At the Longevity Banquet, the First Prince accused me of plotting a rebellion, the Second Prince impeached me for colluding with border generals, and the Third Prince slandered me as a traitor conspiring with the enemy.
The entire court was waiting for me to die.
I was only a cook in charge of the imperial banquet.
Everyone thought that crushing a merchant’s daughter would be easier than crushing an ant.
But before I could even speak...
“Urgent report! A great victory at the border! The Eldest Princess, Qi Lianyu, has pacified the foreign lands, and their king has personally written a letter of surrender!”
The Third Prince’s face turned green.
I calmly served the first dish.
Then I laid out the evidence.
The ledgers showing the First Prince and the Minister of Revenue embezzling military funds.
The original secret letter revealing that the Second Prince had sat back and watched the others fight.
The Third Prince’s own handwritten letter conspiring with the enemy.
The entire hall fell silent.
The Emperor stared at the mountain of irrefutable evidence.
“Who are you, really?”
I took off my apron and smiled faintly at the assembled court.
“My surname was Zhen... I’m the sole survivor of the Zhen family, the one that was executed to the last member fifteen years ago!”
That night, the ten dishes at the Longevity Banquet stunned everyone.
That night, the three princes joined forces to set a trap and take my life.
That night, I laid their evidence before the throne piece by piece, making them kneel and listen as their crimes were read aloud.
From fleeing for my life at eight to catering the imperial banquet at twenty-three, I had waited fifteen years.
All for the chance to see justice done.
