Qin Hu felt as though he were dreaming.
Prince Ping… dead?
How could Prince Ping be dead?
Were the people saying this – spreading this news – out of their minds?
That was Prince Ping, the Emperor’s only son, the sole heir to the dynasty.
Who would let him die? Who could bear to let him die? Who would dare let him die? Who could even make him die?
“Master Gao, Master Gao, you can’t go in–”
“Who dares stop me! Who dares stop me!”
Qin Hu lifted his head and saw Gao Lingjun, dressed only in a casual robe, bursting through the palace gates like a madman.
If Prince Ping had met with disaster, the Gao family was certainly among the ones who would be the most frantic.
“The Gao family is different.”
The Gao family was different – they were not just ministers, they were relatives.
A minister… anyone could be a minister, and could serve anyone. But relatives were different.
“Isn’t it just because they’re relying on Prince Ping? Without Prince Ping, the Gao family wouldn’t dare be so arrogant.”
“Prince Ping?”
Prince Ping? Prince Ping?
What was the big deal? What was the big deal – just a trivial matter.
Thunder seemed to rumble again in the sky, and Qin Hu couldn’t help lifting his head to look.
“There’s thunder,” a girl’s voice said with a hint of laughter.
Thunder…
Raindrops struck his face – summer rain, cold and piercing.
Impossible. Impossible.
“Young Master, it’s true. The master has given the word. You should head back as well – the message needs to be sent to Chuan-zhou at once.”
No. He wasn’t leaving. He would wait here – wait for her.
Qin Hu looked at the woman before him, at how she walked side by side with Duke Jin’an.
Is it you… or is it him?
The corners of the girl’s lips seemed to curve slightly.
“If it were me,” Cheng Jiao-niang said with a faint smile, “I wouldn’t be here.”
If it were her – if she were able – how would she end up here? How could she have left her family behind and come here alone, be here alone?
If she could summon lightning, she would have struck down the entire Yang clan herself. How would the Cheng clan have been wiped out? How would she have ended up here?
But in this world, there has never been any “if.”
With Cheng Jiao-niang’s reply, Qin Hu felt as if a great stone had dropped from his heart.
It wasn’t her – she was saying it wasn’t her.
He couldn’t help taking a step forward.
“I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t do such a thing,” he said.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him and shook her head.
“No. You don’t know,” she said.
Qin Hu froze.
“No, Jiao-niang, that’s not what I meant.” He stepped forward again, his voice a little hoarse, shaking his head anxiously. “Jiao-niang, I didn’t mean–”
In the wavering light and shadow, the woman suddenly lifted her hand to her lips in a soft shushing gesture, then smiled faintly and bent in a courteous salute.
She was telling him there was no need for courtesy, no need for explanations.
She was saying it was just a small matter.
She was saying there was no need to say any more.
There was nothing left to say…
Qin Hu’s voice swirled in his throat, but in the end he said nothing.
He watched the girl brush past him, the night wind lifting the hem of her clothes.
Qin Hu wanted to turn around, but in the end he didn’t.
He stood where he was and closed his eyes.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
You were right – in the end, I’m just like them.
All the same.
All looking at you in the same way.
“Cheng Fang.”
The voice of Duke Jin’an sounded from behind.
Cheng Jiao-niang stopped walking.
“Would you like to take a walk?” Duke Jin’an asked.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled.
“At a time like this, it wouldn’t be appropriate,” she said.
Duke Jin’an gave a small laugh, then immediately put the smile away.
This was not a time suitable for laughing.
“Mm.” He looked at her, then suddenly nodded. “I’ve lost again.”
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him, her eyes asking the question.
“You really are worse off than I am,” Duke Jin’an said.
Cheng Jiao-niang let out a sudden laugh.
“This isn’t a suitable time to laugh,” she said, reining it in.
Duke Jin’an raised his brows, clasped his hands behind him, and exhaled.
“At a time like this, even if we cried, no one would believe it,” he said.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled again, lightly.
“Crying or laughing isn’t for others to see. Whether they believe it or not – what does it matter?” she said.
Duke Jin’an looked at her, smiled, and nodded.
“All right, I’ll go. But what should be said still needs to be said,” he told her, patting her arm lightly. Then he turned to glance at Qin Hu, still standing there. “Cheng Fang, don’t be sad.”
Cheng Jiao-niang gave a respectful curtsey and watched Duke Jin’an’s carriage depart first.
The carriage started moving. Unable to resist, Ban Qin looked back through the window.
She saw Qin Hu still standing in the street – only now he had turned around and was looking at their carriage. In the flickering light of the street, he too seemed blurred and indistinct.
Ban Qin withdrew her gaze and lowered her head.
When they returned home, Fan Jianglin, Lady Huang, and Cheng Si-lang were all waiting in the main hall. Zhou Fu was also sitting to the side. When they saw her enter, they all stood up – their expressions uneasy, though they tried their best to hide it.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? The meal is ready,” Lady Huang said, quickly leading the maids away.
“What exactly happened?” Zhou Fu asked first.
“I don’t know the details either. What I saw was simply that Prince Ping is dead, and the Emperor has fallen ill,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
“How did Prince Ping die?” Fan Jianglin asked. He had already been shocked once, but hearing it from her again still stunned him anew.
“Struck dead by lightning,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
At those words, both Fan Jianglin and Zhou Fu had very strange expressions. Cheng Si-lang, not knowing the events leading up to this, looked the most normal of the group.
“How could it be such a coincidence?” Fan Jianglin said, a trace of regret appearing on his face. “If it weren’t because of us, you wouldn’t have needed to swear that kind of oath back then, and now… this happens.”
Such an astonishing oath – of course everyone remembered it. And now Prince Ping had died in such a shocking way. Put the two side by side – if no one suspected Cheng Jiao-niang, that would be the strange part.
Besides, even if truly no one suspected her, someone would surely try to make others suspect her.
Look – Master Zhou was so terrified he didn’t even dare come to their door. Zhou Fu probably ran over here on his own.
“Things in this world are sometimes just this coincidental,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
She had known something was going to happen – an imperial succession crisis. She had even thought that the future crown prince and emperor would face danger. But the heavens never told her that the prince’s calamity would be death itself – and death by lightning at that.
When she heard Chen Shao say that the person lying there was Prince Ping, she was truly shocked.
The Will of Heaven is unfathomable.
Life and death follow their own order, but how a person dies is unknowable – especially when it ends up coinciding so closely with something she once said.
It was far too much of a coincidence; in Cheng Jiao-niang’s eyes, Gao Lingjun’s frantic behavior was entirely normal.
The strange looks from the people inside the grand hall were also normal.
Qin Hu’s startled accusation, Fan Jianglin and Zhou Fu’s uneasy evasiveness – also normal.
For a child of the Cheng family, these kinds of things and these kinds of reactions were all too familiar.
To observe the heavens is to follow Heaven’s will, and Heaven’s will is not something human power can overturn. The workings of Heaven continue – whether people can see them or not.
Humans have always feared what they don’t understand. When nothing happens, it’s fine; but once something does, they inevitably start making wild guesses.
“Grandfather, Grandfather, those people are pointing at us and talking.”
“Pay them no mind.”
The tall old man, white-haired with a long beard and an air of immortality, always carried himself with the attitude of a shameless rascal.
The corners of Cheng Jiao-niang’s lips curved slightly.
Pay them no mind.
“Then… there won’t be any trouble, right?” Fan Jianglin asked again. After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “Do they believe it or not?”
“No,” Cheng Jiao-niang said. She looked at Fan Jianglin and Zhou Fu and gave a small smile. “Because for now, they still need me.”
As for whether they believed it – what did it matter?
If they believed it, then they believed it.
If they didn’t, what could they do?
Even Gao Lingbjun who had nearly wanted to devour her on the spot, had been forced to rein in his fury and step back for now; even the Empress Dowager had no choice but to swallow her distrust and endure, for the moment.
So – pay them no mind.
Hearing this, Fan Jianglin finally let out a small breath of relief. Lady Huang came in with the servants carrying the meal, and Zhou Fu stood up to leave.
Ever since seeing Cheng Jiao-niang, he had spoken only a single sentence; now he was leaving without another word.
“Young Master Zhou,” Lady Huang called quickly, “at least eat before you go. You’ve been here half the day…”
“No need,” Zhou Fu said, not even turning his head.
“Thank you, Brother.”
A girl’s voice sounded behind him. Zhou Fu’s steps faltered.
Brother…
“If something happens to you, none of us will be at ease. There’s nothing to thank me for. And I’m not doing it for you,” Zhou Fu muttered, still not turning around.
“Yes. And that’s why I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to me,” the girl said.
I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to me…
Who would want something to happen? And in the face of dangers so overwhelming they could destroy a person – how difficult that “doing one’s best” would be…
“Who asked you to do your best!” Zhou Fu suddenly turned around, shouting with a trace of anger. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you – I’m afraid something will happen to you. And even if something does happen, you still have me… us.”
In the lamplight under the corridor, the girl looked at him and smiled faintly, then gave a graceful bow.
“So – thank you, Brother,” she said.
…
When the sky grew fully light, Chen Shao, who had stayed up all night on duty, finally returned home from the palace. As soon as he entered the gate, he caught sight of his daughter, Chen Shi’ba-niang, standing in the courtyard and was immediately startled.
Chen Shi’ba-niang looked pale and exhausted, her eyes swollen and red. The maids beside her wore helpless expressions. Nearby, a mat was spread out on the ground – clearly, she had waited there all night.
“Shi’ba-niang, what are you doing?” Chen Shao asked with a frown.
“Father, is it true… is it really true about Prince Ping?” Chen Shi’ba-niang asked in a trembling voice.
“Didn’t I already send someone to deliver the news?” Chen Shao replied, sighing heavily. “How could such news be spoken of carelessly?”
Chen Shi’ba-niang shook her head, took two steps back, and tears began to flow down her cheeks.
“How could it be, how could it be…” she murmured under her breath.
Who could ever explain how such a thing happened!
A bolt of lightning had struck Prince Ping dead, and the shock of it left the entire court dumbstruck. Beyond cursing in disbelief, not a word could be uttered.
Chen Shao let out a heavy sigh as he watched his despondent daughter.
After all, she had been one of Prince Ping’s tutors. Having taught him for so long, it was only natural that she couldn’t bring herself to accept it.
Just as he was about to offer a few words of comfort, Chen Shi’ba-niang turned and ran away.
How could it be, how could it be…
Tears blurred Chen Shi’ba-niang’s vision.
Prince Ping had been so diligent, so hardworking – he was certain to have become a wise and just ruler.
But why? Why did all his diligence and effort come to nothing? How could a person just vanish like that…
“If I practice more, can I write as beautifully as you?”
“No, sometimes it’s a matter of natural talent.”
No! No! No!
Sometimes it’s fate! Diligence and effort mean nothing! Nothing at all!
Why? Why did it have to be like this!
Chen Shi’ba-niang stopped in her tracks and lifted her gaze to the sky.
The heavens are unjust! Unjust! I refuse to accept this! I refuse!
