Jingrui blinked, and tears slid down her chin. Yuansong was walking straight to his doom, and he was becoming a scapegoat for her. Every inch of her combusted with the need to stop him, yet she was restrained back by his power.

Yuansong, in her form, walked towards Lingyue's horrid figure. He pulled out a blade from within his sleeves and held it up. "You killed Consort Chen, and you deserve to die for it!"

Lingyue's smile widened. "Now, now, my dear, don't be impulsive. Be like a good dog and come to me. If you drop that knife now, I will let you live."

Yuansong's eyes glinted with threat, and he didn't heed Lingyue's words as he launched straight at her. His cultivation flowed from his body, blowing a furious gust of wind against the trees.

Jingrui held her sleeves in front of her eyes as the wind cut into her skin. The sound of steel against steel clashed into the night. Biting her dried lips, she dared herself to look past the hedges.

Yuansong struggled to fight off Lingyue who held a bloodthirsty smile.

"Don't make me use more of my strength, dear. It is tiring," she said as she nonchalantly swung her blade. "I'll give you one last chance. Will you leave with me, or will you insist on being an untamable child like your sister? Just be my weapon, and we can work together."

Yuansong growled, and his blow grew sharper and more precise. "You will never get to use me, peacock. My beloved Zhanying doesn't love me anymore. No matter what you do with me, he won't give a shit!"

The Empress Dowager's brows raised. "Oh? The Prince no longer cares for you?"

Yuansong sneered. "Of course not. I just stabbed him, how would he love me?"

Fire flared in Lingyue's cold eyes. "So, the bastard prince doesn't care for you." Her smile faded. "In that case, I don't need to keep a disobedient dog like you alive."

With that the Empress Dowager's strikes grew violent. The leaves by the hedges blew with the wind, almost stripping the leaves barren. The water within the lotus ponds stirred splashes onto the grass. Soil and debris whirled up into the air, and Jingrui coughed hard, waving her hands to clear it.

Within the mess of chaos, she heard a sickening screech coming from the crazed Empress Dowager. "How dare you?"

Jingrui peered through the wind. Lingyue was standing in front of Yuansong, gripping onto her bleeding shoulder in pain. Her fists clenched, and her voice lowered, carrying with it a deep menace. "You have the audacity to hurt me, little maid."

Yuansong flexed his muscles, trying to stay tough even though he was intimidated by the Empress Dowager's dark eyes.

With that, they clashed once more, except that this time, the Empress Dowager was like a demon gone berserk. Each strike shot fire, each movement spit poisons. Yuansong winced at Lingyue's sudden increase of strength. The tip of her blade cut through Yuansong's hanfu, tearing the skin by his shoulder apart.

Jingrui's heart pounded in her chest.

Lingyue laughed at him, and in a flash, her blade sliced down again. Jingrui screamed, but she couldn't hear herself. The world suddenly spun, red filled her vision as Yuansong's left arm severed off. His sickening growl pierced into the night. Blood formed a pool, and limb rolled by his feet

Jingrui whimpered as tears swam in her eyes. "No." She shook her head, her voice coming out as air and silence. The one who should experience the pain was meant to be her, and the one who should deal with the mess was meant to be her. Yuansong was not supposed to get hurt because of her.

And yet, right in front of her eyes, he was wilting away because of her.

The ferocious blade of the Empress Dowager drew straight into Yuansong's heart, and then she pulled it out without mercy. Tears blinded Jingrui's vision, and she screamed as Yuansong fell onto his feet. She tried to shoot up, but a force by her feet made her tumble back onto the ground. Sobs choked up her throat as she plopped down, feeling the night to be the darkest and longest night of her life.

Lingyue gasped as she looked down at Yuansong within the sludge of crimson. She took steps back, staring down at her red hands. "No. My pure hands are stained. It's not supposed to be stained!" she cried, and her blade dropped down onto the floor, dispelling on its own. She stumbled back, shaking her head. "Well then, now that you are dying, the truth will be buried here. Many people died in Heaven, and for an insignificant maid like you to die, is another norm. Farewell, little maid." She stared at her bloody hands, and unable to accept it, she spun around before vanishing into the air. The night was left engulfed with the thick silence once more.

It was only when Lingyue's presence couldn't be felt anymore that the force that glued her feet and mute her vanished.

Her limbs went weak, her heart squeezed in her chest, and tears stained her cheeks. She ignored the pain of her battered body as she hurried towards Yuansong. Smoke rose from his body as he returned to his real form, not having enough energy left to hold onto the transformation.

Scrambling against the slippery pools of blood, she fell onto her knees beside Yuansong's disfigured body. "Y-Yuansong," her voice shook as she held him onto her lap. Her thumb ran across his ashen face.

His eyes were dull as he blinked it to stay conscious. "Little maid," his voice cracked from his throat.

Her heart sank, and her countenance was robbed of colours. "Yuansong." Her sobs choked up her throat. She shook her head, refusing to believe he was losing his life. "I'll take you to the Floating Abyss. Prince Zhanying will definitely be able to save you."

His eyes were filled with tears, but he hardened his expression to stay tough. "Don't bother, little maid. I know well that I won't make it."

Jingrui shook her head again, and her hold on Yuansong tightened. "What are you saying? You can't just leave me like this. You can't leave me alone. . ."

His eyes were sad, and tears slid down his cheek. "I guess you have to serve the Prince alone from now... Promise me, Jingrui, promise me you'll look after His Highness for me."

Her tears fell against his decaying face. "Why are you like this? You are the strongest bodyguard I have ever known, why are you saying this? You can't die—I can't let you die because of me. If you die for me, how can I live on forgiving myself?"

He cracked a smile subdued by pain. His hands clamped onto hers. "Promise me. I don't want you and His Highness to sever ties forever. Even though I told you, I don't like you and His Highness being a thing, I know that you are the only one whom the Prince has ever been happy with."

The pain bloated her heart, threatening to explode. "Stop scaring me with these words. Y-You have to live. I'll call you 'sir' and I'll be good. I won't ever cause trouble again, and I will always follow your rules." She sobbed as she pressed her cheek against his cold hand. "You have to live to see me get married. . ."

He coughed blood, but a smile remained on his fading complexion. "Little maid. I know I've always been mean to you, and I've always told you I hate you, but . . . Do you know you are the best friend I ever had? I want you to always be happy." He choked on the red in his mouth, and at the tear that streamed down his face. "Promise me to look after His Highness well, and promise me to live and give him the antidote. Avenge my death too, that'd be nice. My true form is a golden lotus. Once I die, I will become a seed. Can you give me to His Highness and let him plant me somewhere that outlook the freedom of this world? Only this way, can I reincarnate."

Jingrui nodded and closed her eyes. "I promise."

He smiled and looked up towards the sky that was beginning to lighten. He let out a pained chuckle. "I have always been worried that one day, when you marry His Highness, I would have to become your subordinate you can order around. . ." His laugh scraped against his throat, and he choked on his tears. "But, I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore. . ." His tears ran as he watched the sun rise above the canopy of trees, plastering a faint flame across the sky.

He closed his eyes and smiled. "I didn't know dawn could be so beautiful."

With that, his body began to fade. Like specks of light, his body dissipated into the morning air, lighting up the sky, and all that was left in her hand was a golden lotus seed.