Chapter 22

The husband and wife walked back together along the path, when suddenly the quiet lane erupted with screaming and commotion.

“Trouble — an assassin! Someone come protect His Majesty!”

Countless torches blazed to life across the darkened path, Imperial Guards poured out from every direction, flooding the lane with light.

Su Jiao hurriedly pulled Xie Yan forward.

“Let’s get back quickly—”

“Third Prince! Prince’s Consort!”

Someone called out from somewhere, and the patrolling Imperial Guards all turned to look.

The head guard captain ahead came rushing forward at a brisk pace.

“What are you two doing out here?”

“We were just—”

“Where was the assassin spotted?”

Xie Yan cut Su Jiao off, and sure enough the guard captain’s attention was diverted by the question.

“An assassin appeared suddenly at the palace banquet. After the Imperial Guard pursued him, he headed in the direction of Qianqing Palace. When we gave chase to Qianqing Palace, both His Majesty and the assassin had already vanished — the entire palace is now in a manhunt!”

The guard captain could no longer spare a thought for why they had come outside, and hurriedly dropped a word before rushing off ahead.

Everywhere the palace gates were flung open, the clash of swords and the clamor of voices rang throughout the entire palace. Hearing all this, Su Jiao couldn’t help but feel her heart thrown into disarray.

An assassin… could it be the First Prince?

Would he dare act alone to seize His Majesty?

“I—”

Su Jiao was pulling at Xie Yan’s sleeve, just about to speak, when countless torches swept around the corner and the light stabbed at her eyes. She hurriedly covered her face against the blinding glare, and at that very moment a figure flashed swiftly past her side and, with a rustling leap, landed atop the low wall ahead.

“The assassin — there—”

Swish — swish —

Dozens of arrows aimed in their direction.

Su Jiao was so terrified her soul nearly left her body.

“Xie Yan — ah!”

Before she could finish her words, Xie Yan had already swept his arm around her waist and pulled her swiftly toward the Imperial Guards’ position.

They had just barely avoided being riddled like a sieve by the volley of arrows.

The Imperial Guards and the various princes all came rushing over, their gazes anxious and alarmed as they looked toward the low wall.

“Audacious traitor — release Father Emperor and I will leave your corpse intact!”

The traitor stood atop the low wall, his entire body covered from head to face and brow, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. He was breathing in ragged gasps, and his gaze seemed to betray a flicker of panic.

In one hand he held a dagger, and in the other he clutched a bright yellow garment — and beneath his grip—

The Emperor of Great Zhao was hanging inverted off the wall, his robes disheveled and his crown undone, head pointed downward.

This sight sent the princes and Imperial Guards into a fury. Emperor Jia, the blood rushing to his head leaving him dizzy and on the verge of unconsciousness, felt his dignity utterly destroyed.

“Why haven’t you killed this traitor and rescued Zhen?!”

The princes, hearing the command, grew even more frantic.

“Traitor, release Father Emperor at once!”

The traitor kept a firm grip on Emperor Jia with one hand, his gaze sweeping toward the northernmost corner of the palace grounds.

Beyond Yongning Hall lay the Cold Palace, which sat at the northernmost corner of the imperial compound. If the traitor were to abduct Emperor Jia and escape through there, they might all lose their lives as well!

“What are we to do? Fourth Prince!”

The guard captain instinctively looked toward the man standing at the front.

Emperor Jia currently had only four grown sons still living. Since the Third Prince was perpetually confined to the Cold Palace, there was no hope of relying on him — naturally, it all fell to these several princes to take charge.

“Perhaps we should order them to shoot him down. With this many people, can we not outmatch a single man?”

The Fifth Prince looked anxiously toward the Fourth Prince.

With Father Emperor right there in front of them, at a life-or-death moment like this, whichever of them succeeded in saving the Emperor would gain that much more of a claim to that seat.

The Fourth Prince shot him a withering glare.

“Fool. Father Emperor is worth ten thousand gold — if the slightest mishap were to occur, could you bear the responsibility?”

The Fifth Prince shrank back and did not dare speak again.

This spectacle only stoked Emperor Jia’s fury further as it played out before his eyes.

The Imperial Guards and the princes continued to hesitate. On the other side, the assassin, standing atop the low wall, had been driven to the very peak of desperation — he kept glancing repeatedly toward the north, and Emperor Jia, having been hung inverted for so long, could not help but shift—

Slash—

The dagger dragged downward along his leg.

“Ahh—!”

Emperor Jia let out a cry of agony, and the princes were so frightened they could no longer hold back.

A beam of light opened across the northern sky — the signal party had arrived. The assassin withdrew the dagger, his eyes hardening with resolve, and wrenched Emperor Jia upward, making for the direction of the Cold Palace.

“Your Majesty!”

The entire company fell into complete and helpless disarray. Catching sight of this from afar, Emperor Jia could have vomited blood with rage.

“Useless idiots, save Zhen!”

The assassin just moments ago had slashed him with a blade, and not one of these men could claim to be a marksman confident enough to shoot over a hundred paces — so they all acted as though they hadn’t heard, and simply surged forward to give chase.

“Father Emperor, hold on — this son is coming to save you!”

Blood was pouring viciously from his leg, and he was being dragged backwards by the assassin at a run. Emperor Jia burned with fury at this mob of wavering fools, watching helplessly as the assassin was about to haul him beyond the walls bordering the Cold Palace—

“Give me that.”

A hand snatched the bow and arrow from the guard captain.

The crowd, bewildered and at a loss, looked over — and when they saw that Xie Yan had already nocked the arrow and drawn the bow, their faces went white with shock.

“Third Prince, you must not—”

Swoosh—

The arrow shot forth like a meteor. In the instant the assassin turned his head to glance back, it was already too late — the arrow flew with swift precision and pierced clean through his palm. His hand seized with pain, and Emperor Jia was dropped.

The Imperial Guards immediately raised their bows and arrows in unison.

“Your Majesty — we are here to slay the traitor!”

The princes, seeing the danger had passed, surged forward in a mob.

“Father Emperor, your sons are here to save you!”

Emperor Jia was pulled out from a tangle of weeds by several of his princes. Fortunately the growth beneath was dense enough to have cushioned his fall, so his injuries were not made worse.

The moment he caught sight of this pack of sons, his rage flared beyond measure. The Fifth Prince went babbling forward to help him to his feet.

“Father Emperor, your leg — is it all right… crack!”

A slap landed across his face.

“Father Emperor, you gave this son such a fright…” — crack!”

Emperor Jia backhanded another slap squarely across the Fourth Prince’s face.

The Imperial Guards, having failed to catch the assassin, returned in dejection. Emperor Jia’s temple twitched.

“All of you — get out of Zhen’s sight!”

The whole crowd fell into dead silence. He rose staggering to his feet in a towering rage, and his gaze landed on the only still figure in the scene — Xie Yan.

Xie Yan still held the bow in his hand. From the moment he had loosed the arrow to the moment he lowered it, not a ripple had crossed his features.

Their gazes met. Xie Yan did not look away, simply letting Emperor Jia look at him.

Emperor Jia’s lips moved; a complex emotion flickered through his eyes and vanished. In the end, he said nothing, and allowed the servants to support him as he departed.

Su Jiao was still standing there, her nerves not yet recovered from the shock.

“Let’s go.”

Xie Yan tossed the bow to a servant and took her hand, leading her toward Yongning Hall.

Even with only a pair of eyes visible, Su Jiao had recognized him.

It really was the First Prince.

Infiltrating the palace was one thing — but he actually dared to take His Majesty hostage?

Su Jiao still couldn’t help but ask.

“Don’t you find that assassin’s eyes somewhat familiar?”

“Familiar how?”

Xie Yan raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

“Well, it’s just—”

But the question caught Su Jiao at a loss for words. She was still racking her mind trying to think of how to describe it when Xie Yan curved his lips ever so slightly.

“Back inside. Let’s go bathe.”

The husband and wife returned to Yongning Hall, and before Chang Lin had even finished heating the water for the bath, a eunuch arrived outside the door.

“By His Majesty’s oral decree — effective immediately, the guards stationed outside Yongning Hall are to be withdrawn. The Third Prince and the Prince’s Consort may come and go freely.”

With those words, before Xie Yan could react, Su Jiao had already shot to her feet.

“Is that true?”

In her previous life, they had spent a full two years genuinely confined here, with nothing to look at each day but the four-cornered sliver of sky overhead. Now she had other things to attend to, and had been fretting over how she was going to get out.

This decree could not have come at a better time.

Su Jiao’s face lit up with joy as she expressed her thanks and turned to watch the guards outside the door take their leave, still feeling as though she were in a dream.

“Why did His Majesty suddenly issue this decree? Is it because you saved him tonight with that arrow?”

At the time, Su Jiao had been so frightened watching him shoot that arrow she could barely breathe — terrified that if he missed, they too would lose their heads on the spot. Afterward, when he had successfully saved the Emperor, Emperor Jia had turned and walked away without a single word. She had privately fumed that this emperor was truly petty to the extreme.

He had saved the man’s life, at the very least.

Su Jiao stood at the doorway, her heart light with happiness as she gazed out. Thinking that from now on she could walk out of here freely, properly look into the situation with her mother, and no longer be boxed in by these four square walls — even the melancholy that had been pressing on her eased a little.

Xie Yan watched her eyes curve into crescents, and the corner of his own mouth followed, tugging upward into a faint smile.

“The water will be ready soon. You go bathe first.”

Su Jiao went to the side chamber. Chang Yi returned from outside the palace and took up a silent position behind him.

“The loose ends have been tidied. Your Highness need not worry.”

He had been ordered, after the First Prince departed, to lead him toward Qianqing Palace. Once the rumor of an assassin spread, the Imperial Guards swarmed in — and the First Prince, however unwilling he was to show himself, had no choice but to seize the Emperor and attempt an escape.

And the First Prince had indeed, just as expected, abducted the Emperor and headed toward the area of the Cold Palace — giving His Highness the perfect opportunity.

“His Highness truly leaves nothing to chance.”

Recalling it all, Chang Yi could not help but sigh with respectful admiration.

Knowing the First Prince would come that night, Xie Yan had first sent him to lead the Prince’s Consort away and put to rest any thought she might have of leaving the palace — then used the act of saving the Emperor with an arrow as a pretext to secure freedom of movement.

Xie Yan’s gaze rested on the side chamber, and he let out a quiet laugh.

“After all, had she been unable to leave any longer, our Prince’s Consort truly might have found some other way to make her escape.”

….

Su Jiao finished her bath and sat before the dressing table combing her hair, turning over the current situation in her mind.

Now that she could come and go freely, there was no need to find another way to slip out. Su Wei had failed to take her away this time, but he would certainly think of other means to come see her.

And since she could leave on her own, she would not be as helplessly passive as she had been.

All things considered — she would not need to leave the palace and put herself at risk in front of Su Wei, yet she could still secure the opportunity to visit the imperial mausoleum to pay her respects in the future. Staying here in the palace for now truly did seem to be the most suitable temporary measure.

She pressed her fingers to her brow and rubbed at it gently. Her unsettled heart grew somewhat calmer, and the resistance she had originally felt eased as well.

It had been barely more than ten days since she was reborn, and yet everything had already been turned completely upside down compared to her previous life.

Through the bronze mirror, she looked at Xie Yan sitting on the edge of the bed behind her.

In her previous life, the true turning point in his nature had come when they were released from the Cold Palace. That night, Emperor Jia had fallen into a critical condition and summoned all his princes to attend at his bedside.

No one ever knew what had truly happened that night. The Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince had attempted to poison Emperor Jia and forge an imperial edict — only to be stopped cold by a prince who had never once left the Cold Palace.

He cut down both princes on the spot. With merit great enough to save the Emperor’s life, he should by rights have risen to prominence and been installed as Crown Prince — but instead, he turned, raised his men, and launched a palace coup, forcing Emperor Jia to surrender the imperial seal.

He had chosen a path that drew the cursing of all, and became an emperor whose claim to the throne was crooked and unrighteous.

From the day he ascended the throne, his nature changed utterly. He became tyrannical and brutal, and of that night’s events he never spoke a single word. Even Su Jiao, as his wife, could pry nothing out of him.

Later, Noble Consort Yun Miao — the adopted daughter of the Yun family, who had rendered great service in his rise to power — entered the palace, and the distance between husband and wife grew. After that, she had ceased to ask or care about any of it.

A thought stirred in Su Jiao’s heart, and she rose and moved to stand before Xie Yan.

“Has Your Highness always been this estranged from Father Emperor?”

If she could not leave in the short term, she could not simply watch as everything played out along the same path as her previous life.

At least the Xie Yan of the present was still someone she had some ability to coax and manage. If he became what he was later, then whether she lived or died in this lifetime, she would die here inside the palace walls.

Xie Yan looked up at her.

The tips of her fingers were stained with the flower juice she had been grinding a moment ago — what she had always used to dye her nails. It clung to her pale, fair fingers, and in the lamplight it gave off a hazy, soft beauty.

“Hmm?”

She waited, but no answer came. Su Jiao patiently asked again.

A drop of flower juice, following the motion of her lifting aside a strand of hair — drip — fell upon her neck.

After her bath, she wore a robe of snow-white, her skin like fine jade over fresh snow, and against it the fallen flower juice looked all the more vivid and startling.

As she spoke, her breath trembled softly, and the flower juice trickled downward.

Disappearing beneath the rising and falling of that white snow-like robe.

In an instant, Xie Yan’s breath grew heavy. The words she was speaking were no longer audible to him — there was only the sudden surge of heat that rose in his chest, abrupt and fierce.

Again.

He clenched his large hand tightly, the turmoil within him surging violently.

The gaze he fixed upon her grew deeper and darker.

Su Jiao, still unaware, continued to probe.

“Tonight, the way I saw Father Emperor look at you — ah!”

Before she could finish, her waist was seized and the world spun as she was pulled down onto the bed. His tall frame pressed over her, and burning hands instantly found her waist, touching and stroking over it without restraint.

Her struggling movements caused her robe to fall open further. Her chest rose and fell as she gasped — and before she could say a word, Xie Yan reached out and covered her eyes with his hand, then came down heavily and kissed her lips.

He knew what she meant by those questions. But right now, he truly had no wish to hear it.

Jiao Jiao — do you think that by prying into the past this way, by trying to soften a man who has already lived one life, you are being somewhat too naive?

At last their lips parted. Su Jiao lay gasping beneath him. He looked down — through the fallen-open robe, flower juice stained across her chest, a landscape of soft snow and delicate fragrance, lovely beyond words.

The heat that had just barely subsided blazed up again at once, roaring fiercer than before.

Fine beads of sweat broke out at his brow. He exhaled a shaken breath, and in the end could hold himself back no longer — he bent his head down low.

And kissed it away.