Losing One's Way

"This... is still quite difficult. It's not that I don't want to approve it for you." He let out a helpless sigh. "Princess, perhaps you should think carefully—who have you offended recently?"

"I am merely following orders." He shook his head and said with feeling, "I have no choice in the matter. I hope you can understand, Your Highness."

Since he put it that way, Zhou Yao's suspicions were confirmed.

Who else could she have offended recently?

By dragging the Qi and Zhao families down to save Qi Yanhan, she had effectively severed the Crown Prince's left and right arms. It was undoubtedly him blocking the official kiln application this time.

"I called you here today, Lord Zhu, simply to make something clear." Zhou Yao picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea. "This realm still belongs to the King. The Crown Prince is merely assisting the King in governing it."

"As subjects, you should naturally pledge loyalty to the King." Her tone carried a hint of menace.

Zhou Yao looked at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Golden Curtain Terrace was established by the King's own decree, backed by the court. If a trivial approval from a fourth-rank official were to delay matters of importance..."

She released her grip on the colored glaze cup she was holding. In an instant, it fell from her hand, shattered against the ground, and scattered into pieces across the floor—a sight so forlorn it was pitiful to behold.

"If a porcelain cup falls, it still has a chance to preserve itself. But if a colored glaze cup falls from a height, it lacks both a sturdy shell and the strength to save itself. In the end, it can only meet a miserable end."

She shifted her gaze from the shattered glaze on the ground to Lord Zhu, then picked up another cup from the table and extended it to him. "What do you think, my lord?"

"A wise man adapts to circumstances, Lord Zhu." Zhou Yao emphasized each word heavily, her threat unmistakable.

"Think it over carefully, and then give me your answer about whom you truly wish to serve."

"If not, I will certainly... report truthfully to my father the King, saying that Lord Zhu has been utterly devoted in his allegiance to..." Zhou Yao noticed Lord Zhu's hands trembling, beads of nervous sweat forming on his forehead.

He raised a shaky hand and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. Then he rose and clasped his hands in salute. "This official naturally serves the King."

With that said, he accepted the cup Zhou Yao offered with both hands. "The approval documents for the kilns will be delivered this afternoon."

"Much obliged, Lord Zhu." Seeing him so amenable, Zhou Yao wore a satisfied expression as she regarded him.

In her heart, though, she was calculating other matters.

This incident, she feared, amounted to a formal declaration of war against the Crown Prince. To outsiders, it must seem like she—Zhou Yao—was an ant trying to shake a tree, utterly laughable.

"Ling'er, see Lord Zhu out."

———

Today was the day Elder Qi and Elder Zhao were to be executed.

Since she had promised Zhao Wenhua she would protect him, she naturally had to show her face.

At noon, Zhou Yao arrived at the execution grounds. Today she wore a crimson robe and elaborate headdress adorned with gold hairpins, the Ninth Princess token fastened at her waist, and eight-treasure colored glaze beads wrapped around her wrist—the standard princess attire mandated by the court.

When she descended from the carriage, her entourage was considerable, drawing noticeable attention outside the palace.

But that was precisely the effect Zhou Yao wanted. She intended to attract notice; the grander the spectacle, the better.

As the carriage passed through the crowd, Zhou Yao could even hear the common folk whispering beside the road: "Which noble is this from the palace? If it's a consort, her rank must be quite high, don't you think?"

"Oh, what do you know? Can't you see the procession? That's clearly a princess of the palace."

"Ah, a princess! No wonder the entourage is so grand. Could it be that the one on the platform... holds high rank?"

Zhou Yao paid no attention to the chatter.

Once the carriage came to a halt, she was helped down by her attendants and walked directly to the chief official's side.

"With Prime Minister Qi confined to his residence, and Elder Qi being executed as an elder of the family, it would be a breach of propriety for the younger members of the Qi clan not to attend. Today, I shall observe the sentence on his behalf."

"I trust you, my lord... to carry out justice without bias." As she spoke, her gaze swept over Elder Qi kneeling on the ground, his face twisted with resentment and fury.

"The Ninth Princess is truly filial and virtuous. Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have rarely been reconciled. My condolences, Princess."

The chief official sighed, genuinely believing that Zhou Yao, as a princess, was grieving for Elder Qi but had chosen righteousness over family for the sake of the state.

"Lord Zhang, no need to concern yourself with me. Please proceed." Zhou Yao took her seat in the upper position of the viewing stand, while her personal maid Ling'er was conspicuously absent.

Ling'er had been dispatched by Zhou Yao early that morning to find Zhao Wenhua.

She had told Zhao Wenhua to go along with the escort for now and wait for an opportunity to be transferred back to Chang'an. Until then, he was to lay low in Lingnan and make no moves.

Elder Qi, kneeling below, let out a cold snort and suddenly rose to his feet, cursing at Zhou Yao: "Stupid woman! How dare you meddle in state affairs? If not for you—"

Before he could finish, the guards forced him back down to his knees.

"Your Majesty! You have heeded this woman's slanderous words today, and it will bring endless disaster in the days to come! Your Majesty!!"

"My father the King has been wise his entire life, yet now Elder Qi dares to slander him with reckless words. Defaming the sovereign is a crime punishable by death!" Zhou Yao swept her long sleeve and barked sternly, "The sentence should be carried out immediately!"

She turned her back, unwilling to witness the scene, but the sound of a blade cutting through the air reached her ears. Elder Qi's head fell, blood spattering the ground.

Those two had wielded power for half their lives, only to meet such an end in their old age. Zhou Yao couldn't say what she felt.

But they had to die. And the Crown Prince—he too must die. It was an indispensable step on her path to the throne.

"Such a bloody spectacle... If the Ninth Princess wishes..." Lord Zhang had walked up beside Zhou Yao.

Zhou Yao didn't take the bait. Instead, she turned and asked about something else.

"I recall that Lord Zhang has a daughter who entered the palace and was greatly favored by my father in years past. I've spent so much time outside the palace lately that I've lost track of her. Might Lord Zhang know of her whereabouts?"

Lord Zhang's daughter was the consort once beloved by the King—the very one who had brought about the deaths of everyone at Nine Kilns.

Now that someone wanted to reopen that old case, she would gladly play along.

Lord Zhang cleared his throat awkwardly. "Thank you for your concern, Ninth Princess. My daughter was unworthy and lacked the fortune to serve His Majesty. Not long ago, she hanged herself in the palace..."

"Hanged herself?" Zhou Yao frowned and looked back at Lord Zhang. "My apologies, I didn't know..."

Her words were cut off by Lord Zhang. "It's no matter. My daughter was foolish enough to heed the words of treacherous men, used as a pawn without realizing it. I raised such a rebellious child—evil begets evil. I accept my share of the blame."

"Lord Zhang..."

Zhou Yao didn't know how to console him. In the brief time she'd spent with him, it was clear he was an upright and incorruptible official.

The story, in essence, was that the once-favored consort had become a discarded pawn of power. A woman's death, merely a piece in the game of politics and the interests of petty men. In the end, she had been left to die by white silk.

Being at the center of the vortex of power—how hard was it to protect oneself?

Zhou Yao, too, had once been a sacrifice to power. It was to defy that fate that she had set foot on this path of no return.

Now, for the sake of power, she too had made others into sacrifices.

At that moment, Zhou Yao wondered: what difference was there between her and those she had once despised?

There might be a difference.

But she also felt as though she had lost her way.

What had her original purpose been?

To secure power for women—freedom, a path to survival. To bring peace, prosperity, and stability to the common people.

The vows sounded noble, but the obstacles were many. They couldn't be achieved in a single moment or with a single slogan.

Elder Qi said she meddled in state affairs and would bring endless disaster. Then she would prove him wrong—to him, to her father, to the people of the realm.

Zhou Yao didn't know how she had left the execution grounds, nor when she had returned to Golden Curtain Terrace.

The only thing she was certain of was this: women must be educated and broaden their horizons. Not just the daughters of nobles—ordinary families' children too should be able to read and study.

The approval documents for the kilns did arrive at Golden Curtain Terrace that afternoon. The moment she got them, she immediately had people begin work on the new kilns.

Time had passed swiftly recently. The perfume sales were extraordinarily popular, and with the daily income from custom glaze commissions, Zhou Yao's private coffers were filling up quickly.

Educating women was not merely a slogan. Zhou Yao wanted to find a location, hire a private tutor, and let ordinary women learn to read and write.

It was impossible—and unnecessary—to expect them all to master poetry and prose. She simply wanted them to read and recognize characters without difficulty, to have their own thoughts, and not be confined to the inner courtyard or beholden to a single man.

She spent a long time in her study, marking out several locations on the map of Chang'an that she favored for establishing a Women's Academy.

She dispatched some of the more capable, well-educated women from Golden Curtain Terrace to those locations to negotiate land deeds and rents.

The grand opening of Fragrant Orchid Pavilion was set for tomorrow, and Zhou Yao had already asked Ling'er to prepare her attire for the occasion.

"Your Highness..."

A faint but familiar voice sounded from outside the window. Zhou Yao knew that voice well.

Not long ago, she had acted impulsively and indulged herself for its owner's sake.

Zhou Yao rose and walked to face the figure reflected on the windowpane.

"Qi Yanhan." As soon as she spoke, her voice trembled involuntarily.

He seemed to let out a soft laugh, his tone gentle as he said, "I heard from Duyun that Your Highness spent your entire fortune to plead with the King on my behalf."

Even through the window, Zhou Yao could imagine the pleased, smug look on Qi Yanhan's face, his fox-like eyes brimming with affection.

"What? Did you think your life was too cheap?" Zhou Yao looked at his silhouette, somewhat dazed, wondering how his wounds were, whether any lingering issues remained.

"No, it's just unexpected."

"Unexpected that Your Highness would care about my life, and would spend your fortune for my sake... You, who love money so dearly, how could you..."

Zhou Yao chuckled softly. "I never thought you—so afraid of death and so calculating—would have such a rash moment either."

"Was it foolish?"

"Not foolish." Outside the door, Qi Yanhan was also gazing seriously at her silhouette, speaking with sincerity: "I would give everything for Your Highness. That has never been an empty promise."