Between heaven and earth, it was as white as a layer of Xuan paper. The Xuan paper was thin and translucent, shrouding the entire platform in a light mist.
The air was cold and dry, and the evening face flowers on the platform were all withered and dead, leaving only yellowed branches and leaves.
Xiao Jin didn’t feel like pondering why Princess Zhao Yang planted a platform of evening face flowers. After all, the implications of this flower in online novels were not very good.
She sniffed the clear and light fragrance rising from the incense burner, feeling like she was in a fog. It seemed that the conspiracy and truth had surfaced.
Realizing that the mastermind behind it might be Xiao Shuang, Xiao Jin regretted not bringing Chu Shao with her.
If Chu Shao were here, with her explosive combat power, she could barely have a chance against Princess Zhao Yang.
But at the same time, she was also grateful that she didn’t bring Chu Shao with her.
If it was really Princess Zhao Yang who arranged the assassination, and the assassin showed mercy to her every move, then the first person she wanted to kill must be Chu Shao, not her.
Moreover, everyone knew that she was summoned by Xiao Shuang today, so even if Xiao Shuang wanted her life, she wouldn’t make a move today.
Just as she was thinking about it, Xiao Shuang turned around and looked at Xiao Jin.
From the description in the original work, Xiao Jin could probably know what Princess Zhao Yang, who held immense power, looked like.
Although the original work was an old-fashioned melodramatic online novel, it still described Xiao Shuang somewhat. “Red clothes like blood, phoenix eyes and beautiful eyebrows.”
With just eight words, the original author seemed to have written it very carelessly. But at this moment, it accurately portrayed Xiao Shuang’s key features.
According to the timeline of the original work, Emperor Qi was already in his forties, and Xiao Shuang was also forty-three.
But perhaps time had been kind, leaving no trace on her face. Apart from a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes, her face was still as beautiful as a peach blossom lady in her prime.
But looking at Xiao Shuang’s appearance, she had nothing to do with the words “elegant” and “graceful.”
If Xiao Jin’s temperament was like a delicate long sword, then Xiao Shuang’s beauty was like a curved knife.
The knife glimmers like a silver moon, and when she looks at others indifferently, there seems to only exist that hint of red with a chilling aura between heaven and earth, even more noble than a vermilion bird.
The Vermilion Bird is a mythical bird in ancient texts, but Xiao Shuang, radiant as the rising sun, is a truly noble person in the Qi country.
Only Xiao Shuang is worthy of the Vermilion Robe. Only the Princess Zhao Yang, who is superior to ten thousand others, can contend with the Golden Crow and worthy of the worship of the masses.
At this moment, Xiao Shuang stood in the icy snow and silently looked at Xiao Jin, still not speaking.
Xiao Jin wasn’t at a loss for words, but was unable to speak.
Because some people just standing there exudes an overwhelming sense of oppression, making people feel that even having a mouth on their face is unnecessary, and the only thing to do is to act like a mute.
After looking at Xiao Jin for a while, the always proud Vermilion Bird of the Northern Qi suddenly smiled.
Looking at the faint smile at the corner of Xiao Shuang’s lips, perhaps because of the hazy mountains and mist, she couldn’t see it clearly and didn’t feel it was real.
So she didn’t let her guard down and lowered her vigilance towards this person.
After all, some people are just like that, whether they smile or not, they only make people feel one thing – that they are dangerous, and not just a little bit dangerous.
In the end, Xiao Shuang took the first step and broke the frozen atmosphere.
Xiao Shuang’s vermilion robe was very long, gorgeously styled, and the color was extremely rich.
Dragging her long train, she walked up to Xiao Jin. The silver crane on her robe was lifelike, and following the curve of her sleeve as it fluttered, it seemed to be hovering and dancing on the moon platform.
The snow continued to fall.
Under Xiao Jin’s gaze, Xiao Shuang lifted her hand slightly and brushed off the scattered pearls and jades on Xiao Jin’s shoulder.
Then she said very plainly to Xiao Jin, “You’ve lost weight.”
Xiao Jin: “……”
She didn’t know how to respond.
After all, at this point, she couldn’t agree and say, “Yes, I’ve lost weight, Auntie has really good eyesight.”
Or retort, “Actually, I haven’t lost weight, it’s just that your eyesight is not good.”
Not knowing how to answer, Xiao Jin simply didn’t say anything.
She silently looked at Xiao Shuang, just remaining silent.
Since anything she said would be wrong, the best response was to not say anything. Only in this way could she avoid making any mistakes.
Xiao Shuang seemed accustomed to Xiao Jin’s silence, and after a moment, she laughed.
She did not blame Xiao Jin but instead went behind her and held onto the handles of her wheelchair, saying, “It’s cold outside, let’s talk inside.”
A maid in the Yan mansion saw Xiao Shuang holding onto the wheelchair handles and quickly stepped back to make way for her.
Then, she knelt on the platform and watched as the two of them entered the hall.
The distance from the platform to the hall was not particularly long, but with all the palace people kneeling on the ground, the journey seemed exceedingly long.
Moreover, it was now Xiao Shuang, who controlled seven cities, pushing her wheelchair, and Xiao Jin enjoyed this privilege while also bearing immense pressure.
This was the Princess Zhao Yang, the most powerful and influential figure in the novel, pushing her wheelchair.
It had to be said that Xiao Jin was a bit confused and disoriented. Especially after she smelled the “spring mountain wind” scent on the platform of Wen Yue palace, her mood became even more complicated.
On the one hand, she was to betray her, while on the other hand, she was feeding her a jujube. She couldn’t figure out what Xiao Shuang was up to.
Even the kneeling palace people did not expect that according to the ancestral system, the Prince Yan, who had lost her legs, would never have the possibility of sitting on that chair again.
But the Princess Zhao Yang still doted on Xiao Jin very much, even pushing her wheelchair personally.
The Prince Yan was really… How did she deserve this kind of treatment!
Xiao Jin knew what the palace people were thinking.
She also wondered what kind of abilities the original owner had that allowed her to hold onto such a powerful position.
If it weren’t for her getting the lunch box too early, the male lead might not have survived.
While everyone was pondering Xiao Shuang’s intentions, she herself was oblivious to the gazes around her.
After she pushed Xiao Jin into the hall, she even lightly ordered the maid to prepare the silver bone charcoal.
Xishan kiln’s silver bone charcoal was the best charcoal.
This charcoal was warm and long-lasting, difficult to ignite and not easily extinguished. As long as it was burned for a moment in a copper wire cage, the whole room would be warm like spring.
In Qi country, silver bone charcoal was initially only used by the emperor and his concubines.
But the positions of the two princesses, Zhao Yang and Zhao Hua, were extraordinary, and when they left their fiefs to celebrate the festival in the capital, the Imperial Household Department would present them with the best charcoal.
Xiao Jin noticed the attitude of the imperial affairs department towards Xiao Shuang regarding the charcoal.
At this time, the whole capital was secretly observing the movements of the Wen Yue Palace, trying to figure out Xiao Shuang’s attitude towards Xiao Jin.
But the fact proved that Xiao Shuang’s attitude was as usual.
It was difficult for people to figure out her attitude.
Now, Xiao Shuang sent someone to take the cloak from Xiao Jin’s body, offered her tea, and chatted with her for a while.
Because they were just chatting, her tone was lazy and her attitude was casual, just like chatting between elders and juniors at home.
Although it was only a few words, Xiao Jin could feel that the other party probably had no ill intentions towards her.
It was just an intuition.
The look of a person who wants to kill another person cannot be hidden. Similarly, the look of a person who has no ill intentions towards another person cannot be hidden either.
Xiao Jin was not the original owner, she just read the original work.
Although she didn’t know what Xiao Shuang’s true attitude towards the original owner was, through their brief interaction, she could vaguely feel that the other party might really be treating the original owner as a younger generation and caring for her.
So the question came, if Xiao Shuang had no hostility towards the original owner, what was going on with the Spring Mountain on the Wen Yue Palace?
Xiao Jin was thinking about the assassination, but unexpectedly, Xiao Shuang looked at her and took the initiative to mention this matter.
She put down her teacup and smiled at Xiao Jin, saying, “Jin’er, although you are still young now, remember to clean up the aftermath when you do things in the future.”
Xiao Jin was slightly stunned and hadn’t figured out what Xiao Shuang was talking about.
But she saw Xiao Shuang’s face calm and continued, “There are only two types of people in the world, those who help you and those who are irrelevant or hinder you. The latter is of no use to you and may even cause trouble. You should eliminate them. If you are too soft-hearted and let them go easily… it sounds nice to say it’s kindness, but in a bad way, it’s indecisive and incapable of being a great person.”
“So after you took away the corpse, this palace took the liberty of sending all the soldiers of the Shenji Camp who were present to the border. It’s windy and frosty there, and it will keep their mouths shut.”
It was only after Xiao Shuang finished speaking that Xiao Jin realized that the reason why the news didn’t leak out that day was not only because the soldiers were intimidated by her threats, but also because Xiao Shuang had eliminated the dissenters behind her.
But before the original owner’s legs were paralyzed, the Shenji Camp was commanded by the original owner.
Xiao Jin could use the name of the original owner to deal with those people, but she was still a modern person and did not have the collective punishment mentality of ancient people, so she only gave them a light punishment.
Princess Zhao Yang’s move was to kill a thousand wrongdoers rather than let one go.
Xiao Jin realized that Xiao Shuang was ruthless, but in the ancient world of dog blood, only such people could survive to the end.
And this also shows… Xiao Shuang had planted spies beside the original owner.
Perhaps due to the warmth in the room, Xiao Jin’s palms were sweating again. However, she still had to maintain a calm demeanor and said, “Thank you, Auntie. I understand.”
Xiao Shuang stared at Xiao Jin with a smile.
But the next moment, she spoke frankly, “Knowing is one thing, but doing it is another. Our palace has always been clear about this.”
“Just like how our palace wants to help you reach new heights, but you only want to be a loyal subject to the prince. You would rather pave the way for the prince than follow our palace’s wishes.”
Xiao Jin was stunned again, but she didn’t show it in front of Xiao Shuang.
“Xiao Jin, sometimes our palace wonders, what kind of person are you? It’s one thing to be unruly and not support our palace and your mother, but why did you have to steal the fourth prince’s bride?”
They even called the original owner by name. It seems that Princess Zhao Yang is really angry.
As a scapegoat, Xiao Jin could only sit in the wheelchair and listen to her scolding.
After all, she had no choice but to complete her mission. She didn’t want to steal a bride.
Xiao Shuang saw that Xiao Jin remained silent and smiled instead. She slowed down her tone and asked, “Do you really like Chu Shao that much?”
Xiao Jin felt that she couldn’t pretend to be deaf and dumb anymore, so she answered calmly according to the original owner’s character, “Auntie, whether I do or not, what does it matter?”
This sentence was a hundred percent in line with the original Xiao Jin’s character. Even she herself would doubt whether she had said it before.
However, Xiao Shuang laughed and did not respond immediately.
It wasn’t until the palace maids had left the room that she said expressionlessly to Xiao Jin, “An enemy general falls in love with a princess of a defeated country… If this were to spread, it would be more than just ridiculous! Jin’er, do you think you’re writing a legendary tale?”
Xiao Jin fell silent.
It was very awkward now. Could she say that this was really just a novel?
Xiao Shuang looked at Xiao Jin and said indifferently, “And you’re not even a man. How could you like her?”
Ah, this.
Now Xiao Jin was really at a loss.
Completely at a loss.
Author’s note: Homophobia is deeply hidden, and those who understand it, understand it!
(Of course, Auntie is not actually homophobic)
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution between 2022-02-1923:56:212022-02-2023:18:20!
Translator’s note: *_*
TO BE CONTINUE…
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