Xin Yidao coughed up blood and laughed, then put the blood-stained giant clam bracelet back on her wrist. "I promised Song Yi. Ahem. When have I ever broken my promise?"
Jiang Jinzhao leaned against the cave wall, watching the two silhouettes. He suddenly understood why his sister's personality had changed so drastically after her rebirth. He fumbled to remove the jade pendant from his waist—it was a gift from Jiang Songyi when they were seven years old. The pendant had a crooked "Zhao" character engraved on the corner.
As the rainstorm subsided, the sound of Black Iron Cavalry's hooves could be heard in the distance. Jiang Songyi's grip on the Crown Prince's hand suddenly loosened, and she turned around, her cold expression returning. She tossed the medicine bottle to Jiang Jinzhao, "Don't die out there and bring shame to the Marquis' Mansion."
When Jiang Jinzhao took the medicine bottle, he caught a glimpse of the small word "Yi" engraved on the bottom. This was the medicine he had casually bought from the pharmacy the year his sister came of age. The bottle was warm, as if it still held the warmth of her palm.
"Brother." Jiang Songyi suddenly spoke. She had her back to him as she sorted through her quiver. Her voice was so soft it sounded like an illusion. "Your handwriting is so ugly."
Jiang Jinzhao clenched his medicine bottle fiercely. In his previous life, among the "Instructions for Women" he had burned at his sister's coffin, he'd found an unsent letter. It began with the words, "Brother's handwriting is too ugly." The post-rain sunlight stung his eyes, and he vaguely saw fifteen-year-old Jiang Songyi crouching by the window, laughing at the scrawled, scribbled policy essay he'd copied.
…
Torrential rain lashed the branches of the forest, and Jiang Songyi's knuckles turned white as she gripped the reins. She glanced back and saw her brother and the Crown Prince riding together. Her rouge horse snorted irritably.
"Gee!" She whipped her horse's hooves and suddenly galloped away, the mud and water splashing up from her horse's hooves covering half of Jiang Jinzhao's body. Xin Yidao raised her sleeve to shield him from the water, and saw the girl's straight back in front of her—very similar to the figure drawing a bow on the city wall in her past life.
After circling the birch forest three times, Jiang Songyi reined in her horse. Yanzhi's front hooves kicked up, breaking puddles. As she turned, the jade hairpin in her hair nearly fell off. "Your Highness, do you remember the way you came?"
Xin Yidao brushed away the raindrops on her eyelashes and said, "Weren't you the one leading the way just now?"
"I." Jiang Songyi's ears flushed red. He took out the tortoise shell from his waist and was about to use it for divination when he heard Jiang Jinzhao speak weakly, "There's a cave three hundred steps to the west."
"You're such a mouthful!" She glared at her brother, then turned her horse's head. Xinyi Dao looked at the water droplets dripping from her hair, and vaguely saw the little girl clutching the hexagram plate, lost on a snowy night in her previous life.
The cave walls were covered in moss. Xin Yidao's flick of the lighter startled a bat. Jiang Songyi crouched to gather firewood, her soaked skirt trailing a trail of water. As the flames rose, she caught a glimpse of her brother's palm, the flesh turned inside out. The barbed arrowhead gleamed coldly amidst the blood.
"The Fourth Prince's assassins favor barbed arrows," she suddenly said, her dagger warmed red over the fire. "That's how the Minister of Rites lost his right hand during last year's autumn hunt."
Jiang Jinzhao shuddered at the words, cold sweat mixed with rain trickling down his collar. Had his sister felt this same pain when she blocked an arrow for him in his previous life? He stared at the dancing flames when he suddenly heard a crisp "crack"—Jiang Songyi had actually broken the arrow shaft with her bare hands.
"Hold it down." Xin Yidao suddenly grabbed his wrist with astonishing force. Before Jiang Jinzhao could react, the scalding tip of the knife had already torn through his flesh. As the sharp pain shot through his head, he saw beads of sweat on his sister's temples—she, too, was nervous.
The smell of burning rotting flesh filled the cave. Jiang Songyi's fingertips were still trembling as she dropped the dagger. In her previous life, she'd cut open her master's chest to remove the poison arrow without a tremor, but now she could barely hold the knife.
"The military medical officer's technique." Xin Yidao tore off the hem of her clothes to bandage the wound. "Where did Miss Jiang learn this?"
"In a dream." Jiang Songyi tossed the blood-stained handkerchief into the fire. In her previous life, the night her master was shot, she had trembled like this as she dug out the poisoned arrow. As the flames engulfed the handkerchief, she seemed to see her master vomiting black blood.
Jiang Jinzhao stared at his neatly bandaged right hand and suddenly remembered last year's Lantern Festival. When his sister was scalded by hot oil, he was choosing a pearl hairpin for Jiang Yuyao, tossing a bottle of ointment and walking away. This wound now seemed like a belated retribution.
"The assassin is coming for me," Xinyi said, stirring the fire, sparks flying onto her clothes. "My fourth brother forged this weapon privately last month."
"In Heming Mountain," Jiang Songyi said, pulling a golden-feathered arrow from her quiver. "The emblem on the arrow was specially made by the Ministry of Works last year." The arrow reflected her cold expression. "Tomorrow morning, during the court session, this arrow will be placed on the Fourth Prince's desk."
Jiang Jinzhao gasped. He suddenly understood why his sister, after her rebirth, had only cared about the Crown Prince. Such a ruthless and ruthless character was a perfect match for the gentle and kind Crown Prince.
Thunder roared outside the cave, and Jiang Songyi suddenly stood up. "I'm going to find some herbs." She grabbed her bamboo hat and rushed into the rain, her rouge horse neighing in pursuit. Xin Yidao watched her disappear into the rain, his fingertips tracing the hidden pocket in his sleeve—a poisoned arrow hidden within.
"Your Highness, have you anticipated the assassination attempt?" Jiang Jinzhao suddenly asked. He noticed the soft armor faintly visible beneath the Crown Prince's inner garments; it was precious armor woven from gold threads from the Western Regions.
Xin Yidao chuckled and tossed him the dried cloak. "Miss Jiang said I'd have a bloody disaster." The firelight illuminated the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows. "She said Fourth Brother would lose an eye tonight."
Amidst the pounding rain, Jiang Jinzhao heard his sister's inner voice: "Gu Zheyuan will finally succeed." He gazed at the dark forest outside the cave and suddenly felt fortunate that he hadn't yet chosen a side after his rebirth—Jiang Songyi had already set up this chess game as a dead end.
When Jiang Songyi returned, her skirt stained with mud, she held a healthy Panax notoginseng plant in her arms. As she was pounding the herbs, Xinyi Daoyi suddenly grabbed her wrist and asked, "Why did you deliberately get lost just now?"
"Me." Jiang Songyi was stunned. In her previous life, her master always said she had a poor sense of direction. After her rebirth, she diligently memorized the terrain, but just now she had deliberately taken a detour—just to hear his heartbeat a little longer.
"Heavy rain is bad for your health," Xin Yidao said, untying his cloak and wrapping her in it. "Get some sleep." His voice was as gentle as fresh snow, but Jiang Songyi could smell the faint scent of blood. In the flickering firelight, she caught a glimpse of the dark red stain on his back—he had used his body to cushion the sharp rocks as he tumbled down the cliff.
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