The nighttime breeze carried leaves of red and yellow into the courtyards of Happiness Brothel  when Seulgi woke up. It had been three nights since the mid–autumn festival. Three days since the Imperial Deputy Commander of the Royal Palace Guards died to atone for her disgraceful act towards the Queen.

“Seulgi!” It was the tall slender guard that had stabbed her in the shoulder. “Thank the heavens, you’re awake.”

“Bambam, help me up.” Seulgi stretched her limbs. Being in one place over the past few days made her body go numb in more places than one. “How long have I been out for?”

“Three days.” He helped her up. Then he assisted her a couple laps around the room. “Did you know I almost died by Jongin’s hands? Why did you have to keep the actual plan a secret from everyone? I swear Byul wanted to wring my neck!”

Bambam came from a family of scholars. But he was interested in the sword more so than the brush. He met the seventh prince through the Classical Learning Academy. Upon Seungwan’s request and Seulgi’s training, Bambam was admitted into the palace as a guard. But not just any guard, he was the Queen’s bodyguard.

He was Seulgi’s secret weapon in this plan of death. If the Queen’s trap were to go awry, Bambam was expected to take action. Using his loyalty for the Queen, the imperial deputy commander’s despicable act against the Queen triggered his impulsiveness and he supposedly killed Seulgi out of retribution.

But as a matter of fact, Bambam never harmed Seulgi at all. When Bambam made the stab, he aimed for the top of her shoulder, but Seulgi had adorned Jongin’s armor which was a quarter bigger than her actual size. The blade had pierced into the middle, an empty space between her actual shoulder and the armor. The blood was actually pig’s blood! Seulgi had snuck it into the armor beforehand.

When Seulgi fainted, it was because, instead of the aphrodisiac taking effect, the osmanthus wine had a strong knockout drug. Seulgi added the powder herself. The knockout drug shut down the body’s system until an antidote was administered within seven days. This allowed for the imperial coroners to officially declare her dead. After she was taken out of the palace, Yerin and Hayoung brought her back to the brothel and administered the antidote. 

“Has my death been officially registered?” Seulgi settled back on the bed.

Bambam went to pour her a cup of water. “Yes, just this morning.” He offered it to her.

Seulgi took the cup but didn’t drink it. Her thoughts were spinning. If word of her death reached Lengxue before she could, there’s no foretelling what Joohyun and Seungwan would do. She knew for a fact, the two would stop at nothing to find out the cause of her death and avenge her if they knew she had died unjustly. “Bambam, tell Hayoung to send a letter to Happiness in Lengxue about my arrival.”

“But you had just woken up. You should tell Jongin and Byul first.”

“There’s no time, prepare Lulu for me.”

“B–b– did you know, when you were still knockout, Jongin wouldn’t let anyon