The Emperor’s sleeping quarters were in chaos, with the eunuchs – still rattled from what had just happened – rushing about in disarray. Yet by the time the Empress and court officials arrived, lanterns had been lit and seating mats hastily arranged.
Stepping through the doorway and seeing the Emperor lying on his couch, the Empress’s tears began to flow once more.
“Your Majesty,” she wept, hurrying forward to kneel. “I feared… I would never see you again.”
Looking back now, the danger of that moment felt all too real.
It had started when Cheng Jiao-niang had a eunuch deliver a note. That note reminded her of a chest of fireworks she had once received – a gift she had initially paid little mind to, but had kept because the messenger had deliberately emphasized, “Lady Cheng asked me to deliver this.”
Everyone in the room had speculated wildly about the meaning of the words “fireworks.” Some thought the chest might contain not just fireworks, but some miraculous lifesaving object. Yet no matter how they turned and examined it, it appeared to be nothing more than fireworks. Others suspected hidden pouches of salvation might be tucked inside, but after unpacking two of them, nothing of the sort was found.
“Your Majesty, these fireworks were made by Li family’s Workshop,” guessed a eunuch finally. “Li Mao is Lady Cheng’s apprentice. It was after seeing Lady Cheng’s fireworks that Li Mao developed the stone bombs, which earned him a noble title and official rank. Those stone bombs are even more powerful weapons than the Divine Arm Bow. So perhaps these fireworks themselves are the life-saving weapons.”
Could fireworks truly serve as life-saving weapons?
Although the idea seemed far-fetched, she had run out of options at the time. In desperation, she took a gamble and carried the chest forward.
Unexpectedly, it actually worked.
The Empress collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.
How truly difficult it all was – to strive to live, to hope for a peaceful death. The struggle was agonizing.
Her weeping now felt even more genuine than when she was in the Crown Prince’s quarters. The court officials also knelt down once more and began to sob softly.
But just as their muffled cries began to rise, the Empress suddenly let out a startled gasp. The officials looked up, and they too couldn’t help but be shocked.
The Emperor’s couch had shifted.
Could it be that His Majesty…
The hall fell utterly silent, all eyes fixed on the Emperor.
Slowly, a head emerged from beneath the couch.
“Your Majesty,”
Consort An forced an awkward smile.
“I… I was here keeping watch over His Majesty and accidentally fell asleep. I just heard all of you enter.”
Seeing the stunned, almost ghost-like expressions on everyone’s faces, she hastily crawled out, straightened her skirts, and bowed as she backed away.
“You… please carry on. I… I shall take my leave.”
With that, she turned and hurried behind the curtain.
Everyone’s scattered wits slowly returned, and they slumped onto their mats, barely catching their breath when Consort An peeked her head out again.
“Is everything… all right now?” she asked.
The Empress took a deep breath and shot her a sharp glare.
“Leave at once!” she ordered, her brows drawn together sternly.
Consort An shrank back, frightened.
Everything’s fine, everything’s fine… She slipped back inside.
Distracted by this incident, the Empress’s grief and sentimentality faded. She gently wiped her tears, settled herself beside the emperor’s couch, and looked at the assembled officials.
“What should be done about today’s events, my lords?” she began.
…
Gao Lingjun had slowly regained consciousness. The pain on his face and the salty bitterness in his mouth snapped him instantly awake.
All around, it was quiet – no more noise, no more clamor.
Gao Lingjun sat up and saw that he was lying alone in the hall.
This hall was not unfamiliar to him – it was the main hall of the Empress Dowager’s palace.
He was not bound, nor were there any glaring guards watching over him. Staggering slightly, Gao Lingjun rose to his feet, straightened his robes, and picked up his official hat, which had fallen nearby, placing it firmly on his head.
“Someone! Someone!” he shouted loudly.
No one answered.
“Bring Zhang Chun to me! I must debate with him face to face.”
“I demand to see the Empress! I must ask her if she knows the principles of Heaven and human decency.”
He strode quickly toward the door, but it would not open – naturally, they would not let him roam freely.
Gao Lingjun peered through the crack in the door. Outside, lanterns blazed brightly. The corridors and courtyard were filled with imperial guards – not the familiar ones he knew, but garrison troops. Among them moved many eunuchs and palace maids, all dressed in mourning clothes, covering their faces as they wept softly.
“… Poor Crown Prince, to have been murdered like this…”
“… This is treason… Who would have thought the Gao family would rebel…”
These words drifted through the crack in the door and reached Gao Lingjun’s ears.
Gao Lingjun slapped the door and laughed coldly.
Damn your treason! If he had wanted to rebel, would he have waited until now?
How did the Crown Prince die? He died of his own illness! What does that have to do with me?
If we’re talking treason, it’s the one who led troops and bombarded the palace gates who’s the real rebel!
But there was no point arguing with these lowly servants.
Reasoning with them was meaningless.
Gao Lingjun’s gaze shifted to the corridor outside, where Chen Shao’s corpse lay. His eyes lingered for a moment.
Chen Shao still lay there, disheveled and dressed only in undergarments, not even covered with a white sheet. Those passing by did not spare him a second glance, as if what lay there was not a person but a piece of meat.
What dignity could a traitor who murdered the Crown Prince expect in death?
And not just him – his family would soon be stripped of dignity too.
That was precisely why one must never die. Once dead, everything would be decided by others.
Gao Lingjun withdrew his gaze, a faint, cold smile flickering across his face.
So what if he was found guilty? So what if he was imprisoned? As long as he waited until dawn, the world would see the bizarre truth of this palace upheaval. The Crown Prince’s illness was a fact, and the fact remained that Duke Jin’an had entered the capital without an imperial decree and stormed the palace gates with troops – a mere commandery duke at that.
Let the world witness these truths.
He took a deep breath, turned back into the hall, sat down on the floor, and watched as the darkness outside gradually faded. Dawn was about to break.
At that moment, the door was pushed open.
Gao Lingjun looked up and saw four unfamiliar eunuchs walking in. His heart skipped a beat, a foreboding sense of dread rising within him.
“Who are you? What do you want?” he shouted.
“We are here to send you on yoour way,” the eunuch at the head replied.
Gao Lingjun flew into a rage and sprang to his feet.
“How dare you!” he roared, reaching for his belt – only to find it empty. The jade belt bestowed by the emperor was gone.
Three eunuchs surged forward, a white silk cord already wrapping around Gao Lingjun’s neck.
He struggled fiercely.
He was a robust man, often practiced martial arts at home, and was not one to be easily overpowered. But these three seemingly frail eunuchs moved with sharp, forceful precision. In just a few swift motions, they subdued him.
These men were definitely not ordinary palace eunuchs!
“Duke Jin’an! How dare you!” Gao Lingjun shouted hoarsely, clawing desperately at the white silk cord around his neck. “Are you not afraid?”
Aren’t you afraid of lacking legitimacy?
Aren’t you afraid that breaking into the palace and killing ministers will lead people to say you murdered the Crown Prince?
Aren’t you afraid of being questioned for life, of shadows cast by candles and the sound of axes?
Aren’t you afraid of instilling fear in all your officials?
Aren’t you afraid of the people’s judgment?
No one answered him. The lead eunuch looked at him with contempt, watching him struggle like a dying dog.
No… no… His breath grew fainter, and fear swelled violently in Gao Lingjun’s heart.
No, it cannot end like this. It must not! I will not accept it!
He had done nothing wrong – nothing at all! Why was this happening?
Why was he meeting such an end?
Heaven is unjust! Heaven is unjust! I refuse to submit! I refuse!
It should not have been like this!
It should not have been like this!
Gao Lingjun had schemed all his life without error. Countless men had died by his hand, officials had fallen before him in droves – how could he possibly die like this?
How could he be strangled so easily by two castrated servants!
“Lady Cheng, you should not have done this. We should never have come to this.”
“Yes, Master Gao, we should never have come to this. You should not have done this.”
For no reason, those words flashed through his mind.
Should not have done this… Should he never have opposed her from the start? Originally, they could have kept to their own paths, coexisting peacefully – even, if he had humbled himself sooner, might this girl now be part of the Gao family?
If so, was everything that had happened today ultimately caused by those five lowly soldiers whose military merits were suppressed in the northwestern campaign? If he had not shielded and protected Jiang Wenyuan back then, would everything have turned out differently?
How laughable!
Gao Lingjun’s lips twitched, as if trying to form a smile. His legs kicked twice, then his eyes widened and he fell still.
The eunuchs nudged the body with their feet, but it did not move. The lead eunuch covered his mouth and nose with his hand, glancing at the filth that had emptied from Gao Lingjun’s lower body.
“Clean this up,” he said flatly, then turned and walked out.
Outside in the courtyard, eunuchs and palace maids continued to hurry about, preparing for the Crown Prince’s funeral. Garrison troops stood guard with weapons in hand, stern and silent. No one glanced toward this side, as if they hadn’t heard the shouts and struggles at all.
Outside the Crown Prince’s quarters stood a man. A eunuch hurried over to him.
“Eunuch Jing,” he said respectfully, “it is done.”
Eunuch Jing gave a faint hum and turned to go inside.
Duke Jin’an still sat before the Crown Prince’s couch. In front of him knelt a trembling woman.
Eunuch Jing stepped forward and leaned in close, speaking softly.
“Master Gao has taken his own life,” he whispered.
Duke Jin’an’s expression remained wooden.
Eunuch Jing took a step back.
“What did you say?” Duke Jin’an asked, his gaze turning to the woman.
“Your Highness,” the woman replied, her voice trembling as she kowtowed. “I am a concubine of the Crown Prince. I served His Highness in bed…”
“So you believe you should not join the others in accompanying the Crown Prince in death?” Duke Jin’an asked, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips as he looked at her. The chill in his expression made it impossible to meet his eyes.
The woman dared not look up, weeping as she kowtowed repeatedly.
“I… I am not unwilling to serve His Highness in the afterlife, it’s just… just…” As she spoke, she placed a hand on her abdomen. “I fear… I may be with child…”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall turned pale.
If the Crown Prince had left behind an heir, should that not be a joyous matter?
But the timing of this legacy was…
Just as the adoption was becoming an unstoppable course of action, the sudden emergence of the Crown Prince’s bloodline – what was to be done now?
Duke Jin’an burst into laughter.
“So it was you,” he said, looking down at the woman before him, his face suddenly twisted with disgust. He abruptly rose and lifted his foot, stomping down directly on the woman’s neck.
“So it was you,” he repeated, his voice cold as he pressed down with increasing force.
The woman clutched at his foot, her mouth gaping, eyes wide, making gurgling, choking sounds. Her face grew paler and more ashen by the second.
“So it was you!”
With those words, a sharp crack echoed through the hall. The woman’s hands, which had been gripping his foot, fell limp. Her eyes remained wide, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she lay still.
The room fell into dead silence, icy and heavy. Under the bright lantern light, it felt like a freezing cellar. Slowly, the faint chattering of someone’s trembling teeth began to echo in the stillness, adding another layer of dread to the oppressive atmosphere.
…
In the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, the discussion was in full swing.
“… Chen Shao has already taken his own life, and Gao Lingjun’s crimes are unforgivable,” one court official declared clearly. “For such treacherous and deceitful ministers, the law states…”
“I have already said earlier that relying solely on the law is not enough. We must also follow historical precedents…” another official interrupted, shaking his head with a tone of disagreement.
“This matter involves significant implications and must be handled with caution,” someone else reminded.
The Gao family had entrenched itself in the court for three generations. Even if they did not pursue the entire clan, Gao Lingjun’s generation alone had established intricate connections through marriages and alliances. Even among those present, no one could guarantee that their own relatives or friends had no ties with the Gao family’s network.
Now, with the Empress Dowager clearly sidelined and the Empress in control of the palace, the situation within the palace had stabilized. However, the circumstances outside the palace remained uncertain – just think of how Duke Yanping had entered the city without a sound.
Caution was absolutely necessary in handling this matter.
At that moment, a eunuch hurried into the room.
“Your Majesty, Duke Jin’an has arrived,” he announced loudly.
A flicker of joy crossed the Empress’s face.
“Summon him in at once,” she said.
Following the summons, Duke Jin’an strode in, now dressed in plain mourning garments. By protocol, his seat was not among the foremost, but he did not proceed directly to it. Instead, he walked straight to the emperor’s couch, lifted the hem of his robe, knelt, and kowtowed.
“Your Majesty,” he called out, his voice choked with emotion.
“Very well, His Majesty has seen you,” the Empress said, gesturing for a eunuch to assist him up. “Come, it is growing late. Let us move swiftly to the important matters, so that the court officials may also be given clarity.”
Duke Jin’an rose and took a seat slightly behind the Empress.
“As you wish,” he said. “Your Majesty and esteemed ministers, please continue. Pay me no mind.”
Pay him no mind…
But given where he was sitting, it was impossible for anyone to ignore him.
The officials lowered their gazes, about to resume speaking, when Duke Jin’an suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up.
“Ah, yes,” he said. “I nearly forgot to mention – just moments ago, Gao Lingjun took his own life in the Empress Dowager’s palace.”
As these words fell, everyone in the hall turned to look at him, their faces filled with shock.
Dead?
Gao Lingjun had committed suicide!
