The moment she was out of everyone’s sight, Xiao Nanhui began to run with all her might.
She had never run with such desperation anywhere outside of a battlefield. Before her lay a void where no soul could be seen, yet she felt that within it lay the answer she had been seeking for so long.
The clamor of the guests was quickly left behind. The long covered corridor stretched straight ahead at first, then abruptly branched into three directions after a sharp turn.
Xiao Nanhui stood at the fork, panting as she looked around. Each corridor wound away into the distance, their ends invisible. The sky was gradually darkening, and the rockeries and manicured plants that had been so distinct during the day began to blur and enlarge. The low walls and spirit screens, which had seemed to intertwine without pattern, now suddenly connected into a whole, trapping her within like an exquisite cage.
Deep trees, tall grass, and layers of walls—there was no way out.
The traditional garden design of high walls and deep courtyards was displayed to its fullest extent here in the Xuanyuan Prince’s Manor.
Xiao Nanhui crouched down, pressing close to the ground to observe the marks on the floor.
During the blessing ceremony, the geomancer had burned many paper talismans. Those who stood close would inevitably be dusted with a bit of ash; though minute, it was not entirely untraceable.
After observing for a moment, she rose and headed toward the leftmost corridor.
The last time, she had also taken the path on the left.
Xiao Nanhui’s footsteps faltered, startled by the thought that had suddenly surfaced in her mind.
The last time—it had been at the Emperor’s traveling palace in Jiaosong County.
She forced herself not to get distracted, but the more she forced it, the less she could manage. Bizarre, kaleidoscopic fragments swarmed into her mind like a hive of bees. The stench of corpses and the strange fragrance she had smelled in the mandala flowerbeds, the body lying quietly on the stone platform inside Jingbo Tower, and those deductions regarding resurrection from the dead...
Not far away, several birds returning for the night fluttered up from the grass. The hair on Xiao Nanhui’s neck stood on end, and a cold sweat broke out across her back.
The temperature dropped as the sun sank. The evening breeze, carrying a hint of chill, brushed against the fine hairs on her face. She felt as though the perception of every pore was being magnified at this moment; the slightest rustle of wind or grass could trigger a storm.
*Snap.*
A sound suddenly came from her back left. She spun around, instinctively reaching for the dagger at her waist.
But she had forgotten—by regulation, one could not carry weapons into the Prince’s Manor. Her dagger had been left at the gatehouse.
In the gloom, she stared tensely toward the source of the sound.
"Who is it?"
She squinted and saw a young maid with her hair in twin buns stepping out from behind a nearby pillar. She held a bouquet of freshly picked flowers in her arms and an oil lamp hanging from her wrist, looking at Xiao Nanhui timidly.
Xiao Nanhui let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked around.
"May I ask what place this is? I’ve lost my way."
The little maid hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"Further ahead is the direction of the ancestral hall. Outsiders aren't allowed in."
The ancestral hall? Wasn't a manor's ancestral hall usually located near the main house? Why would it be in a place like this?
She paused, then continued her inquiry. "Did you see someone pass by just now? He was wearing a brown cloak..."
"Is the lady speaking of Master Zong?" The maid gave a shy smile, the flower branches in her arms trembling slightly. "After the blessing ends, the priest must return to the ancestral hall to offer incense. It will be a long time before he comes out."
"How long is 'a long time'?" Xiao Nanhui asked urgently, her speech quickening. "I have something I wish to ask him. Could you please help me pass word? If it’s inconvenient, I will wait for him here."
"This servant only works in the inner courtyards and doesn't know about such things." The maid lowered her head and fiddled with the wick of the oil lamp. The light flickered and finally brightened. "However, outsiders aren't usually allowed to stay here. Let this servant take the lady to another place to wait."
Xiao Nanhui hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well."
****** ****** ******
In the long corridor, two figures moved one after the other.
*Squeak, squeak.*
A flickering oil lamp swayed with the two figures, casting a small, dancing patch of light on the ground. Beyond that was a darkness so thick it would not dissolve.
Xiao Nanhui silently memorized the path, her eyes never leaving the back of the girl with the twin buns.
The sky grew darker and darker. She could not see any of the scenery outside the corridor, nor could she see the patterns carved into the pillars; she could only remember the sequence of the forks in the road.
Was the Xuanyuan Prince’s Manor truly so stingy that they didn't even light the lamps after nightfall?
She was cursing inwardly when the person walking ahead suddenly slowed her pace.
"We have arrived."
Xiao Nanhui took a few more steps forward, and a faint, indistinct floral scent drifted past her nose. She sneezed violently, her gaze falling on the flowers in the maid's arms.
It was a bundle of pale white and light yellow blossoms, looking like ordinary forsythia or winter jasmine. Logically, their scent should be much weaker than the gardenias and peonies at Yao Yi’s place, so why was it so pungent?
Perhaps she had inhaled too much pollen earlier in Lady Bo’s side courtyard, and it was only now taking effect.
Xiao Nanhui rubbed her nose and surveyed the courtyard at the end of the corridor.
It was square, clean, and tidy, appearing to have nothing special about it.
"This place is...?"
The maid pushed open the door to the central room and gestured for Xiao Nanhui to enter.
"This is where the second young master’s wet nurse used to live. It has been empty for a long time now. One must pass through here when coming from the ancestral hall. The lady will not miss the person she is waiting for."
Xiao Nanhui looked at the pitch-black room but still nodded in thanks.
"Thank you."
"The lady is too kind. If there is nothing else, this servant will take her leave." The maid looked up at her for the first time, a shallow smile revealing two sharp canine teeth. "It is dark in the room; I will leave this lamp for the lady."
With that, she placed the oil lamp from her wrist onto the table inside and backed out, pulling the door shut behind her.
After a "creak," the room suddenly fell silent.
This silence was different from before; not even the slightest sound of wind could be heard.
Xiao Nanhui stood in place for a while, then picked up the oil lamp from the table to illuminate her surroundings.
It was a simple suite of inner and outer rooms. The outer room was a small parlor, and the inner room held a bed surrounded by thick curtains that looked as though they hadn't been disturbed in a long time.
In terms of furnishings, the room was indeed very plain, but the soundproofing seemed a bit too good. If a wet nurse lived in such a room, could she really hear the movements in the outer courtyard at all times?
Feeling suspicious, she remembered something and walked straight to the window. She hadn't seen clearly when she was outside, but now she felt the carved window lattices of this room were exceptionally detailed.
She instinctively reached out to touch them, then suddenly froze.
Under her fingers was a smooth, cold, and hard sensation.
This was a fake window painted onto the wall.
Refusing to give up, she hurried to another window. The same exquisite painting, the same fake window.
After checking all four walls, a layer of sweat had broken out on Xiao Nanhui’s forehead.
This was a room without windows. The only place that connected to the outside world was the door she had entered through.
But when she went to pull the door, she discovered it had already been locked from the outside.
Xiao Nanhui took a few steps back and slumped onto the cushioned porcelain stool facing the door.
This ordeal had left her inexplicably exhausted. Normally, if she found herself locked in a room, she would have kicked the door down.
But this was the Prince’s Manor. Breaking down a door was far too outrageous, and today she was representing the Marquis’s Manor; she couldn't afford the slightest mistake. The maid who had brought her here was clearly not as simple as she seemed, but Xiao Nanhui couldn't fathom what the girl's intentions were.
In that moment of hesitation, the feeling of dizziness grew even stronger.
She didn't know if it was because the room had no windows and was airtight, but she felt her throat go dry and her breathing become difficult. The floral scent she had smelled outside seemed to have followed her into the room, and now it was burrowing deep into her nasal passages.
Her gaze searched the room and landed on the small sandalwood table beside her.
On the table sat a wine pot and two porcelain cups. A layer of condensation clung to the belly of the porcelain pot, as if it contained chilled sweet wine from a summer's day.
Xiao Nanhui made a swallowing motion almost instinctively, then stepped forward and picked up the wine pot.
The pot was heavy and, indeed, slightly cool to the touch.
She urgently poured a cup and was about to bring it to her lips.
*Thump, thump, thump.*
A series of hurried knocks sounded at the door.
The cup in Xiao Nanhui’s hand stopped before her lips.
*Thump, thump, thump.*
The knocking did not stop; the person outside seemed exceptionally anxious.
Perhaps it was that urgent sound that broke her inexplicable thirst. She put down the cup and struggled to her feet, walking toward the door.
"Who..."
As soon as she spoke, she realized her voice had become raspy and distorted, sounding like that of an eighty-year-old woman.
Panicked, she tried to speak again, but she could no longer make a sound.
In the next instant, the door before her was violently pushed open from the outside. The cool evening breeze poured into the room, and she felt like a fish finally returned to water, taking a deep breath.
In the darkness, a figure came toward her along with the night wind, instantly occupying her field of vision.
A familiar scent surrounded her. Xiao Nanhui looked up in a daze, meeting that familiar face.
"Your Majesty?"
Though still a bit raspy, her voice was slowly beginning to recover.
Su Wei did not speak, his eyes fixed on her without blinking.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and his breathing was more hurried than usual, yet his voice remained unchanged—quick, brief, and straight to the point.
"Did you drink it?"
"What?"
Xiao Nanhui couldn't react in time, and the man simply brushed past her toward the table.
His long fingers brushed the rim of the cup, then he withdrew two fingers and rubbed them together. There was no moisture.
She hadn't drunk it.
The Emperor’s expression relaxed instantly, his features returning to their usual detached composure.
He closed the door behind him, his gaze sweeping over every item in the room before finally landing on the oil lamp.
"Where is the person who gave you the lamp?"
"She already left." The confusion on her face deepened. "Why is Your Majesty here...?"
The Emperor did not answer. He simply reached out, took the lamp cover that was already burning hot, and blew out the oil lamp with a gentle breath.
Without the only source of light, the surroundings instantly plunged into pitch darkness.
She grew flustered again.
This panic was different from before; she couldn't quite say what kind of emotion it was, but it seemed to be a premonition laced with trepidation.
It was her heart having a premonition of what was about to happen.
In the darkness, she felt him approaching step by step. A cool breath lingered before her forehead, lightly stirring the stray hairs at her temples. Something soft brushed against her forehead, and then she fell into an embrace that carried a sense of overwhelming pressure.
*Thump, thump, thump.*
That was her heartbeat, and his as well.
It turned out that people could be so close to one another that even their heartbeats merged, gradually becoming a single rhythm.
She had never been held so tightly in an embrace before. There was so little space between them that not even a thin sheet of paper could fit, nor a stray breeze squeeze through.
His outer robe still carried the chill of early spring, but the body beneath the clothes radiated a continuous, steady heat. That heat penetrated her plain everyday robes, then her physical shell, and continued to spread even deeper...
"It's alright. It's over now."
***
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