"If you don't hate, why do it?" The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and looked at Zhao Hongzhuang, her gaze flickering.
"Hatred once blinded me. I didn't even know the root of it all until Void Sage Fang opened my eyes. Only by constantly advancing and gaining strength can we gain power. Tearful complaints and hatred will only leave us women marching in place, only expose our weakness and incompetence, only prove that deep in our bones, we still want handouts! So I want to learn from Void Sage Fang, to use my own strength and unite the strength of all women, to slowly bring about change, to advance, to grow stronger!"
The Empress Dowager watched Zhao Hongzhuang quietly and said, "Will you leave this imperial palace in the end?"
"I will leave in the end." Zhao Hongzhuang lowered her graceful head and spoke softly, almost in a murmur.
"Then go. Do what you want to do. This palace has no room for you, nor will it tolerate you!" The Empress Dowager's voice alternately slowed and quickened, unable to steady itself.
Zhao Hongzhuang gently wiped away the last traces of the Empress Dowager's tears, then rose and slowly walked out.
When she reached the doorway, the Empress Dowager suddenly called out softly.
"Come back!"
Zhao Hongzhuang's shoulders jerked. Covering her face as she wept, she fled.
Flying Spring Palace.
Zhao Yuan was asleep when he suddenly began muttering incoherently in his dreams. After a while, he rolled onto his side and continued sleeping with soft snores.
Bell Garden.
Fang Yun held a stiff weasel-hair brush suspended above the white paper on his desk for an entire night before slowly putting it away.
As dawn broke, winds and clouds shifted above the Sacred Academy, with thunder and rainbows intermingling.
Fang Yun