CHAPTER 43: The End (Part 1)

 

Song Yuanzhi was anxiously waiting for news in the Marquis’s Mansion when she heard the bells tolling from the palace—one, two… up to nine times. Nine was the number of the emperor; these were the death bells for the emperor’s passing.

 

Song Yuanzhi exchanged a glance with Madam Qin. Although both had already anticipated this, hearing the bells sent a wave of unease through their hearts.

 

They had no idea what was happening in the palace.

 

Madam Qin was the first to react, sternly ordering the servants, “Take down all the red lanterns at once and hang white mourning banners. No one is allowed to leave the house, and everyone should focus on their duties. Any disobedience will be met with a beating!”

 

The servants were flustered for a moment, but after hearing Madam Qin’s command, they regained their composure. Some carried ladders, while others fetched white banners, and soon the mansion returned to its usual calm.

 

Song Yuanzhi couldn’t help but praise Madam Qin, “You truly are amazing, Mother!”

 

Madam Qin smiled faintly, her eyes glancing toward the door as she gave another order to a maid: “Send someone to keep watch at the gate. When the Marquis returns, report to me immediately.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Song Yuanzhi frowned, concerned. “I wonder if everything is going smoothly in the palace.”

 

Who would take the throne? Would anyone cause trouble? With Lu Shaoyou still not back, Song Yuanzhi felt uneasy. She kept reassuring herself: Prince Wu is finished. He can’t make a comeback. As for Prince Jing and Prince Hao, they lack the power to stir up trouble.

 

The waiting felt agonizingly long, but just before nightfall, Lu Shaoyou rode back to the mansion. Song Yuanzhi and Madam Qin shared a look of relief.

 

As expected, Lu Shaoyou brought good news. “The Emperor has passed away, and the palace is preparing for the funeral. Before his death, His Majesty named Prince Ning as his successor. Prince Wu, for his disloyalty and disrespect, has been confined to his residence for life, never to be released. Xuanyuan Guifei has followed the Emperor in death. Her Majesty, the Empress, is unharmed, and once the new emperor ascends the throne, she will surely be honored as the Empress Dowager. At last, Her Majesty is safe, and there’s no need to worry any longer.”

 

For the women in the palace, being the empress was not the end goal—becoming the empress dowager was. Empress Lu was already the empress, so regardless of which prince ascended the throne, she was entitled to become the empress dowager. The new emperor’s attitude toward her would only affect her future comfort.

 

With Prince Ning’s ascension, Empress Lu’s position was secure.

 

As long as Prince Wu didn’t ascend the throne, Empress Lu would live comfortably.

 

Madam Qin let out a long sigh of relief and patted her chest. “It’s good that it’s Prince Ning. He’s a filial child, and Her Majesty can finally enjoy peace after so much suffering.”

 

Lu Shaoyou gave her a curious glance. Madam Qin, realizing she had misspoken, awkwardly turned her head to avoid his inquisitive look. She then teased Song Yuanzhi, “Now that your husband is back, you can finally stop worrying.”

 

Song Yuanzhi blushed lightly and smiled at Lu Shaoyou. He instinctively smiled back, prompting Madam Qin to nod approvingly and wave them off with a grin. “You two are as sweet as honey. Go back to your courtyard and enjoy each other’s company.”

 

She then shot a warning look at Lu Shaoyou. “Remember, it’s the mourning period. Behave yourselves.”

 

Song Yuanzhi hadn’t fully grasped her meaning at first, but after thinking it over, her face flushed bright red. Lu Shaoyou chuckled and gave her a playful pinch on the cheek. Before she could protest, he quickly took her hand and, smiling, led her back to their courtyard.

 

After Emperor Yongkang’s funeral, the coronation ceremony for the new emperor followed. The first decree issued by the new emperor was to honor Empress Lu as the Empress Dowager, followed by naming his own wife as empress and his eldest legitimate son as the crown prince. The reign title was changed to Taixing.

 

With these swift proclamations, the issue of succession that had plagued the court for years during Emperor Yongkang’s reign was finally resolved under the Taixing era. As long as the crown prince remained safe, his status as heir was secure, which was considered a blessing.

 

With the throne secured, the power struggle of the Yongkang era was brought to a close. The victor now ruled the empire, while the defeated… well, it was Emperor Yongkang’s final act of mercy that spared Prince Wu’s life.

 

The Nan’an Marquisate, however, was not so fortunate. Before his death, Emperor Yongkang had decreed that their family’s titles be revoked and their estate confiscated. Although he did not order their execution, the Nan’an Marquisate had committed countless crimes over the years, exploiting the power of Xuanyuan Guifei and Prince Wu to oppress the people. With Prince Wu’s fall from grace, those who had long endured their tyranny finally stepped forward to expose their crimes.

 

They were accused of land grabs, exploiting and abusing the common people, and even torturing victims into false confessions—all blood-stained accounts from the suffering masses.

 

Then there was Changqing Daoist. Under orders from the late emperor, Chief Eunuch Liu thoroughly investigated the daoist’s concoctions and subjected him to interrogation. In the end, Changqing Daoist confessed that he had been instructed by Prince Wu to increase the mercury content in his elixirs.

 

Once again, Prince Wu was implicated.

 

Such disloyalty and treachery were intolerable, and the officials were outraged. For the first time, they all agreed: Prince Wu must be severely punished.

 

In truth, the officials knew that Prince Wu was already doomed, and understanding that Prince Wu was a thorn in the new emperor’s side, they dutifully helped the emperor by demanding Prince Wu’s removal.

 

However, the new Emperor Taixing did not respond as they expected. Instead, he shed tears and sighed, “Before my father’s death, he repeatedly held my hand and urged me to be kind to my brothers. Prince Wu was unfilial and harbored treasonous ambitions, and Father has already punished him by confining him for life and stripping him of his title. He is now no more than a broken man. With Father’s body barely cold, I cannot bear to let him rest uneasily in his grave. Prince Wu is guilty, but the ones who led him astray are even more culpable!”

 

The court understood: the blame was to be shifted to the Nan’an Marquisate. They praised the emperor for his wisdom and kindness while denouncing the marquis’s family for their manipulative actions, demanding harsh punishment.

 

This time, Emperor Taixing did not hesitate. The Nan’an Marquisate, having been thrown into prison by Emperor Yongkang, now faced the new emperor’s decree. For instigating the prince’s treachery, they were to be executed!

 

The Emperor, showing mercy, decreed that only the main culprits would be punished, sparing any innocent family members. However, the Xuanyuan family had grown arrogant and reckless over the years, and many heads fell as a result. Once-mighty Xuanyuan Yu met his end, too, begrudgingly executed.

 

The original male lead was dead. Song Yuanzhi could almost feel a strange joy coming from this world, and her eyes deepened with understanding.

 

Song Yan and his wife had been hoping that Prince Wu would succeed to the throne. As the Nan’an Marquisate would become the in-laws of the emperor, and their daughter, Song Lilan, married to Xuanyuan Yu, would secure their status, they believed they’d be able to live comfortably from the emperor’s scraps.

 

But instead, they were met with news of Song Lilan going mad and attacking the Divine Lady. Before they could even react, they learned that the entire Nan’an Marquisate had been imprisoned. Then came the news of the death of Emperor Yongkang, the rise of the new emperor, and the swift blow that brought the sword to the necks of the marquis’s family.

 

Unable to sit still, Song Yan and his wife, terrified of being implicated, hastily packed some silver and clothes and fled the capital with their son, Song Yuan.

 

No one in the capital paid attention to their departure. Unfortunately, used to a life of luxury, the family flaunted their wealth on the road and attracted bandits. Though they barely escaped with their lives, they lost all their possessions—down to the last copper coin.

 

Desperate, the family was forced to beg for food on the way, hoping to return to the capital and plead with Song Yuanzhi. But the road back wasn’t easy. Even among beggars, there were territorial disputes. Without allies, they couldn’t outcompete the other beggars. When Song Yuan fell seriously ill, Madam Liu finally broke down. Cursing her misfortune, she abandoned her family and disappeared, her fate unknown.

 

Song Yan, meanwhile, had his leg broken by others and barely clung to life. As for Song Yuan, he was taken in by kind strangers and sent to a charity hall. After recovering from his fever, he lost all memory of who he was. He lived with the other children there, not rich but never hungry.

 

Song Yan, crippled and filthy, leaned against a wall, waiting for scraps from kind strangers, finally feeling the weight of regret.

 

Yet Song Yuanzhi knew none of this, nor did she care to know. To her, the Song family were her enemies, the executioners responsible for the original host’s death. Helping them was out of the question, and even refraining from kick them when they were down was a testament to her good nature.

 

What Song Yuanzhi was more curious about was Yu Ling’s fate.

 

Lu Shaoyou, too, was highly concerned about Yu Ling. After all, she was someone capable of creating gunpowder. If she managed to escape to the Northern Rong, the consequences would be dire.

 

Fortunately, Chief Eunuch Liu was on the case, and Emperor Taixing soon had Yu Ling brought before him. However, Yu Ling was now a shadow of her former self—her face disfigured with scars, barely clinging to life, a far cry from the Divine Lady she had once been.

 

Even after the imperial physicians did all they could, Yu Ling was left with only a sliver of life. Speaking was difficult for her, and she repeatedly asked to see Song Yuanzhi.

 

Emperor Taixing, unaware of the prophecy Yu Ling had once made, and Chief Eunuch Liu, seeing her fragile state, decided to keep this information hidden. The emperor no longer paid much attention to Yu Ling. If she could be saved, perhaps he would have spared her for the sake of her inventions. But with her death seemingly imminent, he lost interest.

 

Hearing that Song Yuanzhi wanted to know about Yu Ling’s whereabouts, and since Yu Ling had been begging to see Song Yuanzhi, Emperor Taixing gave the order to let her visit the prisoner in the dark cell.

 

Looking at Yu Ling, lying on the ground, barely alive, Song Yuanzhi couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions. She asked her quietly, “Was it worth it?”

 

After all the scheming, she had ended up like this—was it really necessary?

 

A light flickered in Yu Ling’s eyes, and a raspy, hoarse laugh escaped her throat. Her gaze was filled with bitterness as she used her final breath to scream, “I refuse! I didn’t lose! I’m  not willing!”

 

Her voice faded, and she passed away.

 

As Song Yuanzhi looked at Yu Ling’s cooling body, she felt a strange surge of energy. It was as though, with Yu Ling’s death, the last chain had been broken, and this world, like a once-flawed circle, had finally closed into a perfect whole.

 

Song Yuanzhi had a sudden realization. As the original author, Yu Ling was this world’s creator. Now that she was dead, the world had freed itself from the constraints of the original story, becoming an independent realm with no more intrusions from outsiders.

 

One world’s end had brought about the birth of another.

 

Karma had run its course.

 

Song Yuanzhi stood in silence for a long time, then sighed deeply. “Perhaps this is for the best.”

 

As she walked out of the dark cell, Song Yuanzhi tilted her head back and gazed up at the sky. It was clear, a perfect day.

 

All the shadows had lifted, and the future was now open. No more constraints from the plot—each person’s fate was their own to control, no longer dictated by an author’s pen.

 

Seeing Lu Shaoyou waiting by the carriage, Song Yuanzhi smiled sweetly. She waved and hurried over to him, her smile brighter than the sun. “Have you been waiting for long? Let’s go home!”