Xuan Zhi went to the place where he and Shui Yinzhu visited together in search of good memories that only belonged to them two.

The first stop was the study of Yun Hai. All the portraits of Shui Yinzhu were gone. Clearly, there was a fire. It was not hard to tell how much Princess Consort Yi hated Shui Yinzhu. Yun Hai’s bedroom still remained the same. It had been years, but Xuan Zhi still felt like Shui Yinzhu was by his side yesterday as they were holding each other sweetly in their arms.

After he left the mansion of Lord Yi, Xuan Zhi walked to the house where he lived with Shui Yinzhu. Xuan Zhi snuck into the modest house through the window without disturbing the owner. As he lied down on the bed like a silly boy, the woman he loved suddenly popped up in his mind, giving him a rub in his arms as she called him “Zhi”.

His beautiful hallucination ended when the house owner came. He then left the old woman a lot of money since Shui Yinzhu always wanted to express her gratitude.

He kept walking around aimlessly and arrived at the square where they attended the bonfire party together. People in Feng City were all spending New Year’s Eve at home. It was rare for this large square to stay quiet. However, Xuan Zhi saw the girl dancing in the crowd. The memory of the past unfolded in his mind.

He kissed her for the first time when they were in Feng City. They started to get closer since then. Thanks to the simplicity of the people here, Shui Yinzhu could finally relax for the first time. During that joyful night around the bonfire, he sang her the first love song, and they kissed each other in the flowers... It was still so vivid to him.

Xuan Zhi even considered living in Feng City with Shui Yinzhu forever, leaving his kingdom and hatred behind. But unfortunately, this city was going to be the start point of the war.

Passed events had faded like a puff of smoke. Those memories felt like yesterday. But right now, Xuan Zhi was all by himself, sitting in the flower field looking up to the moon. It was not the full moon, but as its soft radiance cast on the clean sea of flowers in Feng City, the field had become a fairyland. Xuan Zhi couldn’t help murmuring to himself,

“Yinzhu, are you looking at the moon right now? I miss you so much. Please stay healthy, and I will go pick you up.”

Meanwhile, in the yard of the Empress Palace in Huaiyang City, a girl in white wearing a hairpin with two pearls was looking at the moon and murmuring to herself,

“Zhi, are you looking at the moon now? I miss you so much. Please stay healthy and come to pick me up.”

Shui Yinzhu and Xuan Zhi shared the sight of the moon even when they were separated, as if there was telepathy between them that covered the distance of time and space.

“May we all be blessed with longevity. Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together. ” This poem was the reflection of Xuan Zhi and Shui Yinzhu.

It was a special New Year’s Eve. For Shui Yinzhu, this would be her last chance to enjoy peace. Yun Su left her alone, giving her the last period of freedom.

A handsome monk came with two cups of tea in his hands and sat beside Shui Yinzhu.

“Amitabha, are you looking at the moon, Yinzhu?”

“Yes. Somehow I feel it extremely beautiful tonight. It’s glaring!”

Wu Chen followed her sight and looked up to the moon. It was already late at night. Nothing was different with the moon compared to the one on normal days. But Wu Chen didn’t intend to disagree with her opinion, looking at the moon with her. Maybe it was because of the girl beside him, Wu Chen suddenly understood its beauty.

It was getting cold at night. As Shui Yinzhu shuddered, Wu Chen noticed it.

“Yinzhu, it’s getting late. Go get some rest!”

“Wu Chen, I don’t want to go back yet. I want to enjoy the beauty of the moon for a little longer.”

“All right, I’ll go get you a coat.”

“Thanks.”

Wu Chen fetched a large white cloak and put it on Shui Yinzhu.

Everything came back to life in spring. But some of the problems still existed and would erupt sooner or later. The spring sun failed to warm the heart of Shui Yinzhu. She had felt unsettled as if something would happen soon.

In a night with a clean moon and bright stars, wind creaked the door of the Empress Palace as if a naughty kid had been knocking on it for fun. Shui Yinzhu was woken up from her sleep. The girl in white pajama got up on her feet. She sat on the chair in front of the table, poured herself a cup of water, and slowly sipped it.

As Wu Chen felt the girl leaving his arms, he woke up, too. He saw the girl in front of the table, got up, and took the seat across from her.

“Yinzhu, what wakes you up?”

“Somehow, I feel disturbed recently as if something is going to happen.”

“Amitabha, don’t overthink. You need to sleep.”

“Wu Chen, can you leave the imperial palace and go as far as you can?”

“Why, Yinzhu?”

“No, that won’t work. He won’t stop chasing you even if you leave. ”

“What is going on?”

“Wu Chen, you shouldn’t have come to me. You really shouldn’t!” Sorrowful tears dripped from Shui Yinzhu’s eyes. Her health was getting better, but what about Wu Chen? How would she be able to protect him?

“Silly girl. Human beings will all die eventually. I stopped caring for life and death the moment I came to the imperial palace. It is content enough for me to save your life. Saving one’s life is better than building a pagoda of seven stories. Amitabha.”

Wu Chen put his palms together out of his habit and didn’t feel worried at all compared to Shui Yinzhu. He had seen the murderous intention in Yun Su’s eyes several times, but he picked this path himself. Wu Chen didn’t regret it. The only thing he wasn’t sure of was whether Buddha would accept his heart that was still entangled in human love.

“Wu Chen, I wish I could send you to Xuan Zhi. But I’m not capable of anything right now. I’m too weak. I’m afraid you will get killed once I send you away.”

“Yinzhu, don’t worry about it. We live only once, and we have our own destiny.”

“Wu Chen, why are you always so nice to me?”

Shui Yinzhu unintentionally touched the handsome face of Wu Chen. She owed this man so much but had no way to pay him back in this life. She understood that this man was in love with her. Grateful as she was, she knew that she didn’t have any feelings for him. The only thing she had done was borrow his warmth in this cold and lonely palace.

When Shui Yinzhu was still ill, Yun Su had to keep Wu Chen by her side. But what would he do after she had recovered? The helpless girl felt anxious all day, and she was losing sleep at night. She blamed herself for being selfish. The mental support she sought from him would eventually get him killed.

She should have driven him away the moment she woke up. No, that would still be useless. Yun Su was only too jealous. He would kill Wu Chen anyway, for he saved Xuan Zhi’s life. This was a deadlock. Just as Wu Chen said, the moment he walked into the imperial palace, he had made a deal with the god of death.

Shui Yinzhu only felt more saddened by the cold reality. Maybe she was supposed to let her condition deteriorate. Even though the day would eventually come, she could still buy more time for Wu Chen.

“Wu Chen, I need an exclusive meeting with an imperial physician.”

“Why?”

“I need some painkillers for the next Heat Poison after-effect reaction.”

“I see.”

Wu Chen didn’t know that Shui Yinzhu had already made up her mind to sacrifice her own health to buy him more time. She wished she could find him a better chance to live during this period of time.

Shui Yinzhu was a clever girl with good memory. She learned a lot of folk prescriptions from Uncle Zhi and memorized them all just in case they might be of use in the future.

Then, the very clever girl asked for different medicine from different imperial physicians with various excuses. In order to keep her plan a secret, she deliberately fed some to the palace maids and eunuchs in her palace so that others would take it as she had been trying to control her servants. After all, Shui Yinzhu didn’t have any trusted servants in the imperial palace. Doing so was normal for any woman living in the harem.

As she secretly took the poison she made, her body remained weak. Yun Su had been seeking a lot of trouble with these new imperial physicians. But how was that going to work? Uncle Zhi was a highly skilled doctor. As the learned physicians were all killed, the newcomers were only too inexperienced. Some were simply new students of medicine.

After several diagnoses, their conclusion was that the empress hurt the essence of her body before. With that being the reason for her illness, she would eventually recover as long as she got enough rest.

As time went by, it was autumn again. After almost a year under good care, Empress Xi still had not fully recovered, which seemed really weird.

Even though Shui Yinzhu felt weak, she was in good spirits and visited the Xiyan Palace with Wu Chen every day. But she still had no clue of how she could send Wu Chen away. She didn’t have anyone loyal to her. If she had no hand, she couldn’t make a fist.

Time elapsed peacefully. Everything had been so normal, just like how naturally leaves fell from the trees in autumn. One day, Shui Yinzhu walked to the Xiyan Palace with Wu Chen’s help as usual.

As they got past the Imperial Garden, someone accidentally ran into Shui Yinzhu. Clearly, he was a new imperial guard who had just turned into an adult and come to the imperial palace. As he walked absent-mindedly, he accidentally ran into Shui Yinzhu.

Wu Chen immediately held the girl and checked if she was hurt. Shui Yinzhu, however, stood up from Wu Chen’s arms and smiled at him. “I’m fine,” she said.

The boy was still young and childish, with freckles on his face. He didn’t know this girl in front of him but hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry. I really am. I never meant to hurt you.”

“It’s fine. Just be careful next time.” Shui Yinzhu was in a good mood when she saw this boy in front of her. This kind of simplicity was rare to be found in people. What she didn’t realize was that she had that pure smile on her face again. It was so beautiful and clean, with no trace of calculated charm compared to the seducing ones before. It was breathtaking.

In front of the boy, the girl wore a white dress and a simple hairpin with two pearls on her bun. She looked like a goddess from heaven, showing peerless beauty.

It was the first time for the boy to see such a beautiful girl smiling at him. He went speechless. That freckled face blushed. Even Wu Chen’s heart stopped beating for a second as he saw this rare smile on Shui Yinzhu’s face.

This was the smile that once belonged to the innocent Princess Xi. She looked so pure that everyone would try to possess her.

This moment was exactly as the saying went, “A gentle smile attracts all; everyone craves the adorable. Her beauty touches the hearts of human beings and beasts, but the selfish desire of possession can never be fed.”

At the same time, the eyes of Emperor Yun Su, who was hiding in the corner of the Imperial Garden, grew dim. But no one noticed him.