The night was a deep, ink-like black. Dark clouds obscured the sky and moon, leaving not a single glimmer of light upon the ground. A cool breeze, carrying the scent of an approaching storm, drifted into the room.
It was now the third watch.
Madam Sun, dressed in white sleeping robes, sat up in bed. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep as she caught sight of her husband sitting by the table. "Husband," she asked, confused, "why are you awake?"
Sun Puhe did not turn around. Gazing at the wine flask on the table, he slowly poured a cup. "Madam, come and share a cup of wine with me."
Under the dim yellow glow of the candle, the fine liquor poured with a crisp, tinkling sound, shimmering faintly.
Madam Sun found it strange. "Drinking wine in the middle of the night?"
Sun Puhe turned his head, his smile full of gentleness. "I couldn't sleep, and then I found myself thinking of our wedding day."
"You were never a strong drinker. On that day, you only drank half of your nuptial cup. Why not make up for that other half today?"
Madam Sun laughed at his words, feigning annoyance. "You’ve remembered that half-cup of wine for all these years? How petty!"
As she spoke, she climbed out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and sat down beside him.
Two cups of wine sat on the table. One was filled to the brim and placed before him; the other was half-full, set before Madam Sun.
Sun Puhe’s eyes crinkled with a smile, the flickering candlelight reflecting in them like ripples on water. Madam Sun picked up the cup, and the two shared a smile.
Sun Puhe watched her drain the cup. Suddenly, he spoke. "Madam, my life has been one of highs and lows, full of turbulence. You have suffered much by following me."
Hearing her husband’s words, a warm current flowed through Madam Sun’s heart, bringing both comfort and a touch of sentimental ache.
In truth, Sun Puhe had treated her very well over the years. He had never raised his voice to her, and they had lived in harmony for half their lives. Compared to many others, her life had been quite fortunate.
She gave a soft laugh. "What is there to suffer? We are an old married couple; why bring this up now?"
Indeed, twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye. He looked at the slight traces of age on his wife’s face, observing her with great care—from her hair to her brows, to her cheeks. He looked at her with a meticulous, profound intensity.
After a long silence, he took Madam Sun’s hand and suddenly sighed. "Madam, since the day we wed, I have never been disloyal, unrighteous, or unkind to you." He paused, then added, "But I cannot say that I have never been dishonest."
He lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the deep complexity in his eyes. "You should hate me."
It did not sound like a question. His tone held no hesitation; it was a definitive statement.
Madam Sun was baffled. She was about to ask—*Why should I hate you?*—when a sudden, sharp pain erupted in her abdomen. It forced her to double over slowly. She wanted to scream in agony, her fingers instinctively clutching her husband’s sleeve.
She slowly turned her head to look at him. He sat there, unmoving, as if he did not see her suffering. His face was devoid of expression, a blankness that was terrifyingly calm.
She immediately looked at the empty wine cup on the table. In an instant, she understood. Her hands and feet went cold, and her heart was seized by an unbearable grief. "Wh... Why!"
"You... you..."
Her breath hitched and trembled; she could not form a complete sentence. Her body shook violently, her grip on Sun Puhe’s sleeve so tight that her knuckles turned white.
She collapsed to the floor, refusing to lower her head or close her eyes. Her gaze was filled with a stubborn defiance, as if demanding an answer—why did he do this? Why did he poison her?
At first, Sun Puhe refused to look down at her. After a few moments, he finally let his gaze fall upon her, a flash of reluctance and guilt crossing his eyes.
He leaned down, lifted her from the floor, placed her on the bed, and tucked her in.
Every action was filled with tenderness, yet Madam Sun refused to let go of his sleeve. Her wide eyes remained fixed on the man before her.
"I am sorry. I have deceived you for a lifetime. I can only repay what I owe you in the next life." He sat by the bedside, gently smoothing the corners of the quilt. Seeing her pale face and her staring eyes, he reached out to lightly brush a stray hair from her temple.
He gave a small smile, one saturated with bitterness.
"A'yun, every day, every hour, every moment I have lived as Sun Puhe, I have been living in debt." His voice was heavy. He paused, his slightly raspy voice continuing slowly, "What I owe others, and what others owe me... it has long since become a tangled mess that cannot be unraveled."
Madam Sun’s lips trembled, though it was unclear if it was from pain or a desire to speak. A single tear rolled from the corner of her eye. Her gaze was full of attachment and terror; her hand still gripped his sleeve tightly, as if she realized something and did not want him to leave.
"A'yun," he called her name one last time, finally saying only: "Hate me."
With that, he tore his sleeve, severing the connection, and turned to leave.
The moment he opened the door, a faint sound came from the bed: "Don't go!"
Whether he heard it or not, Sun Puhe’s pace did not falter. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the night.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.
"Kill them!"
A band of soldiers suddenly appeared outside the Imperial Palace of Wei. Holding torches high, they charged toward the palace with war cries.
The Imperial Guards on the walls were caught completely off guard. "Quick, quick, quick! Enemy attack!"
"Enemy sighted! Defend the gates!"
"Rebellion! Someone is rebelling! Quick, inform His Majesty!"
After the initial panic, the guards at the gates regained their composure and began organizing a defense and counterattack.
The State of Wei had been peaceful for so many years; how could a rebellion break out so suddenly?
A fierce battle soon erupted before the palace gates, waking everyone inside.
Palace servants ran in all directions, screaming in terror: "The Crown Prince is rebelling!"
"Run for your lives!"
"Ah! Help!"
Panic spread like wildfire, and the scene descended into chaos.
The Crown Prince and the others were naturally awakened by the commotion and rushed out of their quarters.
Wei Ze had not gone far when he heard a maid’s frantic shouting. He was stunned for a moment before grabbing her. "What? Who did you say is rebelling?"
"The... the Crown Prince!"
The maid answered in a panic, but when she looked closer, she shrieked, "The Crown Prince!"
The sound was agonizingly shrill. Her face turned deathly pale, looking as if she had seen a murderous demon. She nearly fainted from fright before finding a sudden burst of strength to wrench her hand free and scramble away as fast as she could.
*Huh?*
The Crown Prince stood frozen in place, feeling utterly disoriented. He had the surreal sensation that the world had changed while he was asleep.
Just then, he saw Prince Rong standing not far away.
The other man had witnessed the entire exchange.
Seeing the Crown Prince’s gaze turn toward him, Prince Rong paused for a second before sneering mercilessly, "The Crown Prince is certainly impatient! Father hasn't even abdicated yet, and you're already thinking of replacing him?"
The Crown Prince was about to retort when another maid ran past on a different path, shouting, "Prince Rong has brought troops to the rescue! Everyone, do not panic!"
The words reached both their ears, and the scene fell into a momentary silence.
They were good words, clearly intended to stabilize the panicked crowd.
But...
Why did Prince Rong find them so incomprehensible?
What "brought troops to the rescue"?
Hadn't he just stepped out of his sleeping quarters? Where would he get troops?
The Crown Prince looked at Prince Rong, and Prince Rong looked at the Crown Prince. Both were utterly bewildered.
Crown Prince: *I'm rebelling? Why didn't I know?*
Prince Rong: *The Crown Prince is rebelling and I'm here to save the day? Why didn't I know?*
After a moment, the Crown Prince took the initiative to suggest, "Second Brother, perhaps we should go find Father first."
It was a good idea. For the first time, Prince Rong agreed with the Crown Prince. "Let's go!"
As he came to his senses, he realized something was wrong.
He was inside the palace; how could he have brought troops from the outside? And as for the Crown Prince rebelling—look at him, he had barely just put on his clothes and didn't have a single soldier by his side. What kind of rebellion was this?
By the time everyone gathered before the Emperor’s bedchamber, the disturbance at the palace gates had been swiftly suppressed. It wasn't that the Imperial Guards were exceptionally heroic, but rather that the attackers... numbered only a few hundred, less than a thousand in total. As the two sides fought, they realized something was amiss.
The side claiming to be rescuers shouted: "The Crown Prince is forcing a coup! We are here on Prince Rong’s orders to save the Emperor!"
The Imperial Guards looked back at the quiet palace behind them, confused. *Is the Crown Prince rebelling? The palace is perfectly still.*
"The Crown Prince has not rebelled! Surrender now!"
Both sides fought and shouted, but neither believed the other. One side attacked desperately, while the other defended with all their might, believing the attackers were the rebels.
The fighting continued until Emperor Wei and the others appeared on the palace ramparts.
"?" The soldiers below froze, quickly halting their attack.
When they saw the Crown Prince and Prince Rong walking side-by-side behind the Emperor, the men below were first stunned, then instantly realized the truth. Filled with terror, they threw down their weapons and knelt to beg for mercy.
The two princes were standing together peacefully, and the Emperor was unharmed. It was obvious the information was false! Why keep fighting? Better to confess and try to save their lives!
This "rebellion and rescue" operation turned out to be a farce, yet it shook the entire palace and woke many households outside the walls.
Some officials, hearing the soldiers running past their doors, peeked out toward the palace. "The Crown Prince is rebelling?"
"Prince Rong is going to the rescue?"
Two officials emerging from neighboring houses spoke their confusion simultaneously. They looked up, met each other's eyes, and immediately became wary.
One said, "I didn't expect the Crown Prince to be so audacious as to revolt!"
The other countered, "That’s hard to say. The one leading troops to the palace is Prince Rong. Whether the Crown Prince is actually rebelling is uncertain!"
"Hmph! A treacherous son!"
"Heh, a man with hidden ambitions!"
With a single look, they confirmed they were on opposing sides. They flicked their sleeves and retreated into their homes, slamming their doors shut.
Such scenes played out in more than one place. Many factions were stirred, and secret agents from other nations hidden within Tianshangjing moved even faster, fanning out to investigate.
In the Yin Estate, the lights were ablaze. Minister Yin hurried inside to report the news gathered from outside to his father.
Grand Councilor Yin sat composed in the high seat, his eyes closed as if he were asleep. He did not speak for a long time.
"Father?" Minister Yin couldn't help but call out anxiously. This was no small matter!
How could the Crown Prince suddenly rebel?
And why hadn't Prince Rong given them any word about going to the rescue?
After a long while, Grand Councilor Yin opened his eyes, glanced at his son, and said calmly, "It’s fake. Ignore it."
"Huh? Then why would such rumors spread? And those people who rushed to the palace tonight—what were they doing?" Minister Yin couldn't wrap his head around it.
This was a question Grand Councilor Yin couldn't answer immediately either. He frowned. "Go, have someone keep a close eye on the palace."
"Then we..." Minister Yin said hesitantly, his expression filled with doubt and confusion.
Grand Councilor Yin gave him a lukewarm look, sitting as steady as Mount Tai. "We? We stay put and watch. Let's see... who is performing this play tonight."
In his heart, he didn't believe a word of it. Whether it was the Crown Prince's rebellion or Prince Rong's rescue, he believed neither. He just didn't understand what role the group that rushed the palace was playing.
What conspiracy lay behind this?
Minister Yin knew he wasn't as clever as his old father and had always followed his lead, so he complied immediately.
However, he did not expect that the news returning from the palace a short while later would be like a bolt from the blue, leaving both father and son utterly shell-shocked.
—Those men had followed Sun Puhe’s orders, entering the palace under Prince Rong’s banner to "rescue" the Emperor. In reality, the Crown Prince’s rebellion was a lie, and their mission to rescue was also a lie. It was all a smokescreen, a fake play.
And what had Sun Puhe done?
That fellow had kidnapped Jiang Ziqi and abducted Ye Zhao’s parents!
Finally, he had made off with all the remaining salt from the military stores!
Grand Councilor Yin nearly choked on his breath. Minister Yin, forgetting his own shock, rushed to pat his father’s back and rub his chest to soothe the old man’s startled heart.
"Father, Father, calm down! Calm down!"
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. You must take care of yourself!"
"Go! Go... take troops and catch him!" Grand Councilor Yin didn't want to hear his son’s nonsense. He pointed a trembling finger toward the door, gasping for air as he cursed loudly, "If we're too late, we'll all be dragged down by that grandson of a bitch!"
"Go now!"
Seeing his son still standing there like a dazed pole, Grand Councilor Yin was so angry he wanted to jump up and hit him.
Minister Yin scrambled away. "Yes, yes, yes... I'm going now!"
Sun Puhe was a relative of Prince Rong by marriage. Why he would suddenly pull such a stunt was something Grand Councilor Yin wasn't entirely sure of, but connecting it to recent events, he thought—*Could Ye Zhao have been right?*
*Was the official salt matter really his doing?*
*Then what exactly is Sun Puhe trying to achieve?*
A confidant who had been rooted in their faction for over a decade had actually raised private soldiers in secret? Who was behind him? What was his purpose for staying by their side?
Realizing he had been deceived for over ten years, Grand Councilor Yin felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Regardless, the Yin family had to take the initiative to show their stance. They had to catch Sun Puhe immediately to draw a clear line between them, lest they be splashed by this filth so thoroughly they could never wash it clean.
The more he thought, the more restless Grand Councilor Yin became.
"Someone! I am going out!"
In the dead of night, just after Minister Yin left to find Sun Puhe, Grand Councilor Yin also left for the palace to seek Emperor Wei, to plead for forgiveness and declare his loyalty.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 孙夫人 | Madam Sun | Sun Puhe's wife. |
| 阿芸 | A'yun | Madam Sun's given name. |
| 交杯酒 | Nuptial wine / Crossed-cup wine | Traditional wine shared by a couple at their wedding. |
| 魏泽 | Wei Ze | The given name of the Crown Prince. |
| 殷尚书 | Minister Yin | Grand Councilor Yin's son; likely the Minister of a government department (Shangshu). |
| 江子期 | Jiang Ziqi | A character kidnapped by Sun Puhe. |
| 官盐 | Official salt | Salt controlled and sold by the government. |
| 军盐 | Military salt | Salt designated for military use. |
| 天上京 | Tianshangjing | The capital city (literally "Heavenly Capital"). |
