prince tortures him into confessing that everything was done at your direction, it will place you in danger.”
I sighed. “Wan Zhong, how many years have you served me?”
“Five.”
“What do you believe separates south from north?”
He raised his head, uncomprehending.
“Once, those living south of the Xiwei River were southerners, and those north of it were northerners. But now, in Great Qin, they live side by side and can no longer be divided by geography. Then is it blood? Yet children like you, with a Southern Xu father and Northern Qian mother, grow more numerous every year. So where does north end and south begin? In the heart.”
“What follows when northerners rule the world? Civilization is stripped away. Tyranny, slaughter, and the law of beasts prevail. Why have I maneuvered among them? Why have I clung to life until now? Because I cannot surrender the world to the north. What I protect is not merely a people, but the civility, honor, and spirit of the south. If I kill a southerner who saved my life merely to preserve myself, then I am nothing more than another ruthless Northern Qian empress.” I smiled faintly. “How would I face the people of Southern Xu? How could I ask them to retain their pride and never submit to Northern Qian brutality?”
He stared at me blankly, then kowtowed. “This servant deserves ten thousand deaths.”
He would not understand. No one would.
I sighed. “You need only understand that Naihe cannot die. No one who has done no wrong should die.”
With Chen Dong’s troops inside the palace and ready to strike, Wan Zhong stationed every personal guard outside my chambers that night. The danger was too great. I decided that the next day, whatever it took, I would drag Danchi out and make him revoke the decree allowing Chen Dong’s troops into the palace. By my reckoning, his autumn hibiscus addiction should soon begin tormenting him.
I thought I would not sleep, but the strain was too great. I dozed against the desk and immediately dreamed of Naihe under torture, his chest soaked in blood while his eyes remained serene. He looked at me and silently begged for help. I tried to reach him but could not move. Panic jolted me awake.
Youchun hurried over and patted my back. “Princess, are you all right?”
I shook my head. Unlike the previous nightmares, this had been nothing more than a nightmare.
I remembered Naihe telling me the night before that more dreams would come, but none would be as severe.
Had he broken the curse?
Youchun brightened. “Amitabha. I will believe in the Buddha from now on too. That young master truly can be relied upon!”
“I thought he had not found the object.”
“I think he did! After you went out that day, he found a zither. He examined it for a long time and asked who had given it to you. Then he cut his arm with a little knife. Something black came out of the zither and crawled into his wound like insects…”
I shot to my feet. “Why did you not tell me?”
Startled, Youchun answered with wounded indignation. “He said he was not certain and did not want to give you false hope. He told me not to say anything…”
“Was there anything unusual about him when he came last night?”
“He had very little energy… And when he chased after you, he cut his arm open again.”
I sank blankly into my seat.
I understood nothing of gelu arts, but even I knew a curse like this could not be easily broken. If he had undone it without telling me, then perhaps… he had taken it into himself.
What had that boy done? I wondered numbly.
He once told me that what mattered was whom I wanted to be guilty.
What had I answered? That I wanted to preserve the balance. Soon afterward, Chen Dong found evidence that Naihe murdered the gelu. Did I truly not understand why? I had simply refused to consider it.
He had also drawn my curse into his own body. Without a word, he cooked warm porridge for me and was taken away carrying that curse into torture. Yet his final words to me had been, Your Majesty, do not worry.
Strangely, I felt neither grief nor remorse. I felt only numbness – and then a sudden urge to vomit. I bent over the desk and retched violently.
“Princess!” Youchun screamed.
Only then did I see the bright red between my fingers and across the floor.
I had coughed up blood again. The last time had been when Xia Wan died before my eyes.
There was nothing strange about it. Another person who loved me was about to die.
Youchun came to support me. I shoved her away, rose, and ordered, “Tell Wan Zhong to bring men and follow me!”
The shrill voice of a palace attendant rang out. “Her Majesty approaches! All others clear the way!”
Rows of attendants knelt beneath the night sky. At last, I reached Danchi’s chambers.
“I will see His Majesty.”
The guard wore the same expression as before. “Please return, Your Majesty. His Majesty has ordered that no one be admitted.”
“Please return, Your Majesty. Do not make our duty difficult,” I mimicked woodenly. Then I laughed. “I wanted to say this earlier: what authority have you to issue commands to me? This palace has never belonged to your master.”
The guard knelt, still expressionless. “That was not this subject’s meaning. If I have offended Your Majesty, I deserve ten thousand deaths.”
“His Majesty will not come out and refuses to see anyone. But what if the palace catches fire?”
I took the lantern from Youchun’s hand and casually hurled it against the paper-covered lattice.
Flames leapt up and devoured the window in an instant. Cracks finally appeared in the guards’ icy composure. “Your Majesty, this is… sacrilege…”
“If I say the palace is burning, then it is burning. Whoever obstructs me dies first.”
Behind me, Wan Zhong and the imperial guards drew their swords as one.
Fire and smoke surged toward the sky. I stood with my face raised, watching as I had watched fireworks from my brother’s arms in childhood.
Chen Dong arrived at last. He stared in shock, then roared, “Have you lost your mind?”
He barked to those around him, “Put out the fire!”
But the blaze had already taken hold. I did not order Wan Zhong to interfere. I merely watched Chen Dong’s personal troops descend into chaos as they struggled against it.
“You have always known I was mad,” I murmured. “I went mad the day you killed Xia Wan, and I have been mad ever since. If you kill Naihe, I will show you how much worse my madness can become.”
The eastern sky had begun to pale. Amid the towering flames, Chen Dong looked at me, and for a moment the scene seemed strangely familiar.
“All this for that monk.”
“Yes.”
Ashes drifted like snow. Then Danchi emerged from the ruined chamber, an aged wolf king whose authority remained fearsome even without anger.
“We have told you many times never to disrespect the empress,” he rasped at Chen Dong. “Because you can never imagine what this woman is capable of doing.”
Chen Dong lowered his head and said nothing.
“Bring the boy called Naihe here,” Danchi ordered. Then he turned to me with unexpected gentleness. “Xihe.”