Chapter 8

Pei Yan began trying every possible way to win me over.

Precious treasures arrived in an endless stream, and he personally ordered my former palace chambers repaired.

At court, he even suppressed the noble families who wanted to divide up the Gu family’s holdings, silenced all dissent, and cleared the name of my maternal grandfather’s family, who had been wronged in the early years of my life.

He thought power and favor could fill the hollow in my heart.

But the more he gave, the more clearly it showed that what he had taken from me on that rainy night could never be replaced.

I accepted everything.

When he brought memorials to the side courtyard, I sat beside him and helped review them. When he worked late into the night, I ground ink for him.

I returned to being the most proper of empresses: gentle, attentive, and never contradicting him.

Pei Yan believed the affection we had shared as husband and wife had been restored.

But he did not know that every memorial I helped him review guided him to move the capital’s defensive forces farther away; every suggestion I made while grinding ink quietly deepened the rift between him and the old ministers.

I used the trust he had given me once more, helping Pei Shuo hollow out the foundations of the imperial capital, bit by bit.

A few times, Pei Yan jolted awake from a nightmare and gripped my hand. “Wanning, you won’t leave me again, will you?”

Just as I used to, I patted his back and soothed him softly. “I will serve Your Majesty in life, and even in death I will not leave you.”

He heard that and fell asleep in peace.

I gazed at his sleeping face, hiding the words I had not spoken: I will not leave. I only want to watch with my own eyes as you lose everything.

19

On the Winter Solstice, heavy snow sealed the palace roads.

Pei Shuo’s informant delivered a final message: “The palace gates are open.”

I burned the slip of paper and changed into a plain white robe.

A fierce snowstorm raged that night.

Pei Yan was still in the Imperial Study arguing with his ministers, completely unaware that Pei Shuo’s troops had reached Shenwu Gate.

The nobles he had suppressed over the years, along with the great clans who had become enemies over Gu Yunshu, had long since secretly switched their allegiance to Pei Shuo.

Half the Imperial Guards at the gates turned their backs. The other half fled in panic.

By the time the Imperial Study heard the shouts of battle, soldiers had already surrounded the main hall.

Hooves and boots churned the snow on the palace road into chaos, while torches stretched into dazzling lines.

Beneath the eaves of the side courtyard, I watched the flames blazing in the distance.

That fire shone far brighter than the lamps that had burned all night at Zhaohua Palace years ago.

Pei Yan still held the realm in his hands and believed a single apology could keep me where I had always been.

He would never understand: once something has shattered, no matter how much gold is used to plaster over the cracks, it has already rotted within.

I pulled my white fox-fur cloak tightly around me and walked over the accumulated snow toward the Imperial Study.

20

By the time I reached the Imperial Study, blood covered the ground outside.

Pei Yan’s Imperial Guards had nearly all fallen. He had been forced back before the throne, the long sword in his hand still dripping with blood.

The only retreat behind him was the dragon throne—as if, after all these years, imperial power was all he had left.

Pei Shuo, clad in silver armor, ascended the white-jade steps one by one and declared coldly, “Imperial Brother, you have lost.”

He looked at Pei Yan. “For years, you favored treacherous men, mistreated your meritorious subjects, and acted against all proper principles. You can no longer hold on to the throne.”

The hand holding Pei Yan’s sword trembled without pause.

He swept his gaze over the ministers who had betrayed him below the steps. Then he threw back his head and laughed, his voice hoarse as he shouted, “A pack of traitors! Do you think toppling me will erase every debt from the past?”

His gaze passed over the crowd and suddenly fell on me at the hall entrance.

As though I were the last lifeline he could grasp, he stumbled toward me. “Wanning!”

He cried out in haste, “Get out of here! They’re rebelling…”

Instinctively, he tried to shield me behind him, but crossed spears blocked his way.

I stopped where I was and looked at him calmly.

Pei Shuo came to stand beside me. He bowed slightly and addressed everyone in a single breath. “I thank Imperial Sister-in-law for assisting us from within the palace these past few months. Without her finding a way to move the capital’s army away, tonight would never have gone so smoothly.”

Pei Yan stopped abruptly.

He looked at me, then at Pei Shuo. The long sword slipped from his hand and struck the ground with a clang.

21

Pei Yan’s voice trembled. “Assisting…”

His eyes were bloodshot, and he could scarcely believe it. “Gu Wanning, you schemed against me with them?”

He cried out in anguish, “All the tenderness you showed me these past few months—it was all a lie…”

He lunged to grab me, but the soldiers forced him face-down onto the cold, hard golden-brick floor.