Chapter 1: The Girl Woken by a Slap

Liu Xun was woken up by a slap.

Not a pat on the shoulder, but a full-force backhand across the face. Her palm carried calluses, scraping from her cheekbone to her ear, burning hot on impact.

"Get up." A woman’s voice, low and cold. "If you cry again, I’ll send you to Lady Qi’s palace to do your crying there."

Liu Xun opened her eyes. In front of her was a blue-grey bamboo mat, the edges worn fuzzy. On the mat sat a lacquered ear cup holding half a bowl of millet porridge; a thin skin had formed on the surface. She looked down at her own hands—short, plump, five fleshy dimples on the backs, nails round as grains of rice.

She recognized the face before her. Narrow forehead, high cheekbones, narrow eyes, a few white hairs at the temples, thirties. History books described Empress Lu as "stern and resolute, assisting Gaozu in settling the realm." Those two words, stern and resolute, were hanging right in front of her eyes right now.

An hour ago, she had been in the lab. Sterile bench, petri dishes, the lights at 3 AM. A tightness in her chest, she collapsed, and when she opened her eyes again, it was here.

"Mother." She tried to call out.

Lu Zhi crouched down, pinched her chin, and forced her face up: "Today you go to the King of Zhao’s palace. If you dare shed a single tear, I’ll break your legs when you come back."

King of Zhao. Liu Ruyi.

Liu Xun’s mind raced. The realm had just been settled. Liu Bang was in Luoyang. Han Xin had been demoted from King of Chu to Marquis of Huaiyin, but was still alive. Xiao He was still Chancellor. Lady Qi was in favor, whispering in Liu Bang’s ear every day, wanting to depose Crown Prince Liu Ying and install Liu Ruyi instead.

And she was Lu Zhi’s daughter, the youngest, seven years old.

"I’m not going." Liu Xun said.

Lu Zhi’s hand froze in mid-air. The two old maids in the room pressed their heads lower, nearly touching the floor.

"What did you say?"

"I’m not going to be the King of Zhao’s reading companion." Liu Xun said. "Mother, Lady Qi will harm me."

Lu Zhi stared at her for a long time. The flame in the bronze lamp flickered, pushing her shadow against the wall, then pulling it back.

"Who taught you to say such things?"

"No one taught me." Liu Xun said. "I had a dream."

"Dreamed of what?"

"Dreamed that the King of Zhao was wearing royal robes, sitting on the throne in the main hall, with Lady Qi laughing beside him." Liu Xun raised her eyes to look at her mother. "After that, Lady Qi had no hands or feet, and no eyes."

Lu Zhi’s fingers tightened on her chin, then released.

She stood up, straightened her sleeves, her voice flat as if she hadn’t heard a word: "The moment these words leave this door, not a single syllable is to be repeated."

"Mother—"

"Your father currently only sees the Qi mother and son." Lu Zhi said. "If you can’t even visit the King of Zhao’s palace, who in this palace will treat you as a person?"

Liu Xun was stunned. This didn’t sound like a threat; it sounded like a lesson.

Lu Zhi turned her back, taking a small padded jacket from the rack and shaking it out: "Put this on. Your brother is going today. You’re following him."

"My brother?"

"The Crown Prince." Lu Zhi said. "You don’t even recognize your own brother?"

Liu Xun took the jacket. It was coarse hemp, lined with thin cotton, the cuffs worn shiny. She couldn’t tie the straps herself, so Lu Zhi crouched down to tie them for her, her fingers efficient, saying nothing.

"Mother." Liu Xun suddenly spoke. "Don’t hate Lady Qi."

Lu Zhi’s hand stopped.

"If you hate her, that hate will cause disaster in the future."

Lu Zhi looked up at her, her expression strange: "What’s wrong with you today?"

"I had a long dream." Liu Xun said. "In the dream, I grew up, and you grew old. You were sitting in a very high place, with many people kneeling below you. But you ate alone, slept alone. When you smiled, your teeth were clenched."

The room was so quiet you could hear the lamp wick crackle.

Lu Zhi was silent for a long time, then reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Liu Xun’s ear: "If it’s just a dream, don’t tell your father. Do you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"Let’s go."

In the courtyard to the west of Luoyang’s Southern Palace, the walls were plastered with spice mud. The moment you entered, a cloying sweetness hit you, heavy and stifling.

When Liu Xun was led in by a eunuch, Lady Qi was sitting by the window playing the se. She wasn’t thirty yet, her hair piled extremely high, pinned with a white jade stick. She wore a plain, deep-colored robe, but the cuffs were embroidered with fine cloud patterns. The music stopped on a half-tone, and she raised her eyes.

"Oh my, is this the young lady from the Lu family?"

Liu Xun performed the proper bow. Her knees had just touched the mat when Lady Qi laughed: "Get up, get up. What are you kneeling for? What did your mother teach you?"

"To not cry."

Lady Qi’s hand was still resting on the strings, her eyebrow flicking up at the answer: "Then cry for me to see."

"I’m not crying."

"Why not cry?"

"Because if I cry, my lady wins." Liu Xun said. "I’m not letting my lady win."

Lady Qi was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking: "Clever mouth. No wonder your mother would part with you so easily." She jerked her chin. "Ruyi, come here. Greet your older sister."

Liu Ruyi crawled out from behind the screen, five or six years old, round-faced, wearing brocade, clutching half a date cake in his hand. He looked at Liu Xun, threw the date cake on the ground, and stomped on it.

"I’m not playing with her."

Lady Qi didn’t get angry; she just said slowly and calmly: "Ruyi, don’t be impolite." There wasn’t a shred of reproach in her tone.

Liu Xun looked down at the crushed date cake, suddenly feeling that everything in this palace was familiar—she had seen this ending in book pages over a thousand years from now. It’s just that back then, the words on the paper were dry.

"My Lady." She raised her head. "You’re from Dintao, aren’t you?"

Lady Qi’s hand stopped on the se strings.

"How do you know?"

"I also know that you used to belong to King Bao of Wei." Liu Xun said. "King Bao of Wei died, and then you entered the camp of the Han King."

The se string snapped with a *twang*. Lady Qi’s finger was sliced open by a string, bleeding, but she seemed to feel nothing, just staring at Liu Xun.

"Who told you that?"

"No one told me." Liu Xun said. "I dreamed it. I also dreamed—"

"Dreamed of what?"

"Dreamed that my lady was kneeling on the ground, someone pulling out her hair strand by strand." Liu Xun’s voice was flat, like reciting an unrelated ledger. "After they pulled it all out, her hands and feet were gone. She was put in a jar, placed in the latrine. Some people called that 'Human Pig'."

Lady Qi’s face turned white.

She slowly stood up. The hem of her robe swept across the se table, knocking a bronze weight to the floor, where it rolled twice.

"Your mother taught you this." Her voice trembled violently. "She taught you."

"My mother won’t let me say it." Liu Xun said. "I’m saying it on my own. My Lady, don’t compete with my mother. You can’t beat her."

"Get out." Lady Qi said.

"My Lady—"

"GET OUT!"

The eunuch came rushing in, dragging Liu Xun by the wrist. As Liu Xun was dragged over the threshold, she looked back one last time—Lady Qi stood there, one hand covering the other, blood dripping through her fingers onto the plain robe.

Liu Ruyi was scared and started crying.

Liu Xun was dumped on the corridor. Her knee hit the stone step, breaking the skin. She pushed herself up, dusted off her skirt, and limped toward the east corridor.

Several carts were stacked under the east corridor. A few minor clerks ran back and forth clutching bamboo slips. A man came heading toward her, around fifty, not tall, slightly hunched, clutching a huge stack of slip books. He was in such a hurry he almost bumped into her.

Xiao He.

Liu Xun recognized him. History books said he "served as a clerk for the lord of Pei because he was harmless with words." They said he chased Han Xin under the moon. They said he later helped Empress Lu kill Han Xin. They said he ruined his own reputation in his old age to save his life.

"Little Lady." Xiao He stepped aside, bowing his head in a small gesture. "Why are you alone here?"

"Chancellor Xiao." Liu Xun stopped him.

Xiao He looked up. He had deep nasolabial folds, but his eyes were bright.

"The Little Lady knows the subject?"

"I know you." Liu Xun said. "Chancellor, on the night you chased Han Xin, was the moon very full?"

The stack of bamboo slips in Xiao He’s arms slid out with a *crash*, scattering on the ground. He bent down to pick them up, failed twice, then simply stood back up, staring at Liu Xun.

"Little Lady, where did you hear that?"

"I dreamed it." Liu Xun said. "I also dreamed that Han Xin died."

Xiao He’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Put in a cloth sack, hung under the Bell Chamber." Liu Xun said. "The people above stuck bamboo skewers into him, one by one. It took a long time before he stopped breathing."

Wind from the corridor blew through, rustling the bamboo slips on the ground. Xiao He stood there, motionless, as if nailed to the ground.

"Little Lady." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "Who taught you to say this?"

"No one taught me." Liu Xun said. "Chancellor, don’t let him enter the palace."

"Who?"

"Han Xin." Liu Xun said. "Don’t let him enter the palace. Once he’s inside, he can’t get out."

Xiao He suddenly crouched down, leveling his height with hers, bracing his hands on his knees, staring straight at her: "Little Lady, how old are you this year?"

"Seven."

"Seven." Xiao He repeated, his voice so low it was barely audible. "A seven-year-old child can’t say things like that."

"I dreamed it." Liu Xun said. "Chancellor, do you believe in dreams?"

Xiao He didn’t answer. He reached out and dusted the dirt off her knee, his motion gentle, like treating a fragile object.

"What the Little Lady says today," he said slowly, "must not be repeated once you leave this corridor. Not to anyone."

"Not even to my mother?"

Xiao He paused: "To your mother… you can say it."

"Why?"

"Because your mother," Xiao He stood up, straightened his robe, and began picking up the bamboo slips from the ground, "is more afraid of this coming true than anyone."

As dusk fell, Liu Xun returned to Lu Zhi’s courtyard.

Lu Zhi was sitting under the lamp sewing a garment, the stitches so dense you couldn’t see the thread. Seeing her come in, she didn’t even look up: "What happened to your knee?"

"Hit it."

"Did the Qi family give you trouble?"

"No." Liu Xun sat on the mat. "She won’t let me go there anymore."

Lu Zhi’s needle paused for a moment.

"Why?"

"I told her about her past." Liu Xun said. "She’s afraid."

Lu Zhi finally raised her head. The light from below illuminated the lines on her face clearly. She looked at Liu Xun for a long time, so long that Liu Xun thought she was about to fly into a rage.

"Your father asked me today if you’ve been well-behaved lately." Lu Zhi said.

"What did Mother say?"

"I said yes." Lu Zhi looked down, threading her needle again. "Now that I think about it, I was wrong."

Liu Xun smiled.

Lu Zhi stuck the needle into the fabric and suddenly said: "What did you say to Chancellor Xiao on the east corridor today?"

Liu Xun’s heart skipped a beat.

"He sent someone to ask just now. He said you were dressed too lightly and had a padded jacket sent over." Lu Zhi jerked her chin. There was indeed a folded blue jacket in the corner of the wall. "Xiao He never gives things for free."

Liu Xun didn’t say anything.

"Xun-er." Lu Zhi called her by name, her voice softer than during the day. "What exactly did you dream?"

"Dreamed of a lot." Liu Xun said. "Dreamed that my brother became Emperor, but he didn’t live long. Dreamed that Mother sat in a very high place, alone. Dreamed of Lady Qi…" She stopped.

Lu Zhi didn’t press further.

She shook out the half-sewn garment. It was a small robe, cut to Liu Xun’s measurements.

"Try it on."

Liu Xun stood up, letting her mother pull the garment over her head. The sleeves were a bit long, covering the backs of her hands.

"Mother."

"Mm."

"Don’t kill Lady Qi’s son."

Lu Zhi’s hand tying the sash stopped, then finished the knot.

"Go to sleep." She said. "We have to get up early tomorrow."

At night, Liu Xun lay on the bamboo mat, tossing and turning.

Insects chirped outside the window, long and short calls. She held her hand up in front of her face, looking at it in the moonlight—still so short, so plump, the five dimples clearly visible.

Seven years old.

She calculated: how many years until Liu Bang died? How many years until the Emperor Hui took the throne? How many years until Lu Zhi presided over the court? These years lined up in her head, like a row of nails hammered into a wall, each one countable, clear.

But she was seven this year, couldn’t even hold the lacquered ear cup on the table steady. She had fallen during the day, and her knee still hurt.

Suddenly, there were footsteps in the courtyard. Fast. They continued to the main house door, followed by the muffled voice of a eunuch: "My Lady, someone from the palace has come. They say His Majesty wants to see the Little Lady tomorrow."

Liu Xun opened her eyes.

In the next room, Lu Zhi’s lamp lit up.