Slipping out of the shell

Consort Liu and Shen Zhuocheng were dead.

Just as Xiao Yu had said, their bodies had been left intact.

They had even been buried together.

That had been Shen Zhuocheng's dying wish.

Emperor Jinyuan had granted it.

Out of consideration for Consort Wan's reputation, he ultimately did not make public the fact that Consort Liu and Guard Shen had conspired to frame her.

Consort De, the Worthy Consort, and the others who had come to watch the spectacle were confined to their quarters for a month to reflect on their conduct.

As for Sun Wenxun, he returned to his remote, impoverished county to serve as its County Magistrate.

However, Emperor Jinyuan had ordered him to make his county prosperous and thriving within a year.

Otherwise, he would lose his head.

Sun Wenxun was somewhat reluctant and thoroughly dispirited.

He knew.

His Majesty was finding work to keep him occupied, hoping to put an end to his longing for Wanwan.

That was impossible.

Wanwan was his lifelong faith.

Asking him to forget Wanwan was asking him to die.

Then another thought occurred to him: if he completed the task His Majesty had assigned him, he could apply for a transfer.

He could still return to the capital to take up a post someday.

Then he would have a chance to catch a glimpse of Wanwan from afar.

At that thought, his confidence instantly returned.

Wanwan would become the empress, and surely someone would resent her and try to plot against her.

Lord Fang was a lone official with no allies, and his attention was devoted entirely to the Ministry of Justice. He would not concern himself with affairs in the imperial harem...

If Wanwan suffered any injustice then, she would surely have no one to turn to.

Sun Wenxun took one last look at the capital.

Wanwan.

I will come back to help you and become someone you can always rely on.

The Eastern Palace

With the empress's investiture ceremony approaching, Emperor Jinyuan, Consort Wan, the Crown Prince, and the others had all grown busy.

Now Xiao Yu was the only one left in the Eastern Palace.

Bored out of his mind, he lay on the roof, watching the sky, the clouds, and Fufeng.

Behind him, a venomous snake, jet-black all over and more than three feet long, suddenly slithered up.

Thinking Xiao Yu had not noticed it, it quietly approached him.

Just as it came within a foot of him, he suddenly seized its head.

"Chirp, chirp~ Chirp, chirp~"

The corners of Xiao Yu's eyes twitched as he watched the Little Black Snake incessantly trying to charm him.

He stared at it. "Are you a snake or a bird?" Chirping, of all things...

"Chirp, chirp!"

The Little Black Snake writhed, trying to escape Xiao Yu's grasp.

Xiao Yu looked at its two exposed venomous fangs. "Where did you come from? This isn't somewhere you should be."

The Little Black Snake looked at Xiao Yu. "Chirp, chirp!"

"I don't know how you got in, but there are a lot of people in the palace."

Whether it understood him or not, Xiao Yu continued, "To keep you from biting anyone, I'll take you outside the city."

He patted its head and jumped down from the roof.

Then a voice rang out behind him. "Give Little Eight back to me!"

Xiao Yu turned around.

A masked child about his own height stood before him.

The boy pointed at the Little Black Snake in his hand. "It's mine. Give it back!"

Xiao Yu stared at him.

Something about his eyes seemed familiar, but his voice was unfamiliar, unlike that of the person he remembered.

Suddenly, he caught a fragrant scent, and the question he had meant to ask-who the boy was-turned into, "You smell so nice!"

The masked boy stiffened, his face instantly flushing scarlet beneath his mask.

He glared at Xiao Yu and spat through gritted teeth, "Lecher! Utterly shameless!"

Then he turned and fled, his retreat looking rather flustered.

Xiao Yu froze for a moment.

Hadn't he just said the boy smelled nice?

He hadn't meant anything else by it.

Neither of them was a girl.

Why was the boy acting so bashful?

And he was just leaving like that?

Glancing at the Little Black Snake in his hand, Xiao Yu hurriedly called after him, "Hey, wait! Your snake!"

"Your snake!"

"Don't you want it anymore?"

The boy neither looked back nor stopped.

Xiao Yu looked at the Little Black Snake in his hand.

Suddenly, he asked, "Your name is Little Bart?"

The Little Black Snake corrected him. "Chirp, chirp, chirp!" It's Little Eight!

Xiao Yu stroked its little head with a finger. "Got it, Little Bart!"

He hadn't understood it, but that hardly mattered.

The Little Black Snake writhed in protest. "Chirp, chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp!" It's Little Eight! Little Eight!

Seeing it squirm incessantly, Xiao Yu's voice cooled slightly. "Stop moving, or I'll pull your fangs out!"

He had actually been thinking of keeping it...

It was far too restless.

Better forget it.

He would just wait for its owner to return and give it back.

Two hours later

The little masked boy still had not returned.

"Has your owner abandoned you?"

Xiao Yu looked at it as he spoke.

The Little Black Snake immediately began chirping nonstop.

"Shut up."

Xiao Yu held its mouth closed. "You're a venomous snake. I can't trust you to go back on your own."

Then he changed tack. "But if you still remember where your owner lives, I suppose I could go to the trouble of taking you back. How about it?"

The Little Black Snake's eyes immediately lit up. "Chirp, chirp, chirp!" I remember!

Then it pointed Xiao Yu in a direction with its tail.

With nothing else to do, Xiao Yu simply carried it toward the place it indicated.

They left the Eastern Palace.

After walking for a while, he found the path increasingly familiar.

Suddenly, a few images flashed through his mind.

He remembered.

Wasn't this the road to the Cold Palace?

Did that masked child live in the Cold Palace?

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!" This way, this way!

Seeing him stop, the Little Black Snake immediately reminded him, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp." Go this way!

Boom-

The Little Black Snake looked up and saw flames suddenly flare from its owner's residence.

It immediately broke free of Xiao Yu and rushed into the flames. "Chirp, chirp!!" Master!!

"Hey, what are you doing? Do you want to become a roasted snake?"

Xiao Yu hurried after it.

Spotting a young eunuch fighting the fire nearby, he asked, "What happened?"

Startled to see Xiao Yu, the young eunuch hurriedly bowed. "This servant greets Your Highness, Prince Yu!"

"Rise."

Xiao Yu frowned at the palace building engulfed in spreading flames. "Who lives inside?"

He hadn't heard anyone calling for help with the fire on his way here...

The young eunuch trembled as he answered, "Your Highness, this is where the Southern Zhao Hostage and his attendants live... Somehow, a fire suddenly broke out..."

He did not dare say that the fire had already been burning for over two hours and that those inside had probably long since burned to death.

"Understood. Hurry and get more people to put it out," Xiao Yu replied.

The Southern Zhao Hostage.

Qi Yunheng...

"Your Highness, you cannot go in!" Seeing Xiao Yu about to rush inside, the young eunuch immediately blocked him.

Everyone in the palace now knew that Prince Yu enjoyed the emperor's favor.

If anything happened to Prince Yu here, they would be flogged at best, or beaten to death at worst.

"It's fine. Fire cannot hurt me," Xiao Yu replied.

Then he walked around him and went inside.

The young eunuch stepped forward to block him again. "Your Highness!"

"Move."

After being stopped repeatedly, even the normally composed Xiao Yu grew impatient. "Do not make me say it a third time!"

One look at his expression silenced the young eunuch, who did not dare step forward again.

Xiao Yu plunged into the fire.

He carried a feather from the Fire-Repelling Bird, and the flames parted on their own before him.

He found the Little Black Snake barely alive in a small corner and picked it up.

"Is your master called Qi Yunheng?" he asked.

The Little Black Snake raised its head and chirped weakly, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp..." I don't know what Master's name is...

"Understood."

Xiao Yu patted its head. "Don't worry. Your master is fine... But you won't be able to see him right now."

After all, two hours had already passed. He had probably left the city by now.

"You can stay with me for the time being," he told it.

"When I can return to the Southern Border someday, I'll take you to find him! How does that sound?"

Hearing that it could see its master again, the Little Black Snake immediately perked up and wriggled. "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!" All right, I'll wait!