These past few days, the sky had been gloomy and rainy.

The entire Great Xia imperial capital was shrouded in a stifling atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Jiang Zirou’s temperament had always been indifferent and she was not very interested in politics.

Naturally, she had no idea what was happening in court, she only felt that with it raining every day lately, life had become a lot more boring.

Fortunately…

In the morning, the rain finally cleared for once and a chubby little thing came toddling into the Sutra Repository Pavilion.

“Jie-jie~ jie-jie~”

The little one was tiny as a bean sprout, dressed in colorful clothes, with two young eunuchs following behind her.

The moment she saw Jiang Zirou from afar, her face lit up, she leaned her body forward and, with her little butt sticking out, ran straight into Jiang Zirou.

With a thunk she crashed right into Jiang Zirou’s stomach.

“Chi! Chi~”

The little one was only two or three years old, her speech still not very clear, but she already knew to hug Jiang Zirou’s leg and search her body for snacks.

“Eat, eat, all you know is eating… if you eat yourself into a little dumpling, what will you do if you can’t get married in the future?”

Jiang Zirou stretched out a finger and gently poked the little girl’s forehead.

“If I can’t get married, I’ll just stay with jie-jie.”

The little one hugged Jiang Zirou’s leg and rubbed against it, mumbling unclearly.

The little girl was called Jiang Yuqing, Jiang Hao’s younger sister, the daughter of Jiang Heng and the empress.

She was a genuine little princess of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Jiang Zirou took out the ham-and-bamboo-shoot jelly cake she had already prepared from her sleeve, broke off a piece and handed it to the little bean.

The little bean took it, her eyes lighting up at once.

She burst into a wide grin and stuffed the half-palm-sized piece of bamboo shoot cake straight into her mouth.

Jiang Heng was rather strict in how he raised his two children.

Although the little bean’s regular meals as a princess were decent enough, sweets like this were actually quite hard for her to eat.

“Xiao Yuqing, is jie-jie good to you?”

Jiang Zirou stroked the little bean’s head.

“Good!”

“Then if your A-ye and I fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?”

Jiang Zirou asked with bad intentions.

The little bean swallowed the cake in her mouth, then licked her fingers.

She bowed her head and pondered for quite a while, then finally answered with a beaming smile,

“If jie-jie and A-ye (father) both fall into the water, does that mean I get to go to a banquet?”

“…”

Jiang Zirou let out a sigh.

She realized that the little bean’s unclear speech at three and a half years old was not because she was stupid, but because she had put her cleverness to use in other areas.

Footsteps slowly came from the distance.

Jiang Zirou patted the little bean’s head, then turned back to see Emperor Heng approaching with a group of guards and eunuchs in tow.

The little bean, caught by her own father while sneaking snacks, was instantly frightened out of her wits and quickly hid behind Jiang Zirou.

One hand hugged Jiang Zirou’s thigh, while the other went up in front of her face as she stuck out her tongue and pulled a face at Emperor Heng.

“Yuqing and Hao’er are both very fond of you.”

In just a few days, Jiang Heng’s previously gray-black hair had turned almost completely white.

His face was full of wrinkles and dejection.

“It’s probably because I’m very cute.”

Jiang Zirou tilted her head back slightly and answered with a hint of smugness.

“Did you come here to find some particular classics? I can go get them for you.”

“No, that won’t be necessary, I simply wanted to talk to you about a few things.”

Emperor Heng waved his hand.

He said to the guards behind him, “Wait here. I have some matters to discuss with her.”

“Your Majesty, that will not do! If an assassin were to appear…”

“What? Is even this imperial palace no longer safe?”

Jiang Heng spoke without turning his head.

The guard froze and did not dare say another word.

* * *

Inside the Sutra Repository Pavilion.

Jiang Zirou and Jiang Heng sat facing each other, separated by a tea table.

“What’s wrong? I get the feeling you’re troubled by something.”

Jiang Zirou poured Emperor Heng a cup of tea and gently set it in front of him.

Over these past few years, many of the barriers between Jiang Zirou and Jiang Heng had faded away.

In private, the two of them addressed each other as brother and sister.

“After I took the throne, I originally wanted to grant you the formal title of princess.”

Staring at the amber-colored tea in the cup, Jiang Heng let out a slow sigh.

“Unfortunately, right now that is a status I may not be able to give you…”

Jiang Zirou lightly sipped the tea foam on her lips.

She did not understand why Jiang Heng had suddenly come to talk to her about such things.

“It’s not that I cannot grant it, it’s that with Great Xia about to topple, the title of princess would instead become a guillotine hanging over your head. After I die, whether the one sitting on this throne is one of my brothers or some jackal-like relative by marriage, it will not be a good thing for you.”

“Has the situation really turned this bad?”

Jiang Zirou had not expected that in just a few short days, such enormous upheavals would have shaken Great Xia.

“I originally intended to gather troops and move against those rebellious noble clans, but the Grand Chancellor, Wang Cijiu, leaked the information and even turned around to frame me. He not only allowed those noble clans to join hands with the feudal princes and imperial sons, but also made the rumors that I poisoned Father and suppressed my brothers to seize the throne seem entirely true.

The Old Prince is most likely already dead. Although there are still experts in the palace, among the six martial holy lands of the realm, apart from the Great Xia Academy, Dead Man Lake, Hanging Temple, Taixuan Sect, the Martial Alliance and the Nangong Family have all been colluding with the rebels for a long time. At this point, everything has already been decided.”

Jiang Heng shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I’ve turned the matter over and over in my mind and in this whole palace, the only person I can trust, the only one I can really talk to, is you, my imperial younger sister.”

“So this is what they mean by a solitary ruler…”

Jiang Heng let out a long sigh and tears were already streaming down his face.

“Three years ago, I swore in the imperial mausoleum that I would not let Great Xia perish in my hands, but I never thought that in just three short years, I would fall to such a state.”

Jiang Heng covered his face and wept bitterly.

“I’m sorry, imperial sister. I’ve wronged you, I’ve wronged Hao’er, I’ve wronged Siyu… I’ve wronged everyone in this world. I am certain to die a miserable death in this palace, but you are still young. I will arrange for guards to escort you out of the city. I've already prepared a residence for you in Jiangnan. Leave this place, forget everything that’s happened over these years and go live a good life.”

After he finished speaking, Jiang Heng raised his hand, wanting to gently stroke Jiang Zirou’s hair.

But halfway there, his hand dropped back down, powerless.

Jiang Zirou took his hand in hers.

Her palm was warm and steady.

Her clear eyes were calm and unmoved by honor or disgrace, carrying a quiet strength that put people at ease.

Seeing Jiang Heng’s emotions gradually settle.

Jiang Zirou finally smiled softly.

Her tone was that of someone soothing a child, gentle yet firm, as she said, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”