Fengxian did not elaborate on her plan, but before leaving, she repeatedly reminded Zhenzhen to keep it a secret, not to reveal a single word of what she had said today to anyone in the prince's residence. She sternly warned Zhenzhen, "If you want to escape from the prince's residence as soon as possible, this is the best opportunity, and likely the only one. Pretend you never heard my words, and wait until the day of the Eastern Palace banquet to act according to the situation. But if you mention this to anyone in the coming days, all our efforts will be wasted, and you will spend the rest of your life accompanying a patient you dislike." After a pause, she added, "When you serve at the banquet, don't stand too close to Yin Qi, but don't stay too far away either. Be careful to protect yourself."
With Zhenzhen's intelligence, it was not difficult to guess Fengxian's intended plan upon reflecting on her words: wontons would trigger Yin Qi's illness. Fengxian might contact Yun Yinge, who now worked in the Eastern Palace, to add a dish of wontons to the banquet. Once Yin Qi fell ill and caused a disturbance, posing a threat to Zhenzhen, who would be serving nearby, Fengxian would then ask the Second Great King to speak to the Crown Prince and request his intervention to save her.
This plan was certainly feasible, as the Crown Prince was kind-hearted and had previously helped Zhenzhen, likely leaving a favorable impression on him. Moreover, the palace maid Yin Qi had accidentally killed before was a gift from the Eastern Palace, so the Crown Prince would undoubtedly not allow a similar tragedy to occur again.
However, if she followed this plan, Zhenzhen felt guilty toward Yin Qi. Since his last episode, Lady of Chen had invited renowned physicians to treat him. He had to take large doses of medicine daily, which made him nauseous, often causing him to vomit both the medicine and the food he had consumed. His complexion was now extremely pale, and he appeared even thinner. To provoke another episode would be to subject him to physical and mental torment once more, and it was uncertain whether he could recover as he had this time.
The invitation from the Eastern Palace arrived as expected, requesting Yin Qi and his brother to attend the banquet with their parents. When Lady of Chen asked for Yin Qi's opinion, he smiled and said, "I can go. I've been feeling refreshed these past two days and would like to go out for a walk."
After Lady of Chen left, he took the medicine Zhenzhen offered and drank it in one gulp. He then retched several times, tears forced from his eyes, but he covered his mouth with his sleeve and ultimately suppressed the urge, preventing himself from vomiting the medicine.
Zhenzhen patted his back and fanned him, advising, "If it's hard to swallow, take it in smaller sips. There's no need to drink it so hastily."
Yin Qi shook his head and said, "I want to recover as soon as possible..." Later, he whispered to Zhenzhen with a smile, "When you accompany me to the Eastern Palace, you'll likely meet many friends you made while working in the Bureau of Palace Provisions. You've been in the prince's residence for many days without being able to go out, so you must be feeling quite stifled. This is a good opportunity to relax and enjoy yourself."
Zhenzhen was momentarily stunned, realizing that his unusually positive attitude toward taking medicine was to improve his condition and avoid missing the banquet, which would deprive her of the chance to reunite with old friends.
"Did I frighten you when I fell ill last time?" Yin Qi suddenly asked, looking at Zhenzhen, who was still lost in thought.
Zhenzhen couldn't help but widen her eyes. "You know..."
"When I have an episode, I don't know what I'm doing," Yin Qi lowered his gaze and said gloomily. "The day before yesterday, I overheard the maidservants in my room discussing it during my nap and learned that I nearly hurt you."
With that, he stood up and led Zhenzhen into the inner chamber. "I have something to give you."He dismissed all the maidservants and waited until only he and Zhenzhen remained in the room before opening the cabinet door. From a locked box, he retrieved a jade hairpin and handed it to Zhenzhen for her to examine.
Zhenzhen studied it closely. The hairpin was pure white and lustrous, with a cloud-shaped head featuring soft, elegant lines. What set it apart was that the tail had been sharpened to a fine point, as keen as a weapon, capable of inflicting harm.
“There are no sharp objects in my room, but they don’t know I secretly polished this,” Yin Qi said with a mischievous smile, like a child planning a prank behind his parents’ back. “Now I’m giving it to you.”
Zhenzhen remarked that the jade hairpin was too precious and tried to decline, but Yin Qi wordlessly took her hand and pressed the hairpin into her palm. “Keep it,” he said. “Wear it in your hair from now on. If I fall ill again, pull it out and use it to stab me.”
His eyes were as clear as a child’s, gazing at her earnestly, eagerly hoping she would accept this gift that might one day harm him.
For no apparent reason, Zhenzhen felt a lump in her throat. She shook her head and handed the hairpin back to Yin Qi. “If you take your medicine and rest properly, nothing will happen. I won’t need this hairpin.”
Yin Qi accepted the hairpin and gently tucked it into Zhenzhen’s hair. Softly, he said, “Use it well. If you were hurt by me, it might pain me more than being stabbed by this hairpin.”
This left Zhenzhen even more conflicted. She understood, as Fengxian had said, that the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet was an excellent opportunity to escape from the prince’s residence. Yet, she had no desire to cause harm to Yin Qi. Moved by his kindness toward her, she had nearly given up on the chance to escape. She tried to persuade Yin Qi not to attend the banquet at the Eastern Palace, but he replied, “My father has already informed the Eastern Palace that I will attend. Canceling at the last minute would be a grave offense… Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Crown Prince. I’d like to spend time with him and his brothers.”
Thus, Zhenzhen found herself at a loss, unable to think of a way to protect him from potential harm.
The next day, Zhenzhen accompanied Yin Qi on a stroll through the garden. Autumn was at its peak, and beyond the lakeside rocks, layers of maple, acer, and smoke trees blazed like fire, their reflections dyeing the clear, rippling water with the colors of sunset. The rustling wind swept through the falling leaves, and the winding path, once lush and green, was now carpeted with golden blossoms. As they walked, they suddenly heard something fall behind the rocks beside them, landing on the dry leaves with a continuous, rustling sound.
Zhenzhen led Yin Qi around the rocks, where they discovered a white egret flapping its wings and struggling on the ground. Its body was pure white, with a long neck, beak, and legs, its form exceptionally graceful. However, its leg appeared injured, seeping with a patch of crimson blood.
Zhenzhen stepped forward to examine it and said to Yin Qi, “It looks like it was grazed by an arrow. It must have flown some distance after being hit before its strength gave out and it fell.”
Yin Qi examined the egret’s wound closely and said, “Fortunately, it’s not serious.” He then asked Zhenzhen for a handkerchief, which he used to bandage the egret’s leg before gently placing it on the ground.
The egret hobbled a few steps but still lacked the strength to stand, collapsing once more. Yin Qi gently stroked its feathers and said, “Since you’ve come, you are our guest. Rest here and recover from your injury before you leave.”
Yin Qi initially intended to entrust the egret to the cook who tended to the poultry, but Zhenzhen, recalling the white cranes in Lin Hong’s garden, objected, saying such a fine bird should not be kept among chickens and ducks. Together, they carefully selected a sheltered spot by the lakeside, shielded by rocks, and carried the egret there to rest. They then fetched some grains from the kitchen to feed it.Zhenzhen looked around and added, "We also need to build a fence around it to prevent it from fluttering about or being disturbed by other small animals."
She quickly borrowed tools from the gardener, cut some bamboo herself, and built a fence around the egret's resting place. After carefully inspecting it and finding no flaws, she left with Yin Qi.
Unexpectedly, a violent storm swept through that night. Zhenzhen was sleeping fitfully and was awakened by the sound of wind and rain just before dawn. After lying still for a moment, she suddenly remembered the egret by the lake. With a start, she thought, "Oh no!" She hurriedly threw on her clothes, grabbed an umbrella, and rushed to the lakeside.
The newly built fence had indeed been scattered by the sudden downpour and fierce wind, and the egret was nowhere to be seen. Shortly after, Yin Qi also arrived. After searching for a long time with Zhenzhen, they finally discovered the egret's body floating on the lake. Most likely, the fence had collapsed, and the egret, swept into the lake by the storm and unable to free itself due to its injuries, had drowned.
Zhenzhen was deeply distressed and said to Yin Qi with a heavy heart, "I should have listened to you and taken it to the poultry enclosure, or at least built a sturdier fence... It's all my fault."
Though also saddened, Yin Qi gently comforted Zhenzhen, "You saved it and carefully built a fence for it. It must be very grateful to you in heaven. The storm was an unavoidable natural disaster; it has nothing to do with you. It's not your fault, so don't dwell on it too much."
Hearing this, Zhenzhen looked at Yin Qi in a daze, seeing the soothing warmth in his gaze. Pondering his words, a sudden thought stirred within her. She then turned toward the egret on the lake, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently offered a prayer.
Two days later, Yin Qi suggested playing the blindfolded taste-testing game with Zhenzhen again. Zhenzhen happily agreed but requested a change: she would prepare several pastries for Yin Qi to taste blindfolded, and he would then identify what they were.
Yin Qi laughed and said, "That's far too easy."
Zhenzhen shook her head. "Not necessarily. I've learned many pastry-making techniques at the Bureau of Palace Provisions. It's unlikely you've seen them all, so it would be normal if you couldn't identify one or two."
Yin Qi agreed. At Zhenzhen's request, no one else was allowed to be present during dinner as he quietly sampled the pastries she had made.
That evening, Zhenzhen went to the kitchen to prepare the pastries. Citing the need for secrecy, she declined the other cooks' offers to watch. After making several pastries, she placed them in a food box and brought it to Yin Qi's room.
Yin Qi allowed her to blindfold him with a silk scarf. Zhenzhen then opened the food box, took out one pastry, picked up a piece with chopsticks, and brought it to Yin Qi's lips.
Yin Qi took a small bite, chewed briefly, and smiled. "It's a crab meat bun."
Zhenzhen happily announced he was correct, then took out another pastry for him to taste.
This was truly effortless for Yin Qi. "This is Goryeo chestnut cake."
He continued to identify each one with ease and confidence: crisp seal pastry, peony cake, steamed stuffed bun, small steamer cake, noodles with shrimp and minced meat topping... until the final one.
When Zhenzhen used a spoon to place a small wonton into his mouth, his confident smile instantly froze. Holding the wonton without chewing, still blindfolded, his body began to tremble involuntarily, and a flush spread across his face.
Zhenzhen promptly set down the spoon and took his hand. "This time, what is it?"
"It's... it's..." Yin Qi repeated blankly, his chest heaving as he began to gasp. Inside, he struggled fiercely—whether to answer her question or let the surging emotions within him erupt in an instant."This is a perfectly ordinary snack," Zhenzhen whispered in his ear. "It's something you may have encountered before, may encounter now, and will likely encounter in the future. It's just food, representing only the goodwill of the person who prepared it for you, offering warmth and comfort, not harm."
Yin Qi tore off the silk blindfold, spat out the wonton from his mouth, stared fearfully at the bowl before him, panting as he murmured, "Aunt, Aunt..."
"You said the storm blowing down the fence wasn't my fault," Zhenzhen gently placed her hand back on Yin Qi's trembling hand on the table. "The same goes for Aunt's situation—it wasn't your fault either."
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