Character Index
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince, he became the Crown Prince three years into the future and was forced to swear a magical oath to refrain from killing Kuang and Yunqi.
Yu Bianfu: A female General and Xianchun's childhood friend, she returned to the capital three years into the future after Xianchun had become the Crown Prince.
Chen Jian: A young Imperial Investigator, he remained staunchly on Kayla's side three years into the future.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince, he lost the succession struggle to Xianchun three years into the future and was forced to take a magical oath of subservience.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince, after supporting Kuang, he was forced to take a magical oath of subservience three years into the future.
Wise Consort: The mother of Zhou Yunqi.
Noble Consort: The mother of Zhou Kuang.
Chen Caichun: The younger sister of Chen Jian, she became a fifth-rank official thanks to Kayla's recommendation, but lost her position after Kayla's fall from power in the future.
Feng Yi: A man who was tricked into acting as a red herring for Xianchun's other spies when he was down on his luck, he later helped Kayla drive a wedge between Xianchun and Liu Boyue in order to repay her mercifulness. Kayla later helped him leave the capital safely, with a large sum of money to help him settle down in another city.
Lady Lin: A divination mage who exchanged her eyes for her powers and years off her life to see into Kayla's future.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: The rightful heir to the Liang household as the youngest but only surviving legitimate son (born by a wife and not a concubine) to the late Lord Liang, his position was usurped by Minister Liang. Hu Qing left the Liang household after his relationship with Minister Liang began to deteriorate and went to work for Kayla. Three years into the future, he was living in the Northern prairies with Kayla, but was warned against following her back to the capital.
Minister Liang: Hu Qing's older half-brother and the Minister of Justice, one of Xianchun's supporters.
Li Que: A Senior Investigator in the Imperial Investigation Bureau, he has been quietly supporting Kayla.
Tabuyir: A Senior Investigator in the Imperial Investigation Bureau, descended from the steppe tribes of the Northwest.
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Kayla looked at Xianchun’s livid expression and the blade that was now pointed at her neck. Letting out a slow and shuddering breath, Kayla resignedly closed her eyes, steeling herself for the blow.
For some reason, that made Xianchun stop still. Kayla opened her eyes again, looking at him in confusion. Xianchun’s rage was now mingled with a conflicted expression.
“You bastard–you trapped me into taking a magical oath, do you think that could stop me?!” Xianchun demanded.
“I advised the Emperor against it,” Kayla said.
“Liar! This is exactly what you were planning for!”
Kayla let out a shaky sigh, lowering her head in resignation. “Why would I do such a thing? I know all too well that such an oath would only anger you further.”
Xianchun let out a bark of laughter, his eyes glinting with mockery. “Don’t pretend that you’re thinking for my sake!”
The more I try to argue, the worse the outcome.
“I would not,” Kayla replied. “I worried it would anger you, but not for your sake. Your Highness is the heir to the throne, the second-most-powerful man in the entire empire. What use would you have for the concern of a dead man walking? I feared it would provoke you into impulsive action, and now my worries only grow stronger.”
That answer evidently did not satisfy Xianchun.
His eyes narrowed, the sword pressing closer to Kayla’s neck.
“Of course,” he hissed, even angrier than before. “What on earth could I possibly expect from you?”
Kayla stared at him in disbelief. What’s wrong with him?! Just what does he want me to say?!
“It is not for lack of heart, but lack of ability that I do not dare to think for your sake,” Kayla said carefully. The next words seemed to come out without her bidding, taking on a life of their own. “Even when I expended every effort I could give, I am incapable of helping Your Highness in any way. I killed my grandfather for your sake but only earned your hatred. There’s nothing more that can be asked of me beyond what has already been given, my prince.”
Xianchun froze at her words. “What?”
Kayla drew in a deep breath. She had no idea if the information would improve her situation at all, but there was no point holding on to that card if she wouldn't be alive to use it.
“I killed the Grand Duke,” she repeated. “For your sake.”
“You’re lying!” The blade pressed against her throat until it drew blood. Kayla wordlessly stared at Xianchun, unable to summon a plea or protest.
“My prince!” A familiar woman in armor rushed over, hastily pulling Xianchun’s sword away. “My prince, you can’t kill him like this, there are too many eyes!”
So you can kill me if there aren’t any eyes on you? No, even if that’s true, how can you shout it out loud like this? At least there was no longer a blade at her neck.
Yu Bianfu had grown tanner and more experienced in her years at the Southwest, and now sported the air of certainty common to older military officers. However, that evidently hadn’t done much for her tactlessness.
“It is as General Yu says, my prince. In any case, you will have your opportunity soon enough. Zhao Wenyuan will not run or hide,” Kayla said. She had nowhere to run to, nor anywhere to hide.
Xianchun allowed Yu Bianfu to pull him away, and Kayla bowed at the Crown Prince before leaving without another word. Seething, Xianchun shook off Yu Bianfu’s grip.
“Put him under house arrest!” Xianchun shouted after Kayla. “Zhao Wenyuan is not to take a single step outside of his rooms without my permission!”
Two guards jogged over to flank Kayla, grabbing her by the arms. She didn’t resist as they dragged her away.
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Kayla blinked, and Chen Jian was standing before her in a small, unfamiliar room. She rubbed at her eyes, finding herself on a hard, narrow bed. The furniture was covered with a thin layer of dust, and the high, tiny windows were covered with filth.
This must be where I’m confined, Kayla realized. This isn’t even house arrest, it’s just straight-up imprisonment.
If her situation was this bad, then Kuang and Yunqi probably weren’t faring too much better.
She glanced at Chen Jian, taking in his stricken expression.
Oh no. Fuck. I fucking knew it, Xianchun would have considered clemency before, but once his pride has been wounded, then there’s no way out.
“My lord,” Chen Jian said in a trembling voice. “The Third Prince…he…”
Looking closer, there were tears on his face. Kayla’s heart fell.
Damn it, Kuang. Why didn’t you use the nullification talisman? You could’ve run, you should’ve run!
“So Xianchun killed him after all,” Kayla said, her voice coming out hoarsely. There was a dull pain in her heart not unlike the feeling of watching a star blaze across the sky to its destruction, helpless to do anything but offer empty laments.
Chen Jian wiped at the moisture on his face, his eyes already brimming with more tears.
“The Crown Prince, he-he wrote a decree ordering the Noble Consort and Wise Consort to follow the Emperor in death,” Chen Jian said in a small voice. “He couldn’t hurt his brothers, but …”
He trailed off, his voice choking. Chen Jian shook his head, forcibly collecting himself.
“The Third Prince didn’t have any options left, so when the palace sent him poisoned wine, he willingly drank it. His Highness called me over and asked me to bring a message to you before he passed away.”
“What did he say?” Kayla asked. Her voice wavered, and she belatedly realized she was crying.
“He asked you to protect his family,” Chen Jian replied.
I know that even if he doesn’t say it, but how? What could you expect me to do?
“Did Xianchun retract his decree?” Kayla asked instead.
Chen Jian shook his head. “He did, but the Noble Consort hung herself in despair.”
Kayla let out a shuddering breath, feeling more helpless than ever before.
“Chen Jian, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t even leave this place,” Kayla said.
“They can’t do this to you, my lord!” Chen Jian protested.
Kayla shook her head. “There’s no longer anything I can do for them. The only path to survival is for them to leave the country. Chen Jian, if it’s possible, please smuggle them out.”
Chen Jian nodded. “Caichun’s husband often goes to the Khaganate for trade. Perhaps he can help.”
“Can we trust him?”
“Feng Yi’s a good man,” Chen Jian replied. “If he knows it was your wish, he will see it through no matter what.”
“That’s a relief,” Kayla said quietly. “Caichun…will she be alright with it? I already dragged her down once.”
“Please don’t say that! She would be more than happy to help you,” Chen Jian assured her.
Kayla nodded resignedly. There wasn’t a second option but to endanger them.
“Please pass along my well-wishes for Caichun and Feng Yi. The Third Princess Consort and the Fifth Prince will need to fake their deaths, and so will Chengqian,” Kayla said heavily. “It wouldn’t be strange if they died in an accidental fire while burning incense for the Third Prince, would it? Prepare three corpses of similar height and bone structure, and make sure that no word of this is leaked.”
Kuang was the greatest threat to Xianchun, but so long as Yunqi remained, then the Third Prince’s faction still had the smallest shred of hope. But as long as Yunqi was "dead", then even that hope would fall away into ashes. No matter how suspicious the circumstances of their deaths were, Xianchun wouldn't press the matter when he had so much to gain from it.
It didn’t even have to be believable. They just needed to give Xianchun a stair to step down on, and a scapegoat to take out his anger on. The fire would serve the prior function, and Kayla would fulfill the latter.
Chen Jian nodded slowly. “I’ll ask Investigator Tabuyir for help,” he promised, eyes lighting up with hope.
“If you can get in touch with Hu Qing, he can also assist you. We have friends up North among the steppe tribes,” Kayla said. “If the Western borders don’t work out, the North will also do.”
“Then what about you, my lord?” Chen Jian asked.
Kayla shook her head in resignation. “I was done for before I even got here. Don’t worry about me, this is just the fate I had in store.”
“Let me help you escape,” Chen Jian insisted.
She couldn’t help but let out a weary sigh.
“Xianchun won’t allow that to happen,” Kayla replied. “Plus, you’ll need a distraction, and Xianchun will need an outlet for his anger.”
Chen Jian looked at her nervously.
“My lord, surely you don’t mean–”
Kayla gave him a resigned smile. Xianchun might let Yunqi steal away, but he would never forgive “Zhao Wenyuan”. If Kayla were also to disappear, Xianchun would pursue them to the ends of the earth, and then none of them would even have a chance at survival. There weren’t any options left, but she could at least make the choice herself rather than leave it in the hands of a furious prince.
“Everyone has their own fate," Kayla said calmly. "I've accepted mine."
"My lord!" Chen Jian protested. "Surely there's a way out of this?"
"My path is a dead end no matter what," Kayla replied. "You should just focus on helping them escape."
"But the Crown Prince will direct his fury at you! How can I leave you at his mercy? You know how ruthless he is!"
Kayla took a deep breath, glancing up at the room beams a few feet above her.
"Can you get me a length of white silk?”
Chen Jian drew his breath in sharply, and Kayla carefully did not meet his eyes. After a moment of shocked silence, Chen Jian closed his eyes in grief, steeling himself to reply.
“I’ll obtain it for you, my lord,” he said.
It took Kayla a long moment to gather herself.
“Thank you.”
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The small room faded away, and Kayla blinked several times in succession, trying to clear away the last vestiges of the vision. She was lying on her side, cheek pressed to the cold stone floor of the cave, only a few inches away from the pool of vomit. Disgust and confusion mingled in her chest. Kayla gingerly picked herself up from the ground, trying not to freak out. She failed.
“What the fuck?!” Kayla demanded, reverting back to English in disbelief. The words came out as gibberish. Kayla winced, her entire body aching.
“You’re experiencing some side effects of the divination magic,” Lady Lin informed her. The blind mage pushed forward a cup of dark liquid. “Drink this, it’ll make you feel better.”
Kayla picked it up with wooden fingers, barely managing to bring it to her lips. Her body coordination wasn’t working, and a good portion of the medicine spilled on her robes instead of making it into her stomach. The only good thing was that she couldn’t taste or smell the medicine at all.
After a few moments, Kayla began to regain her motor functions.
“What the fuck was that?!” Kayla demanded, the words forming properly this time.
“Your future,” the mage replied.
“I hang myself?! What kind of ending is that?!” Kayla demanded.
“It is better than what otherwise would have been. The Fifth Prince escapes with the Third Prince’s family, and the Seventh Prince is less heavy-handed than he was in the original timeline. After his death, the Fifth Prince returns to place Chenqian on the throne, and the dynasty avoids being split into two,” Lady Lin replied.
“I die! The Third Prince dies!” Kayla shouted. “Even after everything I do, that’s what happens?!”
“You didn’t do enough,” Lady Lin replied, infuriatingly calm.
Kayla let out a string of curses, burying her face into her hands.
“Is that really the future?”
“It is one of the futures,” Lady Lin explained. “The future is a many-fragmented thing, and many different possibilities simultaneously exist until they disappear one by one to form a new path. You, for example, have several different paths. The first is what I’ve shown you. You hang yourself, your death serving a greater purpose. The second most likely path is that Liu Boyue poisons you, and you die quietly without accomplishing anything. Both the Third and Fifth Prince are forced to commit suicide afterward, and events align with the original timeline.”
“Are you saying that hanging myself was the good ending?!”
“There are other paths,” Lady Lin said levelly. “In one, the Seventh Prince kills the Fifth Prince before he can escape, but Cao Shuyi and Chengqian successfully flee the capital, and eventually rebel, seizing power while the Seventh Prince is on his deathbed. In another, the Seventh Prince chooses mercy, but his allies and supporters kill the Fifth Prince and Cao Shuyi in order to curry favor. Chengqian still rebels successfully after escaping with Chen Jian’s help.”
“Oh my god,” Kayla groaned. “And I die in all of them, don’t I?”
Lady Lin continued on, ignoring Kayla’s question.
“In another path, Liu Boyue and Yu Bianfu work together to poison you but are discovered by the Seventh Prince after your death. He alienates them and works himself to death without leaving an heir. Chengqian still becomes Emperor.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Lady Lin ignored Kayla’s outburst. “There is a path where the Seventh Prince is the one to kill you. He walks in on you cursing his heartlessness, having originally intended to grant you a pardon, and kills you in a fit of rage.”
“And?! Isn’t there one in which I don’t kill myself or get killed?!” Kayla demanded.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“You need rest,” Lady Lin said, ignoring Kayla’s question altogether. “Any further answers you seek will be found tomorrow.”
“Wait, hold on,” Kayla protested, but the blind mage got up and walked past her without another word. Kayla was left alone in the cave, questioning every single decision she had made within all twenty-five years of her life.
“Oh my god,” Kayla groaned into her hands. The words were swallowed by the darkness of the cave. After what might’ve been a moment or an hour of quiet despair, a familiar voice shattered the silence.
“My lord, are you alright?!” Hu Qing’s voice rang out from the cave entrance, its echoes bouncing around the walls. Kayla turned towards him and made a vague gesture to show that she was very much alive and kicking.
Hu Qing’s face fell as he took in Kayla’s expression.
“You look like you could use some rest.” Hu Qing reached down and grabbed Kayla’s hand, effortlessly pulling her up. Kayla’s limbs were stiff, and she winced at the pins and needles in her arms and legs. Seeing her gingerly shift her weight from foot to foot, Hu Qing let out an exasperated sigh.
“Here, I’ll carry you,” Hu Qing said, turning away and squatting down. “Get on my back.”
Kayla opened her mouth to argue, but couldn’t form a coherent refusal. She obediently got on and let Hu Qing carry her out of the cave.
“Let me down if we’re heading uphill,” Kayla said. Hu Qing started up the mountain towards their lodging without any sign of stopping.
“Don’t worry. Your body weight is approximately equal to two and a half branches, it’s no bother to me,” Hu Qing said lightly. Indeed, his pace remained steady and quick despite the steep incline.
After a long moment, Hu Qing finally asked his question. “Did that mage do anything to you?”
“No, the spell just has some side effects,” Kayla replied. Hu Qing fell quiet for a moment before continuing.
“Should we prepare to return? We can leave in the morning,” he offered. “We can go somewhere else, we don’t have to stay here. If it’s giving your godfather face, then you’ve already done so by meeting her.”
Kayla briefly considered it. She felt emotionally and physically drained and wasn’t even sure it would be worth it to go through it again, especially when Lady Lin was adamantly insisting that each outcome resulted in Kayla’s death.
But this wasn’t a chance she could let go of.
I still need to ask her how to avoid my death.
“No,” Kayla said heavily. “I’ll go meet her again tomorrow.”
“If you say so. Do you want me to go with you?”
“Thank you, but that’s not necessary,” Kayla replied. “There are things I need to discuss with her in private.”
“Alright then.” Hu Qing completed the rest of the trek in silence. After returning to the lodge, Kayla headed straight to her room. She washed off her face and chugged some water before collapsing on her bed, exhaustion dragging her into the lull of sleep. Kayla vaguely heard Hu Qing offering her food and muttered a refusal before sinking into a deep and dreamless slumber.
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In the Ministry of Justice, secretaries and guards hastily scurried away from the Minister’s office. As a highly-educated man of elegant bearing, Minister Liang rarely raised his voice in public, but now they could hear his unintelligible shouting from all the way down the hall.
If a good man was pushed to anger, it was definitely not going to be pretty. With the privacy spells in the office, they couldn’t tell what the exact problem was. But if Minister Liang was this upset, then it wasn’t a small matter that would blow over easily. Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, everyone quickly got as far away as they could from whatever the hell was going on.
“Sun Ruhui! Just what the hell do you think you’re saying?!” Minister Liang roared.
The man in question bowed his head slightly, calmer than a still pond.
“Minister, it was not my intention to upset you so,” Sun Ruhui replied, having intended this exact effect. “All I said was that the geese fly into the distant skies, and the hunter is helpless to capture them. If you wanted to ask Hu Qing about what happened in the Zhao household, then you have missed your chance. Just what about my words is so offensive to you?”
Minister Liang glared at him, absolutely livid. Sun Ruhui was Zhao Wenyuan’s man, and Zhao Wenyuan’s retainer was Hu Qing. It was impossible that Sun Ruhui was bringing up an obscure proverb for no reason, especially when it contained the characters for Hu Qing’s given name of Hongfei. If Sun Ruhui knew Hu Qing was really Liang Hongfei, then it was obvious that he knew about Minister Liang's usurpation.
“You–just what are you trying to do?!” Minister Liang snarled.
“Please calm yourself, Minister. How could a metaphor be worth such rage? Even the vastness of the sky and earth is but a small fragment of the universe, much less the misuse of a proverb,” Sun Ruhui cajoled him, stressing the last words of the idiom.
Minister Liang’s reared back, his nostrils flaring. “You even know his courtesy name?!”
Sun Ruhui stopped playing ignorant. “Hu Qing is my colleague, is it so strange that I should know of it? But you were the one to bring him up, not me. Taixu, the universe. Your younger brother’s courtesy name really encompasses far too much for me to avoid his namesake at every turn. I apologize for any discourtesies in the future as well.”
“Why go in such circles to bring up that man?! He’s but an illegitimate son, what on earth does he have to do with the Ji Fangluo case?!"
"I simply don't understand why you're suddenly pushing forward Ji Fangluo's case so forcefully when we haven't even investigated sufficiently," Sun Ruhui replied.
"You're not even on this case! Ji Fangluo's case is under my jurisdiction, what right do you have to interfere?"
"I only wish to ask you to reconsider," Sun Ruhui said. "I didn't mean to bring up your younger brother's name, it was merely a coincidence."
Minister Liang's face went through several different shades of red at the mention of Hu Qing's relationship with him. "Are you trying to blackmail me now?!”
Sun Ruhui let out a soft sigh. “It is just as I feared, even a man as gentle-tempered as you loses control when his weakness is exposed. Minister, you accuse me of blackmailing you over your brother’s illegitimate status, but rather, aren’t you the one who has illegally usurped his position?”
Minister Liang went ghostly pale. “How dare you! I never did such a thing! As the eldest surviving son, I am legally and rightfully the head of the Liang clan, how could you accuse me like this?! You-you-this is slander!”
Sun Ruhui continued on, ignoring Minister Liang. “Minister, at risk of insulting you, it is quite obvious that your younger brother was meant to be the heir. The late Lord Liang named him as one would a di son of a prominent clan, with the grand and soaring name of Liang Hongfei, and a courtesy name of Taixu. Not only did he wish for Hu Qing to rise above danger as geese fly away from the hunter, but he also encompassed the vastness of the universe in Hu Qing’s courtesy name. On the other hand, your name…”
Minister Liang slammed his hand down onto the table forcefully, his face red with humiliation. “Enough! You insolent bastard, how dare you!”
Sun Ruhui went on as though he hadn’t heard Minister Liang’s outburst. “Your name is Liang Shen, after the hour of the afternoon in which you were born. Your courtesy name is Zi Jing, after your still and quiet demeanor. It is the thoughtless kind of name that one gives to the son of an unfavored concubine, not to a potential heir. And undeniably, is that not how your father named the other sons he had by concubines? Other than your first brother and third brother who were born by his first wife–”
He was cut off by the inkstone flying at his face. Sun Ruhui dodged, his reflexes quick from years of working as a County Magistrate.
“So what if I’m the son of a concubine?! My older brothers are all dead, regardless of whether they were born by my father’s wife or his concubines! Even if she wasn’t a formal wife, my mother was from a scholar’s family, from a clan that produced at least one official in every generation! I’m far from being illegible by reason of my status. Hu Qing, he’s the son of a courtesan! He's the one who doesn’t have the qualifications to lead the clan! Even if my father favored that courtesan in his late years, what does any of that matter? She never got rid of her second-class status, and by law, a courtesan’s status is passed onto her children!”
Sun Ruhui pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and unrolled it, showing the contents to Minister Liang.
“I have here a copy of the records from the local office at which her status as a courtesan was formally expunged. Do you not recognize your father’s handwriting? He’s the one who paid the legal fees,” Sun Ruhui replied. “This dates far earlier than the falsified document you produced after her death.”
“How can you possibly have that document?!” Minister Liang demanded.
“You bribed the record keeper in the capital to change her status in the aggregated national census, but you forgot that all records are kept in their local archives after the paperwork is sent to the central government,” Sun Ruhui said. “The records at the town level and at the provincial level have been gathering dust in the archives all these years. Isn’t it a good thing that I was the one to find it and not someone else?”
“Bastard! What do you want from me?!”
“I have no intention of using this against you,” Sun Ruhui said. “Your victim is the one who has the right to decide what to do, and he neither wishes to usurp you nor to harm your reputation. This is just a warning so that you do not change your behavior the moment Minister Zhao has stepped away.”
“That ungrateful brat–I was the one who raised him! I made sure he ate well and dressed well, that he was given affection, that he was educated! Now you turn my years of effort upon me and call him my victim?! Even if he’s my younger brother, I’ve practically taken care of him as I would my own son!” Minister Liang’s voice took on a wounded note, eliciting a look of shock from Sun Ruhui.
“As your own son? Minister Liang, I can understand your feelings of resentment and jealousy, but you would be going too far if you turned around and acted as though you were being virtuous,” Sun Ruhui said.
“What?! I raised a courtesan’s child as though he were the son of a prominent clan, and you accuse me of mistreating him out of jealousy? Your words spray blood upon my reputation!”
“He is the son of a prominent clan. You may have raised him, but did you educate him as befitting of his station? Or did you withhold that from him so that he would not pose a threat to your own son? You cannot possibly claim to have done right by him and your late father’s wishes!” Sun Ruhui shot back. Minister Liang angrily knocked a pile of scrolls off his desk.
“I have already done more for him than most people would! What on earth could you expect of me?! Should I have handed the reins to a toddler at a time when the clan was in such shambles? I’ve done my best to treat him kindly!”
“Indeed, given your situation, I can imagine how difficult it must have been,” Sun Ruhui said, softening his approach. “Your father had gone around treating his concubines' children so half-heartedly, even though their mothers were from the families of his political allies, but put so much thought and care into the child of a courtesan. But no matter how understandable your actions are, your enemies will only emphasize the illegitimacy of your position, never the difficulties behind your choices. We’re willing to cover this up for you, not just for your sake, but also for that of our friend, Hu Qing. But you should also consider his position. Hu Qing serves Minister Zhao now, and shares in his fate. If anything were to happen to the master, so the damage would be passed onto the retainer. Even if it were for his sake, you ought to act carefully.”
Minister Liang went still, breathing heavily as guilt began to mix into his anger.
“I’ll be keeping this scroll with me for the time being,” Sun Ruhui said, slipping the record back into his sleeve. “I’ll take my leave of you now, Minister.”
He bowed and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Minister Liang remained where he was for a moment before sinking into a chair. He ran a hand over his face, muffling his groan.
“That bastard…” Minister Liang muttered under his breath. His glare grew unfocused, a mess of thoughts clouding his mind.
“Father, you really…why did you have to leave me such a mess?” Minister Liang said softly. He gave an aggrieved sigh, an old hurt resurging in his chest.
His Sixth Brother had been named Liang Bailu, after the weather on the day he was born, and given the courtesy name of “normal”, Zi Fan. When it came to his Seventh Brother, the late Lord Liang had been even more careless, naming the infant Liang Shu after the hour he was born, giving him the courtesy name of “humble”, Zi Qian. By the time it was his turn, Liang Shen only received an off-hand set of names from his father after his mother had pleaded for them tearfully.
“All of us were so insignificant to him,” Liang Shen said out loud, turning his eyes to the ceiling and the night beyond. “Only you, Hongfei…you were the only one…”
He trailed off, shaking his head in resignment as he moved to pick up the scrolls on the ground.
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The next morning, Kayla was awakened by the sunlight pouring into the room from the cracks in the curtains. She could barely get her eyes to open, her exhaustion still hanging heavily over her shoulders like a weighted mantle.
Kayla reluctantly headed back to the cave after refusing Hu Qing’s offer of breakfast. Hu Qing looked as though he wanted to say something, but only silently accompanied her down the mountain.
“You’re back,” Lady Lin said as Kayla entered the cave. She was already in her seat, the cloth over her eyes having been removed. Kayla stared into the empty sockets, letting out a sigh.
“I couldn’t leave without getting the information I need,” Kayla said wearily. “You said you would answer my questions today.”
“All of your questions lead to the same answer,” the mage replied. She quickly continued before Kayla could protest. “Your fate, the Imperial Princess’ death, the future of this country, and why you were brought to this world, all of them are tightly interlinked. If you wish to know one, you must learn all.”
Kayla grit her teeth. “Fine, then let’s hear it.”
“The future is a fragmented thing,” Lady Lin said. “There are many paths you have yet to learn of.”
Kayla wasn’t sure she even wanted to explore them. The feeling of helplessness and despair from yesterday was still lingering in her chest.
“Is there a future in which I don’t get killed or end up killing myself under house arrest?” Kayla asked desperately.
“Yes.”
Kayla lit up at the answer. “What do I have to do?”
“You gouge your eye out to convince the Seventh Prince of your sincerity,” Lady Lin said calmly.
Kayla’s jaw dropped. “I-what?! Why?! Why would I do that?!”
Lady Lin raised a hand, and the cave was plunged into darkness without warning.
“Wait, hold on! I didn’t say I wanted to–” Kayla protested in alarm, a second too late to stop the magic from taking effect.
The searing pain and wave of nausea were just as bad as they had been the day before, accompanied by the same flickering scenes that gradually enveloped her senses.
Kayla found herself huddled in a corner, shaking from head to toe with blood splattered on her face. Li Que knelt before her, blocking the rest of the room from her vision.
“It’s alright, my lord,” he said in a low voice. “It’ll be fine.”
Kayla scrunched her face up in confusion and tried to peer around his bulky frame. Li Que hastily shifted to block her view, but the bloody figure on the ground answered her questions. A vague memory popped into her mind of Xianchun killing one of Wenyuan’s female cousins, a woman who had stayed hidden after the extermination of the Zhao clan until being exposed by someone who wanted to curry favor with the Crown Prince.
“My lord, we should leave this place,” Li Que insisted. Kayla nodded and followed him out, taking another peek at the body on the ground. Kayla had never met the woman, and Wenyuan had only seen her once or twice before she was married off to Jiangsu. The woman’s eyes were still wide open, blank and glassy in her bloodied face. Kayla felt another wave of nausea, and couldn’t tell if it was her reaction to the spell or to the situation.
Li Que grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the room. Kayla stumbled across the threshold and found herself standing among a group of Investigators. She recognized Li Que, Tabuyir, and Chen Jian, as well as a few faces she had seen before.
“I didn’t manage to say anything last time, with my cousin’s death and all,” Kayla said, the words coming out mechanically. Utterly confused, Kayla allowed her body to operate on an auto-pilot.
“Sir, you need to act cautiously,” Tabuyir warned her. “If you can’t speak safely, it’s better to say nothing at all.”
“I agree,” Li Que chimed in. “Wouldn’t it be better to send a messenger?”
Kayla shook her head. “If I send a messenger, he’ll think I’m looking down on him.”
The group fell silent, knowing that she was right.
“Please be careful,” Chen Jian emphasized. “I have a bad feeling about this, if it is at all possible for you to avoid meeting with him, you should do so.”
“Don’t say useless things,” Li Que chided him. At this point, Kayla had no other choice left but to go and petition Xianchun in person, saying things that increase her anxiety would only lessen her chances of survival.
“It’s alright, I know you all mean well,” Kayla said, sincerely meaning it.
“I’m sorry we can’t do more,” Tabuyir said. “Please, act with utmost caution.”
“I will,” Kayla promised. She nodded at each of them in turn and stepped away.
Kayla turned to leave. When she came to a stop, she found herself standing in the East Palace again. A serving maid was holding a goblet out to Kayla, the girl’s face bowed towards the floor with the drink raised respectfully.
Kayla glanced forward, catching sight of Xianchun’s cold glare.
“Well, go on then. What are you waiting for?” Xianchun demanded. “Drink it!”
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Cultural Notes
有心无力/Have the heart but not the ability: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to want to help someone but to be helpless to do so.
一人之下万人之上/Below one person and above tens of thousands: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to extremely powerful positions, usually that of Crown Prince, Prime Minister, Great General/Grand Commander, or Regent. The "ten thousand" here is a generalized marker to refer to a lot of people/the country's population.
牵连/Drag down [by your ties]: An Ancient Chinese term literally meaning to drag down via strings, aka the "net" of kinship or relations. As an official sponsored by Kayla, Caichun would definitely lose her position the second Kayla lost power. Not only would she lose her job, but it would also become difficult for Caichun to find a husband since most people would be afraid of getting dragged down by her. It would depend on if someone were willing to do her a "favor" by allowing her to become a normal civilian again by marrying and settling into the traditional role of a wife, rather than leaving her in the politically precarious position of a "female official stripped of her position". In Chen Caichun's case, the timid but loyal Feng Yi was willing to do Kayla this favor by marrying Caichun when no one else would, hence why Chen Jian finds him a good person even though Feng Yi is much older than Caichun.
陪葬/To be buried with the dead: It wasn't unusual for rulers in various Ancient cultures to be accompanied in death by their wives/loyal followers/etc., who were usually compelled to or willingly committed suicide in order to follow their rulers. In Ancient China, many Emperors would decree that their favorite concubines be buried alongside them, while in other cases, a newly coronated Emperor would get rid of the political challenges that his stepmothers' families posed (especially if they had sons) by forcing them to commit suicide and be buried with the Emperor.
赐鸩酒/Gifting poisoned wine: An Ancient Chinese practice of forcing a subject to kill themselves, it was considered a more "dignified" manner of death than getting publicly executed. The general practice is to use "鸩酒”, a specific type of poisoned wine that usually takes longer, usually taking between an hour to half a day to kill someone, but is more or less guaranteed to kill them. This was important because if you gave someone poisoned wine and they survived, it was considered the will of the heavens that they survived, and it was unlucky to try to poison them a second time.
自有天命/[Everyone] has their own fate: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
三尺白绫/Three-meter [length of] white silk: Another method of committing suicide or forced suicide through relatively "dignified" means by hanging oneself with a length of silk. The silk didn't actually have to be three meters long, as long as it was long enough to do the job, it fell under this category. Usually "bequeathed" upon officials or concubines by the Emperor. Most famously, one of the four great beauties in Chinese history, Royal Consort Yang of the Tang Dynasty, was forced to commit suicide in this fashion after a coup.
(Long story short: The Emperor neglected court affairs, which resulted in a rebellion, after which the Emperor fled the capital with Consort Yang. His Imperial Guards blamed Consort Yang's beauty for the Emperor's dereliction of duties and refused to protect him any further if Consort Yang remained alive. The Emperor chose his life over his wife and gifted Consort Yang three meters of white silk for her to hang herself. Consort Yang's pitiful tale is often a source of lament in poems and folktales alike.)
嫡庶/Dishu system of inheritance: The legal system of inheritance in Ancient China, in which the di son, or the son of the wife, is the legitimate heir, while the shu son, born of the concubine, is not a legitimate heir unless there are no di sons. Though Hu Qing's mother was a courtesan, she was the late Lord Liang's wife and not a concubine.
Names in Ancient China: For most educated families, a child's name and courtesy name were a rather important affair. From a person's name, you can also tell what their parents hoped for them, or how much effort/thought was put into their names. A person's courtesy name also had similar functions. Naming your kid after the hour/day they were born is something a farmer's family would do, and for a child born in a prominent clan to be named that way, you can instantly tell from their self-introduction that they weren't favored by their parents. Given his name and courtesy name, that is why Minister Liang is always referred to by his title, even by his friends.
鸿飞冥冥，弋人何篡焉/The geese fly into the distant skies, how can the hunter catch them?: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to rise above the danger and escape from your trappings. Hu Qing's given name Liang Hongfei originates from the first two words of this proverb.
天地大者也，在太虚中一物耳/Even the vastness of the sky and earth is but a small fragment of the universe: An Ancient Chinese idiom, it uses a rather niche term for the universe, 太虚/Taixu.
太虚/Taixu: An Ancient Chinese concept that originates from Daoist philosophy, it can be understood to mean primordial spacetime, or more commonly, to refer to the vastness of the universe. Quite a grand courtesy name, even by the standards of the Tang Dynasty, which had a flair for dramatic names.
申时/Hour of Shen: Under Ancient Chinese time-keeping systems, the day was split into 12 "hours" (aka, 2 hours each), which were then split into sections of about fifteen minutes each. The hour of Shen equals 3 to 5 pm in modern time.
子静/Zi Jing: A courtesy name that literally means "quiet/silent". Usually, courtesy names are expected to be related to one's given name, which was not the case for Minister Liang and his other shu brothers.
书香门第/Book-scented household: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to a household of scholars but not necessarily officials (aka you have enough money to study, but your family doesn't necessarily need to have someone who passed the Imperial Examination in every single generation).
贱籍/Lowly status: Refers to second-class status under the law in Ancient China, usually for criminals and courtesans, this could be inherited by your children unless you went through a difficult process of expunging your status.
从良/Becoming "good": An Ancient Chinese term referring to expunging one's second-class status, usually referring to "reformed" courtesans.
血口喷人/Spray someone with a bloody mouth: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to slander someone and damage their reputation.
白露/Bailu/White Dew: A term for a specific date of the year in Ancient China, where the four seasons were further split into 24 individual mini-sections that corresponded with agricultural cycles. White Dew refers to the date upon which the dew grows white, reflecting the drop in temperature.
子凡/Zi Fan: A courtesy name that literally means "normal" or "average", not exactly a flattering courtesy name unless it was paired with a given name that elevates its meaning.
戍时/Hour of Shu: Between 7 pm to 9 pm.
子谦/Zi Qian: A courtesy name meaning "humble". When paired with the name of "Shu" after the "hour of Shu", you can tell immediately that this was not a favored child.
江苏/Jiangsu: A geographic region in China that has historically been a center of commerce and culture, the women there are known for their beauty and embroidery skills, and the region is known for producing silk and rice.