Chapter 118
"There are some things I must remind you of," Wang Huiwen continued earnestly, "Once you enter the palace, many things will be beyond your control. Being careful with your words and actions is fundamental. Also, you must remember one thing: do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not eat or drink unfamiliar tea or food, and it is best not to leave Prince Ning'an's side to act alone. The palace is not like outside; it is a place full of dangers... Do you understand?"
Qin Sang absentmindedly agreed, and Wang Huiwen took her to try on clothes and jewelry. They were busy and soon it was evening. Xie Suian never had a chance to come over again.
As dusk settled and night fell, by the time Wang Huiwen had left with his entourage, a pale, cold moon had already hung in the branches.
After a hasty dinner, Qin Sang sat by the window with her long, flowing black hair. The cool autumn night breeze made her cough softly, her frail body trembling slightly. Her fingers rubbed her sleeves as she pondered her next move.
If she were to enter the palace to meet the Emperor in two days, there would be no turning back on her marriage to Prince Ning'an. She needed to come up with a solution as soon as possible.
Her primary purpose in descending to the mortal realm was to eliminate karmic obstacles, and only secondarily to ensure the continued existence of the Namo Kingdom. As for ensuring the kingdom's survival, she could simply choose a wise ruler to protect and support him on the throne, but more importantly, she needed to eliminate karmic obstacles and address the root of the problem, she thought to herself.
If the eldest princess is indeed the deity who stirred up trouble in the Kingdom of Nanwu for revenge, then the best course of action is to kill her directly. Since she has secretly descended to the mortal realm, she must be using a mortal identity and has certainly sealed her magical powers to avoid detection by the celestial realm; otherwise, she wouldn't have spent so much time planning this.
Every human being has a way of dying.
But she was of noble status, while he was just a nobody. They could never even meet normally. To assassinate her would be even more difficult than giving up this budding love.
However, her son could be a breakthrough point. She always felt that Bai Yiqing was a bit strange, and the person she met at his private residence that day was also very strange.
She looked up at the moon; the moonlight wasn't as bright as it had been that day. Perhaps… She got up and called to Lingding, “Grind the ink for me and tell Uncle Qin to come over.”
After a moment, she stared at the plain white letter paper and the neat, tiny handwriting, smiled slightly, then put it into an envelope, sealed it tightly with wax, and handed it to Lingding: "Have Uncle Qin find a way to give it to Young Master Bai privately, without alerting the Princess's people."
Lingding opened her eyes slightly, but without suspecting anything, she left with the things.
She dragged her still weak body back to her bedroom, where Ying'er helped her to bed early.
Before dawn the next day, a crack was opened in the back window of Qin Sang's bedroom, and a petite figure in a black trench coat carefully climbed out of the window, using a stool as a stepping stone.
"Be careful." Qin Baoyun's face was solemn as he reached out to support Qin Sang's arm, helping her carefully flip over using a wooden bucket as a stepping stone.
She didn't usually need to be so delicate, but lately she was really lacking in energy, probably because that palm strike had damaged her foundation. Because of this, she gritted her teeth whenever she thought of Young Master Bai, yet she still had to try to please him.
A simple oxcart was prepared outside the gate, with only a dim oil lamp on the shaft. Qin Sang was escorted onto the cart by Ling Ding and Qin Baoyun, and headed straight for the east of the city.
"Did he give you the meeting address?" Qin Sang asked through the curtain.
"Yes. It is his private residence in the east of the city," Qin Baoyun replied while driving the oxen, wearing an inconspicuous straw hat.
Qin Sang then asked, "Have you found out who he was with last time?"
"It is said that the doctor was invited from out of town to treat Young Master Bai. The young master's servants are tight-lipped and can't find out anything else, not even where he came from."
"Hmm..." Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do the servants of the Princess know about this residence of their young master?"
"We sent people to inquire, but they probably don't know."
Qin Sang nodded: "It seems this place is indeed his secret meeting place."
Qin Baoyun chimed in, "That should be it."
The cart wheels rolled over the dark blue flagstones. Even in Kyoto, the streets were desolate in the early morning. Apart from the night watchman and the porters who emptied chamber pots, and the vendors who steamed buns in the morning, the streets were almost empty.
The old ox trudged slowly forward, its unassuming and ornate carriage failing to attract anyone's attention.
Finally, just as dawn was breaking, the oxcart stopped in front of an inconspicuous black wooden door.
It's obvious that this isn't the front door, but just a corner door.
Qin Sang got out of the car wearing a cloak and hood, and Qin Baoyun went to knock on the door.
It was as if someone had been waiting at the door all along. After three knocks, the door was opened a crack, and the doorman peeked out with one eye. After recognizing the person, he quietly and quickly opened the door to welcome the guest: "Please follow me, guest."
He then instructed Qin Baoyun: "Go to the end of the left, then to the left again, and the horse... oxcart can be taken there first to eat grain."
After speaking, he glanced at Qin Sang's maid without making a sound, as if he were being very cautious. Only after confirming that there was no problem did he lead the maid inside.
Qin Sang noticed the man's footsteps and aura; he was clearly a master as well. Young Master Bai was indeed surrounded by experts.
Having sneaked in last time, she returned severely injured without seeing anything clearly. As Qin Sang stepped into the courtyard, she couldn't help but shiver slightly. She raised her eyelids and glanced around out of the corner of her eye. She saw that in just a few days, the courtyard had been neatly planted with flowers, trees, and shrubs, and a newly built round stone path meandered forward, leading to an arched, carved door.
Passing through the carved door, there were long corridors on both sides. The servant led the people to turn to the left, and Qin Sang followed behind. After a few steps, she turned around as if she had a premonition and saw a middle-aged man in a dark blue cloth shirt standing in the distance on the corridor.
Although dressed simply, he was calm and composed. With his hands behind his back, his back straight, and slightly graying temples, he vaguely resembled the guest who had barged in that night. At this moment, he was intently staring at an osmanthus tree in the courtyard. Golden petals had fallen to the ground beneath the tree, and a beautiful sika deer with beautiful antlers was grazing and strolling under it.
As her gaze fell upon him, the other person happened to look over as well. Their eyes met, and both paused subtly. But the other person showed no sign of panic, merely observing with curiosity, as if he had heard of Qin Sang before but had never met her, and thus probed her without any attempt at concealment.
Qin Sang frowned slightly, and in an instant, something came to mind.
"Guest, please continue." The servant who had led the way stopped when he saw her stop, and urged her on. Qin Sang had no choice but to nod slightly to him and follow him.
Passing through the long corridor, I stepped up the stairs into another courtyard. This courtyard was many times larger than the previous one, with a babbling brook flowing through it. The courtyard was filled with unknown ornamental grasses, and the tender green color, like newly sprouted buds in spring, instantly made me feel happy and refreshed.
At the end of a gravel path stood a thatched pavilion with curtains drawn on all four sides, its splendor tinged with a strange simplicity. The sheer curtains draped gracefully, revealing a kneeling figure within.
Judging from his posture and expression, Qin Sang recognized him at a glance.
Sure enough, the servant approached and whispered, "Young master, the person has arrived."
After a soft "hmm" was heard from inside, the servant lifted the curtain and respectfully said, "Please, young lady."
Qin Sang saw Bai Yiqing's icy, indifferent face inside. He was grinding tea with his eyes down, reluctant to even glance at her.
Qin Sang sighed inwardly, took off her hooded cape and handed it to Ling Ding, then said calmly, "Just wait for me outside."
Lingding took the clothes, lowered her head, and stepped aside.
Qin Sang stepped up the stairs, approached quietly, and knelt down opposite his tea table.
The other party still didn't look up, so Qin Sang had no choice but to cough lightly and speak in a cheerful tone: "Young Master Bai, you're in a good mood. This tea is called 'Autumn Red Tea,' isn't it? It's quite rare. It seems I'm in for a treat."
He didn't change his expression, but merely lifted his eyelids slightly to glance at her before lowering them again: "You asked someone to tell me that you have something important to say. Speak, what is it?"
Qin Sang knelt upright, looked around, but did not answer his question. Instead, she smiled and said, "Young Master Bai, this house is so elegant. Is it where you keep your mistress? I heard that the Princess said that you can only establish your own residence after you get married."
Bai Yiqing used a wooden spoon to scoop the ground tea powder into the teacup, her expression focused and careful, ignoring Qin Sang's obviously probing words.
This person had naturally pale, cold skin, and every exposed patch of skin exuded an icy chill. His slender fingers were also exceptionally delicate and beautiful... Qin Sang recalled their first meeting.
Back then, in Li County, he was just a handsome man I met by chance who invited me to share a fish. But he wasn't so cold back then. Although distant, his gentle and refined demeanor could be considered mild. Who would have thought that now, every time I see him, his face gets even more sour?
Perhaps seeing that Qin Sang hadn't spoken for a long time, Bai Yiqing picked up the teacup and finally looked up at Qin Sang again. Qin Sang immediately put on a friendly smile.
The other person held back for a moment, but finally couldn't hold back any longer: "You came here just to tell me this?"
"No." Qin Sang sat up even more upright. "I have a question I'd like to ask you, young master."
"ask."
"..." Qin Sang pursed her lips and said, "Everyone knows that I was betrothed to Prince Ning'an, but no one knows that I do not want to marry him."
Bai Yiqing paused.
Qin Sang leaned forward slightly and asked, "Young Master Bai, do you want to marry me?"
The usually composed Young Master Bai's hand trembled, stirring tea stains onto the wooden table. He frowned at Qin Sang, his face saying, "What blasphemous nonsense are you spouting?"
Qin Sang blinked with genuine anticipation, "I love you. If you want to marry me, could you ask the Princess to intercede and cancel the marriage? Or, is there any other way..."
Bai Yiqing stared at the exquisitely beautiful young girl before him, who seemed to be courting death with every word she uttered. Many words floated across his lips, but in the end, he couldn't utter a single one of his insults. He merely gave a contemptuous sneer: "Where do you get the confidence that I, this young master, would take a liking to a country bumpkin like you? And even defy the imperial decree to help you break off your engagement?"
"What if you're just blind and have taken a liking to me?" Qin Sang started to act foolish and unreasonable. "Although I'm a wild girl from the countryside, I'm not exactly stunningly beautiful, but I'm still quite pretty. Ever since I came to the capital, I've been targeted by those people. Sigh, being too beautiful is indeed a problem."
After sighing, she looked pitifully at Bai Yiqing: "We've known each other for a long time. In this huge capital city, I really can't find anyone else to help me. Xie Sui'an is useless. He and his family only want to use me as a pawn to curry favor with Prince Ning'an. But Prince Ning'an is so scary! He's already lost two wives!"
Fortunately, Young Master Bai is always well-mannered and has seen a lot in life, so he was not shocked into losing his composure by Qin Sang's shameless remarks.
But his stirring rhythm had clearly gone out of control.
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