The moon shines so brightly in the night sky. The entire imperial palace is serene only to be interrupted with hurried steps of an imperial official. It was Princess Yin Xiulan's trusted subordinate and confidant, Lieutenant General Liu Chen.
His sweat is forming on his forehead and his heartbeat is getting faster as he gets closer to the Lotus Hall. It's either because he's running as fast as he could or he's nervous about how the princess general would react once she learns that the Empress disappeared in the princess' room back at the Department of Justice.
Meanwhile, in the Lotus Hall, Prince Yin Wenyan, Princess Yin Xiulan, and Eunuch Xu Zhengming are present. Emperor Yin Renshu was secretly transported into the emperor's hall. And in there, he is peacefully sleeping. Regaining the energy he lost.
The three are silently sitting on the round table in the middle of the hall. No one speaks, and the awkward atmosphere around them seems unbreakable.
Everything that happened earlier, except for the fact that two emperors appeared at the same time, was explained to Xu Zhengming by the princess general. She also told him his true condition. That he is infected by this strange illness that turns people into vicious blood-thirsty monsters. Right after his thirst got quenched, she explained that he lost consciousness.
Xu Zhengming sighs silently. His brain is overflowing with strange information. He can't even fully understand his current state, how can he accept it all?
In just one glance, the changes in Xu Zhengming's appearance are evident. His pair of canine teeth is slightly showing from his lips. His irises turned red as well. His fingernails got longer and sharper however they seem to get solved by just cutting it. There's no way he can show himself to the public like this.
The silly eunuch cries internally. How come the most good-looking man in town turned into a resentful beast? He recalls the reflection he sees in the mirror moments ago. Even though his fangs are showing and his eye color changed, he could say that he's still handsome but can he let the public see him like this? Of course not! And now that he learns that his lifespan is cut shorter than expected, does he have to spend the rest of his life away from the warmth of the sun? No flirting until his last breath? If he only knew this unfortunate day would come, he could have flirted as much as he can!
"Eunuch Xu..." The prince is the first one to break the ice. "Don't worry. You can still be treated."
Prince Yin Wenyan turns to his sister. He's silently asking her to help him somehow cheer the silly eunuch. Princess Yin Xiulan on the other hand is too lost in her wild imagination. She's just staring at the ceiling and even grinning without knowing it. The prince fakes a cough that drags the princess back to reality.
"Huh?" She looks at her brother with a confused look. Prince Yin Wenyan, on the other hand, gestures to speak to Xu Zhengming.
The princess forced a laugh and said, "Uh... yes. Eunuch Xu still looks fine. Your appearance is umm..." The princess looks at the eunuch for a while and smiles, "Valiant. You look valiant. Yes, I think Eunuch Xu is now good-looking."
Xu Zhengming's face brightens up. With a pair of almond eyes looking excitedly towards her, he asked full of hope, "Am I the princess' type?"
"Pffft... no. But my brother---" She didn't manage to finish her sentence as Prince Yin Wenyan clears his throat. He throws a meaningful look at her sister. The princess got what he meant and immediately shut her mouth. That was close! She was about to recklessly reveal his brother's hidden thoughts.
Xu Zhengming looks at Prince Yin Wenyan then back to Princess Yin Xiulan. He slightly tilted his head, and with a puzzled look on his face, he asked the princess, "What about his majesty, your highness?"
"What I was saying was..." Princess Yin Xiulan isn't sure what to say but she let her mouth sprout random words anyway. "My brother... What my brother said is correct."
Xu Zhengming isn't satisfied with this but he didn't say anything further. He's not in the position to ask her in the first place.
Prince Yin Wenyan leads a serious conversation, "The truth is I found the herb that can cure you but I was careless. It slipped on my hand." He rises from his seat and headed closer to the nearest circular window. He looks up to the moon along with the stars. The dim glow of the moonlight reflected on his gentle face. Without breaking his gaze from the moon above, he continued. "I only have to retrieve it from the empress dowager."
"The empress dowager?" Now, Xu Zhengming got even more confused. Why is the empress dowager involved? Did she take the herb that his majesty was talking about? If so, why would she do that?
"How will you do that?" Princess Yin Xiulan rises from her seat as well.
"I'll sneak into her palace. If it's not there, I'll probably check the grand empress dowager's hall as well. She can't keep holding it 24 hours every day, right?" He replies.
The princess slowly shakes her head. "That's dangerous."
This time, Prince Yin Wenyan finally faced himself with the two. "I know. But we are running out of time and that's the fastest way."
"I know but..." Princess Yin Xiulan didn't continue what she was saying. She knows that his brother knows as much.
The prince smiles weakly. "I will be careful."
Princess Yin Xiulan replied, "The last time you said that the empress dowager saw through you."
Her brother reassured, "That wouldn't happen again."
The princess walks closer to her brother and whispers near his ear. "At least let me or Renshu do that. You've done more than enough. I'm sure Renshu is willing to do so for Lin-dage's son. Also, he let Eunuch Xu to..."
The princess could feel her cheeks is getting warm again. She tries to suppress herself but the grin on her lips is unstoppable.
"..." For some reason, Prince Yin Wenyan got somehow annoyed with how his sister behaved. Didn't she just assume that he likes the eunuch? Why is it now she's like this when she recalls what happened to Xu Zhengming and their brother? 
Prince Yin Wenyan parted his lips and was about to say something back to her sister when a voice of a man coming from the main door of the hall sounded.
"General! Is your highness around?"
"It's Liu Chen." Princess Yin Xiulan turned herself to face the main door. In a loud voice, she responded. "I am here. What is it?"
Liu Chen answers immediately, "I am here for an urgent report!"
Her face turns into a serious one. She then turns her head to the prince and said in an audible voice. "What urgent report is there this time?"
Prince Yin Wenyan shrugs and says to her sister, "You better let him come in."
She faced the main door once again and said in a loud voice. "Acknowledged, come in."
The door slides open and the lieutenant-general enters the Lotus Hall. As soon as he steps inside, he closes the door and hurried in front of the princess. He then kneels before her with his head lowered.
"Your majesty, general, this subordinate is bidding you a good evening." He greeted.
The princess general asks, "What is so urgent this time?"
"The empress..." Lieutenant General Liu raises his head. Fear filled his eyes. "Her highness is missing."
"She must have escaped when we aren't around!" She glares at the poor officer. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?"
"It's my fault, general. I deserve death!" The poor official trembles as he kowtows before the enraged princess.
The general raised her left eyebrow as she looks down on the pitiful official.
"Death? I won't let you get away so easily. Are you planning to pass the responsibility of looking for her on me? Find the empress. NOW!"
"Right away, general!" Lieutenant General Liu Chen didn't waste any more time and immediately turns his back and left the Lotus Hall.
"I thought we can finally trust her. Now, look! She escaped just like that! After you show kindness to her, she didn't even value it." Princess Yin Xiulan started to complain.
She even put her hands on her hips and walks back and forth. Actually, there's always this feeling that she doesn't seem to like the empress. The empress didn't offend her yet in any way. Yin Xiulan can't explain it. It's just she feels like she doesn't like her the first time they saw each other. Empress Xue Chi isn't aware of this, by the way.
"I don't think that's the case." Prince Yin Wenyan thinks deeper about it. "She was so scared when she told us what we asked. It seems someone is giving her threats."
Recalling how those eyes begged for help with the fear of speaking out her thoughts, there must be someone controlling her. Someone who has a higher authority than the emperor. As for the moment, there's no one in the imperial palace that has more political powers than the grand empress dowager.
And here's where the confusion enters. The empress only mentioned the empress dowager. Is the empress telling the truth or just trying to deceive them? Just who is the person they have to trust and worry about?
"Uh... yes, of course." The princess replies. "I mean, you straggled her. And by 'this someone' you talk about, are you perhaps talking to yourself?"
The prince, "..."
The silly eunuch, "..."
Xu Zhengming is just silently listening to them. He couldn't picture out the gentle and sometimes grumpy emperor getting too far as to strangle his own wife.
The emperor clears his throat and completely ignores what his sister just said. "What I am saying is that there must be someone behind all of this." He looks at her with a serious face and continued, "I suspect the grand empress dowager the most."
Her highness' face brightens up a little as she asks, "Are we going against her?"
Prince Yin Wenyan turns his body to face the circular window once again. He looks up to the moon and says, "If things go worst, we will use force to get rid of her political authority. Prepare your men."
The princess grins widely and her eyes glimmer. "Certainly, Commander-in-Chief! I am getting excited over this."
Personally, the princess thinks it's not right for the grand empress dowager to still have her hands on the political affairs in the imperial court. The old empress' reign should have ended up two generations ago! She should have let their late father rule over for his entire reign like how she should let her brother rule over his time.
Another thing is that, why would she keep Yin Wenyan's identity hidden? She understands that her intention is to keep the reign going even if something bad happens to Yin Renshu by secretly letting Yin Wenyan replace him. However, Yin Xiulan thinks that, if Yin Renshu couldn't rule over the empire anymore, they would just let Yin Wenyan ascend to the throne, right? Just as simple as that! They do not have to do something so cruel to Yin Wenyan as to keep him hidden. It must be lonely on the prince's side.
Could it be that the grand empress dowager thinks in a complicated way or she has a hidden intention behind these?
The princess thought, if they finally get rid of their grandmother's authority over political matters and transferred to the current emperor, she would suggest her brothers let Yin Wenyan's identity be known to others.
For the time being in the grand empress dowager's hall, the old empress is still up even though it's getting late. She's still sitting on the couch inside her secret room in her hall while facing the two memorial tablets on the altar. The incense sticks that she erected near the tablets are about to reduce to ashes, and so she rises from her seat to replace them with new ones. This is the third time she's replacing it. The grand empress dowager refuses to sleep as she is waiting for someone to arrive in her hall at this late time.
"Grand Empress Dowager, this is me." The voice of the empress dowager sounded coming behind the door.
"I've been waiting for you. Come in."
As the grand empress dowager demands, the door slides open and two figures of that of women enters the room. One conscious and one with her head hanging low. One wears a luxurious dress, and one wears a black cloak.
The grand empress dowager turns her head in their direction. With an indifferent look on her face, she asks, "No one noticed you, right?"
"No one sees me as I took the empress. However, the room where she's confined is guarded heavily. The guards must have alarmed by now and the emperor must have informed already." The empress dowager replies as she lays the empress down on the cold floor.
"It doesn't matter. We won't let them find her then." She then gives a smile to the empress dowager then looks at the unconscious empress. "I see. Your hunting skills are as spectacular as ever. You never fail to amaze me."
"You flatter me, your highness." The empress dowager smiles in return.
This is what makes the Liaodong Xue Sect scarier. The hunting skills that their disciples possess are just worth praising for. This is how they capture those innocent passersby to be their subject of experiments.
"Well then... I guess we should wake her up now." The grand empress dowager picks up the bottle of wine on the altar. She opens it as she walks closer to the laying empress.
Without any word, she pours the wine on the empress' face. All of it, including the very last drop in the bottle.
The empress, of course, wakes up because of that. She instantly rises into a sitting position and gasps for air. She looks around and finds herself in an unfamiliar place. She wanders her eyes around and sees the empress dowager on her side and the grand empress dowager looking down on her.
Recalling what happened before she lost her consciousness, the last thing she remembers is that she heard the empress dowager's voice behind her back in the princess' quarters in the Department of Justice.
Her eyes widen and her throat seems to be dry. She parted her lips to speak but she can't find the right words to say. Her heart beats too loud that she can't think straight. Fear dominated on her core. The only thought that pops out into her mind is that "Didn't his majesty tell me not to worry? Didn't he say he'll cover me? And that I can trust him? Why did he let this happen? They'll kill me... these two old women will kill me!"
"Why do you look so terrified? You should be happy that we helped you escape from them." The grand empress dowager crouches to level her gaze with the empress'. The smile on her face doesn't look friendly to her, in fact, it only scares her more. "Is it because you told him some unnecessary things about us? Is it because you changed your mind and joined their side? Or is it both? Is that why you look so scared right now? You're too confident that those twins would defend you with their lives and so you did not hesitate to reveal our plan to them?"
The empress' breathing becomes heavy however, no matter she gasps for air she still feels like she's suffocating. She shakes her head several times.
"No, no. Please believe me. I didn't tell them anything about your plans. Please spare me, your highness."
The grand empress dowager laughs. "How can you assure that you are not lying to us? Don't tell me that you and your majesty just shared a teapot of jasmine tea and didn't speak the entire time."
"Please trust me, your highness. The emperor and the first princess didn't stay there for too long and left the room. In fact, they are more concerned with his majesty's sick eunuch. They left me there to attend to him."
"Eunuch, huh." The grand empress dowager laughs again. "I can't believe the emperor values his eunuch more than his empress!" And in an instant, her laughing face turned into a cold one. "I am not confident anymore. We need to take the emperor down."