With a thunderous boom, Jiang He, who had dodged aside, curled up to one side. Amid fits of choking coughs, she felt someone untying her ropes.
“Zhao…”
Through the smoke and dust, she could not see Zhao Zheng’s face. She only felt her hands swiftly come free, and at once rolled onto the ground.
The most important thing when escaping a fire was to bend low and arch one’s back. Jiang He kept as close to the floor as she could. First she opened the dressing case and took out the bundle containing the letters, then ran a few steps away—only to realize Zhao Zheng had not followed.
Jiang He looked back.
Amid the flames falling everywhere, she saw Zhao Zheng sitting on the ground, leaning crookedly against the dragon bed. Pressed hard against his left leg was a crossbeam.
So the beam that had just smashed down toward the head of the bed had also struck Zhao Zheng.
To save him, or not?
Jiang He hesitated for an instant.
She was no paragon of benevolence and righteousness; since childhood, what she had learned was how to avoid disaster and protect herself. But since Zhao Zheng had remembered to come back and untie her ropes, she could not stand by and watch him die.
Jiang He tied the bundle against her chest in a few quick motions, then crouched down and tried to move the beam.
The crossbeams of the Yong palace were made of the most precious golden-thread nanmu. Heavy and smooth, they did not budge no matter how many times Jiang He put her strength into it.
“Go!” Zhao Zheng gasped loudly from the pain, leaning forward to push Jiang He away. “Call someone! You can’t lift it.”
Outside, the screams of palace attendants and maids could already be faintly heard, mixed with the sound of guards battering the palace doors. The doors that had originally only been shut had been locked from the outside.
Jiang He said nothing more. She turned, pushed over a screen, deftly removed its edging, and slid the strip along the gap by Zhao Zheng’s calf where it was pinned beneath the beam.
The screen’s edging was also made of golden-thread nanmu, just as hard.
Amid billowing smoke and dust, she lifted the strip and pried at the beam.
The gap widened, and Zhao Zheng finally pulled his leg free.
There was no time to tend to the wound. Jiang He reached out a hand.
“Get up!” Her voice was hoarse and urgent.
Zhao Zheng clasped her hand in return and struggled to rise.
Just then, the palace doors were smashed open. The air that rushed in made the flames inside burn even more fiercely, but the utterly fearless Weiwei Guard had already charged in wearing water-soaked cloaks.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” they cried, frantic and heartsplittingly anxious. When they discovered Zhao Zheng was injured, they immediately moved to carry him on their backs.
“I can walk!”
Amid the rolling smoke and raging flames, Zhao Zheng held Jiang He’s hand tightly and led her outside.
The palace was in utter chaos.
The Weiwei Guard, who guarded the imperial palace, first suspected that some candle had accidentally been knocked over in one of the palaces and started a fire. But when they discovered that the place burning was Zhiyang Palace, where the ruler resided, they immediately panicked.
It was a palace coup!
The ruler’s personal attendants, the Langzhongling Guard, immediately rushed in. Together with the Weiwei Guard, they fought the fire while sealing off every palace and courtyard.
By the time Li Wenzhou, the chief palace attendant, ran into Zhiyang Palace, more than half the fire had already been extinguished. Zhao Zheng sat in the open courtyard, attended by imperial physicians as they treated his injuries.
Li Wenzhou’s knees went weak and he collapsed to the ground, unable to stand for a long while.
From afar, Zhao Zheng looked at him with a smile and said, “A-weng, do not panic. I am safe and sound.”
He called him A-weng once more, just as he had when he left Yong at the age of six, filled with respect for him.
Only, the child who had once burst into tears at the sight of a venomous snake had grown up.
Now he held the power of Great Yong, weakened the strength of the six states, forged sharp weapons and trained fierce soldiers. For the moment, he was the ruler of one state; in days to come, he would surely be the common sovereign of Huaxia.
Li Wenzhou nodded with tears in his eyes. With the support of palace attendants, he rose and walked toward Zhao Zheng.
He was old. He truly feared that one day he would suddenly die, and then there would be no one…
Somewhere lit by the flames, Li Wenzhou’s gaze suddenly froze. After a brief flash of astonishment, he lifted his eyes to look beside Zhao Zheng.
That woman had already put on the queen’s crossed-collar, curved-hem deep robe. Her long hair was loosely coiled into a bun, without any ornaments adorning it. On her face, as lovely as an immortal’s, was a wary expression; her arms hung low, and her right hand was held in Zhao Zheng’s.
The ruler was actually holding someone’s hand.
For a moment, Li Wenzhou could not help glancing at Jiang He. In that look were relief, emotion, and a deep gratitude.
Jiang He did not see Li Wenzhou’s gaze.
She felt Zhao Zheng had gone too far.
I saved your life, and never mind that you don’t say thank you—but how can you, whenever the imperial physician tends your wound and it hurts, keep squeezing my hand again and again until it nearly breaks?
What sort of pain-transferring witchcraft is this?
She frowned and tried hard to pull free of Zhao Zheng’s hand, but Zhao Zheng looked up at her and said, “Does the queen wish to take this chance to flee the palace?”
“My private treasury is still here,” Jiang He snorted coldly.
She had truly been too busy lately and still had not found reliable people to exchange the treasures in her private treasury for gold cakes.
Only then did Zhao Zheng release Jiang He’s hand and look toward the Weiwei Guard, who had already put out the great fire.
A burst of violent hostility surged in his eyes. In a cold voice, he shouted, “Search the palace! Anyone suspicious or who resists need not be questioned. Kill them all.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The Langzhongling Guard remained in Zhiyang Palace to protect the ruler’s safety, while the Weiwei Guard, clad in armor, vanished into the palaces before dawn like blade after blade of the King of Yue’s swords.
Not long after the Weiwei Guard left, Queen Dowager Ji Man arrived. Behind her followed Wei Nanxu, the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor’s residence, who had been staying overnight in Dazheng Palace.
Although the matter was urgent, the Queen Dowager did not lose her composure.
Her makeup was appropriate, her deep robe magnificent, her pearls and jade ornaments glittering, the hem of her skirt trailing behind her.
The Queen Dowager lightly rested her left hand on a palace attendant’s wrist. Her right arm hung slightly, the finger guard lifted as she pointed toward the bedchamber burned out by the flames, and she asked, “What is going on?”
Jiang He bowed. Zhao Zheng answered while seated, “Reporting to Mother, villains set fire to the palace in an attempt to assassinate the ruler. This son has already ordered the Weiwei Guard to search the palace precincts thoroughly.”
As he spoke, he looked toward Wei Nanxu beside the Queen Dowager and saw that Wei Nanxu was already in complete panic.
“Who would be so bold?”
She cried out softly, as though terrified by the scene before her.
“Is His Majesty injured?”
She stepped forward, somewhat afraid to meet Zhao Zheng’s gaze. When she saw clearly that Jiang He was safe and sound, the jealousy and surprise in her expression became even harder to conceal.
The imperial physician had already finished the diagnosis. The beam had struck one of Zhao Zheng’s legs hard enough to fracture the bone, and there were burns as well. His trouser leg had been cut open, and layer upon layer of medicinal dressings wrapped his leg.
Burns were the most painful of all. Zhao Zheng’s brows were tightly knitted, and he did not answer.
At this moment, the Weiwei Guard returned.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, aside from Dazheng Palace, all other palaces have been searched. We found nothing.”
Su Yu, commander of the Weiwei Guard, knelt on the ground, his head covered in sweat as he panted lightly.
“Why was Dazheng Palace not searched?” Zhao Zheng said darkly. “Do you actually have no regard for Mother’s safety?”
Su Yu lowered his head, hesitating to speak, yet not daring to argue.
Clearly, they had been stopped outside Dazheng Palace by the Queen Dowager’s close attendants and had not dared enter.
“My palace is very safe,” the Queen Dowager said at this. “There is no need to search it.”
A palace attendant had already laid a wool carpet over the open ground. To avoid the damp chill of the floor, the carpet had been spread three layers thick.
The Queen Dowager knelt on a cushion atop the carpet and accepted tea broth from Wei Nanxu, taking a light sip.
Her movements were unhurried and dignified, as though the sudden great fire in Zhao Zheng’s palace was not a serious matter at all. This affair could not be allowed to disturb the tranquility of her palace; therefore, there was no need to search it, nor could it be searched.
Zhao Zheng shook his head.
He forced himself to stand. Supported by Jiang He, he moved one step closer to the Queen Dowager, then knelt on one knee and said to her, “Mother, by acting so, you are forcing this son into unfilial conduct.”
The Queen Dowager’s brows drew together, her phoenix bearing filled with anger as she shouted, “Is the ruler trying to force me?”
“This son would not dare.”
Zhao Zheng raised his hand and signaled to Su Yu, commander of the Weiwei Guard. “General Su, go and search Dazheng Palace. If you still find nothing, I am willing to kneel here without rising and beg Mother’s forgiveness.”
Although Zhao Zheng’s injury was on his left leg, now that he was kneeling on his right, the burned left leg seemed to tear open, and he could even faintly hear the fractured bone creaking.
Pain…
Pain bored into his heart and carved into his bones, as if ten thousand needles were piercing into his skin, into his bones, into his eardrums.
Beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead, instantly soaking the blue-brick floor.
Yet even so, Zhao Zheng still did not rise.
Su Yu rushed out swiftly.
In this Great Yong imperial palace, although every government order had to pass through the Queen Dowager, and the Imperial Seal was also kept by the Queen Dowager, Su Yu was loyal only to Zhao Zheng and obeyed only his commands.
Zhao Zheng knelt without moving, while Su Yu moved as fast as lightning.
On the Queen Dowager’s face were unconcealable anger and humiliation, but not the slightest trace of heartache.
She allowed Zhao Zheng to kneel there until Su Yu returned three quarters of an hour later and threw a bundle of things onto the ground.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, objects used to start the fire were found in Dazheng Palace.”
“Impossible!” The Queen Dowager flung a cup of tea forward, and it smashed against Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zheng had only draped a simple outer robe over his inner garments. Now his clothes were soaked through, and the scalding tea seeped into the cotton cloth wrapped around his wound, hurting so badly that he almost passed out.
“Where were they found?” Zhao Zheng asked through gritted teeth. Every word seemed to have been knocked between his teeth, carrying hostility.
“In the side hall where Miss Wei Nanxu resides,” Su Yu answered.
Zhao Zheng wanted to rise and look at Wei Nanxu’s expression, but his legs hurt so badly that they had not the slightest strength. In a daze, he heard Wei Nanxu scream and collapse to the ground. Zhao Zheng could hold on no longer.
In his dream was a swaying carriage. He lay inside it, with fire rising all around.
Li Wenzhou’s voice came from outside. This chief palace attendant had followed Zhao Zheng ever since he left Yong as a hostage at the age of six, and had remained with him ever since.
Li Wenzhou was cautious and meticulous, helping Zhao Zheng survive many disasters.
Yet Zhao Zheng had never trusted him completely.
“Young Master, crawl out quickly!” Li Wenzhou shouted from outside.
Zhao Zheng was somewhat puzzled. He was already exalted as ruler, no longer the hostage Yong had used to appease foreign states. Why was Li Wenzhou still calling him Young Master?
Zhao Zheng lowered his head and saw his own tiny hands, feet, and body. Horrified, he realized he had returned to his childhood.
His childhood!
The childhood when he had wandered through the six states as a hostage, with killing intent at every step and death narrowly escaped time and again!
Zhao Zheng broke out in cold sweat from the shock.
He tried to crawl up, only to discover that he had not a shred of strength. The burning flames made it impossible for him to open his eyes. His hands waved through the air. In the endless black night, Zhao Zheng heard a voice.
“Get up!”
That voice was clear and urgent. If one listened carefully, there was even a trace of concern.
Following that voice, Zhao Zheng grasped a hand.
This was a hand that subdued demons and drove away calamity. The black night was forced back by this hand, and a thread of light poured down from the sky. At last, Zhao Zheng had the courage to open his eyes.
It was as though, in an instant, he had come from being a small child with hair in hanging tufts to adulthood. He discovered he was lying on the dragon bed, and before him was a woman’s gorgeous yet displeased face.
“Let go of me.” Jiang He tried hard to pry open Zhao Zheng’s fingers.
But Zhao Zheng pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.