Chapter Sixty-One: Entering the Palace

Yun Hua’s “astonishing martial arts” sent a wave of awe through the crowd. The men who had been ready to back up the stall owner were clearly not bastions of loyalty; seeing the stall owner knocked down by a young girl’s single kick, they too began to reconsider their own fighting abilities. For a moment, they hesitated, unwilling to step forward.

Yun Hua reached for her embroidered pouch on the stall, just as she was about to retrieve the gold and silver inside, when the clinking sound of iron chains echoed from the edge of the crowd.

“Make way, make way!” Several constables stormed in with intimidating zeal. They paused, stunned by the scene before them, then glanced at Yun Hua standing calmly on the side. “Little Daoist maiden, your skills are impressive! To dare injure someone in broad daylight!”

“They stole from me,” Yun Hua retorted sharply.

“You lie!” The stall owner, still writhing on the ground, suddenly perked up upon seeing the constables. “This brat snatched my goods and struck me—where’s the law gone? Oh, the pain!” The stall owner groaned, while his accomplices quickly chimed in, “Exactly, exactly! That girl is vicious, look at what she did to him!”

Yun Hua’s face paled with rage; such blatant slander was infuriating. She glanced at the surrounding spectators, who immediately scattered like startled birds, clearly unwilling to invite trouble for an outsider.

“Are you taking me to the magistrate’s office? What about them?” Yun Hua pointed at the stall owners.

“Everyone will be taken in. And that one with the broken leg too—Liu Er, Wang Lao Si, you carry him. It’s not far,” a leading constable ordered. Two white-clad officers helped the groaning stall owner to his feet, while two others prepared to fasten iron chains around Yun Hua’s neck. Enraged, she grabbed the chains and yanked hard; two constables lost their footing and tumbled to the ground. The fox perched on Yun Hua’s shoulder bristled, mouth opening as if to unleash a fiery blast. Fortunately, Yun Hua quickly calmed the agitated creature. This was the capital, not a place to cause a scene.

Realizing they had underestimated the young Daoist, the constables, unwilling to escalate matters, relented. “No chains then. We’ll settle everything at the magistrate’s office,” the leader said, sizing her up and deciding against summoning reinforcements. After all, if they couldn’t handle a mere girl, how could they survive in the bureau?

The stall was indeed close to the magistrate’s office, only a little over two miles away, but halfway there, they were blocked by a squad of imperial guards. The constables’ expressions turned uncertain and confused. Suddenly, a young boy dressed as a eunuch stepped forward and shouted sharply, “Your servant pays respects to Princess Kangle!” Immediately, the imperial guards knelt in unison.

The sudden turn of events was so unexpected that even the stall owner’s groans ceased abruptly. The constables and the would-be witnesses went pale, sweating profusely, and collapsed to their knees.

Yun Hua had never considered herself a princess and was somewhat flustered as she helped the young eunuch to his feet. She found him genuinely likable, almost like a younger brother—unaware that few who made it into the imperial inner service were not ruthless at heart.

“Rise, all of you. Has the Empress Dowager summoned me?” Yun Hua called to the guards, then turned to the eunuch. In her memory, the late Empress Zhang was the only one who truly cared for her. Her return to the capital was, in part, to pay respects to the current Empress Dowager.

Yun Hua smiled warmly, sincere and devoid of any disdain toward the eunuch, which only deepened his admiration for the princess bestowed by the late emperor and empress dowager. Eunuchs, often disabled, were most sensitive to condescending looks and easily warmed to those who showed them respect, especially those new to court life.

“Your Highness, we were sent by Grand Eunuch Liu Jin. We feared disturbing you, but he has already dispatched messengers to inform the Empress Dowager and the Emperor,” the eunuch bowed respectfully.

“On Grand Eunuch Liu Jin’s orders, we’ve come to escort the princess. Please, Your Highness, step into the carriage.” Behind them followed a luxurious carriage, adorned with gold and silver embellishments, opulent beyond compare. Yun Hua, however, was unimpressed. Were it not for the embroidered pouch and its contents—the first gifts from an elder she had ever received—she might not have cared. Having always lived in humble obscurity, Yun Hua found gold and silver far too easily come by to feel precious.

“Oh! Then shall we proceed to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager? Since I left, I have longed to see her!” Yun Hua eagerly declared. Then, glancing down at the kneeling stall owners and constables, she added, “Ask them who stole my embroidered pouch, and where the gold and silver inside have gone.”

“Oh, Your Highness, no need to ask. Your gold and silver are here!” The eunuch hurriedly produced a small pouch. “These scoundrels didn’t realize that gifts from the Empress Dowager bear the seal of the Imperial Household Department. They carelessly took them to the gold and silver shop to exchange, and it just so happened they went to one owned by Grand Eunuch Liu Jin. They handed the treasure right to him! Though foolish, it was fortunate for us, else Liu Jin wouldn’t even know the princess had returned to the capital!” The eunuch emptied a small pile of delicate gold and silver ingots, each marked with tiny characters: “Chang Kangle,” “Yong Anning,” alongside the official seal—too small for common eyes but unmistakable to experts.

“Oh, Grand Eunuch Liu Jin is thoughtful. Please thank him on my behalf!” In Yun Hua’s mind, Grand Eunuch Liu Jin was always a plump, amiable man with a warm smile. Little did she know that in current times, he was notorious as a treacherous and corrupt official, widely condemned by the nation’s literati and gentry.

The carriage rolled through the wide streets of the capital, flanked by a formidable retinue of imperial guards. Yun Hua ignored the constables and stall owners behind her. She was no fool—there was surely some conspiracy between them, and a lesson was well deserved. Since her belongings had been returned, she paid no further heed, entertaining the fox on her shoulder as she gazed out at the passing scenery, unaware how this seemingly trivial incident would soon embroil her and her master in a maelstrom of trouble.

“You, girl, gone five or six years without a visit—have you forgotten your godmother?” The Empress Dowager Zhang burst into tears and embraced Yun Hua tightly, leaving her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“Your Majesty, actually, I’ve long wished to come to the capital to see you, but my master said my cultivation was insufficient and forbade me from descending the mountain,” Yun Hua promptly shifted the blame to her distant master.

“Ah, everyone knows you have your master in your heart. Look at you—you’ve grown into a young lady in the blink of an eye,” the Empress Dowager sighed. She glanced at the fox at her feet, wagging its tail desperately for a cuddle. “This fox hasn’t changed one bit, still like a little dog.” Yun Hua was mortified—so it wasn’t just her master who thought the fox resembled a puppy! The little fox was truly a disgrace to its kind.

“Now that you’re here, stay with me a while. Ever since the late emperor passed, this place has grown so lonely,” the Empress Dowager said with a poignant sadness.