AN: After my double-posting screw-up yesterday, I figured I'd just finish the story and post both end pages today. This is the end of the story, and the next one's the epilogue. I hope you enjoy the wrapping up of this last big loose end.

Xiao Ce stood outside the entrance to what he knew to be one of his sister's hideouts with a somewhat bewildered expression on his face. Upon her return, his head spy had simply told him smugly that not only had they successfully completed their mission, but they'd also brought back a delicious bonus. She'd refused to tell him what they'd done and had insisted that he had to see it in order to believe it. He knew he could've ordered her to tell him everything, but what was life without a bit of adventure?

So here he was, at the door of a place that he'd only known about but never been inside. Xiao Ce proceeded with caution, but he wanted to believe that his most trusted subordinate wouldn't lead him into a trap. The crown prince hadn't lived as long as he had by being naive, however, so he still did his best to remain vigilant. Just because he trusted his head spy didn't mean that he didn't know that she could turn on him in an instant if the money or motivation was good enough.

He entered the building and quickly passed into a dimly-lit rectangular room that had a large cage in the middle. The candlelight flickered off the walls and enhanced the beauty of a striking young woman who was reclining on an elevated bed several feet away from the cage. Xiao Ce's eyebrows raised all the way up when he realized that not only did the woman bear an uncanny resemblance to his Qiao Qiao, but she was also crafting tiny ice needles from a bowl of water and flicking them at the bound figure inside the cage.

Wordlessly, she sent another needle flying with savage glee into the neck of his sister, who had definitely seen better days. The prince didn't shock easily and had seen many things over the course of his career as a spy, but he found himself speechless at the sight of his sister in such bad condition and circumstances. She glared at him with absolute hatred, and he was glad of both the sturdy bars and the strong-looking ropes that kept her away from him.

"I knew you had something to do with this, brother," Xiao Yu spat at him, breaking the silence. "What I don't understand is, why?"

"What do you mean, 'Why?' Why would I want to imprison you? Why would I want my people to stop you from doing whatever it was you were doing? Why am I enjoying this charming young lady tormenting you with ice slivers as much as I am? There are so many possibilities, Sister Dearest."

"Why were your people even outside of Green Hills Courtyard? What stake did you have in the birth of Yuwen Yue's child? Or were you there because it was the birth of Chu Qiao's child?"

"Why would I be interested in the birth of the potential inheritor of the Eyes of God and the Yuwen holdings-not to mention the potential inheritor of the Wind and Cloud Decree? I should think my reasons for interest would be obvious."

"Are you sure they're not more...personal?"

"How about you, Sister? Are your reasons...personal?"

"Did you really just try the 'answer a question with a question' tactic on me? How amateur of you, Brother."

"Did it work?"

He enjoyed watching his sister grit her teeth in irritation at his antics. Xiao Ce tended to have that effect on a lot of people, and he enjoyed leaving annoyance in his wake. His thoughts wistfully turned to Qiao Qiao for a few moments before returning to the matter at hand. He decided to give her a plausible answer based on the partial truth.

Especially since I don't want to tell her about the whole "saving Qiao Qiao from poison" affair...

"My stake in this was the repayment of a life debt. When...someone tried to assassinate me several years ago when I was visiting Chang'an, Chu Qiao saved my life at great personal risk to her own and even got injured on my behalf. She had no reason to protect me; I hadn't exactly endeared myself to her. But she did it anyway because, according to her personal code, it was the right thing to do. So I figured the least I could do was to return the favor by making sure nobody caused any trouble while she was so vulnerable."

"How touching," his sister sneered at him. "I think you have feelings for her and just wanted to keep her safe while she had another man's baby. Pathetic."

"My, my, Sister. You have grown desperate. Throwing out all of these false accusations. The 'pathetic' one is particularly rich coming from you."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if I did have feelings for Chu Qiao and wanted to protect her, that's nowhere near as pathetic as wanting to get revenge on a man because he wouldn't return your affections when he found out you were his worst enemy."

Her eyes widened and his normally unflappable sister actually let out a gasp. Xiao Ce couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself this much.

Probably when I was back in Chang'an with Qiao Qiao…

"Oh, yes," Xiao Ce said gleefully. "I know all about that affair. I guess you could say that…a little bird told me."

His sister bared her teeth at him and strained against her restraints.

"Don't worry; I won't bore you with the details. Instead, I think I'll leave you to reflect on your past actions. Introspection can be good for the soul."

"You-"

"What? Do you really want to talk some more? Have you missed me that much? No matter; I have more...pleasant matters to attend to."

Xiao Ce deliberately turned his back on his sister and walked over to where the attractive young woman was sitting. She looked up at him and he was struck again at just how closely she resembled Qiao Qiao.

"Hello, miss. What's your relationship with my charming sister?"

"She imprisoned me in this cage for years," the woman said bitterly in a low-pitched voice that Xiao Ce found captivating. "Even when she found out the information she wanted, she still left me in here just to torment me."

"Well, that explains why you were throwing ice needles at her when I arrived. You'll have to show me how you do that trick later."

The woman smiled mysteriously.

"Much later," Xiao Ce said, smiling impishly. "We have plenty of time to talk about my sister and decide her fate."

"Not as much as you think," the woman said, carefully pulling a thin metal dart from a hidden pocket in her outfit. "Your associate told me that your sister was shot with this."

Xiao Ce took the dart carefully and sniffed it, his eyebrows raising for the second time that day as he recognized the scent of the same poison that Qiao Qiao had been exposed to years ago. What were the odds?

"Just who did you run into, Sister? This is not something you're likely to find around Green Hills—at least not these days."

As he said those last words, the likely answer came to his mind and he started laughing. His sister remained sullenly silent—or maybe the poison was really affecting her.

"So it seems like someone else thought that an old enemy might try to start trouble at Green Hills, too. Yuwen Yue and Chu Qiao really do have the knack for making the strangest allies—and enemies, for that matter."

"Well, Sister, it just so happens that I knew the antidote to this poison once upon a time, but the recipe has slipped my mind somehow. It might take me at least a couple of days to remember it. Maybe some pleasant company will help to jog my memory."

He looked back at the woman reclining on the bed near the cage and noticed a slight twinkle in her eyes that made him think that she might be willing to play along with him for a last bit of revenge.

"What's your name, miss?"

"Xia Chong," she said, giving him a seductive smile.

He turned back to his sister and smiled lecherously, getting the expression of disgust he'd been looking for.

"Well, Sister, enjoy your rest. I shall return in a couple of days once I've remembered the antidote—if I remember it at all, of course. For now, Xia Xia and I are going to get better acquainted. I will leave first," Xiao Ce said, bowing mockingly towards his sister.

She roused herself enough to begin incoherently ranting at him; he thought he understood something about, "When Father finds out," but he couldn't be sure. Xiao Ce swaggered out of the room, his charming companion in tow with her hand on his arm.

They exited into darkness. Night had fallen over the course of his "visit" with his sister, and the night sky was bright and cloudless. Xia Chong dropped her hand from his arm and sharpened her gaze, becoming the cool professional he'd figured her to be. His head spy was waiting for him outside of his carriage.

"You've done very well," Xiao Ce said to his subordinate. "You and the others will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts."

"Thank you, Prince," the spy said, clasping her sword in her hands and bowing.

"The person who shot those darts...were you working with her?"

"I think so. I mean, we did ally ourselves with a woman bearing seals from both Green Hills Courtyard and Yanbei. However, we also saw a small figure hop the wall and run into the woods a few minutes before our ally threw your sister's body over the wall, so we can't be sure."

Xiao Ce was silent for a few moments as he sorted through the implications.

"I think we can both assume that the woman you were working with is the princess of Yanbei."

"We drew that conclusion as well; that's why we trusted her to the extent that we did."

"But the other woman—or small man-who may have shot my sister and who had access to the same kind of poison...maybe she—or he-was working for the princess of Yanbei."

"Or maybe they were allies with an old understanding."

"Or maybe this person just held a grudge against my sister. That's not an uncommon occurrence."

"As you say, Prince," his head spy said, smiling.

Xiao Ce inclined his head towards the carriage, and his lead spy got into the front and prepared herself to drive. He turned towards his companion and looked her in the eyes.

"What are your plans? Do you have anywhere to go? My offer's still open if you're inclined to take it."

"While I'm not interested in becoming your concubine, I can tell from the company you keep that you might be able to use a woman of my talents."

Xiao Ce's eyes lit up and he nodded his head in assent.

"Please ride with me back to my palace," the crown prince said, eyes glinting. "I'm sure we can come to an understanding."

Xia Chong stepped up into the carriage, and Xiao Ce took a moment to lean his head back to bask in the light of the moon and stars. He climbed into the carriage and smiled at the woman sitting across from him.

The heavens have been very kind to me, indeed.