Yuan Wei slipped out of his room the moment the palace quieted. He'd barely slept, tossing and turning over the same maddening thought:
Where did the real me hide those damn papers?
The novel had never bothered to explain the details. One vague sentence near the end: "Yuan Wei fled with the documents in hand." That was it. No route. No hiding place. No clues.
And now, somehow, he had to find them before anyone else did.
He made his way toward the eastern wing, keeping his head down, pretending to admire the gardens like a peaceful young noble taking a morning stroll.
Inside, he was dying.
The hidden door was still on his mind — the dusty, vine-covered panel that he accidentally discovered yesterday. If the real Yuan had stashed anything important, it would be there.
He turned the corner—
—and froze.
Voices.
Two very familiar voices.
Prince Jian's calm, collected tone.
Prince Lei's lazy drawl.
They were standing right in front of the hidden door.
Yuan Wei ducked behind the nearest pillar so fast he nearly smacked his forehead.
Why are you two here?!
He peered cautiously.
Prince Jian stood inspecting the vines with a thoughtful frown. Prince Lei leaned against the wall beside him, yawning.
Jian ran a hand across the disturbed vines. "Lian said Yuan Wei found a strange door here."
Lei flicked his fan open. "She said he looked at it 'with great interest,' whatever that means."
Jian didn't respond immediately. He pushed a few vines aside to reveal the outline of the panel.
Yuan's stomach dropped.
Lian. Oh no. Why would she say that? Why would she say ANYTHING? I was trying to avoid attention!
Prince Lei stepped closer, tapping the wood lightly. "Are we sure this isn't just another storage space? This palace has a ridiculous number of hidden rooms."
Jian shook his head. "If Yuan Wei noticed it, then it might be important. He rarely pays attention to the palace layout."
Yuan almost burst into tears.
Brother… Your brother is lying on my behalf and he doesn't even know it.
Prince Jian pressed his palm to the wood and gave it a firm push.
The door creaked open.
Yuan held his breath.
Dust, darkness, emptiness.
No documents. No clues. Just a corridor leading nowhere, dim and stale.
Prince Jian stepped inside. "No footprints. No drag marks. Nothing has been moved recently."
Prince Lei peeked in as well, unimpressed. "Looks abandoned. Maybe even forgotten."
Jian stood still for a long moment before finally saying, "If Lian saw Yuan Wei here, he must have been curious. But it doesn't seem dangerous."
Lei sighed dramatically. "Then can we go? If Father hears that we ran off because Lian complained that her crush found a door, he'll laugh for a week."
Jian's gaze softened slightly. "She's worried. Yuan Wei did act unusual yesterday."
"Unusual for him," Lei muttered, "is normal for everyone else."
Yuan pressed a hand over his mouth.
If they turned around, they'd see him crouched behind a pillar like a guilty mouse.
Jian pushed the door shut, smoothing the vines back into place.
"Forget it for now. If someone tampered with this door, we'll know eventually."
Lei stretched, waving his fan lazily. "Good. Breakfast awaits. I'm starving."
The two princes walked away, their conversation fading down the corridor.
Yuan didn't move until the silence returned.
Then he let out a long, shaky breath.
He peeked at the door one more time.
Still dusty. Still empty. Still unhelpful.
"Perfect," he muttered. "No documents there. Of course not. Why would anything be convenient for me?"
He slipped down a side path, avoiding all major hallways, using what little of the palace layout he remembered from the novel.
Back to his room.
Back to thinking.
Back to trying not to die.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, he leaned against it and sighed.
The real Yuan Wei had done a wonderful job hiding the papers. Even he couldn't find them — and he was the one living in the body.
One thing was clear:
The original Yuan didn't hide them in any place the princes knew.
Which meant…
He hid them close.
Somewhere only he would think to check.
Somewhere everyone else would overlook.
Yuan dropped onto his bed, hands behind his head.
"Where would an idiot version of me hide top-secret papers?" he mumbled.
His mind spun, searching for an answer the novel had never given.
Whatever the truth was…
He was running out of time to find it.