Fengyi Palace wasn't far from the Upper Academy Hall.
Yun Shu followed behind Su Lian, the senior palace maid sent by the Empress. The walk took no more than twenty minutes before they arrived outside the grand gates of Fengyi Palace.
Just a single character difference in name, yet compared to Fengyang Palace, Fengyi Palace exuded a level of magnificence and solemnity ten times greater.
Yun Shu tightened her fox-fur cloak against the biting wind and was just about to step inside when—
An arm suddenly stretched out to block her path.
"Fifth Princess, please wait here a moment. This servant must announce your arrival first."
Yun Shu: …
It's freezing out here. Even when she visited Imperial Father, she could walk straight into the room without needing to wait.
That vile Empress. As expected, she's no decent person!
Suppressing a wave of irritation, Yun Shu kept her gaze lowered and stood quietly outside the palace. To keep her expression from betraying her annoyance, she began to empty her thoughts and silently count in her mind.
"One, two, three… ninety-nine… Has the Empress lost her mind?"
At an excruciating pace, she finally reached one hundred—yet not a single soul came to invite her in. All the calm she had managed to gather promptly unraveled.
Very well. A display of authority, is it? Trying to provoke her, is it?
That lunatic woman better not go too far. Otherwise, once Yun Shu returned, she'd make sure the Empress got a proper taste of what it meant to mess with a delicate and demure young lady!
Gritting her molars, she returned to her mental counting from the beginning.
It wasn't until she had endured two full rounds—two hundred slow, agonizing numbers—that a nondescript little maid finally emerged from the palace.
"Fifth Princess, Her Majesty the Empress invites you in."
"…"
Lifting her foot to follow the maid through the gates of Fengyi Palace, Yun Shu stepped into the main hall.
The intricately carved sandalwood doors closed behind her, sealing out the wind and snow, but also adding to the already stifling, oppressive atmosphere within the hall.
Without betraying a trace of emotion, Yun Shu lifted her gaze to the woman seated in the primary position.
The Empress—poised, stately, and adorned in a manner befitting her station—regarded her coldly. Yun Shu responded with a flawless, textbook-curtsey that left no room for reproach.
"Your daughter greets the Empress Mother. May Your Majesty enjoy eternal health and peace."
"Rise."
That unwelcoming gaze scrutinized Yun Shu from head to toe. The Empress slowly lowered her eyes and idly fiddled with the decorative nail guard on her pinky finger. Her tone was casual, yet carried an undercurrent of disdain.
"This Palace hears you've recently developed something called a 'Earth Dragon' that caught the attention of your Father Emperor. He even went so far as to fund its installation in his palace?"
"Replying to Empress Mother, that is indeed the case."
Yun Shu stood with her hands neatly folded before her, answering honestly as if she hadn't noticed the Empress's cold, accusatory tone at all.
"How curious."
The Empress let out a soft, scornful laugh. Though her lips formed a smile, her eyes held no warmth.
"As children, filial piety toward one's parents is but natural. Yet in your case, it has become a business transaction. It seems that without a powerful maternal clan for support, even a princess's life is not so easy."
…
"What on earth is this lunatic woman trying to say?"
Yun Shu remained silent.
It seemed the Empress had no intention of letting her speak anyway.
The Empress rose and walked slowly to Yun Shu's side. She reached out and brushed away a bead of cold water clinging to the ornament in Yun Shu's hair. Her words, when they came, carried a strange undertone.
"This Palace recalls… you'll be of age in about a year or so, won't you? Ready to marry and become a proper young woman."
Marriage? Where had that come from?
Unless… could this madwoman be plotting something with her marriage?
A sharp alarm rang through Yun Shu's mind. She lifted her head, maintaining a look of innocent defiance, and countered sweetly.
"Father Emperor promised Your Daughter the freedom to decide her own marriage. Even if I choose not to marry, it is permitted."
"Truly lacking a mother's guidance. Thirteen years old, and still so childish."
The Empress chuckled lightly. The hand that had touched the icy droplet now drifted down to Yun Shu's cheek, as if in a gentle caress.
But to Yun Shu, the sensation felt like a venomous snake slithering over her skin—cold and deeply unpleasant.
"Upon reflection, This Palace must admit that I have indeed failed you these years. But it is not too late to make amends. So long as you are willing, This Palace can still fulfill a mother's duties.
Money. Power. Even a strong maternal clan. And… a Crown Prince elder brother who will protect you at every turn. All of this could be yours."
…
"Ah, so that's what this is about."
So she finally reveals her hand—this entire performance was aimed at pulling Yun Shu into the Crown Prince's camp.
Now it made sense. The matter of the horseshoes and the near-division of a fief by Imperial Father had clearly not escaped the Empress's notice.
Even if, in her eyes, Yun Shu—with no powerful maternal clan—posed no significant threat, the Empress was still cautious enough to eliminate even the smallest potential risk.
Still, perhaps because Yun Shu had introduced innovations like printing, horseshoes, and the ground dragon heating system, and was currently favored by Emperor Xuanwu, the Empress had opted for a softer tactic: recruitment rather than direct suppression.
Unfortunately, Yun Shu had always been wary of the cruel and deranged.
Feigning ignorance, she raised her hand to scratch at the cheek the Empress had touched and blinked with wide, dazed eyes.
"Your Daughter does not feel that Empress Mother has been neglectful in any way. You have done more than enough already.
This time, Your Daughter merely completed the ground dragon design, and Your Majesty immediately summoned me to show support. Is that not proof of your care?
As for Crown Prince Second Brother, though we rarely interact, during the autumn hunt he was quite kind to me!"
"You would play the fool before This Palace?"
The Empress's expression darkened visibly, displeasure rising in her eyes.
She, a seasoned master of palace intrigue, would never believe that a girl who had remained unnoticed for thirteen years, only to rise in favor almost overnight, was truly some naive and simple-minded princess.
Such people do not stir up storms in the imperial court.
Her gaze turned sharp and cold. She raised her hand in a careless wave.
Su Lian, her trusted senior maid, immediately stepped forward carrying a bundle of silver notes.
"Fifty thousand taels should be sufficient to install a ground dragon in Fengyi Palace."
The Empress had summoned Yun Shu under the pretext of the heating system. Regardless of her real motives, the silver still had to be paid.
She took the notes with her own hand and pressed them into Yun Shu's arms.
As she smoothed Yun Shu's robes with slow, deliberate movements, her voice dropped to a chilling murmur.
"As for what This Palace just said—you may go back and give it some thought.
But do not think for too long.
This Palace… does not have much patience."
===
In this chapter, "This Palace" is a formal, imperial self-reference—a way for a female member of the imperial family, such as an empress, empress dowager, or imperial consort, to refer to herself in the third person, especially when speaking with subordinates or outsiders.
In Chinese, this expression is typically written as:
本宫 (běn gōng)
Literally: "This Palace" or "this [imperial] residence"
It does not refer to the actual building, but rather is a metonymy for the speaker's status as someone who lives in a palace—namely, a woman of the imperial harem or royal household. It is a polite and elevated way for a high-ranking imperial woman to refer to herself.