I’m Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman[Gl] Chapter 112: They were killed

Under the eaves, the candlelight from the lantern gradually dimmed.

The moonlight shone into the hall, creating a vast expanse of white.

At this time, most of the guests had dispersed, leaving only a few figures dragging and swaying on the floor tiles.

Emperor Qi sat on the high seat, observing the Fourth Prince and the kneeling guards. He then looked at the Zhiwei jade pendant placed on the table, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted.

Although Xiao Jin was shocked by the behavior of the original owner, she turned her head calmly and said to Emperor Qi, “Father, this token was found by your son from the assassin at that time.”

“Is this token genuine?” Emperor Qi asked.

Xiao Jin’s eyes were covered by white gauze, so when she smiled, she looked a bit cold. “Of course, it’s fake. If it were real, how could it bring disaster to the east and frame others?”

Emperor Qi understood Xiao Jin’s meaning and knew what a fake token could be used to forge. He nodded and said, “I understand.”

The Fourth Prince knelt at Emperor Qi’s feet and begged in a mournful voice, “Father, father… Your son was wrong. Your son will never dare to do it again. Your son will definitely listen to you in the future…”

He lifted his head, and his face was even paler under the moonlight. The blood on his hands became even more glaring. Emperor Qi remained unmoved and did not say a word.

Seeing that begging Emperor Qi was futile, the Fourth Prince crawled towards Xiao Shuang, but was blocked by Tang Yu’s sword.

He paused for a moment and then turned his gaze towards the Crown Prince, who was sitting in a chair with a smile, and the silent Princess Zhao Hua.

Finally, the Fourth Prince realized that it was useless to plead with anyone, and he slumped to the ground, laughing loudly, “All of you said you were doing it for my own good, but in the end, you were all lying to me… It’s fake, it’s all fake!”

As Emperor Qi listened to the Fourth Prince’s almost insane words, he slowly closed his eyes. He moved his lips and said softly, “The Fourth Prince, Xiao Yi, has an immoral character, who has harmed his elder brother and committed heinous crimes. Considering Concubine Mu’s companionship with me for decades, I pardon her death sentence and demote her to a commoner.”

“From today onwards, the prince’s mansion will be restricted, and he cannot leave unless he dies.”

….

What was the expression on the Fourth Prince’s face in the end? Xiao Jin didn’t have a chance to see clearly, she only heard hoarse laughter echoing in the hall.

Later, the Emperor Qi also punished her with a year’s salary reduction and a demotion to the rank of third-grade auxiliary general.

Xiao Jin had no objections, after all, if it weren’t for the Emperor Qi’s demotion, she would have almost forgotten that she had such a title.

Anyway, she was a person with disabled legs, and no one would force her to attend court on weekdays. It was impossible for her to really push a wheelchair to muster troops. Both the second-grade and third-grade positions were only empty titles, so it didn’t matter to her whether she was demoted to third-grade or not.

Moreover, Xiao Jin did commit a serious crime. If it weren’t for the Fourth Prince backing her up, even with Xiao Shuang’s protection, she probably wouldn’t have gotten off lightly.

After receiving the punishment, the Emperor Qi let everyone disperse.

However, Princess Zhao Hua’s birthday banquet was ruined by this incident, and she wasn’t in a good mood. She returned to her bedroom early.

As for the Crown Prince, he was summoned by the Emperor Qi to the imperial study to discuss government affairs.

The group of people carried lanterns and gradually disappeared into the distance, disappearing at the end of the path in the imperial garden.

At this time, the flowers were in full bloom, the birds were quiet, and the moon was just right.

Xiao Shuang held a peacock feather fan and looked up at the bright moon.

Suddenly, she said to Xiao Jin, “Let’s go to the Pavilion and chat for a while.”

Although Xiao Jin couldn’t see Xiao Shuang’s expression, she could hear that the other party was using a declarative sentence.

Xiao Jin knew that Xiao Shuang’s mood was probably not very good, and she was definitely going to talk to her alone.

Considering that the palace gates would soon be locked, she signaled Chu Shao to lean down and whispered in her ear, “I’ll go talk to Princess Zhao Yang for a while, you take Qin Xueting and Xia Sanniang back to the mansion first.”

Chu Shao nodded, “I understand.”

Getting a reply, Xiao Jin was somewhat surprised.

She was surprised that Chu Shao would agree so easily. But, more than that, she was worried. 

Although she knew that Chu Shao had strong martial arts skills, she still said to Ye Juege, “Juege, you go send them off.”

Ye Juege was very obedient and said, “Yes, I will escort the princess and Miss Qin out of the palace.”

Xiao Jin corrected her, “It’s not sending them out of the palace, it’s sending them to the gate of the Yan mansion.”

Ye Juege was confused and clearly a bit hesitant, “Your Highness, my first duty is to protect your safety.”

Xiao Jin corrected her, “Your first duty is to obey my orders.”

Xiao Shuang intentionally stood a little further away, but she could still vaguely hear the conversation between the few people.

Upon hearing this, it seemed quite novel, and she turned her head to look at Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin, who was being looked at, happened to be facing her, and gave a faint smile, “Moreover, with Princess Zhao Yang here, this prince won’t make any mistakes.”

Although Xiao Shuang knew that what Xiao Jin said was definitely a lie, the corners of her mouth still curved slightly.

They were already close to the gate of the palace, and they could not afford to delay any longer. .

However, Xiao Jin still felt a bit uneasy in her heart.

She hoped that Chu Shao would leave quickly.

But when it came time to leave, she also hoped that Chu Shao would leave more slowly and say more.

Unfortunately, Chu Shao was acting a bit unusual today.

She not only did not insist on staying, but also did not say much. 

She just gently replied and prepared to leave with Qin Xueting and Xia Sanniang. 

Finally, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but call out to the darkness in front of her, “Princess.”

The sound of footsteps paused. After a while, Xiao Jin still couldn’t say anything and just reminded them, “Be careful on the way.” 

Separated by the moonlight, Chu Shao stared at the figure in the distance for a long time before softly responding, “You too.”

Chu Shao was able to suppress the trembling tone of her voice, but she couldn’t control the intense beating in her chest.

If it were a usual situation, she would never let Xiao Jin stay alone in the dark.

The life and death of others ultimately had nothing to do with her.

But if Xiao Jin cared, she would comply with her wishes and care for her.

Xiao Jin had said that she would eventually go to a place where no one could find her, and that was her true hometown.

If that were the case, Chu Shao was sure that Xiao Jin would leave her without a doubt.

In a sense, Xiao Jin was just like her; they would both do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. 

Therefore, Xiao Jin would definitely abandon her.

But that was okay.

In order not to be abandoned by Xiao Jin, she can also resort to any means.

No matter what method she uses or what disguise she puts on, Chu Shao doesn’t care.

She knows that the ugliness and malice in her heart are at work, but so what?

Chu Shao’s lips curved into a smile.

The words she spoke to Xiao Jin were drowned out by the howling wind.

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you for too long.”

“Just a moment, just a moment.” 

… 

On the Pavilion, the evening glow bloomed at just the right time.

Unfortunately, the moon was obscured by the clouds and did not sprinkle its silver brilliance to illuminate their short-lived splendor.

After returning to the palace, Xiao Shuang took off her hairpin in front of the bronze mirror.

A maid approached and gently combed her hair with a jade comb.

Her three thousand green silk strands were scattered on her shoulders, softening her facial contours in the mirror.

However, Xiao Jin’s retinal dysfunction prevented her from seeing Princess Zhao Yang’s rare tenderness.

After the maid left, Xiao Shuang lay down on the couch and said to Xiao Jin, “Your temper has changed a lot since returning from Qingzhou.”

Xiao Jin replied calmly, “Aunt, you have also changed a lot.”

Hearing this, Xiao Shuang laughed and said, “You are covered in white silk, and you haven’t even seen me. How do you know that it has changed?”

Xiao Jin shook her head and said, “It’s just intuition.”

After all, she was not the original owner of the body, and if she spoke too much, she might reveal her true identity.

Xiao Shuang opened the incense burner and added a spoonful of dragon’s blood incense. She said carelessly, “Today at the banquet, you intentionally stabbed that guard, testing this palace.”

Xiao Jin did not answer Xiao Shuang’s question but brought up another matter, “The assassination that Jin’er encountered on Fuhua Street a few months ago was probably not done by Fourth Brother alone, right?”

As the incense smoke curled, the hand holding the silver key paused for a moment.

After a while, Xiao Shuang continued to add incense and said with a smile, “It seems that you have improved.”

Xiao Shuang’s way of speaking was very much like a riddle, so the fake Xiao Jin had to play along and joke, “It’s all thanks to Aunt’s excellent teachings.”

Perhaps feeling that adding incense was too tedious, Xiao Shuang put down the silver key and said casually, “When you were attacked, Tang Ling’s people were lurking in the woods nearby.”

“So Aunt has been watching from the sidelines?” Xiao Jin’s voice became colder.

Xiao Shuang’s tone was very casual, “So what if I was? What if I wasn’t? With Tang Ling’s people there, could those people still kill you?”

“And when did this palace ever want to kill you?” Xiao Shuang continued, “Aunt never thought of killing you, only sending assassins to injure you and use a sword soaked in poison to kill your wife who was coming to greet you at the door.”

Wife?

Xiao Shuang seemed to have heard something funny, and squinted slightly: “At that time, you only met Chu Shao a few times and already regarded her as your wife? If someone else said this, this palace would think that he was probably deceived by her beauty, and could still understand it.”

“But you, Xiao Ruoyu, saying this from your mouth, don’t you find it ridiculous?”

If it weren’t for Xiao Shuang always calling the original owner by her name, Xiao Jin would have almost forgotten that the original owner had this name.

After all, except for the person in front of her, no one else seemed to have called her by her name.

Of course, with the original owner’s identity, no one dared to call her by name.

Just because Xiao Shuang called the original owner by name, Xiao Jin felt that Xiao Shuang’s relationship with the original owner should be relatively close.

However, even a clever person like Xiao Shuang would rather believe that the original owner’s temperament had changed drastically, rather than think that the original owner had already died and had been replaced by someone else in her shell.

Therefore, at this moment, Xiao Jin felt that she could be a little more reckless.

After all, the people in the world of the book seemed to lack a rich imagination. So Xiao Jin bravely rushed forward and tested Xiao Shuang’s bottom line.

She retorted, “Aunt, shouldn’t it be me who you find ridiculous? You are the person closest to me, but you still want to harm me. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Xiao Shuang said coldly, “You should know that this palace is the person you should be closest to.”

“Xiao Jin has always understood.” Xiao Jin spoke lies without blinking her eyes.

Of course, her eyes were now covered in white gauze, so even if she blinked, Xiao Shuang couldn’t see.

Xiao Shuang stared at Xiao Jin for a long time, from her eyes covered in white gauze to her legs hanging on the wheelchair.

After a while, she withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, “Forget it, this palace will invite the best doctor tomorrow to treat your eyes.”

Xiao Jin had originally wanted to say that it was not necessary, but suddenly remembered Bai Lidan, the divine doctor who developed the gu poison.

He seemed to have been sent from Qi country to Yao country. If he was the one who came, then it would still be necessary to see him.

So she nodded and said, “Thank you, Aunt.”

Xiao Shuang made a sound of agreement.

Xiao Jin sensed that Xiao Shuang’s mood seemed to be okay at the moment.

She took the opportunity to ask a question that had puzzled her just now: “Auntie, how did you know that the guard in the hall was not a soldier from the Shenji Camp?”

She couldn’t believe that Xiao Shuang, who was so knowledgeable, had seen the face of every member of the Shenji Camp. Even if she was really abnormal, she couldn’t possibly remember them all, could she?

Sure enough, Xiao Shuang shook her head and said, “This palace is not a god, naturally, I don’t know whether he is a soldier of the Shenji Camp or not.”

Xiao Jin was even more puzzled, frowning and asking, “Auntie, were you just pretending to him?”

If it was really a pretense, it was too accurate and too reasonable. It was almost like having a protagonist halo. However, the fact proved that the other party was not deceiving, nor did she have a protagonist halo.

Xiao Shuang picked up the cup and took a sip of tea, then said indifferently, “This palace was not pretending to him, I just knew that he couldn’t possibly know those soldiers who supported you, nor was he a close friend of any of them.”

Xiao Jin vaguely guessed what was going on but still asked calmly, “Why did Auntie say this?”

Xiao Shuang smiled faintly, and said casually, “Because that batch of soldiers who supported you, including other soldiers who had dealings with them, were all exiled to the border by this palace, and then…”

“They were killed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Okay fine, I suddenly feel confused if Princess Zhao Yang is an ally or foe. Anyways, I hope she’s an ally.

TO BE CONTINUE…