Chapter 4

What was that voice?

I looked around. Everyone nearby was going about their business as usual.

Only I could hear it.

The jade ring was one of the Five Divine Artifacts. What were the other four?

If I collected them all, could I kill Siluo?

Xiao Jue was waiting in the heated sitting room. He had hurried over from the Imperial Academy and was still wearing his student’s everyday robes. Despite the bitter cold, a fine layer of sweat covered his brow.

In the prime of youth, he wore only thin robes even in the depths of winter. The underfloor heating in Fucai Palace was burning warmly. The maids all turned away, their faces flushed.

The day was overcast. Tall red candles burned in the hall, making Xiao Jue’s eyes look especially dark.

“Who was on duty today? How could a fire break out? Are you unharmed, Your Highness?”

At the sight of him, my brow twitched and pain stabbed my chest. The image of my own death rose before me again.

“I’m unharmed.”

He stepped closer, concern in his voice. “Then why do you look so unwell?”

“I’m tired. I want to rest.”

My tone was flat. Xiao Jue studied me for a while. When I said nothing more, he bowed.

“I cannot stop worrying about you, Your Highness. One word from you, and I will leave the Imperial Academy and return to your side. I’ll guard you forever.”

“But entering government service has always been your ambition.” I hadn’t expected this.

Xiao Jue smiled bitterly. “I went to the Academy because I knew how little power I had, and feared I wouldn’t be able to help you in the future. Even if I should one day enter the highest circles, I would serve only you. If my absence puts you in danger instead, wouldn’t that betray the kindness you showed in recognizing my worth? I could hardly call myself a gentleman, or even a man.”

In my previous life, he had used this very reasoning to enter the imperial court with my tacit consent.

I refused him.

Siluo alone already occupied all my attention. If he returned to Fucai Palace now, I would only be more overwhelmed.

Half a day later, Siluo returned.

She looked the same as ever.

That evening, as usual, she stood beside my bed and tucked in my quilt.

“Your Highness, your coming-of-age ceremony is in two days.”

Like a Western clock, she announced the time without fail.

The coming-of-age ceremony, always the coming-of-age ceremony. Those words haunted me day and night, like a curse I couldn’t escape.

My coming-of-age ceremony had to mark some crucial turning point.

My memories of that ceremony in my previous life were no more than a hazy outline.

I had been a carefree princess in an age of prosperity. At the ceremony, I had noticed only the dazzling delicacies and rare treasures.

What fascinated me most was the presentation of gifts by the court officials. Maids filed in carrying jade trays draped in red silk. Each lifted cloth revealed glittering treasures and drew fresh cries of admiration.

Had something else happened at the ceremony without my knowledge?

My brow suddenly twitched. I remembered the other treasures in Siluo’s little drawer.

I was searching for artifacts. Of course she was too. There must be a vitally important artifact that would appear only on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony.

Siluo couldn’t afford to miss that chance. Neither could I.

I looked at the two rows of maids standing with bowed heads in the hall. Like puppets, they were dull and vacant, neither listening nor speaking nor looking.

The undying Siluo was the only mistress of Fucai Palace.

I had merely dreamed a grand and splendid dream.

I had never felt so alone.