Beside the rockery of the Heavy Ink Palace, the Imperial Guards and palace attendants stood in silence. Though the water rippled and murmured nearby, the atmosphere was as still as death.
Murong Yan stepped toward Jiang Bilan. "You said you regretted entering the palace and becoming Queen," he said, the chilling coldness in his eyes terrifying her. Jiang Bilan collapsed to the ground, slowly cowering backward. "I, too, regret it deeply. Does a woman with a heart of snakes and scorpions like yours truly deserve to be Queen? Do you deserve to be my wife? It was I who was blinded by old feelings, believing that despite your hardships, you remained as pure and kind as you once were."
Jiang Bilan could not find her voice; she could only shake her head in desperation.
"Someone, take the Queen back to the Phoenix Palace," Murong Yan commanded. "From this day forward, she is to be confined to her quarters. I never wish to see this poisonous woman again."
"Brother Yan! Brother Yan!" Jiang Bilan gripped the hem of his robe tightly. As the guards moved in to drag her away, her face was a mask of tears. "Will you never come to see me again? Will you truly never care for me again?"
"Drag her away!" Murong Yan barked.
"I killed my own daughter—do you think my heart does not ache?" Jiang Bilan shrieked, her voice growing more piercing as she pointed a finger at Zuo Canglang. "But why did I do it? It was because of that slut! Before she came along, how much did we love each other? Have you forgotten? But the moment she returned, everything changed! You changed!"
Murong Yan gritted his teeth and kicked her away. "If I had truly changed, you wouldn't even have a life left to lose! Begone!"
The guards finally dragged her out, her well-manicured long nails leaving several deep furrows in the dirt by the lakeshore. Murong Yan turned his head and glanced at Zuo Canglang. "You should leave as well. My mind is in turmoil."
Zuo Canglang bowed. As she turned to depart, she saw him standing before the small corpse of Princess Yide. After a long silence, he reached out and lifted the white cloth.
Weiwei whispered, "The King... he must be truly heartbroken this time, shouldn't he?"
Zuo Canglang turned back toward the South Serenity Palace. Only when they were far enough away did she speak. "Can a man like him truly feel heartbreak?"
Sensing the strange tone in her voice, Weiwei looked up, only to find Zuo Canglang’s gaze as calm and still as a ten-thousand-year-old well. Weiwei asked, "General, what time did you go to the flower room last night? Why didn't I know about it?"
"If you didn't know, it means no one else in the palace knew either," Zuo Canglang replied. "If you had known, how would they have been emboldened to act?"
Weiwei looked shocked. "General, you knew the Queen would do something like this?"
Zuo Canglang lowered her head in silence. Weiwei hurried to keep up. "How could you have known? Do you have an informant in the Phoenix Palace?"
As they spoke, the two reached the South Serenity Palace. Keqing followed at a distance, her head bowed in fearful trepidation. Zuo Canglang glanced at her and said, "Are you not considering kneeling to admit your fault?"
Keqing’s face was as pale as paper, yet she forced herself to stay upright. "This servant... this servant does not know what the General is talking about."
Zuo Canglang sat in the main seat and looked at her. "The night before last, I discovered I was missing a hairpin."
Keqing’s breathing grew heavy, but she managed to say, "Perhaps someone in the palace has sticky fingers. There are many people here; such things happen in every palace."
"But of all the jewelry in my vanity—the jade, the agate, the necklaces, rings, and bracelets—only a single gold-plated hairpin went missing," Zuo Canglang said. "It wasn't valuable, yet it was easily identifiable. Isn't it strange to risk so much to steal something like that?"
Keqing gripped her right hand with her left. "Perhaps that maid simply didn't know what was valuable."
"Could someone serving in this palace, someone capable of entering my inner chambers, truly lack that much discernment?" Zuo Canglang countered. Keqing fell silent. "I thought it over. If someone stole from me but not for money, then it must have been for another purpose. Aside from framing me, there are few other tricks. To frame me, one would need a crime of lust, theft, or murder. Theft cannot bring me down. As for lust, I rarely leave the palace, so it would be difficult for an opponent to find the right time or person to fabricate a scandal. Furthermore, while that hairpin wasn't expensive, it was exceptionally sharp. Therefore, the only possibility left was murder."
Keqing slowly lowered her head.
"A murder," Zuo Canglang continued, "would not happen in broad daylight. It would be chosen for a time when people are few. However, the palace is heavily guarded at night, making it easy to be spotted by patrols. Thus, the timing would naturally be when people are most sparse and relaxed. The most likely times are dawn and dusk, during the changing of the guard."
Keqing finally asked, "But... how did you know it would be this morning?"
"I didn't," Zuo Canglang said. Keqing looked up at her. "Yesterday evening, I was learning how to grind ink with Eunuch An. If nothing had happened this morning, I would have gone to the Imperial Kitchen this evening to learn how to make soup." When one cannot predict an event, one can only remain constantly on guard.
Keqing hung her head, finally silenced.
Weiwei was furious. "General, are you saying Keqing stole your hairpin and gave it to the Queen to frame you?!"
Zuo Canglang said nothing. Weiwei rushed forward and grabbed Keqing. "Why?! We are all the General's people! Why would you help the Queen frame her?!"
Keqing pushed her away and looked up at Zuo Canglang. "Yes, it was me. Did you think that just because you promised to help me get close to the King, I would be at your beck and call? With a woman like you around, would you ever allow another woman to get near him? It was nothing but an empty promise!"
Zuo Canglang asked, "What did the Queen promise you? That after I was convicted, she would promote you to the head of the South Serenity Palace?"
Keqing bit her lip. "I knew she wasn't trustworthy, but you aren't much better."
"But now," Zuo Canglang said, "the Queen must believe that you and I conspired to trap her. She surely wishes to drink your blood and flay your skin. And if the King learns of this, your fate will likely be no better."
"I know," Keqing said. "But who in this palace doesn't want to climb higher? I am just a lowly maid. If I don't scheme for myself, who will?"
"Keqing?!" Weiwei cried. "What kind of demon has possessed you? We followed the General together, we spent so many days together—have you forgotten how happy we were then?"
Keqing glanced at her. "Shut up! You were the only one who was happy. How do you know if I was? Who in this palace cares if a tiny maid like me is happy? A fool like you, who is content to just eat and wait for death, could never understand my ambitions."
Weiwei was choked with rage. Keqing said, "Things have come to this, and I have nothing left to say. But Zuo Canglang, I don't regret doing it!" With that, she turned and lunged toward a palace pillar to dash her brains out.
Zuo Canglang seemed to have anticipated this. With a look from her, Xiao Pingzi leaped forward and pinned Keqing down. Her forehead only suffered a small bruise. Unable to break free, she screamed, "What else do you want to do to me?"
"I never said I would take your life," Zuo Canglang said. "You don't need to die."
"Then how do you plan to torture me?!" Keqing demanded.
"Torture you? No, I have no intention of torturing you." Zuo Canglang stood up. "The palace is too stifling. I'm going out for a walk."
She didn't look at Keqing again. Death was not difficult; there were many things in this world far worse than dying. Perhaps one day, Keqing would realize that the things that cause the most agonizing pain are often the very glory and love one once craved most.
Because of the events at the Phoenix Palace, most of the attendants were gathered at the Heavy Ink Palace, leaving the area outside the South Serenity Palace exceptionally quiet. Zuo Canglang walked to the edge of the lotus pond. It was the season when the leaves were a lush green and the pink lotuses stood tall. The waters in the palace were all connected; she imagined Princess Yide's soul would drift along with the current.
Zuo Canglang didn't know why she was thinking of her. She had only met the child once or twice. But back then, according to Zhao Zien, the child she had carried was also a fully formed girl. As she stood lost in thought, someone suddenly approached from behind.
Zuo Canglang turned and saw Daxi Qin walking toward her with quick steps. Meeting so abruptly, Daxi Qin said hurriedly, "The King just sent someone to summon me to the palace."
Zuo Canglang nodded. Daxi Qin asked, "Do you know what this is about?" Murong Yan rarely summoned him.
"The Jiang family is in trouble, and the King is short on hands," Zuo Canglang said. "It's not surprising he summoned you."
Daxi Qin frowned. "What happened to the Jiang family? Is it because of Qin Muyun’s embezzlement of military funds?"
Zuo Canglang shook her head. "This morning, the Queen killed Princess Yide and attempted to frame me."
"What?" Daxi Qin took a step back, as if doubting his own ears. "The Princess is dead?" Zuo Canglang nodded. He stammered, "But... the Princess was her own flesh and blood!"
Zuo Canglang suddenly lowered her head and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "Actually, I had considered what she might use to frame me. If I had thought a little harder, perhaps I could have saved Yide's life." For some reason, tears suddenly welled up and spilled over. "But I didn't."
Daxi Qin froze. After a long moment, he reached out and gently patted her shoulder. "This is not your fault."
Zuo Canglang shook her head. "Don't speak. Just don't speak."
This struggle for power, these overt and covert schemes—they slowly, step by step, ground a human heart into that of a demon.
The moment of reliance was brief; the lotus pond was not a secluded place. Zuo Canglang soon straightened her back. "Since he has summoned you, you should go quickly. With Qin Muyun in prison, the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture is vacant. However, the King might be more inclined to appoint you as a Supervising Secretary. If that happens, try to decline. It would be better if you could serve as the Granary Master under the Grand Minister of Agriculture. You hold a noble title, so even as a subordinate official, you will outrank the others. The Bureau of Agriculture will be under your control. The King won't find a replacement for the Grand Minister immediately, so the bureau will effectively be in your hands."
Though her eyes were slightly red, her voice had returned to its usual steady tone.
Daxi Qin nodded. The fabric on his shoulder was damp against his skin, the tear stains not yet dry. He walked slowly forward, leaving her leaning against the jade balustrade of the lotus pond. The wind stirred the leaves and waves, bringing a faint fragrance. Unfortunately, the wind and waves were vast; the gentleman and the lady were separated by mountains and seas.
Each had their own helplessness, and neither could take the other away.
