Amidst a flurry of sword lights and shadows, Prince Shen finally managed to find Xiao Qing, only to be blocked by a wave of blades.
Gritting his teeth, he drew his sword from his waist, preparing to fight his way out.
“Swoosh!”
Two goose feather arrows suddenly flew out from the other side, knocking down the weapons of the black-clothed mens in front of him.
Startled and angry, the black-clothed mens couldn’t quite comprehend who had shot these cold arrows. In the next moment, one of them had their throat swiftly pierced by a disciple of the Tianya Sect standing nearby, devoid of breath.
Prince Shen saw the mark on the arrow and was slightly stunned.
Because he knew it was the arrow of the Third Prince.
However, Prince Shen was currently focused on protecting his daughter, so he naturally didn’t have time to think about it. He didn’t look back but swiftly approached Xiao Qing, taking her away from the threatening swords.
The person who made the move had a calm expression. She was still sitting in a wheelchair, casually lowering her carved bow, as if she were playing with a toy.
After all, she knew in her heart that helping Prince Shen would be advantageous to her.
After the Fifth Prince had told Xiao Jin many secrets that day, he hesitated for a moment and said to her, “Third brother, in fact, Prince Shen is not such a bad person.”
Xiao Jin didn’t pay much attention. “People are not inherently bad when they are born, but they will all die.”
The Fifth Prince looked at Xiao Jin with an extremely sincere and inexplicable gaze. “With all the words I’ve said today, I just hope that one day… if Prince Shen gets into trouble, I don’t ask you to plead for him and protect the entire Prince Shen’s Mansion. As long as you can save Qing’er, it wouldn’t be in vain for my hand to be useless.”
At that time, Xiao Jin found it somewhat troublesome. After all, she wasn’t familiar with Prince Shen, let alone Xiao Qing.
The only thing that could connect her with these two people was that they shared the surname “Xiao.”
Moreover, the words “loyalty” and “duty” didn’t have much to do with her.
But in the end, Xiao Jin made a move.
One reason was that there was something to gain.
Secondly, as she watched Prince Shen rush towards Xiao Qing, she suddenly felt that this person, despite being unfaithful, despicable, and weak, still seemed to have a tiny bit of fatherly love within him.
However, Xiao Jin didn’t expect that she was just casually helping out, while Prince Shen took it seriously.
Prince Shen rushed to her, guarded by Ye Suyu, and his gaze towards her still held onto a lifeline, filled with unprecedented humility and hope. “Xiao Jin, Qing’er is your sister. Please save her, save her…”
Xiao Jin stared at Prince Shen for a long time and calmly asked, “Why?”
With just one sentence, Prince Shen’s slightly open mouth froze.
Because he knew the meaning behind Xiao Jin’s words.
Clearly, Xiao Jin didn’t care about any deep bond of blood between her and Xiao Qing.
Instead, she straightforwardly asked, “Why should I help you?”
In other words…
On what basis should I help you?
It sounded ruthless and even seemed like a heartless question, but in Prince Shen’s view, it meant that there was still room for negotiation in this matter.
Realizing this, Prince Shen couldn’t help but hold Xiao Qing’s hand tightly and urgently said to Xiao Jin, under Ye Suyu’s vigilant gaze, “Xiao Jin, I have evidence against the Empress! If you want to bring down the Empress and the Crown Prince, I can help you.”
The sound of clashes and collisions of weapons surrounded them.
“Uncle, you can hardly protect yourself now. How much can you help me?” Xiao Jin’s tone was casual. She wasn’t worried that anyone would overhear them. Anyone appearing here would either be an enemy or an ally.
Taking a deep breath, Prince Shen decided to be straightforward. “I have correspondence with the Empress, which involves many secrets of the imperial family. Besides that, I also know… a crime that the Empress has committed, which no one else knows.”
Xiao Jin thought to herself, isn’t that just having an affair with you? It’s nothing special if even the Fifth Prince knows about it.
Little did she know that Prince Shen would actually mention a crime that caught Xiao Jin off guard.
“Assassinating the Eldest Princess,, according to the law, should be punished by death.”
….
Assassinating the Eldest Princess?
Xiao Jin’s face remained calm, and she even glanced at Prince Shen as if she wanted to test whether his words were true or false.
However, deep inside, she had already shattered the question mark.
She never expected that the Empress, who appeared so young, would have such audacity.
Daring to lay a hand on Xiao Shuang, she must be tired of living.
With that in mind, Xiao Jin stared at Prince Shen for a while, knowing that Xiao Qing’s life depended on her.
As the people from the Blood Rain Pavilion were about to attack again, she increased the pressure on him and asked with doubt, “The Eldest Princess? Which Eldest Princess?”
Prince Shen knew that Xiao Qing’s fate was in Xiao Jin’s hands.
For some reason, as he looked at Xiao Jin’s face, his voice carried an indiscernible tremor. “The Eldest Princess Qi Yun, Xiao Fengxuan.”
It was yet another unexpected answer.
Xiao Jin wasn’t familiar with this name, but she knew of the Princess Qi Yun.
Ye Suyu had mentioned her before.
If she remembered correctly, Princess Qi Yun was the princess who wasn’t of royal blood in the Qi Country, intended to be sent to the Yao Country for a political marriage.
Although the original story never mentioned a word about Princess Qi Yun, according to Ye Suyu’s description, this person seemed to indirectly trigger the downfall of the entire Yao Country.
After all, if it wasn’t for the former Emperor’s whimsical decision to send the Princess Qi Yun for a political marriage, Xiao Shuang wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to cause trouble in the Yao Country by sending Tang Ling there.
With this in mind, Xiao Jin became even more puzzled.
Princess Qi Yun wasn’t of royal blood in the Qi Country, and she posed no threat to the position of the Crown Prince. It seemed that the Empress had gone mad to the point of wanting to assassinate her.
Wait a minute.
In an instant, Xiao Jin suddenly remembered a sentence that Ye Suyu mentioned unintentionally.
Ye Suyu said that when she returned to the capital after suppressing Yao Country, Xiao Shuang had gone to the Dali Temple to pray for the birth mother of the original owner.
And not long ago, Xiao Shuang seemed to have gone to the Dali Temple to pay tribute to the Princess Qi Yun.
At that time, Xiao Jin found it somewhat strange. Princess Zhao Yang was still fine, so why did Princess Qi Yun, as her younger sister, depart so quickly?
So she casually asked, “Why did this Aunt Qi Yun leave so early?”
Ye Suyu didn’t directly answer Xiao Jin’s question and had a slightly strange expression. “I was young at that time and didn’t understand much.”
Xiao Jin couldn’t help but ask, “What do you know, then?”
Perhaps to prove that she did know some things, Ye Suyu thought for a moment and said, “I know that Princess Qi Yun and the birth mother, the Noblewoman, died in the same year.”
“That year, the capital had heavy snowfall, and from a distance, it looked like white jade fragments.”
Xiao Jin furrowed her brows slightly, not understanding why Ye Suyu brought up this matter.
Then she understood.
Ye Suyu smiled mysteriously, “It is said that the Princess Zhao Yang found the snow beautiful, like these jade-like fragments, so she took the meaning of beautiful jade and gave you the name ‘Jin’.”
At that time, Xiao Jin was somewhat speechless because she never expected that the original owner’s name would come from such a cliché story.
And even if she saw the snow, the original owner should have been called Xiao Xue or Xiao Bai, not Xiao Jin.
At this moment, Xiao Jin no longer thought about the second sentence that Ye Suyu said to divert her attention. Instead, she focused on the first sentence.
Ye Suyu said that the Noblewoman and Princess Qi Yun died in the same year.
Based on the timing of Xiao Shuang’s tribute, Xiao Jin could deduce that their deaths were only a few months apart.
Furthermore, after the celebration banquet, Chu Shao had told her that the Empress had a strange look in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Shuang, as if she harbored some hate.
Although Xiao Jin couldn’t see at that time, Chu Shao saw it clearly.
She said that the Empress clenched the jade cup in her hand, and a hint of resentment appeared on her face…
The Empress’s hatred towards Xiao Shuang was probably because they had a grudge. But at this moment, Xiao Jin seemed to be about to understand why these two had a grudge.
When the original owner’s birth mother died, it was a snowy day.
And the time when the Princess Qi Yun passed away should have been only a few months apart from the original owner’s birth mother.
Various doubts surged in Xiao Jin’s mind, but she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and calmly asked, “How many years ago did the Empress assassinate the Princess Qi Yun?”
Prince Shen replied, “Twenty-two years ago.”
Xiao Jin fell silent and repeated, “Twenty-two years ago?”
“Yes, twenty-two years ago.”
Xiao Jin didn’t say anything more.
Because she knew that twenty-two years ago, there was heavy snowfall in the capital, and a princess and a noblewoman died.
And Prince Yan, Xiao Jin, who was now twenty-two years old…
….
The Empress looked at the Emperor Qi lying on the bed, glaring at her with anger, struggling to get up.
She smiled and said, “Your Majesty, isn’t it strange? I heard that the Emperor Qi Zhao, the pearl in his hand, was born with an unparalleled appearance. When she was born, you could faintly see a dragon swimming in the Taiye Pond.”
“A hidden dragon in the abyss is a good omen. But Emperor Qi Zhao treated this princess as a phoenix and named her Fengxuan.”
“And Emperor Taizong is even more strange. It is said that when Princess Zhao Yang was born, the capital was greeted by the rising sun, and the sky was filled with glowing colors. Emperor Taizong was greatly pleased, calling the princess the reincarnation of the Vermilion Bird, more noble than a phoenix and brighter than the morning sun. Yet he chose to name her with the character ‘Shuang’.”
The Empress said, “I can’t understand the thoughts of the emperors. I can’t even comprehend why the Emperor Qi Zhao, who loved Qin Fengxuan so much, would offer her as a adopted daughter to Emperor Taizong. I also can’t understand why Emperor Taizong, who favored Princess Zhao Yang, didn’t hesitate to grant her power over seven cities but ultimately didn’t make her the Crown Princess.”
Emperor Qi sat up on the bed, panting, and said in a deep voice, “Since the founding of Qi Country, there has never been a rule to designate a woman as the heir.”
“You speak logically. As the Emperor, I should adhere to ancestral customs and rituals. It shows your wisdom.”
The Empress smiled and looked at the Emperor Qi, reaching out to adjust the phoenix hairpin on her head. “But Your Majesty, as wise as you are, as observant of ancestral customs and rituals, why do you fear the Princess Zhao Yang? And why did you lay hands on Xiao Fengxuan, who had already become a princess of Qi and was protected by the Princess Zhao Yang?”
“Shut up!”
Emperor Qi was close to the Empress and, in extreme anger, raised his hand and gave her a hard slap, shouting loudly, “You seem delusional. Guards, escort the Empress out!”
The Empress’s face turned away from the slap, and the phoenix hairpin on her head loosened slightly, almost falling to the ground.
The palm print on her face was particularly conspicuous under the candlelight, but the Empress seemed oblivious to it.
Looking at Emperor Qi, who was coughing violently after his angry outburst, she gently opened her vermilion lips and said, “Your Majesty, I think you are truly incomparably wise. So the person you fear from the bottom of your heart and the person hidden in your heart… It’s quite a coincidence that they both share the surname ‘Xiao’.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: What the heck! I know it! The heck! I can’t believe this Emperor! He has a lot of women in his harem! Why do you need to like someone you shouldn’t like! Truly, boys aren’t contented with just one! 🙂 MY ANGER ISSUE WITH THIS DAMN EMPEROR IS REACHING ITS PEAK! I WANT TO SLAP HIM, BEAT HIM, AND TORTURE HIM! 🤬
TO BE CONTINUE…
Comment