The night Qing Tian returned to Tingyu Pavilion, nothing happened.
No summons from the Empress Dowager.
No reprimand.
No decree stripping her authority.
Instead—
a box of imperial-grade agarwood was delivered as a reward.
That—
was far more unsettling than thunderous rage.
Chun Tao lowered her voice.
"Master… this doesn't look like she's targeting you at all."
Qing Tian slowly shook her head.
"No."
"This is the beginning."
"She wants me to relax."
"To lower my guard."
Three Days Later
A new regulation came down from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Temple grain—
would now be accounted for separately.
Any food for the lower servants—
extra meals, porridge, warming soup—
must be sourced independently by each department.
No longer centrally distributed.
The official reason:
"To prevent misuse and avoid confusion."
Director Li's face changed on the spot.
"They've taken the grain back."
Qing Tian's heart sank.
She knew this move too well.
This wasn't an attack.
This was worse.
It made doing good—
impossible.
Day One
The Warmth Soup continued as usual.
Day Two
One ladle less rice.
Day Three
Some were already working on empty stomachs.
And yet—
the accounts were clean.
The procedures flawless.
The rules—
personally "approved" by the Empress Dowager.
Who could be blamed?
Blame Qing Tian?
Wasn't she still "reforming"?
Night
Xiao Anzi stood outside Tingyu Pavilion.
Hesitating.
Afraid to step in.
"Director…"
"Down below… people are saying…"
He clenched his teeth.
"They say… you've managed things too tightly…"
"…and now we don't even have grain left to eat."
The words—
were like a fine needle.
Not fatal.
But piercing.
Qing Tian was silent for a long time.
Then she said:
"Rewrite all the accounts."
"From the temple…"
"…to the warehouses…"
"…to the kitchen."
"I want a line—"
"…that can stand in the light."
Yangxin Hall
Tang Yi sat alone.
Before him—
the new regulation.
He neither rejected it.
Nor questioned it.
He simply said to Gao Dequan:
"This move…"
"…is brilliant."
"If I intervene now…"
"…she'll only tighten her grip further."
Gao Dequan lowered his voice.
"And Director Qing?"
Tang Yi's gaze darkened slightly.
"If she cannot endure this round…"
"…then she isn't ready to stand beside me."
This—
was the cruelty of an emperor.
And also—
her greatest test.
If she couldn't survive this—
even if he protected her once—
how long could that protection last?
Three Days Later
Qing Tian submitted a memorial.
A proposal:
To introduce civilian grain sources.
Her reasoning was simple:
"Internal grain allocation is strained."
"Allow the Food Bureau to privately procure grain…"
"…to supplement lower-rank meals."
This was a statement.
She was telling the Empress Dowager:
I won't fight you for palace grain anymore.
Cining Palace
The Empress Dowager read the memorial.
Silent for a long time.
"She's retreating?"
An old nanny replied softly:
"It appears so."
The Empress Dowager smiled faintly.
"She knows when to advance and when to withdraw."
But deep down—
she understood.
Qing Tian wasn't retreating.
She was finding—
another path.
That Night
In a corner of the Imperial Kitchen—
a few of the most overlooked people gathered quietly.
A water carrier.
A cleaner.
A scraps handler.
"The grain prices outside the city—I know them."
"I can buy cheap rice through side channels."
"I know which accounts are inflated."
They spoke in hushed voices.
Not for Qing Tian.
But so they wouldn't starve again.
What Qing Tian didn't know—
was that the evidence capable of piercing through Cining Palace itself—
was already forming—
in the hands of those deemed
the least important.
And soon—
they would bring her
a very big surprise.