As the moonlight spilled across the glazed tiles, Ye Fan’s dark cloak was already soaked through with blood. He steadied himself against a pillar, taking two staggering steps, the clanking of his armor waking a young night-watch eunuch. "The Eldest Princess is at Chengming Hall!" the young eunuch stammered, pointing the way. Before his voice had even faded, Ye Fan swept past the covered corridor, stirring up a reek of blood.
The candles in Chengming Hall flickered. Qin Wanshuang’s fingers had just touched a teacup when she suddenly froze. As she gazed at the figure pushing through the door, the pearl tassel in her dark hair gave a violent shudder—the fabric over Ye Fan’s left shoulder was rolled back like a butterfly's wings, and dark red bloodstains dripped down his arm onto the golden bricks, blossoming into small plum-blossom spots at her feet.
"You're wounded!" she blurted out, turning to summon the imperial physician, but Ye Fan intercepted her wrist. The heat of his palm was startlingly intense, and his fingertips were still stained with un-wiped blood. "Look at this first."
Chapter 182