Chapter 41: Palace of Heavenly Purity

Laughter suddenly rang out nearby. It turned out that a few young men and women were solving lantern riddles. The young man guessed the correct answer, and the girls applauded. The vendor took a lantern from the rack and smiled, "Young master, this is yours."

The young man motioned for him to hand it to the young woman opposite him. The woman's cheeks flushed, and she accepted it amidst the suggestive glances of her companions, sparking another wave of cheerful laughter.

Solving lantern riddles on the Lantern Festival—a trope previously only seen in television dramas—was actually happening right before her eyes. Shi Nian was mesmerized, only to hear the man ask, "Want one?"

"Huh?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "'The fiery trees and silver flowers merge, the iron locks of the starry bridge open.' Gifting a lantern to a fair maiden is truly the most elegant affair of the Lantern Festival. I have given it away wrongly."

Realizing he had misunderstood, Shi Nian said, "No, it's just that it's my first time watching the Lantern Festival lanterns, so I find it novel..."

"Your first time seeing Lantern Festival lanterns? Where on earth did you grow up that you've never had a Lantern Festival?"

In the era Shi Nian lived in, watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival had long gone out of style. Even if such an activity existed, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to attend. Shi Nian realized she had slipped up. Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow, "Not looking at lanterns? Then what do you usually do on the Lantern Festival?"

Browsing Weibo online...

Shi Nian put on a serious face and said, "Pardon me, I'm a person from a small town who has never seen the world. I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Your Lordship!"

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

Of course he could tell Shi Nian wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't press the matter. "Since it's your first time, you should take a good look. It's just that the lanterns here are too mediocre and not very interesting."

Hearing him say this, the nearby vendor was displeased. "Young master, you say my family's lanterns are mediocre, but I wonder where the lanterns are not mediocre?"

Zhu Houzhao was surprised for a moment, then amused. "You certainly have confidence. What, are the lanterns on your little stall supposed to be peerless under heaven?"

"Peerless under heaven I wouldn't dare claim, but here in the capital, finding lanterns better than mine is not an easy task."

Although this stall was not large, it was a long-established, far-famed lantern-making shop in the capital, so the vendor's confidence was somewhat justified. Zhu Houzhao said leisurely, "Is that so? But I happen to know of lanterns far better than yours..."

Why did these two look like children bickering? Shi Nian felt a head full of black lines and tugged at his sleeve, "Enough, stop talking..."

Zhu Houzhao: "You don't believe me either?"

No, it's just that you're tearing down someone else's business like this, I'm afraid we'll get beaten up!

The young man who had just solved the lantern riddle smiled and said, "Could the better lanterns the young master speaks of refer to the lantern festival in the imperial palace?"

Only then did everyone realize that the "palace" referred to here was not the Leopard House, but the legitimate imperial palace—the Forbidden City. Every Lantern Festival, a grand lantern exhibition was held within the Forbidden City, inviting imperial relatives and nobles to enjoy the sights. Word had it that this year, renowned handicraft artisans from Jiangnan had even been invited into the palace to craft lanterns.

The vendor remarked, "Things from the palace are naturally the best, but ordinary folks like us have no way of seeing them."

A young woman yearned aloud, "That may be so, but if one could enter the palace to view the lanterns, this Lantern Festival would not have been lived in vain."

Shi Nian's gaze met Zhu Houzhao's, and he smiled slightly, "Want to see?"

Before Shi Nian could answer, he had already grabbed her hand. Shi Nian cried out in surprise, "Wait, what are you..."

"That's right, I'm taking you into the Forbidden City to see the lanterns right now!"

Beneath the vast canopy of the sky, the capital boasted ten miles of brilliant lanterns as a single white horse galloped through the long street, startling countless falling petals into the air. Riding behind him on the white horse, Shi Nian was somewhat on the verge of a breakdown. She never expected things to develop this way—she had only come out for a stroll, so how had Zhu Houzhao managed to drag her onto a horse?!

She struggled, but Zhu Houzhao leaned close to her ear and said, "Remember? I said I love the feeling of the wind against my face. The day I left the capital and fled to Canglong Mountain, the wind was just like this."

The man's voice was low, and a flash of memory crossed Shi Nian's mind. It was him whipping his horse into a gallop, leaving everyone far behind, with the golden palace halls of the imperial city receding in the distance. He broke free from them like breaking free from congenital shackles, racing toward the freedom he had longed for. The north wind whipped fiercely against his face, stinging with pain, yet he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

At that moment, his heart was utterly carefree.

Shi Nian was in a momentary trance when she caught sight of bright lights ahead. At the end of the long street stood vermilion high walls and glittering golden roofs—she had caught a glimpse of them from afar on the day she entered the capital. In the night, the ninefold imperial city resembled an immortal pavilion in the Jade Realm. The palace gates, normally tightly shut, were now slowly swinging open, having been unlatched for this very night simply due to a prior decree from the sovereign.

Those heavy doors required the combined effort of a dozen people to push open, resembling a slowly unfurling scroll that gradually revealed the world within. The attendants on both sides all knelt in prostration, and he rode with her right into the heart of the imperial palace just like that.

The lantern festival was being held in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Shi Nian had originally expected it to be crowded, but upon arrival, she found only palace guards standing watch. The empress, the empress dowager, and the officials who should have been attending the lantern festival were nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Houzhao said, "I told them I wanted some peace and quiet to view the lanterns, so I had them scram ahead of time."

...That was indeed something he would do.

Thinking that this lantern festival had been cleared out by banishing half of the Ming court's dignitaries, Shi Nian felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. However, Zhu Houzhao, completely unconcerned, took her hand and led her through the grounds. All kinds of lanterns—square, octagonal, shaped like *fangshuai*, double fish, and countless other forms—were suspended among the palace pavilions and towers, adorned with openwork carvings and glittering gold leaf, leaving Shi Nian dizzy with visual splendor.

And that wasn't all. Zhu Houzhao finally led her to an open space where a gigantic lantern stood, its snow-white silk fluttering softly in the cold wind.

Shi Nian said in pleasant surprise, "Could this be... a Kongming lantern? It's huge!"

Zhu Houzhao held a torch. "Right, this was personally made by Jiangnan's most renowned lantern maker—the number-one Kongming lantern in the realm. Come over here, I'm giving you the privilege of lighting it together with me."

Shi Nian glared at him, yet couldn't help walking over anyway. Zhu Houzhao held her hand as the flame flickered, and together they ignited the Kongming lantern, watching it slowly rise into the air and merge with other Kongming lanterns until they resembled a sky full of stars.

Shi Nian tilted her head back to watch for a long time before contentedly lowering her gaze. Zhu Houzhao had been watching her the whole time and asked, "How is it? Coming to the Forbidden City for the first time, how does it compare to the Leopard House? Do you like it?"

Shi Nian couldn't bring herself to tell him that this wasn't actually her first time in the Forbidden City. When she first arrived in Beijing for university, she had specifically gone with her roommates to tour the Palace Museum, except back then she had paid sixty yuan for a ticket, whereas this time she had been brought in by the master of the palace...

She broke into a bright smile and said, "Those people were right. Being able to enter the palace to view the lanterns tonight means this Lantern Festival has not been lived in vain."

Zhu Houzhao stroked her hair and said softly, "I promised to bring you into the Forbidden City, to live in a grand mansion, and I'll let you live wherever you like."

It was what he had said to her that day when they reunited at the Leopard House. Zhu Houzhao suddenly said, "Actually, when you said you wanted to be a imperial consort, you were lying to me, weren't you?"

After a pause, he continued, "You came here to kill Liu Jin, didn't you? You, Nie Cheng, and that Lu Zhiyao—you all came for him. Does he have some kind of grudge with you?"

Shi Nian hadn't expected him to be so straightforward. On second thought, though, it was understandable; their targeted hostility toward Liu Jin hadn't been particularly well-hidden, and Zhu Houzhao probably had a pretty good idea all along.

Seeing her expression, Zhu Houzhao smiled with raised eyebrows, "Still, none of that matters now. What I'm curious about is, now that Liu Jin is dead, are you going to leave too?"

Shi Nian thought of Liu Che. Atop the Chang'an city walls, they had watched the Xiongnu leave together. Back then, he had known she would leave, which was why he had tried every possible means to make her stay. Would he be like that too?

She slowly replied, "What if I said yes?"

Zhu Houzhao: "If you want to leave, then go."

This time, Shi Nian was genuinely stunned. "You're letting me go?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed with a sigh, saying, "If I were only Zhu Shou, the chieftain of Canglong Mountain, then I would definitely have carried you off to be my chieftain's wife. But I am Zhu Houzhao. Even I find this imperial palace stifling; I don't want to trap you here anymore. Bringing you in today was merely fulfilling my original promise to show you the Forbidden City. Now that you've seen it, I have no regrets left."

Amidst the brilliant lights, the young girl's face was so youthful, resembling a blossoming spring flower. The unspoken thought was that he had suddenly understood: loving a flower doesn't necessarily mean picking it, and watching it bloom freely is also a fine thing.

The distant horizons he could never reach, the life he could never lead—he hoped she could achieve them for him.

Shi Nian looked into his eyes and suddenly panicked. At that exact moment, a deafening explosion sounded from overhead. The gigantic Kongming lantern burst apart mid-air, scattering sparks in all directions that fell onto the lanterns in front of the hall, rapidly igniting a massive blaze!

What was going on?!

After an initial jolt of shock, the people around reacted quickly, shouting, "Fire! The palace is on fire!"

Accompanied by these cries, the raging fire spread uncontrollably, consuming half of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Shi Nian felt a wave of intense heat rushing toward her face before being pulled sideways by someone to dodge a burning lantern!

Are you kidding me?! The lantern made by Jiangnan's premier artisan actually exploded?!

Amidst her mental breakdown, Shi Nian suddenly remembered—wait, she seemed to have read about this episode in historical texts. On the Lantern Festival of the ninth year of Zhengde, the Palace of Heavenly Purity had caught fire due to the lantern display.

So, it was tonight?!

Chaos erupted in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Some people were busy evacuating the nobles, while others shouted to fight the fire. Only then did Shi Nian realize that the person who had just pulled her out of harm's way was Zhu Houzhao. However, unlike the panic around them, he shielded her with one arm while gazing up at the burning palace, his expression surprisingly delighted.

Noticing Shi Nian's gaze, he turned to meet her eyes and smiled, saying, "What a magnificent blaze! This is the most beautiful lantern of this year's Lantern Festival!"

This was the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the very center of imperial power. With it burning down like this, one could only imagine the uproar it would cause across the imperial court tomorrow. Yet he didn't care. He merely said with joy, what a magnificent blaze.

Looking at the man's handsome profile amidst the flames, Shi Nian found that she understood him a little better now.

He wasn't a foolish emperor. He knew many things. He knew what an emperor ought to do, he knew the world's rules of rulers and subjects, he knew the difference between good and evil, loyalty and treachery—he simply didn't care to mind them. He loathed constraints far too much. Thus, he didn't care about the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he didn't care about the Leopard House, nor did he care for the imperial power and riches that countless people dreamed of.

The fire grew larger and larger, and the palace attendants anxiously urged them to fall back a bit. Qian Ning also squeezed through the crowd, reporting the situation in a panic while Zhu Houzhao listened absentmindedly. Seizing a moment when he wasn't paying attention, Shi Nian stepped aside a little and felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she said, "You guys are here. I was just wondering how to notify you."

Through the firelight stood Nie Cheng, Lu Zhiyao, and Su Geng, all carrying luggage. Lu Zhiyao grumbled, "We said we were going out for a look, and you actually ran straight into the palace. If the team leader hadn't seen you and that emperor get on horses, how were we supposed to find you?"

Nie Cheng saw them?

Shi Nian said, "Since he saw us, he should know I was coerced and didn't run in here on my own. Besides, wasn't our original plan to enter the palace anyway?"

Everyone looked together toward the burning palace. Another reason Shi Nian hadn't fought to the death when Zhu Houzhao forcibly hauled her onto his horse was that their extraction point for this mission happened to be this very Palace of Heavenly Purity, which represented the ultimate imperial authority.

Speaking of which, Shi Nian still found it quite interesting: traveling from modern times to antiquity required passing through the dragon pulse beneath the rockery, while the exits to return from antiquity to modern times varied. For the Han dynasty it was Cangchi Pond, and for the Ming dynasty it was the Palace of Heavenly Purity—both located within the imperial palaces, however.

Yet now that the Palace of Heavenly Purity was burned to a crisp like this, how were they supposed to leave?

Seeing the expression on Nie Cheng's face, her heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, the man smiled faintly, "That's right, this time we're running right into the fire."

Shi Nian: "..."

Damn it, this job really required going through water and fire; her salary felt completely unearned otherwise!

Shi Nian waited for Nie Cheng to activate the string array, but nothing happened for a long time. Confused, she looked at him. Nie Cheng said, "Can't you sense the strings? Try it."

That night at the Leopard Viewing Platform, she had indeed sensed the temporal strings for the first time, but what he meant now was that *she* should activate the string array?

Shi Nian instantly grew nervous. Nie Cheng took her hand, "Close your eyes, think of the place you want to go, and try."

The familiar darkness washed over her, and once again she found herself adrift on the ocean. Shi Nian sensed the vibrating musical strings; ever since that night, they had grown increasingly calm, and now what she needed to do was awaken them.

Only by doing this could she go home.

The small courtyard with its towering rockery flashed across her mind like a switch being flipped, and suddenly a gale whipped up beside her ears. Shi Nian opened her eyes to see the howling wind enveloping the burning Palace of Heavenly Purity, though the tongues of flame did not flicker in the wind as if completely unaffected. Centered around the palace, circles of brilliant white light emerged like entangled musical strings—that was the string array she had activated!

She had succeeded!

Lu Zhiyao let out a whistle, "Not bad!"

Su Geng smiled, "Let's go."

Just like that time at Cangchi Pond, the two of them rushed headfirst into the fire, their bodies instantly embraced by the blazing inferno. Nie Cheng motioned for Shi Nian to follow, but she turned back instead. Surrounding them in utter chaos, everyone was terrified by the bizarre phenomenon of fierce winds and raging fires and dared not approach. Through the crowded throng, Shi Nian spotted Zhu Houzhao.

He was gazing up at the surreal spectacle overhead with some astonishment. Nearby, Qian Ning was thoroughly frightened out of his wits, while Zhu Houzhao pointed and gestured at the fire with a smile. Seemingly remembering something, he casually turned back, only to find that the person he wanted to find was missing from his side. His expression instantly changed.

Shi Nian suddenly recalled the day she first arrived in this time period. It had been just like this; back then she had turned around amidst the panic and, through the swirling snowstorm, seen him kick the door open and step through.

That had been their very first meeting.

Zhu Houzhao's gaze swept through the crowd and finally locked onto her. The two of them exchanged a distant look, and suddenly Shi Nian curved her lips into a brilliant smile for him.

Then, amidst the man's shocked gaze, she turned around and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged straight into the burning palace—

Shi Nian opened her eyes once more and gazed upon the familiar little courtyard. It was afternoon, and the warm sunlight fell across her face. She lay on the ground for a long time without moving until a woman walked over, her back to the sun as she smiled cheerfully, "Back? The kitchen is already preparing dinner to welcome you all home!"

Just like the trip to the Han dynasty, they had been away for three days this time. Meng Xia and the others had anticipated their return at around this hour and prepared a lavish feast. By the time everyone had washed up and gathered, night had fallen. They seated themselves at the dining table, eagerly preparing to celebrate the successful completion of their mission, only to realize one person was still missing.

"Where is Shi Nian?" Nie Cheng asked.

Meng Xia rested her chin on her hand, "She didn't run into trouble, did she?"

Newcomers who had just time-traveled often struggled physically; just like Shi Nian had slept through an entire night after returning last time.

Su Geng thought for a moment, "I'll go check."

She walked around to Shi Nian's courtyard and pushed open the door, only to find the young girl was not unconscious, but curled up on her bed looking at something.

Su Geng knocked on the door, "Shi Nian."

Shi Nian looked up, and Su Geng said, "Dinner is ready, do you want to eat? If you don't feel like moving, I can have Lu Zhiyao bring it over for you."

Shi Nian didn't answer right away. After a long moment, she said, "When Zhu Houzhao died, he apologized to the court ministers and the empress dowager."

Su Geng was taken aback, realizing only then that Shi Nian had been looking at an iPad displaying historical records. According to the accounts, in March of the sixteenth year of Zhengde, the Wuzong Emperor passed away from illness at the Leopard House, uttering on his deathbed that all past faults were his own and leaving the governance of the Ming empire to the cabinet ministers.

Shi Nian asked, "Do you think it's true?"

Su Geng replied, "Regarding that, the historical community has always been divided. Some believe it's true—that he truly repented on his deathbed—while others believe it's fabricated, and the historians were just writing flattering things for him."

Shi Nian thought for a moment, "I think it's fake too."

Having said that, she put down the iPad, turned onto her side, and ignored Su Geng altogether.

The blazing inferno of the Palace of Heavenly Purity flashed before her eyes once more, along with the man's shocked visage illuminated by the firelight.

The fire had burned so fiercely, reminiscent of that night on Canglong Mountain. If she had simply left back then, would she feel less heartbroken than she did right now?

That man, who had spent his entire life pursuing freedom—did he truly yield at the very end?

She hoped it was fake. She hoped it was merely posterity covering up flaws for a sage.

Because at least that way, his life would not have been an absurd joke.