At the palace gates, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Fan Changyu couldn't simply board the Xie family's carriage so openly.
She handed Xie Zheng, whose condition was worsening, to Xie Shiyi, who had hurried forward. Xie Shiyi immediately noticed something was wrong and asked anxiously, "General, what's wrong with the master...?"
Time was pressing, so Fan Changyu only lowered her voice and instructed, "Take him back to the Xie residence at once, then send someone to fetch a physician."
As she tried to pull her hand away, Xie Zheng gripped her wrist tightly. The bloodshot hue in his eyes, which had faded slightly, slowly returned, appearing almost ferocious under the flickering lantern light at the palace gates.
Unable to free herself, Fan Changyu helped him into the carriage and whispered to him by the carriage shaft, "Let go first. I won’t leave. I just need to give Xie Wu a few instructions, then I’ll come back."
Tonight, Xie Wu, who had followed her through life and death since her days as a squad leader, had accompanied her into the palace.
Only then did Xie Zheng release her hand. As he collapsed onto the carriage seat, sweat beaded at his hairline, and a faint flush spread across his pale face. Under the soft bamboo-patterned light inside the carriage, he looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Steeling her heart, Fan Changyu let the carriage curtain fall and jumped down, telling Xie Shiyi, "Go ahead first."
Xie Shiyi seemed to grasp the situation and didn’t dare delay, flicking the reins to drive the carriage away swiftly.
Many court officials were also leaving the palace at this time, and witnessing this scene, their expressions varied.
Just then, Tang Peiyi caught up and called out to Fan Changyu, "General Fan, shall we return to the Office of Presentations together?"
Fan Changyu turned back, still wanting to check on Xie Zheng. Afraid that leaving with Tang Peiyi and the others would make it harder to slip away later, she was about to refuse when He Xiujun gave her a meaningful glance. Thinking they had something to discuss, she nodded instead. "Alright."
Their carriages set off together toward the Office of Presentations, and the court officials who emerged afterward dared not gossip openly.
Xie Wu had also seen Fan Changyu supporting Xie Zheng out of the palace earlier. Once she boarded the carriage, he asked, "General, did something happen at the palace banquet?"
Fan Changyu’s nerves had been taut all evening, and now her temples throbbed faintly. Rubbing her brow, she said, "It’s a long story. Later, return to the Office of Presentations alone and let Auntie know I’m safe. I’m going to the Xie residence."
She couldn’t shake her worry over Xie Zheng’s condition.
Xie Wu had just acknowledged when he suddenly reined in the horses with a "Whoa!"
Hearing someone outside call her "worthy sister," Fan Changyu lifted the carriage curtain to see Tang Peiyi’s carriage stopped at a fork in the road.
He Xiujun leaned out from the window and said, "Changyu, my worthy sister, General Tang, Brother Wen Chang, and I wish to see the New Year’s Eve Lantern Festival, so we won’t accompany you further."
Since she addressed He Jingyuan as "Uncle," He Xiujun had always acted as an elder brother figure around her.
Even if Fan Changyu were slow-witted, she’d understand that Tang Peiyi and the others were helping her out of a tight spot.
Her dive into the Taiye Pool to "rescue" Xie Zheng tonight would inevitably stir talk among the court officials. If she left alone, it would invite wild speculation. Leaving with them would at least quell some of the gossip.
Grateful but unable to express it properly now, she nodded. "Then go ahead with General Tang, Brother. The New Year’s Eve market in the capital is a grand sight. Once you’re familiar with the place, you can bring Sister-in-Law to see it another time."He Xiujun responded with a smile and lowered the carriage curtain—
The north wind howled, swirling fine snowflakes through the streets thick with the scent of firecrackers and gunpowder.
The rhythmic clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels were unusually distinct, as if shadows flickered past. The candlelight inside the carriage trembled as a cold gust swept through the window.
Fan Changyu helped Xie Zheng, who was slumped against the seat, his lips bitten raw and bleeding once more. Her brows furrowed tightly. "How are you?"
Xie Zheng's breath burned like fire. When his bloodshot phoenix eyes recognized her, he immediately pressed a hand to the back of her neck and sealed her lips with a kiss.
The effects of the Bone-weakening powder seemed to be fading slightly, as the force he exerted on her neck was immense, his lips and teeth ravaging hers with unrestrained intensity. Changyu could only tilt her head back and endure.
Moments later, the carriage came to a halt. Xie Shiyi's voice came from outside, hesitant but firm. "Master, we've arrived."
Changyu braced her hands against Xie Zheng's chest, her shoulder stinging faintly from the scrape of his canine teeth. Her fingers clenched tightly around the front of his robes, her face flushing a delicate pink as she gritted her teeth against the strange sensations his kiss ignited within her.
"Take the carriage through the side gate. Don't alert anyone else in the residence."
Xie Zheng's eyes were clouded, his voice hoarse and heavy.
Xie Shiyi obeyed swiftly, steering the carriage toward the side gate. After presenting the token, the Xie family servants opened the gate, allowing the carriage to slip inside almost soundlessly before stopping in front of the main courtyard.
Xie Shiyi went to fetch the physician who resided in the estate, while Changyu, having caught her breath, helped Xie Zheng out of the carriage.
The moment they entered the room, Xie Zheng pinned her against the door, his lips and teeth roaming wildly over her neck and shoulders, his breathing ragged and uneven. His deep voice, usually clear, was now rough with desire. "Changyu... A Yu..."
The vulnerable flesh of her neck was teased by sharp teeth, sending a taut tension through the veins beneath her skin. Even as Changyu clenched her jaw, subtle tremors traveled from her neck all the way to her fingertips.
Her eyes glistened with unshed moisture, but she said nothing, only shooting Xie Zheng a glare that was equal parts pain and irritation—enough to snap the last fragile thread of his restraint.
The exquisitely embroidered, high-quality court robes of her third-rank military official were torn open with a sharp rip as he bowed his head to kiss her again.
Changyu's back pressed against the carved wooden door, sweat trickling down her jaw, her lips pressed pale.
She pushed at him weakly. "Your injuries... You need medicine first."
Xie Zheng's breathing was unsteady as he lifted his head and murmured an agreement. But the moment he tried to rise, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face ashen as he collapsed.
Changyu startled, quickly catching him. "Xie Zheng! What's wrong?"
She carried him to the daybed, calling loudly for Xie Shiyi to hurry with the physician. Her half-damp court robes, now torn open, were unfit to be seen, so she rushed to Xie Zheng's clothing chest to grab something of his to wear temporarily.
Pulling on an arrow-sleeved long robe, she was surprised to find it fit her perfectly.
Changyu paused, then held up several more garments against herself—each one was just the right size.
This chest of clothes... Had he prepared them all for her in advance?
Her gaze fell on the pale, unconscious man on the daybed, and her heart clenched with an indescribable ache.
Xie Shiyi soon returned with the physician, who took Xie Zheng's pulse, his frown deepening.
Changyu asked urgently, "Doctor, how is he?"The physician pricked Xie Zheng's fingertip with a silver needle to draw a drop of blood, his expression extremely grave as he said, "The Marquis's condition stems from excessive heart fire. This fire originates from the life gate, circulates through the triple burners, and accumulates in the liver and kidneys. It has grown so intense that it damages the internal organs, causing blood vomiting. Though I've bled the Shangyang acupoint to relieve some symptoms, this is merely treating the manifestations, not the root cause. If this fire isn't dispersed, the Marquis's condition could become extremely dangerous..."
When Xie Shiyi escorted the physician out, he knelt before Fan Changyu at the doorway. Head bowed low, as if aware his request might be presumptuous, he choked out, "General, I beg you to save the Marquis."
Fan Changyu sat on a stool, watching Xie Zheng who still hadn't woken after the physician's acupuncture treatment, and simply said, "Leave."
Xie Shiyi kowtowed to her before closing the door behind him.
Fan Changyu approached and sat by the couch. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to Xie Zheng's lips before murmuring softly, "You're married into my family now."
...
That night, the entire imperial capital was alive with celebration. The palace blazed with lights, while all 108 wards outside the city walls were similarly illuminated. The laughter of children and cries of street vendors could be heard streets away.
At the stroke of midnight, golden bells from temples across the city began tolling—one resonant chime after another, distant yet lingering, as if announcing to the mortal world that the old year had passed and a new one arrived.
Thousands of fireworks shot into the snow-filled night sky from across the wards, instantly painting the heavens with dazzling colors. Neighbors set off firecrackers to welcome the new year, the continuous "pop-pop-crackle" creating a scene of joyous commotion.
Fan Changyu lay sprawled across the warm white jade stones of the hot spring pool, her damp hair clinging to flushed cheeks, her entire body tinged pink. She'd lost count of how many fireworks she'd seen—now completely exhausted, as if she'd just fought a major battle.
The man behind her pressed against her back, enveloping her completely before beginning to nibble at her shoulder again. Changyu instinctively hunched her shoulders and turned her head to ask, "Hasn't the medicine worn off yet?"
Her cheeks were crimson, sweat-dampened strands of hair still sticking haphazardly to her face. Her lips were swollen, and her bright eyes glistened with moisture.
Though her expression remained stubborn, there was an undeniable hint of pitifulness to it now.
Xie Zheng gazed at her, his dark eyes fathomless, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly before he rasped, "No."
As ripples disturbed the water, Changyu muffled another moan against her arm.
Too drained to move, she simply rested her head on her arms against the pool's edge, enduring.
Her muddled thoughts circled back to one thing: It must be because she'd neglected her martial training since coming to the capital. Xie Zheng had taken Bone-weakening powder, hadn't he? How was his stamina still better than hers?
Starting tomorrow, she'd definitely resume rigorous training.
That same night, others also found sleep elusive.
After all officials had departed the palace banquet, an unremarkable carriage exited through the Western Flowery Gate. Its wheels crushed through thick snow as it headed straight for the Prime Minister's residence.
Unlike the city's festive lantern displays, the Prime Minister's estate remained solemn as ever. Even the row of red lanterns hanging along its corridors failed to lend any cheer—instead, in the unnervingly silent night, they exuded an ominous gloom.
This time, due to the raging snowstorm outside, Qi Sheng was finally admitted into Wei Yan's study.
Still wearing his cloak, the melted snow from its hood left patchy damp stains from the room's brazier heat, lending him the disheveled appearance of a stray dog.Wei Yan sat behind a low table. On this cold night, he still wore only a thin cloth garment. His aged yet sinewy hand gripped a purple-haired brush, swiftly writing something on the paper before him, treating the emperor standing below as if he were invisible.
Qi Sheng, however, paid no mind to the slight. Whether it was the biting chill of the New Year’s Eve snow or the overwhelming terror of his failed scheme tonight, his voice trembled as he spoke: “Chancellor, save me—save me! Xie Zheng intends to kill his sovereign!”
Wei Yan’s brush never paused, nor did he lift his gaze as he asked, “Why would he want to kill you?”
Qi Sheng glanced at Wei Yan and said, “He… he’s been investigating the matter of my sixteenth brother. He found a mad palace maid in the Cold Palace who once served Jia Guifei. That lunatic claimed you had an illicit affair with a consort!”
The moment these words left his mouth, the purple-haired brush in Wei Yan’s hand snapped under the force of his grip. Slowly, he raised his eyes to Qi Sheng, his gaze no different than if he were looking at a dead man.
Qi Sheng was startled by that look. He had originally intended to use the maid as leverage to threaten Wei Yan, but now he hastily changed his tune.
His eyes bulged unnaturally as he lied with exaggerated intensity: “Xie Zheng was going to seek confirmation from that maid. I feared he would use this against you, Chancellor, so I devised a plan to pin the crimes of adultery and defiling the imperial harem onto Xie Zheng. It was supposed to be flawless—but tonight, he somehow unraveled it all…”
He even began to weep, tears and snot streaming down his face. “Xie Zheng has long harbored treasonous thoughts. He will surely kill me! Everything I did was for your sake, Chancellor. You must save me!”
Wei Yan set down the cracked brush. “So, Your Majesty, what exactly did you hear from that maid?”
The tone was calm, yet it carried a killing intent that seeped into every pore. Qi Sheng’s sobs abruptly ceased as he froze in place.
For a fleeting moment, he felt as though the shadows of Xie Zheng and Wei Yan—uncle and nephew—had overlapped into one.
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