Chapter 4

I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids. My blurry vision slowly focused, and I recognized my own familiar chambers.

The imperial physician said the arrow had luckily missed my vitals.

Zhou Yanzhi was keeping vigil by my bed, the dark circles under his eyes deep and pronounced. To find the herbs needed to treat my wound as quickly as possible, he had ridden two horses to their death, day and night.

Now, he carefully brought a bowl of medicine to my lips.

The warm liquid slid down my throat but could not warm my frozen heart.

A palace attendant reported in a low voice from outside, “Lord Apparent Zhou, His Majesty summons you.”

Zhou Yanzhi carefully tucked my blankets in. “Rest well,” he said gently. “I’ll be right back.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but in the end, I just lowered my eyes and swallowed all my words.

When he returned, his steps were unsteady, and a chill still clung to him. As I’d expected, he had been punished by my Father Emperor.

“Summon the imperial physician…” I rasped.

He cut me off abruptly, his eyes red-rimmed. “Your Highness! His Majesty… because the Seventh Princess left the palace without permission, he’s blaming her for your assassination attempt! He’s threatening to punish her severely!”

I managed a weak smile. “And you want me to plead for her? You know our father’s temperament. When has he ever allowed anyone to question his decisions?”

Zhou Yanzhi was stunned for a moment, then he actually bent his knees and knelt. “As long as you’re willing to speak… even just a single word… His Majesty will surely soften! The Seventh Princess… she was just being playful. She meant no harm, and she certainly didn’t intend to get you involved in this!”

He was kneeling for Jiang Lingyi again! He knew I hated it when he bowed to me…

My gaze drifted to the thin, long scar near the corner of his right eye. When I was fifteen, I had playfully climbed a tall tree and fallen. He had thrown himself forward without a second thought to save me, and a sharp stone had left its mark.

He had once risked his life for me.

But what if it had been Jiang Lingyi who fell from that tree that day? If she had been the one in danger? The answer was painfully obvious.

A thick wave of sorrow washed over me, blurring my vision.

I looked at him, my voice as light as a breeze that might dissipate at any moment. “Zhou Yanzhi, thank you for… saving my life so selflessly all those years ago.”

“After my mother passed… it had been a very, very long time since I’d felt the warmth of someone protecting me with all they had.”

“I know… all these years, my insistence, my demands… they must have made you very tired, put you in a very difficult position, haven’t they?”

My eyes fell on his still-reddened eyes and tightly pressed lips.

“Actually… I’m tired, too.”

“I don’t want to fight anymore.”

Never again.

I would be leaving this place forever very soon.

Zhou Yanzhi’s lips parted, as if he wanted to say more.

Just then, a guard hurried in from outside and whispered something urgently in his ear. The words “Seventh Princess” drifted clearly to my ears. Jiang Lingyi must have heard he’d been punished and was anxiously looking for him.

A flash of apology crossed Zhou Yanzhi’s eyes. He spoke quickly, “Your Highness, I… I have an urgent matter to attend to. I’ll come see you again later!”

He didn’t even wait for my response. He shot to his feet and, though he stumbled, strode briskly out of the hall without a backward glance.

He was heading in the direction of Jiang Lingyi’s palace.