Yueyin's POV
The emperor collapsed.
Those three words echo through the festival like thunder. Nobles rush toward the palace, servants scatter in panic, and Father's grip on my arm is so tight it hurts.
We need to go, Father says urgently. Now.
But I can't move. Can't breathe.
This isn't supposed to happen yet. In my first life, the emperor lived for two more years. The Empress Dowager's poison worked slowly, gradually. He died peacefully in his sleep while everyone thought it was old age.
Not like this. Not collapsing at a festival in front of hundreds of witnesses.
What changed? What did I do differently?
Yueyin! Father shakes me. Move!
I let him drag me toward the palace, my mind spinning.
If the Emperor dies now, Zhengming becomes Emperor immediately. No time for me to expose the conspiracy. No time to gather evidence or allies.
Everything will happen too fast.
We reach the palace entrance where guards are trying to control the crowd. Inside, I hear shouting, crying, chaos.
Let me through! a woman's voice shrieks. That's my husband! Let me see my husband!
The Empress Dowager. Probably pretending to be the worried wife while secretly celebrating that her poison finally worked.
Father pushes forward with other high ranking ministers. I try to follow, but a guard stops me.
Only immediate family and officials, miss.
I'm about to argue when someone grabs my wrist and yanks me sideways, into a shadowy alcove.
Don't scream, Yizheng says quietly. It's me.
My heart nearly explodes. What are you doing?
Keeping you out of there. He nods toward the palace entrance. The emperor's chambers will be flooded with nobles right now. Everyone trying to prove their loyalty, position themselves for what comes next. You don't want to be part of that.
My father
Is smart enough to navigate court politics. You're not. Not yet. His eyes are sharp. Something's wrong. The emperor was fine this morning. I saw him. This collapse came out of nowhere.
It's poison, I say before thinking.
Yizheng goes very still. How do you know that?
Because I watched him die from it in my first life. Because the Empress Dowager has been slowly killing him for months.
But if I'm right about the timeline changing, maybe the poison worked faster this time. Maybe something I did triggered it to accelerate.
In the future I remember, I say carefully, the Empress Dowager poisoned him. Slowly. Over years. He died peacefully.
But not this time.
Not this time.
We stare at each other, both understanding what this means.
The future is breaking apart. Events happening in different orders, at different speeds. Everything I know might be useless now.
If he dies tonight, Yizheng says quietly, Zhengming becomes Emperor tomorrow. No time for investigations. No time to expose any conspiracies. He'll have absolute power immediately.
And the first thing he'll do is eliminate threats. I look at Yizheng. You're a threat. Even if you say you don't want the throne, you're still a prince. Still competition.
I know. His voice is flat. I've always known. That's why I stayed invisible, powerless. Gave Zhengming no reason to see me as an enemy.
But in the future, you killed him first.
Because Father ordered me to. Told me about the treason and commanded me to save the empire even if it meant killing family. Yizheng's jaw clenches. But Father's dying now. Too soon. He won't have time to investigate, to gather evidence, to give me those orders.
Understanding crashes over me. So you won't stage the coup. Won't stop Zhengming. He'll become Emperor and sell the empire to our enemies.
Unless we stop him another way.
How? We have no proof. No evidence. No support. Who's going to believe two people claiming we remember a future that hasn't happened?
Yizheng's expression turns calculating that cold, strategic look that turns him from forgotten prince into dangerous opponent. Then we don't tell anyone we remember. We just act on what we know.
What are you suggesting?
You said the Empress Dowager poisoned my father. That she's working with Zhengming to commit treason. His voice drops even lower. Prove it. Tonight. While everyone's distracted by the emperor's collapse.
Prove it how?
The Empress Dowager keeps documents. Evidence of her deals with the Northern Kingdom. In my dreams my memories I remember finding them after I became Emperor. Letters, financial records, everything. His eyes bore into mine. If we can find those documents now, we can expose them both before Zhengming takes the throne.
It's risky. Insane. Breaking into the Empress Dowager's private chambers during a crisis?
But it might be our only chance.
Where does she keep them? I ask.
Her personal study. Hidden compartment behind a painting of
Prince Yizheng! A guard appears at the entrance to our alcove. His Majesty is asking for you!
Yizheng's face shows nothing, but I feel his tension. Tell him I'm coming.
The guard bows and leaves.
The emperor's conscious, I say. That's good, right? Maybe he'll survive
Maybe. Or maybe he's calling me because he knows he's dying and wants to give me final orders. Yizheng looks at me intensely. If I don't come back out within an hour, assume the worst. Find those documents yourself.
Wait, you can't expect me to
You're the only other person who knows the truth. If something happens to me, you have to finish this. He grips my shoulders. Promise me. Whatever happens, you'll expose them.
I promise, but
Good. He releases me and heads toward the palace entrance.
Yizheng! I call after him.
He pauses.
Be careful. If the Empress Dowager thinks you're a threat...
She'll try to kill me. I know. A ghost of a smile. That's why I need you as backup. If I die mysteriously tonight, you'll know who did it.
Then he's gone, disappearing into the chaos.
I stand there, heart pounding.
This is happening too fast. Everything's spiralling out of control.
I need to think. Plan. Figure out what to do if Yizheng doesn't come back.
Yueyin! Qingyi appears out of nowhere, grabbing my arm. Where have you been? Your father is looking for you!
I was just
Never mind. Come on! She drags me toward a different entrance. Lady Shen wants to speak with you. It's urgent.
Lady Shen. Qingyi's mother. Another conspirator in Zhengming's treasonous plans.
I need to find my father first
This is more important! Qingyi's grip tightens painfully. Lady Shen has information about the emperor's collapse. She wants to tell you privately.
Warning bells scream in my head.
In my first life, I trusted Qingyi completely. Followed her everywhere, believed everything she said. And it got me killed.
Not this time.
I yank my arm free. I'm not going anywhere with you.
Qingyi's sweet expression cracks. Excuse me?
I said no. I need to find my father.
Yueyin, don't be difficult. Her voice hardens. Lady Shen specifically asked for you. You can't just refuse
Yes, I can. Tell your mother I'm busy.
I turn to leave, but Qingyi blocks my path. The mask is gone now. Her face shows pure calculation.
You've been acting strange all night, she says coldly. Avoiding Prince Zhengming. Talking privately with Prince Yizheng. Refusing perfectly reasonable requests. What's wrong with you?
Nothing's wrong with me. Maybe I just finally see clearly.
See what clearly?
You. What you really are.
Qingyi's eyes narrow dangerously. I don't know what you think you know
I know enough. Now get out of my way.
For a moment, I think she'll try to physically stop me. Her hand twitches toward something in her sleeve.
Then someone calls out: Miss Xia! Your father sent me to find you!
A servant waves at me from across the courtyard. An escape.
I push past Qingyi and run toward the servant. Behind me, I hear Qingyi say something sharp to someone probably sending a message to Zhengming or Lady Shen.
They know something's different about me now. Know I'm not playing along anymore.
Which makes me dangerous to them.
The servant leads me to a waiting room where Father paces anxiously.
Yueyin! Thank goodness. The situation is chaos. The emperor is alive but barely conscious. The physicians don't know what's wrong with him.
Is it poison?
Father's eyes widen. How did you yes. They suspect poison. But administered over a long period, not all at once. Someone's been slowly killing His Majesty for months.
The Empress Dowager. Just like in my first timeline.
Will he survive?
Father's expression turns grim. The physicians say... maybe a few days. A week at most. The poison has damaged too much. Even if we find an antidote now, it's too late.
A few days. That's all the time we have.
A few days to expose the conspiracy, gather evidence, and stop Zhengming from taking the throne and destroying everything.
Where's Prince Yizheng? I ask. Did the Emperor speak with him?
I don't know. The emperor asked for him privately. No one else was allowed in the chambers.
Which means whatever the emperor told Yizheng, only he knows.
If Yizheng comes out alive.
If the Empress Dowager doesn't eliminate him first.
I move toward the door. I need to go
Stay here, Father commands. It's not safe. There are already rumors spreading. Accusations. People claiming the emperor was poisoned by enemies at the festival.
But we were all at the festival. Anyone could have
Exactly. Which is why everyone's a suspect. Including our family. Father's face is tense. We need to be very careful, Yueyin. One wrong move and we could be accused of treason.
Too late. In my first life, that's exactly what happened. We were accused, tried, and executed.
But this time, I know the real traitors. Know where the evidence is hidden.
I just need to get to it before they destroy it.
Father, I say carefully, if I told you I knew who really poisoned the emperor... would you believe me?
He studies my face. Do you have proof?
Not yet. But I know where to find it.
Then we'll get it together. Tell me what you know.
I hesitate. How much can I tell him? That I died and came back? That his daughter is actually twenty-three years old trapped in an eighteen year old body?
He'll think I'm insane.
Before I can answer, a scream echoes through the palace.
Then shouting. Running footsteps.
Father and I rush to the door.
A guard runs past, face white. Prince Yizheng has been attacked! Someone tried to assassinate him!
My blood turns to ice.
They tried to kill him already. The Empress Dowager or Zhengming, trying to eliminate threats before the emperor dies.
Is he alive? I shout at the guard.
Yes, but wounded! The physicians are with him now!
Father grabs my arm before I can run after the guard. Yueyin, stay here! Don't get involved in
I pull free and run.
Down corridors, following the shouts and chaos. Guards everywhere, servants crying, nobles demanding answers.
I find the room where they took Yizheng. Guards block the entrance.
Let me in! I demand.
Family only, miss.
I'm What? Not family. Not anyone important. Just a girl he talked to at a festival.
But also the only other person who knows the truth about the future.
The only person who can help him finish what we started.
A physician emerges from the room, hands bloody. The prince will live. The blade missed anything vital. He was lucky.
Was it really an assassination attempt? a noble ask.
The attacker is dead. Took poison before we could question him. The physician shakes his head. But yes. This was deliberate. Someone wants Prince Yizheng dead.
The crowd erupts in shocked whispers.
I push closer to the door, trying to see inside. Get a glimpse of Yizheng, confirm he's really okay.
And then I see him.
Sitting up in bed, holding a blood-soaked cloth to his side. His face is pale but his eyes are alert, scanning the room.
Looking for something. Or someone.
Our eyes meet across the chaos.
He shakes his head. A tiny, barely visible gesture.
Meaning: Not now. Too dangerous. Stay away.
But then he mouths something. Three words I can just barely make out:
Find the documents.
He's telling me to go ahead without him. Break into the Empress Dowager's chambers alone while everyone's distracted.
It's insane. I could get caught. Get killed.
But we're running out of time. The emperor's dying. Yizheng's wounded. I might be the only one left who can expose the truth.
I back away from the door before anyone notices me. Turn and walk quickly through the palace corridors, trying to look like I belong here.
The Empress Dowager's chambers are in the west wing. Usually heavily guarded.
But tonight, with the emperor dying and Yizheng attacked, maybe the guards are distracted. Maybe I'll get lucky.
I round a corner and freeze.
Crown Prince Zhengming stands in the middle of the corridor, blocking my path.
Lady Xia, he says with that perfect smile. What are you doing in this part of the palace?
My heart stops.
He knows. Somehow, he knows what I'm planning.