Over half a year had passed, yet Mingyi still remembered that night vividly. Poison had overtaken her then, forcing her to her knees as she vomited blood across the floor. The crimson stains seeped into the sapphire-blue carpet, a horrifying sight.
Empress Si Hou arrived in haste, pushing the door open but making no move to help her up. Instead, she stood at the threshold, her voice laced with frustration, "Could you not hold out for even one more day?"
At the time, Mingyi hadn’t understood what those words meant. She had never suffered from poisoning before and had no idea why her meridians were suddenly corroding. Hold out? How? With what?
Later, she realized—the Empress cared only for her struggle against Meng Shi. The hidden cache of poisons and antidotes had been discovered and burned by Meng Shi’s faction in their bid for power. How could Mingyi not have the decency to delay her poisoning, to endure just a little longer and secure victory for her mother?
Mingyi had always been considerate, had won countless battles for her. But that night, the pain was unbearable. Kneeling before the Empress, she laughed through the agony, "Does Mother not even ask whether I might die?"
The Empress didn’t need to ask. She already knew the answer.
"I am the last person who wishes for your death. You know how many years my family and I have devoted to nurturing you," she said coldly, her gaze fixed on Mingyi as if she were a useless failure—someone she still hoped for, yet deemed unworthy, sighing in disappointment.
Mingyi’s face was deathly pale when she suddenly asked, "If I hadn’t been born with Crimson Meridians, would you have even acknowledged me?"
The Empress gave no reply. Just then, Meng Shi stormed into the courtyard with her entourage, calling out cheerfully, "Sister, catching up with your daughter? You have guests—come greet them."
The word "daughter" sent terror through the Empress. Without hesitation, she shoved Mingyi into Ming An’s arms and hissed, "Dispose of her. Don’t let them find a chance to examine the body."
Ming An leaped out the window with Mingyi in tow.
The nights in Sunspire City were not cold, but the wind was fierce, whipping so hard she could barely keep her eyes open. All she could smell was the metallic tang of blood at her lips and the acrid scent of the torches carried by the guards beside her.
She never imagined the last words her mother would say to her would be an order to have her disposed of—to leave no trace of her remains.
The memories of the past decade—fighting for her mother, for her mother’s family, for her father, for Sunspire City—were all torn apart by the wind and burned away in the torchlight, pitiful as a cruel joke.
Ming An glanced back at her in the flickering light and suddenly asked, "Does Your Highness have anything to say?"
Mingyi parted her lips, frowning. "So I was poisoned."
"Since you were ten."
"Then today’s defeat at the hands of a nobody wasn’t because I was weak—it was the poison." She closed her eyes. "Make sure the inner court knows this."
Ming An fell silent for a long moment.
The group carried her out of the main city. Ming An dismissed the others, then approached her with a dagger. Mingyi had no strength left to resist—she could only lie there, waiting for death.
Yet instead of striking, he cut the ropes binding her and lifted her onto a waiting beast-drawn carriage.
"Your Highness asked the Empress whether she would have acknowledged you if you hadn’t been born with Crimson Meridians," he said with a faint, knowing smile. "The Empress’s children can only be born with Crimson Meridians."The Si Hou clan were originally herders. It was only because of their unique bloodline that produced two or three exceptionally talented Fighters, and most children born into the clan possessed innate gifts, that they were exceptionally admitted into the rear court by Sunspire City's Minister Superior.
Her first child, born under the watchful eyes of all, could not have ordinary Meridians—not even the hues of concubine-red or water-red would suffice. It had to be pure, unadulterated crimson.
Thus, Mingyi, born with Crimson Meridians, even if she was a daughter, had to be disguised as a son and raised as her heir.
"There might be someone who can help you—someone who can cure your poison and take you back to Sunspire City." As the beast-drawn carriage prepared to depart, Ming An slipped her a note. "Live on, Your Highness. Find him. If he still lives, he should be around your age."
...
The wind that once rustled the carriage curtains in her memories now brushed lightly against the stray strands of hair at Mingyi’s temples.
She studied the man before her. "I don’t recall ever granting you any favors, nor do I remember sharing any particular bond with you. In the inner court, you never spared a glance for anyone but the Empress."
If there was nothing to gain from her, there was no reason for him to help her like this.
Ming An smiled, faint creases forming at the corners of his eyes. "Your Highness will understand in time. But for now, you must leave quickly. If the Empress learns you’re still alive, she won’t rest until she has you. After all, if your true gender is confirmed, the Si Hou clan will face extermination."
Mingyi’s frown deepened. "I remember—though your ties to the Empress are distant, you’re still of the same clan. You have even less reason to risk annihilation by letting me go. Unless..."
"Your Highness," Ming An interrupted gently, still smiling. "Since we’ve met again, there will be plenty of time for explanations later. Why rush now?"
Hearing distant footsteps approaching, Mingyi fell silent. She gave Ming An a long, searching look before snatching the bags of Shell Coins by the bedside. Tossing one to him, she scooped up Xiuyun and leapt out the window.
The bag of Shell Coins was heavy, many of them in denominations of a thousand. Ming An raised an eyebrow, running his fingers over them before chuckling.
The footsteps behind him grew louder. The door swung open again as the guard captain, Ying Liancang, entered with his men, shaking his head. "The Empress gave you a chance to redeem yourself."
"I have committed no crime. There is nothing to redeem."
"Twice now, you’ve allowed a fugitive to escape. Even with over a decade of kinship between us, I can’t save you this time."
Still smiling, Ming An weighed the bag in his hand before passing it to Ying Liancang. "After working together for so many years, surely burying me once isn’t too much to ask?"
"..." Ying Liancang accepted the pouch, lowering his gaze.
His men rushed past him in pursuit of Mingyi, their movements thunderous. Only then did he raise his blade, resting it horizontally above Ming An’s head.
Mingyi ran without looking back. Xiuyun was too slow, so she carried her on her back, intermittently riding her sword when her Essence Power allowed. When it ran low, she sprinted on foot, resting briefly before taking to the sword again. This way, they managed to stay ahead of their pursuers.
Xiuyun, jostled breathless, finally found her voice once they steadied on the sword. "That man was so kind. The way he looked at you just now—it was like... like you were some kind of treasure."
Mingyi froze, her speed faltering abruptly.She rarely saw Ming An and had never really interacted with him. In her memory, every time her mother came to check on her training progress, Ming An would stand in the distance, hands clasped, glancing over briefly.
Far from being kind, he had barely spoken to her in over a decade. So why had someone like him just shown such emotion moments ago?
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