Sleepless Under the Night Moon

In the thirteenth year of Xiaoyu, it was time for the annual educational inspection once again.

The Pingnan Marquis's residence, long since moved away from the capital and far from political strife, was unexpectedly summoned by imperial decree to attend the inspection in the capital.

As the second daughter of the Pingnan Marquis's family, Shi Yinjin had no choice but to obey the decree and set off for the capital.

Once there, she maintained the poise of a noble young lady. Every frown and smile seemed perfectly molded, utterly impeccable.

But a strange masked man she had known before, Ji Qian, kept appearing beside her for no apparent reason, like a shadow she couldn't shake. Whether he was breaking into the Minister of Works' residence at night or showing up after she buried someone in the wilderness, he always appeared at just the right moment.

Only when facing him could Shi Yinjin never quite hide her emotions.

"I had no idea you had taken up skulking on rooftops."

"What a coincidence, Miss Shi. Are you here to admire the moon too?" As if used to her sarcastic remarks, the man never got annoyed.

Admire the moon? Shi Yinjin fought to keep her hand from reaching for her knife. They were both sneaking around someone else's residence in the middle of the night. They looked equally suspicious.

"Yes. The scenery here does seem to be the best."

At their next encounter, the blood on Shi Yinjin's hands had not yet dried. He had appeared from some unknown nook or cranny again.

"Miss Shi, don't you think we're fated to keep meeting?"

"Do you? What a pity. You won't get to die by my blade."

At the same time, Shi Yinjin noticed that the ever-frail heir of the Marquis of Zhongjin, who was staying at the educational inspection office, also seemed to be secretly up to something shady. She kept running into him just moments after parting ways with Ji Qian. It was all a little too coincidental.

"Young Master Xie, you're in poor health. Why are you still out so late?"

"Cough, cough. I was busy all day, so I could only come out for medicine now." Xie Zhi lifted the medicine in his hand and made a point of showing it to her.

Until one day, they asked each other the same question at the same time: "Who are you, really?"

"How can someone in poor health serve as a secret guard to the emperor?"

"A noble young lady, and the head of an assassin organization in the martial world?"

[The Lovers' Love-Hate Relationship: Exposing Each Other's Secret Identities]

Theme: I hope like a flickering candle, while I too shall fly into the flame like a moth.