"Sorry, Host. The item you want requires costly points to redeem. You've been lax with missions lately — your points are nearly spent. Redemption isn't possible."
Helian Zheng grew curious. What sort of strange thing was this? And a drug to put him to sleep — should he be relieved Bai Xi lacked those points, or worried she might someday get them and use them against him?
All the ministers, noble ladies, concubines and servants knelt, faces to the floor, legs trembling. When Bai Xi cried out and Helian Zheng dragged her away, everyone sighed in relief and wiped cold sweat from their brows. Whatever they had seen tonight would be buried in their hearts.
One man, however, rose with a shock that wouldn't fade. He Qing's eyes still held stunned disbelief. Could this be the "surprise" Lin Guiren promised? If so, Lin Guiren must know Bai Xi's secrets. Bai Xi herself had been frantic — clearly she didn't know what had happened. If Lin Guiren had engineered this, then she was no ordinary woman.
"Guard He, what say you?"
A voice rang behind him, flat and unassuming — and He Qing felt cold sweat prick his spine. He steadied himself. "From now on, I obey Lin Guiren." Whether she was human or spirit, if she could avenge Qiang'er's death and keep his son safe — perhaps even raise that boy to the throne — he would follow. This was the only chance.
"Good."
He turned to speak, but there was no one there. The chill crawled back up his spine. Palace rumor told of Lin Guiren changing after entering the Cold Palace — appearing and vanishing like a ghost. He wondered, for a moment, if she were dead and only her spirit lingered here for revenge.
"Lady Guiren, you've returned?"
Helian Fu brightened the moment Axin pushed the door open. The child's face relaxed; his eyes shone. "What happened at the feast? What did you give Helian Zheng as a gift?"
Ning Zhiqing grabbed Axin's hand, too, curiosity plain on her face.
"Helian Zheng and Bai Xi fell out," Axin said calmly. She glanced at the moon outside. "The night is fine for reading. If you're not tired, come and review memorials."
The two exchanged looks. Was it too late to claim tiredness? Axin had already stacked discarded memorials on the table; both shoulders sagged as fatigue showed in their eyes. Clearly they had not slept enough.
"You will soon face those old foxes of the court," Axin said. "If you don't want them to press you down, study these memorials. I picked them carefully — they cover nearly every issue the court faces."
Ning Zhiqing could not help but ask, "Lin Guiren, learned and brilliant as you are, why not seize power yourself?"
The question came from Helian Fu as well. Both thought Axin could more easily grasp power than push them forward.
Axin looked at Ning Zhiqing for a long beat; the gaze made her uneasy. "What are you staring at?" she asked.
"Want to know?" Axin smiled — a gentle thing, like spring wind. Ning Zhiqing, who had mostly seen Axin's composed face, felt a little dizzy at that soft smile. She looked away, flustered.
Axin's slim finger fell on a memorial and she placed it before Ning Zhiqing, meeting her eyes. "When you've firmly taken the Empress Dowager's seat and can face those ministers alone, I will tell you."
"Ah!" Ning Zhiqing blinked at the paper, then forced herself to read. She told herself she was not curious — then remembered Axin's question and the cat in her chest pawed at the thought. Fine. She would study. If the answer displeased her later, she would simply refuse to sign any more memorials.
Under the moon the two — one grown, one small — bent over memorials, occasionally looking up to exchange notes and stealing glances at the thin woman by the window. She still wore pale, faded palace robes; her frame was almost too slight. Her color had returned from those recent days, and if not for the scar on her brow she would have been quietly elegant. Ning Zhiqing frowned at that mark — she had heard it came from Axin pleading with Helian Zheng once.
"Tired? Sleep."
Startled, Ning Zhiqing looked back to the memorials to show she was earnest. Axin rose, glanced at the drowsing Helian Fu, and rapped his head. The boy bowed and slipped out.
Sishui Hall was quiet. Helian Zheng's prison, however, was not.
"Ah—!"
A scream tore through the dungeon. Bai Xi's beautiful robes were stained with crimson. She had always known Helian Zheng could be cruel; even when he indulged her, she never meant to give him her heart. She remembered how, in a past life, he had coldly ordered, "Drag her down. Beat her to death."
He had even ordered her belly struck when she was five months pregnant. She remembered the terrible death — the agony, the blood.
Reborn, she used the Favored-Concubine System to plot and turn the court; she intended to take vengeance on everyone who had wronged her, including Helian Zheng. She had thought the system her salvation; tonight she learned it had become a hazard.
"Stop! I'll tell you everything." Bai Xi begged. She did not want to die; she might not get another chance.
Soon after, Helian Zheng arrived.
"Xi'er, will you confess?" he asked with a chilling softness. Bai Xi trembled; he was far worse than she had imagined. He caressed her sweat-cold face. "Speak truthfully and you remain my favored consort."
She shivered. She had seen the cold sentence once before — "Drag her down. Beat her to death."
"Very well." Bai Xi stammered out the system's origin, omitting she was reborn or that she had foreknowledge of an assassination attempt backed by the system. Had she told everything, Helian Zheng would have had her head cut off without a blink.
Helian Zheng listened, and then, curious, asked, "May I speak to this system?"
Reluctantly, afraid for her life, Bai Xi addressed it with honorifics. The emperor heard nothing, though. She tried again silently — the system did not seem to answer into the open air. A few conjectures spun through her mind.
"Can the system help me escape?" she asked, grasping for a lifeline.
"Host, you lack points." The system's voice was cold.
"Can't you lend me credit?" she begged.
"No. The system does not extend credit. If you die, I am at a loss."
Frantic, she snapped that the system was useless and ordered it to speak to Helian Zheng directly. The system had waited for this — a chance to address the emperor.
"Helian Zheng."
"You are the system?"
"Yes."
"What are you?"
Bound and trembling, the system explained.
"I am bound to Bai Xi now. I optimized a Favored-Consort path for her. It's a cooperative relation: the higher the host's status, the more benefits I accrue. In short, we win together."
Helian Zheng's interest sharpened. The system's restrictions made him bolder.
"Who ranks higher — me or Bai Xi?" he asked.
"You, naturally."
"Then why not choose me?"
The program stuttered, then answered, "Because you are the Son of Heaven. Unless you willingly bind to me, I cannot approach you."
"Ah — so because I sought you, you could touch me?" Helian Zheng's reasoning was quick. "What of the emperor's aura?"
"The emperor has aura. It shields you. It prevents me from approaching." The system said.
Helian Zheng breathed easier — binding would be safe. "Work with me. Which path best suits me?"
The system hesitated, then offered two options: "A path of imperial conquest — the Emperor-Contend system — or a path of longevity."
Helian Zheng clapped his hands. "I like the Contend system!" But he was intrigued by the other. "And the second?"
"The Longevity Path. You are an emperor. Besides conquest, the most suitable path is eternal life."
The system felt Helian Zheng's excitement. He tried to choose both.
"No." The system's voice cut cold. "You may choose only one. Binding time is limited."
Helian Zheng frowned. The system wiped a metaphorical sweat — who was this Cold-Palace woman to touch the emperor's will so plainly? The scheme was uncanny.
In the end, Helian Zheng chose longevity.
The system began issuing tasks: a month without carnal indulgence, rewards in pills said to delay aging. The emperor found these too easy. He completed tasks, gained an elixir — he gave it to his eunuch, Yu Gonggong. The eunuch grew visibly younger by five years. Helian Zheng watched for half a month, found no ill effect, and felt satisfied.
After several trials, Helian Zheng accepted the system as a source of tasks and rewards. He began taking the Longevity path.
The court trembled. After the Chengtian Festival, ministers noticed Helian Zheng's temper soften; he seemed otherworldly, like a man chasing immortality. He took more and more days off from court. When he did attend, he was careless in handling petitions. The ministers grew uneasy and thought of Bai Xi's incident — did she bewitch the emperor?
"I've heard he's not attended court for days," Ning Zhiqing said to Axin. "He loved clutching power. What could make him lose interest?"
Axin answered simply, "It is convenient."
"That's good — he'll stop plotting against my father for a while." Ning Zhiqing asked, nervous. "How goes the plan to restore the Chancellor's name?"
"Soon."
Axin sketched characters with smooth strokes. Ning Zhiqing looked at the fluid ink and felt a blush: her own writing looked like a dog's scratch by comparison.
"What are you planning?" Ning Zhiqing asked finally. "You are young. If you wanted to leave the palace—"
Ning Zhiqing faltered. She did not want Axin to leave. "If you stay, I will protect you. I'll have servants buy what you want. If you must go out, take more people. It's safer." She meant it. She wanted to keep this person near, though she could not name why.
Axin turned and smiled. "Very well."
Helian Fu, reading beside them, shook his head at Ning Zhiqing's mixture of coaxing and threat. He thought to himself that Axin likely wouldn't leave the palace — his gut said it had something to do with the Noble Consort.
At that moment someone leapt over the outer wall. Ning Zhiqing startled but stayed silent. Axin said, "Is Guard He here?"
"Yes." He Qing approached, controlling his impulse to rush to Helian Fu. Axin had said only a meeting was needed. "We have the palace guards under control," he reported. "Also — I heard Helian Zheng has ordered the Ning General recalled. I came to inform you."
Ning Zhiqing spun. The words came true as if spoken into the wind.
Axin steadied her. "Don't worry. Ning General will return when the time is right. This is an opportunity."
"What if—" Ning Zhiqing stammered, thinking of worst-case scenarios.
"No 'what if.'"
Her panic eased. Axin's calmness always had that effect.
"System — can your new feature truly measure loyalty?" Helian Zheng asked aloud somewhere, playing with the device.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the system replied. "Earlier you saw Yu Gonggong's loyalty at ninety-five. Above fifty indicates favor; above seventy indicates loyalty; above eighty, unlikely to betray; above ninety, they obey solely."
Helian Zheng delighted in this new toy. He appeared before Bai Xi and found her true-feeling value was zero. He left furious and sealed her chambers.
He had already recalled Ning Wuyuan. If Ning Wuyuan's loyalty scored below fifty, Helian Zheng planned to keep him in the capital forever. Tomorrow he would check other ministers' loyalty values.
The system wiped an unseen sweat. That Cold-Palace force had a dangerous sense of irony.
Helian Zheng then visited other concubines — none scored above fifty. His mood soured. He thought, then, of the Cold Palace's Lin Guiren and the Noble Consort. Without hesitation he went.
Ning Zhiqing grew pale when Helian Zheng suddenly appeared. She remembered how Axin had told her not to peek at certain memorials and hurriedly hid the papers. Had Axin known he would come?
He stared at Ning Zhiqing, lips pressed. He queried the system about her score: Eighty-nine? The system hastily fabricated a flattering tale — it was almost comical how badly it was being toyed with.
Helian Zheng's gaze softened toward Ning Zhiqing. He smiled in a way that made her blood run cold. If Ning Wuyuan is loyal, I will keep her as Consort, he thought. He checked the thin Axin beside her — seventy-five. He muttered that he had never expected two women to seem so true to him.
Axin bowed her head and smiled.
When Helian Zheng left, Ning Zhiqing gripped Axin's hand and panted, "You frightened me to death. Did his illness flare up? He stared at me, then smiled — terrible."
Three months later, the general who had guarded the frontier, Ning Wuyuan, returned.