Chapter Five: Snow and Blossoms Fluttering in the Wind

Emperor Guangde strode quickly to Ye Qianling’s side, grabbed her forcefully, and pulled her upright. Xun Xun, who stood nearby, thought he was about to strike again and hurriedly interceded, “Your Majesty, the Fifth Princess is, after all, a young woman. Even a strong man could not endure such blows. The Fifth Princess is noble and gentle by nature. Please, investigate fully before resorting to further punishment.”

“No matter whether she is involved in this matter or not, what she just said alone is enough—I will not tolerate it,” Emperor Guangde declared. He looked down at Ye Qianling, whose collar he still gripped; blood was streaming from the corner of her mouth, her strength utterly spent. He raised her chin with his other hand, saw the cracked, bleeding lips and her pallor, and his anger lessened, realizing that if he did not remove her at once, she might die by his own hands before the truth came out.

“If you refuse to speak, fine. Take Ye Qianling to the Office of the Imperial Clan. Sui Gaolang must extract a confession from her within three days, by whatever means necessary.” With that, he released his grip and she collapsed to the floor. The Third Princess, Ye Qianmu, had just entered, unaware of what had transpired. Hearing that Ye Qianling was to be sent to Sui Gaolang, she rushed to her sister’s side. Upon seeing Ye Qianling’s swollen, bruised face, she recovered from her shock in a matter of seconds and looked up, pleading, “Father, Lord Sui is notorious for his cruelty. If Ling’er is sent to him, how could she possibly survive? You know her character—whatever she said, she must have had her reasons.”

Seeing the emperor hesitate, his expression softening just a little, she pressed on, “Please, don’t let Ling’er suffer unjustly. She has just returned victorious from the battlefield—she should be rewarded, not punished. This will break the hearts of the soldiers and harm morale. And now, with Yan Country making moves again, we need every loyal talent.”

“This is already the talk of the entire court. If she continues her silence, there is no stopping the rumors unless she suffers a little for it,” Emperor Guangde said, though his resolve wavered. After a moment, he decided, “Take her back to the Ice Crystal Palace. She is not to leave the palace grounds. If she does, send her directly to the Office of the Imperial Clan.”

Ye Qianling woke to find herself alone. She tried to call out, but her face throbbed with pain. Not even a drop of medicine—Father, do you know how much Ling’er hurts? Perhaps he truly is disappointed in her.

The broken ribs in her chest had not been set, the pain radiating through her upper body, stabbing her every time she so much as straightened. The palace never had medicine at hand. On the battlefield, minor injuries were ignored, and serious wounds were treated by a physician. Here, not even a pinch of salve could be found.

Where were Shi He and Tong Qiu? Why weren’t her personal maids by her side to tend her wounds? A pang of loneliness struck her—a fifteen-year-old girl, no different from others her age, hating solitude, especially when she was so defeated, so sorrowful, in need of comfort.

Suddenly, a bell tolled—once, twice, up to twenty-seven times—national mourning!

Ye Qianling shot upright, the pain momentarily forgotten, her mind reeling. Guided only by instinct, she staggered forward, clutching her chest as she began to run.

Someone blocked her path outside the door, but she knocked them aside with several blows, leaving them unable to rise. The death bell was rung only for the emperor, empress, or empress dowager. Her royal grandmother was not in the palace; how could it be her father or mother? What had happened?

As she ran, she overheard palace guards and maids whispering—the empress had committed suicide by drinking poison. The words struck her numb. She collapsed, tumbling helplessly down a flight of more than ten steps.

A nearby cluster of palace maids screamed in fright, and as they recovered, they realized it was the Fifth Princess, who had been punished and confined to her quarters. They hurried forward to help her, but someone arrived first. From the top of the steps, Chu Ming saw Ye Qianling lying there, her eyes wide and unblinking, and his heart jolted. He descended swiftly, using his lightness skill, and seeing her chest still moving, he finally breathed a little easier.

“Fifth Princess,” Chu Ming addressed the girl collapsed on the ground, so unlike her former self, trying to touch her face but restraining himself, his voice trembling, “Are you all right?”

It was as if she could hear nothing. Perhaps her eyes had been open too long, for she finally closed them, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Even when spoken to, she gave no response, none of her usual brightness.

Word had spread throughout the palace: the emperor had struck the Fifth Princess after finding evidence in the Ice Crystal Palace. No one knew how she found the courage to defy imperial orders and rush here; yet, as it was her mother, it was understandable, and surely the emperor would not blame her for this. Still—

Chu Ming sighed quietly. Why had Ye Qianling come to this? She was not such a person—why force herself into this shape? Perhaps this once-favored girl would never know how to face her new fate. And if she learned why her mother took her own life, she might truly break.

He tried to help Ye Qianling up, but just then several young palace guards hurried over. One said to another, “The empress took her own life to save the Fifth Princess, hoping the emperor would spare her. But why did the Fifth Princess do such a thing? It’s beyond understanding.”

To save her, her mother killed herself? The words jolted Ye Qianling awake. She shoved Chu Ming aside, struggled to her feet, and, uncaring of the pain from her fall, rushed to the guard who had spoken, seized his throat and, eyes bloodshot, hissed, “Explain yourself clearly, or you die.” Her grip tightened, as if possessed, her face streaked with tears and contorted with rage.

“Fifth Princess!” Chu Ming gripped her wrist, his voice low and urgent, “The empress gave her life for yours. Do you want her sacrifice to be in vain?”

“It’s not like that,” Ye Qianling muttered, coming to her senses and staggering back. Speaking tore open her split lips, and she clutched her broken ribs, tasting blood in her mouth as a crimson pool spread on the ground.

Chu Ming, seeing her state, knew this blow was only the beginning. The emperor might spare her life, but what was to come would be more pain than death. He could not look away from her sorrow. When Ye Qianling had calmed a little, he snapped at the terrified kneeling guard, “Are you waiting here to die? Go!”

The guard scrambled away as fast as he could. When he was gone, Chu Ming gently patted Ye Qianling’s shoulder, “Why torment yourself? No one believes you are the culprit. If you stay silent, the empress will have died for nothing, and all who love you will suffer. The true criminal will triumph. Do you not understand?”

Ye Qianling was silent for a long time. “Where is Wan Feng? I want to see Wan Feng.” Looking up at Chu Ming, her voice trembled with anxiety, “Help me find her, Brother Ming. I just want to know what happened. How could Mother—?”

“The maid Wan is in the empress’s palace now. The Crown Prince and the Third Princess are there too. The emperor has already sent soldiers to hasten the return of the Second and Fourth Princes.”

“How could this be?” Ye Qianling finally lost control, her eyes blank. “I must speak to Father. This cannot be so simple.” She struggled to her feet and, clutching her chest, ran toward the Ice Crystal Palace.

With a crash, she collided with someone. The pain from her untreated injuries was excruciating, and she raised her hand to strike, but stopped short at the sight of Wan Feng’s pale face. She hissed, “What have you done? Mother killed herself to save me—why didn’t you stop her? I call you Aunt Feng out of respect for my mother. Tell me what happened, or I swear I will skin you alive.”

Wan Feng looked at the changed Ye Qianling and smiled meaningfully. For a moment, Ye Qianling was stunned, her expression incredulous.

“You brought harm to your own mother—how dare you heap blame on another?” Wan Feng sneered coldly. “If you weren’t so foolish, thinking your mother was to blame and taking it all on yourself—how laughable your stupidity is.”

“What are you saying?” Wan Feng watched Ye Qianling’s eyes widen at her words, and, smiling indifferently, lightly slapped her bruised face. “Once the most beloved little princess, and now look at you—I can hardly keep from laughing.” In the next instant, her expression shifted, and she leaned close to Ye Qianling’s ear. “Don’t think about exposing me. In fact, you’d better safeguard my life, or the newborn prince in the Crown Prince’s manor might die of poison without warning.”

“What!” Ye Qianling had never expected that Wan Feng, who had always treated her well, would kill her brother and be complicit in her mother’s death—and now, even vengeance was beyond her reach. Controlling herself, she suddenly remembered, “Chen Feng’s death truly was an accident. I failed you; your only son died young. He was torn apart by five horses protecting me—I am truly sorry. But Mother treated you as a sister; we siblings all called you Aunt Feng. My brother had no conflict with you. If you sought revenge, you could have come for me. Why drag them into this with such cruelty?”

Wan Feng did not answer. Ye Qianling sighed softly, making up her mind. “I promise you, I’ll take the blame for all of this. You can direct all suspicion at me. You know I destroyed all the evidence in your chambers—I owe you that much. But my eldest brother’s newborn son is innocent. Promise you won’t harm him.”

Wan Feng’s expression softened, her gaze complex and unreadable. Ye Qianling cared little for that—she turned and ran toward the empress’s palace.