Night fell quickly, but many people found themselves unable to sleep. Ethan Chu, Lucian Vane, and Adrian Night gathered in a room, quietly discussing their plans. Of course, they kept their voices low, and before they began, they had already checked the place for eavesdroppers.
"Ivy wants to know about my eldest sister?" Ethan was puzzled by their question. Why would Ivy suddenly want him to ask about his big sister?
"We’re not sure either, but judging by Ivy’s expression, it must be important. She wouldn’t have us ask otherwise," Lucian said firmly. He trusted that Ivy wouldn’t bring up something random—though, honestly, he was pretty curious too.
Hearing this, Ethan Chu fell silent for a moment before speaking: "My eldest sister is incredibly kind and good-hearted. When I was a kid, no one in the palace cared about me—I was bullied all the time, and my brothers never helped. It was normal for me to go hungry for two or three days. But she was the only one who truly treated me well, always sneaking food to me. I never liked her mother, but she never stopped caring for me. I’ll never forget what she told me: ‘Even if you don’t like me, you’ll always be my little brother. We’re family, and nothing can change that.’"
"So what happened after that?" Lucian couldn’t help but ask, always curious about a good story.
"It went on like that for years. I didn’t truly accept her as my sister until much later—I thought she just pitied me, and it wouldn’t last. But she kept it up for so long, I finally recognized her from the heart and promised to protect her no matter what. Sadly, before I ever got the chance, my father used her as a bargaining chip and sent her off to the Soaring Phoenix Realm." Ethan’s eyes were full of sorrow as he finished speaking.
"Huh? But from what I’ve seen, your big sis seems pretty happy. Maybe Song Zhijue isn’t treating her too badly after all?" Lucian continued.
"Only they know for sure. But all the rumors from Soaring Phoenix say he treats her well, and every time I’ve seen her, she seems genuinely happy. I hope she really is," Ethan said, sounding hopeful.
Everyone fell silent for a moment. Now that they had the general idea, what was the next step?
"Did Ivy say anything else? Like, when she’s leaving? Or if she needs our help?" Ethan asked anxiously. He couldn’t go himself, so he had no idea what Ivy and the others had discussed.
Adrian Night threw up his hands in dramatic reassurance, eyes wide: "Seriously, chill! Ivy’s totally safe for now—Song Zhijue hasn’t clocked her at all. She told us to bail early, or we’ll just end up tripping over her master plan and get roasted alive. Trust me, she means business!"
"But... that guy..." Ethan Chu started, then froze, his face twisting into a meme-worthy grimace. The whole room could read his mind: Ugh, Song Zhijue, the walking disaster.
Lucian Vane slammed his fist into his palm, eyes blazing with snake-venom possessiveness. "Relax. I loaded Ivy up with my best defense poisons. If that creep even breathes near her, my babies will have him rolling on the floor, foaming at the mouth!" Just picturing Song Zhijue’s pervy face made Lucian want to bleach his eyeballs.
"So what now? If we can’t help Ivy, what are we even doing?" Ethan glanced at Adrian, his foot tapping a nervous rhythm, inner monologue going: Bro, if we just stand here, my hair’s gonna fall out from stress.
Adrian Night made a face like he’d swallowed a lemon. "Right now? We play dead. Ivy’s in there, and if we get caught snooping, she’ll go full nuclear—like, end-of-the-world-level rage. All we can do is wait and pray. Oh, and she said to hit up the Martial Conference; she’ll pop out soon." Honestly, Adrian’s hands were itching to sneak around tonight, but this was the biggest palace in the country, with security tighter than his grandma’s purse. One wrong move and Ivy would be sending them to the ER—emotionally.
Thinking about that Cliff Valley disaster still made Adrian’s legs shake like jelly. Nope, no way. If they couldn’t help, at least they wouldn’t make Ivy’s life harder—or get themselves killed trying!
"Adrian, once we pass the message to Ivy, let’s round up the gang and crash the Martial Conference!" Lucian rubbed his hands together, eyes sparkling like a kid about to hit the candy store. "Man, it’s been forever since I got to punch someone!"
"Heck yes! Time to plot our next epic move," Adrian nodded, throwing in a wink for good measure. Cue the group anime sparkles.
(Scene break omitted per guidelines.)
Right now, Ivy Shen sat by the lotus pond, one hand clutching her head dramatically as she replayed the day’s chaos. Her heart was all shook up for no reason, but the real nightmare? This place was like a giant escape room, danger lurking at every corner—and those three dudes were so reckless, she could already see the headlines: ‘Three Snake Husbands Accidentally Blow Up Imperial Palace!’
Tonight was the fifteenth—giant moon, lotus pond, and the whole lake shimmering like someone dumped a bucket of gold glitter. If this wasn’t peak romantic webnovel vibes, Ivy didn’t know what was.
"So many puzzles... This is turning into a hardcore escape room! If I don’t start cracking these codes, I’m gonna drown in drama," Ivy muttered, channeling her inner internet detective. First up: Lana Qiu and Crown Princess—were they friend, foe, or just professional cryptic texters? And why all the secret messages? My brain can’t take it!
"Aaaah... ahhh... ahhhhhh..." Just as Ivy was deep in galaxy-brain mode, a ghostly wail floated in, straight out of a horror game. Chills. Actual chills.
"What the heck was that?" Ivy frowned, instantly on high alert like a cat hearing the vacuum turn on.
The wind whipped through, making the lotus leaves flap like a thousand tiny flags, and the big trees around the pond rustled like they were gossiping. "Lalala... ahhh..." That sound kept sneaking in, all chilly and tragic, like the soundtrack to a sad anime episode. Ivy’s ears were getting a full drama download—hopelessness included.
Suddenly, Ivy clutched her chest, dramatic as a soap opera star. Why did her heart feel like someone was squeezing it with cold noodles?!
Who was this mystery singer? Why did their voice yank at her heartstrings like a K-drama OST?
(Meta note omitted per guidelines.)
"Ahhh... ahhh..." The sound kept floating in, and Ivy, brow furrowed, was straight-up getting hypnotized—step by step, like someone pressed the auto-walk button. Was this magic or just premium melodrama?
"Sheng’er..." The sudden shout hit Ivy like a jump-scare—she’d wandered all the way to the wall corner, totally spaced out. She spun around, heart thumping like a drum solo.
"Crown Prince?" Ivy blinked, brain buffering. Bro, why are you here at this ungodly hour? Suspicious!
Gavin Wang zoomed Song Zhijue forward like a Formula One pit crew. Ivy shivered—she’d been so deep in her own drama she hadn’t noticed them at all. Rookie mistake!
"Sheng’er, what are you doing here?" Song Zhijue flashed his best gentle-prince smile. He’d been up all night, haunted by her playful voice and cute grin. His mom wanted him to spend the night with Minister Huo’s daughter, but, plot twist: all he could think about was Ivy’s sassy face and killer smile. So he ditched Miss Huo and drag-raced over here for a midnight Ivy sighting. Priorities!
At this very moment, Song Zhijue finally unlocked the achievement: Lovesick Prince. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, haunted by Ivy’s smile—send help!
"Um, Crown Prince, did you hear it too? I swear I heard someone singing," Ivy asked, dialing her innocent mode to max. Cue the sparkly anime eyes.
"Singing? What singing?" Song Zhijue looked around, totally lost—like someone just asked him to solve calculus.
"No way, I just heard—wait, listen!" Ivy leaned in, dramatic pause loaded. Sure enough, the sad song floated by again, now in stealth mode, barely a whisper.
Song Zhijue’s face went full thundercloud. He snapped, "That lunatic!" No chill, zero filter.
"Huh? What?" Ivy blinked, fake confusion mode ON, even though she’d heard everything. Lunatic? Which lunatic? Suspense intensifies.
"Oh, it’s nothing. One of my dad’s old concubines—she went full drama queen ages ago and now just yells nonsense in the back palace," Song Zhijue waved, acting like it was no big deal. The definition of ‘not my problem.’
"Oh," Ivy nodded, but inside she was like: Yeah, right. If Song Zhijue’s nose got any longer, he’d be Pinocchio.
Suddenly, Song Zhijue leaned in, did the dramatic hand-to-mouth whisper, and ordered Gavin Wang, "Go shut that madwoman up!" Like, ASAP!
"Yessir, right away!" Gavin Wang saluted, then leaned in, voice low: "Want me to just off her? That monster’s dead, so the madwoman’s basically useless now. And honestly, her screeching is driving me nuts!"
Song Zhijue shot him a death glare—bro, too many words, not enough action! Gavin instantly shrank, neck turtle-mode: "Right away, Your Highness!"
Ivy was straight-up frozen, holding her breath like she was loading a save file. She’d heard every word, crystal clear. Plot twist unlocked!
And just like that, she finally got it—why her heart hurt, why she felt like she’d swallowed a cactus...
She finally understood why she’d been pulled along by that voice, like a moth to a flame, no logic required.
All because...
That voice...
It was her sister!
Sister!