It was a little past mid-night when the pair made it to the Eastern palace. Shen Yexue was already waiting for them with a deep frown etched into her face.

"Why are we letting him see her?" Shen Yexue asked Lieyin who was playing with a dagger beside her.

"It’s the only way we can get him to communicate." Yexue looked at her sister then, "why does it matter to you?"

Shen Yexue looked away. "He just gets on my nerves with that smug face of his. Qingyue better be sure of what she’s doing."

"When has she ever failed us?" Shen Lieyin asked.

Half of her attention was in the conversation, the other half trying to figure out the worst case scenario for everyone involved.

"Have you looked into finding the maid in the village?" She elaborated when Yexue looked at her with confusion blanketing her face, "the one that helped the Empress with the poison."

"Oh—" she looked away, her cheeks heating up. She’d been so engrossed with helping Ru Yi heal completely that she’d forgotten about her mission. "I’ll go to the village tomorrow."

Shen Lieyin was about to lecture her on how it was bad to ignore one’s duties when footsteps approached them.

Zhao Chen and Shen Qingyue stopped in front of them.

The crown prince was at high alert, knowing how easy and fast the triplets could turn on him in an instant.

"I don’t want any trouble," he immediately said when Yexue glared at him. "I’m just here to make sure Ru Yi is okay as agreed."

Shen Yexue hated the prickly feeling right under her ribs as she stepped aside and let the group enter her chamber. If it was left to her, the prince would never even stand a mile away from Ru Yi.

Ru Yi was sleeping soundly on Yexue’s bed, her dark hair spreading out on the soft pillow. She looked peaceful, all the tension she usually wore on her form had dissipated.

The crown prince rushed to the bed, about to throw his arms around her when Shen Yexue suddenly grabbed him.

"What do you think you’re doing?" she asked, "keep your filthy hands to yourself."

Shen Qingyue and Lieyin shared a look.

"He’s just making sure she’s okay," Qingyue assured her. "And this might be an informal setting but respect his title. He’s the crowned prince."

Shen Yexue released her grip but she didn’t let him through. "He can do that without touching her. I don’t want him waking her up."

Shen Qingyue sighed, "That’s not the issue right now. Zhao Chen, I’m sure you can confirm now that she’s alive and all. You know what to do if you want it to keep being that way."

The crown prince gulped. "Can I at least hug her?"

Yexue was about to protest when Qingyue shook her head, then mouthed, ’behave’, to her.

Zhao Chen bent down at the edge of the bed, sharp eyes peering into Ru Yi’s face. This was the most serene she has looked in a long time, he wished he could make sure it remained this way forever.

Soon.

He stretched his hand out, brushing the side of her face with the back of his knuckles. He was going to protect this little family of his, even though it meant going against his mother.

After all, she’d made it clear that she cared more about the power he held than him as her only child. At the end of the day she was using him, just like everyone else.

Except Ru Yi. She was the only one that ever saw the trapped man hiding behind his perceived power. She’d made him know what it meant to be finally seen, he wasn’t going to lose that.

Zhao Chen retracted his hand before strengthening up. "The Empress will be serving the Emperor tea tomorrow, a little bit before midnight. I can get you into her chambers then."

"How do we know you’re not lying? This could be a trap for all we know," Lieyin said from where she had her back pressed against the wall.

"I would never risk Ru Yi’s life. Not even for the Empress," Zhao Chen replied, a tick in his jaw. "While we’re at it, I have another preposition. Help me win the court trial, and I’ll do anything in return." He looked at Ru Yi.

Shen Qingyue clasped her hand on his shoulder. "How about we take it one step at a time? We’ll consider another deal with you after tomorrow."

Zhao Chen nodded. At least it was a rejection.

"If that’s all..." Yexue pointed to the door. "I’ll see you all out but I’m too tired."

"We still have something to discuss," Qingyue said, "after the crown prince leaves of course."

Zhao Chen already knew he wasn’t welcome so he left without a word, shutting the door quietly after himself.

Qingyue waited until his footsteps stopped echoing down the corridor. "We’ll be going together tomorrow."

"Why?" Shen Lieyin asked, "we usually only work in pairs."

It was a habit they’d fallen into without being fully conscious of it. At first Qingyue had seen it as a defense tactic, in the sense that if a mission ever went wrong, at least one of them would survive.

"One person will need to stand outside to keep watch," Qingyue explained. "Her residence is heavily guarded, it would be pure delusion to think it would go smoothly."

They nodded their heads in agreement.

"And what about the maid?" Shen Lieyin asked, "do we just hand her over to Zhao Chen?"

Qingyue nodded. "She has served her purpose. What Zhao Chen does with her is none of our business, we’ll simply hand her over. We have everything the princess recorded while she was investigating the Empress. All we need to do is find evidence that her death is tied to the Shen Lihua."

"You think it was the Empress that killed her?"

"It’s the only thing that makes sense. Lin Yuexin must’ve dug too deep and found out something really threatening to the Empress."

"What could it be?" Yexue mused. "You don’t think it has anything to do with that night?"

Shen Qingyue and Lieyin looked at each other.

The night in question was the Crimson Court incident, the night the former Empress—their mother, was assassinated.

Qingyue and Lieyin never talked about it with Yexue because they wanted to protect her from that dreadful memory.

They’d all been little kids but Qingyue was the one that always looked out for them, thinking it her duty as the first.

It was bad enough that Lieyin had been awake that night. But knowing that Yexue who had been asleep at the time didn’t remember all the gory details gave her some relief. She’d hate to know that their youngest was battling the same demons that she did every night.

Some days all she could see was the blood, other times it was their mother’s face—twisted in anger, begging Qingyue to keep her sisters safe.

"It might be," Qingyue finally answered, "we just need to find the documents Shen Lihua confiscated. Everything might be linked." And it might give them answers on why Shen Lihua had murdered their mother in cold blood.