The cold moon hung in the sky, casting a silvery light on the long stairs. Fine snowflakes drifted slowly under the dim palace lanterns, settling on black satin-covered boots, instantly becoming faint damp marks.
A young eunuch led Xie Zheng towards the side hall, his face wearing a flattering smile. “My lord, please watch your step.”
Xie Zheng wore a cloak with fox fur trimmed over his shoulders. He stood tall as a pine, his profile coated in moonlight, appearing cold and handsome. He gave a faint “Mm” from the tip of his nose.
Hidden beneath his wide sleeves embroidered with gold thread, his fingertip flicked out a small stone. It hit a snow-covered branch not far away, causing the boughs to shake and instantly drop a pile of snow. Startled, the young eunuch craned his neck to look, shouting, “Who’s there?”
In the next moment, the young eunuch felt a pain in the back of his neck and lost consciousness.
Xie Zheng picked up the lantern the eunuch had dropped, lifted the cover to blow out the candle inside, then picked up the eunuch with one hand and laid him down by a pillar outside a hall.
After doing all this, Xie Zheng raised his eyes and coldly surveyed the surroundings before abruptly pulling off his cloak and court robes.
Beneath the court robes was a suit of night-walking clothes.
He took out a face mask from his bosom and put it on, then hid his court robes in a cave of a rockery in the Imperial Garden. Following the palace map he had studied earlier, he avoided the patrolling guards and with a few leaps over the high wall, arrived at the Cold Palace.
Compared to the other brightly lit palaces, the Cold Palace was terrifyingly desolate. Even the lantern at the main gate, emitting a fist-sized yellow glow, was covered in dust and cobwebs.
Those living in the Cold Palace were all concubines who had committed grave offenses—some mad, some dead, with rumors of ghosts. Except for the on-duty palace servants who came to throw some food like feeding dogs, even the lowest-ranked eunuchs and maids were unwilling to come here for a glance.
Following the intelligence provided by the Princess, Xie Zheng easily found the dwelling of the mad palace maid in the outer quarters after scaling the Cold Palace wall.
The small room was likewise filled with dust and cobwebs. The only piece of furniture seemed to be the bed by the window. In the moonlight, one could see the straw peeking out from under the thin mattress where it wasn’t fully covered. The palace maid slept curled up on top, covered only by a thin, mildewed blanket.
There was a faint smell of burnt incense and candles in the room. As worship was forbidden in the palace, it seemed the maid had secretly burned paper money for someone in her room.
Xie Zheng uncoiled the flexible sword wrapped around his arm, pointing it at the maid’s nape. “I know you’re awake. If you want to live, don’t turn around. I only have one question.”
“Who was the imperial concubine who had an affair with Wei Yan back then?”
The maid seemed too frightened, her body shaking like a sieve. “It… it was…”
The change happened in that instant. The maid suddenly turned around, throwing a handful of powder towards Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng quickly turned his head to avoid it, closing his eyes and holding his breath in time to prevent inhaling the unknown powder or getting it in his eyes. The maid, however, took the opportunity to pull out a dagger from under her pillow and stab at Xie Zheng. He instinctively raised his arm to block, throwing her several meters away.
The maid’s back hit the wall. When she rolled to the ground, a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. But there was no hatred in her eyes, only boundless allure. She wiped away the blood from her lips with her finger, sucked on it, and hooked her gaze towards Xie Zheng, coquettishly complaining, “Your strength is so great, you’ve hurt me.”
Her voice was sickeningly sweet, like a pot of sugar boiled into a thick syrup and poured down one’s throat.
When the maid’s two fingers came out again, they were covered in saliva. She tugged at her clothes, pulling them down bit by bit, giggling, “Don’t you want to see where you’ve hurt me?”
Xie Zheng’s eyes held only intense disgust as if looking at maggots writhing in a gutter. He sheathed his sword and turned to leave the room, but the sound of chains rattled at the door.
Xie Zheng’s eyes suddenly turned cold. He raised his sword to break open the door, but at that moment, he found his limbs had become weak and powerless, almost unable to stand. He supported himself against the wall with one hand, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The sound of chains also came from the window, followed by a thin bamboo tube extending through a small gap, releasing a faint white smoke into the room.
The woman behind him said in a sweet voice, “Are you finding your limbs powerless?”
“You’ve been smelling the bone-softening powder since you entered the room. Your fight with me earlier accelerated its effects. It’s only taking effect now… Your body is so robust… It makes this slave girl crave…”
The woman was simply half-sprawled on the ground, her black hair scattered, her white sleeping robe open, revealing a red-hot belly wrap and one shoulder. Her expression was one of unbearable desire as she stared at Xie Zheng.
Hearing her say he had smelled it since entering the room, Xie Zheng immediately looked at the brazier where the money had been burned. So burning joss paper and lighting incense was to cover up another smell.
The drug’s effects came on as violently as a mountain torrent bursting its banks. All strength seemed to be drained from his body. Xie Zheng could no longer even stand while leaning against the wall. He slid down to sit, his body experiencing another reaction—his blood seemed to be on fire, his limbs and bones itching as if insects were crawling over them.
What was being blown in through the bamboo tube at the window was self-evident.
The woman also seemed affected by the drug mist blown in through the bamboo tube. Compared to her earlier feigned allure, her face now showed more instinctive reactions. She crawled slowly towards Xie Zheng with seductive eyes. “This slave girl feels so uncomfortable… won’t you help her…”
The drug’s effects made Xie Zheng’s face flush red even through his mask, but his eyes remained icily cold. “Do you want to die?” he asked.
His voice was very soft, like the chilling ghost air floating from the River of Forgetfulness when the ghost gates open during the Zhongyuan Festival, sending a chill up one’s spine.
The woman’s eyes were already hazy, but these words brought back some of her senses.
She looked at the handsome man sitting against the wall, unable to even stand due to the bone-softening powder. With little rationality left under the aphrodisiac’s influence, she soon giggled, “You’ll want to join this slave girl in experiencing the ultimate pleasure between life and death.”
She crawled panting to Xie Zheng’s feet, raising her alluring eyes. Before she could utter a coquettish complaint, her neck was gripped tightly by an iron-like large hand.
The overwhelming smell of blood and sense of suffocation finally sobered the woman somewhat. This man had torn open his palm to maintain clarity!
The woman hadn’t taken the bone-softening powder and was also a trained fighter. She tried to pry open Xie Zheng’s hand but found all her efforts were in vain.
Xie Zheng had bitten down so hard that there was an iron taste in his mouth. He coldly stared at the woman struggling in his grip. “Qi Sheng found someone like you to impersonate a Cold Palace concubine, intending to replicate Wei Yan’s crime on me?”
The woman wanted to speak, but could only make faint “gu gu” sounds from her throat. Her eyes went from terrified to despairing. As her fragile throat bones broke, Xie Zheng’s five fingers dug several bloody holes in the side of her neck.
The woman fell to the ground with eyes wide open, the blood from her neck quickly pooling on the floor.
Xie Zheng sat against the wall, breathing like a wild beast. His hands were covered in blood, indistinguishable between his own from his torn palm and the woman’s from her neck.
The people who had locked the doors and windows and released the aphrodisiac smoke into the room heard no movement inside. After a moment’s hesitation, they unlocked the door to check the situation.
However, as soon as they pushed the door open with a lantern, they saw the woman’s unseeing face staring at the door. The eunuch’s pupils contracted in fright, and he quickly raised the lantern to look for the other person in the room.
A dagger slashed across a throat, spraying blood. The fallen lantern instantly ignited, illuminating the blood-covered dagger. In the cold gleam of the blade was reflected a pair of icy, cold eyes.
Xie Zheng walked out of the room, treading on the bloody floor. Blood dripped steadily from the back of his left hand.
The guards stationed outside the room saw the gruesome state of the palace maid and eunuch through the wide-open door, and couldn’t help but feel alarmed.
The dose of bone-softening powder burned in the room was enough to knock out a bull. How could he still walk out? Could he have taken an antidote beforehand?
However, the blood on Xie Zheng’s hands and the slight stumble in his steps showed that he had indeed been affected by the drug, but was still forcing himself to move.
The Cold Palace gates were long since locked. One of the guards immediately shouted to a companion behind him, “Set a fire! Draw everyone here!”
Princess Qi Shu had been confined by Consort An for many days.
Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and the mother and daughter had only eaten a simple New Year’s Eve dinner before Consort An returned to her small Buddha hall to continue chanting sutras.
Qi Shu felt stifled. She swept out of the warm pavilion, with Consort An’s old maid following closely behind. “Where is the Princess going?”
Qi Shu, spoiled for over ten years, was not one with a good temper. She immediately retorted, “This Princess is feeling stuffed and wants to go for a walk. Mother has locked all the palace gates, what are you worried about?”
The old maid, having been snapped at by Qi Shu, showed no anger. She simply curtsied and said, “Then the Princess should take a cloak. The wind and snow are heavy outside, be careful not to catch cold.”
Qi Shu couldn’t be bothered with these people around her mother. They had been with Consort An for so long that they all seemed to have become Buddhas, speaking with the same demeanor and tone. Qi Shu found it extremely annoying.
She only took her maids, holding her head high as she walked past the old maid.
The old maid curtsied behind her, “Respectfully seeing off the Princess.”
Once outside, Qi Shu truly felt the cold. Standing on the corridor bridge, she looked at the cold moon hanging high in the sky, holding a copper hand warmer with carved openwork, and muttered, “I wonder what that Gong Sun blockhead is doing now…”
Her voice was too soft for the maids standing nearby to hear clearly. One asked gently, “What did the Princess say?”
Qi Shu pouted and said, “Nothing. Let’s go to the plum garden for a walk.”
Consort An had been favored in her youth, and the previous emperor had ordered an entire plum forest to be planted in her palace. When winter came, the whole garden of plum blossoms would bloom in competition, a sight of unsurpassed beauty.
Tonight it had snowed lightly, and the bluestone paths in the plum forest should have been covered with a thin layer of snow. But the sweeping little eunuchs, fearing that the masters might have the elegant interest of admiring plums on New Year’s Eve, had early on cleared the accumulated snow from the road surface.
Qi Shu walked for a while with her maids, then suddenly said, “You all stay here and don’t follow me anymore. I’m going to hang a blessing sachet.”
The maids softly responded, “Yes.”
Qi Shu walked alone for a short distance into the depths of the plum forest. She found a branch of plum blossoms that had bloomed exceptionally beautifully and took out from her bosom the sachet full of her maiden thoughts. Her fingertips gently caressed the embroidery on it. Just as she was about to stand on tiptoe to hang it up, she heard faint feminine giggles coming from behind the fake mountain, obscured by plum branches in front of her.
Could someone be engaging in intimacy here?
Qi Shu’s face immediately changed color. She wanted to make a scene, but after squeezing the sachet in her hand, her expression softened again. She was about to leave, pretending she hadn’t heard anything, when she heard, “Why would I deceive you? The Princess has been closely watched by the Consort these days, she hasn’t gone anywhere…”
A somewhat effeminate voice rang out, “Have the people from the Long Princess’s side stopped visiting the Cold Palace?”
The woman answered, panting slightly, “As servants, without Empress Dowager’s token, we can’t leave Shouyang Palace anymore…”
Shouyang flower is another name for plum blossom. Empress Dowager An’s palace was named after this plum grove.
Qi Shu shouted sternly, “Who’s there? Show yourselves to this princess!”
This shout startled not only the man and woman behind the rockery but also the palace servants waiting outside, who hurriedly rushed over.
From behind the rockery, a pair of disheveled palace maids and eunuchs came out, stumbling and crawling. Both were so frightened their faces had turned pale, and they kowtowed to Qi Shu repeatedly, “Princess, spare our lives! Princess, spare our lives!”
Qi Shu had long known that palace maids and eunuchs sometimes formed couples, but at this moment, she felt only disgust. She recognized the palace maid as someone from her palace, but the eunuch looked unfamiliar.
She coldly stared at the palace maid, “Were you spying on me?”
The palace maid trembled like chaff in the wind, her face streaked with tears, “This servant wouldn’t dare… wouldn’t dare…”
Qi Shu turned to look at the eunuch, “Which palace are you from?”
The eunuch glanced up at Qi Shu before quickly lowering his head again. Though frightened, he seemed to have more confidence than the palace maid, “This… this servant is from the Ceremonial Department. High Eunuch Gao by His Majesty’s side is my adoptive father.”
Qi Shu let out a cold laugh. So it was the Chief Eunuch on Qi Sheng’s side that gave him this confidence.
But since he could ask the palace maid those questions, it was clear that her involvement in helping Xie Zheng investigate the mad palace maid in the Cold Palace had already reached Qi Sheng’s ears.
A chill ran up her spine, and Qi Shu felt her knees weaken. She looked at the eunuch with an expression that seemed ready to devour him and commanded harshly, “First, bind this filthy eunuch for me and lock him up!”
She then turned and strode quickly out of the plum grove, grabbing the hand of one of her trusted palace maids and instructing, “Quick, take my token and go to Taiji Palace immediately. Find General Yun Wu and tell him there’s trouble at the Cold Palace!”
The palace maid ran swiftly, but before she could leave the plum grove, she was intercepted by Empress Dowager An and her people.
Empress Dowager An looked at her daughter, her face, though marked by the passage of time, still elegant but now clearly showing anger, “Shu’er, what mischief are you up to now?”
Qi Shu urgently replied, “Mother! This isn’t mischief! I’ve already gotten involved in the Cold Palace affair. It’s not like before when we could just close the palace gates and be safe. If Marquis Wu’an falls victim to Qi Sheng’s plot, he’ll hold us accountable too! Even if Qi Sheng wins, with his depraved nature, will he continue to let us mother and daughter live in peace?”
Just then, the palace servants brought out the bound palace maid and eunuch from the plum grove. Qi Shu pointed at the two and questioned Empress Dowager An, “Qi Sheng has already extended his reach into our palace. Mother, do you still want to remain uninvolved?”
Empress Dowager An looked at the two tightly bound individuals, weighing her options for a moment before finally saying, “Open the palace gates.”
At Taiji Palace.
The banquet had been going on for some time, and Fan Chang Yu raised her eyes to look at Xie Zheng’s empty seat, the worry between her brows growing heavier. Just as she was about to find an excuse to go out and check, a palace maid coming to refill the wine discreetly bumped her elbow.
Under the cover of her wide sleeves, Fan Chang Yu felt something being pressed into her palm, which she immediately grasped.
After the palace maid left, Fan Chang Yu pretended to stumble as she stood up. A palace maid standing behind her seat came forward to support her, asking where she wanted to go. Fan Chang Yu made an excuse about needing to use the restroom, and the palace maid respectfully led her toward it.
After Fan Chang Yu left her seat, Grand Tutor Li, sitting at the head of the civil officials’ seats, glanced at her retreating figure, then looked at the empty seat at the head of the military officials’ side opposite him, his old eyes concealing inscrutable emotions.
Shortly after, an attendant came forward and whispered something to Grand Tutor Li.
The usually unflappable Grand Tutor Li’s expression changed noticeably. After dismissing the attendant, he stood up and bowed to the Emperor, who was visibly in high spirits at the head of the table, saying, “This old minister is ashamed. Tonight, the ruler and subjects are enjoying themselves to the fullest, drinking merrily. This old minister should rightfully celebrate with Your Majesty and colleagues until the new year, but alas, I’m old and useless now, feeling quite weary. I must humbly request Your Majesty’s permission to return home first.”
The show hadn’t even started yet, and Qi Sheng was displeased. He said, “If the Grand Tutor is tired, you can rest in the side hall for a while.”
But Grand Tutor Li repeatedly expressed his unworthiness and earnestly said, “Your Majesty is too kind to this old minister!”
Qi Sheng was in a good mood today and, fearing his intention to keep people might be too obvious, said, “If that’s the case, Grand Tutor may leave first.”
After Grand Tutor Li left the main hall with his son, Qi Sheng swirled his wine cup and said pointedly, “Why hasn’t Marquis Wu’an returned from changing his clothes? Could it be that he’s also tired and resting somewhere?”
The officials dared not respond. Qi Sheng laughed to himself, “Continue drinking, my dear officials. Don’t let the absence of the Grand Tutor and Marquis Wu’an dampen the atmosphere.”
Just then, a small eunuch came running in, tumbling and scrambling, “Your Majesty, terrible news! There’s a fire at the Cold Palace!”
Qi Sheng’s eyes couldn’t suppress his excitement, but he still put on an angry face and scolded, “How could a fire start of nowhere?”
The eunuch helplessly replied, “This… this servant doesn’t know.”
Qi Sheng cursed “Useless!” and rose from his dragon throne, “There are still many discarded consorts living in the Cold Palace. At this time of the new year transition, we mustn’t let lives be lost. Come with me to take a look!”
With the Emperor heading to the Cold Palace, the officials attending the banquet had no choice but to follow.
The snow was falling heavier now, and the wind had picked up. Fan Chang Yu, dressed in eunuch’s clothing, was sprinting along the corridor towards the Cold Palace, feeling as if ice-cold knives were slashing across her face.
In the distance, the Cold Palace was already engulfed in flames, and the approaching wind carried the smell of burning.
Fan Chang Yu gritted her teeth, wishing she could go faster, even faster.
The note the palace maid had given her read “Trouble at the Cold Palace, Marquis Wu’an in danger.” After leaving, she had dismissed the palace maid who was escorting her to the restroom and quickly found the maid who had passed her the note.
That palace maid claimed to be from the Long Princess’s side and even showed her the Long Princess’s token. After confirming the maid’s identity, Fan Chang Yu didn’t dare delay a moment longer.
Her official robes were too conspicuous, so she knocked out a eunuch on the way and put on his clothes before heading straight for the Cold Palace.
The Cold Palace was in a remote location, and tonight was New Year’s Eve. The palace maids and eunuchs were also slacking off. By the time the fire had started, only a few eunuchs were carrying water buckets to fight the fire.
Fan Chang Yu ran so urgently that others thought she was going to help fight the fire and didn’t suspect anything.
She was quick on her feet and soon left the eunuchs going to fight the fire far behind. When she reached the Cold Palace, she found that the fire had started in some abandoned halls used for storage, and hadn’t yet reached the inhabited areas.
Fan Chang Yu ran forward a few steps and immediately noticed the palace gate that had been violently smashed open, leaving a large hole. A huge lock still hung on the door ring.
The splintered wood around the smashed opening was stained with fresh blood.
There was also a trail of blood on the ground extending into the distance, though it was now faintly covered by the heavy snow and the darkness of night.
Fan Chang Yu’s heart suddenly began to race. She bent down and entered the Cold Palace through the hole in the door. By the light of the burning halls in the distance, she immediately saw the courtyard full of corpses.
There were eunuchs and members of the Imperial Guard.
Fan Chang Yu’s heart tightened. She didn’t dare call out Xie Zheng’s name, only shouting, “Yan Zheng? Are you here?”
Seeing signs of a struggle in one of the rooms, she rushed over to look. At the doorway, she saw a eunuch with his throat slit, and in the center of the room, a woman with disheveled clothes and a broken neck.
In an instant, she understood the Emperor’s plan. A chill rose from the soles of her feet, and extreme anger caused the veins on Fan Chang Yu’s clenched fists to bulge.
“Murder… murder!”
“Quick! Go call for help! There are dead people in the Cold Palace!”
Outside, a chorus of wailing erupted. It was the group of eunuchs who had come to fight the fire.
Fan Chang Yu dared not linger any longer. She guessed that Xie Zheng must have smashed through the palace gate to escape, but he was likely injured and couldn’t have gone far.
She climbed directly over the wall on one side of the Cold Palace and jumped out.
Unlike other places, the areas not illuminated by the fire were pitch black, and even the bloodstains on the ground were indistinguishable. But Fan Chang Yu keenly detected the smell of blood on the palace wall. Looking closely, she saw bloody handprints on the wall.
She reached out to compare, and after confirming it was Xie Zheng’s handprint, she had already bitten her lip so hard that she could taste blood.
How severely was he injured that he could only walk by leaning against the wall?
Fan Chang Yu followed the scent of blood, moving quickly forward.
She had to get him away before the Imperial Guard arrived!
After taking quite a detour, she finally saw a person half-submerged in the water by the rockery of Taiye Pool. Fan Chang Yu almost wept with joy. She quickly approached and called out in a low voice, “Xie Zheng!”
Xie Zheng’s eyes were tightly closed, and he didn’t respond. His disguise mask had fallen off somewhere, and in the moonlight, his lips were almost as pale as his face.
Fan Chang Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and she reached out to touch his face, “How are you…”
Before she could finish speaking, her outstretched arm was twisted behind her back as she was dragged into the water, her throat simultaneously locked in a tight grip.
In that moment of suffocation, Fan Chang Yu was certain he was using all his strength to take her life. She struggled to pry away the hand choking her throat, managing to gasp out, “It’s… me.”
All she could see from the corner of her eye were Xie Zheng’s phoenix eyes, blood-red as if the blood vessels had burst, cold and merciless.
He no longer recognized anyone.
The intense suffocation weakened Fan Chang Yu’s struggles, but perhaps because the choking motion brought them too close, he caught her scent. Xie Zheng’s hand on her throat suddenly loosened.
“A Yu?” His face was unusually pale, wet hair scattered behind him, his drenched collar slightly open, revealing delicate collarbones. Combined with his blood-red eyes, his entire being exuded an indescribable, otherworldly allure.
He gently caressed Fan Chang Yu’s reddened neck with his hand, its wounds already whitened from the water. Though his body was as cold as ice from being soaked in Taiye Pool, his breath was still scorching.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you…”
His voice was hoarse beyond recognition as if he was desperately suppressing something. The fingertips caressing Fan Chang Yu’s delicate neck skin suddenly became burning hot, causing him to uncontrollably lower his head to kiss her cheek.
His thin lips were cold as ice, his breath hot as fire, just like his current appearance – strange yet beautiful.
Fan Chang Yu had now recovered her breath and realized his symptoms were due to being drugged. She leaned back to avoid his lips and supported one of his arms, saying, “The Cold Palace is on fire. It’s not safe here. I’ll get you out of the palace first.”
She felt a warm sensation under her palm, but it wasn’t the temperature of his arm – it was blood.
Realizing his arm was also injured, Fan Chang Yu lifted his sleeve to look and saw his left arm covered in a dense pattern of knife wounds, now pale from being soaked in water.
It was clear he had cut himself to stay conscious.
Her eyes reddened with anger, and she asked through gritted teeth, “Where else are you hurt?”
After relaxing, Xie Zheng could no longer resist the drug’s effects. He could only stand with Fan Chang Yu’s support. The fire within him seemed to be burning away all his blood. Looking at the person so close to him, Adam’s apple bobbed, and water droplets from his wet hair slid past his eyelids and fell into the lake. His entire being was as alluring as a mythical creature that survived by consuming human essence.
He could no longer hear clearly what she was asking. All he could see were those red lips that captured all his attention, opening and closing. He cupped her face directly and kissed her forcefully.