The morning sunlight spilled through the lattice windows of the West Residence, gilding the floor with warm gold. Outside, the garden rustled softly with the sound of cicadas and the faint perfume of blooming magnolias. Everything seemed deceptively peaceful.
She lifted the porcelain cup, inhaling the earthy fragrance. Her tongue pricked at a faint bitterness when she drank, but she brushed it aside with an arch of her brow. Perhaps the leaves were over-steeped.
"It tastes a little strange," she muttered, glancing at Bai Hu.
The fox spirit lay draped across the windowsill, his golden eyes half-closed. He flicked his tail but did not answer.
"You are no help," XiaoQi sighed, sipping again, determined not to waste what the servants had brought.
The tea slid warm down her throat. She set the cup aside and reached for a plum, but her hand wavered. A faint dizziness passed over her, subtle at first, almost ignorable.
She blinked rapidly.
Strange.
She prided herself on being sharp, always alert to shifts in her surroundings, always able to sense when food or wine carried ill intent. She had seen nobles fall to poison before, and she had sworn she would never be so careless. Yet her tongue had tasted nothing unusual beyond that faint bitterness, and her body had given no warning until now.
A whisper of unease rippled through her.
Why... why did I not sense it?
Her fingers curled against the edge of the table as her pulse began to race, a thudding too fast, too hard. Her mouth went dry, her skin damp. She tried to steady her breathing, to reason through what was happening. But her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind.
Before XiaoQi could press further, the screen door slid open with a hushed scrape. Concubine Lian entered without announcement, her silk robes gliding over the floor, her jewelled hairpins catching the morning light. She carried herself with the grace of someone who believed the palace bent to her will.
"Well, what a picture," Lian said smoothly, snapping her fan open with a practiced flick. "The little princess sipping tea in her quiet corner, as though the world revolves around her."
XiaoQi's eyes narrowed, but she leaned back in her chair with deliberate calm. "Concubine Lian," she greeted evenly, "to what do I owe the pleasure? I did not realize the West Residence was suddenly so inviting."
Lian's lips curved into a cold smile. "Inviting? Oh no, I would never call this wing inviting. It is too plain, too dull. A far cry from the grandeur of the Crown Prince's halls." She lowered her voice, each word a blade. "And yet... it seems you are determined to make this shabby corner the centre of attention."
Bai Hu's fur bristled, but XiaoQi rested a hand casually against the sill, a silent command to him. She would not show weakness, not to Lian.
"You mistake liveliness for arrogance," XiaoQi replied with cool composure, lifting her cup once more. The bitter taste lingered again on her tongue, heavier this time, almost metallic. She frowned but said nothing. "If the court finds me entertaining, perhaps it is because others are not trying hard enough."
Lian's fan snapped shut with a sharp crack. "Entertaining, yes," she hissed, stepping closer. "Like a jester dancing for scraps of affection. Do you think the Crown Prince's gaze means you have won? He toys with you, XiaoQi, nothing more."
XiaoQi's pulse quickened, but not only from Lian's words. A strange heat flushed through her body, sudden and overwhelming. Her vision blurred slightly at the edges, and her grip on the teacup faltered. She forced her back straight, masking the unease as best she could.
"And yet he toys with me in front of all the court," she murmured, lips curving faintly. "What does that say of those he ignores entirely?"
Lian's nostrils flared. She stepped even closer until her shadow fell over XiaoQi. "You think yourself clever, but cleverness will not save you. You will find that those who rise too high without merit are the first to fall. And when you do... no one will catch you."
The room tilted suddenly. XiaoQi's breath hitched, her hand clutching the edge of the table for balance. Her heart raced unnaturally fast, as though something heavy pressed upon her chest. Bai Hu stirred, a flicker of alarm in his eyes, but Lian was too absorbed in her taunts to notice.
"Even your tongue betrays you," Lian continued, her voice like venom. "You dare to mock me, to stand in defiance, but soon you will see. The prince's favour is a fleeting thing, and when it fades, you will be nothing."
XiaoQi fought the haze creeping into her vision. She tried to meet Lian's words with another cutting retort, but her body betrayed her. Heat pulsed through her veins, her muscles weakened, and a tremor shook her hand as she reached again for her teacup, hoping to steady herself.
The porcelain slipped, fell, and shattered into jagged pieces at her feet.
Lian's eyes flickered, first with surprise, then with dawning delight.
"You look pale," she purred, crouching slightly as if to admire XiaoQi's paling face. "Has the tea not agreed with you? How careless. One would think someone so proud would be more cautious."
XiaoQi's heart lurched. Realization cut through her like a blade, sharp and merciless. Poison. The bitter taste, the dizziness, the racing pulse—it all pieced together now.
But how? How had she not sensed it? How had she, of all people, been fooled?
"No..." she whispered, the word cracking on her lips. Her pride burned worse than the poison in her veins. She clenched her hands into fists, nails biting her palms. She wanted to rise, to spit defiance in Lian's face, but her strength faltered.
Lian tilted her head, watching like a cat studying a cornered bird. "What is the matter, little princess? No sharp words now? No clever tongue?"
XiaoQi tried to stand. Her knees buckled beneath her. Her vision swam, the room spinning. Panic clawed at her chest, not at the thought of death but at the thought of collapsing in front of Lian, of proving her enemy right.
"I..." She gasped, gripping the table edge. Her arms trembled violently.
Lian's lips curved into a slow, venomous smile. "So much for being untouchable."
The words struck like a blade. XiaoQi's body gave way, collapsing to the polished floor with a dull thud, her hair spilling like ink around her face. The taste of bitterness lingered on her tongue, and her final thought before the darkness closed in was one of searing disbelief.
Lian straightened, fan snapping shut with finality, and stepped delicately over the shards of porcelain. Without a glance back, she left the room, her silks trailing behind her like a shadow of triumph.
Bai Hu leapt from the sill, shimmering into his spirit form, tails flaring in alarm. He nosed at XiaoQi's still form, ears flattening. "Little mistress," he whispered urgently, his voice low with dread. "Wake. Please wake."
But XiaoQi's breathing had grown shallow, her face pale as moonlight. The poisoned tea had done its work, and Bai Hu could only press close, his tails curling protectively around her.
The sound of her own silk trailing faded as Concubine Lian stepped out of the West Residence, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile that was too delicate to be anything but cruel. The corridors were quiet. A pair of her personal maids trailed after her, their heads bowed, eyes lowered. Lian did not glance at them until she reached the courtyard arch.
She stopped, turned slightly, and in a voice as soft as falling petals said, "The girl grows far too comfortable here. Shall we take away her comfort?"
The maids lifted their gazes timidly. They knew that tone. It was not a question.
Lian's smile sharpened. She leaned in close, her jeweled hairpins glinting in the sun. "Set fire to the maple tree she adores so dearly. That decrepit thing she pretends is worth her affection. Burn it until not a leaf remains." She paused, the satisfaction deepening in her eyes. "And then... the residence. Make sure the flames rise high enough to reach the heavens."
The maids exchanged quick, nervous glances before bowing deeply. "Yes, My Lady."
Lian's fan clicked open, a gentle flutter against her cheek as though she had only ordered new silk bolts for her gowns. "Good. Let her awaken to ashes. Or perhaps... let her never awaken at all."
She glided away down the path, humming softly, her perfume lingering in the air like poison.
Back in the West Residence, Bai Hu pressed frantically against XiaoQi's cheek with his nose, his golden eyes wide with alarm. Her body was limp, her breathing shallow and uneven. A faint sheen of sweat dampened her brow, her lips pale against her dark hair.
"XiaoQi, stay with me," Bai Hu whispered, his voice trembling despite his best efforts to remain calm. He shifted into his spirit form fully, nine tails flaring, the silver glow of his essence wrapping around her like a shield. But no matter how he nudged or whispered, she did not stir.
The faint scent of smoke curled into the room. Bai Hu's ears flicked up, his fur bristling. He turned his head sharply toward the open window, and his eyes widened. In the distance, beyond the tiled eaves, a thin trail of black smoke rose into the morning sky.
"No..." His voice was a rasp, his tails lashing in agitation. "The tree..."
The maple tree, the one XiaoQi had poured herself into reviving with her medicines and care, the one she sat beneath whenever the weight of the palace grew too heavy—that sacred space of hers was burning. Bai Hu could feel it as though her soul were tied to it. The flame crackled louder, the faint heat already seeping toward the residence.
Bai Hu's panic surged. "She will not bear this. She cannot lose it." He circled her limp form, growling low in his throat as though he could drive the fire away by force of will alone. His golden eyes darted from her pale face to the rising smoke.
He pawed frantically at her sleeve, voice breaking. "Wake, XiaoQi! Please. They will burn everything. You must rise."
But she did not stir. The poison had sunk deep, her pulse faint beneath his touch.
The air outside roared suddenly as flames licked higher. Shouts echoed faintly from panicked servants in nearby courtyards, but no one dared intervene without orders. The fire spread quickly, climbing from the maple's branches into the brittle dryness of the outer walls.
Bai Hu pressed his head against her chest, listening desperately to the shallow rhythm of her breathing. His tails curled tighter around her, shimmering as though he could cocoon her away from the flames. "I will not let them take you. I will not."
The fire hissed and roared as it spread, devouring the wooden eaves of the West Residence. Sparks snapped in the air, and the once-peaceful maple tree burned like a beacon of ruin, its branches curling in on themselves with a mournful groan. Within XiaoQi's chambers, smoke slipped under the door and filled the room, turning the air thick and stifling.
On the floor, XiaoQi stirred faintly, her fingers twitching as though she wanted to fight her way back to consciousness. Her lips were pale, her chest rising only in shallow breaths.
Bai Hu crouched beside her, his fur matted with soot, his nine tails spread wide as if to shield her from the encroaching heat. His heart pounded with a desperation he had never known. For all his pride as a fox spirit, he was powerless against poison and fire.
"Stay with me, mistress. Do not slip away now," he whispered, pressing his muzzle to her wrist. Her pulse fluttered weakly against his nose, faint as a dying ember.
A crack overhead made him flinch. A wooden beam split and fell, crashing into the far side of the chamber. Flames leapt higher, and smoke filled his lungs. Bai Hu coughed, shaking his head furiously.
If he stayed, they would both perish. If he left her here alone, she would be lost. His golden eyes burned with anguish as he looked down at her slack face.
"Forgive me, XiaoQi. I cannot save you alone," he said hoarsely. His body began to shimmer, his form breaking into silver light. With one last look at her, he vanished.
The fox spirit streaked through the palace corridors, a blur of white fire against the polished stone. Servants shrieked and stumbled aside, some crossing themselves against evil omens, others simply staring in stunned disbelief. Bai Hu ignored them all. His only thought was to find him.
DongZe.
The one person who could act before it was too late.
He found the Crown Prince in the East Pavilion, where sunlight spilled across scrolls and ministers droned through reports. The serenity of the chamber was a mockery compared to the chaos Bai Hu had fled.
The fox burst inside, his sudden form making the ministers cry out and scatter. Guards lunged forward, blades half-drawn.
"Stand down," DongZe's command cut through the commotion like a blade. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the spirit beast. "Bai Hu?"
The fox's form flared, voice echoing in a raw, desperate cry. "XiaoQi is poisoned. She does not wake. And the West Residence burns."
The words struck like a hammer blow.
DongZe rose so abruptly that his chair toppled and clattered across the tiles. His face darkened, unreadable yet brimming with cold fury. "What did you say?" His voice was low, measured, but beneath it trembled a storm.
"She grows weaker with every breath," Bai Hu said, tails lashing as his glow flickered. "If you do not come now, she will die."
For a heartbeat the world seemed to hold still. Even the ministers were silent, staring in shock at the Crown Prince.
DongZe's eyes sharpened like steel unsheathed. He turned on the guards with a voice that thundered through the chamber. "Bring water to the West Residence. If it collapses, your heads will pay the price."
The guards scattered in a flurry of bows and hurried feet.
Without another word, DongZe strode from the hall, his black robes swirling behind him, his steps so swift and sure that even the ministers had to scramble back against the walls to avoid being struck aside. His face was set in grim determination, though beneath his iron mask his heart pounded with a fear that hollowed him from within.
Bai Hu bounded alongside him, his voice ragged. "Hurry. She does not have long."
DongZe did not answer, but his pace quickened until his robes snapped in the wind of his movement. The courtyards blurred past, filled with panicked servants carrying buckets of water and shouting warnings. Smoke was already visible, coiling up into the clear blue sky.
The maple tree blazed like a funeral pyre, its flames reflected in DongZe's eyes as he crested the last steps. His jaw tightened. That tree was hers. He had watched her tending to it, pouring her medicines into its roots, speaking to it softly as if coaxing life back into it. Now it was nothing but fire.
DongZe broke into a run, his voice a low vow that only Bai Hu could hear. "Hold on, XiaoQi. You will not leave me. Not like this."
The smoke thickened the closer DongZe drew to the West Residence. Flames licked across the rooftops, tiles cracking and falling as fire devoured the structure with a hungry roar. The acrid stench of burning wood and lacquer clung to his throat, but he pressed forward without hesitation. Servants shouted in panic around him, carrying water that seemed pitiful against the inferno.
"Your Highness, it is too dangerous!" one guard cried, trying to bar his path. "The building could collapse at any moment—"
DongZe seized the man by the collar and shoved him aside with a force that brooked no refusal. His voice was like ice over steel. "She is still inside."
Bai Hu was already ahead, his spectral form weaving through smoke like a silver flame. His golden eyes glowed, guiding the way toward XiaoQi.
DongZe's boots struck the charred floorboards as he forced the doors apart. Heat slammed into him at once, searing his skin even through layers of cloth. Inside, the air was a suffocating haze, heavy with smoke that clawed into his lungs. He pulled his sleeve over his mouth, eyes stinging as he pressed forward.
"XiaoQi!" His voice rang through the choking haze, ragged with urgency. "XiaoQi, answer me!"
A low groan of splitting wood answered instead. A ceiling beam, blackened and burning, gave way and crashed only a few paces from him, sending a shower of sparks across the floor. DongZe did not flinch. He leapt over the debris and pressed deeper into the chamber.
Bai Hu's voice cut through the smoke, strained and desperate. "Here! Quickly!"
Through the haze, he saw her.
XiaoQi lay slumped against the low couch, her long hair spread like ink across the floor, her pale face ghostly against the firelight. She did not stir. Her hand, usually quick to smack away his teasing, hung limp by her side.
Something inside DongZe twisted painfully. For a heartbeat, the fire, the chaos, the shouting outside—all of it faded. All he could see was her fragile figure swallowed by smoke.
He dropped to his knees beside her and gathered her into his arms, ignoring the scorch of the heated floor beneath him. Her skin was cold against his palms, her breathing shallow and uneven.
"XiaoQi," he murmured, shaking her lightly. His voice cracked despite the steel he tried to maintain. "Open your eyes. Look at me."
Her lashes fluttered faintly but did not lift. A weak sound escaped her lips, more breath than voice.
DongZe's chest tightened. He pressed her closer against him, shielding her from falling sparks with his own body. The smell of her hair, laced faintly with medicinal herbs, still lingered even beneath the smoke. It stabbed at him, sharp and bittersweet.
"You stubborn girl," he whispered harshly, his lips close to her ear as if sheer will might draw her back. "You fight me on everything else. Do not dare surrender now."
Another groan shuddered through the building. Flames crawled along the beams above, raining sparks around them. Bai Hu circled anxiously, his tails whipping like banners.
"We must leave," the fox urged, his voice breaking. "The roof will not hold."
The flames closed in as if the palace itself sought to trap them. Smoke stung DongZe's eyes, making it harder to see, but he held XiaoQi tighter, feeling the faint rise and fall of her chest against his arm. That fragile rhythm was the only thing tethering him to calm amidst the chaos.
Bai Hu darted ahead, his silver form flickering through the haze like a lantern of foxfire. "This way," he urged, tails slicing through the smoke. "The main doors are blocked. You must turn toward the servant's passage!"
A thunderous crack split the air. A section of the ceiling gave way behind them, flames pouring down like a waterfall of fire. The chamber shook, and heat surged against DongZe's back. He did not look. He did not hesitate. His strides lengthened, his grip firm as he shielded XiaoQi's face against his chest.
"Hold on to me," he whispered, though she could not hear him. His voice was a vow, low and fervent. "Even if you curse me later, hold on."
Another beam collapsed ahead, sealing the path with flames. For the first time, DongZe faltered, his jaw clenching as his eyes scanned the suffocating haze. Bai Hu whirled back, tails flaring.
"Here!" the fox barked. He leapt toward a narrow side passage half-hidden behind a fallen screen. The fire had not yet consumed it.
DongZe followed, crouching low to protect XiaoQi from the sparks raining down. His robes tore on jagged wood, heat seared his skin, but he pressed through. Each step felt endless, each breath heavier, the smoke clawing deeper into his lungs.
When at last the end of the passage glowed with light, DongZe surged forward. The final door resisted at first, swollen from the fire's heat. With a guttural sound, he shifted XiaoQi's weight to one arm and slammed his shoulder into the wood. It splintered open, giving way to blinding sunlight.
He emerged into chaos. Servants shrieked and scattered back as the Crown Prince strode from the inferno with XiaoQi in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder, her face pale and smudged with ash.
"Your Highness!" voices cried in disbelief. Buckets of water clattered to the ground as all eyes turned to them.
DongZe did not acknowledge them. His focus remained fixed on the fragile figure he carried. Smoke curled off his hair and shoulders, his chest heaving from the exertion, but his grip on XiaoQi never faltered.
"Summon the Imperial Physician at once!" His voice rang sharp as steel, cutting through the panic. "Now!"
Guards scrambled to obey, bowing so low their foreheads nearly struck the tiles.
Bai Hu padded out of the smoke behind him, his fur scorched at the edges, golden eyes fixed anxiously on XiaoQi. "She still breathes," he said, though his voice quavered. "But the poison spreads quickly."
DongZe lowered his gaze to her face, his hand brushing strands of soot-darkened hair from her cheek. Her lips parted faintly as if she wished to speak, but only a shallow breath escaped.
"Do not waste your strength," he murmured, his tone low enough for her alone. His thumb lingered at her temple, his expression raw beneath the mask of command. "I have you now. You will not leave me."
Around them, the palace grounds buzzed with frantic movement, water thrown against flames, courtiers whispering in scandal and shock. But DongZe stood at the center of it all, a dark, immovable figure holding the only person who mattered.
And in that moment, anyone watching understood: the Crown Prince would burn down the entire palace itself before letting her go.