When Qi Sheng arrived at the Cold Palace with a retinue of court officials, what met their eyes was a raging inferno and corpses strewn across the ground.
The ministers erupted in shock—this was no accidental fire on New Year's Eve, but a scene of murder!
Qi Sheng's face darkened the moment he saw the body of a woman being carried out by the Golden Guards who had rushed to extinguish the flames. Clinging to a sliver of hope, he demanded harshly, "What happened? Has someone grown bold enough to break into the Cold Palace at night and defile the imperial concubines?"
The Golden Guard commander, drenched in cold sweat, saluted and replied, "Your Majesty, I do not know. When we arrived upon seeing the flames, the situation was already as you see it."
Discarding all imperial decorum, Qi Sheng's eyes bulged with fury as he pressed, "Where is the scoundrel who dared invade the Cold Palace?"
The commander bowed even lower. "I have dispatched the Golden Guards to search the entire palace. If the culprit has not yet fled, he will surely be captured."
Qi Sheng's expression was so thunderous it seemed he might devour someone alive.
He had planned everything so meticulously—even obtaining the long-lost forbidden drugs, Bone-weakening Powder and the Silk of Seduction. How had Xie Zheng still managed to escape?
Hadn't they said the Bone-weakening Powder could fell even a wild bull? That the Silk of Seduction could make the most chaste woman more wanton than a brothel courtesan?
Could it be that neither had worked on Xie Zheng?
The fury of his carefully laid plans crumbling and the terror of Xie Zheng's potential retaliation tore at Qi Sheng, twisting his features into something even more monstrous. Under the bewildered and fearful gazes of the ministers, he kicked over a half-filled bucket of water meant for firefighting and roared, "Search! Tear the palace apart if you must, but find that scoundrel!"
The Golden Guard commander obeyed and led his men to comb the palace.
Amid the intensifying flames, Qi Sheng turned to face the trembling ministers, his voice dripping with malice. "What insolence! To treat my palace as if it were a common brothel! Tonight, I only entertained the court officials—your servants all waited beyond the Meridian Gate. Could it be that one of my dear ministers is the one who took advantage of the chaos to invade the Cold Palace?"
The crime of defiling the imperial harem was no small matter. The ministers exchanged uneasy glances, finding Qi Sheng's words utterly absurd.
Yet Qi Sheng seemed oblivious, continuing pointedly, "To kill so many of my Golden Guards, the culprit must possess extraordinary martial skill!"
Only the Wu'an Marquis had been absent for a considerable time. The implication in Qi Sheng's words was so blatant that the ministers grew even more silent.
Qi Sheng was indeed the Son of Heaven, but from the moment he ascended the throne, he had been nothing more than a puppet propped up by Wei Yan. The officials feared him far less than they did Xie Zheng.
After all, one was merely an emperor with no real power, while the other was a Martial Marquis commanding hundreds of thousands of troops at the border.
The sharper minds among them had already pieced together that tonight's fire was likely a staged act by Qi Sheng. Bringing them here was meant to turn them into witnesses, using the weight of the entire court to pin a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations onto the Wu'an Marquis.
Only something had gone wrong, leading to the current predicament.
Realizing this, the ministers were gripped by dread. If the Wu'an Marquis truly fell into Qi Sheng's trap, it might not matter. But if he escaped this calamity, and they were forced to serve as "witnesses," wouldn't they be silenced by the Wu'an Marquis afterward?
In that moment, many found their backs soaked with cold sweat.Tang Peiyi, He Xiujun, and the others followed at the rear of the procession. Hearing Qi Sheng's words and recalling how Xie Zheng had left his seat long ago without returning, and Fan Changyu had similarly disappeared, they exchanged glances, their brows furrowed with worry.
Taiye Pond.
After being kissed by Xie Zheng, Fan Changyu grew frantic, fearing the Golden Guard might search the area. Xie Zheng was injured, so she dared not push him too hard, and thus found herself held firmly as he kissed her for what felt like half a breath.
As Xie Zheng’s lips trailed downward, nuzzling and pecking at the side of her neck, Changyu warily scanned their surroundings, confirming the immediate area was safe for now. Seizing the opportunity, she half-dragged, half-carried the barely conscious man out of the water.
At one point, Xie Zheng nudged aside the collar of her robe, chasing the faint fragrance of her skin as he sought to kiss lower. Whether from heat or sheer tension, Changyu’s face burned crimson. She pushed his head away, wanting to scold him but knowing he was under the influence of the drug and not in control. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Hold on a little longer. I’ll get you out of the palace."
She set Xie Zheng down on the ground, his back against the rockery. His face, once pale from the icy pond, now flushed with a faint red. His breathing was ragged, his powerful chest heaving violently beneath his soaked robes, which had loosened to reveal a porcelain-like expanse of skin. The thin white undergarments clung to his taut muscles as though they were barely there.
His drenched black hair clung to his collarbones and shoulders, a striking mix of elegance and allure. His crimson eyes, clouded with delirium, remained fixed on Changyu as he pleaded, "Help me..."
Afflicted by the Bone-weakening powder, he could barely muster the strength to stand, let alone move, unless he resorted to cutting himself with a blade to stay alert.
Having endured too long, the veins at his neck stood out starkly, as if the blood vessels beneath his skin might burst at any moment.
Seeing him like this pained Changyu, and the emperor’s vile scheme only fueled her fury.
Hastily wringing out their soaked robes, she cupped Xie Zheng’s face with her own chilled hands. "Not here. Someone could come any moment."
His skin was scorching—whether from the drug or the prolonged immersion in the pond, she couldn’t tell. The moment her cold hands touched him, he seized her wrist with his own, his palm wounds blanched from the water, pulling her closer as if desperate for relief.
"Where did you leave your court robes?" she asked.
He wasn’t wearing them now. If the Golden Guard found them and the emperor used them to frame him in the Cold Palace, tonight’s trap would remain unbroken.
Perhaps the coolness of her hands brought him a sliver of clarity. As he kissed her fingers between ragged breaths, he managed to answer, "In the rockery cave... in the Imperial Garden."
Taiye Pond spanned a vast area, divided into eastern and western sections. The eastern pond, where they now were, bordered the Cold Palace. The western pond served as the heart of the rear palace, adjacent to the Imperial Garden, where an artificial rockery and stone forest had been built along its edge.
Having studied the palace layout after learning of Xie Zheng’s plan to infiltrate the Cold Palace, Changyu immediately recognized the location he mentioned.
With the Cold Palace ablaze, the water reserves along the royal path had been exhausted. The eunuchs and imperial guards fighting the fire would likely fetch water from the eastern pond, leaving the western side relatively safe for now.Fan Changyu tore a slit in her eunuch robe with her teeth, then ripped it into strips with both hands, wrapping them around the wounds on Xie Zheng’s palms and arms. “I’ll take you there now,” she said.
The fire in the Cold Palace was raging, and the nearby patrolling Golden Guard had likely rushed to extinguish it. Carrying Xie Zheng on her back, Fan Changyu encountered almost no obstacles as she made her way to the rockery forest in the imperial garden.
If there was any hindrance at all, it was Xie Zheng continuously kissing the back of her neck, loosening her collar to the point where she nearly stumbled several times. With a dark expression, Fan Changyu knocked him unconscious with a swift chop to the neck.
Upon finding the cave, Fan Changyu realized the entrance was narrow but the interior surprisingly spacious.
Afraid of being detected, she dared not light a torch. Fortunately, there was an oval-shaped opening at the top of the cave, through which she could even glimpse the imperfectly round cold moon. The moonlight streaming in from above allowed her to see just enough.
After locating the cloak and court robes Xie Zheng had previously hidden inside, she was about to strip off his soaked clothes and replace them with the dry ones when torchlight flickered outside the rockery, followed by the clanking of armor.
“Hurry! Seal the palace gates! An assassin has infiltrated the palace! A consort has already been killed in the Cold Palace!”
Fan Changyu froze, holding Xie Zheng tightly, afraid any movement might alert the Golden Guard outside.
But Xie Zheng chose that moment to wake up. As a hoarse moan escaped his lips, Fan Changyu, in desperation, silenced him with her own mouth.
Driven by instinct, he tangled his tongue with hers. Weakened by the Bone-weakening powder, his kisses were gentler than before, yet still left Fan Changyu breathless.
His body was far hotter than when they were by the Taiye Pond, as if the blood beneath his skin had reached a boiling point. If this continued, he might soon bleed from all seven orifices.
Even through the soaked fabric, Fan Changyu could feel the scorching heat of his lower body.
Their ragged breaths grew heavier, but footsteps were approaching.
Xie Zheng was completely lost to delirium. Fan Changyu allowed him to bite and suck at her neck, her eyes cold and alert as she watched the cave entrance, her hand gripping the Boning knife hidden in her boot.
The footsteps drew nearer. Fan Changyu tightened her grip on the knife, and Xie Zheng, who had been mouthing at her neck, suddenly lifted his head. His crimson phoenix eyes no longer looked human—filled only with cold, vicious bloodlust, like a wolf defending its territory.
A series of shrill cat cries, eerily similar to a baby’s wail, echoed from the top of the rockery.
The searching Golden Guard relaxed, scoffing, “Just some palace strays in heat.”
He tapped the nearby branches with his scabbard, startling two cats into fleeing with yowls.
Sheathing his blade, the guard turned back. His companion ahead asked, “Find anything over there?”
“Just a couple of strays. False alarm.”
As the footsteps faded completely, Fan Changyu’s tension dissolved, and she slumped weakly against Xie Zheng, gasping for breath.The heat from Xie Zheng's body had warmed his clothes soaked through by the pool water. He lowered his head to kiss Fan Changyu's cheek, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly as sweat began to bead along his neck.
Changyu gently caressed his face, her fingers threading through his hair along his temples. Seeing the corner of his lips bitten bloody from extreme restraint, her moonlit eyes filled with tenderness. Pressing her lips together, she said, "Let me help you."
Cold Palace.
The Golden Guard searching the area soon returned holding an object: "Your Majesty, following the trail of blood, we found this mask by the eastern edge of the Taiye Pool."
Qi Sheng examined the scarred face mask closely, unable to conceal his excitement. "And the person?"
The Golden Guard commander bowed his head. "We haven't found them yet. The blood trail ends at the pool's edge. We suspect the intruder escaped by swimming and are searching along the Taiye Pool."
Qi Sheng's grip on the mask tightened abruptly as he berated the commander: "Incompetent! You've found the intruder's belongings but failed to capture them? What use are you fools to me? Keep searching!"
The commander hastily retreated to carry out the order.
The cold moon cast its pale, frost-like glow.
Fine beads of sweat dotted Changyu's temples as she turned to look at Xie Zheng's profile resting against her shoulder.
He seemed not yet recovered, long dark lashes resting against his pale cheeks which now bore faint flushes of color—a stark contrast to the fierce intensity with which he'd been devouring the soft flesh of her neck moments earlier, now quiet and docile.
Changyu's breathing remained uneven. Wiping her hands on her soaked eunuch robes, she asked, "Feeling better?"
Xie Zheng opened his eyes slightly and nodded before pressing his palm against the back of her head, kissing her thoroughly before releasing her.
In those moments when all senses except their ragged breathing had numbed, Changyu had lost track of time. She handed him his court robes. "The Golden Guard is searching the entire palace. We need to leave."
His underrobe was still damp, while the inner layer had dried solely from his body heat.
"Wet the court robes too," Xie Zheng said.
Changyu frowned. "You'll catch cold."
Pressing his forehead against hers, he replied, "I can't explain now. Just do as I say."
Changyu stepped out to soak his court robes in water, wringing them out before helping him dress, while the night suit was wrapped around a heavy stone and sunk into the Taiye Pool.
Once prepared, as Changyu supported Xie Zheng out, she noticed his unsteady steps—clearly not just affected by aphrodisiacs.
As if reading her thoughts, Xie Zheng said, "The bone-weakening powder hasn't worn off yet."
Changyu's grip on his wrist tightened. So he'd been drugged with bone-weakening powder too!
No wonder Qi Sheng thought a mere dozen guards outside the Cold Palace could stop him.
Through clenched teeth, Changyu spat three words: "That damned emperor!"
She rarely swore, making this venomous outburst Xie Zheng's first time hearing such fury from her.
Surprised, he glanced at her, feeling as though his heart had been immersed in warm springs—the darkness from tonight's betrayal dissipating slightly. He even found himself comforting her: "First we leave the palace. We'll settle this score with Qi Sheng later."
Changyu fell silent, her lips pressed into a tight line.The two ultimately did not get their wish. On their way to the Taiji Palace, they ran headlong into Qi Sheng leading a group of court officials.
Qi Sheng was holding something resembling a face mask between his fingers. Spotting the pair, he immediately sneered, "Minister Xie, you left to change clothes and never returned. You had Us quite worried."
The flush had completely faded from Xie Zheng's face, leaving only the pallor from excessive blood loss and prolonged immersion in the Taiye Pool. Supported by Fan Changyu to walk, his voice remained as clear and steady as ever: "This subject has caused Your Majesty concern. The fault is mine."
Qi Sheng swept a glance over Xie Zheng's unchanged court robes, his eyes gleaming strangely as he pressed aggressively: "We observe that Minister Xie's wine-stained robes have not been changed. Might We inquire where you have been during this time?"
Tang Peiyi, He Xiujun and others cast worried looks their way.
Seeing the situation, Fan Changyu couldn't help but sweat for Xie Zheng. Yet his response was remarkably composed: "Shameful indeed. This humble official was being led by attendants to change clothes when I spotted a thief scaling the walls. Thinking that no mishap should occur during this New Year's Eve banquet, I gave chase. Unfortunately, weakened by drink, I was no match for the thief—after being wounded by him, I accidentally fell into the Taiye Pool. Had General of the Cloud Banner not passed by, this official would likely have become another ghost in those waters."
So this was why he'd insisted on soaking his court robes as well.
Fan Changyu was still marveling at how effortlessly he lied when the gazes of Qi Sheng and all the officials simultaneously turned to her—her hair strands and official robes thoroughly drenched.
Acting as a human crutch, she employed her signature skill: widening her large, slightly rounded almond eyes and nodding, appearing the very picture of earnest simplicity.
Yet her palms were slick with cold sweat.
Xie Zheng seemed to notice and, under cover of his wide sleeves, gave her hand an imperceptible squeeze.
Qi Sheng sneered as he questioned Fan Changyu: "Might We ask why the General of the Cloud Banner happened to be at the Taiye Pool?"
Fan Changyu maintained a stern expression: "This general had drunk too much and went to change clothes. Upon exiting the hall, I noticed flames rising from the direction of the Cold Palace and went to help extinguish them. Passing by the Taiye Pool, I discovered the Marquis who had fallen into the water."
Receiving this answer, Qi Sheng's expression grew extremely unpleasant. He raised the disguise mask in his hand: "The Golden Guard found this mask by the eastern bank of the Taiye Pool while following bloodstains. Does Minister Xie recognize it?"
Xie Zheng examined the mask carefully before replying: "It looks somewhat familiar. Though the thief I fought wore a mask, I recall a scar running from his brow bone across the bridge of his nose. Presumably the thief was wearing a disguise—this mask must belong to him."
Faced with such sophistry, Qi Sheng gnashed his teeth in frustration, forcing a smile as he said: "How remarkably coincidental. The thief who broke into the Cold Palace was injured, and so was Minister Xie. Might We ask if anyone else witnessed this thief you speak of?"
He was determined to pin the crime of breaking into the Cold Palace on Xie Zheng.
Fan Changyu looked at Qi Sheng, her gaze barely containing its chill.
Yet Xie Zheng calmly responded: "The eunuch who escorted me to change clothes also saw him."
A flash of surprise crossed Fan Changyu's eyes, while Qi Sheng's expression twisted violently. He demanded: "Where is this eunuch now?"Xie Zheng's phoenix eyes, still tinged with the remnants of bloodlust, met Qi Sheng's gaze. There seemed to be a faint smile in their depths, but beneath that smile lay an unmistakable, murderous intent that made Qi Sheng involuntarily shudder, his ferocious expression dimming slightly.
Xie Zheng withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "He saw the thief, cried out in alarm, and was knocked unconscious by the thief. He's now in the side hall of Linde Palace."
Qi Sheng's back was already soaked with cold sweat. He knew that if Xie Zheng couldn't be convicted today, it would be his own neck on the line in the future.
Even though fear had taken root in his heart, he gritted his teeth and said, "To Linde Palace."
He was certain Xie Zheng was bluffing.
To avoid arousing Xie Zheng's suspicion, the eunuch who had led Xie Zheng to change clothes wasn't someone who knew about the plan. Knowing no thief had entered the palace, Qi Sheng was sure Xie Zheng was lying through his teeth.
As long as he found that eunuch and forced a confession out of him, he could convict Xie Zheng!
Qi Sheng led the group at the front, but his hands, clasped behind his back, were drenched in cold sweat.
He kept reassuring himself—just find that eunuch, and everything would be fine...
The entourage marched in a grand procession to Linde Palace.
Fan Changyu supported Xie Zheng, clearly feeling the heat radiating from his arm again. Though he was trying hard to control it, his breathing was still somewhat heavy.
She glanced at him worriedly, but Xie Zheng kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, his face betraying no sign of abnormality.
Changyu couldn't tell whether he was running a fever from the chill or if the effects of that vile drug were resurfacing. Now wasn't the time to speak, so she remained silent. But as they walked, Xie Zheng's grip on her arm grew increasingly tight. Though his gaze remained sharp and clear, beads of sweat had begun to form at his temples.
The Golden Guard quickly found the eunuch lying unconscious by a pillar. When a bucket of cold water woke him, the eunuch, recalling the noise he'd heard before being knocked out, instinctively shouted, "Assassins!"
Hearing this, Qi Sheng's face twisted even more savagely. He kicked the eunuch straight in the chest: "You damned slave! What assassins? Speak clearly!"
The eunuch was sent sprawling, writhing in pain and unable to get up. Seeing the emperor and a crowd of officials surrounding him, his face filled with terror.
At this moment, Xie Zheng spoke up: "Eunuch, on your way leading this marquis to change clothes, did you see a thief scaling the palace wall?"
The eunuch had only heard noises from the wall earlier. But after being kicked and interrogated about assassins by Qi Sheng, and with so many officials staring at him, he was utterly terrified and blank-minded. He immediately nodded frantically along with Xie Zheng's words: "Yes, yes! Someone definitely climbed over the palace wall!"
With this witness, Xie Zheng had now completely proven his innocence for the night.
Qi Sheng staggered back a step, the eunuch supporting him looking equally panicked.
Qi Sheng's face was ashen. At this moment, only one thought filled his mind: It's over. He's finished.
A flush had risen again on Xie Zheng's face. Covering his mouth, he coughed lightly twice before casting a cold glance at Qi Sheng: "This subject was injured while fighting the thief and then caught a chill from nearly drowning in the Taiye Pool. In my current ill state, I lack the strength to assist Your Majesty in searching for the thief. I shall take my leave of the palace now."
A deafening buzz filled Qi Sheng's head—he could no longer hear anything Xie Zheng was saying.
Without waiting for Qi Sheng's permission, Xie Zheng departed on his own. None of the officials dared to speak up.At that moment, urgent news came from the Changmen Narrow Path: "Report—assassins raided the Court of Revision tonight and abducted the Su family's key prisoner!"
Upon hearing this, the assembled ministers couldn't help but erupt in shocked murmurs.
Fan Changyu knew it must have been Xie Zheng's men who successfully rescued the prisoner from the Court of Revision, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Surprisingly, despite such a major incident occurring, Qi Sheng's face showed no ripple of emotion. He didn't even question the Chief Minister of the Court of Revision who was present at the palace banquet. In the end, it was the chief eunuch who dismissed the court officials from the banquet on his behalf—
After following Qi Sheng to the Cold Palace, Tang Peiyi and the others had been holding their breath for Xie Zheng. It wasn't until now that they finally let out that breath in relief.
As the group left the palace together, Zheng Wenchang's sharp eyes noticed that the Wu'an Marquis ahead seemed seriously injured. With Fan Changyu supporting him, most of his weight was leaning on her slender shoulders. Zheng immediately moved to assist.
Tang Peiyi grabbed him by the collar and asked, "What are you doing?"
Zheng Wenchang replied, "The Marquis appears severely injured. How can we let General Fan, a woman, bear his weight alone? I'll go help support him."
The look Tang Peiyi gave him was indescribable, finally saying only, "Stay out of it."
Zheng Wenchang was utterly confused. "Why?"
Beside them, He Xiujun cleared his throat and slung an arm around Zheng's shoulders. "Brother Wenchang, support me instead. I'm a bit drunk."
As Zheng Wenchang was He Jingyuan's protégé and as close as brothers with He Xiujun, he knew perfectly well the latter's alcohol tolerance. He immediately shrugged him off. "You're at least seventy percent away from being drunk!"
Puzzled, he looked at his friend. "Both you and General Tang are acting strangely."
He Xiujun sighed and decided to be direct. "Are you really this dense? Can't you see the Marquis and General Fan are about to announce their happy news?"
Zheng Wenchang frowned deeply. "Because General Fan rescued the Marquis from Taiye Pond and they had physical contact?"
He immediately continued, "This shows you don't understand General Fan. With her magnanimity and spirit, she's no less than any great man. How could she be bound by such trivial etiquette..."
The expressions on Tang Peiyi and He Xiujun's faces grew even more inscrutable.
Had this man noticed nothing unusual back in Lucheng?
Finally, He Xiujun just patted Zheng Wenchang's shoulder and said, "Brother Wenchang, if you ever have trouble finding a wife in the future, come ask your sister-in-law to arrange a match for you."
Standing rooted to the spot as Tang and He walked away, Zheng Wenchang's face showed increasing bewilderment.
What did this have to do with him getting married someday?
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