"My father's really back?"
"Helian Zheng summoned him?"
Ning Zhiqing circled Axin, face tight with worry, fingers finding Axin's hand again and again. "Consort Lin, my father—he won't be found out, right? Helian Zheng won't—he won't do anything to my father, will he?"
"He won't."
"Ning Zhiqing" relaxed a little at Axin's steady answer; she let go of Axin's hand, then her heart began to pound and she grabbed Axin again. "Consort Lin, let me hold you a while. If I don't hold you I'll be a wreck." Without waiting for permission she tugged Axin down beside her, then decided that merely holding hands wasn't enough. She wrapped her arm around Axin's, rested her head on Axin's shoulder, half-closed her eyes. "Consort Lin, do you…have some kind of immortal magic?"
Axin glanced at her. The corner of her mouth lifted; a soft smile warmed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"When I let go of you my heart goes wild. Beside you—holding you—I'm not afraid at all." Ning Zhiqing looked up at that composed, lovely face close enough to count the breaths. "Consort Lin, you're an immortal, aren't you? Did you descend to save me?"
If Consort Lin weren't an immortal, why did nothing seem to trouble her? Why did everything seem under her hand? Helian Zheng's sudden tenderness that day—Ning Zhiqing could not help thinking there was something strange, and the strangeness centered on Consort Lin.
"Immortal?" Axin murmured. "I'm not."
"Then a demon?" Ning Zhiqing ventured.
"Not that either."
"What, then?"
Axin smiled. She leaned in, breath scented and gentle against Ning Zhiqing's ear. "For the moment…probably a person."
Up close, Ning Zhiqing stared at Axin's faint smile and could not help saying, "Consort Lin, you have a lovely smile." She reached without thinking and brushed the scar at Axin's brow. "When I become Empress Dowager, I'll have someone fetch a scar-removing elixir for you. I'll find the best physician in the realm and have them rid you of it." Such a woman—talented, beautiful, quietly poised—shouldn't carry a scar. She should be perfect. Ning Zhiqing thought of Axin without that mark and couldn't help smiling.
"You don't need to sneak into the imperial kitchen for sweets anymore," Ning Zhiqing said, eyes bright with resolve. "If you want something, tell me." She had read a line in a book recently and it stuck with her. "Consort Lin has done so much for me. I won't forget. I don't like studying or reading memorials, but I understood the meaning of what you did. There was a line I read—"
"What line?" Axin asked. She genuinely didn't know what move had stirred Ning Zhiqing so.
Ning Zhiqing cleared her throat and recited, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Her pretty eyes held a sudden, mischievous light. "We've known each other a while. I don't want to call you 'Consort Lin' anymore—it feels distant."
"You're Ning, I'm Lin. We're fated." Axin smiled. "Call me Axin, if you like."
A small, pleased sound escaped Ning Zhiqing. "No. In the palace only we call each other by names. If I call you Axin, you must call me Zhiqing."
Axin saw her earnestness and nodded. "Very well. Then I'll call you Zhiqing."
"Good." Ning Zhiqing's face brightened when Axin said it. "Say it again."
"Zhiqing."
Ning Zhiqing smiled, lips curved. "Axin. Now you."
"Zhiqing. Zhiqing."
They kept saying names—Axin, Axin—Ning Zhiqing dropped her gaze, bit her lip, and felt an unfamiliar swell in her chest. She didn't know what this feeling was, only that she never wanted that person out of her sight. From the moment Axin called her "Zhiqing," a warm current flowed through her and she could not forget it. She wanted to hold the one who had that right to call her by name.
A cough behind them snapped Ning Zhiqing back. She let go instantly and turned to see He Qing in the shadow. Then she thought: they were both women; why should she hurry to release Axin? She slid her arm back through Axin's and linked it again.
"Consort Lin, Consort Ning," He Qing reported breathless, "Helian Zheng already saw General Ning. They spoke well; after the meeting General Ning left on his own—Helian Zheng personally escorted him to the palace gate." He Qing was astonished. He had suspected Helian Zheng's move against Ning Wuyuan months ago; he had not expected such a swift turnaround. He glanced at Axin, uneasy, and asked, "What shall we do next?"
"Wait." Axin answered with a single word. He Qing did not understand but he only bowed. "Yes, wait." Lin Gui—Axin's mysterious composure and words had made him a believer. He did not care whether she was a person or a demon; if she could avenge the one he cared for, that was enough.
"Guard He, do you have business?" Ning Zhiqing said, uncomfortable with He Qing's lingering looks. "If not, leave at once. This is the Cold Palace—if anyone sees you it'll ruin everything."
"Of course." He Qing bowed and sprang up to the wall, then vanished in one lithe leap. His swift exit eased Ning Zhiqing's nerves. Why was he staring at Axin? Was he taken by Axin's talents too? Ning Zhiqing frowned. She refused to think that way.
"Axin, is waiting enough?" Ning Zhiqing's worry returned. They had wrested power from Helian Zheng; many who opposed him had found death or exile. She remembered Xifei—once so favored—now shut behind the Xifei Palace, living poorly. The court had become terrifying.
Axin squeezed Ning Zhiqing's hand. "Don't worry, Zhiqing. With me here, the Empress Dowager's seat will be yours. Helian Zheng is not to be feared. While you fidget, read two more memorials instead and practice."
Ning Zhiqing groaned—memorials again. But seeing Axin's serious face, she could not disappoint. She obediently took up the papers. As she read, a thought crept in: since when had she been so dutiful? She followed every instruction without rebellion. Perhaps she had promised to obey Axin forever; she had been frightened then and had handed herself over completely. Yet there was no resentment—only a strange contentment.
Within days the reason for Axin's patience became clear. He Qing's reports shook her. After Helian Zheng summoned Ning Wuyuan, the next court session exploded with fury. He suddenly purged many ministers.
Helian Zheng ordered Ning Wuyuan to investigate the Bai clan, claiming they harbored treachery. Ning Wuyuan found evidence that implicated the Bai family in framing Prime Minister Meng and Minister Lin. Helian Zheng, seeing the proofs, wasted no time. He charged the Bai family with framing loyal ministers and ordered the execution of the entire Bai household the next day—no mercy, no delay.
"Ha—good. Kill them." Helian Zheng laughed in his bedchamber. "I never imagined the Bai family's loyalty would be below thirty. They were never faithful."
"He—Ning Wuyuan surprised me. An eighty-five loyalty rating. Lucky you're bound to me; otherwise I'd have dealt with Consort Ning myself." Helian Zheng's smile turned cold. "Those on the court who hid disloyalty—how well they acted. When I covered Lin and Meng, they dared not speak. They wanted me to slay the loyal ones myself. A pity—I should have cut them earlier."
The system grumbled but dared not interfere. Who would stand against a tyrant? The Bai family had indeed been useful to him. Helian Zheng's temper was merciless. The trick—the work of that evil god—was brilliant: reveal people's loyalty and true feelings and the emperor could not tolerate anyone under fifty. Those who had served him and yet had low loyalty were exposed and could not escape death.
Then an extensive purge swept the court. Ning Zhiqing watched helplessly as Helian Zheng slaughtered her father's allies without mercy. She felt chilled to the bone.
"This man…" Ning Zhiqing pressed her lips together. "He's extreme in his cruelty."
Axin looked back at her, her face calm while Ning Zhiqing's had gone ashen. She held Ning Zhiqing's cool hand. "Those who sit high rarely lack cruelty. You see what they choose to show you. There's much you never see."
"Zhiqing, when you are Empress Dowager you'll hold life and death. If you find traitors close to you, you will be tempted to cut them off to keep only the loyal ones."
"No. I wouldn't." Ning Zhiqing shook her head fiercely. "I can't be cruel like that."
Axin's eyes curved in a small smile. "If they mean harm to someone you love, if they conspire to kill the woman who sits behind the curtain—what will you do?"
"Win them over with virtue?" Ning Zhiqing asked.
"I—" Ning Zhiqing faltered. Axin looked at her more softly, voice low. "Remember your first day in the Cold Palace? Even if you sought nothing, there were people who'd harm you. If you don't seize power—if you do not protect yourself, your father, your Ning family—you will be like my Lin family or Meng Hou's Meng family. Then the measure will be who is fiercer, who is faster, who holds greater power."
Ning Zhiqing's lips never regained color. She clenched her fist. If she refused the Empress Dowager's post, destiny would remain in others' hands.
"Zhiqing, use this time to consider. Becoming Empress Dowager is not simple. When you're ready, reach out." Axin smiled and extended a hand. "I will pull you up. I won't let you fall. I'll stay with you while you grow until the day you can face the world alone and understand what 'power' truly means."
Ning Zhiqing stood, watching Axin walk away. Her chest tightened; she wanted to follow. She could never read Axin's mind. Did Axin resent her? Think her unfit? Would she be ignored forever? She had been the cause of so much. Had she disappointed Axin by hesitating earlier? Axin had sacrificed so much for today. One falter and she might have lost Axin's favor. The thought made Ning Zhiqing uneasy. She wondered why she had not gripped Axin's hand as Axin left.
Shortly after, Ning Zhiqing ran through the Cold Palace's hidden corners and found Axin—this time with someone else. Not He Qing, but one of He Qing's subordinate guards: a former student of Minister Lin, the same man who had secretly built Minister Lin's memorial tomb. What business did he have speaking to Axin? He usually sent messages through He Qing.
Ning Zhiqing crept into the bushes and listened.
"These are things you used to like," the man said, presenting oil-paper packages of snacks and a pretty beaded hairpin. "I saw them in the market and thought of you."
Axin glanced at the offered parcels and the hairpin. "What do you want by giving these?"
The man froze and stammered, "I just—thought to buy them for you. Don't misunderstand."
"Tell the truth." Axin's tone was cool and it rattled him. "I—"
"You can't express what's in your heart? If not, go back, gather your words, and tell me next time." Axin's patience had a razor edge.
Hidden, Ning Zhiqing widened her eyes and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. The man had clearly been smitten but he hadn't expected Axin's blunt, unromantic way. The courage all drained away from him.
"Little junior." He drew a breath and tried again. "I admired you before you entered the palace, and then the emperor issued an edict to bring you in. Helian Zheng will soon fall; when Consort Ning rises, would you—could you consider me?" He seemed to bleed inwardly as he spoke; Axin's indifferent composure made him miserable.
"Little junior."
"I know." Axin pushed the snacks back with one flat movement. "Not interested."
The man's expression fell. He looked like he finally understood. "If you'd come with me, I could take you far away. To a place no one would find. I'd dote on you, cherish you—"
"I don't want to run away. I won't leave the palace. I don't need you to dote on me." Axin's answer was plainly practical. "I can take care of myself. I will live well."
The man opened his mouth, but Ning Zhiqing could not restrain herself any longer. She strode out, seized Axin's hand, lifted her chin and tried to outdo the man with stature. "Axin already refused you. Remember your place—Yun Guard—and Axin's position." For the first time Ning Zhiqing found her noble bearing. "If those words get out, how much trouble would it bring Axin? Have you thought of the consequences?"
"Forgive me, little junior." The man bowed, ashamed. "I shouldn't have come."
"Little junior," he said softly. "If you want revenge, I stand with you. I won't force you. Perhaps we aren't fated. I'll remain a guard in the palace, loyal to Axin." He gathered the hairpin and the oil-paper parcels, vaulted the wall, and disappeared.
Ning Zhiqing snorted. "Guards get bolder these days—coming into the Cold Palace so casually. Next time I'll tell He Qing to deal with his men."
"Axin." Ning Zhiqing remembered why she had come and looked where Axin's hand rested. This time she didn't hesitate; she held on tight. "You promised to always be with me. Right?"
"Of course." Axin's smile was light.
Ning Zhiqing still felt unsettled by the earlier scene. "The outside world sounds tempting, but wandering nomadlike seems worse. I'll dote on you. I'll care for you. I can protect you." After all, she would be Empress Dowager—couldn't she take care of Axin better than any guard?
Axin's smile was calm. "Not afraid now?"
"Not afraid." Ning Zhiqing had discovered why she feared losing Axin. The guard's arrival made her realize what she felt. If she became Empress Dowager and wielded power, Axin would be hers.
Who would dare oppose that? She would destroy them.
Ning Zhiqing's lips lifted in a small, confident smile. Axin—don't regret it. You taught me the sweetness of power.