"Your Highness, your highness be careful!" Guang Ze buzzed around Wu Yingyue in worry and helped him down from his bed.

Wu Yingyue rose from his bed with trembling limbs. Lingling pulled on a heavy outer robe over him as he stepped out in the snow of his courtyard.

He was going to see him.
Zhou Wangshu.

Even if he had to crawl to the prison himself.

He had barely turned down the next corridor when he heard mummers.

It was three eunuchs, huddled in a corner, talking among themselves.

"—Locked away like a criminal. A shame, really. The Duke was always too proud."

"Mm, proud and too close to His Highness. You think the rumors are true?"

"What, that the Crown Prince laid with him? Hah! Didn't you see the way he looked at him at last year's lantern banquet? Like a man starved."

"Disgusting. No wonder the Emperor finally had enough. Who would tolerate such shame brought into the palace?"

"Shhh! Don't let anyone hear—if His Highness ever—"

"What can he do now? He's half-dead, and his favorite is rotting in prison. Serves him right—"

Wu Yingyue stopped.

Guang Ze, trailing behind, nearly bumped into him.

"Your Highness—?"

Wu Yingyue said nothing.

He turned.

And walked toward the eunuchs.

One of them noticed first, his face was drained of color. "Y-Your Highness—!"

By the time they knelt, their foreheads pressed to the ground in terror,

Wu Yingyue had already drawn the blade hidden within his sleeve.

He said only one thing:

"Say his name again."

None of them dared.

One slash—clean, cold and merciless.

The first eunuch collapsed in a heap.

The others screamed. One tried to crawl away.

Another flash of steel silenced him forever.

The third opened his mouth to beg, but Wu Yingyue didn't wait to hear it. Blood sprayed across the stone, staining the snow that drifted through the open hall.

Guang Ze stood frozen, his hands clenched at his sides.

Wu Yingyue didn't even look back.

"Go. Throw them in a mass grave,"

The words had barely left his lips when a sharp pain speared through his chest. His knees buckled slightly. He bent forward, coughing violently as bright red bloomed across his palm.

"Your Highness!" Guang Ze rushed forward in panic. "You should have let this slave do it—why dirty your hands?! You've already lost your martial arts, and now you're forcing yourself—"

"Shh."

Wu Yingyue's voice was low, hoarse.

He didn't lift his head, only wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"Guang Ze... the walls have ears."

He wiped his blade on the fallen eunuch's robe.

"Make sure word spreads through the palace," he said, straightening despite the tremble in his limbs. "The Crown Prince will cut down anyone who dares dishonor the names of Duke Zhou or the Emperor."

He turned without another word.

To speak of such filth just outside his quarters... he didn't believe it was coincidence. This can only be the work of those concubines in the inner palace.

"Yes, Your Highness," Guang Ze murmured, bowing low.

Wu Yingyue turned to the pale servant who had brought the earlier news. "Which prison?"

"I-It's the Water Prison, Your Highness."

Wu Yingyue inhaled sharply. That prison was where only the most condemned were sent. His hands clenched.

"What did he do to deserve a decree like that from His Majesty?"

His fingers flicked the edge of his robe. Guang Ze, understanding his intent, immediately bowed low. "I will prepare the palanquin, Your Highness," he said, retreating quickly to make the arrangements.

"The Duke of Zhou... he refused to surrender the Tiger Tally, Your Highness. When summoned to court yesterday, His Grace insisted he had already handed it over; he claimed it was lost."

He hesitated, watching Wu Yingyue's face carefully, then added, "His Majesty... did not believe him. He accused the Duke of lying, of hiding military power for his own ends. And today, the arrest warrant for Duke Zhou was officially signed."

Wu Yingyue listened in silence, his expression indifferent. Then he slowly turned his gaze onto the servant.

"You're quite clever."

The servant froze, unsure if it was praise or a threat.

"From now on, you work for me," Wu Yingyue said calmly. "And make sure Guang Ze and Head Maid Lingling know nothing of this conversation."

The servant bowed quickly, his forehead nearly touching the floor. "Y-Yes, Your Highness."

Wu Yingyue turned away, his steps slow but steady as his mind spun behind a blank expression.

Three years ago, all of his shadow guards had been executed by Emperor orders. Quietly, one by one. Not that there had been many to begin with. He had always lacked people at his side.

What he lacked now was loyalty.

And that was far more dangerous.

He looked at the timid servant beside him. He had seen this child before, quiet, pale, always lingering at the edges of his vision. One of the many faces that moved like shadows through the palace. Wu Yingyue had personally approved every servant allowed into his inner quarters. Betrayal wasn't impossible, but most stayed loyal out of fear, not devotion. How many would remain so if fear was ever lifted... that, he didn't know.

"What's your name?"

"T-This lowly one is called Xue Lin, Your Highness."

Wu Yingyue gave a faint nod, "Xiao Lin, then."

He reached out and flicked his fingers toward Guang Ze. "Take my seal from him. You'll go to court in my name."

Xue Lin's eyes widened in disbelief, but Wu Yingyue's voice was firm.

"Observe everything. I want every minister's reaction, who they whisper to, who stays silent. Miss nothing. And when the court is dismissed, report directly to me. Not Guang Ze. Not Lingling. Only me."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness. This lowly one won't fail you."

Just then, Guang Ze stepped forward with the sedan chair, bowing deeply. "Your Highness, it's ready."

Wu Yingyue's eyes lingered on the servant one last time before turning. "Let's go,"

He swept his sleeves behind him and stepped into the sedan.

As soon as Wu Yingyue reached the entrance of the Water Prison the guards on duty stepped forward. One of them, pale with panic, immediately dropped to his knees, blocking the threshold.

"Y-Your Highness—please, please, you mustn't go further!"

Wu Yingyue slowly pulled aside the curtain, his breath fogging in the winter air. "Move."

The guard's head remained bowed low, voice shaking. "The Emperor's decree—n-no one is permitted to enter. Not even you, Your Highness. Without written permission, it's... it's forbidden..."

"Are you opposing me, the Crown Prince?" Wu Yingyue's voice was quiet but laced with arrogance as he stepped out of the sedan. "When did I arrive here? I don't see anyone."

The guards froze in place, words lost on their tongues.

The gates creaked open.

The stench hit first—thick, metallic, rotting. It clung to the air like oil, choking every breath. The walls were carved deep into the earth, slick with damp moss and ancient mold. The light of the torch Guang Ze carried flickered weakly, casting distorted shadows along the uneven stone.

A long corridor stretched ahead, lined with cells half-submerged in stagnant water.

Inside rusted iron bars, the water reached ankle to knee level depending on the cage, dark and brackish, filled with filth. Rats scurried across the narrow stone walkways, disappearing into cracks.

Chains dangled from the ceilings of some cells slick with old blood. Torture instruments lined a far wall behind iron gates iron pincers, branding irons, bamboo rods, shackles crusted with dried skin and rust.

As Wu Yingyue stepped deeper into the prison, his presence did not go unnoticed.

"The Crown Prince..."

"His Highness..."

Some scrambled to their knees in the filthy water, bowing low despite their chains, their voices desperate.

"Your Highness—spare me, please, I was innocent—!"

"I was framed! I have a family—please!"

"Have mercy! Your Highness, have mercy!"

A sharp laugh rang out from a darker corner. "Royal bastard," someone hissed. "Come to watch us rot?"

"You think that fancy robe means you're different? You're just like your father. Throwing people away like trash!"

Guards shifted uncomfortably, hands twitching toward their blades, but Wu Yingyue didn't flinch.

He took a deep breath.

He was here again.

This cursed place.

He had once promised himself that he would never step foot in the Water Prison again.

And yet, here he was.

Drawn back by that brainless man.

Xiao Lin main role will play in last, so don't be surprised if you don't see him in next chapters I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce him as well.

Btw we are finally halfway through hope ya'll loving this mess I wrote :)

oh let me drop this too-

Xue Lin (雪霖) —

Xue (雪) = "Snow"

Lin (霖) = "Continuous rain"

There you go, you can guess where the chapter name came from!

Take Care Sweets <3<3

Thanks for reading!