Chapter 12

Now, at last, someone had been able to walk out.

I sent some banknotes to Lingnan. After learning that the Cheng family could return to the capital but would not be cleared of the charges, my family thought about it for a long time and ultimately decided to remain where they were for now.

After all, everyone had grown used to life in Lingnan, and the difference in status upon returning to the capital might be hard to bear.

Ten years had worn away Mother’s longing to return to the capital’s world of privilege.

Her health was poor, and she no longer spoke of the children’s prospects. Instead, she personally embroidered a little cloak and a protective blanket, sending them into the palace with a letter.

The soft fabric and delicate stitches carried the warmth of family across countless mountains and rivers.

Wangshu was learning to walk, calling me “Mother” in a sweet little voice. Those days, in truth, were not so difficult.

Sometimes I awoke with a start in the middle of the night and felt warmth beside me, as though Zhou Hui had once come here and lain down by my side.

Clear moonlight quietly spread across heaven and earth.

33

In March, the imperial family held the first royal hunt since Zhou Hui ascended the throne. Relatives of the imperial house and civil and military officials all attended, making a grand spectacle.

I was among the party accompanying the Emperor.

I had planned to feign illness and decline, but Pei Zhuo sent word that he had an important piece of physical evidence concerning the case to give me.

I had not given up.

The hunting grounds were crowded and lively. Sitting outside the imperial tent, I looked at Zhou Hui on the high platform at the center and suddenly realized I had not seen him in a long time.

Most of my former friends from the women’s quarters had become officials’ wives and noble ladies. Curious glances occasionally passed over me, but no one dared approach and greet me casually.

After all, Zhou Hui had been on the throne for a year, and I was still only Aunt Mingyue, without a title or status.

Everyone feared misjudging the Emperor’s thoughts.

At a loud whistle, everyone’s attention was drawn to a figure in red.

It was Virtuous Consort Lu Zhaozhao in riding clothes, brimming with heroic spirit. Mounted on a tall steed, she drew her bow and struck the target with a forceful, decisive motion.

Zhou Hui was watching her too, the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

I suddenly remembered what Noble Consort Shu had said years ago: He was only eighteen—how many women could he have known?

It seemed that without me at his side, he was still living quite well.

Lingzhi leaned close to my ear. “Auntie, Lord Pei has arrived.”

The hunting grounds were bustling, and no one noticed us here. I quietly rose.

In the dense woods beside the grounds, Pei Zhuo stood with his hands behind his back. When he saw me, he took a crumpled scroll from inside his robe.

I smelled something strange.

Pei Zhuo lowered his voice. “Mingyue, I opened your father’s coffin without permission.”

My hands trembled. I immediately understood the scroll’s origin and the strange smell.

Back then, Father had hanged himself before he could confess. The late Emperor was enraged and forbade the Marquis’s household from claiming his body, allowing only a hasty burial in a public cemetery seven li outside the capital.

No one knew how many corpses had been buried there, yet Pei Zhuo found Father’s thin coffin. From amid the cold white bones, he recovered the original draft Father had written in prison, sewn inside the lining of his boots. The witness and physical evidence were both clear.

An investigation the court had ordered to stop—and he had still managed to go this far!

I stared at Pei Zhuo in astonishment, unable to speak.

His eyes shone brightly, earnestness mingling with pain. “Mingyue, is there anything else you need me to do…?”

I was just about to stop him when a cold voice sounded behind us.

“What are you doing?”

34

I turned and saw Zhou Hui standing there, his face expressionless.

The Empress, Zhao Yining, and Lu Zhaozhao were all behind him.

Zhao Yining covered her mouth in surprise. “I used to hear that Aunt Mingyue’s maid was secretly meeting an unrelated man, but I didn’t believe it. Now it seems…”

She glanced at the stunned Pei Zhuo. “Lord Pei? Didn’t you once have a marriage agreement with the Dingyuan Marquis’s household?”

“If we hadn’t happened to catch you today…”

The Empress watched Zhou Hui’s expression from the side, but Lu Zhaozhao gave a cold snort.

“Coincidence? Wasn’t it Worthy Consort who deliberately brought us to these woods?”

Zhao Yining was momentarily speechless.

Lu Zhaozhao did not spare her. “His Majesty hasn’t said a word, yet you’re already rushing to convict them. To me, this looks more like a trap you set.”

“You even know about a marriage arrangement from ten years ago. You must have spent a great deal of effort looking into it.”

Zhao Yining’s face flushed with anger.

I had not expected Lu Zhaozhao to speak up for me.

Thinking about it, she was the daughter of a military family, proud and aloof. It was true that she had looked down on me before; it was also true that she despised deceit and would speak up for what was right.

But I could no longer spare a thought for anyone else.

Zhou Hui’s eyes were as cold as ice.

I looked at him and hurriedly explained, “Your Majesty, none of what Worthy Consort is implying happened. Lord Pei and I were only discussing the old Cheng family case.”

Pei Zhuo bowed and knelt. “I have been investigating the case with a single-minded purpose. My dealings with Miss Mingyue were entirely proper. I have never acted inappropriately.”

“Miss Mingyue.”

Zhou Hui enunciated each word. “Who gave you permission to address her that way?”

Fury erupted across his frost-covered face. “What kind of look were you giving her just now?”

“Guards! Gouge out his eyes!”

35

I stared at Zhou Hui in disbelief. “Have you gone mad?”