There were never any true secrets in the imperial palace.
On this night, the various unusual disturbances in Jiaofang Palace had already alarmed the consorts throughout the inner palace. They had quietly dispatched servants to gather information, but Jiaofang Palace was surrounded layer upon layer by Imperial Guards, the security airtight — no one dared approach even half a step. For the moment, no one could make out what had happened inside.
Countless people lay completely sleepless through the night.
Wei Jieyu was among them.
She had tossed and turned the entire night. The moment the sky began to lighten, she rose and dressed.
With no appetite for breakfast, she hurried through a quick toilette and went to Jiaofang Palace.
Arriving outside the gates, she happened to meet several other consorts who had likewise come to pay their morning respects. These women had clearly also come early in hopes of catching word of something — upon seeing Wei Jieyu, they immediately gathered around her.
“Elder Sister Wei, something must have happened in Jiaofang Palace — the doors have been closed this whole time.” Noble Lady Wang put on an air of worried concern: “Just a moment ago I worked up the courage to have someone knock at the door, and the one who answered was not a servant of Jiaofang Palace at all, but one of the Emperor’s own guards. He was even carrying a long sword — it gave me such a fright.”
She said she had been frightened, yet her eyes gleamed with barely suppressed excitement.
Though no one knew the specifics, one thing was certain: something had gone wrong with Empress Xu. Otherwise, why would the Emperor have Imperial Guards seal off Jiaofang Palace in the middle of the night?
Another consort sighed and furrowed her brow, picking up the thread: “The guard at the door only said that the Emperor was resting in Jiaofang Palace today and that everyone was excused from the morning greeting. Anything beyond that, he refused to say another word. My heart is churning — I can’t feel settled about any of it.”
“Indeed — when has the Emperor ever brought guards when he stayed the night in Jiaofang Palace?”
“Elder Sister Wei is the most favored by the Emperor — why not go ahead and knock to ask?”
Wei Jieyu had no intention of making herself the one to stick her neck out. She tugged the corner of her lips into a slight response: “Since the Emperor has specifically excused us from the morning greeting, if we were to go and ask anyway, would that not be asking for embarrassment? I think we should each return to our own quarters and wait for word.”
With that, she was the first to turn and leave.
Noble Lady Wang pursed her lips at Wei Jieyu’s retreating figure, but was powerless to do otherwise.
Since the situation inside Jiaofang Palace remained unclear, it was best to sit back and observe how things developed.
That wait stretched through half a day.
The consorts had no mind for anything else, and kept sending people back to gather intelligence from outside Jiaofang Palace.
Before long, the scouts returned with noticeably altered expressions, reporting: there was indeed movement inside Jiaofang Palace, with screams of agony breaking out at intervals. The expressionless guards had been dragging out a number of long, mat-wrapped shapes, and the ground over which they had been dragged still bore considerable traces of blood.
The consorts grew more alarmed with each detail they heard.
The Emperor was carrying out a wholesale slaughter inside Jiaofang Palace.
But what on earth had happened?
With the situation still unclear and the Emperor at the height of his thunderous fury, everyone understood the wisdom of self-preservation even as they buzzed with bewildered speculation — before long, they all recalled their watchers and withdrew them.
Wei Jieyu waited anxiously through half the day. When she heard this news, she was silent for a long while.
The palace women around her dared not disturb her. Yet at this very moment, someone had come to Lingbo Palace.
Were it anyone else, the women might have thought to turn the visitor away. But since the caller was Imperial Physician Wei, that was a different matter entirely.
One of the palace women steeled herself and went in to report: “Your Ladyship, Imperial Physician Wei has come to request an audience.”
Wei Jieyu came back to herself at once and said: “Let Imperial Physician Wei in.” Given Wei Yan’s nature, for him to come specifically at this hour, he must have something urgent.
Wei Yan came in shortly after. His customarily composed and unhurried face held a peculiar glimmer — as though something that had been suppressed and weighted down for a long while had suddenly lifted and been released.
Wei Jieyu noticed a flicker of puzzlement in her heart, and asked quietly: “A’Yan, why have you come to me at this hour? Is there something urgent?”
Wei Yan gave a soft affirmation.
The palace women had long since withdrawn. With only the two siblings remaining in the room, there was no need for roundabout speech.
“Elder Sister, Empress Xu is finished this time — completely and utterly.” Wei Yan’s very first words hit like a thunderclap.
Wei Jieyu heard these words with a rather complex and mixed expression: “A’Yan, Jiaofang Palace has been sealed since last night. The Emperor has been inside all day. No one knows what actually happened in there. How can you be so certain?”
Wei Yan looked steadily at Wei Jieyu, then said, skirting around the details: “I do know something of the inside circumstances. In the days ahead, the palace will certainly not be peaceful. Whatever you hear, Elder Sister, do not get involved — stay here in Lingbo Palace each day.”
Even without Wei Yan saying so, Wei Jieyu already knew this was the wisest course. But even so —
“A’Yan, are you keeping a great many things hidden from me?” Wei Jieyu furrowed her brow, her voice low and solemn: “We are siblings who depend on one another in this palace. If something were to happen to you, I would have no reason to go on living.”
Wei Yan’s expression shifted with emotion, yet he refused to yield: “Elder Sister, please stop pressing me. Knowing too much is not necessarily good for you. You need only know that from this day forward, Empress Xu will never again command the influence she once had.”
Wei Jieyu stared at Wei Yan.
Wei Yan met her gaze steadily.
Brother and sister held each other’s eyes for a long while. In the end it was Wei Jieyu who conceded first, sighing: “Very well, very well — since you won’t tell me, there is nothing I can do about it.”
Wei Yan’s heart softened, and he said quietly: “It is not that I am unwilling to tell you — it is that this matter is far too consequential. The Emperor would also be greatly displeased to have anyone know the true circumstances. The more you know, the more likely you are to let something slip later, and that would bring the Emperor’s suspicion down upon you.”
To live well in the palace, knowing too much was never an advantage.
Wei Jieyu was quiet for a moment, then suddenly ventured: “Was it that Empress Xu had summoned a eunuch to her bed, and the Emperor discovered it?”
Wei Yan neither nodded nor denied it.
Wei Jieyu had guessed correctly, yet her face held little joy — instead a trace of bitter smile surfaced: “You are right. A humiliation like this is something no ordinary man could bear, let alone the Emperor. This time, even if Empress Xu had a thousand stratagems, none of them would be of any use.”
“One can only pity the palace maids and eunuchs of Jiaofang Palace — who knows how many of them will die unjustly because of this.”
As she spoke, she suddenly thought of Ling Jingshu. Wei Jieyu’s heart gave a sudden lurch, and she asked urgently: “I wonder — how is A’Shu now?”
Wei Yan’s gaze dimmed, a note of helplessness entering his voice: “She and several other female officials have all been imprisoned in the inner prison. Her life is not in danger, but she will not escape some hardship.”
“Being locked in the inner prison is better than remaining in Jiaofang Palace.” Wei Jieyu offered some comfort: “The Emperor is at the height of his fury right now — there is no telling how many people he will kill before it begins to subside. Inside the prison, at least she is safer.”
Wei Yan exhaled a long breath, his eyes filled with resolve: “Now is not the time to act rashly. In a few days, I will find a way to get her out of the inner prison.”
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