Broken shards of porcelain flew across the room as the teapot and cups went crashing to the ground. Huang Nansheng waved his hand and the frightened attendants hurriedly backed out of the room, grateful to be allowed to leave. No one wanted to hang around while the fifth prince was in such a stormy mood.

"Ru-an, calm down. Isn't this better for you? At least we now know unequivocally that Du Zhenghuan isn't the king's son," Nansheng said.

The fifth prince slammed his fist against the table, eyes still blazing with rage. He had thought to head over to the imperial study early to accompany his father for the memorial ceremony, knowing the importance that the king accorded to the event. He had not expected to overhear an earth-shattering secret that suddenly made many things crystal clear. Now he understood why the king favoured the Shadow Lord so much—not because Du Zhenghuan was his son, but because Du Zhenghuan was the son of the woman he loved.

You would give the crown to that woman's son over your own sons?

There mere thought was incomprehensible.

How could his father be such a lovesick fool, that he would willingly pass over all this power and authority to someone who was not of his own blood? Crown Prince Shunzhi had died so many years ago, and with his death, he had already surrendered his right to the throne.

"He is not the king's son, but he is more than that," Ru-an hissed. It seemed that he had underestimated the threat posed by Zhenghuan. From what he had heard, it was obvious that King Shunde had every intention of naming Zhenghuan as heir, even though there was already a crown prince. He scoffed, wondering what Ru-quan would think if he knew the truth.

"Didn't Lady Li say that Du Zhenghuan has no interest in becoming king? Also, that mother and son pair have kept this a secret for so many years, surely that means they really have no intention of coming back to the palace. No one knows that he's the former crown prince's son!"

Ru-an frowned, tapping his index finger against the table thoughtfully. What Nansheng said was true, but he would rather err on the side of caution. It could not be left up to the Shadow Lord and the former crown princess to decide whether or not they wished to waltz back and snatch the crown. That crown belonged to him and him only. He was not even intending to let his own brothers have it, what more a long-lost cousin that he would never acknowledge.

He walked over to his desk and quickly wrote down a short coded message. Nansheng joined him, peering at the letter.

"You can't be serious," Nansheng exclaimed in shock. "Ru-an, this will have serious implications. It's not only a matter of assassinating a single person. Many lives will be lost!"

"Some sacrifices are necessary," the prince replied coldly. He folded up the letter and handed it to Nansheng. "Send this out immediately."

"There are other ways to get rid of Du Zhenghuan. We can send assassins? We could even bribe some of the soldiers in his camp to do the deed for us?"

Ru-an shook his head. "He is the Shadow Lord. Do you think it is so easy to assassinate him? Many others have tried and failed. This is the best way to get rid of him without drawing any suspicion to us." He placed a hand on Nansheng's shoulder and said solemnly, "I do not like doing this any more than you do, but a ruler cannot afford to be soft. If anyone is to blame, it's him. He and that mother of his should have taken this secret to the grave, instead of bringing it into the palace."

Nansheng hesitated for a moment, his fingers clutching tightly onto the letter. Eventually, he nodded and left the room to complete his task.

Left alone in the room, Ru-an turned to look out through the window. From his vantage point, he could see the golden roof of the great hall, where the king sat each morning to hold court.

That position can only be mine.

He would not let anyone take it from him. Not Ru-quan. Not Zhenghuan. Not anyone.

#

The memorial ceremony for the late crown prince was a sombre affair, with all the court officials in attendance. Zi-ning stayed by Lady Li's side throughout, accompanying the lady through the various ceremonial rituals led by the abbots and priests. Everything went smoothly, and by late afternoon the memorial was over and the great hall was reset to prepare for the memorial banquet that the king would host in the evening.

Strangely, Zi-ning did not see Zhenghuan throughout the ceremony.

Why was he not there? Had something cropped up that required his urgent attention?

She found herself pondering about this all the way until the start of the banquet, when she had no choice but to engage with small talk with the other women around her since Lady Li had gone to change out of her ceremonial robes. Although they were not present during the memorial itself, families of the court officials were allowed to attend the banquet. Needless to say, many were curious about how Zi-ning came to accompany Lady Li, and many others were green with envy because of it.

"I hear you only got acquainted with Lady Li because your family banished you to Taishan temple," Ouyang Sangya said, the sourness evident in her tone. "Someone sure knows how to ingratiate herself with important people. No wonder the princes are so bewitched by you."

Zi-ning merely smiled. "Bold of you to suggest that Lady Li and the princes are so easily... bewitched," she replied. "This is the royal palace. If I were you, I'd be a little more careful with my words."

Madam Ouyang, who had been sneering by the side while her daughter threw rocks at Zi-ning, immediately realised the danger in what Sangya had said. She quickly grabbed hold of Sangya's arm before the latter had a chance to retaliate, dragging the girl away.

"At least one of them has some common sense," Zi-ning mumbled.

She looked around the hall for familiar faces, but saw none that she wanted to engage with. Zhenzhu's mother had not brought her along for the banquet, which meant that Zi-ning would not have a friend to speak with throughout.

There was still some time before the banquet was due to start, so she decided to wander out of the hall to escape the wagging tongues of all those women. She had spotted Lady Min and Han Meiyan somewhere in the crowd, but they had pretended not to see her and so she had done likewise. No doubt those two would be busy trying to help Meiyan re-establish her reputation, so they would not have any time for her.

She let her feet guide her aimlessly down the familiar long corridors, melancholy setting in as fragments of memories from her painful past intruded into her mind. Beneath her very feet, somewhere below this opulent, glittering façade of the palace, was a dark, festering cell that had been her final home, before they led her off to die. Was there anyone down there right now? And were they guilty—or innocent, like she had been? She bit down hard on her lower lip until she could taste the bitterness of blood in her mouth, letting the anger and injustice steep inside her, reminding her of her cause.

Then she stopped, when the tips of her shoes hit the threshold of an open doorway.

Zi-ning looked up.

The palace's ancestral hall.

How did she end up here? She shook her head and let out a soft sigh. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had not been paying attention to where she was going. Funnily enough, there were no palace guards standing watch at the ancestral hall today, which was strange. Usually there would be, to prevent any unauthorised entry into one of the royal family's most sacred places. In her past life, she had not ever entered the ancestral hall before, because only men of the royal family and women of the king's harem were allowed entry.

Since there's no one around...

Zi-ning stepped in, entering a large, sombre space with a high ceiling, lit by the warm glow of dozens of candles. At a glance, she could see several portraits in front of her, portraits of the former kings of Duan. There were only four kings that had come before King Shunde, but there were five portraits hanging in the hall. The last one belonged to Crown Prince Shunzhi, who had been posthumously granted all the rights of a king by his younger brother.

She walked up to his portrait and frowned.

Shunzhi resembled his brother Shunde in many ways, from the dense, straight brows to the sharp nose bridge and angular jawline, but there was something that stood out and caught her eye. The late crown prince had a clear streak of white running through his hair. Although the portrait showed him with his hair tied up in a neat topknot, there was no mistaking the splash of white along the left side of his head.

It reminded her of someone.

The young man I rescued at Taishan.

That was who Shunzhi reminded her of, if only because of the same streak of white they both had. On hindsight, there might also be a tiny bit of resemblance between the both of them. Was it a coincidence that the injured young man had showed up at Taishan temple, when the former crown princess Lady Li had been residing there? Still staring at the portrait, she tried to recall the interactions she had with the cold, somewhat abrasive boy, wondering whether or not there was more to his identity than met the eye.

What if Crown Prince Shunzhi had a long-lost son that no one knew of? That piece of news would no doubt shake the foundations of the entire royal court, and possibly stir up even more conflict in the already-bloody fight for the throne.

"Han Zi-ning," a voice called out from behind her, "what are you doing here?"