At the fifth watch, in the Daming Pace, in the Qingzheng Hall, the candle flickered in the dim light, and all was silent. The two young elephants outside the hall huddled together, occasionally stifling a yawn.

  She had long been accustomed to reading memorials at such a time and in such an environment. Aside from the two eunuchs, everyone else had been dismissed, leaving only a single candle burning.

  The vermilion imperial brush wrote words of precision and crity—matters that should have been the responsibility of the emperor. However, her husband, under the pretext of illness, had entrusted the matters of the empire, now in turmoil, into her hands. He said it was a tacit understanding and trust between them.

  It was only when she closed the st memorial that the monk, head lowered and hands hanging by his sides, dared to step cautiously from the shadows.

  "Your Majesty, just one more step. Once my strength is fully restored, I will retrieve that treasure from the hands of that evil," the white-robed monk said, his voice filled with humility and anxiety.

  The woman before him, though nearing middle age, was more charming than she had been in her youth. Yet, the elegance in her features was matched by the authority and vigor hidden in her eyes—qualities that many men could never hope to possess. Her pin silk robes were complemented by a high, elegant hairpin shaped like a nine-colored gzed phoenix. The candlelight flickered on it, casting reflections of bck hair and brilliant colors. In this murky night, she stood out like a single bright blossom.

  "How is Princess Duan Yi?" she asked as she neatly stacked the memorials, not even gncing at the monk.

  The monk broke into a cold sweat. "This... originally, everything should have gone as the Empress desired, but... but a troublesome brat suddenly appeared, ruining my entire pn. Rest assured, Your Majesty, within a month, I will fulfill your command. I will definitely retrieve the Three Lives Awakening Dream Book and... the princess's life!"

  The Empress's gaze sharpened, her voice filled with authority. "I truly don't know whether to reward you or punish you." She raised her eyes slightly, studying the monk. "You still aren't clever enough. Never mind, I have another pn for the princess." Her gaze turned piercing. "However, as for the Three Lives Awakening Dream Book, you have one month. If you fail to accomplish it... the monk will face a fate worse than death."

  "Yes, yes! I will follow the Empress's orders!" The monk wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

  "Leave," she commanded, a slight wave of her hand. The monk, as if granted mercy, stood up and retreated into the shadows. A swirl of green smoke followed, and soon, no one was left in the room.

  The moonlight bathed the Taiye Pool, where the fragrance of lotus lingered, and lotuses bloomed in abundance. The clear waters rippled gently, their sound resembling a lulby sung by a mother to her child—soft and tender.

  She y comfortably in bed, the scent of incense drifting through the air.

  "Is it pleasant to hear? The sound of the water?" A voice spoke from beyond the yers of curtains, each step light and graceful, as if every footfall was a lotus flower blooming.

  "Who?!" She sat up quickly, pulling aside the curtains with a swift motion, only to let out a cold ugh. "Wang Empress, so it's you again!"

  "I merely came to ask, whether the sound of the water in this Taiye Pool is the same as the lulby you once sang to your daughter," the woman stopped, speaking from beyond the sheer fabric of the curtain, a smile on her lips. Her words pricked at her chest like needles, but she only sneered coldly in response. "So what if it is? And what if it isn't?"

  "Wu Meiniang, back then, in your desperate bid to take the empress's position from me, you didn't hesitate to destroy your own daughter. Now, I tell you—she has returned. The plum blossom mark in her palm is so beautiful! She will seek vengeance for me, for all the souls lost to your ambition! Hahaha." The ughter from beyond the curtain was chilling.

  "No one has the right to demand anything from me!" She tried to rise but found her body immobile.

  "God can," came the smug decration from outside the veil.

  "I will stand higher than the gods," she responded, her voice calm but each word like a hammer strike.

  A chill surged from her chest, and she suddenly opened her eyes. She was still lying there, on the high bed with a warm pillow, but her back was drenched in cold sweat. The yers of curtains hung low as always, and aside from the pace maids and eunuchs outside the chamber, there was no one else. She sat up, exhausted, pressing her forehead with her hand. She had lost count of how many times she had repeated this dream over the years. Every time, she would wake up entangled in the coldness in her heart, asking herself if, once she reached a position higher than the gods, would those things be forever trampled beneath her feet, never to be remembered? She had asked herself this countless times, and the answer was always yes.

  No one could break her rules. What she wanted was not a phoenix hairpin but a dragon robe. Yes, that must be it. She had to complete one thing, but now she was still cking that st bit of confidence.