Chapter 22 — The Secret the Empress Dowager Concealed

His hand seemed to reach out, yet he dared not complete the gesture. The Emperor commanded the entire world, yet in this fleeting moment, he was nothing more than a man who had just realized he still possessed a younger sister. I handed him the scroll of white silk.

"Your Majesty, please, examine the eastern wall first."

Emperor Yuan Sheng took it, his voice dropping to a low, heavy register. "Very well." Xiao Zhi stepped forward, personally prying at the eastern wall. Behind the third brick, a heavy iron box was indeed concealed. Inside lay a collection of ledgers, secret correspondence, and official seals documenting the illicit exchanges between the Shen clan and the inner court. The evidence was undeniable. The Empress Dowager collapsed to the floor, the regal mask of authority slipping from her face as if drained of all vitality.

"Impossible."

"It cannot be."

Shen Huai Nian, at long last, could no longer maintain his mocking smile. Emperor Yuan Sheng flipped through a confidential letter, his gaze turning as cold and sharp as frozen blades.

"Shen Huai Nian, and you, Empress Dowager of the Shen clan, you conspired to murder the late Empress, falsified military reports, attempted to assassinate me, and framed the Marquis of Zhenbei."

He enunciated each syllable with rhythmic, chilling precision.

"These crimes are beyond redemption."

Shen Huai Nian suddenly raised his head to stare at me. "Ming Duong, do you truly wish to acknowledge him? Do you think the imperial palace is such a beautiful place? Once you step inside, you will never walk out again."

I met his gaze steadily. "Who said I wanted to go?"

He froze. Even Emperor Yuan Sheng was stunned. I continued, "The late Empress wanted me to live, not to be confined to yet another golden cage." I turned to look at my parents. "I am her daughter, but I am also the daughter raised by the Xie family."

Xie Xiaoman immediately rushed over to wrap her arms around me. "Sister, do not go."

Xie Wencheng sat on the floor, his leg throbbing with pain, his face pale, yet he did not forget to nod in agreement. "She is right. If you leave, who will scold me?"

My mother’s eyes brimmed with red. "Wherever you wish to go, I will accept it."

My father rubbed his nose awkwardly and turned to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I once joked that my eldest daughter was found by the roadside. Looking at it now, it seems the statement holds some truth."

Emperor Yuan Sheng was silent. My father added, "But I raised what I found with great care."

The Emperor looked at him, and suddenly, a laugh broke free. As he laughed, his eyes grew moist. "Xie Guihong."

"Your servant is here."

"The case regarding the treason of the Marquis of Zhenbei is hereby annulled."

My father dropped to his knees. "I thank Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuan Sheng looked at my mother. "My Lady must have been terrified."

My mother replied coolly, "It was manageable, certainly lighter than the day I married Xie Guihong." My father blinked in surprise. "My Lady, after all these years, you still remember that?"

"I will remember it for the rest of my life."

Xie Xiaoman piped up in a small voice, "Does this mean I am finally being entered into the family registry?" My father slapped his forehead. "Yes! As soon as we get home! I shall write your name in the largest characters possible!"

Xie Wencheng quickly interjected, "And what about the questions regarding my own parentage..." My mother shot him a sharp look, and he immediately corrected himself. "Actually, I feel there is absolutely no need to investigate that further."

Emperor Yuan Sheng finally surrendered to a genuine, hearty laugh. Even Xiao Zhi turned away, the corners of his mouth lifting in a rare, faint smile. In the aftermath, the Empress Dowager was stripped of her rank and confined to the cold palace. Shen Huai Nian and his cohorts were delivered to the Ministry of Justice and, three days later, were executed in the public square. The officials who had fabricated the military reports and embezzled provisions for the late Empress’s ruin were all brought to justice.

The first thing my father did upon returning home was to inscribe Xie Xiaoman’s name into the family register. He wrote it both large and remarkably crooked. Xie Xiaoman stared at it for a long time. "Father, why does my name look like it was chewed on by a dog?"

My father answered with grave seriousness, "That is the mark of fatherly love."

Xie Wencheng, leaning on his crutches, remarked, "That is some very ugly fatherly love." My mother seized a feather duster. "The two of you, keep your mouths shut right now!"

Some time later, Emperor Yuan Sheng paid a personal visit to the Marquis’s estate. He brought no official retinue, only Eunuch Chang and Xiao Zhi. He stood in the courtyard and looked at me. "Ming Duong, I wish to grant you the title of Princess Changning."

I thought for a moment. "Does it come with a stipend?"

Eunuch Chang nearly burst into laughter. Emperor Yuan Sheng nodded. "It does."

"Does it come with an estate?"

"Yes."

"And I would not have to live inside the palace?"

The Emperor looked at me for a long time. "You would not."

I bowed deeply. "Then this subject-sister thanks you for your grace."

Hearing the words "subject-sister," his eyes grew red once more. I felt a slight panic; I was not particularly skilled at comforting emperors. I took a piece of osmanthus cake from the table and offered it to him. "Would you like some?"

He accepted it. Beside me, Xiao Zhi watched, asking in a low voice, "Is this how you always comfort people, so casually?"

I looked at him. "As long as it works."

Emperor Yuan Sheng took a bite of the cake and nodded. "It works."

I smiled. Warm sunlight flooded the courtyard of the Marquis’s estate. My mother stood under the veranda, scolding my father for his terrible handwriting in the family register. Xie Xiaoman hugged the pristine, new record and giggled. Xie Wencheng leaned on his crutches, reciting legal codes while sneaking bites of snacks between sentences. Emperor Yuan Sheng sat at the stone table, looking much like an elder brother who had arrived many years too late.

And finally, I understood. I am Xie Ming Duong. I have been hunted, schemed against, treated as a key, and played as a pawn. But in the end, I survived. And I am living, quite vibrantly, in the light of my own choosing.