"Just for that… for one word from Your Majesty, I was willing to risk everything," Empress Deng said, her eyes defiant. "The Murong family was too powerful. If Empress Murong had lived, they would have only bound Your Majesty's hands tighter."
"Are you claiming credit for poisoning the Empress?" Murong Yan roared. She was his cousin. Her death was the reason he had left for the border, following her last wish.
"Is it not a credit?" Empress Deng met his gaze, unafraid.
"No." Murong Jin stepped forward, her voice cold. "My family has stayed away from Jindu for years, guarding the border, only because of the Empress's dying wish. She did not want the Murong family to pressure the Emperor. She wanted us to guard the peace of the dynasty forever. Empress Deng, do you think your life of luxury in this palace came for free? It was paid for with the blood of my family on the battlefield."
"She…" The Emperor stared blankly. He had guarded against her since their wedding. But in the end, had she always been for him? Murong, why did you never tell me?
"I beg Your Majesty to grant justice for the Murong family." Murong Yan knelt. Murong Jin knelt beside him.
The hall was dead silent.
The Emperor gripped the armrest of his throne, his eyes red as he stared at the unrepentant Empress Deng. He gave a bleak laugh. Of course she has no regrets. I was the one who started it all.
"Take Empress Deng into custody. Sentence to be decided later." His voice was heavy. His gaze fell back on the cloth bundle. The peach blossoms were still bright, just like the woman had been. But the blossoms remained, and the person was gone.
Murong Yan glanced at Xue Liulan. The prince returned his gaze calmly, seemingly satisfied.
"Announcing the former Crown Princess, Murong Yu."
As Empress Deng was dragged away, Murong Yu appeared at the door.
She looked different today. Since the Crown Prince's death, she had worn only mourning white. But today, she wore a gown of water-blue, her face lightly powdered. Even Murong Jin was stunned.
It was a beautiful, desolate sight.
Murong Yu walked straight to the dais, ignoring the stares, and knelt. "Long live the Emperor."
"Rise." The Emperor's voice softened. He still pitied the widow of his favorite son.
"This sinner dares not." She remained kneeling, her head bowed. The tassels of her golden phoenix hairpin brushed her cheek like tears.
"What sin?"
"There is a hidden truth behind Crown Prince Xue Liuyun's death. A truth that involves this sinner, Murong Yu. I have been unfaithful and unfilial, violating the teachings of my family. I know I must die. But before I do, I must reveal the truth to the world."
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over Xue Feiyan before settling on the Emperor's shocked face.
"Speak." The Emperor had no strength left for anger. The day's revelations had drained him. Or perhaps his heart had been exhausted the moment he realized how much he missed Empress Murong.
"Yes." Murong Yu straightened her back. "Before I married Crown Prince Xue Liuyun, my heart belonged to another. The man I loved was the King of Heluo, Xue Feiyan. The man who would later cause the death of my husband."
Crack. The teacup in the Emperor's hand shattered. The sound made everyone jump.
Xue Feiyan knelt immediately, awaiting the storm.
"He treated you like his own brother. Because you were the youngest and had lost your mother, he always asked for extra shares of whatever I bestowed." The Emperor spoke slowly, staring at the broken porcelain in his bleeding hand. Suddenly, he threw the shards. Blood and tea arced through the air, striking Xue Feiyan's shoulder. "Is this how you repay the brother who protected you since childhood?"
The Emperor's roar echoed in the hall. Xue Feiyan kowtowed in silence. But a flicker of murderous intent passed through his eyes. He had thought Xue Liulan would keep their promise. But in the end, he was not their eldest brother. Ling Yan was right. Cutting the weeds by the roots is a lesson everyone learns.
Xue Liulan's body went rigid. He stared at Murong Yu's profile in shock. This was not what she was supposed to say.
Not long ago, on the evening she had visited Murong Jin, they had made a different agreement in his garden.
"You want me to blame everything on Deng Qinyao?" she had asked, confused. "You know that if you let Xue Feiyan go now, you are nursing a tiger."
"Just do it. Big Brother wouldn't want me to hurt the Seventh." Xue Liulan had looked out at the spring garden. "When this is over, I will ensure you are safely returned to Wuchuan."
"I don't want to go back." She had turned to face him. "I only ask one thing of you."
"What is it? I will do my best."
She had smiled a cold smile. "You know I will repay what I owe Liuyun, no matter what. Why agree when you hate me so much?"
He had sighed. "Because you were important to them."
To the brother who had died protecting her. To the woman he loved who had risked her life to save her.
"Speak. What do you want?"
"I want to return to Liuyun's side."
At the time, he thought she meant she wanted to continue guarding his tomb. Now, he realized she had never intended to leave the palace alive.
Murong Yu was speaking, detailing how she had stolen the poison, Xiangjue, and put it in the Prince's food.
"Everything I did was at Xue Feiyan's command. He used my love for him to achieve his own ends." She pointed a finger at the kneeling prince. "I know my sin is great. I only ask that the Emperor avenge the Crown Prince. Then, even in the Yellow Springs, I can face him."
A sharp sound of steel. Blood dripped onto the polished floor from her abdomen.
"Cousin!" Murong Jin started forward, but her father held her back. Xue Liulan rushed to catch Murong Yu as she fell.
"Why?" he whispered.
"I hate him. But I hate myself more." She spoke in broken gasps, tears mingling with the blood. In her fading vision, she was once again that girl in the blue dress, meeting Xue Liuyun by the lake.
A smile bloomed on her ashen face. Her hand, clutching Xue Liulan's sleeve, relaxed. She fell heavily to the floor.
"Sister!" Murong Jin cried out, collapsing into her father's arms.
The Emperor frowned, watching it all. Suddenly, the armrest of his throne felt ice-cold. The chill spread through his palm, through his body, bringing with it a terrifying sense of desolation.
Loneliness? Or unspeakable grief?
Guo Shangzhong signaled the guards. They brought a rattan stretcher and carried Murong Yu's body away. No one knew what would happen next.
"Father, your son begs you to allow Sister-in-law to be buried with Big Brother." Xue Liulan knelt.
"Does she deserve it?" The Emperor gave a cold laugh.
"Whether she deserves it or not, she was the woman he loved. Please, Father, for the sake of his filial piety, grant his last wish." Xue Liulan kowtowed, his eyes squeezed shut against the tears.
I'm sorry, Big Brother. I didn't want her to pay with her life.
Murong Jin watched, stunned. Had Xue Liulan lied to her? He said brothers shouldn't kill each other, yet he had forced Murong Yu to do this, dooming Xue Feiyan. The Emperor loved the Crown Prince. He would never forgive the man who orchestrated his murder.
"Decree: The Seventh Prince, Xue Feiyan…"
"Father, wait." Xue Liulan spoke up.
Xue Feiyan, waiting for his death sentence, froze. He looked at his brother. Xue Liulan was staring intently at the Emperor.
"Father, if you do not give the Seventh a chance to explain, are you not repeating the injustice done to my mother?" It was a desperate gamble. He had to save Xue Feiyan. Murong Yu was dead; he had already failed his eldest brother. If he destroyed the trust between the remaining brothers… he could not face them, in this life or the next.
Explain? The Emperor's heart shook. Yes. I never gave Murong a chance to explain. Even though she bore his children, he had never sat down with her, never truly talked to her. Only when she was gone did he realize how few memories he had, how gentle her heart had truly been.
"Feiyan, speak."
Li Yan let out a breath he had been holding. The game wasn't over. Xue Feiyan could still live.
But Xue Feiyan's next words stopped his heart.
"Your son… has nothing to say."
"Nothing to say?" The Emperor's voice sharpened. "So you admit you used Murong Yu to murder your own brother?"
"Father." Xue Liulan stepped in, shooting a warning glare at Xue Feiyan.
"Stop protecting him!" The Emperor waved his hand furiously.
"I am not protecting him, Father. The Seventh is not good at explaining himself. Especially before you, he only knows how to obey. I wish to ask him a few questions." Xue Liulan bowed calmly.
Li Yan watched, his palms sweating. These questions would decide Xue Feiyan's life or death.