Chapter 42: Caged Bird

Chapter 42: The Caged Bird

Early the next morning, Master Mu indeed had someone bring a set of ankle cuffs.

The cuffs were golden, small yet intricately crafted, carved with cloud patterns and phoenixes, the eyes of the phoenixes made of high-quality blood jade.

A fifty-foot-long thin chain, only enough to move around the entire bedchamber.

Qiao Wan fiercely threw the cuffs in front of the guards, declaring that she would rather die than wear them.

Seven or eight guards knelt on the ground, their faces pale as they pleaded, "Master Mu said that if Princess Changle refuses, we, along with all the servants in the residence, won’t be allowed to live."

"Please, Princess Changle, put them on."

Qiao Wan looked at the guards kneeling all over the floor, then smashed several teapots and cups in the bedchamber before finally sitting back on the couch, panting heavily.

The two sides stood in silent confrontation until, in the end, the guards picked up the cuffs and prepared to offer them up again.

After a long silence, Qiao Wan said hatefully, "Send for Yicui."

Yicui felt a pang of sympathy, holding the cuffs for a long time without moving, until Qiao Wan said, "It’s fine." Only then, with red-rimmed eyes, did she clamp them around Qiao Wan’s right ankle, locking the other end to the iron frame beside the bed.

The moment the cuffs locked around her ankle, Qiao Wan knew she was completely trapped in the bedchamber.

Just like her mother, once trapped in the imperial palace.

She tried struggling against the chain, but even when her ankle turned red and skin broke, it didn’t give at all.

The chain was forged from black iron, plated with a layer of ornate gold, extremely sturdy.

Seeing that Qiao Wan had put on the cuffs, the guards kowtowed respectfully before turning and leaving.

Si Li was standing at the entrance of the residence. When he saw the guards emerge, he knew the task was completed.

Hearing the guards’ report, Si Li fell silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.

In the end, he couldn’t bear to go to the bedchamber himself and see the once-willful Princess Changle trapped in an ornate "cage."

When Si Li returned to the Mu residence, Master Mu was in the main room.

He wasn’t doing anything—not reviewing petitions, not looking over maps, not replying to letters. He just stood quietly alone before the tightly shut window.

Outside, the sky was bright, but the room was dim.

He stood in the darkness, facing the faint light outside through the window.

Si Li relayed the guards’ message, but Master Mu remained silent.

Ankle cuffs were nothing unfamiliar to Master Mu. He had been bound by chains since he could remember, and as he grew up, the chains were gradually replaced with sturdier ones.

Now, she was wearing them too.

Master Mu knew Qiao Wan would put on the cuffs. She appeared arrogant and domineering on the surface, but she was a paper tiger.

She cared too much about too many people, and her heart was too soft, leaving her easily controlled.

If it were him, so what if more people died?

But for some reason, Master Mu recalled the scene not long after he had escaped from the dungeon: placing two cups of poisoned wine before the woman he should have called mother.

He had clearly told her that the cup on her left was poisoned.

Yet the woman picked up both without hesitation and drank them all.

In the end, she vomited blood and collapsed onto the opulent, heavy palace carpet.

"Si Li," Master Mu spoke after a long while, his voice somewhat hoarse, "do you think I was wrong?"

Si Li was startled, looking at the Master who remained facing the closed window. His body was tense, as if awaiting his response.

This was the second time Si Li had heard the Master ask him this.

The first time was outside the palace of Great Qi, after the Master had killed all the palace servants who had participated in imprisoning him for over a decade. He had asked the same question then.

Among those palace servants was the empress of Great Qi—also the Master’s mother.

In the past, Si Li had firmly believed that the Master held hatred—hatred for those palace servants, hatred for all who had harmed him.

But this time, Si Li faintly sensed that the Master was afraid.

Yet no one, including the Master himself, knew what he was afraid of.

Si Li even absurdly thought that perhaps, back then, the Master had hoped the empress would choose not the poisoned wine but… to love him.

To love him devoutly, uniquely.

Yet in the end, what he hoped for always fell through, and those he wanted were always afraid of him.

Si Li didn’t know how to respond. In the end, he only said softly, "The guards said Princess Changle struggled for a long time and was very angry."

This time, Master Mu fell silent and did not speak again.

*

When Qiao Wan woke up, Yicui told her that the guards had sent over a piece of high-quality fox fur.

The fur was fiery red, carefully tailored by a seamstress to perfectly wrap around the cold, hard cuffs.

Qiao Wan only snorted, "A cat crying over a mouse—false compassion," and couldn’t care to say more.

With these cuffs, Qiao Wan could only move about within and just outside the bedchamber each day. Maids would deliver three meals a day and occasionally bring little trinkets like storybooks or sugar figurines.

Aside from occasionally reading storybooks, swinging her soft whip around in the outer chamber, or having Yicui read to her, Qiao Wan rarely left the inner bedchamber.

Most of the time, she stayed in the room, casually writing or drawing, spending the rest of her days lying in bed counting the time.

Instead, it was Yicui who racked her brains daily to tell jokes and amusing stories to cheer her up, fearing she would feel cooped up in the room.

Qiao Wan felt helpless. She wasn’t one to torment herself—since she couldn’t change the situation, she might as well enjoy what she could.

She was just thinking that news of her confinement by Master Mu must have spread everywhere by now. With her absence for several days, even Qiao Qingni had likely guessed her current predicament.

But she had promised to help her enter the palace once.

The days passed one after another, and before she knew it, it was already April 15th.

Yicui was in the kitchen brewing medicine, then carefully added the "key ingredient" in her hand, watching the dark brown liquid gradually come to a boil.

Outside the kitchen, the servants taking a break had gathered again, chatting in hushed tones.

Yicui listened carefully, planning to pick up some jokes and amusing stories to tell the princess later.

But today, those servants weren't telling stories; they only said that there had been "unclean spirits" in the princess's residence these past few days.

As soon as these words were spoken, they were met with agreement—everyone claimed to have seen a white shadow appearing, elusive and ghostly.

In the end, the group decided to buy a basin of black dog blood to place in the residence to ward off evil.

Yicui froze, suddenly remembering that a few nights ago when she got up at night, she too seemed to have seen a white shadow outside the courtyard.

The white shadow stood quietly under a tree in the yard, like a ghost or a person. But when she rubbed her eyes and looked more closely, the space under the tree was empty—there was no one there.

The more she thought about it, the more Yicui felt a chill run down her spine. Just then, the medicine was done brewing. Yicui thought to herself that it would be better not to tell the princess about these things, lest she have nightmares.

But as soon as Yicui returned to the chambers, before she could even set down the medicine, she heard a commotion outside the door.

Shortly after, Minister Wen walked in holding a bright yellow imperial edict. He seemed not to notice the golden shackle on her ankle and said, "Princess Changle, Qiao Wan, receive the edict."

Qiao Wan wasn't too surprised, just a bit dazed. It had been a full two months since she last received an edict from Qiao Heng. After a pause, she knelt down.

Qiao Heng's edict was very brief, merely saying that he hadn't seen Princess Changle for many days and missed her deeply. It also mentioned that it was the death anniversary of Consort Liu, so he specially invited Princess Changle to the palace for a visit.

Consort Liu was Qiao Wan's mother.

Qiao Wan bowed to accept the edict, but after waiting for a long time, no one sent by Mu Chi arrived to unlock the shackle.

Finally, Minister Wen, with a deep frown, went out once more. When he returned, he held Mu Chi's token. The guards verified it before unlocking the shackle.

The carriage jostled and swayed as it moved forward, surrounded by guards from the residence. Even the imperial guards at the palace gate had been replaced with unfamiliar faces.

As Qiao Wan entered the palace, she saw unfamiliar imperial guards everywhere.

Minister Wen waited outside the inner palace. Qiao Wan did not immediately go to Linhua Hall but first returned to Changle Palace.

She sat before her mother's portrait and burned many gold spirit money, worried that her mother underground might run short of money.

Then, Qiao Wan took down her mother's portrait and carefully rolled it up.

The remains of consorts were all buried in the imperial mausoleum; only this painting remained.

Before her mother died, she had said that if souls exist after death, hers would surely attach itself to this painting.

She also said that if Wan Wan could ever escape the palace one day, she should burn her mother's portrait and scatter the ashes in the place where she settled, so it would be as if her mother had always been with her.

Qiao Wan carefully placed the painting into a protective tube before leaving for Linhua Hall.

Compared to its former grandeur and majesty, Linhua Hall now carried a sense of decline, like the dying sun.

Before Qiao Wan even entered the hall, she heard coughing from inside. When she walked in, she saw Qiao Heng leaning on the dragon throne at a glance.

Now, his cheeks were hollow and pallid, his frame emaciated. He wore a black dragon-embroidered robe, but it couldn't conceal his sickly weakness.

On a table nearby sat a bowl of medicinal concoction. Qiao Wan caught a whiff of the bitter medicine and froze.

This medicinal smell was strikingly similar to the brew Yicui had brewed today.

Only, the scent of this bowl was stronger, even somewhat pungent. Just smelling it made one feel sick to their stomach.

"You came," Qiao Heng's voice was now extremely weak.

Qiao Wan no longer ran up to him with a smile as she had in the past. Instead, she slowly, step by step, walked up to the throne and after a long moment said, "Imperial Father."

Qiao Heng glanced at her and then wearily averted his gaze: "That's thoughtful of you. If there's nothing else, you may leave."

Looking at Qiao Heng, who no longer pretended with her, Qiao Wan suddenly found it ludicrous. She lowered her head: "Father still refuses to tell the truth?"

Qiao Heng paused, finally looking up at her, his brow deeply furrowed: "What do you mean?"

Qiao Wan laughed softly: "Naturally, I want to know what exactly Father has been giving me to eat all these years."

Qiao Heng's eyes widened sharply: "You knew all along?"

Qiao Wan said with a smile, "I didn't know at first, but after coughing up blood enough times, I figured it out."

Qiao Heng stared at her intently for a long time, then suddenly began to cough violently, the inside of his pale lips stained with blood: "So, all these years, you've been deceiving me? I was actually deceived by you?"

"It was Father who deceived me," Qiao Wan stepped forward, took the bright yellow imperial handkerchief from the table, and handed it to Qiao Heng. "I thought Father truly loved me, which is why he brought me to his side, bestowed upon me a title and a residence. But it turns out it was only because Father and I share the same physical makeup."

Qiao Heng knocked the handkerchief she offered to the side. It floated lightly to the ground. His coughing grew even more rasping, and it took a while before he managed to suppress it and stop.

As if he had thought of something, his eyes widened: "Mu Chi's rebellion…"

This time, Qiao Wan didn't say much—that dream was unlikely to be believed by anyone anyway. She only said with a smile, "I know."

Qiao Heng suddenly grew furious, his voice hoarse as he roared, "What do you gain from this?"

"I gave you supreme status, gold, silver, jewels, endless pampering—all I asked was for you to test some medicine for the sake of the common people. What's wrong with that? You saved their emperor; the entire Great Li should be grateful to you. And now, you are a traitor to Great Li!"

By the end, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Qiao Wan looked at Qiao Heng, who still postured as righteous, and laughed scornfully: "The common people?"

"Outside Lingjing, so close by in Pingyang Town—what kind of life are they living? What are they eating? Where were you when they froze to death? Do they know their emperor is solely pursuing an absurd and false immortality, allowing officials under him to feed on their flesh and blood and trample on their bodies?"

"Qiao Wan!"

"Am I wrong?"

Qiao Heng suddenly fell silent. He looked at her: "Then what about you? Qiao Wan, don't forget, everything you have was given to you by me."

"Right," Qiao Wan's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she lowered her eyes, offering a faint smile. "So everything I'm experiencing now is what I deserve."

Qiao Heng stared straight at her, his gaunt face full of defeat, his voice softening: "Was this all you came to say?"

But Qiao Wan fell silent, the smile at her lips gradually stiffening.

She had come because of her mother, and also because of… because of a glimmer of hope.

Qiao Wan took two steps forward and stopped at her usual spot beside him. After a long moment, she said, "In these twelve years, did you ever once treat me as your daughter?"

All those praises he had heaped upon me in front of the entire court;

All the indulgence and lack of consequences after my arrogant and unruly behavior;

All the precious treasures and rare fruits offered as tribute that I got first pick of;

All the fine robes and jewels bestowed as rewards…

Was there even one thing that was truly, sincerely given to me?

Qiao Heng sat on the imperial chair, unmoving, and gave no answer.

Qiao Wan waited for a while, then curtsied in the dead silence: "I take my leave." With these words, she turned and left.

But the moment she pushed open the palace door, a weary voice came from behind: "Today's imperial edict, I personally drafted."

Qiao Wan's hand paused for a moment, but she did not turn around and instead walked out.

Not far away, Minister Wen was standing there waiting for her.

Qiao Wan walked forward, holding the scroll case.

Minister Wen bowed to her: "I pay my respects, Princess Changle."

Qiao Wan was silent a moment before saying, "Minister Wen, please rise."

The two walked toward the palace exit. The palace path was very wide, surrounded by towering palace walls.

"The princess's ankle shackle has been replaced. The key is in the secret compartment under your bed," Wen Xun said softly as they walked, his gaze fixed ahead. "I have bribed one of the guards and have already had him sent away from Lingjing."

"Why would Minister Wen do this?"

"Regarding the prophecy about Princess Zhaoyang, I assume you’ve already heard," Wen Xun said. "I do not believe in fate, but the common people do."

"Now, the court of Great Li is entirely in the hands of Master Mu. It would be effortless for Master Mu to claim the throne, but it would not be legitimate. Only by a marriage between Princess Zhaoyang and Master Mu can he quiet the people's concerns. Once Princess Zhaoyang gives birth to a prince, I will dedicate myself to helping the prince ascend the throne and restore the royal line."

"At that time, if I am still alive, I will personally welcome Princess Changle back to the capital with full royal honors. If I die, I will instruct my protégés to protect Princess Changle well."

Qiao Wan glanced at him: "You want to send me away from the capital?"

Wen Xun nodded: "Yes. On the sixth day of next month, the marriage delegation from Great Qi will arrive. The capital will be busy and chaotic then, and I will take the opportunity to send Princess Changle away from the capital."

Qiao Wan paused: "If the marriage delegation comes to Lingjing, how will my elder sister get out of it?"

The palace gate was now just ahead. Wen Xun looked at Qiao Wan and said in a low voice, "Master Mu will not allow Princess Zhaoyang to marry. He will have her handmaiden take her place."

With these words, they reached the palace gate. Wen Xun bowed to Qiao Wan as usual: "I respectfully see you off, Princess Changle."

Qiao Wan glanced at him, nodded, and entered the carriage.

So it turned out everyone knew that Mu Chi would not allow Qiao Qingni to marry into Great Qi.

After returning to the princess's residence, a maid soon came personally to refasten the shackle on her.

The ankle shackle was almost identical to the previous one, enough to fool anyone.

Qiao Wan opened the hidden compartment under her bed and indeed found a key that could unlock the ankle shackle.

But...

Qiao Wan frowned. She felt that given Mu Chi's cunning, it was impossible for him to be completely unaware of Minister Wen's tricks right under his nose.

Moreover, given Minister Wen's methods, if he were to send her away, he would surely have her watched all the time.

At the very least, she could not place all her hopes on Minister Wen.

*

In the rear courtyard of the Mu residence.

Mu Chi slowly walked out of the woodshed, and Si Li hurriedly handed him a silk handkerchief.

Mu Chi wiped the blood from his hands slowly: "Investigate further. See how many spies Wen Xun has planted here."

Si Li quickly acknowledged and disappeared into the night.

Mu Chi walked into the courtyard, looking at the moonlight cool as water on the ground, then raised his head to gaze at the lone moon in the sky.

Today was the death anniversary of Qiao Wan's mother.

When his subordinate said during the day that Qiao Heng wanted to see her, he had refused outright.

But upon hearing it was the anniversary of her mother's death, he hesitated. He thought of the painting she had touched so lovingly on the night of the palace coup, and so, on impulse, he agreed.

Little did he expect that someone would try to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble.

Mu Chi gave a cold laugh, threw the silk handkerchief aside, and was about to enter the study when he suddenly stopped.

Would she be sad on the anniversary of her mother's death?

Mu Chi pursed his lips. After an unknown amount of time, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot. A white shadow bounded over the rooftops, and in moments, he arrived at the princess's residence.

Mu Chi landed silently in the courtyard, looking at the pitch-dark window.

After a long while, he slowly entered the bedchamber. By the moonlight outside, he looked at the woman sleeping soundly on the bed.

With her temperament, she was a restless sleeper. Her foot, secured by the golden shackle, was exposed outside the covers, her head tilted slightly as she breathed softly.

Even though the ankle shackle was lined with fox fur, red marks still showed from her usual struggles.

Mu Chi glanced at the brand-new ankle shackle but did not touch it. Instead, his gaze fell on the red marks, his eyes grew dark.

That night, Qiao Wan had a dream.

She dreamed that a cold hand gripped her ankle and was putting something on.

Annoyed, Qiao Wan kicked out, but her ankle was easily held. The person continued applying the ointment without letting go, gently rubbing it in over and over...

When she woke the next day, it was already bright outside.

Qiao Wan stretched lazily. Though she could not fully trust Minister Wen, having the key to unlock the ankle shackle gave her a sense of relief.

In the past, wearing the ankle shackle made dressing very inconvenient. Now that no one was around, Qiao Wan was about to unlock the shackle to get dressed when she noticed that ointment had been applied to the red marks on her ankle.

Remembering last night's dream, she thought it was very strange.

She paused for a moment before unlocking the shackle, quickly dressed, and locked it back on.

Yicui and the maid soon entered. As Qiao Wan was brushing her teeth, she casually asked, "Yicui, did you apply ointment for me last night?"

Yicui was taken aback and instinctively glanced at Qiao Wan's ankle. After a few moments, she nodded: "Yes, I did."

Hearing this, Qiao Wan thought no more of it.

By noon, a servant from Princess Zhaoyang's residence delivered a box of tonic herbs.

Qiao Wan opened it. Among the ginseng and deer antlers was a stack of banknotes.

She counted them—exactly twenty thousand taels.

The servant was about to leave after delivering the items, but Qiao Wan stopped him. She returned to the desk in her bedchamber, quickly wrote a few words, put her seal on it, and handed it to the servant.

The servant took the paper, puzzled. On it was written: "Payment received in full."

Below was a crimson seal imprint.

Qiao Wan said, "Tell your princess—"

She fell silent for a moment, then laughed. "...this princess has sold that little brat to her."

Everything began with twenty thousand taels.

So let everything end with twenty thousand taels.

Author's Note:

Today’s Mu Chi: that "disgusting creature," that dog—

Time to move the plot forward~