Character Index
Zhou Hong and Zhou Yong: The First and Second Princes, they were deposed after their mother's death.
Archduke Qi: One of the Emperor's half-brothers, he remained in favor even as his other brothers were persecuted, but ultimately came to ruin after the Sixth Prince died while under his tutelage.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer, Minister of the Office of Censure, the Emperor's teacher, and Kayla's godfather.
Zhao Chao: Kayla's retainer, previously journeyed north with her and Hu Qing.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Lord of the Liang clan and Vice-Censor of the Office of Censure. Kayla's friend and supporter.
Zhou Zhen: The Fourth Prince, who was disowned and later died from sickness after defending Archduke Qi. In addition to angering his father, his actions gave the Emperor the opening he needed to persecute Zhou Zhen's maternal clan, which had grown politically threatening.
Zhou Shu: The Sixth Prince, died in a riding accident under the tutelage of Archduke Qi. The Emperor's favorite son, especially favored after his mother died in childbirth. The Emperor privately admits that Zhou Shu was only so favored because he did not have a maternal clan to worry about. The prince's death sent the Emperor into an irrational grief that later spiraled into a coldblooded political purge.
Chuluo Khagan: The Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, an enigmatic man who is Ashina's father and Kayla's father-in-law.
Sun Ruhui: The Right Secretariat of Justice, Kayla's supporter.
Chen Caichun: A Chamberlain of the Court of Judicial Review, Kayla's supporter and Chen Jian's younger sister.
Shen Liangjun: Vice-Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Ma Kaijie: Vice-Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Ashina: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Kayla's wife. Personal name is Ibilga.
Tabuyir: Senior Investigator of the Bureau and Vice-Censor of the Court of Judicial Review.
Liang Shen: Former Minister of Justice and Lord of the Liang clan, Hu Qing's older half-brother.
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince.
Jun Shao: Minister of Personnel, Xianchun's supporter.
Liu Boyue: Xianchun's strategist and right-hand man. His identity is kept secret outside of the faction.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince.
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Numb with shock and fear, Kayla stiffly but efficiently gave out orders to shut down the news of the First and Second Prince’s death and to immediately begin investigations into their murder, ordering an increase on the security for each member of the Imperial Family for good measure. Then, unable to delay any longer, she made her way to the Emperor’s study, being accosted halfway by an old eunuch.
“Sir Yun,” she greeted the man, a familiar face from her many visits to the Emperor.
“Please make haste, Your Excellency. His Majesty is in a great upset,” Sir Yun said, giving a warning disguised as a chiding.
“Of course,” Kayla said, dread beginning to pool in her stomach. The Emperor was a sentimental man. That had been why Wenyuan was so loved. And why Archduke Qi was so reviled. He had despised his wife–or had he? He despised, or at least suspected his sons enough to refuse a request to post them guards. But Wei Guang had said that Kayla was foolish for mentioning it in the first place.
And he’s upset. Of course, who wouldn't be when the white-haired must send off the black-haired? He loved them after all, Kayla gulped nervously, willing her legs not to turn into jelly. Who will he blame? Wei Guang’s known him longer. It–it surely can’t be me, right? I tried!
Deep inside, she already knew the answer. Even so, it didn’t prepare her for what she faced.
Several moments later, she was kneeling before the Emperor amid shattered vases and scattered scrolls, trying to keep her tremors under control. Every second felt like an eternity as the full force of an absolute ruler’s rage came down on her like a hammer. Kayla’s mind buzzed with static, and she forced herself to focus.
The Emperor’s outburst was still going on, and she hung onto each word, terrified the next would be her sentence.
“I made you Director of the Bureau–I made you Minister, I made you Duke! And you let this happen!” The Emperor’s shout came out closer to a wail. “You were tasked with watching them! How did you allow this?! Murdered, in their own homes! My own sons!”
He ceased his pacing and collapsed into a chair. His face, distorted in grief and rage, sank into his hands. Kayla was frozen, paralyzed by dread.
The Emperor raised his head out of his hands, his eyes shining with tears.
“One murders a merchant, a thief, a soldier! One does not murder a prince! One does not allow someone murder my son under your very watch! Murdered, without even a guard to defend them! You let this happen!” The tearful accusations would have been a fit of grief in any other parent. In the Emperor, it was only a hair’s breadth from an execution.
The instinctive protest that it was the Emperor’s own orders froze halfway up Kayla’s throat.
“Your Majesty,” Kayla began to speak in an impossibly small voice, not even knowing what she was trying to say.
“Silence! How many of your actions have I overlooked?! How many liberties have I permitted you? And yet you disappoint me! You, of all people!” The Emperor’s voice boomed through the room, his anger clogged by nasally tears. He wept openly, knocking aside the attempts of his eunuch to comfort him.
Kayla knelt there, frozen in horror and fear.
He can kill me, she thought blankly. He can and he most likely will. If not now then very soon–he’ll only get angrier from here on.
“Get out of my sight! Get out of the palace, you useless bastard!” The Emperor shouted. Kayla staggered to her feet, bowed, and fled.
The eunuchs and guards that had been eager to greet her only this morning now gave her a wide berth. Kayla didn’t even register it as she walked out of the palace. She kept her expression a blank mask, just in case, just in case, and held her posture straight until she reached her carriage.
Her only saving grace was that no one came after her to make an arrest. The Emperor’s rationality hadn’t fled to that extent, he may blame and accuse, but he had yet to sentence.
He’s just lashing out, Kayla tried to assure herself unconvincingly. It’s normal! It happens! People act unreasonably when they’re extremely upset, all the more so when they’re already stressed. They say things they don’t mean at the first person they can get at. You can see it at any hospital. This is normal! It’s fine, it’s fine.
The thought fell flat. The point was, she had failed, hadn’t she? Yes, it was her duty as the Bureau’s director to address domestic and international security risks, especially those that pertained to the Imperial Family–and she had failed, even if it was on the Emperor’s orders.
He’s just mad with grief now, but he has reason to destroy me even if he were rational. Kayla pressed trembling fingers to her mouth, trying to hide any traitorous motion of her lips that might give away her thoughts. Oh god, he has reason now. A failure’s a failure. Even if he doesn’t destroy me, the court will.
Kayla didn’t register the guards nor Zhao Chao. She reached out and leaned against the carriage door, suddenly clammy with fear.
“My lord,” Zhao Chao said, his voice tinged with alarm. He glanced around and then hastily grabbed her arm and hoisted her into the carriage, climbing in to hover across from her.
“What happened?”
“The First and the Second Princes are dead. The Emperor is furious at me,” Kayla said shakily.
“Where do we go?” Zhao Chao asked, keeping his tone neutral with great effort.
“The Bureau–no, not the Bureau.” Kayla wiped a hand down her face and steadied herself.
A series of faces flashed through her mind. Kayla drew in a deep breath.
“To the Zhao household,” Kayla said with finality.
“Do you have any other orders?” Zhao Chao asked.
“No. Wait–tell Hu Qing–Lord Liang not to call or visit until I say so,” Kayla said. “Use whatever you usually do to communicate with his retainers privately.”
“As you wish, my lord.” Zhao Chao climbed back out of the carriage and shut the door. He barked out a few orders, and the carriage jolted into movement, quickly leaving the palace behind.
The Emperor’s outburst had been brief, but it had been more terrifying than anything else Kayla had faced so far. If it was the Emperor who wanted her dead…there was no way out for her. No more wiggle room, no maneuvers, no space for one final act to reverse the tables.
This is what the other officials face, she noted. This is what the Princes face. And they’ve survived just fine. Most of them, that is. Who had brought the First and Second Prince into exile in the first place? And the Fourth Prince to his death?
And of course, Archduke Qi to his ruin?
That had all been because of the Sixth Prince’s death, she thought with a spike of panic. I need to call Wei Guang. He would know–but after our argument, would he still help? His interests are still tied to mine, he can’t afford to be immature. Or can he?
As soon as she reached the Zhao household, she sequestered herself in the study, leaving it to Zhao Chao to explain things. Hands taken with a tremor, Kayla called Wei Guang.
She waited. A breath, two, then an indeterminable stretch of time. The call connected.
“Godfather,” Kayla greeted him, her voice tight. Wei Guang stared at her in silence for a brief moment before heaving a sigh.
“I take it that the Emperor reacted badly?”
“You heard?”
“I think everyone at the palace has heard,” Wei Guang said gently.
Fuck. That meant a good chunk of officials, not to mention the envoys. No, wait. This could be a good thing–unless the Emperor’s mind is set, in which case that is very, very bad.
“The Emperor?” Wei Guang prompted, jolting Kayla out of her thoughts.
“He was…very upset. Irrational with grief, really,” Kayla struggled to find a good way to say it, one that made Wei Guang think there was still a chance that made it worth backing her. Instead, the truth tumbled out. “He blamed me for it.”
“It’s unfair of him to do so,” Wei Guang said heavily. “But I did warn you, if you had never mentioned the First and Second Princes, their deaths would have had nothing to do with you. Now, faultless as you are, you’re tied to their recent predicament in his mind.”
“I ordered the Bureau to start investigating before I went to see Uncle,” Kayla said. “But…”
“You won’t find the killer that easily,” Wei Guang finished for her wearily.
“I doubt it’s possible,” Kayla admitted. “This–I mean–”
Kayla’s back was ramrod straight, but there was a bone-deep tremor wracking her body that she couldn’t fully hide.
“What do I do?” The words came out surprisingly level.
Wei Guang shook his head with a frown. “Nothing, Wenyuan. Nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong, so how could you make up for a nonexistent mistake? The key to this is the Emperor himself, nothing you do will influence his thoughts for the better.”
“Is this the end for me?” Kayla couldn’t stop herself from asking the question. “Isn’t…isn’t this what happened with Archduke Qi and the Sixth Prince?” She turned frightened eyes towards Wei Guang.
“Uncle blames me, and he’ll make me pay for it, right? I don’t–What should I do now to protect my people?”
Wei Guang sighed, a complicated look in his eyes.
“Wenyuan, don’t despair yet. Archduke Qi met his fate because of the Empress Dowager’s interference, not just because of misdirected blame. That was back when your grandmother was still at the height of her influence, but that was then and this is now. I can stop her from intervening to your detriment, and I most certainly will. I would do that much for my godson,” Wei Guang said. “And even if I fail, the Emperor no longer trusts her the way he once did.”
Kayla gulped.
“Then–does that–does that mean–”
Wei Guang shook his head again. “It doesn’t mean that things will be alright either, Wenyuan. Nothing can ensure that. The Emperor…is a man capable of great determination and forbearance. But strong as his fortitude is, so too are his emotions. He loves deeply, and hates deeply. Once gone, his affection may very well be forever lost. Or perhaps it will return with greater force than ever before. But you’d best prepare yourself for the inevitable.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Of losing favor?”
“Yes.” Wei Guang paused for a beat. “You understand what that would entail?”
Kayla grimly nodded.
“Your life will still be protected, Wenyuan. You have a wife whose status ensures that. But it may be that nothing will ever be the same again. Perhaps you should prepare to resign.”
Of course he’s giving up on me. If even he thinks it’s hopeless…then again, this is Wei Guang we’re talking about. But he does have a point.
“A good idea. Should I also resign as head of household?”
“Not officially, you became the Princess’ husband because you were to become a Duke. That still holds true now, unless your Uncle wishes to dissolve the marriage, which he will not.”
“Won’t he?”
“It’s too much diplomatic trouble, and if the Princess kicks up a fuss, it won’t look good on anyone. But perhaps you should appoint an acting head-of-house,” Wei Guang said.
Kayla breathed in deeply, closing her eyes.
Is this it? Is this how it’s going to be? Better than being forced to her death like the Fourth Prince. Then what–to rot like the Archdukes? Like the First and Second Princes, who ended up dying after all?
And I’ve made far more enemies than they have.
“The envoy, we began talks on a bilateral agreement,” Kayla said. “The Minister of Rites alone can’t handle it. Someone needs to keep the Khagan grounded until we have an outcome.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Wei Guang promised. “Be prepared for anything, but don’t frighten yourself to death.”
“I understand. Thank you, godfather.”
Wei Guang ended the call after a few weak assurances. Kayla stared down at the communication device for a moment before settling on her course of action.
I can’t just follow Wei Guang’s logic on this. She sent out messages to Sun Ruhui and Chen Caichun, asking them to keep their faction still. No pleas, no defenses.
Vice-Directors Shen Liangjun and Ma Kaijie were delegated the Split Seals of the Court of Judicial Review, effective the moment Kayla was indisposed. The Bureau needed no such things–there was a clear line of command there that accounted for losses anywhere along the line. If Kayla was forced to resign, the current Vice-Director would step right in.
Will the opposition try to impeach me? If they do, I’m saved. If not, I’m screwed. The Emperor’s anger towards her stemmed from an irrational fit of grief–he knew best that Kayla had made more of an attempt to protect the First and Second Princes than anyone in the capital, including himself. He’d known it even as he lashed out, and that was why Kayla had safely returned home. The more her enemies tried to impeach her, the more he would instinctively push back. Or at least she hoped he would.
Please, Kayla silently pleaded towards whatever god was listening.
If worse came to worst, she could still make it out alright if Ashina helped. The Emperor couldn’t refuse a foreign princess’s plea for mercy when she was decisive in the alliance.
But would Ashina do that for me? She’s too prideful for it, isn't she? A more ominous thought occurred to her. No, it’s not possible for the envoy to be involved, I’ve been keeping watch on them 24/7 since they entered the border!
Was it that enough? Did it guarantee that the Khagan had no hand in this? Kayla leaned against the desk, dread pooling in her stomach.
I still don’t know what he’s planning. Does he–what if he–
She felt sick. Forcing her feet to move, she headed towards Ashina’s rooms.
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The news spread like fire despite the Bureau’s valiant attempt to contain it. In the privacy of their homes or behind closed office doors, nobles and officials who had been aggrieved by the reforms laughed and joked, clapping each other on the back. The distinction between long-time rival and close friend eroded in the atmosphere of unusual cheer. Their usual caution nowhere to be found, murmurs and discussions rippled and churned, all following a similar vein of thought.
“Duke Zhao is done for this time!”
“Who would have thought he would trip up here?”
“Then the reforms are done for, aren’t they?”
“Sure they are!”
“The Emperor has broken with his strongest proponent now…the reforms will fall through at this rate…”
“The Khagan, will he stay still?”
“Disgrace then, not deposition.”
“Will Wei Guang go down with him?”
“No, certainly not.”
“Says who? It can happen…tied himself to the boy too quickly, didn’t he?”
“The godson goes down, what’s to say the godfather will?”
“What can the godfather accomplish alone? I’ve been at court for twenty years and haven’t seen him accomplish anything useful on his own!”
“How many positions will open up then?”
“His supporters will be demoted, won’t they? Just like with Archduke Qi…”
“Or up for auction.” An unfriendly chuckle.
“The Princes may step up to take on the reforms…they both supported it to begin with…”
“No, the situation’s changed. There’s no one standing between them now, it’ll be a fight to the death–anything goes in that kind of thing. Whoever can destroy the other will be the victor, and that’s that.”
“I don’t know about that, the Emperor could still–”
“The Emperor’s destroying his own base again, let him have at it!”
“The princes can’t be made to fall in line that easily.”
“Then we have to choose one and give him a price he can’t refuse. Their factions only have bluster and noise, but the bulk of the country’s officials are people like us–! Which emperor would turn his subjects against him before he’s even on the throne?”
“You’re awfully close to sedition!”
Uproarious laughter shook the room. The mood amongst the Seventh Prince’s faction were much less jubilant, but the ambitious amongst them were so buoyant that they had a hard time concealing their delight.
“Will the Bureau go back to not having a Director? Or will the Emperor appoint a replacement?”
“Vice-Censor Liang’s position will open back up again, won’t it? The other Vice-Censor too, Duke Zhao’s man through and through. The Emperor won’t let him stay.”
As he spoke, the man unconsciously glanced in the direction of Liang Shen, who had rushed over to the Seventh Prince’s household the moment the news broke. The man was lost in thought and didn’t seem to have heard.
“A great many positions will open up. Right Secretariat of Justice, certainly. The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review too.”
The men laughed quietly at the thought. They could get away with it, now that Xianchun seemed to be at odds with Duke Zhao. It was growing evident to anyone who cared to watch, which was to say everyone, that Duke Zhao’s role as the Emperor’s arm was bringing him more and more into alignment with the Third Prince, who knew how to position himself advantageously at every turn. And then what would happen to their chances for advancement?
Even knowing this, their laughter stopped abruptly as Xianchun entered the room with Jun Shao in tow. The prince didn’t say anything, but the coldness in his eyes suggested that he’d heard. The men waited with bated breath, but Xianchun didn’t rebuke them.
“Give me an update,” he ordered. Liang Shen rose to join them, ready with the latest news.
“Impeachments against Duke Zhao are piling up unread in the Emperor’s study,” Liang Shen said. “The floodgates have opened. There have been more impeachments against him from yesterday afternoon until now than the Emperor could be expected to read.”
“None from ours?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot speak to that, my prince.”
Xianchun’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I gave clear orders.”
Liang Shen lowered his eyes, letting Xianchun answer his own question. It was just as Wenyuan had warned the prince a very long time ago, all kinds of unsavory people would inevitably come to attach themselves to his faction. Scoffing, the prince gestured in annoyance.
“Cut them off,” Xianchun ordered. “Whether Wenyuan is ruined by this or not, it’s an ugly look.”
No one even thought of mentioning that the accusations against Yunqi also looked ugly. Rather than partisanship, it was self-preservation that compartmentalized such thoughts firmly out of their immediate consciousness.
“Anything from the Third Prince’s side?” Jun Shao asked into the awkward silence.
“Not that I’m aware,” Liang Shen replied.
“That’s fine, we’ll know soon enough,” Xianchun said. Liu Boyue had already been sent out to gather more information. It was a delicate opportunity–they stood to gain a great deal if Wenyuan did go down, but they would have to fight Kuang tooth and nail for it. A vague sense of foreboding darkened the occasion. Perhaps it was some lingering sentiment for the man he had briefly considered a brother-in-arms and a potential ally, or perhaps it was that some part of him knew beyond doubt that his conflict with Kuang would spiral out of control without Wenyuan there.
Their today, my tomorrow, should I fail in this enterprise, Xianchun thought to himself grimly, thinking of the two older brothers whose faces he didn’t remember and Wenyuan, waiting for his ruin to come knocking at the door.
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Kayla easily got her wife alone. Just the look on her normally self-contained face was enough to have Ashina ushering attendants out of sight and earshot.
“My princess,” Kayla started, and then paused uncomfortably. “...Ashina.”
“Yes?” Ashina replied, more incredulously this time.
“The First and Second Princes are dead,” Kayla said weakly. Ashina nodded grimly, but not without sympathy.
“I’ve heard, I’m very sorry for your loss. Were you close with your cousins?”
“That’s not–no, I was not,” Kayla admitted. She steeled herself, deciding that her only way out was through.
“That was not what I hoped to ask you, my princess,” Kayla said, drawing herself back into her usual appearance of composure. “Is there any possibility that someone from the Khaganate may be involved?”
Ashina paused to take in the question and flushed bright red. “What are you saying?! Are you accusing my father?!”
“It doesn’t have to be your father, it could be one of his enemies,” Kayla replied, her tone harsher than she’d hoped to make it. “The question is if there is any chance that someone from the Khaganate might be involved, even a little bit? If it’s possible, then I need to take action now before someone could pin it on you or your father.”
“No! Of course not!”
“You didn’t even think about it,” Kayla pressed on, keeping her voice as neutral and calm as she could.
“I don’t need to think about it to know!”
“Think about it anyways,” Kayla ordered, her voice flat and hard. Ashina flushed, but seeming to realize her situation, began to seriously consider the possibility.
Fear was welling up in Kayla’s ribcage. What would happen if the Turks were involved somehow? Then, then–first of all, Ashina would have to be rushed out of the capital faster than you could blink, along with the entire envoy. Her own fondness of Ashina fed into it, of course, but more practically, if a Turkic princess died within the Wu border, it would serve as ample justification for several generations’ worth of war. Even if it became a war on two fronts, Chuluo would retaliate. Envoys too, a killed ambassador would be used as leverage in any indemnity talks. With who as the loser? Did it matter? Kayla breathed in deeply, trying to quell the bubbling panic inside her.
If Ashina was summarily found guilty because her father chose to undertake an unnecessarily risky ploy–like the one that had left Kayla with a gaping wound in her shoulder all those weeks ago–the sentence would probably be extermination of the clan to the ninth degree. It was the least one could expect for killing not only one, but two members of the Imperial Family.
All that effort to kill the Grand Duke and keep the Zhao clan alive–all for nothing, Kayla thought in amazement, realizing too late that she was presupposing guilt. Ashina must have read it in Kayla’s face, which had fallen unguarded for a brief moment.
“This is not the doing of someone from the Khaganate,” Ashina said icily. “At least not from my people, though I can’t speak for the Western Turks. Are you satisfied?”
Kayla considered Ashina’s answer, and was not satisfied.
“Are you sure?”
It was the wrong thing for Kayla to say.
Ashina drew herself up, cloaking her hurt at Kayla’s suspicious gaze with the shields of royal dignity and righteous pride.
“How dare you accuse me like this?! You forget yourself!” Ashina snarled, trembling with rage. “Do you think you can speak without impunity simply because you are my husband?!”
Kayla needed to placate the princess after injuring her pride, needed to explain and persuade and carefully ply the answers out, the same dance as always. And Ashina would work with her, the princess was not unreasonable, but Kayla was too desperate, too frazzled, her head a swarm of locusts.
“Forget myself? Of course I forget myself! And for whose sake?!” Kayla flung her hands up in desperation, her voice raised for the first time in their marriage. “Ashina, Ashina please! Can you drop the pretenses for one minute here and work with me?! The Emperor is mad with grief, and he blames me! If he has reason to blame your father as well–Your father has an entire envoy in the city, and I need to know if I need to get them out! If I need to get you out! You can’t trust a grieving father to be rational!”
The shouting reverberated off the walls, leaving both Kayla and Ashina a little surprised at its volume.
Ashina was staring at her as though looking at a madman. With a groan, Kayla sank into the nearest chair, hands clawing into her hair.
“Please, I need you to think about this carefully!” Kayla pleaded, her voice half muffled by her sleeves. “If there’s even a chance that your father was involved, that the Emperor might find something that implicates him, then you need to be out of the city by now!”
There was a silence for an impossibly long moment in which Kayla’s skin crawled with anxiety, but then a hand gently landed on Kayla’s fingers, firmly tugging them free from where they dug into her scalp.
Ashina’s voice was quiet, tinged with something akin to grief.
“There is nothing.”
Kayla breathed in sharply, the sound audible in the abrupt silence.
“Neither my father’s men nor his enemies had anything to do with this. The enterprise has no benefit for them. I swear it.”
The conviction in the princess’ voice was enough assurance.
Kayla sagged in relief. Ashina didn’t let go of the hand she was holding.
“I’m…” Kayla trailed off, suddenly without words.
“I’m sorry,” she managed.
“It’s fine.” Ashina sat down next to Kayla, slotting her body into the small space there. Kayla shifted to make more room. Ashina tucked her arm in the crook of Kayla’s elbow and leaned onto her shoulder.
“Still, I’m sorry, Ashina. For–for all of this.”
The rush of fear gone, Kayla felt a little ashamed of her behavior.
“Call me Ibilga,” Ashina murmured. Kayla twisted her head to look at the princess, but Ashina’s face was hooded, lowered eyes fixated on the hand intertwined in her own.
“Ibilga,” Kayla said. “I’m sorry, Ibilga.”
“Will you be alright?” The question was childishly innocent, and Kayla’s vision briefly blurred.
Kayla swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Yes. It’ll be fine. Everything will…everything will work out.”
The two of them sat in silence for a while, until the minute trembling in Kayla’s limbs had faded. Ashina lifted her face from Kayla’s shoulder, untangling her arm.
“Thank you,” Kayla said, genuinely meaning it.
Ashina only lifted a hand to cup Kayla’s face. The touch was gentle and careful, like someone afraid to shatter at the smallest rejection. Kayla would know from experience. She reached up and placed her hand over Ashina’s.
The rest is out of my hands, Kayla closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. Until the moment when she was face-to-face with the Emperor, she could only pray for the best.
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Cultural Notes
白发人送黑发人/White-haired sending off the black-haired: A Chinese saying used to refer to when a parent must bury their child, or when someone young dies before their older acquaintance. Mostly for the first usage.
纵容/Permit/Indulge: A Chinese term used at the intersection of permitting and indulging, usually carries negative connotations in Ancient Chinese settings, with the implication that this indulgence will come to ill.
弹劾/Impeach: Impeachments against various officials were commonly used as political tools, and didn't always necessitate trials or investigations. An official who proposes something beneficial but extremely unpopular might receive hundreds of impeachments against him that lambast everything about him, public and private, and a wise Emperor would probably just toss it all in the trash while stowing useful tidbits away for later.
爱之深恨之切/As strong was the love, so deep is the hate: An Ancient Chinese saying.
失宠/Lose favor: The term 宠 can also mean to indulge, to pamper/spoil, and has certain associations with women and children. In Ancient China, the position of an official relative to the Emperor could parallel that of a father-son or husband-wife relationship, and was often alluded to as such in literature.
驸马/Princess Consort: The official position and status held by husbands of princesses who were not princes themselves. They are technically subordinate to their wives, hence why Kayla doesn't directly call Ashina by her personal name without prior permission. Of course, there were plenty of consorts who ignored their status and went around philandering and pissing off their wives, though they rarely fared well for it, since an angry in-law is especially formidable when he is the Emperor.
Split Seals: Based off the Ancient Chinese practice of military seals where a commander must produce his half of a whole seal to show he has permission to move troops. The civil affairs version of this in-story is fictionalized.