Chapter 17 Sugar-Coated Bullets "Admit it, Qin Jin, I'm more than anyone else..."
"The Empress Dowager ordered this old servant to ask the Crown Prince whether he was the one who did this."
At the last quarter of the hour of You (5-7 PM), outside the gate of the Guard Commandery.
Weary birds skim across the lake, scattering golden light across its surface. The lanterns lit by the eaves are slightly less vibrant than the crimson clouds tinged with the red of the crabapple blossoms. The setting sun passes through the woods, and the spring breeze stirs the earth, leaving flowing golden shadows on the blue bricks and white tiles.
The setting sun cast a long, dark shadow on Qin Jin's handsome figure, draping his jade crown in gold. The light danced on his high, straight nose, and his thick, curled eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a lonely shadow beneath his eyelids.
Qin Jin's expression seemed wooden for a moment, but after a brief silence, he returned to normal. He cupped his hands and said to the palace nun with a cynical smile, "Granny, you are wise. Killing someone is one thing, but disemboweling someone is not something I can do. I am afraid of blood and do not have that kind of courage."
The fact that the Marquis of Ding'an, a veteran of countless battles and countless killings, had a child with hemophobia was a source of amusement and laughter in Chang'an at the time, but even so, the palace nanny could not put her mind at ease.
Who says you have to do the gutting yourself?
Her tone hardened, carrying a warning and rebuke: "The Empress Dowager said that the Crown Prince is unruly and dissolute, and his behavior is outrageous. If he does not restrain himself and be cautious, he may bring shame to the family. She ordered that the Crown Prince must enter the palace on the first and fifteenth of each month to reflect on his mistakes and must not disobey. He does not need to return to the Marquis of Ding'an's residence for the time being and will temporarily reside in the Princess's residence."
Qin Jin remained calm, having long been accustomed to such reprimands: "I will obey the Empress Dowager's decree."
As the palace maid was about to leave, she said meaningfully, "The young master must always remember his status and not bring shame upon his ancestors or his parents."
His lowered eyelashes concealed the fleeting glint of fierceness in his eyes. The veins on the back of Qin Jin's hand, hidden beneath his sleeve, throbbed. He lowered his head, maintaining his calm voice: "Thank you for your teachings, Granny. I will never forget them."
The palace instructor left in her carriage, satisfied, leaving Qin Jin standing alone outside the guard post.
The last wisp of cloud dissipated helplessly as it was driven away, and the long night swallowed up the green hills and pavilions, gradually pulling the entire city of Chang'an into a cage.
Qin Jin's figure was swallowed by the darkness, the night chill draped over his shoulders. He looked up and stared blankly at the distant bright moon until dark clouds gathered, before he finally stepped out into the night.
Xue Rongyue deliberately waited until the night was deep before heading towards Qin Jin's courtyard with her "martial arts manual" in her pocket.
While drinking with Princess Yu'an, a servant came to report that Qin Jin had already entered the mansion, and that Princess Yu'an would be too drunk to attend to him tonight.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, she first convinced herself with a self-consistent logic that "I only went to Qin Jin a second time to trick him" and "It's not shameful to take the initiative to trick someone." Only then did she condescend to go to Qin Jin to analyze the pros and cons and lure him into the trap.
He intended to use the name of the Princess to send away the servants serving in the courtyard, but when he arrived at the courtyard where Qin Jin was temporarily staying, the courtyard was dark and the room was not bright. The servants who should have been serving him were nowhere to be found.
If Xue Rongyue hadn't heard the servants report it to her own ears, she would have thought that Qin Jin hadn't returned from the Guard Command yet.
Upon reaching the door, Xue Rongyue raised her hand and knocked.
The wind rustled through the treetops.
There was no other sound or response.
Are you asleep?
Seizing the opportunity, Xue Rongyue, unwilling to suffer a setback, immediately began to pound on the door vigorously.
Rubbing his swollen and painful temples, Qin Jin opened his eyes in frustration.
After returning home drunk, he specifically instructed his servants not to disturb him. Now, he had just closed his eyes when the knocking began. He initially didn't want to pay attention, but the knocking only intensified.
Helplessly, he sat up, his head still spinning. As he walked to the door and opened it, he was thinking that something terrible must have happened. When the door opened, Xue Rongyue's unadorned face came into view unexpectedly.
Qin Jin's hand trembled, and he subconsciously looked up at the sky—
No way, has the sky fallen?
Otherwise, why would Xue Rongyue come knocking on his door?
Adhering to the first lesson of the secret manual, Xue Rongyue bypassed Qin Jin and entered the house without waiting for him to speak.
She sat down with her head held high, pointing to another stool not far away: "Sit."
Qin Jin felt a little dazed, wondering if he had been subjected to too much stimulation recently.
Seeing Qin Jin standing motionless by the door, Xue Rongyue emphasized again, "Sit down. How can we talk if you're standing there?"
Her overconfidence left Qin Jin at a loss. He subconsciously obeyed her orders, but after taking only two steps, he was told by Xue Rongyue to close the door. He obediently went back and closed the door before sitting down.
Xue Rongyue nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this: "It's not good if people see me in your room and don't close the door."
"?"
Qin Jin finally realized what was happening and said irritably, "You know it's wrong, so what are you trying to do now?"
Qin Jin felt that his life was quite miserable.
Not only were the poisoning and murder cases troubling him, but Xue Rongyue also kept coming up with new ways to torment him. Fate truly didn't allow him a moment of peace.
Xue Rongyue knew this was inappropriate, but the matter could only be discussed in private.
She raised her chin and got straight to the point: "If we join forces, we will definitely be able to find out who is behind this."
As she finished speaking, she realized she had overlooked a step in the manual: thoughtfulness.
Xue Rongyue was never a considerate person, nor did she know what constituted consideration. After thinking for a moment, she reluctantly bent down, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it to Qin Jin.
Isn't that thoughtful?
Qin Jin glanced at the cup of tea, pointed to the door, and said succinctly, "Please."
It is pronounced "qing" and means "get lost".
Although she had already anticipated Qin Jin's reaction, Xue Rongyue was still somewhat annoyed, and a thin blush rose on her neck.
She felt that Qin Jin was ungrateful, but she had no choice but to swallow her anger: "It is no accident that you and I are involved in this murder case. If we hold grudges and fight each other now, wouldn't that benefit others? It would be better to unite against the outside world, find out the real culprit, solve the current mystery, and catch that despicable person and deal with him."
Qin Jin's voice was extremely calm: "What, with Madam Xue's talent, you can't catch this person?"
His voice was not sarcastic, but his indifferent words were full of provocation. Xue Rongyue was even more annoyed and felt that she had lost face. She couldn't help but get up and leave.
Qin Jin suddenly raised his eyes: "If Madam Xue wants to find the real culprit, aren't you afraid that in the end you'll come after me?"
Xue Rongyue's first reaction was, did Qin Jin already know about the trouble he had gotten himself into?
On second thought, I realized it was impossible.
If Qin Jin knew, he wouldn't be reacting this way. Moreover, Cao Mingyu wouldn't dare to reveal this to Qin Jin until he's cleared of suspicion. As for what happened afterward, he was already on the wrong path, so knowing wouldn't help.
Seeing that she remained silent, Qin Jin was about to wave her away when Xue Rongyue said decisively, "It won't be you."
Qin Jin paused, then looked up at her without making a sound. After a few breaths, he asked, "Why are you so sure? Didn't you say it was me who killed him back in the Guard Division?"
Xue Rongyue let out a cold snort: "You were the one who accused me first, don't try to turn the tables. I was just retaliating."
She emphasized, "Anyway, I know for sure that you didn't kill them."
Qin Jin lowered his gaze, his voice casual and seemingly indifferent: "Why?"
Xue Rongyue replied confidently, "Because I have a brain."
“Wang Jinhu is a commoner, and you should not have any dealings with him normally. So the only reason you killed him was because of the argument at the tavern. If you killed him, it could only be to vent your anger. That is why the uproar caused by this incident eliminates the possibility that you committed the crime.”
"Why did this murder case become such a big deal? It's because the corpse frightened the pregnant Princess Kang. I've inquired carefully. Princess Kang entered the palace at the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), when it was already dawn. Zhuque Avenue isn't some secluded alley. Why didn't the common people see it? Why didn't the imperial guards patrolling day and night notice it? Why did Princess Kang just happen to see it? It's clear that someone did it on purpose."
"If you were just venting your anger, you would at most kill someone and leave it at that. Why would you deliberately stir up such a huge uproar? Making a scene won't do you any good. Someone must be using that argument to frame you, and..."
Xue Rongyue curled her lips: "I know you. You're not the kind of villain who would disembowel someone over a few words of nonsense. You still have some... gentlemanly qualities."
Although she was very reluctant to admit it.
But even during the two years when they fought fiercely and wished they could kill each other whenever they met, Qin Jin never acted like a villain or did anything despicable.
For a moment, Qin Jin's breath caught in his throat, his eyelashes trembled uncontrollably, and his fingertips, hidden in his sleeve, tightened.
He lowered his eyes and remained silent, letting the flickering firelight reflect on his prominent brow bone. Suddenly, he couldn't even suppress the urge to laugh.
Even Xue Rongyue could figure it out, but...
With his thin lips pressed into a straight line, Qin Jin slowly exhaled, a self-deprecating smirk involuntarily escaping his lips.
Unaware of anything amiss, Xue Rongyue continued to raise her eyebrows in smugness: "Admit it, Qin Jin, I know you better than anyone else."
"...?"
His thoughts were interrupted, and Qin Jin almost choked.
His gaze swept quickly over Xue Rongyue's smug expression. Qin Jin turned his face away, his expression momentarily unnatural. He cleared his throat and said, "What do you mean by 'understanding'? You're just good at sweet talk."
Qin Jin picked up his teacup and took two sips to moisten his throat. He fiddled with the tea lid for a while, then picked up a peach from the table and tossed it around. After a moment of silence, he sneered, "I didn't expect Xue Rongyue to actually have a brain. It's really not easy."
"Qin, Jin!"
Xue Rongyue slammed her hand on the table and stood up, glaring at him angrily: "I do want to join forces with you, but it's not like I can't do without you, and I'm not begging you. It's a mutually beneficial thing for both of us. Even if you're unwilling, stop humiliating me. I won't compromise. How could I have been so brainless before!"
Qin Jin was too lazy to bring up past grievances with her: "Are you angry?"
Xue Rongyue sneered: "You say I'm brainless, and I'm not allowed to get angry?"
Qin Jin tossed the peach high into the air, his smile fading. "Although you've grown smarter now and what you say makes sense, I need to think about it for a few days."
"What's there to think about?" Xue Rongyue said discontentedly. "Stop dawdling."
Qin Jin wasn't annoyed at all, and said slowly, "You came up the mountain with your sword a few days ago to kill me, and now you suddenly say you want to join forces. You need to give me some time to process this."
Sweet words and sugar-coated bullets may be nice, but I don't fall for them. If you don't even have this much patience, then there's no need for the two of us to join forces.
"Whatever you want, think about it for as long as you like."
With a huff, Xue Rongyue threw down those words and stormed off.
Walking in the courtyard, she was still feeling ashamed and indignant at Qin Jin's ungratefulness.
"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences. Besides, who said anything sweet-talking, flattering, or using sugar-coated bullets? Of course I..."
Xue Rongyue thought to herself, "Of course I know that simple sweet words won't move you, so I'm presenting facts and evidence to lure you onto this pirate ship."
Before I could finish my internal monologue, the system voice suddenly rang out—
[Congratulations, host! Your favorability towards target [Qin Jin] has increased by 2.]
"?"
Xue Rongyue almost tripped.
Didn't you say unequivocally that you wouldn't buy into that?
A note from the author:
----------------------
Xue Rongyue: I~don't~eat~sugar~coated~bullets~
Qin Jin: I'm annoyed too. I clearly don't want to fall for this. [Chin resting on hand][Misty face]
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