The Regent Raised the Little Empress into a Caged Bird

[Ancient Romance and Court Intrigue | Obsessive Love | Possessive Pursuit | Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger | The Pursuer’s Long Road to Redemption | Mutual Firsts]

Shen Qiwu ascended the throne, with Pei Xuan standing beside the dragon throne. Dressed in a black python robe, he held the judgment ordering an old minister’s execution. She wrote the word “Execute.” Vermilion ink bloomed on the page like a bloody wound. Pei Xuan said, “Well written.”

After that, the imperial study became the only place she was allowed to go. When she reviewed memorials, Pei Xuan stood behind her. When she held court, he sat at her side. When she retired for the night, she had to hand over her token. Whenever she spoke before the court, everyone in the hall looked to Pei Xuan first.

For three years, she never set foot outside the palace. Pei Xuan thought she had accepted her fate. One night, while looking through the late emperor’s belongings, she found a jade pendant with cloud patterns that matched the design on Pei Xuan’s scabbard. The late emperor had not died of illness. She stitched the pendant into her sleeve.

By day, she copied the memorials Pei Xuan had annotated, learning how to wield the brush, weigh her options, and decide life and death with a single word. Once she had learned, she practiced; once she had practiced, she memorized. Pei Xuan praised her intelligence. She lowered her head and smiled, the jade pendant hidden in her sleeve beating against her pulse.

An urgent message arrived from Jiangnan: Song Yan had uncovered the illegal manufacture of weapons, and the trail led to Pei Xuan. Shen Qiwu slipped the message into a memorial and sent it to the Ministry of Justice as if it were scrap paper.

By the time Pei Xuan realized what had happened, it was too late. He could no longer command the capital garrison, his old allies in Jiangnan had turned against him, and the Ministry of Justice had sealed its archives overnight. Standing outside the imperial study, he saw Shen Qiwu seated on the dragon throne, holding the judgment he had forced her to write three years ago.

Shen Qiwu looked up. “Imperial Uncle, I learned everything you taught me.” Beside the vermilion mark, she added a new note, aimed squarely at Pei Xuan.

Pei Xuan was confined to the old palace. He stared at the dragon throne, but Shen Qiwu was no longer there.

He had spent half his life keeping her caged, only to learn that even a caged bird will eventually break free. Do you think she’ll forgive him?