Chapter 3

The female antagonist’s name is Lin Qiwu. She is the niece of Grand Princess Zhaoming’s husband and was personally granted the title of Princess of Kangning by the late emperor. Her entanglement with the male and female protagonists begins at the very start of the story.

When the plot of “Drunken Phoenix” begins, it is the thirteenth year of Yongchang, and the female protagonist, Li Yunxi, is seventeen years old. The political forces in the court are divided into three factions: the Prime Minister, who supports the foolish emperor; Grand Princess Zhaoming, who controls the military; and the emperor’s ambitious younger brother, Prince Qi.

In the end, all three factions are defeated by the male protagonist, who rises to power later.

In the book, except for the foolish emperor, these four groups are all extremely cunning, making for a thrilling and intricate power struggle.

However, from the flashbacks of these characters, it is evident that the political situation in the court was not always so complicated. The foolish emperor was a puppet from the beginning, and the real power behind the throne was Grand Princess Zhaoming’s eldest son, King Yan Lin Que.

The book briefly mentions King Yan’s “great achievements,” stating that he killed the late emperor, forged an imperial edict to take the position of regent, killed many members of the royal family and ministers, and dismantled the Eastern and Western Factories, leaving only the Jinyiwei under his control. His brother also controlled the most mobile military force, the Tianshu Camp.

From the first year to the sixth year of Yongchang, King Yan’s autocratic rule quietly overshadowed the court.

In May of the sixth year of Yongchang, the female protagonist’s uncle, Li Wendao, participated in a failed assassination attempt, leading to the downfall of the Li family. In the same year’s winter, King Yan died of illness.

With King Yan’s death, the political situation in the court became turbulent. Despite her grief over losing her son, Grand Princess Zhaoming decided to support the seemingly weak and indecisive male protagonist in replacing the foolish emperor.

Lin Qiwu, who grew up by Grand Princess Zhaoming’s side and shared a mother-daughter bond with her, wanted to help her aunt. She married the male protagonist to monitor and control him closely.

In the later part of the novel, the male protagonist, leveraging Grand Princess Zhaoming’s power, defeats the Prime Minister and Prince Qi’s faction, ascends the throne, and Lin Qiwu becomes the empress. However, there is never any affection between them. The male protagonist’s love is solely for the female protagonist, Li Yunxi, whom he met during their humble beginnings.

Lin Qiwu, on the other hand, only cares about her aunt and cousin, who is like a brother to her. To her, the male protagonist is nothing more than a weak and useless tool. It is not until the male protagonist gains full power and sets a trap to imprison Grand Princess Zhaoming on charges of treason that Lin Qiwu realizes she and her aunt have misjudged him.

Lin Qiwu, in an attempt to save her aunt, tried to use Li Yunxi to threaten the male protagonist. Unfortunately, she failed and instead provoked the male protagonist’s wrath. He not only decreed the abolition of her empress title but also sent her a cup of poisoned wine, telling her that if she drank it, he would spare her aunt’s life.

Lin Qiwu was not foolish enough to believe the male protagonist’s words, so he ordered people to force the wine down her throat.

However, Lin Qiwu had been trained in martial arts since childhood. If she hadn’t married the male protagonist, she would have dreamed of going to the battlefield like her aunt to fight enemies. Now, a few palace maids and eunuchs trying to restrain her was simply laughable. She easily broke free from the palace servants’ grip, seized a guard’s sword, and attempted to assassinate the emperor. Seeing the situation deteriorate, the male protagonist decisively orders the guards to kill Lin Qiwu.

Lin Qiwu ultimately died surrounded by the imperial guards.

The empress’s ceremonial robe, adorned with lantern and scenery motifs, was stained with blood. She used the long sword in her hand as support to stand, looking at the emperor standing coldly behind the guards. She regretted choosing the path of marriage instead of leading troops to battle like her aunt. If she had military power, she would have stormed the palace with her army and killed the treacherous dog in front of her!

—Until her death, Lin Qiwu never regretted helping her aunt; she only regretted choosing the wrong way to help.

Lin Qiwu was not the main character and was the male protagonist’s original wife. Perhaps to avoid alienating readers, her early storyline was minimal, depicting her as an arrogant supporting character who looked down on the male protagonist due to her powerful family background. Only before her death did Lin Qiwu show a crazed and fierce side, never retreating even when outnumbered and almost reaching the male protagonist before being killed.

Now, the young Lin Qiwu was right in front of Li Mu, getting along well with the equally young female protagonist, Li Yunxi.

Li Mu remembered that the book never mentioned the female protagonist and the female antagonist meeting as children.

So… did Li Yunxi meet Lin Qiwu early because she was confined to the guest house, and because of that confinement, they met earlier than in the original story?

That would make sense.

King Yan was a prominent figure, and as his cousin and Princess Zhaoming’s niece, Lin Qiwu, who got lost, would naturally not reveal her identity and name to strangers. She pretended not to know and waited for her family to find her.

Li Mu pieced together the sequence of events and realized Lin Qiwu was still awaiting her response.

Li Mu didn’t want to ignore her a second time. Her mind raced, trying to find an answer that wouldn’t provoke an attack in the middle of the night-

“I don’t like to talk.”

A soft voice, hoarse from long periods of silence, was faint and not loud, but it caught everyone’s attention in the room. Even the maids sitting by the door, brewing tea and whispering, couldn’t help but fall silent and look at Li Mu.

—It was quite unusual for someone who rarely spoke to suddenly open their mouth.

Li Mu, entering a state of stress: “…”

Maybe I should never speak again in this lifetime.

While Li Mu was shutting down on the spot, Lin Qiwu blinked and asked again, “Why don’t you like to talk?”

Li Ying, not wanting outsiders to know that her cousin was a fool, quickly interjected, “Not liking to talk means not liking to talk. Why do you care so much?”

Lin Qiwu unceremoniously rolled her eyes at her, “I wasn’t asking you.”

The youngest, Li Yunxi, played the role of mediator, soothing both sides and calling each one “sister,” managing to prevent them from arguing.

Lin Qiwu turned back to Li Mu and said, “It’s so boring just staying in the temple. There’s an ice waterfall less than three miles west of the temple. It’s very beautiful. Sister, do you want to go see it?”

Li Mu shook her head.

Li Yunxi, curious, asked, “Really? How far is three miles? How long will it take to walk there?”

She then asked Nanny Qiao, “Nanny Qiao, can you ask Grandmother if we can see the ice waterfall on our way back?”

Nanny Qiao smiled and agreed, saying she would ask the old madam once they finished their business.

Seeing that Li Mu was not interested in the ice waterfall, Lin Qiwu brought up other topics to chat about. However, Li Mu had decided not to speak anymore. She responded to simple questions with nods and shakes of her head and pretended to be clueless when faced with complex questions, adopting an expression of “I’m listening, but I don’t understand.”

Eventually, Lin Qiwu continued chatting with Li Yunxi. The two little girls were engrossed in their conversation, which made Li Ying feel left out and throw a tantrum. She turned away and started solving a nine-ring puzzle on her own, ignoring them.

Li Yunxi liked her new friend and asked, “Where do you live? Can I come to play with you in the future?”

“Just come to the temple to find me. I live here with my aunt,” Lin Qiwu blurted out without thinking.

Fortunately, Mingtai Temple had many long-term resident devotees, so Nanny Qiao didn’t think of Grand Princess Zhaoming. She just thought it would be easier to find someone who lived at the temple.

Li Yunxi asked, “You live at the temple with your aunt?”

Feeling awkward, Lin Qiwu half-truthfully replied, “Yes, my cousin is sick, and my aunt came to the temple to pray and fast for him.”

Nanny Qiao sighed, “Parents’ hearts are truly pitiful.”

Li Mu also felt a pang of sympathy. It seemed that everyone who reached a dead end would eventually seek divine mercy, even someone as fierce and battle-hardened as Grand Princess Zhaoming.

Unfortunately, King Yan was destined to have a short life. In the book, after King Yan’s death, Grand Princess Zhaoming always regretted not spending more time with him instead of praying and copying scriptures.

Recalling this part of the story, Li Mu felt a stirring of emotions.

She had lied to Lin Qiwu. The real reason she didn’t speak was that she was afraid of saying the wrong thing, fearful that her voice would make her the center of attention. Even though she knew that being noticed for saying something wrong wasn’t a big deal, she still felt terrified by the imagined scenario. She actually loved to talk, even a bit too much. When alone, or with familiar people and things, or in moments when her fear temporarily subsided and impulsiveness took over, she had her own desire to express herself.

“Compared to the blessings of gods and Buddhas…” Li Mu began with difficulty, under the gaze of everyone, speaking as if to herself, “When I’m sick, I would rather have my mother by my side, spending more time with me.”

With so many eyes on her, she couldn’t fully express what she truly wanted to say. Just being able to complete a whole sentence smoothly was already a remarkable achievement.

—Useless.

Li Mu closed her eyes in despair, regretting her impulsiveness and feeling embarrassed that no one responded to her words.

Fortunately, someone arrived to rescue her.

It was the maid Nanny Qiao had sent out earlier, along with a monk and a kind-looking woman dressed as a court lady.

When Lin Qiwu saw the court lady, she jumped off the couch, slipped on her shoes, and ran towards her, shouting, “Qiu Zhu!”

Li Mu glanced at Nanny Qiao, whose face had indeed changed—she had heard of this trusted court lady by Grand Princess Zhaoming’s side, and combined with what Lin Qiwu had said, it was hard not to know Lin Qiwu’s identity.

Having found her family, Lin Qiwu bid farewell to Li Yunxi, asking her to remember to come and play with her next time.

Li Yunxi readily agreed.

“Sister Mu, you must come with Yunxi too,” Lin Qiwu didn’t forget to invite Li Mu.

Li Ying, who was fiddling with the nine-ring puzzle with her back turned, didn’t hear Lin Qiwu calling her and let out a heavy “hmph,” sounding like she was about to cry. After all, she was still a child. Even if she didn’t get along with Lin Qiwu, discovering that her sisters were invited while she was left out made her feel upset and throw a tantrum.

Lin Qiwu ignored her, said her goodbyes, put on her shoes, and left the guest house holding Qiu Zhu’s hand, with Nanny Qiao hurrying out to see them off.

When Nanny Qiao returned, she told them she had to find the old madam and instructed them to stay in the guest house and not run around. She also reminded the other servants to ensure no one slacked off before leaving.

Li Ying was still unhappy, the nine-ring puzzle rattling in her hands as she couldn’t solve it. Li Yunxi tried to console her but was met with sarcastic remarks, and the sisters inevitably started arguing again.

The maids and nannies hurriedly tried to mediate the argument while Li Mu quietly removed the teacups and teapot from the table to prevent them from accidentally scalding each other with hot tea.

Wait.

In the midst of her quiet busyness, Li Mu suddenly remembered: How did Lin Qiwu know her name?

She heard the childish quarrels of Li Yunxi and Li Ying in the background. Hmm… It must have been these two kids who mentioned it while she was asleep.

…

Meanwhile, Lin Qiwu returned to the guest courtyard where she and her aunt, Grand Princess Zhaoming, stayed.

As soon as the little girl entered the courtyard, she let go of Qiu Zhu’s hand and ran towards the meditation room, shouting, “Auntie!”

In the meditation room, which housed a Buddha statue, Grand Princess Zhaoming, dressed in plain clothes, looked out of place with her strikingly aggressive features. Even without her armor, her aura of menace was hard to conceal, making her appear more awe-inspiring than the golden Buddha statue.

Hearing Lin Qiwu’s voice, Grand Princess Zhaoming didn’t look up and continued copying scriptures. Only after finishing a scroll did she stop and raise her eyes, asking, “Where did you go?”

Lin Qiwu sat down at the table and sighed like an old person, “Big brother asked me to do something for him, but I didn’t do it well.”

Without waiting for Grand Princess Zhaoming to ask what it was, Lin Qiwu spilled the beans about the feared King Yan, “He had someone take me to a guest house and asked me to test a sister named Li Mu inside to see if she was really a fool or just pretending.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming raised an eyebrow, “What fool?”

Lin Qiwu shrugged, “I don’t know either. That’s just what Big Brother’s people said.”

Qiu Zhu brought tea and snacks, explaining the aunt and niece’s confusion: “I vaguely heard someone say that she might be the daughter of the Deputy Minister of War. She fell ill last year and burned her brain. It seems that girl named Li Mu.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming didn’t know what her son was up to, but she still asked Lin Qiwu, “Couldn’t figure it out?”

Lin Qiwu shook her head, recalling how Li Mu always looked at her quietly, with dark, serious, and focused eyes that seemed to see into one’s heart. Although there were many things she didn’t understand or couldn’t answer, every time she spoke, people couldn’t help but listen. Her soft voice, slightly hoarse like the wind, didn’t sound foolish, and her words weren’t as stupid as those of an ordinary fool.

But as to whether she was truly a fool, Lin Qiwu had no ground: “She only said two things to me. One was that she didn’t like to talk, and the other was when I accidentally mentioned you…”

Lin Qiwu lowered her voice guiltily: “I said you were at the temple to pray for my brother, asking Buddha to bless him. She said that if she were sick, she would rather have her mother by her side and spend more time with her. I think she has a point. If I were sick, I would also want you to spend more time with me, rather than—”

Lin Qiwu glanced around the cold and quiet meditation room and pursed her lips: “Rather than moving to the temple in the wind and snow before the New Year is even over. Auntie, maybe my brother thinks the same way.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming was slightly taken aback and sneered, “He wouldn’t have such tender thoughts.”

Lin Qiwu thought about it and couldn’t refute her aunt’s words. After all, her brother had a hard heart, willing to abandon even his own life. Who knew what he was thinking?

Having failed to help her brother, Lin Qiwu stopped dwelling on the matter and quickly put it behind her, letting Qiu Zhu lead her to change clothes.

The sound of turning pages echoed in the silent meditation room as Grand Princess Zhaoming gathered the copied scriptures, prepared new ink, and continued copying the next scroll.

The ink in the inkstone grew thicker and thicker as Grand Princess Zhaoming lowered her eyes, her thoughts clearly not on the task at hand.

—Lin Qiwu’s words had left a mark on her heart.

She didn’t believe her heartless eldest son would need his mother by his side like a ten-year-old child, but… if he were to pass away suddenly, and she, as his mother, spent her days confined in the temple, barely seeing him a few times in his final days…

Would he truly not feel any regret?

When the ink reached the right consistency, Grand Princess Zhaoming didn’t pick up her brush but instead stood up and walked outside.

The wind and snow had weakened outside, and faint sunlight emitted from the distant sky silently passed over the eaves and fell on her skirt.

Her son was not weak and sickly as people outside believed, but was poisoned because of her, with no cure from medicine or doctors. She searched for renowned doctors across the land, year after year until she lost track of when she began to suspect that the rumors were true—that her years of warfare and killing had brought retribution upon her family.

First, it was her mother, then her husband and dozens of her husband’s family members, and now her eldest son, Lin Que…

The thought of self-blame grew stronger in her heart. After several near-death episodes from poisoning, she finally bowed her head and prayed to the gods, asking them not to take anyone else from her. She would never have thought this way ten years ago. She would have found the accusations of her heavy killing laughable—she killed enemy soldiers, bandits who sought to plunder the borderlands. They died because they deserved to die.

She believed she should have merit, not sin.

Anyone who dared to insult her was either foolish or malicious. If such a person were in front of her, she would have cut them down to set the record straight.

The person she once was…

A silent sigh turned into white mist in the cold air, slowly dissipating. Grand Princess Zhaoming recalled her former self but did not suddenly awaken to enlightenment. Instead, after standing for a long time, she turned and returned to the meditation room.

In the afternoon, the snow stopped, and the sky cleared. Lin Qiwu practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard. The steward of the princess’s residence brought news that King Yan had sent someone to the grand princess’s residence in the morning to take two jars of Baiyu Rao wine.

Grand Princess Zhaoming frowned, “Why are you reporting this now if it happened in the morning?”

The steward replied, “The second master took the two jars of wine as soon as they arrived at the King’s residence. Fearing that the King would anger you, the second master didn’t let us deliver the message. But after thinking it over, we still felt it was inappropriate, so we came to report to you, which caused some delay.”

Qiu Zhu sighed, “The King is usually fine, but why does he always harm his body whenever you come to Mingtai Temple?”

Grand Princess Zhaoming sneered, “That rascal knows I won’t suddenly return to deal with him. Once I’ve stayed here long enough, I’ll see how…”

Before she could finish, Lin Qiwu’s words from the morning suddenly flashed through her mind.

Driven by a sudden impulse, she asked the steward, “Did you really come to tell me this because you thought it was inappropriate?”

Could it be that her cunning eldest son was trying to tell her that instead of praying for his safety, it would be more practical to come back from the temple and use a cane to keep him from harming himself?

She had never thought about it this way before, but the more she thought about it now, the more it made sense. Otherwise, who would dare to go against Lin Que’s wishes and secretly send her the message?

The steward didn’t expect the Grand Princess to ask this and was caught off guard, revealing a flaw. The more he tried to cover it up, the more mistakes he made, until he finally knelt with a thud and had to reveal that King Yan was behind it.

Grand Princess Zhaoming laughed in anger, “You rascal!”

Were the royal family and ministers not enough for him to torment? Now, he was playing tricks on her.

The steward, sweating profusely, said, “Your Highness, please calm down. This old servant also advised the King, but he said there was no better way. Either force you to leave the temple early, or he would be gone sooner, not wanting to be a burden to you, making you imprison yourself here with vegetarian meals and prayers every day.”

“The King also cares about you, Your Highness!”

Grand Princess Zhaoming didn’t expect Lin Que to think this way. The more she thought about it, the more it matched the crazy things her rebellious son had said over the years. This time, he had hidden it from her and didn’t say it to her face.

Grand Princess Zhaoming frowned deeply. After a long pause, she closed her eyes and muttered, “Another one who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut!”

Why didn’t I notice this bad habit of his before?

In a foul mood, Grand Princess Zhaoming dismissed the steward and Qiu Zhu. She sat alone in the room, silently contemplating to calm her chaotic thoughts.

After a long time, as the sky outside gradually darkened, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Qiu Zhu.”

Qiu Zhu, who had been waiting outside the room, responded, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming said, “Pack up, we’re going back to the residence.”

If they left now, they could still make it back in time for dinner and give him a good beating.

Qiu Zhu joyfully replied, “Yes!”