As Feng Suige's voice drew nearer, Feng Xiyang, trembling with anger, suddenly curved her lips into a strange smile. She said softly, "You're so fearless because you have the Imperial Brother backing you up, aren't you?"
Before Yixiao could grasp the meaning of her words, Xiyang lifted her skirt and swept out like a gust of wind.
At the doorway, Feng Suige nearly collided with Xiyang as she rushed out like a headless fly. He let out a short "Ah!" and instinctively stepped aside. In that moment of surprise, Feng Xiyang had already run far, and Yixiao also walked out with a puzzled expression.
As they looked at each other, they both began to speak. "She..."
Almost simultaneously, accompanied by the servants' cries of alarm, a loud splash of something heavy falling into water came from the front courtyard.
"Princess Consort!!!"
"Princess Xiyang..."
"Someone... the Princess Consort has thrown herself into the water..."
"Xiyang!?" Feng Suige's face turned pale, and he instinctively roared at Yixiao, "What did you do?!"
In an instant, Yixiao understood the deeper meaning behind Feng Xiyang's smile.
As night fell, the guesthouse was still bustling with activity. Maids and eunuchs rushed about like weaving shuttles, carrying basins of hot water into the bedchamber one after another. Several physicians were murmuring in low voices in the outer room.
Feng Suige's shouts reverberated through the rear hall. "Doesn't Jinxiu have a single trustworthy physician?"
The chastised eunuch replied meekly, "Upon hearing of the Princess Consort's fall into the water, His Majesty the Holy Emperor has already dispatched the best imperial physicians from the inner court..."
"Then why is she still unconscious?!" Feng Suige paced anxiously in the room for a few steps. "What about the civilian sector? Send someone to the largest medical hall in the Holy City immediately and summon their best doctors."
The eunuch complied and hurriedly withdrew.
Feng Suige frustratedly struck the curio shelf and quickly entered the room where many physicians were gathered. Suppressing his temper, he asked, "Is there anything lacking in terms of medicinal ingredients?"
The physicians looked at each other and finally shook their heads. After a moment of silence, one of the older physicians stepped forward half a step and hesitantly reported in a low voice, "Prince Feng... the Princess Consort of Zhennan merely suffered from cold qi invading her internal organs after falling into the water, causing an imbalance in her five viscera..."
"Enough," Feng Suige waved his hand impatiently. "Don't give me flowery language—speak plainly."
The physician responded nervously, then after some consideration, slowly said, "Earlier, we inquired with the Princess Consort's attending maid. She said the Princess Consort had been slightly unwell before coming to the Holy City, and her rest and diet were irregular. So, the high fever and unconsciousness are normal. Therefore, please don't worry, Prince Feng. As long as the fever subsides within three days, the Princess Consort will be fine."
Hearing this, Feng Suige felt slightly relieved, but then furrowed his brow again, holding back unspoken words. He nodded to the group of anxious-looking physicians, then turned to see Fu Yixiao standing in the corridor. She was half-hidden in the darkness like a night-blooming cereus silently blooming in the lifeless night.
"Do you hate her that much?" Feng Suige's voice was weary. "I've done so much—can't you treat her a little better for my sake?"
"Didn't you ask me what I did?" Yixiao turned her face away, her expression unseen, but her voice calm. "If I tell you I did nothing, that she suddenly ran out on her own, would you believe me?"
Feng Suige was stunned. He'd never expected such an answer.
If what Yixiao said was true, then Xiyang...
If...
Suppressing the sudden turmoil in his heart, Feng Suige said decisively, "Alright, now is not the time to discuss this. I..."
"You don't believe me," Yixiao's nails dug deep into her palm as she attempted to state this painful fact in a calm tone. "You'd rather believe that I said or did something to make her feel so ashamed she wanted to die than believe she's putting on an act."
"No, it's not like that. I'm just more concerned about Xiyang's condition," Feng Suige's voice sounded muffled. He took a few steps closer and embraced Yixiao. "Can we discuss this issue after she recovers?"
Yixiao smiled faintly, imperceptibly pulling away his hands and taking a step back. "You want to confront us, is that it?"
Feng Suige hurriedly grasped her. "I didn't mean anything else."
"I didn't mean anything else either," Yixiao broke free, her flowing robes tracing a cold yet passionate arc in the night. "I'm tired and need to rest. The Prince may do as he pleases!"
Feng Suige watched Yixiao's figure gradually disappear into the darkness and frustratedly struck the corridor pillar.
Yixiao heard the dull thud, but she didn't look back.
Without trust, without dependence, without hope, there's no need to be disappointed, right?
But why hadn't she realized this all along?
"Princess," someone called out clearly from the side. "Please wait."
Yixiao stopped in her tracks and looked toward the voice. By the light of the corridor lamps, she vaguely saw a maid standing not far away, her eyes downcast, but with an inexplicable smile on her lips.
"What is it?" Yixiao asked briefly.
"This servant has come to deliver a message," the maid curtsied slightly. "Please don't alarm others, Princess. Follow this servant quietly to a place where you will meet the person you most want to see."
Yixiao's heart skipped a beat. "Who am I going to see? And who sent you?"
The maid chuckled softly. "Who sent me is not important. What's important is whether the Princess wants to see him—there's only one chance, Princess. You'd better think carefully before answering."
Yixiao pondered for a moment. "How do I know you're not deceiving me?"
The maid replied nonchalantly, "For his sake, what's wrong with taking a risk? Has Fu Yixiao, who once put him first in everything, become a timid coward after enjoying enough wealth and glory?"
How could this lowly maid with such a humble expression utter such cutting words?
Yixiao stared at her intently, her eyes gleaming like a beast's in the night until the maid's originally smug expression turned to fear and her slender body trembled uncontrollably. Only then did Yixiao slowly open her mouth. "Lead the way!"
Everything in darkness is unknown, containing all possibilities and impossibilities, filled with mysterious scents. Night is the origin point of all creatures. At night's boundary, all norms of light are obscured by chaotic darkness, forming another state that encompasses all truths and the inner nature of certain things, which cannot be ignored.
Stepping down from the tightly sealed black carriage, Yixiao looked up at the golden-glazed tile roof of the building before her. No doubt—it must be him.
A eunuch respectfully ushered her into a magnificent yet exquisite room and gently closed the door.
Yixiao strolled to one end of the room and casually plucked at a gold-inlaid six-stringed zither made of carved purple sandalwood on the table, softly praising, "A fine zither."
"If you like it, I shall bestow it upon you," the Holy Emperor smiled as he emerged from the inner room, approaching step by step. "Fu Yixiao, after years apart, you're still the same. At the mere mention of Xia Jingshi's name, you disregard everything else!"
Yixiao didn't look up, her fingertips gliding over the zither strings. "It's a pity it's too ornate, losing the elegance a good zither should possess," she said, finally turning to bow gracefully to the Holy Emperor. "Your subject, Fu Yixiao, pays respects to Your Majesty the Holy Emperor. Long live the Emperor, long live!"
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