Chapter 150

The cold moon hung high in the sky as pale light spilled across the long stone stairways.

Fine snow drifted lazily through the yellow glow of the palace lanterns. It settled upon black satin boots and melted almost instantly into faint damp marks.

A young eunuch led Xie Zheng toward a side hall, smiling obsequiously.

“Please watch your step, Marquis.”

A fur-trimmed cloak draped over Xie Zheng’s shoulders. He stood tall as a pine, his profile illuminated by moonlight that only made him appear colder and more handsome.

He answered with a faint hum.

Hidden beneath the wide sleeves embroidered with gold-thread patterns, his fingers flicked a pebble into the distance.

The stone struck a snow-covered branch.

The branch shook violently, sending accumulated snow cascading to the ground.

Startled, the eunuch craned his neck toward the sound and shouted,

“Who’s there?”

The next instant, pain exploded at the back of his neck.

Everything went black.

Xie Zheng picked up the lantern the eunuch had dropped, lifted the cover, and blew out the candle inside.

Then he hoisted the unconscious eunuch with one hand and carried him beneath the eaves of a nearby hall, propping him against a pillar.

Only after scanning the surroundings with cold, vigilant eyes did Xie Zheng remove his cloak and ceremonial robe.

Beneath them was a complete set of black night-traveling clothes.

He withdrew a disguise mask from his robes and put it on.

After hiding his official garments inside a cavity in an artificial rock formation within the imperial garden, he followed the palace map he had memorized, avoiding patrols.

A few swift leaps over walls later, he arrived at the Cold Palace.

Compared to the brightly illuminated palaces elsewhere, the Cold Palace was desolate beyond description.

Even the lantern hanging outside the gate, casting only a palm-sized patch of yellow light, was thick with dust and draped in cobwebs.

The women confined here were disgraced consorts.

Some had gone mad.

Some had died.

Rumors even claimed the place was haunted.

Apart from the servants assigned to throw food to them as one might feed stray dogs, even the lowest-ranking eunuchs and maids avoided the place whenever possible.

Following the intelligence provided by the Grand Princess, Xie Zheng scaled the outer wall and quickly located the quarters of the mad palace maid.

The small room was equally filthy and covered in cobwebs.

The only piece of furniture was a bed beneath the window.

By moonlight, he could see straw protruding from beneath the thin mattress.

The maid slept curled upon it, covered only by a mold-stained blanket.

The room carried the faint scent of burned incense.

Offerings and worship were forbidden within the palace.

She had clearly been secretly burning paper offerings for someone.

Xie Zheng unwound the flexible sword coiled around his arm and pointed it at the back of her neck.

“I know you’re awake. If you want to live, don’t turn around.”

“I only have one question.”

“Which imperial consort had an affair with Wei Yan back then?”

The maid began trembling violently.

“It was… it was…”

The change came in an instant.

She suddenly spun around and flung a handful of powder at him.

Xie Zheng immediately turned his head aside, shutting his eyes and holding his breath.

Whether it was poison or something meant to blind him, he avoided it.

The maid seized the opportunity to draw a dagger from beneath her pillow and stab toward him.

Acting on instinct, Xie Zheng blocked with his arm and sent her flying several meters away.

She slammed into the wall before collapsing onto the floor.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Yet there was no hatred in her eyes.

Only boundless seduction.

Using a finger, she wiped away the blood from her lips and slowly sucked it into her mouth.

Her gaze hooked toward him.

“You hit so hard,” she cooed.

“You’ve hurt me.”

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, like syrup boiled down from an entire pot of sugar.

When she withdrew her fingers from her mouth, they glistened with saliva.

Slowly, she tugged her clothing lower.

“Would you like to see where I’m injured?”

The only thing in Xie Zheng’s eyes was disgust.

The kind of disgust one might feel watching maggots writhing in a gutter.

He lowered his sword and turned toward the door.

At that moment, the sound of chains rattling echoed outside.

His eyes instantly sharpened.

He raised his sword to break through the door—

Then suddenly discovered his limbs had become weak and powerless.

He could barely remain standing.

Bracing himself against the wall, cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Chains rattled outside the window as well.

A narrow bamboo tube slipped through a crack.

White smoke drifted into the room.

Behind him, the woman laughed softly.

“Feeling weak?”

“You smelled the Soft Bone Powder the moment you entered.”

“We exchanged blows earlier, which only accelerated the effect.”

“The fact that it took this long to affect you…”

“My, what a sturdy body.”

The woman lowered herself onto all fours.

Her hair spilled around her shoulders.

Her loose white sleeping robe hung open, revealing crimson undergarments and one bare shoulder.

She stared at him with naked desire.

Only then did Xie Zheng realize the truth.

His gaze landed on the brazier containing burned paper offerings.

The incense and spirit paper had merely been used to conceal another scent.

The drug hit him like a collapsing dam.

All strength drained from his body.

He could no longer even support himself against the wall and slid down to the floor.

At the same time, another reaction swept through him.

It felt as though fire burned within his blood.

An unbearable itch crawled through every limb and bone.

The nature of the smoke entering through the bamboo tube was now obvious.

The woman appeared affected by it as well.

The seductive expression she had been pretending to wear earlier was now becoming genuine.

Her eyes were hazy.

Slowly, she crawled toward him.

“I’m suffering so much…”

“Help me…”

Even through the disguise mask, a flush had spread across Xie Zheng’s face.

Yet his eyes remained terrifyingly cold.

“You want to die?”

His voice was soft.

But it carried the chilling weight of spirits emerging from the River of Forgetfulness when the gates of the underworld opened.

A shiver ran down the woman’s spine.

Even in her drugged state, she regained a trace of clarity.

Looking at the handsome man slumped against the wall, unable even to stand because of the Soft Bone Powder, the remnants of her reason quickly dissolved beneath the aphrodisiac.

She laughed.

“You’ll want to join me soon enough.”

“Heavenly bliss beyond life and death…”

Panting, she finally crawled within reach.

She lifted her alluring eyes toward him.

Before she could finish speaking, a hand clamped around her throat.

Like an iron vise.

The suffocating pressure and overwhelming scent of blood instantly cleared her mind.

Only then did she realize the truth.

He had literally torn open his own palm to stay conscious.

The woman herself had not been drugged with Soft Bone Powder and was skilled in martial arts.

She desperately tried to pry his hand away.

It was useless.

The taste of blood filled Xie Zheng’s mouth from biting down so hard.

Coldly, he stared at her.

“Qi Sheng found a creature like you…”

“Was he planning to have you impersonate a Cold Palace consort and recreate Wei Yan’s crime on me?”

The woman tried to answer.

Only strangled sounds emerged from her throat.

Fear turned to despair in her eyes.

When the cartilage in her neck finally snapped, Xie Zheng’s fingers tore into the flesh of her throat, leaving bloody holes.

She collapsed onto the floor.

Dead.

Blood poured from her neck and quickly spread across the ground.

Leaning against the wall, Xie Zheng breathed like a wounded beast.

His hands were drenched in blood.

He could no longer tell which blood belonged to him and which belonged to her.

The people outside, having sealed the doors and windows and released the aphrodisiac smoke, heard nothing from within.

After hesitating for a while, they unlocked the door to investigate.

The eunuch carrying a lantern pushed the door open.

The first thing he saw was the woman’s corpse staring at him with wide-open eyes.

His pupils shrank in terror.

Quickly raising the lantern to search for the other person—

A dagger flashed.

Blood sprayed.

The eunuch’s throat opened.

The fallen lantern ignited on the floor.

Firelight illuminated the blood-soaked dagger.

Reflected upon its cold blade was a pair of icy, murderous eyes.

Xie Zheng stepped out through the doorway, walking across blood-soaked ground.

Blood dripped steadily from the back of his left hand.

The guards waiting outside caught sight of the bodies within and felt their hearts tighten.

The amount of Soft Bone Powder burned in that room should have been enough to incapacitate a bull.

How was he still walking?

Had he taken an antidote beforehand?

Yet the blood covering his hands and the slight stagger in his steps revealed the truth.

He had indeed been drugged.

He was simply forcing himself onward.

The gates of the Cold Palace had already been locked shut.

One of the guards immediately shouted to a companion behind him,

“Set the fire!”

“Draw everyone here!”

—

Grand Princess Qi Shu had been confined by Consort Dowager An for many days.

On New Year’s Eve, mother and daughter merely shared a simple meal before Consort Dowager An returned to her small Buddhist hall to continue chanting scriptures.

Qi Shu was in a foul mood.

She swept out of the warm chamber.

The old nanny beside Consort Dowager An hurried after her.

“Where is Your Highness going?”

Spoiled for more than a decade, Qi Shu was not known for her patience.

“I’m restless and want a walk.”

“My mother has already ordered the palace gates locked. Where exactly do you think I can go?”

The nanny showed no anger despite being rebuked.

Instead, she bowed slightly.

“Then at least bring a cloak, Your Highness. The wind and snow are strong tonight.”

Qi Shu could not stand the people around her mother.

After serving Consort Dowager An for so long, they had all become alike.

Every one of them spoke and behaved like living bodhisattvas.

Just seeing them irritated her.

Taking only a few personal attendants, she lifted her chin and strode away.

The nanny bowed behind her.

“May Your Highness travel safely.”

Outside, the cold immediately became noticeable.

Standing upon a covered bridge, Qi Shu gazed at the moon overhead while warming her hands around a bronze hand-warmer.

“I wonder what that wooden blockhead Gongsun is doing now…”

Her voice was so soft that the maid beside her did not hear clearly.

“Did Your Highness say something?”

Qi Shu pursed her lips.

“Nothing. Let’s visit the plum garden.”

Consort Dowager An had once been deeply favored by the late emperor.

He had personally ordered an entire grove of plum trees planted within her palace.

Every winter, the garden erupted into magnificent blooms.

Although snow had fallen tonight, the stone paths had already been cleared by diligent eunuchs who feared their masters might wish to admire the blossoms.

After walking for some time, Qi Shu suddenly stopped.

“Wait here.”

“Don’t follow me.”

“I’m going to hang a prayer sachet.”

The maids obediently answered,

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Qi Shu walked alone deeper into the grove.

Finding a particularly beautiful plum branch, she withdrew a sachet from her robes.

It contained all the secret feelings of a young girl.

Her fingers gently traced the embroidery.

Just as she rose onto her toes to hang it, faint laughter drifted from behind a nearby rock formation concealed by plum branches.

Someone was meeting in secret?

Qi Shu’s expression instantly darkened.

She was about to lose her temper.

Then her fingers tightened around the sachet, and she decided to pretend she had heard nothing.

But another voice reached her ears.

“I’m not lying to you. The Princess has been watched closely by the Consort Dowager lately. She hasn’t gone anywhere…”

A somewhat feminine male voice asked,

“And no one around the Grand Princess has gone to the Cold Palace again?”

The woman replied between soft breaths,

“Without the Consort Dowager’s token, servants like us can’t even leave Shouyang Palace anymore…”

Shouyang was another name for plum blossoms, and thus the name of Consort Dowager An’s palace.

Qi Shu shouted,

“Who’s there? Get out here!”

Everyone jumped.

The palace servants waiting outside hurried over.

A eunuch and maid emerged from behind the rocks in disheveled clothing.

Both were pale with terror.

“Mercy, Your Highness!”

“Mercy!”

Qi Shu already knew that palace maids and eunuchs sometimes became paired companions.

At this moment, however, she felt only disgust.

She recognized the maid as one of her own servants.

The eunuch was unfamiliar.

Coldly, she asked the maid,

“You’ve been spying on me?”

The maid trembled violently.

“I wouldn’t dare…”

“I wouldn’t dare…”

Qi Shu turned to the eunuch.

“Which palace are you from?”

The eunuch glanced up before quickly lowering his head.

Though frightened, he possessed more confidence than the maid.

“This servant serves under the Directorate of Ceremonies.”

“Chief Eunuch Gao beside His Majesty is my godfather.”

Qi Shu laughed coldly.

So that was where his confidence came from.

Yet if he was asking questions about the Cold Palace, it meant her involvement in helping Xie Zheng investigate had already reached Qi Sheng’s ears.

A chill ran down her spine.

Her legs weakened.

Looking at the eunuch as though she wanted to devour him alive, she snapped,

“Bind this filthy eunuch first.”

“Lock him up!”

Then she seized the arm of one of her trusted maids.

“Hurry.”

“Take my token and go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony immediately.”

“Find General Yunhui.”

“Tell her something has happened at the Cold Palace.”

The maid sprinted away.

Before she could leave the plum grove, however, Consort Dowager An arrived with attendants and blocked her path.

Looking at her daughter, the elegant woman finally showed anger.

“Qi Shu.”

“What nonsense are you causing now?”

Qi Shu replied urgently,

“Mother, this isn’t nonsense!”

“I’m already involved in the Cold Palace affair!”

“This isn’t like your situation years ago, where shutting the palace gates would keep us safe.”

“If Marquis Wu’an falls into Qi Sheng’s trap, he’ll blame us as well.”

“And even if Qi Sheng wins, do you really think someone as deranged as him will let us continue living peacefully?”

At that moment, attendants dragged the captured maid and eunuch out of the grove.

Pointing at them, Qi Shu demanded,

“Qi Sheng’s hand has already reached into our palace.”

“Will Mother still pretend to stay uninvolved?”

Consort Dowager An studied the bound pair.

After a long pause, she finally said,

“Open the palace gates.”

—

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The banquet had progressed through several rounds of wine.

Fan Changyu glanced repeatedly at Xie Zheng’s still-empty seat.

The worry in her heart grew heavier.

Just as she was preparing to find an excuse to leave and investigate, a palace maid refilling wine deliberately bumped her elbow.

Something slipped into her palm beneath the concealment of wide sleeves.

Fan Changyu immediately closed her hand around it.

After the maid departed, Fan Changyu pretended to stagger while rising.

A maid standing behind her seat came forward to support her.

When asked where she was going, Fan Changyu claimed she needed the latrine.

The maid respectfully led the way.

After leaving the banquet, Fan Changyu quickly dismissed her escort and found the maid who had secretly delivered the note.

The maid claimed to serve the Grand Princess and even showed the Princess’s token.

Once Fan Changyu confirmed her identity, she dared not delay a single moment.

The note contained only one message:

Something has happened at the Cold Palace. Marquis Wu’an is in danger.

Her official robes were too conspicuous.

On the way, she knocked out a eunuch, stripped off his clothing, and put it on herself before racing toward the Cold Palace.

The Cold Palace was located in a remote area.

Since it was New Year’s Eve, most servants were slacking off.

Only after the fire had grown large did a handful of eunuchs begin running with buckets of water.

Fan Changyu’s speed far surpassed theirs.

Everyone assumed she was rushing to help fight the fire.

No one questioned her.

Within moments, she left the others far behind.

Arriving at the Cold Palace, she discovered the blaze was consuming several abandoned buildings used for storage.

The occupied sections had not yet caught fire.

Running forward several steps, she immediately saw the palace gate.

A massive hole had been smashed through it.

Yet an enormous lock still hung from the gate ring.

The splintered wood around the opening was stained with blood.

A trail of blood extended into the distance.

Though the snow and darkness had begun obscuring it.

Fan Changyu’s heart began pounding.

Bending down, she slipped through the hole and entered the Cold Palace.

By the light of the distant flames, she immediately saw corpses scattered throughout the courtyard.

Eunuchs.

Imperial Guards.

Bodies everywhere.

Her heart clenched painfully.

She dared not call Xie Zheng’s real name.

Instead she shouted,

“Yan Zheng!”

“Are you here?”

Noticing signs of fighting inside one room, she rushed over.

A eunuch with a slit throat lay near the doorway.

Inside, a half-dressed woman with a broken neck sprawled on the floor.

In an instant, Fan Changyu understood the Emperor’s plan.

Revulsion rose from the soles of her feet.

The fury that followed made the veins on her clenched fists bulge.

“Murder!”

“Murder!”

“Hurry!”

“Go get help!”

Panicked cries erupted outside.

The eunuchs coming to fight the fire had arrived.

Fan Changyu dared not remain.

She was certain Xie Zheng had smashed through the palace gate and escaped.

But injured as he was, he could not have gone far.

Without hesitation, she climbed the wall and vaulted out.

The Cold Palace was darker than anywhere else.

Away from the firelight, everything disappeared into blackness.

Yet Fan Changyu’s sharp senses picked up the scent of blood.

Looking closely, she discovered bloody handprints on the palace wall.

She placed her hand against one.

The size matched Xie Zheng’s.

A metallic taste filled her mouth from biting her lip.

Just how badly was he injured?

Had he become so weak that he could only walk while supporting himself against walls?

Following the scent of blood, she hurried onward.

She had to find him before the Imperial Guards arrived.

After taking several detours, she finally spotted a figure beside the artificial rocks near Taiye Lake.

Half his body was submerged in the water.

Joy nearly brought tears to her eyes.

She rushed over and called softly,

“Xie Zheng!”

His eyes remained closed.

There was no response.

His disguise mask had vanished somewhere.

Under the moonlight, his lips were nearly as pale as his face.

Alarmed, Fan Changyu reached out.

“What happened to—”

Before she could finish, she was dragged into the water.

Her arm was twisted behind her back.

A hand clamped around her throat.

The crushing force was absolute.

He was genuinely trying to kill her.

Struggling desperately against his grip, she managed to force out two words.

“It’s… me.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see only Xie Zheng’s blood-red eyes.

The vessels within seemed on the verge of bursting.

Cold.

Ruthless.

He no longer recognized anyone.

The growing lack of air weakened her struggles.

Then, perhaps because they were so close, he caught her scent.

Suddenly, his grip loosened.

“Ah Yu?”

His face was deathly pale.

Wet hair hung around his shoulders.

His soaked collar had fallen open, revealing elegant collarbones.

Combined with those crimson eyes, he looked almost otherworldly.

Using a hand whose wounds had turned white from soaking in water, he gently touched the red marks he had left on her neck.

His body was freezing from the lake.

Yet his breath still burned hot.

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t know it was you…”

His voice was hoarse.

As though enduring unimaginable suffering.

The fingers caressing her neck rapidly grew hotter.

Unable to control himself, he lowered his head and brushed a kiss against her cheek.

His lips were cold as ice.

His breath burned like fire.

Strange.

Dangerous.

Beautiful.

Fan Changyu had already recovered enough to understand what was wrong.

He had been drugged.

She leaned back to avoid his lips and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder.

“The Cold Palace is on fire. It isn’t safe here.”

“I’ll get you out of the palace first.”

Warm liquid coated her hand.

Not body heat.

Blood.

Realizing his arm was wounded, she rolled back his sleeve.

Countless knife cuts covered his forearm.

Every wound had turned pale from prolonged soaking.

It was obvious he had inflicted them upon himself to stay conscious.

Her eyes reddened instantly.

Grinding her teeth, she demanded,

“Where else are you injured?”

Now that he had relaxed, he no longer possessed the strength to resist the drug.

Only Fan Changyu’s support kept him standing.

The fire raging within him felt as though it would boil away every drop of blood in his body.

He stared at the person before him.

His throat bobbed.

Water dripped from his soaked hair, sliding across his eyelashes before falling into the lake.

He looked like some beautiful demon from legend, one that survived by stealing the essence of mortals.

He could no longer hear what she was saying.

All he saw were her lips moving.

Without warning, he cupped her face in both hands—

And kissed her fiercely.