The next day.

Inside Bixiao Pavilion.

Wanyu Yuedan’s fingertips gently rubbed the broken jade pendant, the three characters “Langya Commandery” clearly visible. Bi Lianyi stood quietly at his side. After a moment, Wanyu Yuedan smiled with his chin propped up. “Do you know what this is?”

Bi Lianyi coughed lightly. “A phoenix jade pendant.”

Wanyu Yuedan shook his head. “This isn’t a phoenix—it’s a pheasant. Is this jade azure in color?”

Bi Lianyi nodded. “It’s an extremely translucent azure-green color, very rare.”

Wanyu Yuedan picked up a jade fragment and lightly tapped it against the table. “Azure pheasant pattern—do you know what this signifies?”

Bi Lianyi showed surprise. “Pheasant pattern? Why is it a pheasant pattern?” He had thought it was a phoenix. Commoner women weren’t permitted to wear phoenix-patterned accessories, nor could their clothing be embroidered with phoenix designs, because phoenix patterns were exclusive to the imperial court. But this jade pendant was carved with a pheasant pattern—pheasant patterns were indeed quite rare.

“Phoenix designs, though not spread among commoners, aren’t uncommon among court ladies as accessories and hairpins,” Wanyu Yuedan smiled. “But pheasant patterns… azure pheasant patterns—since the Qin and Han dynasties, only empresses and imperial consorts have worn azure pheasant-patterned formal robes during major ceremonial rites. The current Empress Li was established only two years ago. This jade pendant’s edges show wear—it wasn’t recently made, so—”

Bi Lianyi’s heart trembled slightly. “So? She is…”

“So this jade pendant doesn’t belong to Empress Li or Noble Consort Yun,” Wanyu Yuedan said. “The pendant is inscribed with ‘Langya Commandery.’ In the fifth year of Zhou Xiande’s reign, Taizu married the third daughter of Zhangde Military Commissioner Rao as his second wife. Emperor Shizong granted her crown and ceremonial robes, enfeoffing her as Lady of Langya Commandery. This Lady of Langya Commandery was elevated to Empress by Taizu in the eighth month of the first year of Jianlong, and died in the twelfth month of the first year of Qiande at age twenty-two.”

Bi Lianyi frowned. “Since this empress has passed away, this jade pendant…”

Wanyu Yuedan said gently, “Though Empress Wang has died, she bore three children for Taizu.”

Bi Lianyi’s brows shot up. “Could Lady Hongchan be Empress Wang’s…”

Wanyu Yuedan sighed softly. “Based on her age, most likely. Moreover, she calls herself Little Hong. Little Hong… surely isn’t her real name. With such appearance and bearing, such learning and intelligence, able to know about the ‘Green Enchantress’ pearl on the Emperor’s crown, carrying azure pheasant-patterned jade—if not a princess born to Empress Wang, then someone who can see the Emperor and has close relations with a princess.”

Bi Lianyi was silent for a while. “How could a current dynasty princess hide her identity and involve herself in the martial world?”

Wanyu Yuedan gripped the jade fragment, pressing his fingertip hard against its sharp edge. “This… if we don’t ask her directly, no one would know… Perhaps she has many difficulties, or perhaps… it’s simply for Liu Yan.” He wasn’t smiling when he said this. After a moment, he added, “Perhaps she doesn’t want to be a princess.”

“Perhaps—proud women, once they love, become very devoted,” Bi Lianyi said flatly.

Wanyu Yuedan was slightly startled, his eyes crinkling. “Very reasonable. Big Brother Bi, maybe… you’re also a devoted person.”

Bi Lianyi didn’t even tremble from brow to eye, saying flatly, “Bi Lianyi dedicates his entire life solely to Biluo Palace, absolutely no other thoughts.”

Wanyu Yuedan turned around, reaching out to pat his shoulder but touching his face instead, sighing softly. “Big Brother Bi, Biluo Palace hasn’t asked you to dedicate your entire life. I only want you to live whatever kind of life you yourself wish to live. Even if you… even if you have feelings for Lady Hongchan, that’s fine too. No need to force yourself to restrain them. If you want to be good to her, want to cherish her, then go ahead and do it. She’s not irredeemably evil—just wrongly in love.” He patted his shoulder. “Don’t deceive yourself. Whatever your heart wants to do, go do it.”

Bi Lianyi was unprepared for such words and was stunned, standing dazed for a while. “I—”

Wanyu Yuedan laughed. “She’s a princess—are you afraid?”

Bi Lianyi said, “I’m not afraid she’s a princess. I just…”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled with curved brows. “I’m never afraid of loving someone. I only fear having no one to love.”

Bi Lianyi was startled again. “She’s an assassin lurking in the palace, wanting to kill you.”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled lightly and turned away with sleeves behind his back. “Yes, so what? Can she really kill me?”

Bi Lianyi looked at his retreating figure, his lips moving slightly. “Actually… if you hadn’t said anything, Palace Master, I wouldn’t have had such thoughts at all.”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled. “Oh? Now that I’ve said it, you’ve discovered you do?”

Bi Lianyi didn’t answer. After a long while, he smiled slightly. “Palace Master, I’ve always respected you, and now I respect you even more completely.”

Just then, Tie Jing hurried in. “Reporting to Palace Master, Meihua Yishu has awakened.”

Wanyu Yuedan went to meet him. “Is his mind clear? I’ll go see.” Tie Jing and Bi Lianyi followed behind him, hurrying toward the guest quarters where Meihua Yishu and Kuanglan Wuxing stayed.

In the guest room.

Meihua Yishu had changed clothes, no longer wearing those red robes covered in red plum blossoms. Dressed in Biluo Palace’s azure robes, his face was pale, only the red plum blossoms tattooed on both wrists remained vivid and striking. He held a teacup, sitting at the table where three or two plum blossom petals had fallen, eyes slightly closed, lost in thought.

Wanyu Yuedan entered the room. Meihua Yishu slightly raised his right hand, saying hoarsely, “Three plums, five leaves, taking the correspondence of three fire and five wood elements. Today favors meeting mountain forest scholars, one afflicted with blindness.”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled slightly. “Meihua Yishu indeed comprehends heaven and earth’s workings. What else can Master Mei divine?”

Meihua Yishu collected the plum petals from the table. “Today, are you planning to treat me to roasted meat?”

Wanyu Yuedan said, “The Li trigram represents three fires, governing food with hot meat—fried, roasted, grilled delicacies. It seems today we must eat roasted meat.” He waved his sleeve and said to Tie Jing, “Today everyone will eat roasted meat together and drink Daughter’s Red wine.”

“Palace Master Wanyu truly is a remarkable person.” Meihua Yishu glanced at him. “Are you planning to drink with me today?”

Wanyu Yuedan sat beside his table. “How is Master Mei’s alcohol tolerance?”

Meihua Yishu looked at him coldly. “At least three times better than yours.”

Wanyu Yuedan said cheerfully, “That’s wonderful then. Shall we drink and chat?”

Meihua Yishu held his teacup, tilted his head back and drained the tea in one gulp. “What do you want to chat about?”

“Chat about—the poison in your body.” Wanyu Yuedan’s gaze was very sincere, his words very gentle. “Over three years ago, who inflicted such vicious poison techniques on you two? Do you know if there are other ways to cure Ming Huang Bamboo poison besides the Green Enchantress pearl?”

Meihua Yishu said flatly, “Ha! Very sorry, I cannot answer you.”

Wanyu Yuedan’s eye wrinkles creased. “Why?”

Meihua Yishu poured himself another cup of tea and again drained it in one gulp. “Because worldly affairs change too quickly. I still haven’t figured out what exactly happened back then. Rashly telling you would only be my one-sided account, not worth believing.”

Wanyu Yuedan’s eyes curved. “Even if it’s one-sided, it can still be shared. I won’t spread it or believe it completely. How about that?”

Meihua Yishu shook his head. “No. I must personally find her and ask what exactly happened, why she did such things… Until I get answers, I cannot tell you anything. Perhaps… everything isn’t as terrible as I imagine. Perhaps… it was all just misunderstanding, just accident.”

“I see. Worldly affairs are like dreams, like moon crossing sandy shores.” Wanyu Yuedan didn’t press further, sighing slightly. “Then let’s drink.”

Tie Jing went to the kitchen to arrange for roasted meat and brought a jar of finest Daughter’s Red wine into the room. Meihua Yishu’s eyes widened. “Where are the bowls?”

Wanyu Yuedan swept his sleeve, and with clattering sounds, the table’s teacups and teapot were swept to the floor, shattering into countless pieces. “Tie Jing, bring bowls.”

Tie Jing’s face suddenly showed a slight smile. He fetched two large bowls from the kitchen, each holding probably over half a jin of wine, placing one each before Meihua Yishu and Wanyu Yuedan.

Meihua Yishu broke open the jar mouth, first filling his own bowl and draining it in one gulp. “Your turn.”

Wanyu Yuedan showed no weakness, taking the wine jar and also emptying a bowl. Meihua Yishu poured another bowl, saying hoarsely, “Seems your tolerance isn’t bad.”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled. “So-so.”

Meihua Yishu drained another bowl. “Hey, drink!”

Wanyu Yuedan complied, and thus they went bowl for bowl, drinking heartily.

After over half an hour, Meihua Yishu’s face was flushed red, eyes glazed. “You’re actually still not drunk…” He pointed at Wanyu Yuedan. “You’re a strange person…”

Wanyu Yuedan had drunk the same seventeen or eighteen bowls of Daughter’s Red. Though not strong liquor, it had powerful aftereffects, yet his face remained elegant and delicate, showing no sign of intoxication. “I’m also puzzled why I never get drunk.”

Meihua Yishu laughed hoarsely. “Hahaha… First time in my life… seeing someone who can’t get drunk. Can’t get drunk… people who can’t get drunk are big fools… Hahahaha…” He slapped the table laughing. “You can’t get drunk… you can’t get drunk…”

Wanyu Yuedan picked up his wine bowl and still sipped lightly. “Back then… were you also drunk?”

At these words, Meihua Yishu’s eyes immediately went straight, suddenly slamming the table with a heavy “bang.” “I wasn’t drunk! I just had two extra cups of wine, just two cups… that wine… there was definitely something wrong with that wine!”

Wanyu Yuedan’s clear, beautiful eyes faced the wine-stained table, listening to Meihua Yishu’s heated breathing. “Who gave you the wine to drink?”

“My good brother.” Meihua Yishu murmured. “It was Chong Hua.”

Wanyu Yuedan’s brow furrowed slightly. “Chong Hua? Is he ‘One Peach Three Colors’?”

Meihua Yishu shook his head vigorously. “No, no, of course not. He’s Double-Petaled Chong Hua, our number four. Little Peach is number seven.” He suddenly began rambling. “Chong Hua can’t drink at all—gets drunk immediately. That day I deliberately had two extra cups with him, who knew I’d suddenly feel dizzy and collapse.”

Wanyu Yuedan set down his wine bowl with a “click.” “Then what?”

“Then the Queen Mother came out to beat the Jade Emperor, Wu Guang turned into a woman…” Meihua Yishu said very seriously, eyes straight, holding up one finger and staring at it constantly, not knowing what he was looking at. “Taishang Laojun and King Yama started fighting, hahaha… blood everywhere, blood all over the ground. I saw King Yama die… then the sky turned yellow, clouds were green, someone stabbed me with needles, and someone was singing… yiya yiyaya…” He suddenly started dancing and singing wildly.

Tie Jing waved his hand and pressed his acupoints. “Palace Master.”

“It seems the trauma he suffered far exceeded his own imagination,” Wanyu Yuedan sighed. “The String-Drawing Life-Seizing technique must have damaged certain parts of his brain.”

Tie Jing nodded. “From what he says, he was apparently poisoned back then, drinking drugged wine. The Seven-Flower Cloud Wanderers had internal conflict and killed each other.”

Wanyu Yuedan said, “Meihua Yishu and Kuanglan Wuxing became killing puppets, yet ‘One Peach Three Colors’ holds high position. The reasons behind this are thought-provoking.” He stood from his chair and slowly turned around. “Just don’t know what those at Haoyun Mountain are thinking.”

“Doesn’t Palace Master plan to wait for him to wake and question him more carefully?” Tie Jing said. “Seven-Flower Cloud Wanderers: Broken City Strange Guest, Fish Leap Dragon Fly, One Peach Three Colors, Meihua Yishu, Kuanglan Wuxing, plus today’s mentioned Double-Petaled Chong Hua—that’s six people. Who’s the seventh?”

Wanyu Yuedan said, “Even getting another name, we wouldn’t know who that person really is. Meihua Yishu has brain damage—let’s spare him. Besides, he’s not actually clear about what happened. Perhaps when Kuanglan Wuxing awakens, we’ll learn more details.” He lightly waved his sleeve and walked away leisurely.

“Clouds move and wind responds, moving because of clouds, sky blue reflecting Biluo’s empty shadow. Where to go, where do you wish to go, I ask you where will you follow? Between mountains and rivers, countless sins spread, one step forward, following what the eyes see. Must ask heaven, can the heart remain as before? Don’t ask about worldly smoke. People without thoughts, body as sword, in seas of blood, killing without end…”

From Lady Hongchan’s guest room came haunting string music. The room had a qin, and she played and sang, her tone calm. “Intent undisturbed yet heart hard to preserve, mountains and seas shallow, not knowing cloud peaks. Thousand li sword-bearing, thousand zhang deep abyss, holding wine cup drunk before the honored one, thrice asking beauty, nine times asking azure heaven.”

“Good melody, but not good lyrics.” The door opened, and Bi Lianyi stood at the threshold, holding something in his hand.

“I think they’re good lyrics, but not a good melody,” Lady Hongchan said quietly. “Who are you?”

“Bi Lianyi of Biluo Palace,” Bi Lianyi said flatly. “Come to return something to the young lady.”

Lady Hongchan pushed aside the qin. “What thing?”

Bi Lianyi opened his palm—he held a brocade pouch. She was slightly startled. “Is there heart-piercing poison inside?”

Bi Lianyi shook his head and opened the pouch. Inside was that shattered jade pendant, mended by some unknown substance. Though covered with cracks, it was complete without missing pieces.

Lady Hongchan cried out softly, “So you took it away.” She had regretted breaking this jade immediately. When she got out of bed during the day to look for it, she couldn’t find it anywhere.

Bi Lianyi withdrew his hand. “Lady Hongchan, to retrieve your jade pendant, I have one condition.”

Lady Hongchan’s eyes moved. “What condition? Do you know what this is?”

Bi Lianyi said flatly, “I know. Though this belonged to Empress Wang, the three characters ‘Langya Commandery’ were enfeoffed by the Great Zhou. Young lady keeping this jade pendant—isn’t that a great crime?”

Lady Hongchan snorted. “Who are you? Talking complete nonsense. Give me back my things!”

Bi Lianyi shook his head and extended his left hand. “First give me the ‘Eternal Red,’ young lady, and I’ll return your jade pendant.”

Lady Hongchan stepped back two paces, her face changing slightly. “You… you searched my room!”

Bi Lianyi nodded. Lady Hongchan said coldly, “Since you searched my room, if you wanted ‘Eternal Red’ you could have taken it then. Why ask me!”

Bi Lianyi said calmly, “The ‘Eternal Red’ belongs to the young lady. Taking without permission isn’t gentlemanly conduct.”

Lady Hongchan sneered. “Then searching my things while I was away and now using the jade pendant to threaten me into surrendering ‘Eternal Red’—is that gentlemanly conduct?”

Bi Lianyi wasn’t angry. “That was forced by circumstances.”

Lady Hongchan let out a long breath. “Since you know I carry Empress Wang’s relics and have extraordinary status, how dare you still threaten me? Aren’t you afraid of rebellion against superiors?”

Bi Lianyi smiled faintly. “I ask for the ‘Eternal Red’ for your own good. If Lady Hongchan is indeed a princess, I even more cannot allow the princess to carry ‘Eternal Red.'”

Lady Hongchan stared at him without blinking. “Since you searched my things, you must know I came to Biluo Palace to kill. So—” She turned and clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m Biluo Palace’s enemy. Since I’m an enemy, whether I live or die—what’s it to you?”

“I simply don’t want to see the young lady die,” Bi Lianyi said.

Lady Hongchan was startled, her delicate brows rising slightly. More than ten strategies flashed through her mind. “Am I somehow different to you?” She opened a cabinet, grasped the porcelain bottle containing “Eternal Red,” and turned to look at him.

Bi Lianyi looked at her. “I think the young lady shouldn’t die.”

“Am I somehow different to you?” Lady Hongchan pulled out the “Eternal Red” bottle’s stopper, brought the bottle mouth near her lips, her bright eyes like lightning, looking at him coldly.

“That’s right.” Bi Lianyi paused, then admitted frankly.

Lady Hongchan looked at him for a while, slowly pushed the stopper back into the bottle mouth, and handed the bottle to Bi Lianyi. “Return my jade pendant.”

Bi Lianyi handed her the brocade pouch. “Don’t break it again.”

This man’s gaze was very clean, clear and resolute, very pure. Watching Bi Lianyi return the jade pendant, take the “Eternal Red” and turn to leave, Lady Hongchan suddenly said, “Did Wanyu Yuedan send you?”