Chapter 2 — The Secret the Empress Dowager Concealed

"Your Majesty, I cannot say for certain whether I am his biological daughter, but it seems there is a matter here worthy of investigation."

My mother promptly fainted. This time, it was a genuine collapse. The Emperor, Yuan Sheng, rubbed his temples with a weary expression.

"Release everyone and postpone the execution."

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, Eunuch Chang brought the jade piece closer, squinting at the reverse side. His complexion turned even worse than before. "Your Majesty, there are carvings on the back of this jade."

Yuan Sheng took the pendant and turned it over. I could not see what was there, but I noticed his fingers freeze. He held the position for a long, agonizing moment. Finally, he lifted his gaze toward me, and his eyes had undergone a chilling transformation.

"Xie Ming Duong."

A lump formed in my throat. "Your subject is here."

Yuan Sheng articulated every word with deliberate weight. "The inscription on the back of this jade is the maiden name of the late Empress."

The mention of the late Empress and her private name struck the air like a thunderclap. As I knelt on the cold ground, my mind began to buzz. My first instinct was not shock, but a desperate desire to interrogate my father. What in the world had he scavenged from the side of the road? The assembled civil and military officials erupted into a murmur of confusion.

"A keepsake of the late Empress?"

"Was the Phoenix Pavilion not burned to the ground all those years ago?"

"How could the daughter of the Xie household possess such an item?"

"Could it be that the treason case involving the Marquis of Zhenbei still holds hidden secrets?"

My father knelt ahead of me, his shoulders trembling violently. At first, it looked like he was sobbing, but knowing him as I did, I was certain he was nine parts suppressing laughter. The Emperor cast a cold, sharp glance over the crowd.

"Silence."

The execution ground fell into an instant, suffocating hush. The Emperor looked down at me. "Xie Ming Duong, do you know the origin of this jade?"

I shook my head truthfully. "I do not."

"Did your father never mention it?"

I glanced at my father. "He told me it was a cheap trinket and warned me not to wear it out and embarrass the family."

My father immediately interjected to save himself. "I was only worried it would attract thieves!"

Yuan Sheng sneered. "Attract thieves?"

My father nodded fervently. "The capital is full of them, Your Majesty. I believe in prevention over cure."

The Minister of Justice’s lip twitched. "Marquis, you have eight guards stationed at your front gate every single day."

My father looked at him. "There are plenty of internal thieves, too."

My mother, having been revived by a servant pressing on her philtrum, heard this and reached for a water dipper held by a bailiff, ready to throw it at him. The bailiff panicked and restrained her. "My Lady, please stay calm!"

My mother cursed indignantly, "That old man is insulting my virtue!" The bailiff tried to reason with her, "But he is doing this to save your son."

My mother grew even angrier. "That is no way to save a son!"

My younger brother whispered, "Mother, can we just stay alive for now and beat him when we get home?" My mother glared at him. "You, shut your mouth. You are also a child of questionable lineage."

My brother immediately straightened his posture. "This son knows his error."

My younger sister sobbed from the side, "What about me? I am not in the family register. Does Mother still acknowledge me?" My mother pulled her into an embrace. "I acknowledge you! Your father is untrustworthy, but I acknowledge you."

Xie Xiaoman wailed even louder. My father muttered quietly from the front, "Not being in the family register really comes in handy when you are trying to save a life."

My mother heard him clearly. "Xie Guihong!"

My father instantly grew solemn. "Your Majesty, I am guilty."

The Emperor looked at him. "You are certainly guilty."

My father pressed his forehead to the ground. "I have deceived the Throne."

My heart tightened. The Emperor asked, "In what way have you deceived me?" My father pondered for a moment. "Earlier, I said my eldest daughter was found by the side of the road."

I was stunned. Was he changing his testimony? My father continued, "In truth, it was not the side of the road." The Emperor’s eyes darkened. "Then where was it?"

My father lifted his head, his voice turning somber and heavy. "Beside the North Slope highway, there was a carriage that had been burned to ashes. Four people were dead inside the wreckage. When I arrived, I heard only crying coming from a ditch filled with snow."

My fingers curled into fists. I had never known any of this. My mother sat in a daze, and my younger sister covered her mouth, stifling a gasp. My brother’s face was as pale as a sheet. My father looked at me, his gaze carrying a rare, profound gravity. "You were in the snow, wrapped in red silk. The outside of the swaddle was stained with blood, but inside, you were still warm."

My chest suddenly felt heavy and bitter. Seventeen years. I had always thought of myself as the cherished eldest daughter of a Marquis, raised in comfort. I used to complain that my father was stingy, that my mother was too strict, that my sister was noisy, and that my brother’s chanting of classic texts sounded like a funeral dirge. But standing here on the execution ground, I realized that my life had been pulled from a pile of snow a long time ago.

The Emperor asked in a low voice, "Why did you not report it?"

My father smiled bitterly. "I did report it."

"To whom?"

"To the Supreme Court."

The Minister of Justice’s expression shifted. The head of the Supreme Court stood among the officials, sweat instantly beading on his temples. The Emperor looked toward him. "Does the Supreme Court have a record of this case?"

The head of the Supreme Court collapsed to his knees. "Your Majesty, there were so many old cases seventeen years ago. I... I need to go back and search the archives."

My father smiled. "You will not find anything."

The head of the Supreme Court looked up in terror.