In Xin Ling's chamber, Yue Rong sat on the bed, sipping her wine with the confidence of someone who believed she had already won. The dim lantern-light made her expression look even more smug. Xin Ling stood nearby, staring at her friend with a deep frown.
"Yue Rong… why are you trying to drug the prince too?" she asked, confused and uneasy. "I thought Mimi is the one you want to ruin."
Yue Rong's smile widened, slow and wicked.
"Yes, you are very correct," she said softly. "Mimi is the one I want to destroy. But I also want the prince." She lifted the wine cup to her lips again, her voice dropping to a whisper filled with excitement. "Tonight, I want him to make love to me."
Xin Ling's eyes widened. "What?"
Yue Rong placed the cup down gently, her fingers trembling slightly, with anticipation.
""Once the drug takes hold and his body starts burning," she said softly, almost dreamily, "he'll crave a woman, and when he looks around, I'll be the only one there. I'll give him my first night."
Xin Ling shook her head slowly. "Yue Rong… this… this is too much."
"When he wakes up and realizes he's taken my dignity…" she went on, "and when he sees his precious Mimi in another man's hands, ruined and witnessed by everyone…" Her smile curled with satisfaction. "He won't have any choice left but to marry me."
Xin Ling swallowed hard, her worry deepening. "Aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"
Yue Rong waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, my dear. Tonight… the prince belongs to me."
As they spoke, the same girl who had helped her serve Mimi earlier suddenly slipped into the chamber, breathing fast.
"The prince is coming," she whispered.
Yue Rong's eyes gleamed.
"Good. Serve him the drink. No, let a boy serve it. That way he won't suspect anything."
The girl nodded, turning to leave.
"And listen," Yue Rong added sharply, almost laughing, "make it stronger than what you gave Mimi."
She leaned back against the pillows, smiling like someone who believed the night was already hers.
----
Lianyi had barely stepped into Xin Ling's mansion when a young man approached him with a polite bow and offered a glass of wine. Lianyi accepted it without thinking much, his eyes already scanning the hall for the celebrant. But Xin Ling was nowhere in sight, so he found a seat and joined a few nobles he recognized, exchanging light greetings.
He took a few sips as they continue to chat.
That was when he felt a strange heat crawling under his skin.
At first it was mild, like he had walked too close to a fire.
But within moments, the warmth sharpened, tightening every muscle in his body. Then his breath shorten and his pulse jumped.
His hand gripped the cup.
What… is happening to me? He murmured, as he tried to steady himself.
The hall suddenly felt suffocating. His clothes too heavy and tight. His throat too dry. And the heat...gods, the heat was rising, burning through him like wildfire.
He stood abruptly, eyes darting around, desperate for air… desperate for something. He didn't even know what he was searching for, only that if he stayed here, he would lose control.
He needed to get out. Now.
---
Meanwhile, in the inner room.
Mimi curled on the floor, trembling. Her body… it was no longer hers.
The heat had taken over completely, rising from her chest to her throat, making her breath heavy and uneven. She clawed at her clothes, at the floor, anything to cool the fire, but nothing helped.
Her thoughts were slipping, but one name refused to leave her.
"Lianyi…" she whispered, voice breaking. "Where are you…?"
Her knees shook as she crawled forward, but before she could reach the door, a soft hand touched her shoulder.
The touch felt like flames.
She gasped.
When she turned, she found herself staring into a pair of deep, beautiful eyes, eyes she didn't recognize. The man dragged her closer without hesitation, lowering his lips to her neck.
Mimi's breath hitched, a helpless sound escaping her mouth as his kisses trailed along her skin.
But something was wrong.
So terribly wrong.
His touch didn't calm the fire in her.
It didn't ease the ache.
It made it worse and emptie.
Because it wasn't him. It wasn't Lianyi.
"Lianyi…" she breathed again, voice shaking.
With a sudden, desperate strength, Mimi shoved the man away and stumbled backward, chest rising and falling rapidly.
---
At the same time.
Lianyi pushed through the crowd, his vision blurring, his breath running wild. Now he was certain:
Something was wrong with the drink.
And he was going to find the boy who served it to him.
He pushed through the crowd, his breath coming out rough and uneven. His whole body felt too hot, too tight, as if something inside him was clawing to take over. His vision blurred for a moment, and he had to steady himself against a pillar.
He spotted the boy who gave him the drink hiding near the entrance, trying to slip out quietly.
"You....stop there!" Lianyi's voice cut through the music.
The boy froze instantly.
In two long strides, Lianyi grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward. The boy's knees buckled
His body trembled the moment Lianyi grabbed him by the collar.
"W-What did you put in the drink?" the prince demanded, his voice rough and dangerous.
"I...I don't know, Your Highness,
I was only told to serve it!" the boy stammered, sweating as Lianyi's grip tightened.
"Who told you?"
The boy's lips shook. He swallowed hard, eyes darting around as if searching for a hole to disappear into.
"M-My lady… one of the young ladies inside… I'll take you to her," he whispered quickly, terrified.
"Move," Lianyi snapped.
The boy led him through a side corridor, shaking so badly he nearly tripped. They stopped before a storage hallway, where a girl stood alone, pretending to arrange trays. When she looked up and saw Lianyi, her face drained of blood.
The prince stepped forward slowly, heat burning through his veins, anger tightening his jaw.
"You were the one who prepared the drink?" he asked, voice deceptively calm. Despite the fire burning inside him.
The girl fell to her knees instantly.
"Please, Your Highness! Please forgive me! I...I was told to do it! I swear I didn't mean to hurt you".
"Who told you?" His voice dropped even lower.
Her whole body shook. "L-Lady Yue Rong," she confessed in a strangled whisper. "She… she said you must drink it. And...and Mimi too… she told us to give her the same one. She's in the inner room."
Lianyi's eyes widened slightly with a lethal coldness.
He crouched slowly so the girl had no choice but to look into his eyes.
"You will do exactly as I say," he murmured, every word softly, but it sounded deadly.
She nodded rapidly.
"You will take the same drugdand you will put it into Yue Rong's drink. All of it. She will drink every drop without knowing."
The girl gasped. "Y-Your Highness..."
"If you refuse," Lianyi whispered, his tone turning icy, "I will cut off your head myself and feed it to the palace beasts. Do you understand?"
She nodded violently, tears streaming down her face.
"Good." He stood up, breathing hard, the drug still burning viciously through his veins. "Do it now."
Without waiting for her answer, he turned sharply and rushed toward the inner rooms, where she pointed at. someone inside needed him.
And he needed to get to her fast.