The Last Dahlia

040

At that suggestion, Maroo opened his mouth to say something—possibly agree—but then quickly shut it again when Yuehwa looked over and gave him a menacing smile.

"That's too risky with Baixun unconscious. He will be safest if he stays with Yuehwa and I," Shoya replied. "Also, it will help save us time considering the golden chrysanthemums are within the royal astrology building. If we were to send the chrysanthemums over to Ri-en, that would mean at least another two weeks wasted. Many things can happen in two weeks."

Wen Shu nodded. "In that case, I shall make arrangements for your transportation back to the capital immediately."

"Keep it simple. Carriages used by regular trading merchants will suffice. Prepare merchant clothing for us as well. It would be best if we did not attract any unnecessary attention on the way back."

Yuehwa turned towards the bed where Baixun lay asleep, oblivious to the danger that was fast approaching the five kingdoms, threatening to derail his ambitions. It was funny how quickly things changed. One day they were enemies, the next they were fighting for each other's lives. Who knew what other surprises tomorrow would bring?

The fluttering of wings interrupted her thoughts. When she turned towards the window, a red feathered ball was already perched on the sill.

"Ember?" She frowned.

She had left Ember back in the Hwa palace to look after Yi'en and Yang-yang in her absence—and also to give him a break, after having dragged the poor bird across the kingdoms for three whole years. For him to have left Hwa to come all the way here could only mean that something serious had happened.

It's the Prince Yang. He's gravely ill, Ember quickly said.

"What do you mean? How's that possible?" The last time she saw him, her young nephew had been running circles around the palace gardens catching butterflies.

We've traced it to a poisonous powder that was scattered on the prince's clothing. It first presented as a rash on the prince's arms and legs, which everyone assumed to be his usual allergies acting up. But the rashes kept getting worse, until they covered his entire body and he could not sleep from the itch. Then, he began wheezing and coughing. A few days ago the physicians found blood in his sputum, that's when they conducted a more thorough check and realised that the cause of his illness was poison.

Yuehwa could hardly believe what she was being told. Poison? On a child? "Who did it?" she whispered. "Have we found a cure?"

The queen has had all the prince's nannies and servants placed under house arrest while the royal guards conduct the investigation. As for the cure... Ember turned his feathered head in Shoya's direction. We were hoping that the White Scorpion would be able to help. The royal physicians have managed to stabilise the prince's condition, but they claim it could take weeks to come up with a cure without knowing what the poison is. We're not sure we have that sort of time.

Shoya walked over, placing a hand on Yuehwa's shoulder. "What's the matter? Did something happen back in Hwa?" he asked.

"It's Yang-yang, he... he..." The thought of possibly losing another family member so soon after her brother's death gripped her heart with fear. Anxiety coursed through her veins and messed with her mind.

"Take a deep breath. You need to calm yourself down, then we can work out a solution to whatever the problem might be."

Yuehwa did as she was told, inhaling and exhaling deeply over and over, until she felt like her nerves were under control. She began to translate Ember's account of Yang-yang's symptoms to Shoya, making sure that they did not leave out any detail.