It was dead at night, and Xiulan was carrying a drunk Mingyao on her back. This was in no way new to her; she had carried Mingyu before—well, not carried per se, but she always managed to get Mingyu back to the palace. Sometimes, she pulled him with carts; other times, she got someone to help her carry him back. Once, she had tried carrying him on her back, but his weight had almost broken her. Mingyao, however, was light and easy to carry.
Mingyao had drunk a little too much wine and had not given Xiulan any directions for what to do next, so Xiulan assumed they would be sneaking back to the palace as always. The female prince would figure out what to do once she sobered up. But, as always, things weren't as easy as they seemed.
At the end of the empty streets stood four silhouettes of bulky men. Xiulan's instincts screamed at her to turn back and steer clear of the possible danger ahead, but she pressed on, even when her gut told her otherwise.
Finally, when Xiulan was close enough, the men began to move toward her, weapons in their hands.
"Hello, pretty lady. What have you got there on your back?" one of the four men, the shortest of the group, asked. "Is that your young master on your back?"
"How could your young master put you in such a situation? Why don't you come with us, and we'll take care of your young master for you?" another added.
The third man came to Xiulan's side as if intending to help her put Mingyao down.
"Phew, this young master is quite a looker. Look at his delicate features—you might think he's a woman," the third one chimed in.
The fourth man was on the other side of Xiulan, analyzing the person on her back. "Wait, I think he is a she."
"Is that really true?" the first man of the group asked.
"Yeah, see those soft cushions protruding through the clothes."
"Nice—a two-for-one deal."
The men had now completely surrounded Xiulan, giving her no room to escape. Xiulan froze, unsure of what to do. One of the men laid his hand on Mingyao's face, but as soon as he did, a faint whistling sound was heard before he fell down, his body convulsing as if poisoned before going completely still.
"What happened to him?" all three remaining men asked simultaneously as they raised their weapons.
"I... I don't know. Just leave us alone," Xiulan pleaded.
"I don't think so."
The men charged, but before the closest could reach her, an arrow pierced through his left chest, leaving him dead in a matter of breaths.
When Xiulan traced back the path from where the arrow had come, her eyes landed on a familiar face. It was Su Mei, the famous Tigress of Xianyang. Her reputation as a martial artist on par with many generals' sons was well known throughout the city. It was even speculated that, had she been born male, she would have been the heir to the general. But alas, she was female.
The two remaining men instantly recognized the Tigress of Xianyang and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.
Su Mei immediately ran to Xiulan.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, thank you for saving us."
"What about the crown prince?"
"The crown prince is..."
"Why does he look so different today? Anyway, let me escort you to the Su residence."
"No, you don't have to trouble yourself. We will head back to the palace."
"It's not safe for you to walk like this in the dead of night, especially when you have the crown prince on your back. In fact, let me help you carry him; he must be too heavy for you."
"No, it's fine. I can handle him."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Let's head to the Su residence, then. You can head back to the palace tomorrow."
"Okay, I will take you up on your offer."
Su Mei had been distressed ever since Zhao Mingyu and Xiulan were forced over the cliff. She had thought they had died, but now that she saw his face—and hers—she was relieved. The incident at the cliff had only reinforced what she had known all her life: the fight over the throne made life in the palace restrictive and suffocating. On the cliff, she had known she could fight off the Fourth Prince's men, but she had been afraid her actions would lead to more harm than good. So, she had constrained herself and let him handle the situation, but she hadn't expected the Fourth Prince to be so bold.
Su Mei was betrothed to the crown prince through an imperial decree, so she couldn't challenge the command. But the marriage was not one she wanted. She thought her older half-sister Su Yuehua or her younger sister Su Lili would be a better fit for the marriage. They were both feminine, delicate, and graceful in nature—like flowers—while she was, well, very masculine, loud, and wild by nature, preferring hunting and martial arts to calligraphy, music, or painting.
They reached the Su residence when Su Mei noticed Mingyao's breasts.
"Xiulan, why does the prince have women's breasts?"
But before Xiulan could answer, General Su's wife was at the gate, ready to receive the prince. It was as if she knew beforehand he was coming. She took the liberty to lead Xiulan to a place where the prince could lay down and sleep peacefully.
Everything was already prepared when they got there. Xiulan put Mingyao down to sleep before she herself fell asleep. The whole ordeal had left her tired, still processing just how truly powerful the foolish prince was.
When morning came, Xiulan woke up Mingyao before anyone from the Su family could come and find out she was female instead of male. After a lot of the usual struggle of waking him—her—up, she was finally awake. Xiulan then explained the current situation, knowing they would be expecting Su Mei to ask questions about her certain shift in gender. Xiulan's distress was evident in her tone, but Mingyu—Mingyao now—was as nonchalant as ever, with her first words being, "I am hungry. Let's go have a nice breakfast with the Su family," before they thought of their next step.
Xiulan was used to this nonchalant attitude, but it didn't make it any easier on her. Still, as always, she let Mingyao do what she always did. They walked to the Su family dining table, where the Su family had already congregated. From General Su's wife to his daughters, everyone was present. General Su and his sons were nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected as they were occupied with military affairs.
When the entire family saw her, they greeted her with reverence as she was the crown prince. But Mingyao stopped them all before they could finish with a simple raise of her palm.
"I am sorry to disappoint, but I am not the crown prince. As you can see and hear, I am a girl."
Everybody froze when they heard the feminine voice. Xiulan was the most stunned of all. Was the prince really going to reveal she was female?