The Eldest Daughter Returns with Power

The clapper had just struck three times at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), and all was silent. The entire capital was still immersed in sleep, except for the candlelight in the Imperial Study, which shone faintly in the dark night.

Holding a steaming cup of ginseng tea, I gently pushed open the door to the Imperial Study. The hinges creaked softly, sounding particularly abrupt in the tranquil setting.

The Crown Prince stood before his desk, his face terribly grim. He clutched a ten-year account book from the Ministry of Revenue in his hand, which he slammed onto the blue brick floor with a loud bang. The Minister of Revenue, who was awaiting imperial orders, was so startled that he fell to his knees with a thud, trembling uncontrollably.

"Three years ago, in the Yunzhou grain scandal, 300,000 shi of new grain were replaced with moldy rice!" The Crown Prince's voice was cold and angry. His vermilion pen flashed like lightning across the memorial. "Minister Li, tell me, whose empire are these rats in the granary gnawing on?"

The old minister was already terrified, his face ashen, his body trembling uncontrollably, unable to utter a single word. Seeing this, I quickly stepped forward, placed the ginseng tea on the desk, then knelt beside the crown prince and said softly, "Your Highness, please calm down and have some tea to soothe your throat."

The prince turned his head and glanced at me. His eyes were still full of anger, but when he took the teacup I offered, his fingertips inadvertently brushed against the back of my hand. In that instant, I felt a burning heat, as if his anger had been transferred to me through that touch.

The crown prince took a sip of tea to calm himself down, then called out to the eunuch outside the door, "Summon Gongsun Lin."

A short while later, Gongsun Lin hurried over through the morning mist. A thin layer of frost still clung to his black armor, indicating that he had just come from the military camp.

The Crown Prince slammed a Ministry of War order on the table and said sternly, "Take the Golden Scale Guards and surround the Ministry of Revenue. Arrest all officials of the fifth rank or above immediately!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" After receiving the order, Gongsun Lin turned and left, his armor making a crisp clanging sound as he walked away into the distance.

I gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, a sense of unease creeping into my heart. Just then, I heard the Crown Prince cough softly, and I quickly snapped out of my reverie, intending to drape a cloak over his shoulders. However, before my hand could even touch the cloak, the Crown Prince suddenly gripped my wrist; his strength was so great that I couldn't break free.

"Ruo Tang, tomorrow morning court..." The Crown Prince's voice was low and solemn.

"Your Majesty, I will accompany you to court," I said gently, while simultaneously tightening his jade belt. Looking at his handsome figure, my heart softened, but I forced myself to remain composed and continued, "The hereditary system of official titles should indeed be abolished, but Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites…"

However, before I could finish speaking, the bells and drums of the previous dynasty suddenly rang out urgently. Immediately afterward, a young eunuch stumbled in, shouting in terror, "Your Majesty! Lord Wang has run into the dragon pillar!"

Upon hearing this news, both the Crown Prince and I were stunned. We rushed to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where we saw bloodstains spreading rapidly on the blue bricks, resembling a grotesque flower. Lord Wang lay sprawled before the hall, while his wife lay unconscious to the side.

I quickly knelt down and helped Madam Wang up. A silver hairpin in her hair had accidentally caught on my sleeve, and I had to use a little force to untangle it. When Madam Wang awoke, she cried so hard she almost fainted. She gripped my hand tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, "Your Highness... my Wang family has been loyal and virtuous for three generations..."

Seeing her heartbroken state, I felt a pang of pity, but I still firmly said, "Loyalty and integrity should not be a shield for corrupt officials." At that moment, the Crown Prince's voice came from the hall, his tone cold and resolute, startling the white doves on the eaves into flight.

The crown prince, dressed in a black imperial robe with his sleeves billowing in the wind, personally handed the edict abolishing the hereditary system to the chief eunuch and ordered, "Proclaim this to the world immediately."

At noon, the sun blazed fiercely, shining on the execution ground as if to incinerate everything. Three heads rolled to the ground, blood splattering everywhere. At that moment, I was handing a warm towel to Old Madam Wang, trying to comfort her.

However, as if suddenly remembering something, Old Madam Wang grabbed my wrist with astonishing strength. Her eyes were fixed on me, and her voice was low and hoarse: "Does the Crown Princess know that today's victim was the cousin of the Third Prince's wet nurse?"

I nodded slightly to the lady-in-waiting, signaling her to escort me out of the palace, and then turned to leave. However, the instant I turned, I suddenly bumped into a firm embrace. I looked up in surprise and saw the Crown Prince standing in front of me, his chin gently resting on the top of my head.

"Afraid that I will become a tyrant?" The Crown Prince's voice was deep and magnetic, as if it could penetrate one's soul.

I quickly shook my head and explained, "His Majesty is undergoing bone-scraping surgery for poison removal; it's for the sake of the country and its people." I reached out, trying to smooth his furrowed brow. "It's just that the blood..."

However, before I could finish speaking, I was interrupted by a commotion coming from the palace gates. The Crown Prince and I exchanged a glance, and we could both see a hint of doubt and wariness in each other's eyes.

We hurried toward the palace gates, where we saw the Vice Minister of War, clutching his ancestral imperial edict, recklessly forcing his way through. Gongsun Lin, meanwhile, held his sword to the Vice Minister's neck, staring at him with a cold, stern expression.

Upon seeing this, the Crown Prince sneered and said, "You dare to use things from the previous dynasty to save the life of the present dynasty?"

Before he could finish speaking, the Vice Minister of War suddenly broke free from Gongsun Lin's grasp and lunged at the Crown Prince. Seeing this, Gongsun Lin didn't hesitate to swing his sword, and instantly, blood splattered against the palace walls.

I couldn't help but shudder, and instinctively gripped the Crown Prince's icy hand tightly. The Crown Prince seemed to sense my fear; he squeezed my hand firmly, offering me a sliver of comfort.

As dusk settled, the lanterns of the six ministries lit up one by one, resembling a winding fire dragon from afar. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and then said to the Crown Prince, "Seventeen people from the Ministry of Personnel remain to be investigated."

The prince nodded, returned to his desk, and continued writing furiously. I quietly walked to the side, adjusted the candle wick, and made the room brighter.

However, just as I was focused on the candlelight, the Crown Prince suddenly put down his pen, turned to look at me, and said, "Ruo Tang, am I...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a few snowflakes drifted in through the window. I quickly got up, went to the window, and caught the snowflakes. The snowflakes melted rapidly in my palm, bringing a touch of coolness.

I turned back to the Crown Prince, warmed his frozen hands in my palms, and said softly, "Cousin, do you still remember our wedding day? You said that you would share honor and disgrace, life and death with me." I gently stroked the back of his hand, feeling its warmth. "Now you only have a few more gray hairs, which only enhances your imperial majesty."

In the dead of night, news came from the Ministry of Justice prison: the son of the executed Vice Minister Liu had bribed a jailer and escaped. The Crown Prince smashed a teacup, shards of porcelain splashing onto the hem of my skirt. As I bent down to pick them up, he pulled me into his arms: "Even I couldn't protect you..."

The words were shattered by the sound of the night watchman's drum. I pressed my hand to his chest and counted his heartbeats. At dawn, Gongsun Lin escorted the escaped convict back to his post, ice crystals clinging to his black armor. The Crown Prince stared at the prisoner below, then suddenly chuckled: "Send him to the northern frontier as an exile. I want him to watch the border soldiers eat the rations his father embezzled!"

When the snow stopped, I summoned the families of disgraced officials to a side hall. The eight-year-old grandson of the Wang family, clutching a sugar figurine, looked up and asked, "Your Highness, was Grandfather a bad person?"

“Your grandfather simply forgot.” I wiped the sugar stains from his lips. “The glory of a noble family should be exchanged for the peaceful lives of ordinary people.”

At the corner of the corridor, the Crown Prince stood in the shadows, watching me. In the flickering light of the palace lanterns, he reached out to catch a falling snowflake: "Tomorrow is the day to review the Ministry of Works."

"I've prepared some white fungus soup." I held his fingertips. "Has Your Majesty finished reviewing that stack of memorials?"

He suddenly lowered his head and kissed his fingertips, which were stained with vermilion: "Thank goodness for you."