Yueyin's POV
The hidden passage is dark and narrow.
I stumble through it, using the walls to guide me, Yizheng's jade token clutched tight in my hand. Behind me, I hear guards shouting, searching, getting farther away.
He's leading them in the wrong direction. Buying me time.
But for how long?
The passage twists and turns. I have no idea where I'm going, just that I need to get away from the guards and reach the Cold Palace.
Finally, the passage opens into a small courtyard. Moonlight filters through dead trees. The buildings around me are old, abandoned, falling apart.
The Cold Palace.
The forgotten wing where unwanted concubines were sent to die. Where Yizheng's mother spent her last days before the Empress Dowager poisoned her.
Nobody comes here. The servants say it's haunted. They say you can hear crying at night, see ghosts walking the empty halls.
But I don't believe in ghosts. Not those kinds anyway.
I'm more worried about the living.
I move carefully across the courtyard, staying in the shadows. Three buildings stand here, all dark and silent.
The third one. That's where Yizheng said the evidence would be.
I reach it and push the door open slowly. It creaks so loud I freeze, certain guards will come running.
But nothing happens. No shouts. No footsteps.
Just silence.
I slip inside.
The building is a mess. Furniture covered in dust and cobwebs. Broken pottery scattered on the floor. Everything smells like rot and abandonment.
This was someone's home once. Yizheng's mother lived here, died here.
I feel suddenly sad for that woman. For the prince who lost his mother too young. For the little boy who grew up in the Cold Palace, forgotten and alone.
No wonder he became the person I remember. Cold. Ruthless. Trusting no one.
This place would do that to anyone.
I shake off the sadness. No time for feelings. Need to find the evidence and get out before guards find me.
Yizheng said his mother's bedroom. Behind the mirror.
I move through the building carefully, checking each room. Most are empty. Some have furniture so broken it's useless.
Then I find it a bedroom at the back of the building. Larger than the others. A bed frame still stands in the corner. And on the wall, covered in dust and cracks...
A mirror.
I approach it slowly. The reflection that stares back at me is ghostly in the dim moonlight. A girl who looks eighteen but has the eyes of someone much older.
Someone who's already died once.
I reach behind the mirror, feeling for anything hidden.
Nothing.
I pull at the edges, trying to move it. The mirror shifts slightly, revealing a small space behind it.
My heart jumps.
There! A wooden box, old and worn.
I pull it out carefully. It's locked, but the lock is so old it breaks easily when I pry at it.
Inside papers. Letters. Documents.
Even in the dim light, I can see enough to know this is it. This is the proof we need.
Letters from Northern Kingdom generals to the Empress Dowager. Financial records showing payments of gold. Maps marking invasion routes. Names of court officials who took bribes.
Everything Yizheng said would be here.
Everything we need to expose the conspiracy and stop Zhengming.
I'm so focused on the documents that I don't hear the footsteps until it's too late.
Looking for something, Lady Xia?
I spin around.
Zhengming stands in the doorway, backlit by moonlight. Guards flank him on both sides.
My stomach drops to my feet.
That's an interesting collection you've found, he says, voice pleasant. Too pleasant. I wonder where it came from.
Think. Think fast.
I was just exploring
In the Cold Palace. In the middle of the night. While being chased by guards. He steps into the room. How adventurous of you.
I back away, clutching the box. These documents prove
Prove what? That my dear departed Aunt was paranoid? Kept wild conspiracy theories written down? His smile is cold. Nobody will believe papers found in an abandoned building by a girl accused of arson.
He's right. Without context, without credibility, these documents are worthless.
But they're still all we have.
Guards, Zhengming says calmly. Take the box. And take Lady Xia into custody.
They move toward me.
I look around desperately. One door blocked by Zhengming. Windows too high, covered in wooden bars.
No escape.
Unless I fight.
In my first life, I never learned to fight. I was a proper noble lady who fainted at the sight of blood.
But I've died once. Been imprisoned, beaten, executed.
I'm not that helpless girl anymore.
As the first guard reaches for me, I swing the wooden box hard into his face.
He staggers back, blood pouring from his nose.
The second guard grabs my arm. I stomp on his foot, elbow him in the throat. He releases me with a gasp.
Zhengming's eyes widen in surprise. You know how to fight?
Not well. Not like a trained warrior. But enough to survive.
I bolt for the window, even though I know I can't get through. Just need to buy time
Something whistles through the air.
A knife embeds itself in the wooden bars, inches from my head.
I freeze.
Zhengming holds another knife, arm cocked back to throw. The next one goes in your leg. Then we'll see how well you run.
He's not bluffing. I can see it in his eyes.
Drop the box, he orders.
I hold it tighter. No.
Drop it, or I'll kill you right now and claim you attacked me first.
You're going to kill me anyway. At least this way, someone might find the evidence
Nobody's going to find anything. This place will burn tonight, just like my mother's chambers did. His smile is vicious. And you'll burn with it. A tragic accident. The poor girl who got lost and died in a fire.
Horror floods through me.
He's going to burn the Cold Palace. Destroy all the evidence and me along with it.
Your Highness, one of the guards says nervously. Perhaps we should just take her back to the palace
Did I ask for your opinion? Zhengming snaps.
The guard falls silent.
I'm trapped. Completely, utterly trapped.
And then I hear it.
A voice from the doorway. Weak but clear.
Brother. I think that's enough.
Everyone spins around.
Yizheng leans against the doorframe, barely standing. Blood soaks through his bandages. His face is white as death.
But he's here.
Yizheng, Zhengming says, surprise flickering across his face. You should be in bed. That wound
Will heal. Unlike your reputation when everyone learns what you've done. Yizheng's eyes are cold. Empty. The Emperor I remember. I heard everything, brother. Your confession about burning Mother's chambers. Your plan to kill Lady Xia. All of it.
You heard nothing. You're delirious from blood loss.
Am I? Yizheng straightens slightly. Then explain why half the palace guard just arrived outside. Explain why they're surrounding this building right now.
Zhengming's confidence wavers. You're bluffing.
Am I?
Silence.
Then, from outside the sound of many footsteps. Orders being shouted. Metal armor clinking.
Zhengming's face goes pale.
You see, Yizheng says quietly, while you were chasing Lady Xia, I was talking to Father. Telling him everything we know about your treason. About the Northern Kingdom conspiracy. About Mother's murder.
He'll never believe you over me
He already does. Because the documents Lady Xia is holding aren't the only evidence. I found more. Lots more. Hidden in places you didn't know about. Yizheng's smile is bitter. Mother was thorough. She documented everything before you had her killed.
I didn't kill her! The Empress Dowager
On your orders. We both know the truth.
Zhengming's mask shatters completely. Rage twists his features into something ugly.
You think you've won? he snarls. You think Father will choose you over me? I'm the Crown Prince! The heir! You're nothing!
I'm the son who didn't commit treason.
Guards flood into the building. Not Zhengming's guards imperial guards wearing the Emperor's colors.
Crown Prince Qin Zhengming, the captain announces, you are under arrest by order of His Majesty. The charges are conspiracy, treason, and murder.
Zhengming looks around wildly. His own guards are backing away, unwilling to fight the imperial guard.
He's lost. He knows it.
But instead of surrendering, he does something I don't expect.
He lunges at me.
Fast. So fast I barely see him move.
His hand closes around my throat. The knife presses against my ribs.
Nobody move! Zhengming shouts. Or I kill her right now!
The guards freeze.
Yizheng takes a step forward. Let her go.
Why? So you can be the hero? Zhengming's laugh is half mad. So you can save the girl and take my throne? I won't let you have either!
The knife digs deeper. I feel blood trickle down my side.
Not again. I'm not dying again.
I still have the wooden box in my hands. I swing it backward as hard as I can, slamming it into Zhengming's head.
His grip loosens.
I drop and roll away.
Guards rush forward, pinning Zhengming to the ground before he can recover.
You'll pay for this! he screams at Yizheng. All of you will pay!
They drag him away, still shouting threats.
And then it's just me and Yizheng in the dusty room.
He slides down the doorframe, too weak to stand anymore.
I rush to him, pressing my hands against his bleeding wound. You shouldn't have come. You're going to die
Not today. He manages a weak smile. Today we won.
We haven't won anything. The emperor's still dying. The Empress Dowager is still free. There's still
Yueyin. He catches my hand. Take a breath. We survived. That's something.
He's right. We're alive. We exposed Zhengming. We have the evidence.
For the first time since I came back, things actually went right.
Physicians rush in, taking over Yizheng's care. Servants help me to my feet.
Father appears, looking years older than he did this morning.
Yueyin. Thank the heavens you're safe. He pulls me into a tight hug. When they said you were accused of arson, that you'd run...
I'm sorry. I had to find the truth.
I know. And you did. He pulls back, studying my face. My daughter the hero. Who would have thought?
Not me. Not in a million years.
But as they lead me out of the Cold Palace, past the guards and the chaos, I realize something.
I changed it. I actually changed the future.
Zhengming's arrested instead of becoming Emperor. The conspiracy's exposed instead of hidden. Father's alive instead of dead.
Maybe I can save everyone this time.
Maybe I can rewrite this ending after all.
But as we exit the Cold Palace, I see someone watching from a distance.
The Empress Dowager.
Her face shows no emotion as she watches her son being dragged away in chains.
She just looks at me. One long, cold stare.
Then she turns and walks away.
And I realize with a chill:
She's not done. Not even close.
Zhengming was just the Crown Prince. Just a piece in her game.
But the Empress Dowager?
She's the queen on the board.
And she's still playing.