That afternoon, a sudden rain fell. The ground outside the prison gates was muddy and filthy. Even though the jailers had cleaned in advance, Chen Jinan’s boots still got splashed with mud.
“General, should I go back and fetch you another pair of boots?” the jailer beside him asked obsequiously.
Chen Jinan glanced at his shoes indifferently. “No need.”
The jailer responded at once and was about to follow him inside when Chen Jinan abruptly stopped and looked at him expressionlessly.
“I understand… I understand,” the jailer quickly said, stepping back with a fawning smile. “Please, General, go ahead.”
Chen Jinan said, “Don’t let anyone else come in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ignoring him, Chen Jinan headed straight into the prison.
The capital was full of nobility and high officials—even the jails were stratified by rank. This particular block was far larger and more spacious than the others. Out of ten cells, nine were empty. Only the last one was currently occupied.
Chen Jinan made his way down the corridor. After two turns, he finally saw the person he had come to meet.
Lord Fu had shed his bright red official robes and removed the jade crown he usually wore. He was now lounging on the hard, cold brick bed inside the cell, appearing completely at ease. If not for the torn prisoner’s robe on his body, with patches of blood seeping through the rips, one could almost mistake him for enjoying a life of refined comfort.
Chen Jinan clearly hadn’t expected that, in just half a day, someone had already used torture on him. He stood there in silence.
“Anyone who’s managed to secure a post in the capital is no fool,” Fu Zhixian said with a casual smile. “Ever since you, General Yang, arrived, rumors have been swirling—things like the Emperor no longer favors me, or that there’s bad blood between us. And now, you personally bring me to prison…” He opened his arms, unbothered, revealing the bloodstained prisoner’s clothes. “Consider it a generous gift from those rumor-mongers.”
Chen Jinan’s eyes flickered. He stood silently on the other side of the bars before finally speaking in a low voice: “That was not my intention.”
Fu Zhixian stared at him for a long moment, the smile at his lips deepening. “I believe you.”
Chen Jinan glanced at him again, then pulled out a key and began to unlock the door.
The prison was silent. The clinking of chains was the only sound. Fu Zhixian leaned against the cold wall, lazily watching him open the door and approach with the long sword still at his waist.
“You’re here to kill me?”
“Why do you cling to Her Highness?”
Their voices sounded nearly at the same time—then silence.
Fu Zhixian narrowed his naturally cool and flirtatious eyes at him. Even though he was seated on the bed and half a head shorter, his gaze carried the air of superiority, as if he were still the famed Lord Fu who dazzled the capital, and the man before him still the illiterate little servant from long ago.
After a long pause, Fu Zhixian asked leisurely, “Who said I was clinging to her? Clearly, she’s the one clinging to me.”
Chen Jinan let out a quiet scoff from his throat. His normally calm eyes showed a rare flicker of contempt. “Impossible.”
“And how do you know that?” Fu Zhixian smirked. “That night when she set off the fireworks for me, wasn’t General Yang nearby?”
Chen Jinan remained expressionless. “That night was the sixteenth of August.”
The smile on Fu Zhixian’s lips slowly faded.
“If she really had feelings for you,” Chen Jinan said with certainty, “she wouldn’t have waited a day to light the fireworks.”
Fu Zhixian stared at him for a while, then feigned a sigh. “She was busy with official matters the day before, so she celebrated late.”
“If she truly wanted to celebrate your birthday, even if knives were falling from the sky, she wouldn’t have been late,” Chen Jinan replied, cutting in coldly. “You lit those fireworks yourself, then pinned it on Her Highness, deliberately spreading rumors of reconciliation—what exactly are you trying to do?”
His tone was calm, but the chill in his voice was unmistakable. Fu Zhixian’s gaze drifted over his sword, his gleaming black armor, and finally settled on his composed, authoritative face.
Gone was the timid, anxious servant from years past.
Fu Zhixian curled his lips, his eyes cold. “You think you know her so well?”
Chen Jinan didn’t reply. Instead, he took another step forward. “Her Highness only accepts the best. That was your own line.”
Fu Zhixian’s gaze snapped up, sharp and piercing.
But Chen Jinan remained unmoved, meeting his eyes directly.
Their stares clashed midair like flint, ready to spark—but in truth, neither moved. The cell was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.
After a long silence, Fu Zhixian suddenly asked, “Did you arrest me today to hide your own identity, or to clear the way for her?”
“What are you trying to do?” Chen Jinan asked the same question again.
Fu Zhixian didn’t move. “Answer mine first.”
Chen Jinan fell silent.
Fu Zhixian raised an eyebrow and stared at him with a hint of amusement. “Lord Yang, it’s just the two of us in this prison now. What is there left for you to hide?”
“What you’ve done these past few days has all been to provoke me,” Chen Jinan said calmly.
Fu Zhixian was genuinely a little surprised this time. “When did you figure it out?”
“From the moment you set off fireworks in Her Highness’s name, spread rumors about rekindling your relationship with her, or even when you made those utterly unconvincing defenses in the imperial study—I knew it was all to push me into making a move on you today.” Chen Jinan’s voice was low and steady, giving away nothing of his emotions. “And now, I suppose you’ve succeeded.”
Fu Zhixian let out a small laugh. “Since you already guessed it, why keep asking what I want?”
“I knew you wanted to force me to act, but I didn’t know what your goal was,” Chen Jinan took a slow step forward, his defined hand gradually tightening around the hilt of his sword. “You went through all this trouble, and it clearly wasn’t to deal with me. Otherwise, you could’ve just told the Emperor who I really am.”
“I truly have no intention of dealing with you,” Fu Zhixian gave him a slow once-over and sneered. “You’re not worth that much effort.”
“Then who is it for? Her Highness? What do you intend to do to her?”
Chen Jinan asked three questions in succession, but Fu Zhixian didn’t answer a single one. Instead, he chuckled, “Seems like the question I asked earlier now has its answer.”
Chen Jinan’s gaze darkened further.
“If you knew it was a trap, why walk into it?” Fu Zhixian met his eyes unflinchingly, as though he hadn’t noticed the strong killing intent radiating off him.
“Maybe it’s because Lord Fu is too clever. And clever people are always the most dangerous,” Chen Jinan drew his sword, pointing the tip directly at Fu Zhixian’s heart. “Rather than guess blindly, it’s better to root out the threat at once. A dead man won’t cause trouble.”
As soon as the words fell, his gaze sharpened—and the sword plunged cleanly into Fu Zhixian’s chest.
A rush of blood gushed out. Fu Zhixian’s breath hitched, but there was a faint smile on his lips.
“Apologies, Lord Fu,” Chen Jinan said without expression. “Next life—stay away from Her Highness.”
His gaze steeled, and his wrist was about to twist.
At that very moment, a sharp voice rang out—
“Stop!”
Chen Jinan froze. In the next instant, pain shot through his wrist, and the sword fell from his hand with a crisp clang.
Someone shoved him back. Dazed, he looked down to see Feng Lezhen pressing her pale hands tightly against Fu Zhixian’s bloodied chest, brows furrowed.
“Can—can you hold on?” Her voice was calm, but her fingers trembled slightly.
Fu Zhixian’s face was pale, but he gripped her hand with effort. “…It hurts a little.”
“You do know what pain feels like?!” Feng Lezhen snapped suddenly.
Seeing her so furious she forgot her composure, Fu Zhixian gave a weak laugh—and then collapsed into darkness.
Ah Ye had followed closely after striking down the sword with a hidden weapon. The moment she saw Chen Jinan, her eyes went wide with shock. Before she could even process anything, she heard her own mistress cry out “Fu Zhixian” in a panic and rushed in without hesitation, calling for help.
After Feng Lezhen pushed Chen Jinan aside, he stood frozen in place. He watched as she, Ah Ye, and a growing number of familiar faces rushed in. Many looked at him in surprise—then quickly ignored him to focus on the chaos.
It was as if a transparent barrier now separated him from them. His tongue felt tied, limbs weighed down with lead. He couldn’t speak or move, like an ancient statue left in the ruins of a forgotten temple.
Only when Fu Zhixian was carried away and Feng Lezhen turned to follow him did Chen Jinan seem to return to life. He reached out and instinctively grabbed her wrist.
“Your Highness…” Chen Jinan managed to say only those two words.
Feng Lezhen had already regained her composure. She left behind a simple, “We’ll speak later,” brushed off his hand, and walked away without looking back.
Chen Jinan stood alone where he was, suddenly overwhelmed by a deep fear. The armor on his body felt like filthy rags. He was no general—just a sixteen-year-old boy who had crawled out of a dark mine and didn’t know where to go.
Back then, Her Highness had smiled at him and said he could come work at the Princess’s manor. But this time, he was alone—no one there to show him the way.
The Princess’s Manor was brightly lit.
The best doctors in all of the capital had already gathered before Fu Zhixian was brought in. As soon as he arrived, they carried him straight to the bedroom and began the rescue.
Chen Jinan’s strike had been precise—right at the heart. Luckily, Feng Lezhen arrived just in time after the sword had only pierced half an inch. The heart had not been truly damaged. Unluckily, there was no Shen Suifeng this time—his life still hung by a thread.
Feng Lezhen stood quietly in the courtyard, watching basin after basin of bloody water being carried out. From afternoon into night, people came and went from the room endlessly, yet the atmosphere remained deathly still. For a moment, she felt as though she had returned to four years ago. The only difference was—back then, Fu Zhixian had lain in her own chambers. Now he lay in the guest room.
“Your Highness, please drink some water.” Ah Ye approached anxiously with tea.
Feng Lezhen snapped out of her trance, took the cup, and sipped.
It was sweet.
She looked at Ah Ye.
Ah Ye smiled sheepishly. “You’ve barely eaten anything since noon. I was worried you wouldn’t hold up, so I added some honey to the tea.”
She had wanted the kitchen to make some ginseng broth, but feared Her Highness wouldn’t drink it—so she chose something simpler for now.
Feng Lezhen gave a short laugh and downed the tea in one gulp. “Pass down the order—no one is to speak a word about Chen Jinan. If anyone dares to spread a word, they will be executed without mercy.”
“I understand. I already told them,” Ah Ye replied. Though she didn’t know how Chen Jinan had come back from the dead or why he appeared in the prison today, she could sense something was wrong. So she had already issued strict instructions. “Don’t worry, Your Highness—everyone who was with us today has served you loyally for years. There won’t be any leaks.”
Feng Lezhen nodded, and just then saw Qin Wan hurry in.
“Your Highness,” she saluted respectfully, “the Emperor has sent someone—they’re here to take Lord Fu away.”
The same thing was happening again after four years. But this time, Feng Lezhen was no longer who she used to be—there was no need to swallow her anger, no need to act pitiful to beg for Feng Ji’s pity.
“Tell him to get lost,” Feng Lezhen replied calmly.
Qin Wan had expected this response and nodded. “I’ll go send him off then.”
“Not send off,” Feng Lezhen looked up. “Tell him to get lost.”
Qin Wan froze, then understood what she meant. “Then… then I’ll…”
“I’ll go!” Ah Ye volunteered and left without even turning her head.
Worried she’d cause trouble, Qin Wan quickly followed. But as soon as she entered the main hall, she heard Ah Ye sneer coldly: “Get lost! All of you get lost! Don’t you even look at what trash you are, filthy scum! You want to take someone from the Eldest Princess’s residence? Dream on!”
Didn’t Her Highness just say “tell him to get lost”? Qin Wan tugged at the corner of her lips. Just as she stepped across the threshold, she came face-to-face with the eunuch who was storming out, his face dark as iron.
“Gonggong,” Qin Wan greeted politely.
Though the eunuch was furious, he dared not lose his temper in the Eldest Princess’s residence. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Her Highness refuses to hand him over?”
“Lord Fu is gravely injured and cannot be moved,” Qin Wan replied more politely than Ah Ye, but with the same meaning.
The eunuch took a deep breath and stormed off, sleeves flaring.
After Li Tong was dismissed as Grand Chamberlain, Feng Ji had promoted several new eunuchs to key posts. These eunuchs had become arrogant in the capital, but today they finally ran into a brick wall. Though their eyes burned with hatred, they dared not say a word.
But not daring to speak in the Eldest Princess’s residence didn’t mean they wouldn’t speak before Feng Ji. Sure enough, after the eunuch returned and exaggerated the situation, Feng Ji erupted, smashing things in rage.
“Outrageous! Outrageous! I’m not dead yet! Does she mean to rebel?” Feng Ji gritted his teeth, hatred boiling in his eyes.
The eunuch wore a pained expression. “Your Majesty, calm your anger… The Eldest Princess is now all-powerful, and the entire court follows her lead. What can we possibly do…”
“What can we do?” Feng Ji laughed in fury. “As long as I sit on this throne, she doesn’t get to call the shots! Take the imperial guards back there—dead or alive, I want him brought to me!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Receiving the command, the eunuch stood tall and brought even more men this time—but the Eldest Princess’s residence was well-prepared. This time, he couldn’t even get through the gate.
“Is Her Highness planning to defy an imperial decree?” he growled.
Qin Wan replied gently, “Lord Fu’s condition is uncertain. Her Highness truly has no energy to entertain you, Gonggong. You’d best return.”
“Whether I return or not isn’t up to Her Highness,” the eunuch snapped. Then he clapped his hands, and the imperial guards immediately stepped forward.
Qin Wan’s expression stayed calm. “What do you mean by this?”
“By His Majesty’s decree—we must see him alive or dead tonight. If Her Highness insists on refusing, then I’ll have to offend her.” The eunuch tried to find a flicker of fear in Qin Wan’s eyes.
But Qin Wan suddenly smiled, and her usually stern and composed face looked several years younger. Then her gaze turned even sharper.
“The Emperor and Her Highness are siblings—deeply affectionate. How could he issue such an order? Clearly, you’re just a treacherous servant delivering false commands. If you keep acting up, I won’t be polite.”
“Nonsense! When did I deliver a false order?!” the eunuch shouted, furious.
Qin Wan remained unbothered. She stepped closer and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “If I say it’s a false decree—then it is a false decree.”
The eunuch was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, Qin Wan had already turned and walked back toward the courtyard.
Seeing her about to leave, the eunuch immediately shouted, “Since Her Highness insists on defying an imperial decree, then I must act!”
With that, he waved his hand, and the imperial guards roared into action. At his signal, one of them raised a curved blade and charged at Qin Wan. She walked calmly, even sensing the blade slicing the air behind her—but she never turned around, simply continued quietly forward.
Just as the blade was about to strike, a concealed weapon flew out and knocked it away. In the next moment, Ah Ye landed behind Qin Wan and, along with the residence guards, rushed the imperial troops.
The eunuch clearly hadn’t expected the Eldest Princess’s residence to act so brazenly. He panicked and stumbled backward. The guards clashed in a fierce melee, swords ringing through the air, but Feng Lezhen stood still in the courtyard, watching the shadows of doctors hurrying back and forth across the windows of the inner chamber.
“Your Highness,” Qin Wan approached and respectfully bowed after entering.
Feng Lezhen didn’t turn around. “So noisy.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. It’ll be quiet soon,” Qin Wan soothed.
Outside the gates, the imperial guards began losing ground. Seeing the tide turn, the eunuch quickly shouted for a retreat. As they fled in disarray, Ah Ye stopped a few who wanted to give chase.
“Don’t pursue cornered dogs,” she said, stretching lazily, clearly pleased.
The others stopped decisively, chatting and laughing as the tension melted from their limbs.
In contrast, the atmosphere in the palace was far from cheerful. From the sleeping chambers came constant sounds of things being smashed and furious shouting. The palace staff barely dared to breathe, trying their best to disappear like frightened quail.
Feng Ji was nearly mad with rage. As the eunuch sobbed on the floor, he kicked him square in the chest. The eunuch spat up blood but still scrambled to beg and plead.
Feng Ji’s clothes were disheveled, his breathing ragged, and his bloodshot eyes wild like a beast’s. After a long moment, he gritted out through clenched teeth:
“No. If we don’t suppress her tonight, she’ll be even more arrogant in the future. Go… go summon Yang Yueshan—I’ll slaughter the entire Eldest Princess’s residence tonight!”
“Your Majesty,” the frightened eunuch immediately clung to his leg, no longer caring about the humiliation he had just suffered at the Eldest Princess’s residence, “please reconsider, Your Majesty! The Eldest Princess has the full support of the people. If Your Majesty destroys her residence over Fu Zhixian, how will you explain that to the common folk later? And… and there’s also Yingguan and the Tayuans at our gates—Yingguan is in critical danger. If something happens to the Eldest Princess now, it may shake the army’s morale…”
“So I deserve to be humiliated by her?!” Feng Ji kicked him again, lashing out with punches and kicks. “Tell me! Should I let her humiliate me?!”
“Spare me, Your Majesty, spare me…” The eunuch shielded his face, pleading pitifully.
Feng Ji gradually calmed down. Seeing the bruises on the eunuch’s face, he took a deep breath. After a long pause, he spoke coldly: “Go. Go call Yang Yueshan over. This matter cannot be left unresolved…”
“And if it won’t be left unresolved,” a voice cut in, “what does Your Majesty intend to do?”
Feng Ji and the eunuch looked up at once—only to see Feng Lezhen walking in slowly.
In the dead of night, she had appeared in the Emperor’s sleeping chambers without obstruction. Feng Ji’s face first darkened, then twisted into panic.
“You… who let you in?” he forced himself to remain calm.
Feng Lezhen looked at him steadily. “Your Majesty sent for me again and again—wasn’t it all for this moment? So why now do you look as if you’ve seen a ghost?”
“How did you get in?” Feng Ji’s composure cracked. He stared hard into her eyes.
Feng Lezhen’s gaze grew cold as she advanced step by step. Feng Ji instinctively backed away until he bumped into a table behind him and stopped abruptly. He turned and shouted toward the door, “Guards! Guards!”
“Best not to shout, Your Majesty,” Feng Lezhen said mildly. “No one’s coming.”
Feng Ji’s face turned pale, his former arrogance gone. “Feng Lezhen… what are you trying to do? Are you planning to rebel?!”
“I am rebelling,” Feng Lezhen said with a half-smile, eyes full of mockery. “I’ve planned to rebel ever since before you sat on that throne. Is this the first you’re hearing of it?”
Feng Ji’s throat tightened. He couldn’t utter a single word.
Yes, she had always planned to rebel. She had schemed and plotted for years—all for this seat of power… The grand sleeping chambers fell into utter silence. Not a single sound could be heard. Feng Ji stood utterly alone, trembling harder and harder.
But Feng Lezhen no longer intended to push him further. She straightened and looked down at him coldly. “Fu Zhixian is under my protection now. If you’re not satisfied, feel free to keep trying. I’d like to see what kind of laughingstock you become in the end.”
With that, she turned and walked away, as though she had never been there at all.
Feng Ji stared blankly at her retreating figure, then suddenly collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…” The eunuch, who had been playing dead, scrambled over on hands and knees, trembling as he wiped sweat from the Emperor’s brow.
Feng Ji sat there, eyes vacant, and after a long while finally said weakly, “Investigate… find out how she got in… and why no one came to protect me all this time…”
The palace would not sleep that night.
After personally storming into the palace to terrify Feng Ji, Feng Lezhen returned directly to the Eldest Princess’s residence. As soon as she entered, she heard news that Fu Zhixian had woken up.
She didn’t react much to the news. After giving a few instructions to Qin Wan and Fan Gonggong, she turned and went to the side room to see him.
The bedroom had already been cleaned by the servants, but the air was still thick with the stench of blood.
Fu Zhixian’s tattered prison clothes had long been removed, and his wounds were all tightly bandaged. His entire body was wrapped in white gauze—only his face was untouched.
When he saw Feng Lezhen enter, he smiled faintly. “Your Highness.”
Expressionless, Feng Lezhen walked to the bedside and locked eyes with him for a long moment—then suddenly raised her hand—
Smack!
Her slap sent Fu Zhixian’s head snapping to the side, pulling at the wounds on his body. He grunted in pain, then looked back at her with a smile. “Since when did Your Highness enjoy teaching lessons personally? That’s far too crude. If you’re angry, you could’ve ordered the servants to do it—why bother yourself?”
“You knew Jinan would try to kill you?” Feng Lezhen asked coolly. It sounded like a question, but her tone said she already knew the answer.
Fu Zhixian blinked slowly. His face was still pale. “He tried to kill me, and you still call him Jinan?”
“What are you trying to do?” Feng Lezhen stared straight into his eyes.
Fu Zhixian gave a low laugh. “That’s the same question Chen Jinan asked me over and over. He couldn’t figure it out. You can’t either?”
He paused a moment, then suddenly grew wistful. “Actually, Chen Jinan isn’t stupid. He couldn’t see through me simply because he’s hostile to me. He thinks everything I do is a scheme… But there are no such grand schemes. Everything I’ve done was simply to prove to Your Highness that every word I’ve ever said to you—was sincere.”
He had deliberately provoked Chen Jinan, constantly reminding him that he knew his past, just to push him to the point of murder. And now that Chen Jinan belonged to the Emperor, even if he wanted to kill, he couldn’t act directly. He’d have to persuade the Emperor to issue a decree first, and then execute him publicly and righteously.
If it had been anyone else trying to arrest him, Feng Lezhen might not have intervened—but if it was Chen Jinan, she would come to save him.
Because she understood Chen Jinan’s nature. She knew that once he was in Chen Jinan’s hands, he wouldn’t survive. So before he was taken, he had already arranged for someone to notify the Yu family immediately, ensuring the news reached her in the shortest time possible.
And once she stepped in to save him, it would be equivalent to declaring outright to the Emperor: Fu Zhixian now belongs to the Eldest Princess.
Fu Zhixian looked around at the familiar furnishings of the room, and a faint smile slowly lifted the corner of his lips.
“So you went in one big circle just to destroy every path of retreat you had left?” Feng Lezhen’s voice was calm now. “Fu Zhixian, you’re truly insane. Were you not afraid that I might not come to save you? Or that I’d arrive too late, and only find a corpse?”
“Your Highness would come to save me.” Fu Zhixian looked at her, eyes filled with a quiet tenderness.
Two lifetimes of entanglement, countless days and nights of struggle and longing—by now, even their blood and bones had fused into one. He understood her, just as she understood him. Some bonds simply couldn’t be severed so easily.
“If there really was nothing left but a corpse,” Fu Zhixian smiled silently, “then I’d just have to accept that luck wasn’t on my side.” After saying that, he reached for the cup nearby, but the movement pulled on his wounds, and pain reddened the corners of his eyes.
He exhaled deeply, waited for the pain to subside, then looked to Feng Lezhen with a helpless expression. “Your Highness, would you lend a hand?”
“Madman.” Feng Lezhen’s lips parted lightly, watching him coldly from the side.
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