As the night deepened, lanterns were lit in Old Master Zhang’s room.
Seeing the old master emerge dressed only in his inner garments, the maid on night watch hurriedly stood up.
“Old Master?” she said in surprise.
Old Master Zhang looked outside.
“Is it almost dawn?” he asked.
“It’s still early,” the maid replied.
Old Master Zhang gave a low hum in response.
“It sounds quite lively outside – the sound of horses’ hooves running back and forth,” he said.
The maid was somewhat surprised.
Did it?
The Zhang residence was located in a bustling market area, but by this hour, the night markets had usually dispersed. Could it still be noisy enough to disturb him?
The maid watched as Old Master Zhang stood still by the window, silently gazing into the night outside.
“Old Master, I’ll have someone keep watch and divert carriages and horses away from the front gate,” the maid said.
Although acting in such a manner might seem a bit domineering, given Zhang Chun’s status, it was not entirely inappropriate.
Old Master Zhang shook his head.
“No need, no need,” he said. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
…
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
The urgent calls of the imperial physicians echoed from the inner chamber.
The Empress Dowager, who had been dozing off while leaning on a palace maid, abruptly stood up. But someone moved even faster – Chen Shao stepped into the inner chamber ahead of her.
“What’s happening?” Chen Shao asked urgently.
The doctor pointed at the Crown Prince lying on the couch.
“He’s fading fast,” one of them said, his voice trembling.
Chen Shao shoved him aside and hurried to the edge of the couch. He looked down at the Crown Prince, whose breathing was gradually slowing, and blood was beginning to trickle from his nose and mouth again.
Chen Shao felt as if his heart were being wrung with pain.
“Your Highness, Your Highness,” he called out.
The Empress Dowager, standing behind him, began to weep.
Gao Lingjun, however, remained expressionless. The outcome was already known – it had to be accepted. Grief was of no use now; what mattered was planning for the next steps.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!” a voice called from outside the door. “Princess Consort Jin’an has arrived.”
At these words, everyone in the room was visibly startled.
She had arrived?
“How is this possible!” the Empress Dowager cried out.
How could it be so soon? Even if one rode nonstop, the journey from here to Qingyuan Post Station would take half a day. The round trip, at the fastest, would require a full day. Yet now, in less than two hours, she had arrived?
Did she fly here as an immortal?
No, even if she were an immortal delivering a message, it couldn’t have been this fast.
“Where did you see Lady Cheng?” the Empress Dowager asked urgently.
“Right outside the city gate,” a eunuch replied.
Outside the city gate!
Everyone in the room froze once more, their expressions shifting abruptly.
“Well, well,” Gao Lingjun sneered coldly. “It seems she was prepared all along.”
If not, this would be far too coincidental.
But how could she have been prepared? The Crown Prince’s incident had only occurred tonight. People in the capital might have guessed something was amiss, given the opening and closing of the palace gates, but the news had certainly not leaked beyond the capital.
How could she, all the way at Qingyuan Post Station, have suddenly come here?
“King of Hell!” the Empress Dowager suddenly cried out, her expression filled with terror. “She knows the King of Hell – that’s how she knew!”
Chen Shao and Gao Lingjun were taken aback.
“Don’t let her in! Make her leave, quickly!” the Empress Dowager shouted, her emotions spiraling out of control as she gestured wildly. “She’s here to take our lives! She’s here to take our lives!”
“Your Majesty, this is the imperial palace,” Gao Lingjun said, raising his voice. “This is where the true dragon son of heaven resides. Even if the King of Hell himself were to come, he would have to lower his stature.”
With that, he looked toward the door.
“Since she has come today, she will not be allowed to leave.”
Chen Shao’s expression shifted.
“Right now, saving the Crown Prince is what matters most,” he said, gesturing to the eunuch. “Bring her in, quickly.”
Cheng Jiao-niang stood under the corridor outside the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber. Palace guards stood solemnly on all sides, their weapons – knives, spears, and halberds – fully prepared, creating a silence so profound that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
However, numerous probing glances could be faintly detected from all around.
Upon hearing the call from inside to “invite her in,” Cheng Jiao-niang stepped forward and entered.
In the distance, a dark figure dashed away as swiftly as flying.
As Cheng Jiao-niang entered the main hall, the first person she laid eyes on was Chen Shao. Chen Shao also looked at her, and their gazes met briefly. Cheng Jiao-niang then lowered her eyes and offered a respectful bow.
“This way, please,” Gao Lingjun said from the side.
“I presume you are already aware that His Highness the Crown Prince has suddenly fallen critically ill.”
Cheng Jiao-niang paid him no mind and proceeded straight inside.
In the inner chamber, the imperial physicians stepped aside, revealing the Crown Prince lying on the couch before her.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced only once before halting her steps.
“Fetch hot water, a heated pot, and golden needles…” She listed a series of tools in one breath.
The doctors exchanged glances – was she truly going to attempt a rescue? But just moments ago, the Crown Prince had already…
A look of great joy flashed across Chen Shao’s face.
“Quickly, quickly, follow Her Highness’s instructions,” he urged anxiously.
A flicker of hesitation also passed over Gao Lingjun’s face.
Could she truly cure him?
Of course, he hoped she could – but was this girl trustworthy?
He raised his head to look at Cheng Jiao-niang.
What did it matter if she was trustworthy? He had been mistaken. The key was not that – the key was that whether she could cure him or not, she would still have to die. Since she was a person marked for death, what did it matter whether she was trustworthy or not?
“Bring them quickly,” Gao Lingjun ordered, raising his hand.
The Crown Prince’s bedchamber was immediately thrown into a flurry of activity.
…
“Has Lady Cheng entered the palace?”
Upon hearing the report, the Empress stood up in surprise.
“How could it be so fast?”
“I’m not sure, Your Majesty. I only caught a glimpse of Lady Cheng from a distance. I didn’t dare get too close – the security around the Empress Dowager’s palace is extremely tight,” the young eunuch replied.
“Your Majesty, since Lady Cheng has arrived, has Duke Jin’an come as well?” Consort An asked, a note of excitement in her voice.
The Empress paced back and forth, her brow furrowed tightly.
“If she’s here, then the situation becomes easier to handle,” she muttered softly to herself. “No matter how Gao Lingjun or the Empress Dowager try to defend themselves, there will be a witness. But the most crucial step – what should we do now?”
“Your Majesty, what are you planning to do?” Consort An asked, straining to catch her words.
The Empress glanced at her.
“Only when something is done should it be spoken of. How can one speak of it before it is done?” she replied.
Consort An stuck out her tongue and fell silent.
The Empress looked toward the inner room, where the hourglass steadily marked the passing of time. The darkness of night gradually faded – dawn was about to break.
If day broke and the ministers attended court as usual, there would be no room left for maneuver.
The room fell into silence.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Xiao Deng.”
Xiao Deng!
He was the person assigned to the Empress Dowager’s palace – the last and closest one.
The Empress felt her heart racing, a vague thought swirling in her mind, as if she was beginning to understand something.
“Your Majesty,” a young eunuch stumbled in from outside, his hands outstretched as he rushed toward the Empress.
The eunuchs and palace maids around the Empress immediately turned pale and rushed to block his path.
Nevertheless, the young eunuch’s hand reached out, opening his palm to reveal a small note.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty,” the young eunuch stammered, his voice trembling with excitement, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. “Lady Cheng… I saw Lady Cheng… She requested many things to treat the Crown Prince… The Empress Dowager’s palace was in chaos… I was finally fortunate enough to be sent in to deliver the pot… Then I gathered my courage and stole a few glances at Lady Cheng… She reached out to take the pot from me and slipped me…”
Overjoyed, the Empress reached out, snatched the note, and unfolded it.
“Fireworks,” she read aloud.
Fireworks?
What did it mean?
What could it possibly mean?
Everyone in the room watched as Cheng Jiao-niang first wiped the Crown Prince’s face and body with water, then lit incense and stood before the Crown Prince’s couch, murmuring incantations with her eyes closed.
It was said that this Lady Cheng did not allow others to be present when she treated illnesses. Now, seeing her at work, her methods indeed seemed peculiar.
“…Surpassing the difficulties of the three realms, ascending directly to the Primordial Heaven. Thus, the heavenly kings of flight, countless in number…”
A doctor standing nearby managed to catch a few words of her incantations. His expression grew increasingly strange.
“I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before,” he couldn’t help but whisper.
Another doctor nodded as well.
“It sounds like the ‘Sutra of Salvation from Suffering and Deliverance from Sin’ used for deliverance rites,” he said.
At these words, the faces of both doctors changed.
Could it be…
“Bring clean clothing,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Chen Shao and Gao Lingjun were momentarily taken aback.
“Bring clothing?” they asked.
“His Highness is already cleansed. He may now be dressed and encoffined,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
At these words, Chen Shao and Gao Lingjun looked stunned.
“What do you mean by this?” Chen Shao asked.
What did she mean by “cleansed”? What did she mean by “encoffined”?
“Weren’t you supposed to be treating him?”
Cheng Jiao-niang looked up at him.
“Of course not. When I came in, His Highness had already passed,” she said, then turned to the doctors in the room. “Didn’t you know?”
The doctors were dumbfounded.
Of course, they knew – but weren’t you the kind of person who only treated those at the brink of death?
After all this, you were just conducting a ritual for deliverance?
What kind of joke was this?!
“His Highness has no mind, no consciousness, no soul, no spirit. He is no longer human. I only treat those at the brink of death, but they must first be human,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, her gaze resting on the Crown Prince lying quietly.
Perhaps because she had cleansed and arranged him, he appeared ruddy-cheeked and serene. In the blur, one could vaguely make out the handsome features of his youth.
Absolve all sins and transgressions, freeing them from this burden.
Release them from the endless night, granting them liberation and ascension.
She lowered her eyes and bowed her head.
The room fell silent. Gao Lingjun watched her, and suddenly, understanding dawned on him.
“This is bad!” he exclaimed.
He was wrong!
He had still miscalculated!
What did it matter if she was trustworthy? The key was not that – the key was that whether she could cure him or not, she would still have to die. Since she was a person marked for death, what did it matter whether she was trustworthy or not?
No, he was wrong. It was not a matter of whether she could heal him or whether she was trustworthy. It was about opportunity!
This girl was clearly stalling for time to create an opportunity –
An opportunity to pass on a message!
“Guards! Arrest everyone who has entered or exited the Empress Dowager’s palace just now!”
Gao Lingjun turned and shouted, then spun back to point at Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Arrest this girl who conspired to murder the Crown Prince!”
No, no – what mattered most was…
The Empress!
“Guards! Arrest the Empress!”
…
The night wind howled, and urgent footsteps shattered the palace’s quiet.
“Who goes there?” shouted the guards on duty at the front palace.
Bright torches were raised toward the approaching figures.
A woman in full ceremonial attire appeared in their line of sight, surrounded by over a dozen palace maids and eunuchs. In her arms, she held a box, and in her hand, she raised an object.
This was… the Empress!
Though the Empress had long remained secluded within the palace due to illness and rarely appeared in public, her imperial phoenix crown and official attire made her easy to recognize.
“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived. Open the palace gate,” a eunuch cried out sharply.
The guards hesitated, their expressions uncertain.
“By the Empress Dowager’s decree, no one is allowed to enter or leave the palace without a written order,” the leader of the guards replied.
From behind came the sound of urgent footsteps, accompanied by bright torches.
“Halt! Halt! Seize the Empress!” voices shouted simultaneously.
“Your Majesty!” the eunuchs and palace maids exclaimed, their expressions resolute.
“We will protect you!” they declared, surging forward as they rushed the Empress toward the gate.
“Your Majesty, if you take another step forward, we will be forced to fire arrows,” the guard leader shouted.
As he spoke, the imperial guards behind him aimed their bows at the Empress.
But the eunuchs and palace maids showed no trace of fear, charging forward without hesitation.
“How dare you attack the Empress? This is the crime of rebellion!” they shrieked.
Some of the imperial guards hesitated, their expressions faltering.
Indeed, this was the Empress.
“What are you doing? She is the Empress, but there is also the Empress Dowager,” the leader of the imperial guards shouted, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
Ever since the Empress Dowager had ordered the palace gates sealed shut, he had known that something significant was happening inside.
At this moment, it was a matter of choosing which side to take.
Though the Empress Dowager was old, the Gao family had deep roots and strong influence. Moreover, with Chen Shao’s support, the Empress simply could not compare.
Furthermore, whatever happened within the palace walls would inevitably be buried within the palace itself.
Back in the previous dynasty, when the emperor was attacked at night by a group of eunuchs and nearly killed, the mastermind was never identified, and the matter was eventually dropped.
As long as it occurred within the palace walls, even if the Empress were killed, there would be ample reasons to cover it up.
Do it!
“Fire the arrows!” he shouted loudly, drawing his own bow and shooting the first arrow.
A eunuch at the very front fell to the ground in response.
More arrows flew through the air, yet the tightly clustered eunuchs and palace maids did not stop for a moment. Even as those around them fell one by one, they continued forward like moths drawn fearlessly to a flame.
“Your Majesty, it’s close enough!” a eunuch shouted.
By now, only seven or eight people remained around the Empress, and the palace gate was just a few steps away.
At this cry, the Empress handed the tightly held box in her arms to the eunuch.
With a sharp crackle, a fuse was lit and quickly thrown into the box.
“Protect Her Majesty!” the eunuch holding the box screamed hoarsely, hurling it with all his might toward the imperial guards blocking the palace gate.
Boom! The box struck the ground and exploded violently. Accompanied by sharp, piercing whistles, countless fireworks shot in all directions – left, right, up, and down – bursting into dazzling, brilliant flowers across the ground and sky.
Chaos erupted instantly before the palace gate. The fireworks shot unpredictably, some slipping beneath the guards’ armor and igniting their clothing. Flames instantly engulfed them, and the front line of guards let out agonized screams as they rolled on the ground in torment.
Ignoring the still-erupting fireworks and their own clothing catching fire, the seven or eight eunuchs and palace maids seized the chance to rush toward the palace gate with the Empress and pushed it open with all their might.
“Protect Her Majesty! Protect Her Majesty!”
With the imperial seal held high in her hand, the Empress rushed out, surrounded by the last remaining eunuchs and palace maids whose clothing still smoldered with flames. Her voice rang out sharply as she cried:
“Gao Lingjun and Chen Shao conspired to murder the Crown Prince!”
The explosion, as loud and powerful as stone cannonballs, and the dazzling fireworks that soared as high as a nine-story pagoda instantly illuminated the entire capital.
A maid standing by the window let out a startled scream.
“Old Master, look! What is that?”
Old Master Zhang gazed at the fireworks blooming in the distant sky and exhaled deeply.
“All is well. All is well,” he said.
