Chapter 71: Thank me, I will never betray you.
She didn't know where she was, and dared not look out the window or meet his gaze.
In the not-so-spacious carriage, it seemed as if a Milky Way separated them, dividing them into two ends.
Yu Nie sat in the right-hand carriage, hugging his knees and trying to shrink himself into a ball, wishing he could shrink into a tiny dot so he could disappear in front of him.
Since leaving that abandoned old house, the two of them haven't exchanged a single word.
Thinking of all the bad things she had said about him, she felt more than just walking on thin ice; she had already stepped into an abyss with one foot hanging precariously on the ground, and in a moment, she would be doomed.
Yu Nie couldn't help but recall the words of her martial uncle Cui Miaochang, who told her to speak less and that "too much talk leads to mistakes," which was not without reason.
There's no such thing as a regret pill in this world; if there were, she would definitely go bankrupt to buy it.
After all, she had said so many bad things about him to his face.
Her words to him at the gates of Huaiyuan City that day still echoed in her ears. She was even a little curious about how he had managed to hold back until now, without attacking her back then.
Logically speaking, after He Renzhi and Zhao Shuhuai were brought to justice, he had no need to hide his identity anymore.
However, these are not her immediate concerns. What she should be concerned about is whether she can keep the secret of being Shunhe's double.
"Is she going to die here before she accomplishes her great task?" she thought sadly.
Just as she was lost in thought, the person in the car who had just finished wiping the knife spoke coolly: "I've read the letter you sent. What do you think the probability of your method succeeding is?"
What does this mean? Yu Nie was puzzled for a moment. Judging from the tone of his voice, did he not intend to reveal his true identity?
To further ascertain his intentions, she asked with surprise and suspicion, her eyes filled with the question, "You...you're not going to kill me?"
Huan Xun chuckled and tossed the soft cloth aside: "Killing you is too easy."
He slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at her: "Besides, do you really want to die that badly?"
"I don't want to die." Her tone hardened a bit at this point, but her expression remained proper: "I haven't lived enough yet."
Having said all that, she decided to spill all the worries and anxieties that had been weighing on her mind.
She asked him, "Now that I have something on you, since you won't expose me right now, what are you planning to do with me?"
Learning to read people's minds and understand their expressions was something she had to learn in order to live a good life.
She knows when and how to express her "needs".
For small things like buying notebooks, she figured out that she should ask when her parents were playing mahjong and winning money, rather than just asking for them because she needed them herself.
If you don't know how to read people's expressions, you'll only end up getting hurt. This is something she understood from a very young age.
Even her parents kept her around so that when they were short of money, they could use her as an excuse to ask the two elderly people for money without any restraint.
Without her, the two elderly people wouldn't have sent money to the two gamblers.
This is her role in the family.
The fact that she could guess the person in front of her had ulterior motives wasn't because she was particularly clever. Rather, it was because "the world is bustling with activity, all for profit and gain."
He was not a kind person who was happy to help others.
The person in front of her fiddled with the knife in his hand, without immediately answering her question.
He repeatedly drew the knife from its sheath and sheathed it, doing so twice before slowly saying, "Being too clever isn't always a good thing, Your Highness."
She seized on the key point in his words: "So you really think I'm useful, that's why you kept me?"
If that's the case, she feels much more at ease.
A useless person is easily abandoned. That's just how the world works, and she understood that.
Huan Xun did not try to hide anything from her or deny what she said.
Seeing that he didn't say anything negative, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her life was temporarily saved. After being tense for so long, she finally smiled.
Seeing her cheerful smile, he asked, "Are you this happy just to be alive?"
She nodded: "Of course, wouldn't it be wonderful, Lord Huanxun, to see the bright sunshine tomorrow and smell the fragrance of crabapple blossoms?"
He remained silent, as if the question were not worth answering.
He changed the subject: "You said you would use curing them as a condition for canceling the marriage alliance with the Jie people. Putting everything else aside, now that you are a princess, how do you plan to contact the Jie people in private?"
This was exactly what was troubling her; it was inconvenient for her to leave Hongzheng Pavilion, and completing the transaction itself wasn't so easy.
“I haven’t decided yet,” she said truthfully. “I have the medical books and I am confident that I can cure their illnesses, but… I am still struggling with how to reach a deal with them.”
Huan Xun replied directly, "You don't need to think about these things anymore."
"What?"
He replied crisply, "You're not the only princess of marriageable age in the palace. Jingyi and Linchuan are both suitable."
"But the imperial edict has already been proclaimed to the world, and besides, Hua Shu and Hua Ruo are innocent. I don't want to implicate them."
He seemed not to have heard the latter part of her sentence, his tone casual and almost nonchalant:
"What good is it to announce it to the world? All the Jie people want is a princess who can elevate their status. They will agree to any princess, no matter which one."
She almost suspected he had gone mad. A marriage alliance was a matter of national importance, not child's play.
Not only are imperial edicts golden words that cannot be changed overnight, but the Jie people also do not easily replace their leaders.
Otherwise, making such arbitrary changes would make them seem like they can be treated however they want, and would make them lose face.
"The celestial phenomena and prophecies foretell a white rainbow piercing the sun."
He didn't need to say much, but he said, "The Jie people believe in shamanism, and shamans are most averse to disobeying the will of Heaven. I have already ordered someone to change your birth date and time. Tomorrow, the Emperor will go to Hongzheng Pavilion with the Jie envoy, and I will have someone perform a 'strange phenomenon.' The water you gave me will be the best help."
"Both the Emperor and the Jie people believe in the gods. Seeing this situation, they will surely have someone perform divination. When the divination is done, it will be found that your birth chart clashes with their Khan's, in addition to the white rainbow that appeared in the sky above Xuzhou a few days ago."
His tone was confident, clearly indicating that everything was already planned: "At that time, you won't need to lift a finger. The Jie people will take the initiative to change the marriage partner, and everything will proceed smoothly."
The ancients' belief in gods had reached the point of fanaticism, a fact that Yu Nie had long understood.
The Jie people are particularly prominent in this regard.
When Song Ai taught her etiquette, she specifically instructed her that the Jie people should consult divination before going out, and that they must be careful and never offend the gods they worship.
The method he described was the fastest way to achieve his goal.
But... her heart wavered.
If she is replaced, who will take her place?
Hua Shu? Or Hua Ruo?
She posed this question to him, and his reply was: "Which of the two of them goes is none of your business. There has to be a sacrifice. If it's not you, it will naturally be someone else."
He looked at her and said, "You can barely save yourself, yet you want to save them?"
“I’m not that noble.” She spoke urgently, eager to find out who would suffer because of her, pressing, “I want to know, who exactly will be the substitute in this marriage alliance?”
He simply couldn't understand why she was so insistent on this answer.
In his view, what difference does it make who it is?
But he finally relented, his tone indifferent: "Zhao Huashu."
The power of Consort Cui's maternal family was incomparable to that of the Gao family; the emperor would favor the Gao family over the Cui family.
Seeing her solemn expression, he added, "The person originally chosen for the marriage alliance was Zhao Huashu. Now it's just that she's back on his side."
Then, he recounted to her how she had fallen ill and avoided a political marriage.
She was chosen only after hearing that the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs had come out of the Imperial Horse Administration.
She suddenly remembered Gu Xiangzhi.
So, could the fact that the Zongzheng Temple remembered Princess Shunhe be related to him?
Huan Xun, unaware of what she was thinking, continued, "Initially, the Emperor worried that her prolonged illness would turn her into a sickly princess, and that marrying into the Jie tribe would cause controversy. But now that she has recovered, this worry no longer exists."
“It was not you who chose her, but the emperor and fate.” He looked into her eyes and said, “You have no need to feel guilty.”
Yu Nie lowered her eyes. If things really went according to his plan, she could escape unscathed, but Zhao Huashu would have to embark on the journey to the borderlands again.
People are still sacrificing themselves; this is not the outcome she wanted.
The carriage swayed and rocked as it moved forward, the interior of which was completely silent.
Just then, a report came from outside the carriage: "My lord, we are almost at Hongzheng Pavilion."
Hearing the voices of Xuan Ce's guards outside, Yu Nie realized that time was running out.
As if she had made a tremendous decision, she solemnly looked at the person opposite her: "Give me some time."
He stopped what he was doing, and lazily looked at her, as if waiting for her to say something next.
Without further ado, she said, "Five days. If I cannot reach a deal with the Jie people within five days, you can proceed with your plan as you see fit, and I will not interfere."
"Reason." He never did good deeds, nor would he change his plans arbitrarily unless something beneficial happened to him.
“Huan Xun, I don’t know which side of me you like, but I do know that I am useful to you.”
She suppressed her nervousness, fearing he might refuse, so she set the terms of her reward extremely generously: "Whether you want to conquer the world, overthrow this dynasty, or anything else, I will be your most capable assistant."
She met his gaze: "I will never betray you."
As if to make her words seem less like empty promises, she said:
"Water-based powder and Night-fire powder are nothing but trivial things. I will make something even more powerful than these, which will make your efforts twice as effective."
The candlelight flickered inside the carriage, casting the shadows of the two people onto the carriage wall and onto her resolute little face, making her eyes shine.
He had already witnessed her abilities when he was in Huaiyuan.
A person with even a fraction of talent wouldn't be able to create peacock blue in such a short time.
He didn't need her to prove it again; he was certain of her talent, a fact he had no doubt about. Not to mention the presence of things like water-based disinfectants, which added to the credibility of her words.
"Trust me," she said, her voice almost pleading. She knew he held the upper hand in this deal.
With just the fact that she was a substitute, he already had her life in his grasp, so there was no need for him to make a deal with her.
He gazed at her thoughtfully for a long time.
Just when she thought she was going to fail, he suddenly spoke up: "Five days, only five days. You don't have much time left."
Hearing his agreement, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling overjoyed, but dared not show it.
She was afraid that if she was too happy, he would change his mind.
He didn't say what would happen if it wasn't completed on time.
But without needing to be explicitly stated, she already knew the outcome.
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage came to a steady stop outside the Hongzheng Pavilion.
A large crowd stood outside the museum, holding torches aloft.
The firelight illuminated the carriage even brighter. She glanced out the window, then turned to bid him farewell, but instead of saying goodbye, she said, "Thank you, Huan Xun."
A comment he made that was unexpected.
"Thank me for what?" He smiled, as if it were a joke, and said, "Thank me for not killing you?"
She was stunned by the laughter, thinking that everyone was still Huaiyuan, that he was still Huan Zijing, and that she was Rong Yunie.
He is not Huan Xun, and she doesn't need to pretend to be a princess.
After a moment, she lowered her eyes, returned a smile, and put on an expression that said, "Don't be shy."
"Hey... why is your mind filled with fighting and killing, sir? We'll be partners in the future. Even if you're my superior, it's always better for everyone to get along. Don't you think so, sir?"
She showed great self-awareness: "I know that the adults gave me this opportunity because they were soft-hearted, so I have to thank them."
"Your Highness... Your Highness..." Cuiwei's choked sobs came from afar, mixed with a burst of noisy footsteps.
Hearing that everyone inside had come out, she winked at him playfully:
"Lord Huan, my men have come to greet me. So, if you don't want me to be exposed now, shouldn't you treat me with the respect due to a subject?"
A sweet smile graced her face, but the cunning in her eyes was unmistakable.
He realized that she was deliberately "scheming" against him.
Knowing full well that he was being plotted against, he did not expose him.
He glanced at her briefly, then looked out the window. Through the gap in the carriage curtain, the figures of Song Ai, Cui Wei, and others could be vaguely seen.
She thought he would refuse, but to her surprise, he lifted his robe, bowed, and got off the carriage.
Before long, she heard a voice from outside: "Your Highness Shunhe, we have arrived at Hongzheng Pavilion."
She was happy to be able to serve him in front of others.
She could picture his reluctant expression and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
Having achieved her goal, she didn't linger. She lifted the carriage curtain, bent down, and went out.
Beside the carriage, Huan Xun had already extended his hand. His face was neither as cold as ever nor did it show the slightest bit of reluctance that she had expected. Only his eyes, as deep as the night steeped in ink, were quietly gazing at her.
She stared at the hand hanging in mid-air, not expecting him to actually bend down and help her up, and was momentarily stunned.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, and unable to refuse, she hesitated for only a moment before finally lowering her eyes and placing her fingertips on it.
The expected chill didn't come; instead, a dry, warm sensation spread up her palm, carrying a hint of comfort. Her fingers curled slightly, quite surprised. This temperature was completely different from what she expected.
He held her steady, and when he helped her step onto the footstool, he even paused for a moment, as if waiting for her to regain her balance.
She lowered her head and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the shadows of their clasped hands falling on the floor tiles. Before she could figure out the strange feeling of their elusive closeness, she was startled.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from inside the door.
Song Ai and the others had already rushed out, their clothes billowing.
When she got to her, Song Ai carefully examined her body, as if afraid that she might be injured somewhere.
Cuiwei, whose eyes were as red as the crabapple blossoms in the courtyard, saw that she was alright and her tears fell like a broken string, pattering onto the back of her hand. She kept asking her questions.
Just as she was about to speak to comfort him, through a crowd of people, she inadvertently bumped into a pair of cold eyes through the swaying shoulders.
The man stood on the steps, his gaze fixed on her.
Yu Nie unexpectedly spoke up: "Gu Xiangzhi?"
Author's Note: The title of Hua Shu has been changed in this chapter because it clashed with a previous reign title. Her title has been changed from Ningxi to Jingyi, and her mother has become Consort Cui.
Hua Ruo's mother's title was also changed to Consort Gao.
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