Chapter 3

After the chamberlains and imperial physicians carried His Majesty away, the rain kept me from sleeping. Near dawn, a palace servant burst into my chambers and struck her head against the cold tiles until blood streamed down, startling me badly.

She was one of the empress’s attendants. I had seen her only yesterday, when she asked which color dancing costume I preferred and ordered a pair of coarse matrons to dress me by force.

Now she begged in a hoarse voice, “Noble Lady, please save the empress.”

Bewildered, I pressed my lips together, wondering if this was another of the empress’s schemes to torment me.

Even so, I obediently put on my socks and shoes. The attendant was frantic. She seized my arm and dragged me toward the empress’s Western Palace.

Spring rain drummed against my umbrella. I could hardly keep up, and when my ankle twisted, I fell into the mud and filthy water.

The attendant flew into a rage. “The empress is in mortal danger! Are you deliberately wasting time? If anything happens to Her Highness, the Xie clan will have you torn apart by chariots in the marketplace. You will die without a whole corpse!”

I had seen that punishment before. I shuddered.

She hauled me upright and continued running toward the Western Palace.

My umbrella lay abandoned where I had fallen. For the first time, I realized how cold spring rain could be.

The Western Palace, home of the empress, was exquisite in every detail. Outside, white jade steps led to a raised terrace used for banquets.

Only yesterday, the empress had held her feast there and ordered me to perform a palm dance for her.

Now bodies covered the white jade terrace. Dark blood seeped from beneath them and thinned in the rain. Several upturned faces belonged to the consorts and officials who had come yesterday to watch me dance.

Each had received a sword cut across the eyes before death.

Without exception.

Those who had failed to stop the empress, those whose eyes had lingered on my waist, those who had mocked my low birth—all of them lay dead in the spring rain.

I looked up. The young emperor stood with his back to me, the long sword in his hand gleaming coldly as blood dripped from its edge. Liu Liang’s hair hung loose, every strand turned white. Whenever thunder split the sky, he looked almost like a man possessed.

Empress Xie, always so elegant and composed, had collapsed in terror and could not move.

Liu Liang advanced one step at a time. “What did you do to Wanniang during the three months I was gone?”

Empress Xie shook her head through her tears, choking on silence.

Liu Liang cast aside his sword and closed one hand around Xie Ying’s throat. “I asked what you did to her,” he roared. “The Xie clan wanted an empress, noble titles, and an untarnished name. I gave you all of it. Why did you touch my Wanniang?”

Though his fingers were around Xie Ying’s throat, the veins stood out on Liu Liang’s own neck and his eyes were black as ink.

The attendant behind me screamed and rushed forward. “Your Highness! The Noble Lady is here.”

Liu Liang released her at once. Empress Xie fell backward into the rain, gasping sharply in frightened relief.

Liu Liang tucked his bloodstained hand into his sleeve and raised his face. Only after the rain had washed the spattered blood away did he turn around.

His white hair was disheveled, his face deathly pale.

Liu Liang watched me silently through the rain for a long time before speaking—not to me, but in a voice devoid of emotion. “Who let her through? Who allowed her to bring the Noble Lady here?”

Jinwu Guards hid all around the white jade terrace. I had seen them on my way in. Security in the palace was unusually strict tonight, yet no one anywhere had tried to stop me.

The young and reserved Right Chancellor stepped forward and knelt at Liu Liang’s feet. Neither humble nor defiant, he said, “I did.”

The Right Chancellor had been born outside the great clans, but his strategy was exceptional, and he had followed Liu Liang throughout the war for the realm. In the next instant, His Majesty kicked him hard in the chest. The chancellor spat blood, but his expression did not change. He climbed back to his knees at Liu Liang’s feet and shuffled forward several paces.

He said, “Your Majesty has planned for so long. You cannot ruin everything in a moment of anger. Empress Xie is the Xie clan’s legitimate-born daughter. The others may die, but she cannot.”

Rain ran down the bridge of the emperor’s nose. Whether he had listened or not, he started toward me.

The moment he moved, I instinctively stepped back.

An unknowable number of corpses lay between us. I had seen my husband kill before, but I had never been afraid, because I knew he would never hurt me. His Majesty was different. For some reason he had gone utterly mad tonight, even trying to kill the empress he loved.

Perhaps he would kill me too while he was at it. Fear showed on my face.

Liu Liang stopped. He came no closer, his white hair wild around him.

He called my name, each word parched and halting.

“Zhao Wan.”

“I will not move. Do not be afraid of me.”