Chu Shao stared at Xiao Jin, gazing for a long time.
In a certain moment, she suddenly felt that although this person in front of her was very close, in reality, they were incredibly distant.
Just like a figure in a painting hidden between the pages of a book, visible and touchable, yet something that couldn’t be grasped.
Chu Shao realized this, but still raised her hand and wiped away the tears from the corner of Xiao Jin’s eye.
As her fingers touched those few warm droplets, Chu Shao paused for a moment, as if she had been splashed by a spark.
However, soon Chu Shao returned to normal and smiled at Xiao Jin, asking, “Am I everything you see?”
“Yes.”
“Am I the person you miss the most?”
“Yes.”
“That’s wonderful then.”
Chu Shao smiled without reservation but didn’t ask the question she wanted to ask the most.
Before everything had settled, she wouldn’t overly reveal her greed in front of Xiao Jin.
After all, Chu Shao desired much, much more.
A moment, a day, a year, they were all too short.
What she wanted was forever.
Even though it seemed impossible, Chu Shao was willing to do whatever it takes to fight for that possibility.
So Chu Shao just cupped Xiao Jin’s face and pressed her lips against the other’s, gently parting them, entwining in a tender embrace within the stuffy tent.
Only when Xiao Jin grew tired and fell asleep on the bed did Chu Shao stand up, raise her hand to fasten her loose belt.
A smile still lingered on her lips, but her thoughts wandered elsewhere.
After a moment, Chu Shao walked out of the tent.
Before leaving, she glanced back at Xiao Jin.
Then she bent down and gently blew out the light on the desk.
The night was still long….
Crack—
The candle splattered flames, illuminating the figure standing at the entrance of the dark room.
The guards stationed in the prison cell were taken aback by Chu Shao’s sudden appearance.
They quickly saluted, but their hearts were troubled.
General Ye had specifically instructed them to keep a close watch on the prison cell, not allowing even a fly inside.
Yet Chu Shao had hurriedly returned from Changfeng Weichang and was holding the jade ring that the prince always wore on his finger.
They respectfully led Chu Shao to the underground secret chamber, opened the prison door, and said, “Your Highness, it’s right here.”
“Thank you all.”
Chu Shao took back the jade ring in her hand, smiled, and nodded.
Before the guards left, one of them found a match and lit the few remaining candles in the cell.
The wax slowly dripped down the candlesticks.
Bai Lidan’s face, covered in bloodstains, appeared particularly distinct under the candlelight.
His already weak and wrinkled features seemed even older now.
It was as if the long-absent light had pained him, and it took him a while to open his eyes.
Under Bai Lidan’s gaze, Chu Shao stepped over the bloodstains on the ground, casting swaying shadows on the wall as she approached him.
Thud—
Thud—
The sound of footsteps echoed clearly in the empty prison cell, accompanied by the dripping of fresh blood from the restraints, filling the entire dark room with a chilling sensation.
The candlelight flickered.
Chu Shao curled her lips in the flickering firelight, her voice gentle and slow: “During the hunting in the Changfeng Weichang Hunting Ground, someone once told me that the reason why the Her Highness Prince Yan ended up with a leg injury was not caused by the rain, but it was related to the sun in the sky.”
“Senior Bai, as you were undercover in Yao Country at that time, you must also have some knowledge of it, right?”
Bai Lidan looked up at Chu Shao, coughing repeatedly, “Old man, this old man does not know what you, the princess, are talking about.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely true. This old man is not the Senior Bai you mentioned. This old man is just a wandering doctor in the Jianghu who happened to treat some illnesses by chance.”
The old man seemed on the verge of death, seemingly lacking the strength to lie any further.
Chu Shao looked at Bai Lidan and merely smiled.
After a while, she casually brought up an unrelated topic, ” Senior Bai, when you administer acupuncture to save people, do you usually use your right hand?”
Bai Lidan hesitated for a moment and answered, “Yes, my right hand.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp scream suddenly resounded in the dark room.
Chu Shao swiftly drew out a dagger.
Almost in the blink of an eye, she raised the dagger and cut off a small portion of Bai Lidan’s little finger on his right hand.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
The bloody fingertip fell to the ground, rolling in a circle of crimson.
Bai Lidan’s hysterical screams echoed in his ears, while Chu Shao’s delight was beyond measure.
Her tone became sweet and cheerful, “Senior Bai, I’m very happy today.”
“Because she said she missed me a lot, especially me.”
Bai Lidan, of course, had no idea who Chu Shao was referring to.
He could only tremble and widen his eyes, his gaze filled with terror as if he were looking at a demon in hell.
Staring at that pair of eyebrows and eyes, Bai Lidan seemed to suddenly remember something and shouted loudly, “It’s you… are you that person from back then… ah…!”
The blade was unsheathed, and another finger was severed.
The fresh, viscous liquid dripped along the blade, flowing onto the pale and delicate wrist.
Chu Shao paid no attention to Bai Lidan’s delirious words, and she gazed at him with a smiling expression, continuing the unfinished conversation, “Senior Bai, although I don’t like being interrupted, I’m very happy today, so I will give you another chance.”
“You have ten chances to reveal all the information you know, and so far, you have used two.”
“My patience is limited, so from now on, you have eight chances left.”
….
Inside the Princess’s tent.
The night had grown late, and Xiao Shuang was still dressed in formal attire, leaning on the bed.
She extended a few slender fingers, as if carved from jade, to play with the tassels hanging from a golden hairpin.
The warm glow of the lamp reflected on her side profile, but it couldn’t add any warmth to her face.
After arranging the tangled tassels into a neat bundle, Xiao Shuang put the golden hairpin back into its box and looked up at the Cocunbine Shu, who was kneeling on the ground. “Qing’an, you should know that the Emperor is ill.”
Cocunbine Shu replied, “This concubine knows.”
Xiao Shuang’s tone was indifferent. “Therefore, you should be in the Emperor’s tent right now, not kneeling before me.”
Cocunbine Shu remained silent.
After a while, she weakly knelt down, heavily kowtowing to Xiao Shuang, “This concubine knows her guilt is unforgivable, but pleads… pleads for Your Highness to spare the lives of her maternal relatives. The events of the past were solely this concubine’s decision, and they had no knowledge of it.”
Xiao Shuang was originally reclining on the bed, but she changed her posture slightly, leaning forward.
She looked down at Cocunbine Shu, who was kneeling on the ground, with her eyes lowered under the bright lights, seemingly contemplating what the other person was really saying.
Cocunbine Shu’s smooth and fair forehead was still pressed against the ground, her heart pounding heavily like a drum, and her breath was slightly restricted.
Xiao Shuang’s voice came from the bed, “Given your family background back then, you were not qualified to enter the palace as a consort. It was because the palace considered that your mother had once served as the Mother Mu of the Crown Princess, that they arranged for you to enter the palace.”
“I have always remembered Your Highness’s grace and dare not forget it for a moment.”
Cocunbine Shu raised her head and looked at Xiao Shuang, a trace of blood now visible on her forehead.
The gaze she met was cold and filled with disgust, plunging her into an abyss.
Xiao Shuang laughed lightly with a mocking tone. She said slowly, “This palace once thought that you were someone who repays kindness, so during the years after Fengxuan’s death, this palace never thought that you were involved in that incident back then.”
Cocunbine Shu also laughed softly.
Xiao Shuang had long been disgusted with her, so she no longer needed to pretend after so many years. “Princess Zhao Yang, you are the Princess of Qi Country, born to receive countless love and favor. But what about me? I am just a pawn that can be manipulated. Whether I do something or not, I have never had any choice. If I don’t fight while trapped in the deep palace, I will silently die.” “So?”Â
“I must fight.”
“You want to fight, so you pretend to stand by my side, but in reality, you want to kill me.”
Cocunbine Shu shook her head, “I have never thought of killing you.”
Xiao Shuang’s expression remained emotionless, “You didn’t want to kill me, but you betrayed me and sided with the Emperor, secretly handing him the knife to cut my throat.”
There was silence in the tent for a long time.
“Yes,” Cocunbine Shu let out a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders.
Until now, she finally had the chance to admit everything she had done in front of the former Princess Zhao Yang, now Xiao Shuang.
She had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Xiao Shuang asked coldly, “What did he promise you?”
Cocunbine Shu recalled the events of the past and said softly, “Your Majesty promised me many things—glory for my maternal family, high official positions for my relatives, and a life of endless wealth and luxury.”
To Gu Qing’an, these things were more valuable than anything else in the world.
And it was still the same now.
But in Xiao Shuang’s eyes, it was just a cold question, “Is that all?”
Cocunbine Shu looked at her and smiled again.
It was unclear whether she was smiling at Xiao Shuang, who had always had everything, or at herself, who had never obtained what she desired.
Or perhaps she was just laughing at Gu Qing’an and laughing at herself.
After the laughter subsided, Cocunbine Shu said, “And there’s Jin’er. She said that after everything is done, she will entrust Jin’er to me for upbringing.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of emotion finally appeared on Xiao Shuang’s face.
She got up from her high seat and walked step by step towards Cocunbine Shu, raising her hand to lift the other’s chin, forcing Cocunbine Shu to look up at her.”So, in reality, Xiao Ye never wanted Jin’er life. He wanted to kill Fengxuan from beginning to end.”
Cocunbine Shu felt the pressure on her chin as Xiao Shuang tightened her grip, meeting the cold phoenix-like eyes, and answered softly, “Yes.”
“That day, Xiao Ye sent the Imperial Guard stationed at the palace to support me, but it was actually to let the people from the Empress’s side take advantage of the situation and eliminate Fengxuan.”
“Yes.”
Xiao Shuang had already known the answer long ago, many years ago.
But at this moment, she still asked, “Why?”
“Because Your Majesty knew that if Fengxuan didn’t die, you wouldn’t recklessly mobilize the hidden forces to resist the two powerful clans.”
“Just that?”
“Just that.”
Cocunbine Shu’s answer was within Xiao Shuang’s expectations.
Xiao Shuang released her grip on Cocunbine Shu’s chin, and although her blood seemed to freeze for a moment, her demeanor returned to its usual indifference and calmness.
She looked at the warm red light inside the tent and suddenly felt like laughing out loud.
Is it really so?
Just that.
It seemed that the power struggles within the royal family had always been like this.
So cruel and yet so boring.
Thinking of the baby girl wrapped in swaddling clothes, Xiao Shuang couldn’t help but think, but she didn’t laugh.
Her expression returned to its usual indifference and calmness. “Fengxuan’s is dead, and there’s no guarantee that Jin’er will survive either. So the promises Xiao Ye made to you are nothing but empty words.”
“No, Your Highness, Jin’er won’t die.”
“Why?”Â
“Because there’s someone else, someone who is also Your Majesty’s pawn.”
….
After Chu Shao left, Xiao Jin woke up again.
The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to reach out and gently touch the lingering warmth on the side of the pillow.
Around the jade pillow, there was a faint fragrance left by Chu Shao’s hair.
Smelling the faint fragrance lingering in the bed, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but smile.
After laughing for a while, she realized that she seemed to have important things to do.
So she extended her fingers and earnestly pressed down the curve of her lips, smoothing it out.
There’s no way to have a love-struck brain when Chu Shao is not present.
When Chu Shao is not in front of her, it is impossible for love to occupy her entire mind.
Xiao Jin decided to start doing real work.
And the important matter she was concerned about was the stack of letters she hadn’t finished reading before she fell unconscious.
Blame it on the system being too annoying.
Just as Xiao Jin was about to find out what the Empress had written to Prince Shen, the system automatically triggered a reward, causing her to fall into a coma.
After the cloud of Internet depression in the late night, Xiao Jin’s consciousness gradually became clear.
Unable to sleep horizontally, and reminded of this important matter, she sat up from the bed and went to find the stack of letters that Chu Shao casually left under the pillow.
The candle was lit, and the handwriting on the letters became clear.
Xiao Jin casually flipped through a few of them and was somewhat surprised.
Because it turned out that the Empress and Prince Shen had been secretly exchanging letters for more than twenty years.
Although there were breaks, it never ceased and there was always communication.
This indicated that the two of them were basically in the same boat.
However, after the Emperor took action against Prince Shen, Prince Shen, in order to save Xiao Qing’s life, turned around and sold out the Empress.
Xiao Jin sighed and lowered her gaze, continuing to read the letters. But on the letter paper, she noticed a few striking lines of handwriting.
As she held the slightly wrinkled page, her brows gradually furrowed.
After painstakingly deciphering those lines of traditional characters, within the stifling tent, Xiao Jin was drenched in cold sweat from the shock.Â
Prince Shen knew quite a few secrets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: What secret? Please tell me now. My curiosity can’t stop speculating.
TO BE CONTINUE…
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