In the capital city, Prince Yan’s residence.
Taking advantage of the remaining summer days, the maids would often hang the quilts on bamboo poles in the courtyard to let the cotton inside bask in the sun, warming it up.
However, the beddings and robes used by Prince Yan were never touched by the maids. They were all taken care of by two young ladies, Yin Zhu and Zi Ling.
“Don’t even think about touching the things Prince Yan uses on a daily basis. Besides following Old Zhang, the steward’s orders to deliver some clothes, we dare not step into Her Highness’s bedroom.”
One maid smoothed out the wrinkles on the quilt while discussing the matter with her companions.
Another maid whispered, “I think it’s because Her Highness has a leg ailment, that’s why she doesn’t like others attending to her and keeps looking at herself.”
“Hey, what nonsense are you talking about? We don’t even dare to lift our heads when we see Prince Yan. How could we dare to stare at her legs? That would cost us our lives!”
“But the Princess often looks closely at Her Highness’s legs, and she pays particularly close attention.”
The maid fell silent.
The other maid became excited and continued, “And yesterday, I hid in a corner and noticed that Her Highness never got out of the carriage. I only saw the Princess coming down to talk to Old Zhang. After that, she went back into the carriage and went straight into the courtyard, not allowing anyone to serve her.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Her Highness definitely hasn’t returned to the capital. There was probably only the Princess in the carriage.”
The maid was taken aback, then quickly covered her mouth, “Don’t talk nonsense. We, mere servants, have no right to discuss the matters of our masters.”
“Sister, I was just speaking the truth. If His Majesty is unwell, and Her Highness has truly returned to the capital, how could she not go into the palace to attend to the illness?”
The maid was afraid that the impulsive girl would continue speaking, so she interrupted her and scolded, “Perhaps… Perhaps Her Highness is just too tired, so she fell asleep. Why are you still laughing? Instead of working properly, you’re here spreading rumors. Tomorrow, I’ll report this to Ol Zhang, and he’ll have you expelled!”
Although the first maid casually came up with an excuse to brush off the young maid, she didn’t expect that the actual situation would be quite close to her flattery.
Xiao Jin had indeed fallen asleep, and it seemed like a long, endless slumber.
Chu Shao was already accustomed to it, but it was hard on Ye Juege and the attendants below. They couldn’t eat or sleep well these past few days, constantly staring at the tightly closed door, yearning to see what lay beyond.
People outside were getting anxious, while inside the door, some were even sitting in the courtyard, instructing Qin Xueting in sword practice.
Even Qin Xueting couldn’t help but ask, “Princess, aren’t you worried about Prince Yan?”
Chu Shao just smiled and said, “You’re too light with your moves, and your footwork is unstable. If you continue to practice like this, training for ten years will be no different from training for one day.”
At night, when she returned to her quarters, she sat beside the woman lying on the bed. Chu Shao reached out to touch Xiao Jin’s hair, feeling a slight pleasure even through the strands of hair slipping between her fingers.
She truly enjoyed this and even wished for more moments like this.
Because pleasure always fades, but the sleeping Xiao Jin would remain by her side, loyal to the point of being unlike the real Xiao Jin.
“How long will you love me?” Her hand rested on Xiao Jin’s eyebrows and eyes.
Perhaps Chu Shao never wanted to hear the answer, but she still smiled and asked, “Do you love me?”
No one answered.
Chu Shao laughed even happier, her eyes forming a crescent moon shape. “You definitely don’t love me, I know. But how could I ever expect you to love me?”
Love is such a useless thing. She just wants to hear Xiao Jin tell those strange stories.
Talking about swallows, statues adorned with gemstones, the hometown she doesn’t understand, everything distant and unfamiliar that she has never touched.
She really likes the endings of stories. The swallow unable to fly through the harsh winter, kissing the prince’s lips in its final moments, that is truly touching.
What moves her is not the swallow, but the prince.
If she could receive such a gift like the prince, she would savor it for her whole life.
….Â
The tea leaves in the cup have all sunk.
Nan Jin looked at Princess Shao, who slowly walked out of the room, and said to her, “Shao’er, now that the poison has been eliminated, I have prepared a gift for you.”
Princess Shao’s attention was drawn to the cool ointment on her back, and she smiled slightly, focusing on a rather unusual matter.
It seemed like someone had been here just now because there was no scent of that kind in the bandages.
But she didn’t ask, just adjusted to the hazy and unclear light before her. She couldn’t see Nan Jin’s face, but she knew that the other person was extending their hand from their sleeve.
She heard the sound of fabric brushing against the wrist, probably a very precious brocade.
Then, that hand gently grasped her sleeve and brought their body closer.
Princess Shao staggered a few steps, and the fabric pressed against her back dyed a small patch of red. Fortunately, it was at the back, and no one noticed her loss of composure.
She furrowed her brows slightly but managed to form an appropriate smile.
Nan Jin didn’t notice the thin layer of sweat on Princess Shao’s forehead. Instead, she reached out and gently touched her cold face. “You look very beautiful when you smile like this. They won’t know what you’re thinking, and they will all be afraid of you.”
While Princess Shao was still struggling with the blood seeping from her back, she saw Nan Jin being so happy, so she temporarily ignored the pain of the gauze sticking to her spine and responded, “Okay.”
Nan Jin noticed the wounds on Princess Shao’s wrist and fingers, so she compassionately caressed her ice-cold cheek.
The words that came out, however, carried no trace of pity. “It’s so ugly, it will disgust people.”
“What should I do then?” Princess Shao asked earnestly.
“Don’t worry, I have found a regenerating ointment for you. It will heal you without leaving any scars, but it might be a bit painful,” Nan Jin replied.
Speaking of this, Nan Jin smiled again. “Luckily, you’re not afraid of pain, my child.”
The bloodstains on her white clothes grew darker and darker. Princess Shao’s leg wound had not healed yet, and she was having trouble standing steady on her feet. However, she didn’t want Nan Jin to notice, so she rested her fingers on the chair armrest.
But as soon as she touched the armrest, Nan Jin grabbed her wrist. Like pulling the strings of a puppet, she tugged her forward.
In an instant, Princess Shao’s vision blurred once again. After a while, she finally recovered from the intriguing experience brought by the pain.
She heard the sound of liquid dripping along the edge of her clothes and then smelled the faint scent of blood seeping into the stone bricks. It felt warm and moist, as if filled with warmth.
Before she could fully comprehend this pleasure, Nan Jin stood by her side and presented her with a prepared gift.
There were two people, huddled together in a corner, their bodies tightly bound by ropes, and their mouths gagged with cloth. They looked disheveled, making it impossible to recognize their identities.
But Princess Shao recognized them, and so she smiled.
It was the old eunuch she had seen many years ago, and the little prince he was leading.
Princess Shao looked up at Nan Jin and asked gently, “Is this the gift you’ve given me?”
“Yes,” Nan Jin replied, patting Princess Shao’s head. Then she raised her hand and introduced them in a soft voice, with the frightened eyes of the little prince looking on, “This is the Empress’s child, and that person is the leader of the Fengyi Palace eunuchs.”
Princess Shao nodded.
Nan Jin withdrew her hand and picked up the sword with silver-blue engravings. “As for this sword, it’s called Nameless. I don’t know if it’s still sharp, so you can help me test it using the swordsmanship I taught you a few months ago. Kill these two people.”
There was a moment of silence in the room. Even Su Tan, who had been hiding behind the screen, was trembling with anger. If it weren’t for the guard covering her mouth with his hand, she would have already stormed out and cursed Nan Jin.
Princess Shao stared at Nan Jin and asked, “Why?”
Nan Jin’s tone was calm. “Because his mother, the Empress, hated you. She cursed you with poison and had your flesh cut away by a blade. So you should kill him and the dog by his side.”
Xiao Jin was contemplating how the young Shao would respond.
In the next moment, a burst of blood splattered in front of her. She saw the slender, pale hand of a young girl, with scars crisscrossing her wrist. The scars were covered by the bright red blood, hiding the slight trembling curve and the gentle smile at the corner of her lips.
For an instant, Xiao Jin almost had an illusion—standing in front of her was the present Shao, not the Shao from the past.
The Nameless sword slashed across the eunuch’s eyes and severed the little prince’s throat.
The wound on Princess Shao’s back tore open, and her fingers trembled with the sound of the sword ringing.
“Clang—”
Finally, the sword blade interwoven with silver light and blood fell to the ground.
Princess Shao turned around, and a vivid red surged out from her snow-white dress, each thread more dazzling than the last.
In that fleeting moment when pain and pleasure reached their climax, she couldn’t distinguish what had brought her happiness.
All she knew was that the blood of others made her body feel warm, and the long-lost satisfaction made her kneel on the ground. As she opened her eyes, she realized tears had already fallen into the pool of blood spreading at her feet.
It was a gratifying and exhilarating revenge.
Nan Jin felt that everything was incredibly fair.
But when Princess Shao lifted her tear-streaked face, Nan Jin suddenly realized she was mistaken.
Because the girl’s lips were curved with a smile, her tone so respectful and gentle that it hardly seemed like she was speaking to her.
“I thank them for relieving my boredom, so that our next meeting won’t be devoid of interest. That’s why I gave them appropriate retribution.”
“So, are you satisfied, Your Excellency?”
….Â
In the moment of awakening, Xiao Jin sat up from the bed.
The sunlight outside the window was warm but slightly dazzling. She didn’t have time to contemplate which unfortunate season it was or whether she was in reality or a memory.
“Shao’er?” There was no sign of Chu Shao in the room.
Xiao Jin was accustomed to moving through the rain and mist of her memories, to the point where she forgot she had already taken the antidote.
She stood up, her black hair falling over her shoulders.
Her heart pounded like a drum as she walked through the corridors that had been traversed by carriage tracks. It felt as if she was experiencing a recurring dream.
The cascading bead curtains brushed against her robe, and she felt no pain. Only the sunlight, shining into her eyes, stung with its vivid redness.
Silver-blue sword patterns. Flickering lanterns gradually extinguishing along the riverside.
The sound of a flute soared from the railing as a woman in white held up a bamboo-framed umbrella, weaving through the illusory mist of rain. The intoxicated scholar’s ambitions were unfulfilled as he threw his baggage onto the bluestone floor.
In an instant, shadows flickered, and locust flowers floated into the window. Chu Shao kissed Xiao Jin’s fingertips, a smile playing on her lips as she softly called out, “Your Highness, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness, I can’t bear to be without you. Will you always stay with me?”
As they reached the end of the courtyard, Xiao Jin stopped in her tracks.
Sunlight shone on the brocade quilt hanging on the bamboo pole and also on the furrowed brows of the woman.
Chu Shao was gazing at the bedsheet marked with bamboo weavings, pondering whether the girl who excelled in needlework was called Yin Zhu or Zi Ling.
Turning around, Chu Shao noticed another person standing in the distance.
Without any trace of pretense, Chu Shao froze. Shortly after, she, who hadn’t been ambushed in a long time, didn’t have the chance to steady herself before being pounced upon and falling to the ground.
Feathers floated out from the quilt, as white as delicate fluff.
Snow-like pieces fluttered in the courtyard.
Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin, who was sprawled on top of her, not knowing where to place her hands.
For a long time, until the snowfall ceased, she tentatively placed her fingers on Xiao Jin’s hair, gently combing it twice. Then, she began contemplating another question.
Who would be the one to tuck the feathers back into the quilt?Â
Which girl would it be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Oh! Xiao Jin can finally walk freely now. 🤧
TO BE CONTINUE…Â
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