For the next three days Yuelan was fairly busy getting to know some of the servants, taking lessons from the granny the emperor had sent her, and making sure that her courtyard and the main areas of the residence were cleaned and decorated in a way that suited her. For some reason, every time she thought she finally had a moment to rest either the first or second prince would come to visit her without notice. The first prince even arrived one evening just as Yuelan was going to get ready for bed, forcing her to stay awake later than she’d planned. It made her incredibly gumpy, but she didn’t want to be rude and make them all leave her alone (even if they were the ones being rude).

On the fourth day, Yuelan woke up feeling like her head was filled with cotton and she hadn’t gotten enough rest. She let her servants help her wash up and dress without any resistance, ate a breakfast she could hardly taste, and then went to sit in the garden by the koi pond she had found the day before. It was already full of fish and there was a bridge arching across the water as well as a couple of benches on the side of the pond. Yuelan opted for one of the benches.

Her feet stretched out in front of her, the pair of embroidered, silk slippers peeking out from beneath the simple gown she wore. A single hairpin held half her hair up while the rest flowed over the back of the bench in soft waves as Yuelan turned her face up toward the sun. Long He had mentioned he would be going back to the library for a few days the day before, so she didn’t expect to see anyone and hoped she’d get a chance to just relax.

Camphor was looking through the books the princes had sent over for the shops Yuelan had been given, so Willow and Laurel sat nearby chatting quietly and keeping an eye on Yuelan in case she needed anything.

Just as the sun was starting to make Yuelan doze off a servant rushed over to the trio. “Miss, His Highness the first prince has arrived to visit!” he called.

Yuelan sighed and started to stand up. A wave of dizziness hit her and she nearly fell down, but was caught by her two maids. Willow and Laurel waited until Yuelan was steady before they let go and they stayed on either side of her with worried expressions as Yuelan headed for the main hall. “Isn’t morning court still going?” she asked her servants.

The servant who had come to make the announcement bowed slightly. “Morning court was dismissed early,” he explained. “His Highness informed us he was passing by on his way home from morning court and thought he would stop and visit Miss.”

“I see…” Yuelan let out another sigh and lifted a hand to her head, which was starting to ache.

“Is Miss alright?” Willow asked. The concerned maid lifted a hand to touch the backs of her fingers against Yuelan’s forehead. “Miss, you have a fever! Perhaps we should ask His Highness to come back another time…”

“It’s fine. He’s a member of the imperial family, so we can’t just ask him to leave,” Yuelan disagreed. She obviously wasn’t thinking clearly, or she’d have remembered that they didn’t outrank her and she could just kick them out any time she wished.

Willow frowned and glanced over at Laurel, who gave a slight nod.

“This servant is going to go see if Camphor needs any help with the books,” Laurel volunteered. “Unless Miss needs me to stay?”

Yuelan waved her hand. “No, it’s fine. Go ahead and help Camphor.”

Laurel bowed and headed in the direction of Yuelan’s office where Camphor was working. It happened to be close to the front gate, but Yuelan’s mind was too muddled for her to think anything of it or the look that Willow had given Laurel.

***

As soon as Laurel was out of sight of Yuelan and Willow she headed out the gates and straight for Heping Palace to find the third prince. The guards let her in without question and one took her to where Guangfeng was standing on the bridge going over his own koi pond.

When he heard footsteps approaching Guangfeng looked up and he frowned when he spotted Laurel. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Why aren’t you with Miss Long?”

Laurel knelt in front of the prince. “This servant begs Your Highness’ forgiveness. Our Miss has fallen ill. Their Highnesses the first and second princes have come to visit Miss several times over the past three days and Miss has hardly had time to rest. Miss has a fever today and His Highness the first prince came to visit. Our Miss doesn’t feel she can send him away and hasn’t the time to rest. We servants worry that perhaps Miss will push herself too far if she doesn’t receive help!”

Guangfeng frowned. “I see.” He looked over at the servant who had been standing beside him. “Go and fetch the box that was delivered yesterday. We’ll be going to Crystal Moon residence.”

The servant bowed and headed off at a swift pace.

Laurel leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the ground. “This servant thanks Your Highness the third prince for coming to our Miss’ aid!”

“You can get up. We’ll see how the three of you have done with your observations when I give Miss Long the gift I’ve arranged. You did well coming to get me to chase away my oldest brother.” He pulled a talisman out. “Take this to the imperial palace and request for a physician to come to examine Miss Long.”

Laurel jumped to her feet, took the talisman, and ran out of Heping Palace to obey the order.

***

Yuelan sat in her seat, listening to the first prince rattle on about something she couldn’t really comprehend as her headache continued to get worse. She took a sip of tea every once in a while and tried to make herself look like she was paying attention. Her fever was getting worse and chills had set in, though Yuelan put in quite a bit of effort into hiding them.

The first prince had been there for over an hour when Chung Soo appeared and announced that this time the third prince had arrived. Yuelan’s first thought was, Don’t these princes have anything better to do?! She set her teacup down and started to get up. Willow quickly stepped in to assist her and keep her steady.

Prince Guangfeng took one glance at Yuelan and frowned for a moment before speaking: “Miss Long looks quite exhausted and I’m sure you’ve been busy getting your new residence in order, so I won’t stay long,” he said calmly. “I came to deliver a gift.” At his gesture the servant beside him stepped forward and held up a carved, wooden box.

Willow helped Yuelan sit down before taking the box from the servant. She then gently placed the box in Yuelan’s lap.

Yuelan opened the box and inhaled sharply. The bracelet she had seen in the accessory shop was nestled inside. Her hand reached in to stroke the bracelet before she lifted it out and gave Guangfeng a small smile. Because of her fever, there were tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Your Highness. It probably wouldn’t mean much to you, but my mother had a similar bracelet when I was small. I broke it on accident one day when I was playing with it. This gift is quite meaningful to me.”

Prince Guangfeng smiled back at her and bowed his head politely. “I am glad that Miss Long appreciates it so much. There are stories that say that the stones in that bracelet can have healing properties. I hope they help Miss Long recover quickly.” He turned his attention to Prince Guangfai. “We should let Miss Long rest, oldest brother. How about we leave together?”

The first prince stood up. “I didn’t realize that Miss Long was not feeling well. I apologize if my visit was inconvenient.” He smirked. “Third brother is much more skilled at dealing with women than I am. I haven’t had the pleasure of playing around like he has.”

Yuelan did not miss the implication, but didn’t have the energy to respond. She had Willow help her up and salute the two princes. “I apologizes for not escorting Your Highnesses out, but I truly feel unwell and should return to my room to rest.”

The princes nodded to her and headed out of the residence.

Yuelan walked out of the main hall and started heading toward her courtyard. Not far away she could see Prince Guangfeng had stayed behind and was speaking to a middle-aged man who stood next to Laurel. She turned away and continued walking. After just a few steps her vision went black and she swayed. A girl shrieked next to her as Yuelan passed out.