Chapters One, Two, and Three: Affairs of the Inner Palace

Inside the Kunning Palace, Empress Zhang paced back and forth, her face a mask of conflict.

She wanted to visit her dear sister at the Cining Palace and take the opportunity to sound out that certain scoundrel. Yet, she was haunted by the mortifying memory of being caught by him while she was spying from the window last night. Even worse, the scoundrel had clearly spotted her, yet he acted as if she were invisible, proceeding to be even more intimate with the Empress Dowager right before her eyes. He showed absolutely no respect for her, the mistress of the inner palace. If she went to the Cining Palace to find him and he brought up that incident, wouldn't she be completely humiliated?

But if she didn't go, and such a significant asset as the Western Depot were to be courted by Noble Consort Zhou and her son, Zhu Wenjing, wouldn't all her efforts be in vain?

What to do? What to do?

Just then, a series of knocks sounded at the door, followed by the voice of the eldest prince, Zhu Hong: "Mother, your son has come to pay his respects."

"Come in."

Zhu Hong pushed the door open. Seeing the look of distress on his mother's face, he bowed and said, "I have come to pay my respects to you, Mother."

He had been precocious from a young age, reading diligently, and was known for being kind without being pedantic. After managing the Eastern Palace, he had cultivated a large base of supporters. It could be said that before he was deposed, his position as Crown Prince had been unshakeable. The second and third princes had seen no hope at all.

But he had been too anxious, too hurried... and he had failed.

After being confined to the Eastern Palace for over half a year, he had come to understand many things and seen through much of the facade of the world. Although he had not yet reached his coming-of-age ceremony, he already possessed a mature air.

Empress Zhang’s heart ached, her eyes reddening as she thought of her son falling from the clouds into the abyss. "You have suffered lately."

"It is not suffering, Mother, I am not suffering..."

Seeing her like this, Zhu Hong’s own nose grew sore. He knew that it was his mother’s maneuvering that had secured the lifting of his confinement. Thinking of how his mother had wept daily during those months, how she had run herself ragged to get him out, and how she had suffered grievances for his sake even when visiting her own family... his eyes also turned red. His voice choked as he said, "It is your son’s unfilial behavior that has caused you such worry."

"Don’t talk such nonsense." Empress Zhang forced a smile, chiding him, "You are my son; if I don't worry about you, who will?"

"Mother..." Zhu Hong hesitated, then said, "I know you are still working for the sake of the throne. I came today to ask you to stop worrying..." He paused, as if he had reached a realization, and said with a sense of release, "I have thought it through. That position is not easy to sit in. I… I will not fight for it anymore… I don't want it!"

"Nonsense!" Empress Zhang’s expression turned cold. A fire of irritation flared within her, and she snapped, "You wretch! To save you, I have even gone so far as to... to..." She stopped, her heart trembling at the memory of having to "feed the tiger with her body." She quickly snorted to change the subject, scolding, "You have always been ambitious since you were a child. How can you lose your drive just because of such a small setback!?"

"But I truly do not want you to toil so hard for me anymore..." Zhu Hong knelt on the ground, his emotions pouring out. "I really have thought it through. Now that the position of crown prince is vacant, my second and third brothers are both eyeing it like tigers... And I have become something loathed by all. Not only do I have no hidden cards, I don't even have a single card left to play... If it were just me, that would be one thing, but to have my mother running about and suffering grievances for my sake? That is harder to bear than death itself!"

"Foolish!" Although Empress Zhang felt comforted, her face remained as cold as frost. She snorted, "Who told you that you have no cards to play?"

Zhu Hong was stunned for a moment, then, as if realizing something, he probed, "Mother, do you mean... that the Western Depot’s Director Xu, Xu Boqing, has returned to the capital?"

"Yes." Empress Zhang nodded slightly, though the thought that the scoundrel might have already been intercepted by someone else filled her with frustration. She didn't want her son to lose his spirit, so she spoke with a mixture of truth and deception: "Xu Boqing is not only the Director of the Western Depot but also the Chief Steward of the Cining Palace, deeply trusted by the Empress Dowager. I have a close friendship with the Empress Dowager, and I have a significant connection with Xu Boqing as well. Your release was something I had him handle from the shadows. While he was away on official business, I had already spoken to the Empress Dowager and sent letters. With this relationship in place, winning him over should not be difficult..."

"Ah, this..." Zhu Hong was left dumbfounded.

Having been confined for over half a year, he hadn't truly lost his ambition, but feeling isolated and powerless, he simply hadn't wanted his mother to labor for his sake. Now, hearing that his mother had been preparing a "card" for him in the dark—and a powerful one like the Western Depot, at that—how could he not be shocked?

"Hmph." Empress Zhang glanced at him, and seeing him kneeling there in a daze, she snapped, "Have you forgotten what you told me back then? You said that once we cross this mountain, there is the sea! And now? You want to give up halfway? In my eyes, you are like someone who has had their spine removed; you are weak and cannot even hold your head high!"

Zhu Hong’s breath hitched. Deep in his eyes lay a profound sense of confusion, his lips trembling as he struggled for words.

"My son is a man of great ambition, not this spineless creature kneeling on the floor!"

Seeing him clenching his hands, with something called ambition slowly returning to his eyes, Empress Zhang said, "I am going to the Cining Palace. Don't just kneel there like a fool; go back and think carefully about your future plans." She paused, then added, "If you have no men, I will help you gather them. If you have no cards, I will help you create them! But whether you can make them your own... that depends on your own ability. Don’t let me have everything negotiated, only for you to be looked down upon when I take you to be introduced. If that happens, I will truly have lost all face!"

With that, she snorted and walked out.

Zhu Hong, still kneeling, clenched his fists, his body trembling, his eyes bloodshot. He took a deep breath, then pushed himself up and looked at himself in the vanity mirror. Seeing the haggard reflection, he raised his hand and slapped himself several times. Although his face was flushed red, he didn't care; instead, a smile began to bloom on his lips.

After leaving, Empress Zhang hesitated for a while. She did not go directly to the Cining Palace but instead turned toward the Yongning Palace. She had considered it—going to the Cining Palace alone to find that scoundrel was not only unsafe but risked further humiliation. She needed someone familiar to help distract the situation.

She had just arrived at the Yongning Palace, but before she could enter, she saw Noble Consort Zhou, dressed in Taoist robes, and the third prince, Zhu Wenjing, emerging from the palace. It appeared that the third prince was leaving, and his mother had come out to see him off.

Both Noble Consort Zhou and Zhu Wenjing were startled to see Empress Zhang; clearly, they had not expected to run into her here. Seeing her once-dear "sister" with a sharp, piercing gaze, Noble Consort Zhou feigned ignorance, stepped forward, and curtsied with a gentle, fragile tone: "This concubine and my son pay our respects to the Empress."

Zhu Wenjing, standing to the side, also reacted, stepping forward with a faint, inscrutable smile: "Your son, Zhu Wenjing, pays his respects to the Empress."

Empress Zhang, despite the resentment in her heart, knew it wasn't appropriate to play the haughty queen when they had already performed the formalities. She said with a smile that hid daggers, "With the decade of affection between you and me, why must we bother with such empty rituals?"

"Sister is right to scold me." Noble Consort Zhou continued to act as if she didn't understand the underlying meaning, saying, "But with Jing'er here, as his mother, I must naturally teach him the proper etiquette."

"You are too modest, sister." Empress Zhang sneered inwardly, glancing at Zhu Wenjing. "Prince Jing is a dragon among men. If he takes a step forward in the future, perhaps it will be I who needs to learn my etiquette."

"You are too kind, Empress." Zhu Wenjing acted with feigned panic. "Brother Hong has been brilliant since childhood and is a role model for me to learn from. If anyone is to take a step forward, it will certainly be Brother Hong. I do not have such good fortune."