Xu Lianhua's POV
The Dowager Empress will arrive in five minutes.
My hands shook. The woman who helped destroy my life was coming.
The Emperor watched me. You have a choice. Confront her now, unprepared and emotional. Or let me handle it.
She helped drug me
Exactly. Confronting her angry makes you weak. His eyes pinned me. I'd wait. Gather evidence. Let her think she's in control. Then destroy her when she least expects it.
The door opened. The Dowager entered, irritated.
You summoned me? How presumptuous
She saw the scrolls on the desk. Her face went pale.
Grandmother, the Emperor said quietly. We need to talk about how you helped the Xu family substitute the wrong bride.
That's absurd
Yue'er told us everything. She was there when you met with Lady Pei.
The Dowager's eyes flashed to me with pure hatred. She'd done this.
You have no proof.
The Emperor picked up a scroll. Yue'er's testimony. Very detailed. He set it down. So here's what happens. You resign from all court positions. Stay in your quarters. Never interfere with my Empress again.
She laughed bitterly. Or what? Execute your own grandmother?
House arrest for fraud against the throne. The court would understand.
Silence fell.
Three days, she said finally.
You have until morning.
She turned to leave, paused. Looked at me with venom.
You think you've won, little bastard? This palace will eat you alive.
She left.
The Emperor turned to me. She'll accept by morning.
Just like that? She just walks away?
For now. But you learned something: don't strike when angry. Strike when you've won.
What about my family?
Still your choice. But not tonight.
Then why show me this?
Because you needed to see you're not powerless. He moved closer. Prove them wrong.
I want to learn, I said quietly. Teach me.
Tomorrow, you'll study with Grand Scholar Feng. And meet with me every evening. I'll teach you how to survive.
A knock. A eunuch entered.
Your Majesty, Minister Xu is asking to see his daughter. He claims he has information she needs before deciding their fate.
Information?
It's a trap, I said.
Probably. But what if it's not? The Emperor looked at me. Do you want to see him?
I'll see him. If you're there.
Tomorrow morning. In the throne room.
I returned to my quarters where Yue'er waited, tears streaming.
Is it true? About the Dowager?
It's true.
Then we're in more danger than I thought. Fear filled her eyes. Lianhua, there's something else. The night they drugged you, I heard Lady Pei talking to someone. Not the Dowager. A man.
My blood ran cold. What man?
His voice was muffled but he said: 'Once the bastard is Empress, the real plan begins.'
The world tilted. The substitution was just the beginning.
Who was he?
I don't know. But he wore palace robes. Someone high-ranking. Someone already inside these walls.
Horror washed over me. There was another enemy. Someone in the palace. Still free.
Did you tell the Emperor?
Not yet. What if it's someone close to him? What if we can't trust anyone?
That night, I lay awake. The real plan begins. What plan? Who was the man?
I'd thought becoming Empress was the nightmare. Now I realized it was just the opening move.
Somewhere in this palace, an enemy waited.
The answer came at dawn when a scream shattered silence.
I bolted upright. Guards rushed toward the east wing. Servants crying. Chaos spreading.
A guard burst into my room, face white.
Your Majesty there's been a death.
My heart stopped. Who?
Minister Xu. Your father. Found dead in his cell this morning.
The room spun. Dead.
How?
Poison. He paused. The same kind used to drug you on your wedding night.
The same poison. Someone murdered my father using the drug that destroyed my life.
This was a message.
I looked at Yue'er. The real plan.
It had begun.
Father was supposed to give me information. Now he was dead. Silenced.
Which meant whatever he knew was dangerous enough to kill for.
Where's the Emperor?
At the dungeons. He requests your immediate presence.
When I arrived, the Emperor stood over my father's body. His face was ice.
Poison administered after midnight. The guards saw nothing. His jaw tightened. Impossible unless someone with authority ordered them to look away.
Someone powerful, I finished.
Someone who knew your father was about to talk. Anger flickered. Someone just declared war on you. He stepped closer. What will you do about it?
I stared at my father's corpse. I don't know.
Then start with what you do know. Who benefits from his silence?
I forced myself to think. The man Yue'er heard. The one who said 'the real plan begins.' He wore palace robes.
The Emperor's eyes sharpened. What man?
I told him everything.
His face went deadly calm. So we have a conspiracy. The Dowager helped. Your family executed it. But someone else orchestrated everything. Someone still here. Close enough to murder a prisoner.
But why? Why make me Empress if they want me weak?
That, he said, voice like winter, is what we're going to find out.
He called guards. Seal the dungeons. Bring Lady Pei and Mingzhu to the throne room. Now.
He turned to me. Your father's dead. But your stepmother and sister are still alive. And they're going to tell us everything about this man.
His smile was sharp.
Whether they want to or not.