Chapter 21: Scheme Twenty-One Part 1

Commandery Princess Xiangping was an ambitious woman. Her ambition would not let her rest content with the status of legitimate princess—she wanted power, and the right to judge affairs of state.

Yun Qian knew her ambition better than anyone. The difference between Xiangping and the Little Empress was precisely that ambition. The Little Empress had none—yet she still did exactly as she pleased. No fewer than a hundred court officials had died under the Little Empress’s schemes, and with each death, the people’s hatred of her grew. And Xiangping had been her partner in crime.

Yun Qian drew back her abyssal gaze, though her hand remained, cradling the girl’s chin. She smiled sweetly. “Did you take off your mask today?”

Xiangping had taken hers off the moment she’d seen her.

“No.” Qin Xiang was still shaken, her heart nearly in her throat. Her collarbone ached. She gathered herself and met her sister’s eyes.

Yun Qian’s gaze was mild and breezy. She was no bodhisattva molded from clay—she’d walked through fire and death. Having vented her anger, she wouldn’t bring it up again.

“Stay away from Xiangping.” Yun Qian’s expression turned cold, her tone a warning.

Qin Xiang was puzzled but dared not speak. She was used to reading faces and weighing hearts, and Yun Qian’s demeanor today was a little off. Yet thinking back on the day’s events, nothing seemed truly wrong. The girls she’d practiced with had been proper, all talking about dragon boat technique—a bit competitive, but that was normal.

“Is Xiangping that commandery princess?”

“Did you see her today?”

“She didn’t play with me—she only talked and laughed with the others.” Qin Xiang remembered the girl who had drifted among the noble ladies, proud yet affable, her distance making her thoughts impossible to read. Seeing her lost in thought, lashes trembling, Yun Qian slowly released her chin and helped her sit up. “What else did you notice?”

“Sister, you don’t like her, do you?” Qin Xiang easily probed Yun Qian’s feelings. Caught, Yun Qian tensed and narrowed her eyes on reflex. But Qin Xiang just looked at her with wide eyes. “If you don’t like her, just say so. I won’t play with her anymore.”

Yun Qian’s gaze grew unreadable. A memory surged up: in her past life, the Empress had summoned her for a talk. That day, she had just quarreled with Xiangping, and the Empress had called for her afterward. She hadn’t wanted to go, but the Little Empress had summoned her again and again. To refuse a third time would be to scorn the palace—and its sovereign. Helpless, she had stepped into the Central Palace in the twilight. The Little Empress had waited half the day, fine tea prepared. Yun Qian knew the Little Empress had always wanted to win her over, to make her a trusted aide. Once she was seated, the Little Empress’s first words were: “I know you don’t like Xiangping. From now on, I’ll stay far away from her too.” Listen—did that sound like something a Demon Empress would say? In that moment, Yun Qian felt the title “Demon Empress” did not belong behind the Little Empress’s name. She was childish one moment, vicious the next, impossible to pin down. Yun Qian’s reply had been: “My affairs are none of the Empress’s concern.” At that, she’d seen the Little Empress’s hand pause as she poured tea—just a moment, but she’d caught it. Now, thinking back, the Little Empress had treated her as a true friend. Looking at the girl before her now, she felt both estranged and familiar.

“Sister, what are you thinking about?” Qin Xiang studied her expression closely—distracted, as if pondering something serious. Yun Qian sighed softly. “Is she pretty?”

“Huh…?” Qin Xiang was utterly bewildered. The murk in Yun Qian’s eyes faded a little. “I thought you might prefer a younger girl.”

Qin Xiang laughed, eyes curving. “Sister, you think I’d fall for anyone who’s nice to me?” Her sister was overthinking. Never mind her own lowly status—even a perfectly ordinary person wouldn’t abandon her sister for Commandery Princess Xiangping.

“You’re mocking me…” Yun Qian’s voice softened, and she pinched the girl’s thin cheek. “You think you wouldn’t?”

“Xiangping is royal kin. Why would I fancy her? And her face can’t compare to yours.” Qin Xiang yelped at the pinch. “Sister, do you think you’re too old?” A woman’s looks were her greatest worry—that was why so many desperate souls sought ways to keep youth forever. She tilted her head, studying Yun Qian’s flawless features, and whispered, “If a woman never bears children, she ages more slowly.”

“What?” Yun Qian was caught off guard, peering at the mysterious air lurking beneath the girl’s delicate features. “How would you know that?”

“I’m a physician—I know a few things. Eternal youth is a matter of nurturing. Tonic herbs, no staying up late, no deep worries, no spicy food—there are all kinds of small rules.”

“And—Sister, you could buy good nourishing things, or take medicinal baths. And, and…”

Qin Xiang counted off her knowledge like precious treasures, leaving Yun Qian agape. “Has anyone ever asked you about this?”

“N-no…” Qin Xiang suddenly stammered, her face paling with obvious alarm. Realizing she’d let herself slip, she scrambled for a lie. “My mother did it that way.”

Yun Qian was only half convinced and gave her a negligent look. “Then make me some beauty pills.”

“Pills?” Qin Xiang frowned. “I can’t. They’re too hard—I don’t know how.”

Beauty pills required her blood. Without it, they’d do nothing. Most of what was sold outside was a scam—harmless, but no more effective than water.

Yun Qian thought of the Emperor and her heart sank. She lost the mood to tease the girl and rose. “Let’s eat.”

Both were lost in their own thoughts—Qin Xiang mulling whether to make the pills, Yun Qian brooding over the palace’s verdict. Half a day had passed; the Empress Dowager’s decision should have come by now.

After dinner, someone from the palace did arrive. A deep light flickered in Yun Qian’s eyes. “You go on back. I’ll come find you. You’ve had a long day.”

Qin Xiang nodded. As she crossed the threshold, one thought surfaced: no consummation tonight? She glanced back at her sister, lips parting, then closing. Yun Qian met her eyes, and the girl’s lashes trembled violently.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come to you.” Yun Qian soothed her with a light laugh.

Qin Xiang flushed crimson at the reassurance and fled—how mortifying, as if she were eager for the wedding night. Which she was not. Not at all. Good heavens, you have to believe her.

The Empress Dowager’s Twelve Female Officials all came from the Mercy House—no backing, no family. Gu Qinglan and Ban Zishi were two of them. The one who came with news tonight was Qin Hongyi.

Qin Hongyi was wrapped in a wide black robe that swallowed her whole, and under cover of night, no one could see her face. Inside the study, she shed the robe, revealing a plain, clean face—distant-mountain brows, a slightly long jaw, and a hint of sharpness.

“The Empress Dowager kept the girl in the Palace of Compassionate Peace. The Emperor left disappointed. The girl is named Wengu Wu—Wengu is a compound surname from the Northern Frontier.”

“There was a valley in the Northern Frontier, cut off from the world. Women there could still look like girls in their twenties past fifty, and men lived to a hundred.”

“But the valley is gone. As for why, Wengu Wu won’t say. It had nothing to do with His Majesty. The Empress Dowager didn’t press, but she kept the girl—I suspect she has the same thought in mind.”

Yun Qian’s heart chilled halfway. She remembered that in her past life, the Empress Dowager had been strongly opposed. Why had she agreed this time?

“Why would the Empress Dowager agree? She despises elixirs.”

“Wengu Wu didn’t offer an elixir—she offered a prescription. Blood as the base, mixed with precious herbs. The Imperial Medical Academy reviewed it several times before confirming it was sound.”

Yun Qian seethed. She revered the Empress Dowager, idolized her—and in that moment, her faith crumbled. Yet her face betrayed nothing. “Understood. Look into whether there are more people like her in the world.”

“Quite a few. That valley had over a thousand people, self-sufficient and farming. It was destroyed ten years ago. Many girls were dragged out and sold across the land. According to Wengu Wu, their ancestors tasted every herb, and the valley’s unique terrain made them age slowly—some even gained long life. Their bodies are steeped in medicines, brewed by their elders since childhood. Their children don’t inherit the blood, or if they do, it’s negligible.” Qin Hongyi’s voice was cold. In short: an inborn constitution plus a lifetime of medicinal nurture.

Night wind slipped into the study, setting the lamplight dancing. Yun Qian’s face was flat, but frost gathered on her lowered lashes.

“What do you make of it?”

Qin Hongyi smiled. “Longevity is what everyone seeks, and beauty is what every woman craves. She is the most honored woman under heaven—she wants what anyone would want. We simply treat her like any ordinary person. That’s all.”

Yun Qian smiled too. “Right. It never hurts until the knife cuts your own flesh.”

Qin Hongyi sneered. “Has it cut yours?”

Yun Qian shook her head. “No.”

“Then what are you aching for? Anyway, I’ve said my piece. Bring out your little husband—let me have a look?” Qin Hongyi turned to survey the room. Bright lamps, dark night—the perfect hour for desire to show itself.

“You should go.” Yun Qian pressed her brow. Whether from the lies or not, her temple had begun to throb. She dug a finger into it, fighting the agitation in her chest. At that moment, she felt she was back in her past life—restless, furious, wanting to do something to vent her hatred. In that life, when the Little Empress had pushed her to the brink, she had wanted to kill her for it.

Qin Hongyi refused to let it go. “I rarely come. At least let me see her—let me see what kind of beauty moves your heart.”

Yun Qian’s head throbbed. She knew Qin Hongyi wouldn’t give up. But the woman had come out of goodwill to deliver intelligence; if she refused, there might be no more messages. Besides, Yun Qian had never planted her own person in the Palace of Compassionate Peace, precisely because she knew Qin Hongyi was willing to be her spy.

“If you must see her, wait. I’ll ask if she’s willing.” Yun Qian rose and let out a breath. The world blurred for an instant before she steadied herself.

Qin Hongyi clicked her tongue twice. “Look at you, clinging so. Who’d have thought you’d lose your head over a man.”

“No. She’s a girl.” Yun Qian said it plainly. To Qin Hongyi, whether Qin Xiang was male or female made no difference, and she wouldn’t spread it. Even if the Empress Dowager learned Qin Xiang was a woman, she wouldn’t be too harsh. It was, after all, merely a desperate concealment from the world. If a serving Prime Minister married a woman, her position would be in jeopardy. And there was another reason: she didn’t want Qin Xiang to face the world as a woman. Why she had entered the palace in her past life remained a mystery to this day.

Qin Hongyi understood with a single glance and let it go. “The world’s tongues are terrible things. The union of yin and yang is the natural law; once changed, even without harming anyone, it becomes a great sin. When will you tell the Empress Dowager?”

“Later. No rush.” Yun Qian understood her meaning—confess before the Autumn Examination, and it wouldn’t count as deceiving the sovereign.

Seeing her gaze remain calm and unhurried, Qin Hongyi grew more curious. “What kind of face could make you care so much?”

Yun Qian didn’t answer. She turned and left to fetch the girl.

Back at Wanglan Pavilion, Qin Xiang had just bathed, hair loose, cheeks rosy, eyes clear.

“Willing to meet a guest?” Yun Qian walked up to her and brushed the stray hairs at her temples. They refused to lie flat, springing back up the moment she pressed them down. She tucked them behind the girl’s ear and pressed again—even the hair had a rebellious streak. Qin Xiang tilted her head away from the fussing, looking at her calmly. “What kind of guest?”

“Qin Hongyi, a female official to the Empress Dowager.”

“How close is she to you?”

“Quite close, I’d say.”

Qin Xiang nodded. “I’ll change.”