Shen Ling and Zhuang Xinan ate their fill and spent a very pleasant afternoon together. But once evening fell, it was time for them to part. Shen Ling’s nights belonged to Li Sui, after all. The two parted reluctantly, agreeing to meet here again tomorrow afternoon.
Shen Ling didn’t like being waited on. After moving to the emperor’s bedchamber, he left Caiwei at Luhua Palace to handle its affairs, while he ran around the palace by himself.
So when he ran into Jiang Xinbai and the other two at the end of a path, all wearing hostile expressions, he found himself rather outnumbered and alone.
Shen Ling first considered how he might take on all three without getting hurt, then realized that with his current level of skill, it probably wasn’t possible.
No matter. If he couldn’t beat them, couldn’t he at least outrun them? He had always been quick to know when to cut his losses.
Just as he was about to meet Jiang Xinbai and the others, Shen Ling immediately turned around, slipped into a grove as though nothing had happened, then bolted as fast as he could.
The last time he’d seen them was at the hunting grounds. Jiang Xinbai had warned him of a bloody calamity, and afterward he really had been kidnapped. He hadn’t been injured, but he’d seen plenty of gruesome sights and was scared unconscious. Thinking back now, Jiang Xinbai and the others were on Chancellor He’s side to begin with; perhaps they’d known something in advance. Shen Ling couldn’t tell whether that warning had been well-intentioned or not, but he knew they weren’t sincere friends of his.
Shen Mei had played a major role in bringing down the He family, putting him at odds with Jiang Xinbai and the others by nature. Maybe these people couldn’t leave the palace and had decided to take their frustration out on him.
Thanks to all the exploring he’d done around the palace with Zhuang Xinan over the summer—not just the school holidays, but the whole season—Shen Ling quickly lost the three of them.
He squeezed through a narrow, broken door and brushed the cobwebs off himself, feeling rather pleased. He was a genius at evasive maneuvers.
The only problem was that he’d ended up in some unknown palace, where the weeds were nearly waist-high. As the sky darkened, he felt around for a moment, then worried there might be snakes in the grass. So he simply pried open a window and went through the building instead.
The moment he stepped into the deserted palace, Shen Ling sensed something was off.
The place was abandoned, yet everything was neatly arranged. There was even bedding on the bed, though it was covered in a thick layer of dust. It looked as if no one had lived there for a long time.
There were many books and copybooks on the desk, stacked up in neat piles. The paper had grown brittle. Shen Ling carefully opened one, but the ink had faded so much that it was hard to make out.
It was probably once the residence of some discarded concubine from the Cold Palace. Shen Ling pressed his palms together and murmured, “Please forgive me for disturbing you,” then climbed out the other side and restored the window so it fit snugly back into place.
Thinking it was nearly time for the evening meal and he shouldn’t keep Li Sui waiting, he hurried along—only to spot Jiang Xinbai on the path he had to take to reach the emperor’s bedchamber.
Shen Ling: “……” They were lying in wait for him!
He turned to leave, but Wang Yuanli and Chen Mingyue appeared behind him, blocking his retreat.
They clearly meant trouble.
Shen Ling took two steps back as the three closed in around him. He surveyed the terrain, deciding that if they attacked, he’d scramble up the eaves, leap onto a rooftop, and shout for His Majesty to save him.
Jiang Xinbai and the others drew closer, each of them looking aggressive and hostile. Shen Ling edged into a corner and was just about to climb when Jiang Xinbai waved a hand—and dropped to his knees with a thump.
Shen Ling: “…………”
Chen Mingyue followed right after him. In an instant, only Wang Yuanli and Shen Ling were left staring at each other.
Shen Ling: “?”
Wang Yuanli: “…Should I kneel too?”
Chen Mingyue: “Hurry up and kneel!”
So all three of them dropped to their knees in a circle.
Shen Ling instantly felt as if his life had been shortened. When someone was suddenly nice to you for no reason, they either had an ulterior motive—or, at the very least, wanted something from you.
He wasn’t falling for it!
Before Jiang Xinbai could say a word, Shen Ling dropped to his knees too.
The four of them knelt in a circle on the palace path, heads facing inward. It was quite symmetrical.
Jiang Xinbai stared blankly. “…Why are you kneeling?”
Shen Ling said shyly, “You can kneel while you talk, and I’ll kneel while I listen. That way, we’re on equal footing.”
Jiang Xinbai: “…Get up.”
Shen Ling: “You all get up too.”
The four of them tried to help one another up, but no one was willing to be the first to stand. They shoved each other around in a circle like they were fighting, pushing and shoving until Jiang Xinbai finally ran out of strength. He glared at Shen Ling as if utterly exasperated with him. “You really are…”
Shen Ling: “I know. I’m an idiot.”
Jiang Xinbai: “…”
He hated fools most of all, especially the sort who fancied themselves kind, generous, compassionate, and broad-minded. A person had to fight, grab, and seize what they wanted in this world, repay every slight, and make people fear and dread them. Only then could they cow the petty schemers and obtain the power that was theirs by right. Softhearted, kind things were weaknesses, and weaknesses ought to be cast aside.
Someone like Shen Ling—dumb, foolish, and so insincere—was nothing but weaknesses from head to toe. Jiang Xinbai truly couldn’t understand what the emperor saw in him. No, wait. The emperor might just be attracted to his face.
At that thought, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
At least he had his looks going for him. He wasn’t completely useless.
“Shen Ling, do you want to climb higher?”
Jiang Xinbai’s words went in one ear and out the other, turning into a huge question mark that floated over Shen Ling’s head. “Huh?”
How much higher was he supposed to climb? Any higher and he’d be perched over His Majesty’s head, throwing his weight around.
The three young men across from him watched him, their expressions all different, but every face clearly stamped with ambition. “You’ve already made it into the palace. Don’t you want to try for the highest position?”
Shen Ling was horrified. “Are you planning a rebellion?!”
He jumped up and turned to run, but Jiang Xinbai was quick enough to cling to his lower leg. “Don’t talk nonsense! I mean, Shen Ling, do you want to be empress?”
Shen Ling: “?”
Jiang Xinbai looked up at him, tempting him. “As empress, you’d be second only to the Emperor and above everyone else. Ruan Zhanxue and Zhuang Xinan would both have to rank below you. Your Shen family’s status would rise along with yours. Shen Mei would become the emperor’s brother-in-law, and he might even be made a marquis or a minister. Besides, don’t you like His Majesty? As empress, you could do whatever you liked with the palace concubines. No one could outrank you when it came to attending His Majesty. And you could kill anyone you disliked!”
Shen Ling strode away. “No.” He didn’t like killing people, and he hadn’t planned to stay in the palace forever. He still remembered the grand promises Shen Mei had made him—he’d said he would try to find a way to get him out of the palace.
Seeing that Shen Ling wasn’t swayed, Jiang Xinbai grabbed him and held on tight, speaking urgently. “Think carefully. If you don’t climb higher, plenty of people will. Your current status, favor, and power—everything you have was given to you by His Majesty. The moment you lose his favor, you’ll have nothing. Do you want to go back to your old days of wandering without a home?”
Shen Ling thought it over, then smiled. “So what? If I lose His Majesty’s favor, does that mean I’m no longer Shen Ling? I’m still me, and I have plenty of things of my own. What about you? You came to ask me for something today. What is it you want from me?”
Jiang Xinbai froze.
He’d always thought of Shen Ling as an idiot, someone he could trick into becoming a pawn with a few flattering words or a little poison in his ear. He’d never considered that Shen Ling might use his brain too. Then came the shame and anger of having his intentions exposed. “Don’t forget how you came to be favored! If we hadn’t worked behind the scenes to help you win His Majesty’s favor, you’d be no different from us! His Majesty only wants a substitute for Xie Zhen. You can serve that purpose, but so can someone else, if they’re more like him!”
He expected Shen Ling to panic, to suffer, to become anxious. But Shen Ling only bent down to pry Jiang Xinbai’s fingers loose, smiling as he said, “I know my place. Whom His Majesty loves or likes is his business, not mine.”
At this point, Shen Ling only wanted to live—to live, and only then find a way out. Love, affection, chastity—none of it mattered.
“You know that, and you still won’t make an effort? Emperors are fickle and heartless. You’re nothing but a little bird kept by someone in power. If you have no power of your own, then once you lose his favor, you’re as good as dead!” Jiang Xinbai’s brows drew tight. “Since time immemorial, there hasn’t been a single exception. Only power lasts forever! Men can’t have children to inherit their place. If you don’t seize some power for yourself, then once your looks fade and his love cools—or a new favorite enters the palace—”
“If you have power, does that mean you can live forever?” Shen Ling cut off his argument. “Look further ahead: dynasties rise and fall, and even the grandest empire will eventually collapse. Look closer: Chancellor He wielded so much power, and he still died just like that.”
Jiang Xinbai was speechless.
“I fought for His Majesty’s favor because I wanted to survive. If I can survive in the palace, then I’ll do my best here. If I can live outside it, I’d be perfectly happy to be a peddler or an ordinary commoner.” Shen Ling looked at Jiang Xinbai. “I never had any grand ambitions. I’m afraid you’ve picked the wrong person to make an alliance with.”
Jiang Xinbai felt as if he were looking at a stiff, lifeless salted fish.1Translator’s Note: “Salted fish” (咸鱼, xiányú) is a Chinese internet slang term for someone who is passive, unambitious, or content to remain idle rather than strive for success. The image comes from a salted fish lying still and lifeless.
He was stunned by Shen Ling’s lack of ambition, and yet found some sense in what he’d said. A person only lived a few dozen years—did he really have to fight over fame and fortune? Bah! What a loser! If he didn’t struggle for power, would he just grow old and die in the palace?
Jiang Xinbai was about to keep arguing when a cold voice suddenly rang out in the distance. “What are you doing?”
Everyone looked up in unison. Li Sui was seated in a sedan chair, slowly approaching from the end of the palace path. He had just come from court. The strings of his crown hung in front of his forehead, obscuring his face. His robes were as black as the night, making him look like a billowing black cloud rolling toward them.
Jiang Xinbai immediately slackened his grip on Shen Ling’s arm. The three of them prostrated themselves on the ground and called in unison, “Long live Your Majesty!”
Now free, Shen Ling let out a long breath and immediately ran to the emperor. “Your Majesty!”
Li Sui looked Shen Ling over from head to toe, checking that nothing was torn or disheveled. Then his gaze shifted to the three people kneeling on the ground. In a cold voice, he said, “Why are you grabbing and tugging at each other on the palace path? It’s unbecoming.”
Jiang Xinbai broke out in a sweat, unsure how to explain.
Shen Ling answered casually, “We’re old friends. We ran into each other today and were just playing around.”
“Playing around?” Li Sui glanced at them, then looked back at Shen Ling and held out a hand. “What were you playing?”
As soon as Shen Ling placed his hand in Li Sui’s palm, the emperor pulled him into his arms. Seated in the sedan chair, Shen Ling smiled with innocent delight. “We were seeing who was stronger.”
Li Sui raised an eyebrow. “And who won?”
Shen Ling puffed out his chest proudly. “Naturally, I did!”
Then he changed the subject. “This afternoon, the young marquis and I roasted chestnuts. Your Majesty, guess what? The chestnuts actually exploded!”
Li Sui hummed, rubbing Shen Ling’s fingers between his own. “Were you hurt?”
“Of course not. The chestnuts just got burnt. Otherwise, I definitely would’ve brought some back for us to eat together…”
……
Li Sui casually lifted a finger, and the sedan chair began moving. It carried him away until he was out of sight. Only then did Jiang Xinbai and the others get up from the ground, still shaken.
