Move away? Move away to where—back to Shangrao or the neighboring County Princess Mansion? Wouldn’t that allow Xun Yiran to visit her every day again? Xun Changqing bit her lip tightly, her dim eyes slowly lifting to meet a pair of eyes gazing back at her just as intently. Her heart suddenly stirred. That face, as gentle as water and beautiful as a painting, was one she had recalled countless times in her mind. She stood up, lowered her gaze, and said, “You stay in the Prince’s Mansion. I… I have something to attend to first, so I’ll head back.”
Her footsteps gradually faded away, and the smile in Wei Lingci’s eyes grew even thicker. She gazed at the bowl of medicine on the low table, touched the side of the bowl, and found the temperature just right. She picked it up, tilted her head back, and drank it all down. The bitterness seeped straight to her heart. Good medicine was indeed bitter to the taste.
Xian Yun’s footsteps appropriately entered the room. As she drew near, she lowered her voice. “Miss, the First Tower has been sealed, and Shao Tang has been thrown in prison.”
Wei Lingci set the medicine bowl down with a sigh, her brows furrowing in irritation. “With Shao Tang locked up, the one who should be happy is Shao Lanheng. We ought to lend him a hand. But in Xun Yiran’s eyes, Shao Tang is already a lost cause who can’t be left alive. Vicious rumors are spreading through the streets and alleys—petty ones lead to a single death, major ones to the extermination of an entire clan. It all depends on whether His Majesty has the resolve to strike at the Shao Family’s roots.”
Xian Yun continued, “I’m afraid he won’t. His Majesty will at most exile Shao Tang from the Imperial Capital with a sentence of banishment. The Shao Family’s status will remain unchanged.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The Shao Family has already lost half its popular support, and the Emperor might well have the mind to wipe them out entirely. But he doesn’t dare act. It would set off a chain reaction. In the past, he trusted Xun Yi, but now that trust has halved. He won’t touch the Shao Family lightly. Yet after weighing both sides, he will surely choose the latter. It’s his only path.”
“But striking at the Shao Family would inevitably implicate the Second Imperial Prince. His Majesty probably won’t go that far. He’ll at most suppress them a bit, but eradication? Unlikely.”
“Not necessarily. If he passes away, with Shao Yun in the Rear Palace and the Shao Family dominating the court, would the empire bear the Xun surname or the Shao? He would no longer hold the reins. Moreover, female emperors have existed since ancient times. I understand Shao Yun’s ambitions, but His Majesty might not. In time, though, we should make sure he notices.”
“Female Emperor?” Xian Yun murmured softly, not entirely agreeing with Wei Lingci’s words. She paused in a daze. “A female emperor may exist, but she must be of Xun blood. Shao Yun isn’t a true Xun—she’s merely a daughter-in-law of the Xun Family. How dare she commit such treason?”
A flicker of light gleamed in Wei Lingci’s eyes. In her previous life, Shao Yun had merely sought to emulate the Condensing Origin Empress. But her heart wasn’t pure; she bore no heirs, and the empire would inevitably change hands. How could the Xun descendants allow a mere woman to seize their throne? With righteous cause and the people’s outrage, Xun Yi won the people’s hearts and secured the realm.
Her thoughts returned to the present. She said, “She seeks to follow in the footsteps of those before her. Leave it be for now. With the First Tower sealed, has Hanri thought about where to go next?”
At the mention of Hanri, Xian Yun’s brows relaxed, and she smiled. “She seemed to anticipate that the Imperial Guards would investigate the First Tower and left yesterday. She plans to enter the palace, joining the inner court music bureau as a qin player. But that carries even greater risks.”
Wei Lingci felt somewhat weary. They had talked for half the day, and it had both hurt her heart and drained her spirit. She lay back down. “Don’t concern ourselves with Hanri’s affairs. Let her do as she wishes.” With that, she closed her eyes.
That day, if Xian Yun hadn’t rushed in at the critical moment and whisked her away, even with the jade pendant Xun Changqing had thrown to distract Yuan Qingming, Wei Lingci wouldn’t have escaped. The martial prowess of the Imperial Guards’ commander was no trifling matter.
The grand scheme was now within reach. All she needed to do was clip away the Shao Family’s wings one by one, without touching a single Shao directly. But if the Shao Family turned to infighting, that would be no one’s fault. Schemes and plots—victory made them brilliant stratagems.
Outside, a light snow fell, swirling densely. The sky hung perpetually overcast, sapping people’s spirits.
After returning to her own room, Xun Changqing dismissed everyone and lay alone on the couch, forbidding anyone from disturbing her. She buried her entire head under the quilt, her breathing growing stifled, evoking the suffocating sensation of drowning in the river.
Back then, the oppression, hatred, and river water had crushed her mercilessly together. That agony was enough for once; she didn’t want to endure it a second time. Yet Wei Lingci wanted to drag her back into that whirlpool.
She surely knew that the bond between Yuan Man and Xun Yisu was like theirs—impossible to make public. Yet she still chose to help them. As for knowing Ana Xuan was a woman, it must have been intelligence from her previous life.
Her breathing under the quilt grew even more labored. Xun Changqing poked her head out and took a deep, refreshing breath, feeling reborn after calamity. She now knew what Wei Lingci planned to do. Many things required her own action. Though she wasn’t as versed in court affairs as Wei Lingci, she wouldn’t hold her back.
Regardless, she was still alive, perfectly alive in this world—a luxury she had craved in prison in her previous life. As for Wei Lingci… Her fingertip brushed the corner of her lips where she had just been kissed, and a surge of joy welled up in her heart. She rolled around on the bed a few times before sitting up. She removed her hair ornaments to avoid Zi Jin noticing her disheveled bun.
