The last sight before her eyes was Yu Ping rushing towards her desperately, breaking through the thick smoke, and Feng Yin Wan wanted to stop her, but her lips felt glued together, unable to open.
The fire raged for nearly an hour before it was finally extinguished. The entire Mo Prince’s manor was in an unprecedented state of chaos.
“Guard Qi, the lady has been rescued. The Princess Consort is unharmed, merely fainted. However, her maidservant…”
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Yu Ping on the stretcher behind him. Qi Xuan’s face stiffened, and it took him a while to speak.
“Take her away and have the manor physician examine her carefully.”
“Yes.”
The guard nodded and carried the stretcher away. Qi Xuan clenched his fists by his side and was about to check on Feng Yin Wan when a chilling presence approached him first.
Upon seeing the pale face of the person on the ground, Ye Ting Lan’s handsome face darkened, and his cold aura instantly intensified.
“What happened?”
He was still in the palace when he heard the news and rushed back immediately. He had only been away from the manor for two days, and he never expected such a thing to occur!
Qi Xuan nodded, his expression more serious than ever. “When your subordinate returned, the Princess Consort’s courtyard was already ablaze. The fire was just put out. As for the cause… we haven’t had time to investigate yet.”
As he spoke, the terrifying chill before him grew even more intense.
Ye Ting Lan shot him a stern look, then bent down and scooped up Feng Yin Wan. “Summon those who were on guard tonight to the dark hall. I will interrogate them myself.”
“Yes.”
Feng Yin Wan’s body trembled unconsciously.
The fire had nearly reduced Lan Qing Courtyard to ruins. Ye Ting Lan, his face grim, carried her back to the main courtyard. The darkness in his brow deepened when he heard her fearful whispers in his arms.
“How is the Princess Consort?”
She had been murmuring in her sleep since earlier, vaguely calling out “Hurry, go” with her fair face creased in pain.
He reached out and touched her; her skin felt ice-cold.
The manor physician, after examining her pulse for a while, was already sweating profusely. Upon hearing Ye Ting Lan’s question, he immediately withdrew his hand and bowed his head tremblingly.
“May I ask, Your Highness, has the Princess Consort experienced similar situations before?”
Ye Ting Lan frowned, his grip on Feng Yin Wan’s fingertips tightening.
“What do you mean?”
“I have examined her carefully. The Princess Consort fainted from smoke inhalation, and her body is otherwise unharmed. Her current state is likely due to psychological trauma…”
His sword-like brows twitched almost imperceptibly at the mention of “psychological trauma.”
The physician cautiously raised his eyes and continued, “The Princess Consort has always been healthy. This kind of symptom appearing now suggests that she may have suffered a severe psychological blow in the past.”
“I can prescribe a calming medicine for her now to soothe her nerves, but to completely resolve this condition, it is likely necessary to address the root cause and resolve the Princess Consort’s inner turmoil.”
Ye Ting Lan’s brow furrowed even deeper at this.
Regarding this inner turmoil, he would not have known had the physician not brought it up. Now that he was asked, he suddenly realized how little he knew about Feng Yin Wan’s past.
The physician was still awaiting his answer. Seeing that his master had been silent for a long time, Qi Xuan pursed his lips and stepped forward.
“Your Highness, the scar on the Princess Consort’s face earlier seems to be a burn mark.”
“What did you say?”
Qi Xuan nodded. “I had investigated before. The scar on the Princess Consort’s face appeared suddenly in her childhood. Although the Feng family members are tight-lipped about it, based on the mark, it can almost certainly be concluded to be a burn.”
Having been a dark guard for over a decade, Qi Xuan had seen all sorts of scars and would not misidentify this.
Ye Ting Lan’s dark eyes deepened, and his expression shifted in an instant.
“Investigate this matter personally.”
“Yes.”
Given Feng Yin Wan’s current condition, Ye Ting Lan could only have the manor physician administer a calming potion.
The guards responsible for Lan Qing Courtyard that night had already been taken to the dark hall. Ye Ting Lan gave her a deep look, then rose and left the main courtyard.
After drinking a bowl of calming medicine, the effect was negligible.
Feng Yin Wan continued to murmur in her sleep, flames flickering in her mind’s eye. An overwhelming sense of oppression surged, so suffocatingly chaotic that she felt she could not breathe.
“Don’t come closer… Hurry, go!”
She screamed and abruptly woke up, staring blankly at the canopy, gasping for breath. As she moved slightly, she realized her clothes were soaked in cold sweat.
The fear in her heart had not subsided. The scene from her dream was vivid, as if it were etched into her mind. Yet, when she tried to recall it in detail, it became inexplicably illusory, leaving only faint fragments.
However, one thing was certain: those fragments stemmed from the fire incident in her original body’s childhood!
She numbly raised her hand to her left cheek, beneath which lay a once ugly and terrifying scar.
Feng Yin Wan paused for a moment, trying to search her mind for memories of the fire that year, but like when she first transmigrated, she found nothing.
Not only the fire, but she couldn’t recall anything from before the fire either.
“Yu…”
She opened her mouth to call Yu Ping again, but midway through, she froze.
Lan Qing Courtyard had caught fire tonight. She was trapped and unable to move. Yu Ping had clearly reached the door but had rushed back to save her… and she had nothing to cover herself with…
The moment the thought struck her, Feng Yin Wan got out of bed.
Contrary to her expectations, the main courtyard was silent. There were no guards, nor any sign of Yu Ping.
Without a second thought, she pushed open the courtyard door and headed straight for Lan Qing Courtyard.
The charred remains of the roof on the rooftops indicated the intensity of the fire. As soon as she approached, a choking smell of smoke assailed her nostrils. Guards were cleaning up the aftermath, and upon seeing Feng Yin Wan, they immediately became tense.
“Why has the Princess Consort come? The smoke here is thick and choking. Please leave quickly.”
Feng Yin Wan scanned the area, but Yu Ping was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Yu Ping?”
Her voice was still hoarse from the smoke. The guards nodded immediately upon hearing her question.
“Miss Yu Ping was injured and has already been carried to the front courtyard for treatment.”
Yu Ping was injured!
Feng Yin Wan’s heart clenched, and her face turned pale again. “When was she taken there? How is her injury?”
The guards paused, hesitating before replying.
“Miss Yu Ping was rescued along with you, but her injuries are more severe. It is likely she was protecting you…”
Before he could finish speaking, a slender figure had already hurried away. Seeing this, the guards shook their heads and resumed ordering the cleanup.
When Feng Yin Wan arrived at the front courtyard, several manor physicians were standing outside, looking at each other with dismay. Upon seeing Feng Yin Wan suddenly barge in, they were all momentarily stunned.
“Princess Consort…”
“Where is Yu Ping? How is her injury?”
Her beautiful eyes were wide open, her face a picture of rare panic.
The manor physicians lowered their heads sheepishly. Before they could formulate their words, Feng Yin Wan had already pushed past them and gone inside.
Inside, Yu Ping was lying face down on a bed, her back clothes almost entirely burned away by the flames.
The fabric was tattered and incomplete, stained with black ash, but the horrifying scar that snaked down from her fair neck immediately caught Feng Yin Wan’s eye!