“Are there herbs that are difficult to acquire?”

“I believe it’s going to take too long to rely only on medicine,” said Oleg Cragfiend. “It’s better that we give her psychological stimuli as well.”

He hadn’t gone into the specifics, but Nan Xun immediately figured out what the poison master was suggesting. He widened his eyes, still reeling from what the old man had proposed. Oleg Cragfiend understood his concerns. He told him to take some time to consider.

Nan Xun returned to the back garden like a walking corpse. Not far from him was Jun Huang’s residence, but he didn’t close the distance. He couldn’t. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as soon as he thought about what he was going to do to Jun Huang.

“I’ve heard your discussion with the old master, Your Highness,” the lead shadowguard said as he emerged from the dark. “I agree with him. It’s said that the most effective way to cure a poison is to cancel its effect with another poison. Perhaps that’ll be enough to restore Miss Jun Huang’s memory.”

Nan Xun smiled wryly and lowered his eyes. “But why should she experience the heart-wrenching pain again? She’s been victimized too many times. She doesn’t deserve it. I don’t want to cut open her wound and make her hurt again.”

The shadowguard fell silent. He wasn’t sure what to say. Nan Xun sighed and looked up at the bright moon. His heart knew what he had to do, but his mind was filled with a tangled mess of thoughts.

“Send two teams to Eastern Wu. We’ll plan as we go.” Nan Xun acquiesced. Jun Huang had been without her memory for too long. It was time he got it over with.

The shadowguard knew Nan Xun was conflicted. Without a word, he vanished into the dark. Two groups of men departed from the manor and made their way to Eastern Wu.

The next few days, Jun Huang could feel the tension in the air, but she didn’t know what the cause was. Nan Xun seemed to be keeping secrets from her. When asked, though, he insisted that she’d been overthinking.

Jun Huang stopped asking. During her free time, she’d send for a performing troupe and watch a show in the back garden. Oleg Cragfiend and Nan Xun weren’t sure if her indifference was a good thing or a bad thing.

Today, Jun Huang had spent her day watching a play. It was satisfying, and it drained her enough that she quickly fell asleep at night, oblivious to the world.

In the study, Nan Xun and the others discussed how they were going to re-enact the attack on Western Que’s palace. They knew there was no room for mistakes. They had to do this right.

“What if something goes wrong?” Yin Yun was hesitant. He didn’t want to risk Jun Huang’s safety.

After a pause, Nan Xun said in a serious tone, “We’ve planned for everything. I won’t allow anything to go wrong. It’s a show. No one is getting hurt.”

“Aren’t you worried that…”

Nan Xun’s expression was tight. He forced himself to calm down. “We’ve got to this point. There’s no going back no matter how worried we are. Whatever happens, you mustn’t stop. If you do, our efforts will be all for nothing. Worse, Oleg Cragfiend has said Jun Huang’s defense mechanism may kick in if we don’t do this right. Then she’s never going to recover her memory.”

Yin Yun nodded without a word and took Jun Hao out for preparation. Nan Xun sat at the desk, his fingers trembling.

This was it. One misstep, and gone was her chance of recovery.

Jun Huang had thought she’d be able to sleep until the day broke since she’d been graced with a reprieve from her headache. It’d been a while since she had a good night’s sleep.

“Kill!”

“Ugh! Who are you? How did you get in?”

“Agh!”

Clink! The sounds of blades clashing came from outside her room. Jun Huang had always been a light sleeper. The noises jerked her out of her sleep. She listened to the commotion, her heart pounding and her temples throbbing. Her back was covered in cold sweat.

Her face paled. It took some time for her to make sure that this was real. She wasn’t dreaming. The noises weren’t just in her head.

A maid rushed in. “Princess, you have to get up now. We must leave.”

Jun Huang widened her eyes and looked around for Nan Xun. Her face went even paler when she didn’t spot him. Her muscles grew taut when she saw the fire outside through the crack of the door. The fact that the maid had called her princess confused her. She passively let the maid drag her out of the room.

Nan Xun’s heart ached when he saw her expression from where he was hiding. He wanted to hold her, comfort her, but Oleg Cragfiend stopped him.

“Don’t.” Oleg Cragfiend shook his head.

Nan Xun felt a lump in his throat. Jun Huang had told him about her dreams of the destruction of her homeland. The nightmares had been plaguing her for half a month. And here they were, forcing her to relive her worst nightmare. The guilt was a heavy weight over Nan Xun’s conscience.

Oleg Cragfiend didn’t allow him the time to wallow. He dragged him to follow Jun Huang and the maid.

Jun Huang didn’t know where Nan Xun was. Listening to the killings and watching the blazing torches, she wanted nothing but to break out of the maid’s grip, but she didn’t have the strength to do that. She didn’t know what she’d see next. She had no choice but to follow the maid.

Through the winding hallway, they reached an extravagant building. Jun Huang’s pupils contracted as her gaze settled on the man standing in the main hall.

It was her brother, the fifth prince of Western Que.

The prince had hoped that the emperor of Eastern Wu would give him a bright future, but he faded into obscurity after the emperor’s failure. He had lost all his power.

That was when Nan Xun’s men found him. They took him to Northern Qi and promised him reward if he helped them put on the show.

The fortune practically fell into his lap. There was no reason for him to say no. He agreed to play his part.

Within the palace, the fifth prince laughed without restraint, leveling the couple on the throne with a venomous glare.

“Hahaha, you didn’t expect things to turn out this way, did you?”