In vain I wait for the sunlight to return to the Hall of Radiance.

Just as Xu Guiyi was puzzling over the situation, a clear voice rang out beside her, calling, “Fifth Sister-in-law!” Xu Guiyi turned to see Fu Xun, dressed in a white hat and crane-feathered cloak, only his bright eyes visible. “Your Highness, Prince of Chu? What brings you here?”

Fu Xun, being close to Fu Lanchen, was also familiar with Xu Guiyi. He sidled up to her now, saying, “Fifth Sister-in-law, please get up.” Xu Guiyi glanced at the Princesses of Zhao and Qi standing nearby and inwardly sighed, “I’m fine, Your Highness. You should go back, it’s too cold outside. If you catch a chill, His Majesty and Consort De will be worried.”

“My mother sent me to pay respects to my father,” Fu Xun replied, and was about to head toward the Emperor’s tent. Xu Guiyi hurriedly caught the edge of his cloak, thinking that with the Emperor still in a rage, letting another son in might only prolong their punishment—and their kneeling.

Just as she held onto the corner of his cloak, the Princess of Qi, who had been weeping most bitterly earlier, now wiped away her tears and said, “Crown Princess, let His Highness the Prince of Chu go in.”

“But inside…” Xu Guiyi hesitated. How could a child face such a scene? She was perplexed.

“You may not know, Crown Princess, but His Majesty is especially fond of the Prince of Chu. With him present, today’s anger may be soothed,” added the Princess of Zhao, with the Princess of Qi nodding in agreement.

Understanding dawned on Xu Guiyi, and she released the corner of the cloak, watching as Fu Xun entered the Emperor’s tent.

Sure enough, not long after Fu Xun entered, the angry shouting inside ceased. Only two soft voices could be heard speaking. Xu Guiyi strained her ears and caught a few phrases—the Emperor was advising the Prince of Chu not to trouble himself to pay respects every day in such cold weather and to dress more warmly.

The Princesses of Zhao and Qi began to wipe their faces, and Xu Guiyi imitated them, brushing snowflakes from her own cheeks. The northern weather was truly bitter—after less than half an hour of kneeling, snowflakes had already collected on her cloak. It seemed a heavy snow was coming that night.

“All right, you may rise,” Consort De suddenly appeared behind them, evidently having followed the Prince of Chu.

“Consort De treats the Prince of Chu so well, even accompanying him to pay respects to His Majesty,” Xu Guiyi remarked, but regretted it at once—what mother does not dote on her own son? She realized she had spoken needlessly.

“Crown Princess, please rise,” Consort De said, helping Xu Guiyi up herself, while Xiyue and Qingyu dusted the snow off her cloak.

“Aunt,” Xu Guiyi suddenly realized, seeing the Princess of Zhao salute Consort De. The Princess of Zhao, Cao Ziman, was Consort De’s niece. So Consort De’s reason for sending the Prince of Chu was not out of pity for the princes, but for her own niece.

Consort De was truly a good aunt, and the Princess of Zhao was fortunate indeed. Xu Guiyi couldn’t help but think—she, too, had once enjoyed such good fortune, but no longer. The thought filled her with sorrow.

“Crown Princess, why are you crying?” the Princess of Qi suddenly cried out. Consort De immediately released the Princess of Zhao’s hand and embraced Xu Guiyi, comforting her, “It’s all right now. His Majesty is just a little strict with the princes; you needn’t worry.”

Everyone gathered round to console Xu Guiyi, all believing she wept for the Crown Prince.

Xu Guiyi quickly explained, “I’m not really worried, it’s just that the wind was strong just now and made my eyes water.”

Consort De drew Xu Guiyi’s cloak closer around her, speaking softly, “Go back now, or you’ll catch cold. Her Majesty the Empress will worry.”

Xu Guiyi did not know that, on a mild afternoon sometime later, Consort De would recount the incident to the Empress, saying that the Crown Princess was so devoted to the Crown Prince she wept from worry.

After that, Xu Guiyi noticed the Empress summoned her more frequently, treating her with particular affection, and she was quite puzzled by it.

The matter of Prince An’s fall from his horse was investigated by the Emperor for a long time, but yielded no new answers. In his frustration, the Emperor punished the attendants who had served Prince An, blaming them for failing to advise and watch over him properly, each receiving fifty lashes.

In such cold weather, fifty lashes would leave one bedridden for at least a month.

Xu Guiyi and Fu Lanchen were both present when the Emperor dealt with the matter. Xu Guiyi stood behind Fu Lanchen and thought she heard him give a cold snort; she quickly reached out to tug his sleeve, afraid he might make a sound.

Lately, the Emperor seemed to delight in scolding his sons, especially Fu Lanchen, his “unfilial son.”

Xu Guiyi had meant well, wishing to spare Fu Lanchen a scolding, but her good intentions were not appreciated—he shook her hand off and shot her a cold look in return.

Two days later, the Princess of De arrived in haste with the household servants who usually attended Prince An.

Princess De, Xiao Lin, was the only daughter of Grand Princess Qingyan. She had married the heir to the Prince of De early on, and, though she bore no children of her own, treated her adopted son, Fu Shen, as her own.

Once Prince An’s condition stabilized, she took him back to the capital to recover.

The winter hunt resumed, but after Prince An’s accident, everyone was more cautious.

The weather reports predicted more snow, and for three days it fell without ceasing; even the finest horses could not run swiftly in such conditions.

Xu Guiyi spent her days huddled inside her tent, unwilling to go out except for formal greetings.

Cheng Hewei and Lu Zhirou came to keep her company, perhaps believing that gathering together by the fire would be warmer.

“This year’s hunt has been nothing but trouble—delayed again and again. We finally made it to Jiulong Mountain, only for Prince An to fall from his horse and now three days of heavy snow,” Lu Zhirou said, poking at the embers with a stick.

Cheng Hewei remained calm, “I heard just now that His Majesty summoned the astrologers to read the signs. They say the snow will stop tomorrow and the day after will be clear.”

Lu Zhirou poked the ground with her stick, frowning, “Can they really be trusted?”

Well… whether or not they can be trusted depends on whether His Majesty believes them. Xu Guiyi and Cheng Hewei exchanged glances.

Xu Guiyi said, “I haven’t seen Father these past days, but Mother told me His Majesty is in poor spirits. Be careful when walking about—if you must speak, do so quietly behind closed doors. Understand?”

“Understood,” Cheng Hewei and Lu Zhirou answered one after the other.

And indeed, the astrologers proved correct.

After the snow, the skies cleared, and His Majesty finally smiled again. The hunting grounds became lively once more, and everyone no longer felt the need to tread carefully or mind their words.

After paying respects to the Empress, Xu Guiyi returned to her tent. She had slept poorly these past nights and was planning to take a nap.

“Xiyue, I’ll rest for a while. If anything happens, wake me.”

Xiyue took her cloak and outer robe, smiling, “Very well, I’ll tend the fire so you can sleep in peace.”

“Good girl.” Xu Guiyi was in a good mood today. Lying on her couch, she mused, having seen the snow, that with the skies clearing, the hunt would soon end and the roads would clear. Once back at Chunhui Hall, she would sleep through the winter, not venturing out until spring.

With such thoughts, she drifted off to sleep, not knowing how long she slept before shouts startled her awake.

“Crown Princess! Crown Princess!! Something terrible has happened!”

Startled from her dreams, Xu Guiyi sat up to see Cheng Hewei and Lu Zhirou burst into the tent, followed by several palace maids—all pale, whether from cold or fright she could not tell.

“What’s happened? Why such panic?” Xu Guiyi threw back her tiger-skin blanket, not even pausing to put on her shoes as she hurried to Cheng Hewei.

Cheng Hewei’s face was ashen. “Crown Princess, there are assassins—His Majesty has been attacked!”

Lu Zhirou stammered, “Sister Crown Princess, I’m so scared,” and burst into tears.

Xu Guiyi quickly embraced her, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, we’re here, we’ll protect you.” Then she turned to Cheng Hewei, “What’s the situation outside?”

Cheng Hewei was visibly shaking. “I’m not sure. We just ran out, it’s chaos out there. The assassins appeared by Jiulong Terrace—I don’t know if there are any in the camp.”

“What about the Imperial Guards, the Crane Command?” If assassins had infiltrated the camp while she was sleeping, Xu Guiyi felt a cold sweat break out on her back.

“They’ve all gone to Jiulong Terrace—His Majesty is there, so everyone went to protect him. My third and fourth uncles are there, too,” Cheng Hewei said, struggling to steady her trembling voice.

“And the Crown Prince?” Xu Guiyi finally asked the essential question.

At this, Cheng Hewei stopped shaking, and Lu Zhirou stopped crying, but neither answered.

Xu Guiyi handed Lu Zhirou to Cheng Hewei, quickly slipped on her shoes, grabbed her cloak, and ran outside. “Don’t leave until I return. Qingyu, watch over them.”

Poor Qingyu and Xiyue, who had chased after her to the tent entrance, were forced to retreat at her words; Xiyue stamped her foot in frustration.

Inside the tent, Cheng Hewei and Lu Zhirou were still in shock as Xu Guiyi vanished from sight. When they came to and tried to follow, Qingyu blocked their way.

“Please, ladies, remain in the tent and wait for news from the Crown Princess. Please don’t make things difficult for me,” Qingyu urged, bowing.

Lu Zhirou’s trembling heart calmed somewhat at the sight of the blue-glinting sword in Qingyu’s hand.

The snow was melting, the ground slippery and treacherous, and Xu Guiyi had to run. The Jiulong Mountain hunting grounds were vast, and the camp was some distance from Jiulong Terrace. On the way, Xu Guiyi fell into the snow, pulled herself up by a dead branch, and pressed on with difficulty.

When she reached Jiulong Terrace, she saw neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince, only layer upon layer of Imperial Guards and Crane Command soldiers.

As she arrived, an older member of the Crane Command stood nearby, sword in one hand, shield in the other.

“Crown Princess, please stay back—return to camp at once.”

Xu Guiyi had come all this way and would not turn back. “Where is the Crown Prince? Where is His Majesty? Where is the Empress?”

Someone among the Crane Command answered, “The Empress has been escorted back to her tent. His Majesty and the Crown Prince…”

Xu Guiyi immediately tried to push through the ranks toward the center.

“The assassins have taken the Prince of Chu hostage. There’s a standoff inside—Crown Princess, please return.”

Xu Guiyi had no wish to cause trouble, but upon hearing that Fu Xun had been taken hostage, she threw caution to the wind and forced her way forward.