Chu Shao gazed at the sunset hanging between the sky and the peaks through the window lattice of the room. If it were any other day, she wouldn’t have paid attention to how time silently changed the colors of the sky, as such things were too ordinary to catch her interest.
But today, with Xiao Jin not by her side, Chu Shao, unusually, had the leisure to look at that patch of sky. She observed how the sunset struggled boringly, putting up futile resistance, only to achieve the most exquisite beauty in the last moments before dying.
Chu Shao used to think that both people and things were only truly captivating when they were on the verge of death, about to turn into ashes—a kind of beauty that was broken, filled with torment, and etched into one’s memory.
But now, as she watched the sunset wavering between life and death, she furrowed her brows.
Because Xiao Jin was not here, it seemed that she had temporarily lost interest in patiently watching.
On the contrary, a different emotion arose within Chu Shao. Based on her self-awareness, she figured it was probably irritation. However, it was alright; it was just a minor annoyance.
However, Yin Zhu, who stayed in the room with Chu Shao, was not doing well at all. She watched as the Princess admired the hazy dusk and absentmindedly picked up the nameless sword hanging on the wall, playing with it casually in her hand.
The slender and fair fingers gripping the hilt, and the smile on her lips, were extremely graceful. Yet, that hand that seemed incapable of lifting heavy objects effortlessly drew out the silver sword from its sheath, producing a crisp and pleasant ring.
“Zheng—”
Hearing this sword ring, Yin Zhu’s heart trembled, and she didn’t dare to take a breath.
Chu Shao, as the instigator, didn’t lower her head to look at the nameless sword in her hand. She continued to admire the sunset at the Dali Temple with a smile.
After a while, she gently asked, “Is Her Highness still discussing important matters with Princess Zhao Yang?”
Replying truthfully, Yin Zhu said, “According to Your Highness’s orders, this servant only escorted you to the room. As for other matters… this servant is truly unaware.”
Yin Zhu spoke the truth, yet for some reason, even though she was speaking the truth in front of Chu Shao, she still felt a sense of trepidation.
“I see.” Chu Shao responded and continued playing with the sword.
In her hand, this peerless famous sword seemed like a somewhat unsatisfactory toy.
Sometimes she unsheathed it, and sometimes she returned it to its sheath, all at the whim of Chu Shao’s thoughts.
After several repetitions, it finally settled in a half-unsheathed state.
Through the engraved silver-blue patterns on the blade, Chu Shao saw her own face and the deliberately lifted curve of her lips.
She stared at that face for a long time, slightly tilted her head, and asked Yin Zhu beside her, “Do you think I am beautiful?”
Yin Zhu froze.
After a moment of daze, she finally gave an affirmative answer, “Princess, of course, you are beautiful.”
“How beautiful am I?” Chu Shao asked again.
Yin Zhu honestly said, “Princess, you are the most beautiful person I have seen in over twenty years of serving.”
Chu Shao stared at her reflection in the curved surface of the sword, still frowning.
“If I am truly that beautiful, then why doesn’t she want to be with me all the time?”
Yin Zhu choked up.
She looked at Chu Shao, using the sword as a mirror, not knowing what to answer.
After all, this question was quite difficult, and regardless of how she answered, it didn’t seem like it should be her place to answer… right?
Yin Zhu silently thought: Indeed, only Her Highness Prince Yan can say the words that would satisfy the Princess.
….
When Xiao Jin came out of Xiao Shuang’s room, it was already getting late. Moreover, she encountered Bai Zheng and her father, Minister Bai, on the way, so she couldn’t avoid exchanging pleasantries for a while before parting.
Since they had met, Bai Zheng discreetly moved away from the surrounding people and chatted with her alone for a few moments.
As she was not the original owner, Xiao Jin didn’t say much, and most of the time, she listened to Bai Zheng speaking.
Bai Zheng seemed quite relaxed and began with the spices at the Yanyu Building, then went on to talk about the hundred-plus pots of mint that the Crown Prince had given to the original owner several years ago.
She spoke eloquently and added, “But that was all a long time ago. At that time, this humble servant even asked His Highness why so many pots of mint were planted in the pavilion.”
“You just mentioned that you had a severe headache once when you were young. You heard that mint could alleviate headaches, so you wanted to ask His Highness the Crown Prince for a pot. But you didn’t expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would actually send a hundred pots.”
Xiao Jin seemed to have some recollection.
Those were the hundred pots of mint that she had moved from the pavilion and casually given to Su Tan?
Bai Zheng observed Xiao Jin’s expression and smiled, saying, “You have never been fond of tending to flowers and plants. However, those hundred pots of mint were a gift from the current Crown Prince. You couldn’t throw them away, so you had no choice but to assign someone to take care of them. It seems like headaches became even more of a concern.”
Xiao Jin nodded.
That was indeed in line with the original owner’s style, but…
Xiao Jin said calmly, “This matter is true, but I should not have told Miss Bai about it. It seems you have misremembered.”
Bai Zheng’s expression flickered slightly, as if she was somewhat surprised.
After a moment, as if nothing had happened, she smiled and said, “Indeed, this matter was not told to me by you. I happened to hear about it from somewhere else. It seems Your Highness has a much better memory than me.”
Xiao Jin had long seen through Bai Zheng’s probing intentions and sneered inwardly.
Trying to scheme against me, but she’s a bit too young.
Even Old Zhang knew that the original owner always ignored Bai Zheng. In that case, how could the original owner have had so many conversations with her.
It was clearly fabricated, obviously an attempt to test whether there had been a change in the person behind the Prince of Yan’s façade.
After Bai Zheng finished speaking, it was now Xiao Jin’s turn to turn the tables. “Miss Bai, where did you hear about this? Can you share the details?”
To Xiao Jin’s surprise, Bai Zheng actually answered her question directly.
“Embarrassingly, when I was a child, I was ignorant and always remembered that you had saved me. So, I often asked Master Tang for news about you. Master Tang couldn’t get rid of my pestering and would sometimes share one or two interesting anecdotes related to you.”
“Which Master Tang?” Xiao Jin frowned.
“With Your Highness asking like this, could it be that you want to investigate and punish the one who leaked the information?” Bai Zheng’s eyebrows curved, and she smiled, “But this matter was something I insisted on. If you want to blame someone, blame me. It’s not really Commander Tang’s fault.”
Tang Ling?
This person who appears to be insincere and deceitful is unexpectedly quite acquainted with the original owner.
However, after a moment of contemplation, Xiao Jin felt that the term “acquainted” wasn’t enough to describe the relationship between these two individuals.
She speculated that Tang Ling was tasked by Xiao Shuang to keep an eye on the original owner. In fact, if one were to count, Tang Ling could be considered an elder to the original owner.
But regardless, Bai Zheng is a member of the Blood Rain Pavilion, and it is clear that she is probing on behalf of the Crown Prince this time.
Thinking this, Xiao Jin began to give her the signal to leave.
“Naturally, I won’t blame Commander Tang. It’s getting late now, so you should go back early,” Xiao Jin said.
Bai Zhen was sensible and immediately took her leave.
However, just as she was about to leave, she gazed at Xiao Jin sitting in the wheelchair and whispered a few words.
“Your Highness, I actually understand everything. When you saved me back then, it was merely an impromptu act, nothing significant. Please rest assured that I have long dispelled any thoughts I had about you.”
At that moment, Xiao Jin looked at Bai Zheng and found that the other party’s face was becoming clearer before her eyes. The lotus flower reflected on the water-red sleeve was a vivid and beautiful sight.
Bai Zheng smiled and said, “I am different from my father. I have no intention of getting involved in any factional struggles. Over the years, besides reconciling the accounts of the Yanyu Building every day, the only thing I wanted to find out was the truth behind that rain.”
“That rain fell inopportunely; it was a twist of fate. You don’t need to wade into that muddled water.”
“Is that so? But, Your Highness, I have already learned part of the truth,” Bai Zheng slightly bowed and whispered, “Apart from the poison wiped on the arrow by Princess Zhao Yang, it seems there is another poison in your body. You should investigate to find out who the other person is.”
….
In the forest, the sound of horseshoes could be heard.
Several spirited horses pulled two carriages as they raced along the road back to the capital.
The speed was not fast; it was deliberately slowed down, presumably at the owner’s command.
Xiao Jin was indeed not in a hurry to return to the capital, but to be honest, she also didn’t want to stay at the Dali Temple any longer.
After all, the temple started ringing the bell at five in the morning, and she was just a mortal, not a crowing rooster. It would be strange if she could stay there.
So, as soon as she returned to the carriage, finished her dinner, she pulled her people and left first.
At this moment, Xiao Jin was sitting alone in the carriage, reading a book.
The book was printed in traditional characters, and the more she read, the more dizzy she felt. Xiao Jin began to regret not calling Chu Shao to sit in the same carriage with her.
She really fell for Ye Suyu’s trick, saying that the weather was hot and the carriage would be stuffy, so she specially arranged for her and Chu Shao to each have their own carriage.
But before nightfall, it started raining on the road, and the carriage was so cool that it felt like a gust of wind.
As Xiao Jin flipped through the book while thinking, when they stopped to rest later, she definitely had to invite Shao’er over.
Of course, it was absolutely not because she didn’t want to read but because she wanted to see Chu Shao.
With such a sneaky thought, Xiao Jin simply put the book aside and picked up something else to study.
It was also a book, but there were no words on it, just densely drawn grids, more like a copybook.
The pages of the book also contained a promissory note that the original owner gave to Xiao Shuang for painting a big cake. The white paper and black writing clearly calculated that a total of forty-eight thousand words were owed.
The system looked at Xiao Jin’s smooth movements and fell silent for a moment. “Host, how did you steal things from the original owner’s room?”
Xiao Jin frowned, expressing her confusion. “Can you call it stealing when it comes to transmigrating into a book?”
Regarding taking away books from someone else’s room, she felt justified and had no guilty conscience. Since Xiao Shuang had the intention of letting her stay in the original owner’s room for a night, it would be a waste not to bring something back.
Moreover, this book also contained a city defense map of Yao Country. If she didn’t take it, that would be strange.
Xiao Jin remained calm and looked through the promissory note and the city defense map again, but she still couldn’t see any hidden clues.
However, when she saw the third item hidden in the book, her expression became somewhat complex.
The promissory note and the city defense map hidden in the copybook seemed like something the original owner would do. But there was also a portrait hidden inside that looked exactly like Chu Shao, which was rather bewildering.
What’s even stranger is that the paper of the portrait has turned yellow with age, indicating that it must be something from years ago, depicting the previous Chu Shao.
As Xiao Jin looked at it from different angles, she couldn’t help but feel that the princess Shao in the portrait, with her white clothes and sleeves and a gentle smile, appeared innocent and without any hint of gloom.
Combined with what Shen Lan said earlier, that he and Shen Lang saw Chu Shao kill Shen Ronglian with their own eyes.
At that time, Chu Shao was only in her early teens and had already committed such a drastic act. How could she show such a genuine smile?
Moreover, Xiao Jin couldn’t shake off the feeling that Chu Shao, who was in her early teens, had no motive or possibility of killing Shen Ronglian.
Xiao Jin held Chu Shao’s portrait in her hand while sitting in the carriage, but her mind had already begun to brainstorm.
So much so that when someone raised their hand and gently lifted the curtain, she didn’t even notice.
Chu Shao’s gaze first fell on Xiao Jin’s loose black hair, knowing that Xiao Jin must find the jade crown uncomfortable and had taken it off, resting against the backrest.
Thinking this, a smile unconsciously appeared on Chu Shao’s lips. But when she saw the portrait in Xiao Jin’s hand, she froze.
After a moment, Xiao Jin was startled by Chu Shao’s soft laughter.
Meeting Chu Shao’s smiling eyes, her mind was still in a disconnected state, feeling embarrassed for herself. Her body was even honest enough to roll up the portrait and prepare to hide it in her sleeve.
But unfortunately, Xiao Jin tried to hide it, but not completely.
Just as Chu Shao, who was outside the carriage just now, blinked, she was already by her side.
Not only did she approach unexpectedly fast, but she also grabbed Xiao Jin’s wrist just as she was about to hide the portrait.
The grip wasn’t strong, but she couldn’t break free at that moment.
Moreover, now that they had both the person and the evidence, Xiao Jin was stunned and had no intention of escaping.
She could only see the night breeze lifting Chu Shao’s robe, and the red birthmark below Chu Shao’s eye flickered like a tear of a mermaid.
Chu Shao’s voice came softly and gently, with a smile reaching Xiao Jin’s ears, “If Your Highness misses me, just tell me directly, and I will come to see you.”
“Instead of secretly looking at paintings behind my back, why not take a good look at the person in front of you? What do you say, Your Highness?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Hahaha… Right! Instead of looking at the portrait, why don’t you look at the person herself?
TO BE CONTINUE…Â
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