Yun Dong paused. Su Qingyi's wounds had yet to heal completely. The sword she had taken for him in the throne hall that day had come within half an inch of piercing her heart. The imperial physician said she needed a hundred days of rest, but the girl refused to stay still, brewing soup and bringing medicine every day. The light in her eyes reminded him of the first time they met beneath the plum tree at the Vice Minister of Revenue's residence. She had worn a moon-white jacket and skirt, a red plum blossom pinched in her hand, and her smile could have melted even the snow. But now that light held a touch of careful pain, especially when she looked at his right hand.
“Understood,” he replied. He took two steps forward, then turned back. “Tell the princess not to stay up too late. Her health comes first.”
The maid froze for a moment, then hurriedly kowtowed to thank him. Watching her leave, Yun Dong felt his heart stir despite himself. The girl's thoughts were filled with the joy that “the princess has finally gotten a few kind words from the Regent.” They were as pure as the snow of the northern frontier. He abruptly clamped down on his power, and his temples throbbed. The auditory hallucinations had started again. Countless faint voices clamored in his ears: “Kill him, he's a monster!” “The Regent is going to usurp the throne!” “My child is still in Jiangnan. Please, have mercy...”
He steadied himself against a pillar in the corridor and pressed his left hand against the web between his thumb and forefinger. The pain brought some clarity to his chaotic thoughts. Ever since he had devoured the Emperor's obsessive lust for power and awakened the third tier of the Heart Mirror, the voices had never stopped. The obsessions he had absorbed writhed through his mind like countless venomous snakes. Sometimes they were the Third Prince's venomous resentment as he died; sometimes they were Su Wan'er's jealousy. Most tormenting was the wailing of the late emperor's younger brother, crying “I was wronged” in his dreams night after night.
