Chapter 6 This grudge must be avenged. "Let Prince Qin see my ruthlessness..."
“My lady, the shopkeeper said that the gold-inlaid jade begonia and green butterfly hairpin has been bought by a distinguished guest, who is... Princess Chang Le of the Anxin Prince’s Mansion.”
The crimson spring light flowed across the towering eaves, the sound of copper bells ringing in the breeze was drowned out by the bustling atmosphere of the newly opened market, and under the high-flying banners of shops and taverns, tourists thronged and merchants swayed.
A carriage made of sandalwood with a black silk canopy was traveling through the market. A corner of the curtain was lifted, and a maidservant climbed into the carriage, speaking cautiously as she reported back.
This gold-inlaid jade begonia and emerald butterfly hairpin was spotted by Xue Rongyue three months ago when it was only a blueprint. She paid the shopkeeper a gold ingot and waited for the craftsman to finish carving it before sending it to the general's mansion.
Xue Rongyue had indeed considered wearing this hairpin to outshine everyone at the banquet, but she had been busy competing with Qin Jin lately and had put this trivial matter out of her mind.
To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper was so audacious as to resell the hairpin she had paid a deposit for to someone else, namely Princess Chang Le, with whom she had a falling out.
Fearing that Xue Rongyue would become angry and cause a scene at Qionglin Pavilion, Jingnu whispered coaxingly, "Even the finest hair ornaments cannot compare to the ruby and golden sparrow headdress bestowed by His Majesty during the New Year. My lady, I heard that the tavern up ahead has trained a new Hu girl whose dancing is breathtaking. Why don't we go and take a look?"
After he finished speaking, Xue Rongyue remained silent for a long time.
Jingnu was uneasy and racked her brains trying to figure out how to put out the fire, but she saw Xue Rongyue sitting upright in the carriage. A few rays of sunlight shone in, making her eyes bright and her lips upturned, clearly in a good mood.
Jingnu was taken aback.
You're not angry?
If it were any other time, Princess Chang Le would have dared to conspire with the shopkeeper to trick her, and Xue Rongyue would naturally have been furious. She wouldn't have been so timid as not to cause a huge uproar.
But now, recalling that in the original story she only fell into the water and didn't die, and that the hairpin hadn't fallen into her hands either, it once again confirmed her suspicions—
Those so-called original plot points may not necessarily come to pass, and now, due to unknown deviations, her life has long since deviated from the original story.
Since that's the case, then...
Lifting the curtain, Xue Rongyue's gaze wandered among the throngs of tourists and pedestrians on the long street.
That confirms that someone was behind the drowning incident, and what she needs to do now is to find out the deviation that led to the accident.
Four days ago, when she went to the banquet, Jingnu carefully searched the warm pavilion of the Taoist temple and switched the incense burners that might have been tampered with. When Zhang Weng cried out for justice, the guards she sent to guard the outer perimeter also caught a Taoist boy with suspicious behavior, which led to Xu Shi's involvement.
However, the maid who disguised herself as her to lure the snake out of its hole never found the maid with the black mole on her neck.
Although it's a pity, at least we're not completely clueless. If the person behind the scenes really is using the Xu mother and son to cause trouble, then the key to breaking the deadlock still lies with the two of them.
...Those were the very words Jiang Shiyan spoke with absolute certainty, yet she had never received or seen any of the letters.
Xue Rongyue's gaze fell on the gilded plaque above Qionglin Pavilion, and she changed the subject, scoffing, "Qionglin Pavilion is really bold. Go, take this gold ingot and tell the shopkeeper that I will send someone to pick up the hairpin again in half a month. The design must be new, and the workmanship and materials must be a hundred times better than that begonia hairpin. Otherwise, I will never let them off the hook!"
Jingnu responded and returned to ask, "Shall we still go to the tavern?"
"Take the visiting card and let's go to Princess Yu'an's residence."
The curtains fell, and the last whispered words faded into the verdant branches. Facing the rising sun, the birds left the bustling market behind and followed the fragrant wooden carriage on its journey.
"Madam Xue, this way please."
The group walked through the pink and crimson gauze corridor. The female official clasped her hands in front of her abdomen and bowed her head to lead the way: "His Highness has always thought of you and has sent people to visit you at your residence many times. At that time, you were still in a coma and were unable to see you. Now that he knows you have come to visit, he is very happy. However, he was held up by the palace servants. So please go to Tinglan Water Pavilion for a while."
"Your Highness's concern is appreciated. The events of that day were absurd, and I inevitably lost my composure. I have come here today specifically to apologize to Your Highness."
"How could that be?" the female official said with a smile. "His Highness is closest to you. When he saw you suddenly faint, he was extremely anxious and even detained Madam Xu and her son, just waiting for you to wake up before taking action against them."
Hearing this, Xue Rongyue felt somewhat relieved: "I suddenly fainted. I wonder if the messenger from the Jiang family is being held at the manor as well?"
The female official stopped in her tracks. Under Xue Rongyue's questioning and uneasy gaze, she stood still for a moment, then slowly sighed: "The person is dead."
Xue Rongyue frowned: "How could he be dead? Wasn't he under house arrest?"
“That day I was ordered to arrest someone, but when I got to the side room, I found that the door could not be opened no matter what I did,” the female official explained. “After the guards kicked the door open, they found that the person had hanged himself from the rafters. At that time, you were unconscious, and His Highness hurriedly called me back. The servant’s body had already been sent to the Dali Temple.”
With a furrowed brow, Xue Rongyue gave a mocking smile: "I wonder which great Buddha I have blocked, that they would plot to kill me like this."
The lady-in-waiting comforted him: "Ever since the night before the banquet, when you sent your maid to report that someone was planning to cause trouble, His Highness has been having me keep an eye out. Although there are many suspicious points in this matter, it is not entirely without clues. His Highness will definitely help you find the person who is causing trouble."
"If it weren't for His Highness's protection that day, the guards and thugs of the manor would not have been able to infiltrate the Taoist temple and garden as they wished."
Xue Rongyue knew that the servant's timely death meant the person behind it all was at the grand banquet. She wanted to ask the female official for the guest list, but before she could speak, she saw the official stop again, staring in astonishment ahead—
At the end of the covered walkway lies the Tinglan Water Pavilion. The Tinglan Lake is clear and azure, reflecting a few green willows. Hundreds of koi carp frolic among the swirling petals, and with the ripples, they swim one after another toward the tall, crane-like figure standing on the pavilion.
Wearing a dark purple round-necked robe embroidered with gold and bamboo, and a black jade belt around his waist that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, the man turned to the side, revealing a section of his fair and sharp jaw. His well-defined fingertips sprinkled fish food into the lake water, attracting koi carp to scramble for it.
It's Qin Jin.
Xue Rongyue's face immediately fell.
[Host, be aware! Target detected!]
[Host, be aware! Target detected!]
[Host, be aware! Target detected!]
[Please begin your mission to conquer the target as soon as possible. Your progress is currently at 0.]
The system was fine when it didn't make a sound, but as soon as it started making noise, Xue Rongyue felt short of breath and her vision began to go black again.
If there is no progress within ten days, your life will be taken away!
The system's voice carried a heavy warning. Under Xue Rongyue's livid expression, the female official was also caught off guard and stammered, "These past few days, Prince Qin has been staying at the residence. I never imagined things would turn out so unfortunate..."
After glancing at the figure on the waterside pavilion, the female official dared not speak again. Just as she was about to invite Xue Rongyue to wait elsewhere, she saw the figure turn around.
Those usually affectionate peach blossom eyes were now fixed on Xue Rongyue, and he casually raised an eyebrow.
It's over.
The female official knew that this head-to-head confrontation was inevitable.
Sure enough, meeting that direct gaze, Xue Rongyue took a deep breath, bypassed the female official amidst the system warning, and walked straight towards the waterside pavilion, her voice indifferent: "Young Master Qin, what a coincidence. Speaking of which, I haven't yet come to thank you for the generous gifts you sent that day."
While calmly feeding the koi, Qin Jin smiled slightly upon hearing this, his clear voice carrying a hint of languor: "Don't be so polite, it's a good thing that you can cure Madam Xue's illness."
Stopping three feet away from Qin Jin, Xue Rongyue's gaze slowly shifted from the koi leaping in the lake to Qin Jin, from his clean, fair hands to the Adam's apple on his neck.
He had fair skin, and the veins on his neck were clearly visible, with a prominent, rolling Adam's apple embedded in it, like a round jade bead.
Xue Rongyue narrowed her eyes, thinking to herself that she would be happy when she could poison him into being mute.
"The person who just sent you such a generous gift is hardly a decent person." Losing patience, Qin Jin poured all the fish food from the small jar into the lake water and casually hung the empty jar on the railing. "Madam Xue, you wouldn't be so heartless, would you?"
Confirming that she hadn't blurted out her plans, Xue Rongyue felt a chill run down her spine and looked at him suspiciously: "It seems that Prince Qin has some self-awareness and knows that his words are harsh and sharp, and hard to swallow."
Qin Jin raised his eyes and looked at her with a forced smile: "Madam Xue, I have no self-awareness. It's just that your eyes are exceptionally sharp, and I happen to know you quite well."
Xue Rongyue: "......"
Xue Rongyue said expressionlessly, "What a pity."
Qin Jin, unashamed to ask, "What's a pity?"
Xue Rongyue replied with a forced smile: "It's a pity I left in such a hurry that I couldn't prepare a mute medicine for Prince Qin, so that he could see how ruthless I am."
With his eyes slightly lowered, Qin Jin gave a sneer that was hard to decipher: "I have long since experienced Madam Xue's ruthlessness. She is, after all, your savior, yet since returning from Puming Temple, she has been wishing she could kill me."
"Stop patting yourself on the back. What savior? If it weren't for you at Puming Temple that day, I wouldn't have been in danger."
"Don't expect me to thank you." Recalling the humiliation of that night, resentment surged into her heart again. Xue Rongyue said bitterly, "Qin Jin, do you like the longsword that Mother gave me?"
Before Qin Jin could speak, Xue Rongyue angrily said, "It must be because it didn't suit Prince Qin's wishes, otherwise he wouldn't have been thrown into the furnace."
Qin Jin was stunned for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "So that's how it is. No wonder Madam Xue wanted to fight me to the death at the temple that day."
Eight years ago, Cui, a woman from Qinghe, broke off her marriage with General Xue. The marriage between Cui and Xue was a sensation, and the divorce became a laughing stock. Cui took her daughter to Bianzhou to avoid gossip and trouble. Two years later, Cui remarried and never returned to Chang'an.
Having just turned eight, Xue Rongyue never saw her birth mother again. No one in the household dared to mention Cui Nu, and the things Cui Nu had prepared for her daughter were destroyed by Xue's enraged father.
That long sword was the only keepsake that eight-year-old Xue Rongyue had secretly hidden away because she missed her mother. But on the Lantern Festival, Xue Rongyue inadvertently witnessed Qin Jin playing with the long sword for a while before throwing it into the furnace to burn it.
How could she believe that her treasured sword had fallen into Qin Jin's hands? She rushed back to the mansion, only to find out that her father had discovered the sword and ordered it to be thrown out of the mansion. Before Jingnu could sneak out to retrieve it, Qin Jin, who happened to be passing by, picked it up and eventually destroyed it in the furnace.
Hatred welled up in her heart. Xue Rongyue looked up at Qin Jin, her almond-shaped eyes filled with undisguised resentment, mixed with some indescribable emotions. Her breathing was rapid: "You were right beside me when Mother handed me the sword. Qin Jin, you knew that the sword was more than just a symbol of my longing for Mother."
"If I don't avenge this, I will have failed as a human being."
So on the Lantern Festival, upon learning that Qin Jin had gone to Puming Temple, even though the heavy snow had buried the road up the mountain and made it impossible for carriages to pass, Xue Rongyue walked up the mountain through the thick snow.
If it weren't for the sudden accident...
Taking a deep breath, Xue Rongyue forced back the tears welling up in her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Qin Jin's exceptionally handsome face suddenly turn serious as he looked up at the sky, interrupting her from her prelude to making a harsh statement.
Xue Rongyue was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked in the same direction—
The pink and white peach branches are intertwined and full of spring red. Looking up, the sky is clear and blue, with leisurely white clouds and a few birds dotting the sky, creating a bright and beautiful spring scene.
There's nothing there.
Xue Rongyue retorted angrily, "I'm about to say something harsh, can't you at least show me some respect...?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qin Jin sighed in disappointment and asked in bewilderment, "I'm more wronged than Dou E, why isn't it snowing yet?"
A note from the author:
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Qin Jin: It's my turn to ask Heaven to judge who is loyal and who is treacherous!
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