The second floor of Elegance Pavilion was quieter, filled with warm lantern light and the soft clack of xiangqi pieces.
In a private room overlooking the central hall, three men sat around a low table, Wei Shensu, son of Minister Wei Wuxian, calmly strategizing his next chess move, Lin Changyu, younger brother of Empress Lin Huayun, lounging lazily with a wine cup, and lastly, Murong Yexuan, watching their match with a serious face, arms crossed.
They were known as 'The Brotherhood of Blue Seal – The 4 Celestial Sheild' by the commoners and nobles.
They had grown up together, trained together, driven tutors to madness together.
Tonight felt almost nostalgic — until Murong Yunxi entered.
He walked in with a sigh, brushing off his sleeves.
"Earlier," Yunxi began, "I ran into a cousin from my mother's side."
No reaction from the three.
"We argued. Debated. As usual—"
"I lost."
"She won."
Still silence.
Yunxi narrowed his eyes.
"And Murong Qingshi was also there."
Yexuan's head snapped up instantly, "Who is that cousin of yours?"
"Wen Xianyi," Yunxi replied, pouring himself tea.
Yexuan froze. "Wen… Xianyi?"
He sat up straight, "Who else was there?"
Yunxi blinked, surprised by his cousin's sudden intensity.
"Murong Qingshi… and—"
"And??" Murong Yexuan demanded.
"A young miss," Yunxi said slowly.
"I didn't see her face. She wore a veil."
The moment he said that, Yexuan stood abruptly. "…Rouyuan?"
He bolted out of the room without warning.
Searching for Her
Downstairs, Yexuan scanned the entire hall.
No Bai Rouyuan.
No veil.
No trace.
He rushed outside, startling the guards.
Nothing.
A few young ladies nearby giggled at his flustered expression.
He shot them a cold glare and walked back in, jaw tight.
Wei Shensu and Lin Changyu exchanged looks when he returned upstairs.
"…What happened to him?" Wei Shensu whispered.
"…Who knows," Lin Changyu muttered.
"He looks like he swallowed a thorn."
Murong Yunxi sighed. "Just ask him."
The Confession
Yexuan sank onto a cushion, exhaling sharply.
His friends stared.
"What happened?" Yunxi finally asked.
Yexuan covered his face with a hand.
"I… need to tell all of you something."
And so, he did.
He told them everything—how he was ambushed while heading to the capital,
how he collapsed near Sacred Lotus Pavilion,
how a veiled girl saved him,
how she treated him all night,
how her scent lingered,
how letters were exchanged,
how her fragrances accompanied him through war,
how she was always in his thoughts, and
how he promised to return to her.
The room fell silent.
Changyu blinked slowly. "So… why didn't you go straight to Bai Residence just now? She lives there, right?"
Yexuan looked miserable, "What reason would I give?"
"Ah yes, I came to see your daughter because she healed me, and now I can't stop thinking about her'?"
Silence.
"…Honestly, that is a very good reason," Shensu said.
Yexuan glared.
"And besides—"
his voice softened painfully, "Miss Bai Rouyuan is… someone else's fiancée."
The three men stiffened.
"Whose?" Shensu demanded.
"Zhao Yunxiang," Yexuan said bitterly.
"Prime Minister Zhao Jinming's son."
The room erupted.
Changyu nearly dropped the chessboard.
"You're in trouble," Yunxi groaned.
"I know."
"But that marriage was arranged between their late grandfathers." "Miss Bai didn't like him at all…I hope."
Yexuan leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
"Do you love her?" Shensu asked bluntly.
Yexuan closed his eyes. "…I don't know what to call it."
His hand tightened around his sleeve.
"When I think of her, I feel… happy."
"When I imagine her, it aches."
"And sometimes, thinking about her—"
"I feel grateful just because she exists."
His friends exchanged looks.
They all understood.
Yexuan was in love.
And that love belonged to someone else.
A Sudden Explosion
Just then, loud laughter echoed from the hallway.
Zhao Yunxiang entered the room in Elegance Pavilion, just beside them.
One arm wrapped around a heavily painted woman. Kissing. Hands crawling all over that woman's body.
The sight stabbed Murong Yexuan like a blade. His chest tightened.
His blood boiled.
Before anyone could react—Yexuan moved.
One step.
Two steps. And then—
CRACK.
His fist slammed into Zhao Yunxiang's face.
Zhao Yunxiang fell backward, screaming.
Yexuan didn't stop.
He punched again.
And again.
"Yexuan! Yexuan, stop!" Wei Shensu shouted.
Lin Changyu grabbed his arm.
Murong Yunxi held him back.
But Yexuan was furious—a storm unleashed.
Zhao Yunxiang scrambled away, shaking in terror.
"W-What is wrong with you?!"
Yexuan glared like a beast ready to tear him apart.
Lin Changyu hissed, "Are you crazy?! What are you going to tell Prime Minister Zhao? He hates you already!"
Yexuan didn't answer.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
His heart still ached.
So painfully.
So violently.