As soon as Wu Yingyue opened his eyes, a jolted through him. He tried to move his body but as if a heavy weight pressed on his chest making him breathless.

"Your Highness, please stop moving. Your wound has opened again... Imperial Physician, where is the Imperial Physician!?"

The maids stopped him. Wu YIngyue had no strength in his body. He ignored the severe pain in his chest. He only felt a fishy and sweet taste rising up in his throat. He held onto the bed, and blood dripped from the corner of his lips.

"Your Highness, please don't move, please don't move you are severely injured." Lingling held him down and quickly took wet cloth to wipe the corners of his lips. Wu Yingyue grabbed Lingling's hand, his pale complex became whiter, and said weakly, "Find him... find him..."

Suddenly as if exhaustion drained him, everything went blur before his eyes darkened. Before he passed out, he heard the screams of Lingling and the others.

Wu Yinyue was seriously injured.

If the arrow had gone a little off, he could have died on the spot.

Even though his survival was a stroke of luck, the entire Imperial Hospital was busy for days, but he was still in a coma for a long time.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he summoned Lingling and Xue Lin,

"Your Highness, the people we sent out have returned... The bottom of the cliff is too deep, and we really can't get down. Even if we find the prince, I'm afraid his body will be gone." Lingling said as she bowed her head, unable to bear to see WU yingyue's expression at the moment, "The emperor is also sending people to look for him. Your Highness should stop making him unhappy."

"You mean, he just died like that?" Wu Yingyue leaned on the bed, his hands loosely grasped the quilt on his side, his forehead covered with cold sweat.

The room was warm, but he was still shivering from the cold.
"Your Highness..." Lingling wanted to comfort him but suddenly all words stuck in her mouth looking at his painful expression.

"I understand." Wu Yingyue closed his eyes. A tightness coiled in his chest, he felt uncomfortable and a little breathless.

"What did the emperor say about the memorial I submitted before?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Lingling, but even Xue Lin who was working on the stove paused, and everyone's voices lowered.

Wu Yingyue realized something was wrong. He opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Lingling. A suffocating guess slowly emerged in his mind but he still gritted his teeth and asked,

"Why are you not talking? I'm asking you a question!"

"Your Highness." As lingling remained silent. Xue lin finally couldn't take the suffocation in the room and he stepped forward, then dropped to his knees.

"The Emperor has ordered that all of Your Highness' arrangements...to be put on hold. The refugees... will not be resettled for the time being..."

"What do you mean?" Wu yingyue's lips were bloodless. He barely held on to his body and his eyes became full of blood.

"What do you mean by don't care? I... This prince had already made all arrangements, food and other disaster relief items, everything was ready. Why are they putting it off?"

Without a word, Lingling lowered herself beside Xue Lin. Then, with startling force, she bowed and struck her forehead hard against the ground. One by one, the others followed knees thudding against the floor

"The emperor said that His Highness has overstepped the limit."

Wu Yingyue's eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. The damp fishly rose in his mouth again as his head buzzed.

Overstepped? What a great sentence.

Wu yingyue's eyes spun, his chest was filled with blood, and he couldn't hold it back any longer, and coughed a mouthful of red. Lingling was startled, and hurried forward to support W yingyue.

Wu Yingyue lay against the head of the bed and his body frail beneath the silk sheets as eyes rimmed with crimson. A hollow laugh slipped from his lips,

"How could it come to this?" he murmured, "Overstepping? I am overstepping?... What does that even mean anymore? I've been asleep for what feels like a lifetime. Did I sin in my silence? Was absence itself a crime?"

He turned his gaze to the window,

"And the people..." His voice cracked. "How do they survive? What did they eat? Who mourned when no one was left to weep?"

Wu Yingyue's eyes watered, his vision blurred but he refused to show his weakness.

"Your Highness... Don't worry about it. The East Palace has been sealed off and there are guards everywhere." Lingling choked up and said,
"Your Highness, don't you understand? The Emperor... doesn't trust you anymore."

Wu Yingyue was not surprised by this outcome, he knew that the emperor was suspicious and had never trusted him as the prince. But he never expected that he would ignore tens of thousands of disaster victims for his own selfish reasons.

But what Wu ying yue didn't expect was still to come.

Lingling's voice was quiet, but each word struck like a hammer.
"Not only that," she said, eyes lowered, "the Emperor has added yet another tax. He claimed the snow was auspicious, a sign of abundance. He said a good harvest is certain, especially since His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, personally oversaw the rites." Her voice tightened. "So... adding another layer, he said, is only reasonable."

Wu Yingyue's expression shattered.
"Ridiculous!" he roared, his voice sharper than it had strength to be.

He lurched forward and blood splattered from his lips, staining the pale linen red. His body trembled violently, and still he gritted his teeth, fury boiling through his body.

"It shouldn't be like this... it can't be like this..."

His fists clenched around the sheets, veins standing out against his papery skin.

"Your Highness, please..." Lingling came forward to support him, her voice barely above a whisper, "Be careful with your words."

"The Eastern Palace is already surrounded. Every breath you take may already belong to the Emperor's ears". Lingling lowered her head and said,
"Your Highness, didn't you notice that someone is missing from your side?"

After being reminded by lingling, Wu Yingyue remembered that Guang Ze who had been following him was missing. He panicked for a moment, opened the quilt and was about to get out of bed. He clutched Lingling clothes and panted slightly,
"Where is he? Where is he? Where is Guang Ze!"

"Your Highness, go back and lie down. Don't move rashly... Eunuch Ze was originally a person close to the emperor. This time he just returned to the emperor's side."

But when her fingers brushed Wu Yingyue's arm, a chill raced through her. His skin was like ice, almost lifeless. No matter how she tried to warm him, the cold only deepened.

"Your Highness...?" her voice trembled. "What's wrong with you? Don't—don't scare me..."

Wu Yingyue sat stiffly on the bed, motionless for a long moment. Then, a hollow chuckle spilled from his lips.

"Someone... around my father?" he echoed, voice thin, he repeated, "Someone... around my father..."

He lowered his head, long hair slipping forward, hiding his eyes. One hand braced against the bed frame, trembling. His thin robes clung to him, barely shielding him from the bitter air, from the truth settling like frost on his bones.

"So he is someone close to my father. He has been by my side for so long and here I thought he was the only one by my side."

Wu Yingyue closed his eyes and quickly calmed down. No one knew what he was thinking. Wu Yingyue raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips, "It's good this way. At least this incident won't implicate him."

The emperor was very suspicious and had long been wary of the crown prince, so he had placed spies around him. Wu Yingyue was not surprised, but this person turned out to be Guang Ze, who had followed him for many years,the person who cared for him when everyone in the palace avoided him like plague. The only figure in his life who was like a parent to me, the one to support him, appreciate him... Wu Yingyue didn't know how to face it for a moment.

"Your Highness, don't be sad... No matter what happens, I will always be by your side." Lingling said.

Wu Yingyue leaned against the bed. The smell of incense in the room was a little strong, giving him a headache. He waved his hand and said,
"I want to rest."

Looking at his bad expression, Xue Lin nudged worried lingling on the side and everyone retreated from the room.

"What do you think you were doing?" As soon as everyone stepped outside, Xue Lin turned sharply and blocked Lingling's path.

"What were you thinking, Lingling?" he hissed, stepping closer. "Why provoke His Highness like that? Why stir his heart when he's already troubled?"

Lingling didn't flinch. She stood with her hands folded in front of her, eyes calm, "I only spoke the truth."

"The truth?" Xue Lin snapped, "He coughed blood, Lingling. He nearly collapsed in front of us. Is that what you wanted? To throw him back into despair when he hasn't even healed?"

Still, she didn't waver. Her voice came soft but dangerously composed.
"Do you think he has time to heal?"

Xue Lin stared at her, stunned.

"The palace is no longer what it was," she continued, "Every second he spends in ignorance is a second closer to his fall. If pain is the only thing that will wake him, then let it cut deep."

Her eyes finally met his,
"Would you rather let him slip into ruin?"

Xue Lin clenched his fists, his jaw tight. For a moment, he had no words. Lingling looked at him then passed him, without giving him another glance, "Liar."