A bone-piercing wind chilled her heart like a rope had suddenly ended her life.

"Master..." Pingting gritted her teeth, finally managing to say, "You're suspicious of me?"

"You plotted against Chu Beijie and gained valuable time for Gui Le. You are good person. I believe in you." He Xia raised his head, closing his eyes. Then he opened his eyes and asked softly, "But Pingting, do you believe in yourself?"

Those seven words shocked her.

Pingting was completely shocked. Pain and disbelief was written all over her face.

"What are you saying?" Pingting choked out, after her voice had returned.

He Xia didn't answer her question, "What are you clutching onto?"

"Departed Soul," Pingting replied, "You gave it to me."

"No, Chu Beijie gave you that." He Xia sighed, "If you had rejected Departed Soul last time, I would have had the slightest trace of hope. I hoped that you wouldn't have lost your soul and reason to Chu Beijie. But you accepted it. You only thought of Chu Beijie, forgetting Gui Le. When you accepted Departed Soul, did you ever think that it wasonlyfor the symbol of peace between two countries for all the peasants?"

"If I had forgotten about Gui Le, would I have lead Chu Beijie into a trap?"

He Xia looked at her, "An unstable love born amidst danger. Only when they part, do they realise the depth of their love."

"No..."

"Pingting, ever since you came back, you're always refusing to sit on the same carriage as me. We were always as close as siblings before this. That day, he tried to help you, a woman, down the horse, well, not many men can do that..."

"Don't say anymore, don't say anymore!" Pingting shook her head, a lump in her throat. She closed her eyes, a shiny tear caught in her eyelashes. "I understand."

Backfired plotting.

It was true that she tricked Chu Beijie, yet Chu Beijie used his true feelings to trick her.

Love was true, the deception was true too.

Being with her Master in the Jing-An Ducal Residence for the last eighteen years was nothing compared to Chu Beijie's simple trick.

For the first time in her life, Pingting realised how helplessly she had fallen into his trap. She could no longer get He Xia's complete trust, because the truth was, she really had fallen in love.

In this world, those who have fallen in love cannot make clear judgements.

If she were to meet Chu Beijie in the future, her actions would be completely unpredictable.

He Xia being suspicious of her was perfectly excusable.

Completely natural.

That was Chu Beijie's final trick, to make her heart ache.

Eyes wide open until sunrise, hearing the rooster crow, Pingting abruptly sat up on her bed. She groped around a bit, like she had lost her mind, until her hands finally traced the familiar patterns on the scabbard.

'Departed' and 'Soul', were the two ancient characters engraved onto it.

She thought back to the time when Chu Beijie had thrown down his sword, eyes flashing with anger and then back to what He Xia had just told her.

If she hadn't accepted it, there would still have been hope.

Yet if she did...

Eighteen years of service cleanly wiped away by a single sword.

She did not usually like to cry, but today she had more tears than ever. Her heart was like frozen water. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't.

Stiffly sitting in bed, she felt her thoughts muddle up. She rubbed her forehead.

She realised that her high temperature had returned as she pressed her cold fingertips against her burning forehead.

A maid called Lingdang, sent by He Xia, came in, carefully asking, "Sis, it's time to get up?"

She repeated the question three times until Pingting snapped back into focus, "Eh?"

Lingdang brought in some hot water, squeezed a cloth dry and gave it to Pingting. They were always moving around and everything was scattered around the room. Lingdang searched around for the brush Pingting usually used.

Pingting, who was standing behind her, said, "Don't bother. Find Dongzhuo for me."

"Dongzhuo?"

"He's not here?"

Lingdang shook her head, smiling. "I'll check."