“What?” Shui Yinzhu was shocked. But time was limited. She didn’t have much time to analyze it. So she whispered, “Keep going.”

“Yun Su’s mother feared that she might not be able to give birth to a boy when she was still the Crown Princess. So she got pregnant at the same time as her servant girl. Her servant girl gave birth to Yun Su. Soon after, the Crown Princess gave birth to a girl.”

Since the two women were talking about an absolute secret, they were both speaking quietly.

“Why didn’t she let her servant girl bear King Yun’s child?”

“The servant girl didn’t have any chance. The Crown Princess herself couldn’t really meet with King Yun back then.”

“Where are the parents of Yun Su?”

“The Crown Princess killed them.”

“Does Yun Su know about this?”

“Not until his wet nurse wanted him to marry the real daughter of his mother after you left.”

“And then?”

“Yun Su had no intention to marry that woman. Instead, he intended to execute that woman and his wet nurse.”

“Well, how about the real princess?”

“She ran away.”

“How did you know this?”

“The wet nurse was badly hurt when she tried to run away. We met before she died, and she told me the truth. However, Yun Su already ruled the world back then, and there was no way I could spread the news.”

“Who else knows this?”

“Just me. This is no joke. I haven’t even told my younger sister Jing.” As they finished talking about the imperial scandal, Madam Li started to talk in her normal voice. She purposefully made her tone arrogant as she said, “Your Majesty, that’s not how things work in the harem. You don’t have anyone you can trust in this palace. I can be of help. You see, my look isn’t the best among all the women in the harem. I’m just below average, but I still managed to be favored by the emperor’s father. Call me an expert with men, and I shall teach you my tricks to keep His Majesty’s attention just so I can be benefitted from this.”

Shui Yinzhu instructed her quietly, “Sister Li, we can be sisters from now on. Keep the show on with your palace maid after I leave. Yun Su is quite skeptical. You’d better continue when you get back to your place. Let them know that you don’t want to meet me for the rest of your life and that I am an ungrateful woman. Just make sure you will distance yourself from me.” Shui Yinzhu never accepted the title of empress. She didn’t care if Madam Li was supposed to be her mother-in-law or not. Madam Li was clever. She would serve as a good ally. Of course Shui Yinzhu needed to protect her.

“Okay, sis. How am I supposed to contact you?” Madam Li brought up her question. She understood that there was no way for her to avenge her younger sister by herself. Taking the side of Shui Yinzhu was a smart choice.

“Don’t try to contact me. It’s too dangerous. I will come to you after handling the confidential guards around me.”

“All right, is there anything you need me to do?”

“Do nothing. Lay low until no one remembers what happened today.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you, sis.”

“Sure.”

After this conversation, Shui Yinzhu strode out of the door, leaving Madam Li behind. Even the palace maid of Madam Li believed that it wasn’t a fruitful conversation.

Madam Li pretended to be so angry that she didn’t even remember to shut the door. She kept complaining about how ignorant Shui Yinzhu was and that she would no longer speak a single word to her. Then she pitied herself for her poor destiny. She babbled that the only possible future would be to die in the palace and that she didn’t want to leave her bedchamber anymore...

The little incident didn’t even ripple the pond. However, Madam Li would never know that she was so close to getting killed. It wasn’t because Yun Su chose to show mercy. The skeptical emperor would rather kill a wrong person than let go of any traitor.

Yun Su planned to kill Madam Li. He wouldn’t let go of anyone getting close to Shui Yinzhu. But not long afterward, he almost lost his Sister Xi forever. Madam Li was nobody compared to Shui Yinzhu. He simply threw this incident to the back of his mind after that.

The autumn breeze cooled down the summer heat. The weather was getting cold. The situation was only worse in the death-row prison, over 10 degrees colder than the outside. The heart of Xuan Zhi was almost cold as winter.

When he left Qi Yuan’s mansion, he couldn’t stop worrying about his Yinzhu. After everything they had been through, he finally got her response after taking care of the girl for so many years. The scene was still so vivid when he held his beloved one in his arms. But now, they were separated. Xuan Zhi couldn’t imagine how painful and lonely she felt in that chilling palace.

He could’ve escaped, but his hesitation caused him to be assaulted by Yun Su’s confidential guards. By himself, he could never fight an entire team. The last thing Yun Su wanted would be Xuan Zhi getting free. The emperor thus sent the best out of the best. No matter how good a fighter Xuan Zhi was, he had to end up in the death-row prison.

The setting sun shone into the prison and immediately sank into the eternal dark, leaving a faint trace on the dirty cement wall. The prison was full of depression and despair.

Xuan Zhi was tied onto a cross. His arms were bound on the horizontal wood stick. The clothes on his chest had been torn apart by the whips. Fabric blended with his flesh. He lowered his head with his eyes closed. Sweat kept dripping down from his hair. And now, there was more blood mixed into it. The air smelled humid, saturated with blood and the fear of death. The only proof of him living was the heaving of that bloody chest.

Yun Su, the emperor, hated Xuan Zhi. There was no way the prisoner would stay intact inside the prison. The only reason he was still alive was Shui Yinzhu. But Yun Su would never pardon his enemy.

A breeze brushed Xuan Zhi’s face, which shouldn’t exist in this dark and humid prison. The tied prisoner opened up his eyes at once. He still had his aura of righteousness, but the handsome face was no longer there, only a miserable prisoner covered in blood.

Together with the wind came some men in black. They cut his rope, calling, “Here we come, Master,” and got him on his feet. These men walked past the dead bodies of the guards and took him out of this dark prison.

It had been so successful an escape that there wasn’t anyone chasing them. They didn’t stop until arriving in a remote and desolate forest. Xuan Zhi looked up at these men in black. There wasn’t any face he recognized. He grew suspicious.

Two men carried Xuan Zhi all the way as if he was a wounded man coming back from the battlefield. He was whipped hard. But even if this might be serious for normal people, it was not for a warrior like him. He could still walk by himself no matter how much he was beaten up. However, he pretended to be so weak that he would die any minute or be blown away by the wind.

Xuan Zhi was not stupid. After all, he was the invincible general and the Kingdom of Xuan’s last prince. He would only become a fool when he was in front of Shui Yinzhu and worried about her.

“Where is Uncle Zhang? He’s not with you?” Xuan Zhi sounds so weak, as if he’s dying.

“He sent us to come first, Master. We will meet him soon,” answered a man in black.

Xuan Zhi was now sure that they were not “his men”. First of all, Li Yi didn’t show up, who he trusted the most. Plus, his people would call him “Your Highness” instead of “Master”. That so-called “Uncle Zhang” was made up by him. There wasn’t such a person at all. Who would spend so much effort to save him? There was only one answer. That person would like Xuan Zhi to die somewhere far so that Shui Yinzhu wouldn’t know.

Xuan Zhi peeked at these men in black. As they got negligent, he started to run with all the energy that was left in his body. Though it took these men a while to realize, they still managed to catch up. It was such a pity that the wounded man was no longer as quick as he used to be. The men in black soon surrounded him.

Things were getting clear. There would be no need to pretend. Xuan Zhi smiled, “Yun Su really is breaking his promise. Do you believe it’s wise to serve such an emperor? Qi Yuan has been with him for so long and still got killed mercilessly. Compare yourselves to Qi Yuan. How do you expect him to treat you? Maybe not much different from his hound.” Knowing that this would be his end, Xuan Zhi was still trying to shake the morale of these confidential guards.

The men in black chose to follow the order. They gathered around Xuan Zhi, waving their blades towards him. Xuan Zhi fell down. A man in black went up to check and confirmed that their target was no longer breathing. Xuan Zhi’s final speech did work on these confidential guards. They left the forest without cutting up his throat.

Most of the leaves in the forest turned yellow, making the place beautiful as a fairyland. Yet, a badly wounded man lay on the golden carpet made of yellow leaves, with blood splattered around. The contrast between the two colors was so dazzling as an unspoken feeling of sorrow lingered in the air.

The cat will always get out of the bag. Life remained the same inside the palace, but there weren’t that many coincidences in this world. This autumn was destined to be marked on history.

It was a cool autumn day. Shui Yinzhu was still wearing her white patternless dress and that simple pearl hairpin, walking towards the Xiyan Palace. Everyone knew her daily routine. On her way towards the Palace, Shui Yinzhu happened to hear the conversation of two young palace maids.

“Sis, did you hear that? A prisoner was rescued from the prison. His Majesty got super mad about it.”

“Shush. What’s wrong with you? Don’t make things up.”

“I’m not. It’s true. My older brother works for His Majesty. All the guards in the death-row prison were killed. The prisoner they rescued was called Xuan Zhi or something.”

Shui Yinzhu got shocked by their conversation. Did someone rescue Xuan Zhi? Did he manage to escape? She was supposed to be happy, but somehow she only felt worried. Yun Su had always been cautious. How did he just let Xuan Zhi run away? She had to keep listening to their conversation, hoping that Xuan Zhi had made it.