A feast that perpetuates hatred
The guard rushed forward and plunged a sword into Qin Yanzhen's chest.
In an instant, chaos erupted in the palace. The emperor summoned the imperial physician and informed Pei Qinzhou.
"Miss!" Thirteen Niang cried, wrapping her other arm around the fallen Wen Zhibai.
She said through gritted teeth, "It's alright, you take the child home first."
Unexpectedly, Qin Yanzhen showed no fear and plunged the sword deeper into her chest. She coughed up blood and smiled at the terrified Wen Lingchen, saying, "You said you would marry me, you said you would spend your life with me. You betrayed me. What did I do wrong... Wen Lingchen, how will you repay what you owe me in this life?"
When Wen Lingchen saw her eyes wide open, he breathed his last and collapsed to the ground.
Wen Zhibai bit her lower lip in pain, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. She stood up through the pain and asked, "Father, are you satisfied with this ending?"
"Yes...it was my fault..."
“You don’t know you’re wrong, you’re just afraid of the outcome of losing everything.” After saying that, Wen Zhibai glared at him and left with the imperial physician who came forward.
Stepping outside the palace, one sees a clear blue sky, flocks of birds, and imposing palace walls. The life-and-death struggle, the love and hate entanglements that had just taken place inside the palace... even the most painful things in the world are nothing more than dust in the face of all things in the universe.
Thirteen Sister looked in the direction she was looking: "This is the palace... I used to think that no matter how much injustice we common people suffer or how much bitterness we swallow, who would care...?"
Wen Zhibai pulled himself out of his thoughts, wiped away his tears, but did not look at Thirteen Niang immediately. Instead, he turned around and slowly swept his gaze over the majestic palace behind him.
“I care.” She grasped Thirteen’s trembling hand.
What she couldn't hear in the high halls of the palace, she cared about; what she couldn't see outside the palace walls, she also cared about.
Thirteen Sister smiled through her tears: "Mmm."
As she stepped down the stairs of the main hall, Thirteen Sister suddenly called out, "Miss...that is..."
She looked up wearily, and a dashing young man was running towards her.
It was him.
It is Pei Qinzhou.
Seeing the man's anxious expression, her nose tingled, and she chuckled softly as he picked her up in his arms.
Thirteen Niang was escorted out of the palace by another palace maid.
She buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled, trembling with relief: "Pei Qinzhou, I did it..."
He tightened his arms, his voice choked with emotion: "Yes, I know."
Following the imperial physician, they arrived at a side hall, where he placed her on the bed.
Imperial Physician: "Please, Lord Pei, help this young lady and remove her upper garment to expose the wound."
“…Pei Lang, take it off, it’s alright.”
His fingertips trembled as he pulled her blouse off layer by layer from the collar.
When the wound appeared before Pei Qinzhou's eyes, his eyes welled up with tears.
After the wound was treated, the imperial physician left first.
Wen Zhibai turned to face him, tears welling in his eyes: "It seems that every time I see you cry, it's because of me."
“…Mmm.” His breathing became heavy as he tried to suppress the heartache in his heart.
"Pei Lang, isn't it tiring to like someone like me?"
"Loving you is a blessing I've prayed for for countless lifetimes." He cupped her cheek with one hand, pressing his forehead against hers: "I will always be true to my heart, true to you."
That familiar long street of the palace, the road where Pei Qinzhou had walked home alone countless times in the snow.
Now, two green willows sprout, and standing beside him is the person he has sought for nine lifetimes.
Facing the empty blue brick road, he smiled and opened his palm for the first time: "Zhibai, let's go home together."
She took his hand, nodded, and smiled, "Yes, let's go home together."
This time, he was finally not alone on his way home.
The snow that had been falling for nine hundred years in my heart stopped the moment my fingertips touched the warmth of her palm.
Gao Mansion
Upon learning of the news from the palace, Wen Xian's expression turned unusually cold. She took out a small ceramic jar containing white powder from her jewelry box and carried it with her, along with a silver needle wrapped in cloth. She then hurriedly went to the Wen residence.
Two coffins were placed in the mansion, and the servants had all been dismissed by Wen Lingchen. Now, there was only deathly silence.
Wen Lingchen was in a daze, sitting beside the coffin with the child he had brought with him.
With the help of servants, Wen Xian slowly walked to his side and softly called out, "Father?"
He seemed not to hear, and did not react.
Wen Xian squatted down and called out again, "Father?"
Wen Lingchen then stirred slightly: "Xian'er...you've come..."
“Yes. Although Xian’er has married into the Gao family, she is still a child of the Wen family at heart. She came to see her father, and also to see her mother and brother one last time.” Wen Xian walked towards the coffin, and had someone open it. Upon seeing Qin Yanzhen’s face, a complex emotion flashed in her eyes, and tears still silently fell: “Mother…”
The sound of sobbing reached Wen Lingchen's ears. He slowly got up and patted Wen Xian's shoulder: "The imperial decree is hard to disobey. You should bury your mother and brother. Father has to go... From now on, you will be alone in Shangjing. Take good care of yourself."
Wen Lingchen took one last look at the Wen residence, now all its former glory gone. He wanted to see Wen Zhibai one more time, but he knew that his daughter would not see him.
With few belongings, he casually slung a bundle over his shoulder and left the house just as he had driven Jiang Xuwan out of the house.
Wen Xian placed the medicine pot and silver needles she had brought into Wen Fushi's coffin, her thoughts drifting back to the day of her return visit—
She was taking care of Wen Fushi with Qin Yanzhen, but unbeknownst to her, while Wen Fushi was embracing her, she secretly inserted a silver needle laced with poison powder into Wen Fushi's back.
“Mother, I will do everything I can to accomplish what you want to do.” Wen Xian recalled the words she had said to Qin Yanzhen before she got married.
She reached out and took the ruby and diamond ring off Qin Yanzhen's hand, whispering to her now silent mother, "You see, I said... at all costs." Then she firmly put the ring on her own hand, her voice suddenly turning icy: "Of course, that includes your life."
And her ultimate goal is Wen Zhibai.
For some reason, ever since Wen Zhibai and Shisan Niang met the Emperor that day, the Emperor has issued an edict to urgently select a Crown Princess for Xia Chengen.
He sat alone at the chessboard, playing chess, and couldn't help but sigh. Pei Qinzhou had been saying these past few days that he had no time to come to the East Palace. He was getting impatient with the loneliness of being confined to his four corners of the palace.
"Knock knock knock—" A knocking sound came from outside the palace. It was a maid bringing him ginseng soup.
The maid lowered her head and placed the ginseng soup on the table, but her movements were stiff.
Xia Chengen, who was deep in thought, couldn't help but look up—and saw that her figure was also trembling slightly.
"The new guy?"
With just a few ordinary words, the maid was so frightened that she knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, please forgive me, this servant is..."
"Don't be nervous. I was just asking because you look unfamiliar. You may leave now."
The maid slowly stood up, but kept staring at the ginseng soup in Xia Chengen's hand.
"What, are you going to watch me drink?"
"I...I'm not..."
"I don't want to repeat myself." Xia Chengen looked displeased and just wanted her to leave his palace as soon as possible.
Seeing that she finally turned and left, Xia Chengen felt his mouth was dry, so he picked up his cup and took a sip.
Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly felt dizzy and his vision blurred, and the chessboard in front of him began to show many illusions.
"What's going on?" He forced himself to walk unsteadily towards the outside of the hall. "Someone, someone come here!"
Before they even reached the outside of the palace, the maidservant turned back and pulled Xia Chengen onto the bed.
"Who exactly are you?" Xia Chengen felt his body heat up.
The maid loosened her belt and crawled toward him.
He pushed the woman away and rolled off the bed.
"Someone come here!"
"Your Highness, I had no choice but to do this. I only want to become your Crown Princess to save my brother..."
Just then, the window next to them was opened.
A bright red figure appeared before my eyes.
"Qi Yuning?!" Xia Chengen and Qi Yuning's eyes widened simultaneously: "Help me!"
She climbed in through the window and dragged Xia Chengen up from the ground.
"She...she drugged me..."
Qi Yuning looked at the girl wrapped in a blanket and crying on the bed, and immediately recognized her: "Miss He?!"
"Yu Ning, forget about others, help me..."
Xia Chengen's hand was on Qi Yining's waist, but she punched him in the face: "Ah! Your Highness!"
"You hit me?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I just got used to it."
She quickly ran up to help him up. Seeing his increasingly dazed look, Qi Yining remembered that there was a lotus pond outside the door.
"Your Highness, please hold on a little longer."
A few seconds later, Qi Yuning pushed Xia Chengen into the water without hesitation.
"Your Highness, the pool water is coldest in winter. Do you feel any better now?"
Just as she said, Xia Chengen immediately came to his senses.
It was only later that she learned that the maid was He Junyi's younger sister. After He Junyi was exiled to the frontier, she wanted to use Xia Chengen's status as the Crown Princess to bring He Junyi back from the frontier.
...
"And what about you? Why are you at the East Palace at this time?" Xia Chengen asked, sipping ginger tea and wearing a cloak.
Qi Yuning looked embarrassed: "Before answering Your Highness's question, could Your Highness please tell me first, you won't punish me for that punch just now, will you?"
"General Qi saved my life, how could I punish you?"
"That's good. But my brother didn't know I sneaked into the East Palace tonight. He just removed the guards from my side yesterday, so please keep it a secret, Your Highness."
"clear."
"Oh, right." As she spoke, Qi Yuning took out a wolf tooth necklace made of red thread from her sleeve: "I promised to give it to His Highness when I returned to the capital, and I haven't forgotten."
His gaze held a hint of delight, but he didn't look at the wolf fang necklace first.
“Your Highness, don’t just look at me, look at the necklace! Mine was made by my brother, but the one I gave to Your Highness was strung with great effort.”
Xia Chengen smiled and held the wolf fang in his hand: "Thank you for your trouble, General Qi."
"I've heard that Your Highness will be selecting a consort in a few days. I wish Your Highness a speedy finding of a good match, like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl... well, no, like Lord Pei and Zhi Bai."
After saying that, Qi Yuning was about to take her leave when Xia Chengen called out to her, "Wait."
"Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"
"Since you're already here, why not have a couple of drinks with me?"
"No, Your Highness, I came by climbing over the wall, and I'll be leaving by climbing over it again soon. If I've been drinking, I'm afraid my light-footed skills won't be effective. Why don't we wait until Your Highness's confinement is over, and then go to the Pei residence together and drink with Lord Pei until we're both thoroughly drunk?"
Xia Chengen took the token from his waist and handed it to her: "With this, you won't need to climb over the wall."
"What's wrong with Your Highness?" She declined, saying, "How can the Crown Prince's token be given to just anyone?"
“I… already have someone I like, and I don’t want to choose a concubine.”
"So, Your Highness is troubled by this matter?"
"Um."
"Is the person Your Highness favors not among those to be chosen as a concubine?"
"Yes, she's not here."
"May I ask which family's young lady she is?"
Xia Chengen looked up, his burning gaze falling on Qi Yuning.
"No way...it can't be Zhibai, can it?"
He was speechless.
"..." Qi Yining raised the corners of her mouth, but her tone was not happy. She patiently asked, "Does Your Highness mean that you like me?"
Xia Chengen paused, his hand holding the teacup, and his ears felt slightly hot.
He hadn't expected her to be so direct. After a moment of silence, he simply looked up and met her gaze: "Yes, it's you."
"Why? I have only met Your Highness a few times."
"But we are also sworn brothers, aren't we?"
"Your Highness and Lord Pei have also gone through thick and thin together."
One sentence cut Xia Chengen off his train of thought.
“Your Highness, though I am somewhat naive, I am still quite perceptive about the feelings between men and women. I admit that I am very happy when I am with Your Highness, but I know clearly that it is not love. Your Highness and I are both still young, and perhaps your liking for me is just a passing fancy, or perhaps it is just admiration, nothing more.”
Her eyes were frank and open, yet they held a rare gentleness: "I have met almost all the young ladies of Shangjing. They are all beautiful and virtuous, and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They are truly a perfect match. The Crown Princess should be like them. Why doesn't Your Highness meet them? Of course, I don't mean for Your Highness to choose someone you don't love to marry. That would be unfair to both Your Highness and these women."
"I--"
"Your Highness," Qi Yuning interrupted him, "I have already delivered the things I promised to give you. I didn't mean what I said earlier... Farewell."
She left behind a hurried silhouette and disappeared into the night.
Xia Chengen gripped the wolf fang necklace tightly, his heart feeling as if a lump was stuck in his throat: "Was it just a spur-of-the-moment decision...?"
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