"Woah!" Xinxin hugged Dihao in fright. Dihao too covered her eyes protectively. When the fire vanished, they both along with others cheered in astonishment.
"Dihao! Xinxin!"
Just then, they heard their name called out from behind amongst the cheering.
"Dihao! Xinxin! Where are you? Something happened to Changxi!"
Both of them quickly looked aside only to get a huge shock. Changxi was on the ground, looking at the fire with a deathly pale face. Beside her was Chen trying to figure out the situation.
"Changxi! Changxi!" Xinxin and Dihao both called out, but Changxi's wide eyes were fixed on the fire that was blown in the air. When Xinxin shook her, only then her eyes moved back to the trio in front of her.
Shivers ran down her spine when Xinxin looked at Changxi's frightened yet confused eyes, "Changxi, who?" Xinxin cried, "It's you! Dihao, what is happening with her? Why is she like this?"
Just then, as the fireman blew another gush of air, they saw Changxi's eyes turn bloodshot. Her breaths turned heavy as if she was suffocating. Changxi closed her eyes and ears. Her each tear was like a stab to their hearts.
Xinxin quickly held her, "Changxi, look at me!" Cupping her face, she said, "We are here. Don't worry. Get up, let's go from this place." Dihao helped her to make Changxi stand but felt a sudden weight.
"What happened?" Chen asked. "Changxi… lost her consciousness," Dihao mumbled. Chen tried to calm both of them down, "We have to return right now." Dihao nodded and picked Changxi up in his embrace.
Physician's House,
"Master Hong! Master Hong!" Master Hong heard a sudden commotion outside. He recognized Dihao's voice.
"What is this!" Master Hong got shocked to see Dihao carrying unconscious Changxi. He looked at Xinxin, but she was crying continuously. They all went to Changxi's room where Dihao placed her carefully on her mattress.
Master Hong held Changxi's wrist only to get another shock. "Heavens! This is bad," her whole body was burning with fever. "Xinxin, bring water and a napkin, quickly! Dihao, my herb box is outside on the table, bring that too," Master Hong instructed.
Chen asked, "Master Hong, what's happening?" Master Hong said with a creased forehead, "She is running an unusually high fever. Chen, what happened exactly?"
Chen briefed him about the situation. Xinxin and Dihao, who just came answered as well. Meanwhile, Master Hong tried to cool down the fever by keeping napkin soaked in the herbal water on her head.
…
At the same time,
In a certain mansion,
"Nuying? Nuying?"
The Noblewoman, Nuying, came out of her thoughts and saw her husband sitting in front of her with herbal medicine in his hand, "Minister, I would have taken on my own." Seeing her tensed smile, the Nobleman asked, "Is something troubling you?" He noticed his wife was worried for quite some time, especially since they attended the fire show.
Nuying sighed worriedly, "The girl who was standing across us during that fire show and passed out." The Nobleman nodded as he remembered that incident. Nuying continued, "She looked exactly like our Xiao M—"
"Master, a letter came from Capital for you," the maid informed from outside, making the couple look at each other in doubt, "Come in."
The maid passed the envelope. "It's from Yang Mansion," Nuying recognized her father's calligraphy. The nobleman took out the letter and read it. She noticed the coldness in his eyes increased with each line and took the letter from him.
"The Royal court will pass a decree confirming Xiao Mei's death right after the festival? Why!" she couldn't believe what she read.
The Nobleman replied coldly, "It would officially be one year since her missing. As per the law, if we can't prove Xiao Mei's death proofs were false, the court will accept them as truth and declare her dead. Moreover, Crown Princess selection process news will make everyone forget about this. We have less time in hand to find her," he remembered something while looking at the concoction.
Nuying nodded, "Hmm, Father will try to postpone it, but we should speed up the process." She took deep breaths to calm her wildly beating heart. The dress she saw in the morning and the girl's blurred frightened face during the fire show weren't getting out of her mind.
…
Meanwhile,
In the Royal Chamber,
A man in a fiery red and golden robe was looking at the portrait in his hand. There was an unknown emotion in his eyes. "This cannot be true," he whispered. Scrolling up the Portrait, the Emperor kept it back safely in his cabinet and decided to take a walk.
The cold night breeze somehow made his heart feel calm. Before he could realize it, he was already at a place that held a special importance in his heart. This is the only place inside the Palace that can fix his mood.
Just then, he noticed an unexpected presence at the bridge over the pond. A young man in a black and silver robe was standing there. His gaze fixed on the still water.
"What is making the Crown Prince of this nation stay awake this late?" the Emperor asked.
The young man got startled a bit seeing his father standing behind him with his hand on his back. "Your Majesty," the Crown Prince greeted.
The Emperor stopped the eunuchs from following him and went to stand beside the Crown Prince, "What happened, Crown Prince?" Suddenly he saw a letter in his sleeve, "What's that?" The Crown Prince wanted to slip it inward in his sleeve but was caught red-handed, so he presented it to his father.
Reading the content, the Emperor was utterly surprised, "You are tailing Minister Wu and Yang Nuying?"
"Your Majesty, we should postpone the Crown Princess Selection process," Crown Prince said without looking up, surprising the Emperor. He realized something, "Is it for… Mei?" Crown Prince nodded after a pause, "Her death isn't confirmed yet."
The Emperor sighed, "Crown Prince, she was already betrothed to him. You can't have her."
The Crown Prince looked up, "I can, Your Majesty. I am the Crown Prince of this empire." Although he was courteous, there was a slight dominance in his voice. The Emperor asked, "But don't you like Lu Wenjiao? She is practicing religiously for the selection process."
The Crown Prince couldn't say anything. The Emperor held his shoulders, "Linfeng, what's happening with you, my child? I know you never liked Mei, it was always one-sided love from her. That's why I betrothed her with him. Now why are you waiting for her?"
The Crown Prince, Wang Linfeng looked at his father, "Because she was mine, and she will be mine." He bowed in greeting and left, making the Emperor sigh in worry.
…
At Physician's House,
Master Hong looked at the figure sleeping in front of him. His heart ached to see her suffering face as if she was having a bad dream. He checked her fever, which was never dropped even a little.
"Are your memories… that painful?" he wiped the tears rolling down from her closed eyes with his thumb. After listening to the trio, he knew that must have triggered her memories. Caressing her head, he sighed, "Heavens, please don't let my child suffer this much. She deserves a happy loving life."