Fire! Fire! Xinxin Garden is on fire!

Evening in the palace’s Cultivating Heart Garden.

It was the hour for supper, and Yue’er and Qiqi did not suspect the meal in the least. They believed that although many people in the palace disliked them, no one would go so far as to take their lives. Regrettably, they were wrong.

As Yue’er ate the delicacies before her, she found them not nearly as tasty as the wild greens she had once eaten. With a shake of her head and a faint smile, she said, “People really are strange. Now that I’m eating these exquisite dishes, I somehow have no appetite at all. Instead, I miss the wild grasses and greens I used to eat while escorting caravans.”

Perhaps she was simply not meant for such food. Thinking back on those old days on the road, Hui Yue’er’s heart was filled with longing. She wondered if she would ever be able to return.

Qiqi placed some food into Yue’er’s bowl and urged softly, “Sister Yue, don’t think about so much. Let’s take things one step at a time. I can’t say what the future holds, but wherever you go, you must take Qiqi with you. I want to follow Sister Yue forever!”

She was a very simple girl, without malice toward others and without suspicion of them either. In her heart there was only right and wrong, black and white, with no gray at all.

Yue’er nodded and smiled. “All right, Qiqi. Sister promises you this: if one day I can leave the palace, I’ll take you to see what the martial world is truly like!”

Compared with the open schemes and open grudges of the palace, perhaps the life of wandering heroes and martial rivals was simpler after all. At least there, if you lost, you lost honorably and with acceptance. But in the inner court, struggles were often invisible and silent, striking before one could even guard against them.

Qiqi smiled faintly and continued eating. Suddenly, she felt a little dizzy, as though she might fall asleep. She looked at Yue’er and asked, “Sister Yue, do you feel dizzy too, or like your eyes are going blurry?”

Before she had even finished speaking, Qiqi collapsed. Only then did Yue’er realize that they might have been drugged. Yue’er knew martial arts, so she held on longer than Qiqi did, but it was all because she had been too careless. If this had been while escorting a caravan, she would have remained alert at all times and never given anyone an opening. She had no idea who wanted to harm her and Qiqi.

Just as Yue’er was about to lose consciousness, several dark figures slipped into the room. A sharp voice said, “The Jade Consort claimed that this Princess of the Moon was so skilled. Looks like she’s nothing special after all. Set the fire!”

Half-conscious, Yue’er heard those words, and then she fainted. The intruders began lighting candles, then knocked them over to create the illusion of an accidental blaze. After that, they laughed and departed.

Night fell, yet the fire in the Cultivating Heart Garden lit up the sky. Only after a building had already caught and spread did the eunuchs and maids realize what was happening, crying out at once, “Fire! Fire! The Cultivating Heart Garden is burning!”

Everyone did all they could to fight the flames. After all, the fire-fighting equipment of the age was limited, and extinguishing such a large blaze was nearly impossible.

The moment Xuan Yuan Ren heard of the fire, he wanted to rush there at once, but many people stopped him, saying that as the sovereign of a nation he could not take such a risk.

All of this had begun because of him. If he had not brought Yue’er into the palace, she would never have encountered this disaster. He had already intended to let her leave the palace, yet in his heart he had always wanted to keep her by his side. He had never imagined that in the end, he would be the one to bring ruin upon her. Xuan Yuan Ren felt miserable.

Du Hai Ju stood with Xuan Yuan Ren in the pavilion of the Imperial Garden, gazing toward the Cultivating Heart Garden, now surrounded by flames. She gently patted his shoulder and comforted him. “Maybe Sister Yue’er has already escaped. Didn’t Your Majesty say that her martial skills are no less than any man’s? This consort believes Sister Yue’er will surely get out safely!”

She did not know that Yue’er had already been drugged and had no strength left to run. Unless someone rescued her, she was doomed.

Xuan Yuan Ren sighed. “I hope so.”

If Yue’er died, he would carry deep guilt for the rest of his life.

At that moment, Old Man Yang came over looking as though he had just awakened. He casually stretched and yawned, then asked Xuan Yuan Ren and Du Hai Ju, “What’s all this commotion? Why is it so noisy?”

Was he really asleep just now? Or was it something else?

Du Hai Ju explained, “The Cultivating Heart Garden, where Princess Si Yue lives, has caught fire. We don’t know whether the princess is still inside.”

She did not know that half the reason Yue’er was in danger this time was because of her, nor had she imagined that Noble Consort Shu could be so ruthless.

Old Man Yang said calmly, “That girl has great fortune. She’ll be fine.”

He seemed extremely certain. Seeing Du Hai Ju’s puzzled expression, he added, “This old man once had a brief encounter with that young lady. She does not seem like someone with a thin fate or a short life.”

His tone was so confident that it was as though he already knew Yue’er would be all right, carrying the air of a reclusive master far removed from the world.