"Xue Liulan was truly enraged this time," Guo Lingyu said, watching her godfather across the table.
Guo Shangzhong poured himself a cup of tea, his movements leisurely. "You said he didn't kill Die Man on the spot?"
Guo Lingyu frowned. "No. She was taken away by the guards. He was covered in blood, supported by Little Dingzi. They say the charge is attempted regicide."
"Attempted regicide?" Guo Shangzhong's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound like him."
"Why not?" Guo Lingyu argued. "Everyone knows how much he values Murong Jin. He must have realized Die Man used you to get rid of her, so he took his anger out on Die Man."
"Perhaps."
"The charge is just a pretext," she said, tilting her head. "Godfather, you are getting too suspicious."
"Am I?" He smiled. "If I weren't suspicious, I wouldn't have survived this long in the palace."
Guo Lingyu fell silent. He was right.
"Actually, death might be a release for Die Man. The Emperor stopped caring for her long ago," she sighed.
Guo Shangzhong slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Exactly! That's what felt wrong."
"What?" She jumped.
"What is Murong Jin to Xue Liulan?" he asked.
"His life," she admitted reluctantly. "Even when he was with me, his heart was in Zhaoyang Palace."
"Exactly. She is his life. So if someone kills her, what would he do?"
Guo Lingyu shook her head. "I never understood him."
"No wonder." Guo Shangzhong smirked and called for a servant. "Bring Wei'er."
A moment later, a cold-faced boy in black knelt before him. "Father."
Guo Lingyu watched silently. She knew when not to ask questions.
"Wei'er, I have a task for you." Guo Shangzhong helped him up, his touch fatherly.
"Please speak."
"Find out where Die Man went."
Guo Wei looked up, confused. "Consort Die was executed today. Her body was just taken down from the scaffold."
"I said, find out where Die Man went." Guo Shangzhong repeated, emphasizing the last word.
Guo Wei paused, then bowed. "Yes." He left without another word.
Guo Lingyu was bewildered.
Guo Shangzhong sipped his tea, a smug look on his face. "Die Man is not dead."
"Then who was executed?"
He shook his head. "If Wei'er confirms she is alive, it proves one thing."
"What?"
He just smiled. If he was right, this was an opportunity he could use.
Thunder rolled over the Imperial Tomb. The gravekeeper peeked out at the darkening sky. A torrential downpour was coming. Even heaven pities the Empress, he thought.
Once a glorious general, now buried in a hasty grave beside her son, with barely a ceremony.
Lightning flashed. The keeper gasped.
A figure in black stood before the Empress's tomb. Motionless.
He slammed the window shut and locked the door, terrified. In this place of restless dead, he didn't want to know if it was a person or a ghost.
A pale, rough hand touched the cold marble. The inscription was simple: Tomb of Murong Jin. No titles. No name of the erector.
Beside it was the small grave of Xue Qi. The inscription there was elaborate, carved by the Emperor himself, every character a testament to his grief.
"Why come back?" Murong Yan, wearing a bamboo hat, walked up behind the figure.
Lightning illuminated the figure as she turned and lifted her veil.
It was the face of the dead Empress.
"I didn't think he would give me a stone," she said, her smile desolate. In her robe, she carried the divorce letter, worn from reading.
Even if it was a rejection, it was his handwriting.
"You have nothing to do with him now." Murong Yan looked at his daughter. She had sacrificed her youth, her happiness, her marriage for the clan.
"I know, Father." She forced a smile. "From the moment I took the Xiangjue, I knew. Murong Jin is free."
That day, gravely wounded, she had taken the poison to fake her death. Ning'er had gone to Murong Yan as planned. He had taken her out, and the Divine Physician had revived her.
Everything had gone perfectly. The only surprise was the divorce letter. But it didn't matter. She had decided to leave, to live for herself.
In the Imperial Study, Xue Liulan sat by the window, listening to the thunder. The knot of hair was pressed against his chest, a faint, painful presence.
Behind him, Gongzi Suyi sat at the table, his profile calm in the candlelight.
"Guo Shangzhong is investigating Die Man," Suyi said, tapping the table.
"He suspects." Xue Liulan reached out to catch the first drop of rain.
"You should have killed her."
"Oh?" Xue Liulan turned and sat opposite him.
"If Murong Jin were really dead, Die Man would be too," Suyi laughed.
"Nothing gets past you." Xue Liulan nodded, his grief undiminished.
Suyi's smile faded. "Given your history, exile to the ends of the earth might be worse than death for her."
"Yes. Never to meet again. Worse than death." Xue Liulan sighed, mocking himself.
Suyi hesitated. He knew Murong Jin's last wish was for freedom. For Xue Liulan, that parting was final.
"You just let her go?" Suyi asked incredulously. He knew what she meant to him.
"What else could I do?" Xue Liulan looked at him. "She faked her death to escape the palace, to escape me. Why force her to stay?"
He pressed his hand to his chest. The name Murong Jin felt like the knot of hair piercing his heart. No blood, just bone-deep pain.
He had thought she was dead. But when Murong Yan laid her on the bed, he had seen the moisture in her eyes. It was faint, but enough.
She didn't know that his brother had died from Xiangjue. He knew the poison's signs intimately.
"Xiao Suyi, do you have it?" He held out his hand.
Suyi hesitated, then placed a porcelain bottle in his palm.
"Are you sure?"
Xue Liulan smiled bitterly, clutching the bottle. "I'm afraid one day I won't be able to stop myself from finding her. If I do, I break my promise."
"Danxi has no antidote. Xue Liulan, if you take this, you will never remember her again."
Xue Liulan looked at the bottle. Murong Jin's gentle smile flashed before his eyes one last time.
Goodbye, the only woman I ever loved. I'm sorry. I have to forget you.