Yan Shixu was momentarily dazed by the soft touch.
He didn’t quite understand why he had shared so much with Wen Fengyi.
Perhaps it was because she gave him a sense of peace and obedience, making her a good confidante.
He patted her head and was about to say that he was no longer the young Crown Prince he once was.
Before he could speak, he heard Wen Fengyi exclaim in surprise, pointing at the sky.
“Your Highness, look! The meteor shower is here!”
Yan Shixu looked up at the sky.
Indeed, a meteor with a long tail streaked across the heavens, painting a brilliant trail above them.
After one came two, then three… ten… countless more.
When the dark night sky was filled with meteors, their gathered light illuminated the mortal world.
Wen Lier sighed at the magnificent sight.
“Your Highness, it’s truly beautiful. It’s just a pity that everyone considers meteors to be an ill omen.”
Yan Shixu smiled. “People fear the supernatural and often attribute mystery to celestial phenomena. But actually, meteor showers should be similar to rain—the only difference is that one falls to the ground while the other doesn’t. People fear what they cannot reach and know nothing about.”
Wen Lier nodded, acknowledging the reason in His Highness’s words.
Yan Shixu held her closer, gazing at the dazzling sky in contemplation.
The early spring night still carried a chill. When a breeze swept by, Wen Lier instinctively nestled deeper into Yan Shixu’s embrace.
Yan Shixu then removed his own cloak and draped it over her.
Wen Lier instantly felt warmth envelop her entire body, surrounded by the faint, indescribably pleasant scent of ambergris.
Her heartbeat quickened inexplicably, as if keeping rhythm with the meteors streaking across the sky.
Just then, a woman’s hauntingly beautiful singing voice drifted from somewhere unknown.
“A year apart, yet with you I remain, our meetings brief, encounters vain. A dance like dreams, endless longing’s strain, all lies in silence, words cannot explain.”
“This year again, blossoms red I see, the night lingers, time marches free. Meteors fall, love’s tragedy…”
“…”
The woman’s voice was ethereal, carrying a sense of misty melancholy.
Wen Lier’s heart skipped a beat, touched by a wave of sorrow.
She turned to look, wondering which woman was also watching the meteor shower and singing such a mournful song.
Yan Shixu glanced toward the southeast and explained to Wen Lier, “It’s Xue Pin from the cold palace.”
Wen Lier followed his gaze.
In the darkness, she could barely make out a woman in white on a three-story building to the southeast, looking up at the sky while spinning and dancing.
Perhaps because the night was so still, the woman’s song carried on the wind, allowing them to hear it clearly.
“Your Highness, how do you know it’s Xue Pin? What did Xue Pin do? Why is she in the cold palace?”
Yan Shixu explained, “Xue Pin was pregnant for ten months but gave birth to a stillborn. Despite her postpartum condition, she rushed into Guanju Palace to confront Yang Guifei, accusing her of harming her child. Without even investigating, the Emperor accused Xue Pin of slandering Yang Guifei and sent her to the cold palace. Unable to bear the double blow, Xue Pin went mad after entering the cold palace and has been dancing on that building every night.”
Hearing this, Wen Lier felt a surge of sorrow in her heart.
Is the Emperor truly so partial to Yang Guifei? Sending a woman who just gave birth to the cold palace is simply inhuman!
Yan Shixu gently pried open her tightly clenched fist, then enveloped her small hand with his large palm, giving it a soft squeeze.
“Everyone has their own fate. Xue Pin’s mistake lay in attempting to block a chariot with her bare arms. When one lacks the capability, they should choose to conceal their brilliance and bide their time, waiting for the right moment to strike decisively.”
Wen Lier let out a long sigh. Who could argue with that?
But a mother who has lost her child—Xue Pin likely had no rationality left in that moment.
Wen Lier was merely sighing in reflection. As a mere Bong Yi of the Eastern Palace, even if she sympathized with Xue Pin, there was no way she could go and help her.
There are countless pitiable souls in this world.
Especially within the palace walls, who knows how many women’s lives have been confined here, how many women and children destroyed?
As Wen Lier thought of the battles and dangers she might face in the future, her breathing quickened slightly.
Yan Shixu lifted her chin with one hand, gazing intently into her eyes.
“If it were Wen Fengyi, what would you do?”
Without hesitation, Wen Lier replied, “If it were me, I would have never dared to let Yang Guifei notice me in the first place. I’d hide away in a side hall, like a turtle retreating into its shell, making sure everyone forgot about me, then live out my life peacefully and safely.”
Yan Shixu hadn’t expected such an answer. After a moment of stunned silence, he chuckled softly.
His mind automatically conjured an image: Wen Fengyi carrying a large turtle shell on her back, cautiously peeking out to check if the coast was clear.
At the first sign of trouble, she’d immediately retreat into her shell.
The more he thought about it, the more his eyes sparkled with amusement.
Wen Lier looked at him curiously. “Your Highness, what are you laughing at?”
Before Yan Shixu could answer, they heard someone shouting.
“Fire! Fire! Everyone, come quickly and help put out the fire…”
Wen Lier’s heart jumped. Like Yan Shixu, she turned to look in the direction of the flames.
It was one of the side halls in the Eastern Palace.
Yan Shixu narrowed his eyes, his expression showing both understanding and mockery.
Wen Lier was no foolish girl either.
She immediately grasped the implications.
Tonight, a meteor shower graced the skies, yet a fire broke out in the Eastern Palace—the underlying message was unmistakable.
Yan Shixu turned to Wen Lier, his voice calm. “Wen Fengyi, return to your quarters first.”
Wen Lier bowed in acknowledgment and slowly walked toward the staircase.
After a few steps, she glanced back at Yan Shixu.
Yan Shixu raised an eyebrow. During the previous two nights she attended him, she had left faster than anyone. Tonight, however, she seemed worried about him.
He smiled. “Go back first. I will be fine.”
Wen Lier looked into his eyes and saw a confidence that seemed to look down upon the world.
Reassured, she turned and descended the stairs.
After she left, Zhang Sicheng, the Crown Prince’s Guard Commandant, ascended the tower with Yongtai.
He bowed to Yan Shixu and reported, “Your Highness, the fire has been extinguished.”
Yan Shixu asked, “Have you determined the cause of the fire in the side hall?”
Zhang Sicheng shook his head. “Flint was found inside the side hall, but we haven’t identified the culprit. Because of the meteor shower, the palace maids and eunuchs on duty were hiding indoors. We couldn’t get any useful information from them.”
Yan Shixu asked further, “Who first discovered the fire?”
“It was a eunuch who cleans the toilet buckets.”
“Interrogate him thoroughly.”
“Yes.”
After giving his orders, Yan Shixu prepared to return to Yuqing Hall.
Before leaving, he suddenly thought of something and asked Yongtai, “I recall there being a Golden Turtle in the private treasury of Yuqing Hall?”
Yongtai, not understanding the reason, bowed and replied, “Indeed, there is a Golden Turtle—a three-foot-tall turtle body made of pure gold, a tribute from a foreign prince.”
Yan Shixu nodded with satisfaction. “Send it to Wen Fengyi.”