Chapter 5
On the day Consort Lu was ordered to die, she demanded to see me.
She declared that unless she did, she would find no peace even in hell.
I knew she wanted to understand before she died.
She wanted to ask when I had discovered her plan.
She wanted to ask why Yao Shuangxue had helped me.
Unfortunately for her, the defeated had no right to such answers.
Wan Zhao might love Yao Shuangxue, but he loved himself more.
Had the doll borne Yao Shuangxue’s birth particulars, he would at most have given Lady Lu a savage beating and demoted her to the lowest rank of palace woman.
Perhaps he would also have reprimanded the head of her clan.
None of that could have shaken the foundations of the Lu clan of Fanyang.
So I turned her scheme to my own use.
I replaced Yao Shuangxue’s birth date and hour with Wan Zhao’s.
The emperor, who stood above all others, would have liked nothing better than to live forever.
Yet his own consort was secretly using the most vicious sorcery to curse him to death.
And that consort came from a great aristocratic clan.
Wan Zhao could hardly help wondering what lay behind it all.
Of course, there was something else I would never tell her.
Yao Shuangxue had been mine from the beginning.
A pawn trained to suit Wan Zhao’s every preference.
What did it matter if a dying woman could find no peace?
Lady Lu, Lady Lu. You could not defeat me while you were alive.
Did you imagine you could take my life as a ghost?
A fool was a fool to the end.
Her death was hardly undeserved.
Using the sorcery affair as his pretext, Wan Zhao brought the full weight of his displeasure down on the Lu clan.
Some members of Lady Lu’s family were executed. Others were exiled.
A hundred-legged creature might take a long time to fall even after death, but the century-old Lu clan of Fanyang had finally begun its decline.
Wan Zhao was already in excellent spirits after dealing with the Lu clan.
Then came news of victory. Wen Shu, General Who Secures the Distant Lands, would soon return in triumph.
Delighted, Wan Zhao held banquets in the palace for three consecutive days to welcome him home.
The carefree confidence of Wen Shu’s youth had given way to something firmer and more resolute in his features.
At the banquet, dancers performed to music while cups passed from hand to hand.
Yao Shuangxue and I sat on either side of Wan Zhao, frequently filling his cup.
By the end, he was drunk. Yao Shuangxue helped him away.
Before leaving, he remembered to tell Wen Shu to stay in the palace for the time being.
What harmony between sovereign and subject.
I had drunk quite a bit myself. I was lying in bed, drifting toward sleep, when a pair of slightly cold hands settled on my waist.
A warm voice murmured beside my ear. “Heartless little thing. Going to sleep just like that?”
A faint scent of wine reached me. Rough fingertips wandered over smooth skin, drawing shivers in their wake.
I did not stop him. I let him touch me as he pleased.
“If I really wanted to sleep, I wouldn’t have left the window open.”
At that, Wen Shu’s grip tightened. His warm breath spilled over my earlobe.
“Little thing, did you miss your general?”
I said nothing. My breathing grew faster.
He chuckled and slowly guided my hand.
“Here. Can you feel it? I’ve missed you very much.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
My cheeks flushed behind the dim silk curtains, until at last the clouds dispersed and the rain subsided.
“You really have fallen out of favor, little thing. You have so much energy to spare.”
I looped my arms around his neck and gave him a languid look. “It is your good fortune that I favor you. You’ll have to bear it.”
Wen Shu redoubled his efforts and made me call him “Brother Wen Shu.”
Brother Wen Shu. A name from long ago.
Once, I had loved nothing more than trailing after him, calling him Brother Wen Shu.
I would ask him to use his light-footed martial skills to carry me out of the residence to browse the markets and see the lanterns.
If Wan Zhao had not taken me into his harem, perhaps I would already be married to Wen Shu.
But there were no ifs.
Even our childhood acquaintance had been part of my plan.
An illustrious military family, with only this one heir.
I desperately needed someone who could speak with authority in the army to help me.
Military men prized loyalty and affection above all. Gold and silver might tempt them, but to make such a man serve my purposes—
Only sincerity would do.
I approached him sincerely. I cared for him sincerely.
And sincerely, I used him.
No one questioned the feelings of a little girl with her hair still hanging loose.
They always believed children’s feelings were the purest, untouched by anything base.
I spun an enormous web, dreaming aloud of our future and planning everything.
Then, when he loved me most, I entered the palace as Wan Zhao’s Noble Consort.
When we met again, I put on a brave face and exchanged a few polite words, allowing him a glimpse of the tears in my eyes before he turned away.
He was utterly lost.
Sovereign and subject. Loyalty.
For me, he would cast all of it aside.
Unable to meet his gaze, I turned my head and whispered, “Brother Wen Shu…”
Wen Shu’s eyes were bloodshot. His love and desire swept over me like a mountainous wave.
“Say it again.”
“Brother Wen Shu…”