Murong Jin did not go inside with Xue Liulan to see the Crown Prince. She remained outside, leaning against a pillar, lost in thought. She didn't know if her suspicions were right, but she knew she couldn't face him. She had killed countless men on the battlefield and never felt a shred of guilt. But now, a wise and just prince was dying from a poison that belonged to her family. Even if it wasn't her fault, she couldn't bear to look Xue Liuyun in the eye.
"Why don't you come in?" A weak voice drifted from the room, so frail it sounded as if it belonged to a man already dead.
Murong Jin turned. Xue Liulan was standing right behind her.
"My brother is asking for you," he said, his eyes on her face. She just nodded, silent. He wasn't used to her being this quiet. As she started to move, he reached out and caught her arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's go in," she said, trying to pull away.
"Murong Jin, you don't have to feel guilty," he whispered, his voice too low for anyone inside to hear.
She froze and looked at him.
"This isn't the Murong family's fault," he continued, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Your father already told my brother. The Xiang Jue was stolen."
She met his eyes. Honest reassurance looked back at her. Slowly, a smile tugged at her lips. "Alright."
The room was dark, the windows covered with thick curtains. The air was heavy with the scent of medicine. Murong Yu sat by the bed, holding the Crown Prince's hand. It was the hand of a sick man, pale and skeletal.
"So you are Murong Jin," Xue Liuyun said. "Forgive me for not being a proper host."
Murong Jin stood beside Xue Liulan and looked at the man propped up in bed. His face was a deathly grey, his skin pale from the long months without sunlight. This was the man who should have ruled the world.
She pressed her lips together. "I wouldn't dare."
"My fifth brother may be a wastrel, but he can be trusted with matters of the state," the Crown Prince said, his voice a dry rasp. "After I am gone, I entrust him to the Murong family. It is a pity I will not live to see his success."
"Your Highness will surely recover," Murong Jin said. The words tasted like ash. For generations, the Murong family had searched for the antidote to Xiang Jue. They had never found it. Without the antidote, the poison was a one-way ticket to the grave.
"Enough. We all have our fate," he said, breaking into a fit of violent coughing that brought a flush of fever to his cheeks.
"Brother, you should rest," Xue Liulan said, stepping forward.
Xue Liuyun shook his head. "To have survived this long with Xiang Jue in my veins is a miracle in itself. Liulan, I ask for nothing, except that you remember what I told you that day."
"I remember, Brother. I remember," Xue Liulan said, kneeling by the bed. He took his brother's hand, his own voice trembling slightly.
Murong Jin's hands tightened within her sleeves as she watched the two brothers say their final goodbye.
"Liulan," the Crown Prince whispered, "even if you find the one who poisoned me, do not seek revenge."
"Why?" Xue Liulan's grip tightened. "No, Brother. I will never let them get away with this."
"Promise me," Xue Liuyun insisted, his grip surprisingly strong. "Do not let hatred blind you. A king cannot have personal feelings, Liulan. A king belongs to the realm."
"But—"
"Liulan!" The Crown Prince's voice was a harsh, weak roar that filled the room. "Promise me!"
Xue Liulan stared at his dying brother, then, choking back tears, he nodded.
Only then did Xue Liuyun relax, his energy spent. He leaned back against the pillows, his eyes closed.
"We will go now, Brother," Xue Liulan said, rising.
"Mm," the Crown Prince breathed.
"Sister-in-law, there is no need to see us out." He stopped Murong Yu from rising and led Murong Jin from the residence.
It was evening. Xue Liulan didn't take a carriage, but walked slowly along the stone path, the last rays of sunset dying in the sky. Murong Jin followed silently behind him, the Crown Prince's words echoing in her mind.
Suddenly, he stopped. "You should go back first."
"And you?" she asked instinctively. There was a desolation in his eyes that made her own heart ache.
He didn't answer, just turned and walked away. By the time he was out of sight, a small sigh had escaped her lips.
Just around that corner was the Yichun Courtyard. And a courtesan named Die Man.
When his heart was breaking, she was not the one he would turn to. Murong Jin gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
"You suspect the Crown Princess?" In the Yichun Courtyard, Die Man stared at Xue Liulan in shock. "But everyone in Jindu knows they were deeply in love. Besides, what does Murong Yu gain from poisoning her own husband?"
Xue Liulan sat at the table, turning a wine cup in his hand. "Perhaps nothing. But according to my brother's last words, she is the most likely suspect."
"Why?" Die Man asked, pouring him a cup of wine.
"Do you know why he forbid me from seeking revenge?"
She shook her head. To a woman of the streets, debts were meant to be paid in blood.
"Because he loves her more than life itself," Xue Liulan snarled, slamming the cup down on the table. "He doesn't want her to be in danger after he is gone."
"But even if you do nothing, if she is discovered, the law will see her executed for murdering the heir."
"Exactly. That's why he told me not to seek revenge. It was a message. He was telling me that he cared more about protecting her than he did about his own life." Xue Liulan's hand tightened around the cup. There was a sharp crack. The porcelain shattered, the shards digging deep into his palm.
In a pavilion at the Fifth Prince's residence, Murong Jin sat across from her father.
"It's true. The Xiang Jue was stolen about a year ago," Murong Yan said calmly.
"And you covered it up?"
"Yes. The poison was a gift from a previous emperor. In the Murong family's current position, the crime of losing such an item would have been enough to ruin us."
"So even though you knew it was my cousin who stole it, you did nothing?" Murong Jin stared at him. Did that mean Xue Liuyun was dying because of her family's deliberate inaction?
Murong Yan met her gaze for a moment, then looked away. "Do you think a wise ruler like the Crown Prince would have allowed a powerful family like ours to continue to exist? Jin, our family's power already overshadows the throne."
So that's why you chose Xue Liulan, a man destined to be a mediocre king. So that's why the Crown Prince had to die. So even if Murong Yu had not stolen the poison, you would have found another way.
Murong Jin stared at her father, suddenly understanding everything. "Father, you knew she was in love with someone else, didn't you?"
She watched his lips, afraid to blink, terrified of the answer she already knew.
After a long hesitation, he nodded. "Yes. I knew she loved the Seventh Prince, Xue Feiyan."
The strength went out of Murong Jin's limbs, and she nearly collapsed. It had all been decided, long ago.
"So you deliberately sent her to be the Crown Prince's wife?"
"Yes. Her heart is more ruthless than yours. She is more decisive. More importantly, she had a motive to kill the Crown Prince." Only in this way could an assassin be placed at the Crown Prince's side. And only in this way would his death have nothing to do with the Murong family.
She could hardly breathe. That gentle cousin she pitied, the one she trusted… was a killer. Her gratitude, her guilt—all of it had been a lie.
Murong Yan watched emotions flicker across his daughter's face—disbelief, shock, and finally, bitter disappointment. He had hoped she would never have to see this darkness. But there were no other options. She was a daughter of the Murong clan. This was her destiny.
"Jin, this is Jindu. This is the heart of power, and it is far more complex and ruthless than any battlefield. What I have done, I have done to ensure the Murong family does not fall."
Murong Jin looked at him, her eyes hollow. She opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing.
All of this, she realized, would only truly be over when Xue Liulan sat on the Dragon Throne.