The price of survival is often steep. When one pays it themselves, it’s bearable. When others pay for it, it becomes a tragedy.

Feng Suige took the porcelain cup of ginseng tea from the maid’s tray and gently placed it on the table. It had been two days since their return from the arena. Yi Xiao had confined herself to her room, only drifting into brief, fitful slumbers when extremely fatigued, always jolting awake soon after. When conscious, she stood silently by the window.

“We’ve uncovered some leads. It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes to light. You must take care of yourself and not fall ill first,” Feng Suige said.

“Don’t worry,” Yi Xiao replied softly without turning, “I won’t fall before that person does.”

Feng Suige continued, “To avoid suspicion, Marquis Jian Xin has voluntarily isolated himself from his subordinates. My people are tending to his meals and daily needs.”

“You know in your heart it’s not him,” Yi Xiao slowly turned to face Feng Suige. “Do you want me to say it out loud?”

“If you could say it, I’d feel more at ease,” Feng Suige gently traced her slightly dark under-eye circles. “Even if you cried, it would be better.”

Yi Xiao froze for a moment, slightly avoiding his touch. Feng Suige’s hand hung awkwardly in the air. After a while, he smiled bitterly, “Are you blaming me?”

“It would be hypocritical to say I don’t blame you at all,” Yi Xiao was silent for a moment before looking into his eyes. “But I blame myself more. Those people were after me. I’m the one who implicated Gu Yu.” Her voice suddenly choked, “Even now, I don’t know what makes me worth his desperate protection!”

“Don’t say such foolish things,” Feng Suige sighed deeply, embracing her. “Remember when you ran away in anger? Later, I asked him how he defines good and bad people. Guess how he answered? He said those who are truly kind to him and protect him are good people. Those who aren’t kind to him and bully him are all bad people.”

Yi Xiao quietly listened as she leaned against his chest, feeling Feng Suige’s breath on her forehead.

“Gu Yu may not be as intelligent as others, but he sees everyone around him with his heart. So, don’t doubt Gu Yu, and don’t doubt yourself.”

After a long while, Yi Xiao suddenly smiled. Leaving his embrace, her eyes sparkled with a fierce determination. “Those who want to kill me have always been one step behind. They’ve sent mediocre assassins, not skilled killers. So, they were destined to fail before they even began. Would you be willing to teach me how to better protect myself in this treacherous imperial court, and even learn to strike back?”

“Of course I’m willing,” Feng Suige gently caressed her cheek. “I’d like to promise that I’ll protect you forever and never let you be harmed. But there are many things I can’t change or undo now. So I can only promise to protect you with all my might and provide everything I can. This is all I can do for you right now, Yi Xiao. I’m sorry I can’t make a promise I can’t keep, but I truly want to give you happiness. Do you understand? So, if you understand my meaning, promise me one thing – no matter the circumstances, cherish your own life and try your best to survive. Promise me you won’t die before I do.”

Yi Xiao quietly listened, then nodded slightly. “I promise you!”

In a side hall, Feng Qishan paced back and forth in anger. Concubine Zhuang stood nervously to the side, hesitating several times before finally crying out, “Your Majesty—”

“Silence!” Feng Qishan shouted. “You guaranteed to this Emperor that the matter would be handled flawlessly. And now?”

“Your subject didn’t expect Father and Brother to fail,” Concubine Zhuang pouted pitifully. “Besides, if it weren’t for those two fire arrows…”

“Enough,” Feng Qishan cut her off, seemingly having made a decision. “What’s done is done. There’s no use saying more. This Emperor doesn’t believe they can turn the tables under his very nose!”

“Yes, yes,” Concubine Zhuang quickly agreed with a smile. “No matter how capable Prince Feng is, he’s still just a prince. It’s just that Fu Yi Xiao—”

“Her?” Feng Qishan snorted coldly. “Taking her life would be as easy as turning over my hand. It’s only out of consideration for Suige and Xi Yang that I’ve allowed her to remain brazen until now.”

“In your subject’s view, Fu Yi Xiao is just an ignorant country girl,” Concubine Zhuang smiled maliciously. “Her heart belongs entirely to Xia Jingshi, the King of Pacifying the South. And what the Prince has always been most concerned about is probably the name Xia Jingshi…”

After a long journey, they finally arrived at the splendid imperial capital. Gazing at the distant dark grey city walls, Feng Xi Yang sighed. She had returned here after several years but with a completely different status and state of mind.

Xia Jingshi had been deliberately avoiding her, and Snow Shadow hadn’t returned since leaving her carriage that day.

That night, she drank herself into a stupor, hazily singing a little tune she had heard somewhere: “Love, not knowing where it begins, go deep at once. Today as dust clears and light emerges, let love and infatuation pass together…”

In her daze, she heard her voice, low and hoarse.

Deep at once, ah. Deep as the long dreams in those long nights, endless.

That night, she was truly drunk, forgetting everything. When she awoke with a splitting headache, there were no caring hands to offer her a cup of hot tea.

Once, she had secretly asked a favored concubine in Shu Sha’s harem, “Are you very miserable?”

To her surprise, the concubine smiled and said, “Liking someone doesn’t bring misery.”

Curious, she had asked, “Do you love the King?”

The concubine replied, “Of course I do. Because I love him, I can find an equal measure of joy hidden behind the long-lasting pain.”

But why did she only feel pain and no joy…

At this moment, she felt like a traveler on a long journey, chasing a point of starlight. Hungry, thirsty, and weary, she stumbled in the darkness, ready to collapse at any moment and never wake up.

Why had she wanted to chase it in the first place? If she had known the light on the horizon was a mirage, would she have given up or continued? Why, when the light source was within reach, could she do nothing…

She only needed one word from him, and she would have chosen to believe him unconditionally, regardless of the facts before her eyes. She could even deceive herself and deny everything – but alas, he never lied.

It was this man who had destroyed so many years of her hopes, and her entire life.

How ironic. This man, unmoved no matter what she did, his heart like copper walls and iron ramparts, without a single weakness – no, he did have one…

Did she have to extinguish this light with her own hands…

Was she not afraid of never seeing daylight again…