[The Spider in the Courtyard]
In the Secluded Courtyard, Gu Xingyu lived a life that was half-servant, half-prisoner. Qing Fei treated her with a desperate, overflowing tenderness, personally tending to her every need.
Meanwhile, Wan Luo, the Chief Lady-in-Waiting, watched them like a venomous spider. She called Xingyu "Sister" with a smile that never reached her eyes, while her mind spun dark fantasies of "accidents" or "sudden illnesses." She must die, Wan Luo thought, before the truth turns me into ash.
Xingyu noticed more than just the malice. She saw how Wan Luo played the "mistress of the house" whenever Hades You Nian visited, trying to bridge the cold distance between her and the Emperor. But You Nian remained like a block of ice, his eyes never lingering on Wan Luo for more than a second.
[A Mother's Nightmare]
One night, alone in the bedchamber, Xingyu finally asked the question that had been haunting her. "The daughter you lost... how did she disappear?"
Qing Fei closed her eyes, her voice trembling as she recounted the night of the coup twenty years ago. "Hades was away at the Yao-Gate. I had just put you to sleep. Wan Luo came in, saying you were startled by a dream and offered to soothe you in the outer hall so I could rest. I was so tired... I let her take you."
Qing Fei's breath hitched. "Moments later, a scream. I ran out to find Wan Luo wounded on the floor, and the cradle empty. You were gone."
Xingyu's eyes turned cold. Wan Luo was the last one to hold the baby. The "attack" felt too convenient. A deep suspicion began to root itself in her mind.
[The Evidence of the Flesh]
"Did she have any... marks? A mole, or a birthmark?" Xingyu whispered.
Qing Fei nodded eagerly, tears streaming down her face. "Yes... on her left waist. A small, perfectly round red mole. I used to laugh and say it was God's seal, so I would never lose her."
Xingyu felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her soul. The left waist. She had a mole in that exact spot since she was a child. Her parents in the other world had always called it her "lucky mark."
The Crimson Eyes. The Red Mole. The probability of both appearing on a stranger was zero.
"Who else knew about this mark?" Xingyu asked, her voice shaking.
"Only Hades and I," Qing Fei replied. "He used to tease me for being superstitious about a simple mole."
[The Choice to Belong]
Xingyu looked at the trembling woman before her. If she revealed the truth, she would step into the center of a deadly political storm. But looking into Qing Fei's eyes, her heart softened. She realized that to find the truth and to protect herself, she needed more than just caution—she needed an ally.
With a deep breath, Xingyu slowly lifted the edge of her robe.
There, on her waist, was the crimson mark, vivid and clear.
Qing Fei let out a broken sob, throwing her arms around Xingyu. "Qing-er! My Qing-er! Heaven has finally brought you back to me!"
Locked in the embrace, Xingyu's gaze turned sharp and cold over Qing Fei's shoulder. She was no longer just a victim of circumstance. She was the lost Princess of the Underworld, and she was going to find out exactly who tore her life apart twenty years ago.