After a half-month"s journey, among the oscillating weather conditions, they finally arrived at the gates of the glorious imperial palace of Qu Liu.

Su Xin was surrounded by a crowd of servants and advisers alike welcoming their emperor.

Once they had settled inside the palace, Qu Feiqing gave Su Xin a brief account of her role in the household and directions towards her given place of residence. After that, the emperor was then out of sight, thrown into her usual busy affairs as the emperor inside the palace. Leaving Su Xin alone by herself once more.

Nevertheless, Su Xin was not neglected. She was given pleasant accommodation by good people.

She spent her first days in the palace idly. There wasn"t anything to do to kill time but sit and gaze.

At this rate Su Xin thought she"d be growing molds. It drove her to the brink of insanity.

Different from an emperor"s usual customs, Qu Feiqing"s palace was clean of concubines in the harem. However, if one would think about it, how could a proud person be under the ministrations of a man, be intimate with him and bear him a child? It simply doesn"t feel right to think about it.

Master Fourteen, I"m really going to rot here.

Su Xin wailed at Fourteen. She hadn"t seen Qu Feiqing for ten days, ten whole agonizing days!

Qu Fei was too busy to see anyone and it"s like she had forgotten that Su Xin even existed, or brought back from another country.

Finally, in the evening, Su Xin received an important notice from the system.

[Host, just a friendly tip. Mission target is in a corner drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Be quick and follow this leak.]

I"m not a plumber.

[Stop fooling around. Just go.]

The card, resembling a GPS device, was clearly makes.h.i.+ft from Fourteen"s own innovation and Su Xin had a hard time discerning it for a little while. Luckily, Fourteen dutifully provided instructions but made sure to let his host do her part. It was her battle after all, not his.

Su Xin didn"t desire to alarm anyone so she ran out quietly.

After series of twists and turns, Su Xin found herself getting deeper and deeper to the maze-like roads outside the imperial palace until she reached a remote area.

It looked dark and abandoned, but Su Xin was not terrified of darkness.

She continued to sneak through the deserted pathways, her footsteps making a rhythmic pit-pattering sound.

The card indicated that she had finally arrived at Qu Feiqing"s location and it vanished into thin air.  The place looked cold and ghostly, Su Xin turned around but didn"t see Qu Feiqing but rather caught a whiff of an acrid scent, obviously wine, in the air.

Su Xin followed the smell which led her in front of a deserted palace. It looked like a cold palace from her tv shows. Yet, what was more striking was the lone figure sitting on the ground surrounded by hip flasks.

Qu Feiqing was mindlessly pouring wine down her throat, expressionless. She must have turned to wine to vent out her repressed frustrations.

Aware of the sudden intrusion, Qu Feiqing raised her head with a grim expression. She didn"t want anyone to see her in a state like this.

"How did you find me here?" She was trying to be intimidating, but it all came out in a slow slur.

"If I say I was just casually roaming around and accidentally saw you, would you believe me?"

"Go." Commanded Qu Feiqing in a harsh tone that would make anyone shrink. Although she was quite fond of Su Xin, there was a line she didn"t have to cross.

She was a fierce lion. When aggravated, she was not a person someone should bang heads with. At any moment, she could snap and throw down her prey to gnaw on its flesh.

Despite this, what are the odds in a million that someone was actually foolishly brave enough to meet head first with the lion? One who didn"t know fear and specially, one who desired another chance at life.

Su Xin was not leaving, instead, she was getting closer and closer.

“I want you to get lost!” Qu Feiqing"s voice broke.

She was filled with such heavy emotions that she couldn"t even put the cool exterior she always wore in the presence of many.  

In the next moment, she was enveloped in a warm, tight hug.

T/N: Prepare yourselves for the next few chapters. Mwahaha