The woman in the painting

A prince had died, and the Qionglin Banquet descended into chaos.

The assignment of court posts to the newly successful imperial examination candidates, which should have taken place at the Qionglin Banquet, was delayed a little by the emperor's departure.

Many people were hurrying toward the lotus pond, making a show of grieving over the Eighth Prince's demise.

Xie Huizhou walked against the crowd, claiming along the way that he was going to a side hall to change into dry clothes. In truth, he was searching for the legendary secret concerning White Snake.

Then he got lost.

"This palace is far too big. No matter how far I walk, there's no end to it, and I don't know the way." Xie Huizhou seldom came to the imperial palace. After circling several times without finding any trace, he simply found a rock in a rockery and sat down to rest. "Not knowing which way is which is going to be the death of me. There aren't even any signs."

Xie Huizhou could not tell north from south or east from west. Unless he was going somewhere very familiar, he would always lead himself astray.

During his previous visits to the palace, he had explored most areas. This was the only section he had never visited, since the imperial guards usually patrolled it, and there was not even anyone nearby he could ask for directions.

He had overestimated his sense of direction.

Just as he had rested enough and was preparing to continue his aimless search, he heard several eunuchs passing nearby and instinctively hid behind the rockery again.

He heard the young eunuchs chatting about a place he had never visited, describing it so vividly that it sounded like a den of snakes and scorpions.

"There's a huge secret here. I'm only telling you, so you mustn't tell anyone else."

"Go on. I won't tell anyone."

"You mustn't go to Suowu Palace. If you pass it, just hurry on your way. Few people who get involved with it meet a good end. That place is downright sinister."

"Why can't we go to Suowu Palace? How could anywhere inside the imperial palace be sinister?"

"You just can't. His Majesty has had plenty of people who broke in beaten to death. Their screams were awful."

"I heard it involves a scandal about His Majesty. Would His Majesty spare anyone who discovered his secret? If you blunder into the wrong place and get caught, I'll have to collect your corpse."

"Shh, stop talking. Careless talk brings trouble."

Having overheard most of their conversation from the rockery, Xie Huizhou immediately grew interested in the Suowu Palace they had mentioned, his beautiful eyes brimming with longing.

A scandal about Father?

What scandal could he possibly have, as the Son of Heaven?

Even if there really was a scandal, the emperor could not possibly leave it unresolved rather than take action. The reason behind this warranted thought.

This successfully piqued Xie Huizhou's curiosity. Since he could not find any trace of White Snake in the palace for the moment anyway, he might as well investigate Suowu Palace. Perhaps he would even find an unexpected surprise.

Since ancient times, places people were forbidden to enter freely had been precisely the places to break into.

I'm already here.

Xie Huizhou was already nearby. He could hardly pass this up over a few rumors; he had to see it for himself.

He was a prince, after all. Could his father, the emperor, really kill him for trespassing in a palace?

Entirely convinced he was in the right, Xie Huizhou emerged from behind the rockery once the young eunuchs had left and headed in the direction they had mentioned.

Before long, Xie Huizhou spotted Suowu Palace not far away.

Suowu Palace was a magnificent, luxurious palace. Even the lanterns at its entrance held luminous pearls, an extravagance that left one speechless.

The place was heavily guarded, with imperial guards actually on patrol. Anyone unaware of the circumstances would have thought some peerless treasure was hidden behind all those troops.

Xie Huizhou thought he had finally come to the right place. "Could this be where White Snake is being held? I have to go inside and see for myself."

Under the moonlight, Xie Huizhou used his lightness skill to evade the patrolling imperial guards and slip inside.

The imperial guards did not notice any trace of him. His ability to come and go silently allowed Xie Huizhou to explore freely within.

The palace was pitch-black inside. To keep the imperial guards from noticing anything amiss, he did not light any candles, instead wandering through it with a small lantern.

The pool of lamplight illuminated every corner of the palace.

Someone seemed to have lived in Suowu Palace long ago. Traces left by an imperial consort remained everywhere, and although no one lived there now, it was still kept clean and tidy, without a speck of dust.

Priceless antiques, curios, and rare treasures were everywhere. Even Xie Huizhou's entire fortune as a prince would have paled in comparison, showing how extravagant and ostentatious Suowu Palace's former occupant had been.

Yet that ostentatious occupant was not here. In all likelihood, she had already passed away.

"I was mistaken. It's an imperial consort's former residence." At the sight of all the consort's belongings, Xie Huizhou knew perfectly well that he had come to the wrong place and began to consider leaving. "What act of deep devotion is Father putting on now? Hasn't he been heartless enough?"

He was just about to leave the palace when the hazy lamplight happened to illuminate a painting on the wall.

When Xie Huizhou saw the features of the person in the painting clearly, the woman depicted there made him stop in spite of himself and linger to look.

Xie Huizhou studied the person in the painting. A strange emotion flooded his heart, a feeling he could not put into words.

His voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of tears. "I feel as though I've seen this person somewhere before."

The person in the painting was a woman whose face closely resembled Xie Huizhou's. As beautiful as a fairy treading the waves, she gazed mournfully into the distance beyond the palace walls, seeming to sigh, with what looked like tears at the corners of her eyes.

What was she grieving over?

Xie Huizhou stood stunned for a long time after seeing the portrait. He reached out to wipe away her tears, only realizing when he touched the painting that he was trying to wipe tears from a picture.

"What am I doing?"

He spent so much time painting. Could he really not distinguish a real person from a painting?

Xie Huizhou looked at the face in the painting, so very similar to his own. His heart churned like a storm-tossed sea, leaving him unable to calm down for a long time.

He had a vague guess as to this person's identity, and the name by which he would address her nearly escaped his lips.

Just then, he suddenly heard faint footsteps behind him. Someone was behind a pillar not far to his rear, secretly studying him.

The gaze with which this person studied him was decidedly hostile, putting him on his guard.

Had someone discovered his intrusion?

No, that wasn't it. The imperial guards would not merely hide and observe him without taking action. Someone else was behind that pillar.

"Who's there?!"

Xie Huizhou picked up the decorative bow and arrows beside him, drew the bow, and shot behind the pillar. Without a second thought, he intended to force the person out and silence him forever.

"Come out, or I won't hold back."

The arrow struck beside the feet of the person behind the pillar, deliberately forcing him out.

A familiar voice sounded from behind the pillar, one he had heard with his own ears in the imperial palace not long ago.

"So fierce? You'll break your elder brother's heart."

A figure emerged from behind the pillar carrying a lantern. It was none other than the Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu. In the light, his smile was ill-intentioned and his eyes held calculation as he approached one step at a time.

"Ninth Brother, the woman in the painting is your mother. Do you want to know about her past?"