Chapter 99 The Red Rope Hangs High: "Something's very wrong with you two!"...
"Liu Yuanhu has been transferred to the Guard Division, which is responsible for his interrogation."
Upon hearing this, Xue Rongyue pondered for a moment before speaking: "I am not trying to exonerate Xue Xiude, but I cannot be certain about other things, but I simply cannot believe that he colluded with bandits to kill my brother."
Qin Jin raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
“My elder brother is the only son in the family. Xue Xiude is counting on his elder brother to uphold the Xue family’s reputation in the future. He has always valued his elder brother highly and would never collude with bandits to take his brother’s life.”
"What if Xue Xiude was trying to protect himself?" Qin Jin said, "According to Liu Yuanhu's confession, Brother Huaijin accidentally learned that Xue Xiude was colluding with bandits. He was worried that his crimes would be exposed, so he had no choice but to kill him."
Xue Rongyue fiddled with the beaded bracelet on her wrist, a gift her brother had specially obtained for her and had just sent over a couple of days ago. After a moment of silence, she suddenly murmured, "If that's the case, then..."
Then we can only go and ask our elder brother.
Xue Rongyue stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, lowered her eyes, and stroked the scriptures carved on the beaded string with her slender, snow-white fingertips.
Seeing her like this, Qin Jin stopped asking questions. He used his fingers to lift the curtain beside him and looked out of the carriage at the dazzling lights and bustling streets of Chang'an, as if he were admiring them.
Tonight, Xue Rongyue went out and, in order to avoid attracting attention, deliberately chose an inconspicuous carriage to ride in.
The three of them sat in the cramped carriage, which wasn't very spacious. Jingnu frowned slightly and looked at Qin Jin and Xue Rongyue with suspicion. Although the two looked normal and acted naturally, she felt that something was not right.
But what exactly is wrong?
With her chin resting on her hand, Jingnu hissed inwardly, her eyes constantly stealing glances at the two of them. But even after the carriage came to a steady stop in front of the side gate of the Princess's residence, she still couldn't find out what was subtly wrong.
Touching her head, Jingnu could only put aside her suspicions for now and jumped off the carriage first. The curtain behind her fluttered down, cutting off her chance to find out the truth.
Xue Rongyue cleared her throat and stood up, preparing to get off the carriage, when she keenly sensed that the gaze behind her suddenly changed from calm to deep and dark, like a fire burning in winter, fixed on her.
Immediately afterwards, her drooping hand was gripped tightly.
Qin Jin's hands were dry and hot; the moment they pressed against her, his scalding breath fell on her neck.
In contrast, Qin Jin's words were not outrageous: "See you another day."
Xue Rongyue's body stiffened on one side, followed by a tingling sensation. Worried that Jingnu would become suspicious if she delayed any longer, she nodded gently.
Qin Jin released his grip.
Xue Rongyue bent down, took a step, then stopped. Under Qin Jin's puzzled gaze, she suddenly turned around, stared at Qin Jin for a moment, and then quickly kissed Qin Jin's cheek like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Qin Jin's ears turned bright red in an instant, his eyes filled with surprise and joy. Before he could even react, his mouth was already splitting into a wide grin, reaching towards his ears.
"Young Master? Young Master? Young Master!" The coachman called out several times, but there was no response from inside the carriage. He raised his voice and even suspected that there was no one left in the carriage.
"Ah, ah?" Qin Jin covered his face, which had just been kissed, and finally came to his senses.
The driver asked, "Shall we return to the manor?"
After another moment of silence, just as the driver was about to mutter to himself, Qin Jin's voice finally came from inside the carriage again: "Back, back...hehehehehehehehehehehe..."
Coachman: "...?"
The driver couldn't help but think to himself: So what if we're going back? Why are we so happy about it?
The driver wasn't the only one with this question.
Why did you suddenly blush? And why are you still smiling?
Upon entering the Princess's residence, Jingnu narrowed her eyes and sized up Xue Rongyue, her gaze sharp, like a county magistrate sitting high in the hall interrogating a criminal.
Xue Rongyue subconsciously raised her hand to touch her lips: "Did I smile?"
“You smiled,” Jingnu said with certainty.
Xue Rongyue denied it: "I didn't laugh, you must have seen wrong."
Jingnu said, "Impossible, you were just laughing."
"No!"
"He laughed!"
"No, there really isn't!"
"That really made me laugh!"
"......"
"......"
The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"Fine, I'll take it as a laugh." Xue Rongyue gave in. "Can't I laugh?"
Jingnu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then why are you blushing?"
Xue Rongyue said calmly, "It's too hot."
Jingnu looked at the yellowing fallen leaves at her feet: "This is autumn."
"It's too stuffy in the carriage," Xue Rongyue said.
Jingnu asked, "Then why don't I blush?"
Xue Rongyue retorted confidently, "How would I know?"
Jingnu: "..."
Jingnu: "Something's wrong with you. Something's really wrong with the two of you, you know that?"
"I don't know," Xue Rongyue asked. "What's wrong?"
Jingnu was caught in a cycle: "I don't know either, but something just doesn't feel right."
She asked, "Why is Prince Qin not riding a horse tonight, but instead riding in a carriage with us?"
"How would I know?" Xue Rongyue said fabricatedly. "Maybe they don't want to attract attention."
“That makes sense.” Jingnu was convinced.
"Stop overthinking," Xue Rongyue said calmly, "You're just overthinking things."
"Is that so?" Looking at Xue Rongyue's calm expression, Jingnu stopped in her tracks and couldn't help but start to doubt herself.
She pondered for a while, but still felt something was amiss, so she chased after him again: "What did you talk about with Prince Qin while you were in the tree?"
As Xue Rongyue walked, she said, "It's just some things about the Xue family."
Jingnu was very perceptive: "Were you nervous just now?"
Xue Rongyue vehemently denied it: "I didn't. What's there to be nervous about talking about the Xue family?"
Jingnu thought for a moment and agreed: "That makes sense. So you only talked about the Xue family."
"Otherwise what? Besides these, is there anything else we two can talk about?" Xue Rongyue asked, feigning ignorance.
While Jingnu was thinking, Xue Rongyue strode into the courtyard, quickened her pace as she walked into the house, cleared her throat, and calmly instructed, "I'm a little hungry. Go to the small kitchen and get some pastries."
Jingnu responded softly, turned and walked towards the small kitchen, muttering, "They were chatting quite enthusiastically, their lips were even red..."
Xue Rongyue: ""
She stumbled and nearly tripped over her own feet, nearly falling to her death. Her face turned bright red, as if she had been stuffed into a steamer.
Fortunately, Jingnu had already turned and walked into the small kitchen, so she didn't notice her disheveled state; otherwise, she would definitely have noticed something amiss.
The moon shines brightly over a thousand miles, the wind is gentle and the trees are still.
In the stillness of the night, the cool moonlight filters through the branches of the old trees, like crushed silver frost, gently falling onto the stone steps of the courtyard.
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.
Private residence.
A crescent moon hangs in the still pond, and every now and then a koi carp leaps out, measuring the withered lotus blossoms that fill the pond.
Qin Jin stood by the pond, a handful of fish food in his hand, his gaze deep, as if he were contemplating some important matter concerning the nation and its people.
If you don't laugh and joke around from time to time, you might actually fool people.
This is the third box of fish food.
Three koi carp in the pond had already died from overeating, but Qin Jin remained oblivious, continuing to carelessly toss them into the pond.
After he had finished throwing all the fish food into his hand and the fish food in the box was almost gone, he still wouldn't give up and called Guang Sheng to get some more.
Guang Sheng was burying the koi carp that had just been caught, its belly bulging, when he heard this and hesitated to speak.
He wanted to persuade Qin Jin to spare the poor, innocent koi fish and not to do anything harmful in the name of love, but he was also guilty about the secret room incident and worried that if Qin Jin really listened to his advice, he would harm him instead of the koi fish.
In the end, he could only look at the koi in the pond with pity before running off to get some fish food.
What a sin!
As Guang Sheng ran, he sighed and wondered what it would taste like to cook koi. He thought, "Don't waste so many koi."
Or braise? Steam? Make soup?
The residence of Princess Yu'an.
"Jingnu, Jingnu, Jingnu, Jingnu..."
The two slept in the same quilt, and Xue Rongyue lay in front of Jingnu, calling out to her incessantly.
Finally, Jingnu opened her sleepy eyes: "What's wrong, my lady?"
Xue Rongyue opened her eyes and asked, "Are you asleep?"
“…” Jingnu said helplessly, “I was asleep before my wife called me.”
Xue Rongyue: "Oh, oh."
Then he lay back down.
Jingnu asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Madam?"
Xue Rongyue's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "It's nothing."
"..." Jingnu raised her head in disbelief, her gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. "My lady, something's really wrong with you, you know that?"
Xue Rongyue's expression froze: "Is...is it true?"
Jingnu narrowed her eyes: "Very much?"
"...Maybe I ate too much tonight."
Jingnu didn't believe it: "Really?"
"Really." Xue Rongyue yawned dramatically. "Oh dear, sleepiness just comes on like that. I'm so sleepy I can't keep my eyes open..."
After saying that, she quickly closed her eyes, turned her back, and avoided Jingnu's probing gaze.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Xue Rongyue couldn't help but secretly open one eye, Jingnu's devilish voice sounded in her ear: "Wife, are you asleep?"
Xue Rongyue was so frightened that she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be fast asleep.
"...Are you really asleep?"
Jingnu's voice drew closer, carrying a hint of resentment.
Xue Rongyue deliberately started snoring.
Jingnu cried out in despair, "But I can't sleep!"
Xue Rongyue almost burst out laughing.
In the early autumn, with a bright moon and gentle breeze, the soft moonlight streamed in, painting a peaceful and serene scene before my eyes.
The osmanthus branch by the window, placed in a white porcelain vase, emitted a faint fragrance. A gust of wind blew, and the bright golden flowers rolled down, landing on the original book that had been blown open by the wind.
Under the pale moonlight, the newly emerged chapter stood out clearly—
[Red rope hanging high]
"This book has what you're looking for."
Xue Rongyue, with a cold expression, handed over the tightly wrapped book.
Jiang Shiyan smiled and opened the book. Sure enough, a folded letter came into view: "Thank you, Madam Xue. Thanks to you, I was able to get this from Qin Jin without lifting a finger."
Xue Rongyue asked, "What do you need this letter for?"
Jiang Shiyan said, "I have my own uses."
Seeing Xue Rongyue's pale face, he sighed slowly and explained, "It's for your own good not to tell you. The more you know, the more the man in black will want to kill you."
Xue Rongyue then asked, "When will you take me to see the man in black?"
"Wait a little longer," Jiang Shiyan said calmly. "Taking you to see him now would be like leading you to your death."
With her brows furrowed, Xue Rongyue looked coldly at Jiang Shiyan and sneered, "I think you never intended to take me to see the man in black; it's just an excuse to keep me in line."
"How could you think of me like that? Everything I've done is for your own good, for our future together."
Jiang Shiyan sighed and stepped forward to put his arm around Xue Rongyue's shoulder, but she avoided him with a cold face.
He could only say, "Fine, since you want to see him, I will speak for you. But there is one thing: what you have done so far is not enough to gain his trust. Whether for your own sake or for my safety, you must do one more thing."
Xue Rongyue asked calmly, "What is it?"
“Qin Jin is now the commander of the Imperial Guards, so he must have a city defense map.” Jiang Shiyan raised his eyes and fixed his gaze on Xue Rongyue’s face. “You help me steal the city defense map.”
Xue Rongyue's brow twitched violently, and she blurted out, "A city defense map? What do you need a city defense map for!"
Jiang Shiyan smiled and stepped forward, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Xue Rongyue's ear, and said gently, "I told you, knowing these things won't do you any good."
His icy fingertips were like a venomous snake crawling across the skin, sending chills down one's spine wherever they touched. Staring blankly at him, Xue Rongyue had a bad feeling.
"It's getting late, you should go out now, otherwise your maid will become suspicious."
Jiang Shiyan took her hand and escorted her out of the secret room of the Buddhist hall.
Xue Rongyue walked out in a daze, and bumped into someone. The man helped her up and asked in a low voice, "Madam, what's wrong?"
Xue Rongyue turned around, her gaze sweeping over the golden Buddha in front of her. She seemed lost in thought, her heart suddenly trembling. It wasn't until the man asked her again in a low voice that she came back to her senses: "Thank you, my lord, I'm fine."
As she pulled her arm away from the man's hand and bowed her head to thank him, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and her body stiffened instantly.
She recognized the person.
The eldest son of the late Crown Prince, Prince Xian.
Clearly, the Prince of Xian recognized her as well. After a slight surprise, he smiled and asked, "I noticed that Lady Xue does not look well. Are you really alright? If you are not feeling well, I will send a servant to escort you back to your residence."
Xue Rongyue lowered her eyelashes: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine."
King Xian then stepped back and said, "That's good then."
"This humble woman will take her leave now."
After saying that, Xue Rongyue hurriedly walked out of the Buddhist hall.
Watching Xue Rongyue's figure disappear into the distance, Jiang Shiyan walked over with a solemn expression. Before he could speak, he saw the Prince of Xian stroking the fingers that had just supported Xue Rongyue, sniffing them, and a look of infatuation appeared on his face.
He exclaimed, "No wonder Brother Jiang is so obsessed with this Miss Xue; she truly is a beauty made of jade."
Behind him, Jiang Shiyan's expression changed drastically.
Xue Rongyue hurried out of the Buddhist hall, her heart filled with unease. Her hands were clenched tightly. She was about to call Jingnu to leave when she suddenly remembered that Jingnu was no longer alive, and she froze again.
But only for a moment, her expression returned to normal, and the maid who had been looking out the door finally spotted her and quickly came forward to help her up: "Madam, has the abbot interpreted your fortune? Was the meaning good?"
That was merely an excuse to meet Jiang Shiyan; as for the fortune stick she drew, she had long forgotten about it and couldn't even remember the meaning behind it. Xue Rongyue could only reply perfunctorily, "Whether it's good or bad is already predetermined."
The maid didn't think much of it upon hearing this, and pointed to the lush and thick old tree in front of her, saying, "Madam, this is the most famous marriage tree in Puming Temple. Why don't you pay your respects to it as well?"
After saying that, she took out the red string and said proudly, "I've even bought the red string for you, my lady."
Xue Rongyue felt a heavy weight on her heart and was not interested in this at first, but seeing the maid so enthusiastic, she couldn't refuse her. She forced a smile and took the red rope, saying, "You're so thoughtful."
A cool breeze ruffled the stray hairs by her ears, making the hair ornaments on her headdress jingle, and the rising incense smoke spread, eventually lingering at the tip of her nose.
Xue Rongyue clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a sincere wish. Then she opened her eyes and threw the red rope into the air with all her might.
"It's up! It went up on the first try!" the maid clapped her hands happily.
Xue Rongyue stared blankly at the red rope hanging from the tree branch, swaying in the cool breeze, lost in thought.
The maidservant mustered her courage and approached: "Madam, what did you wish for? Was it to be with your beloved husband forever?"
Forever and ever?
I'm afraid it's impossible in this lifetime.
So she prayed for an afterlife.
If there is an afterlife, may the gods bless her and Qin Jin so that they can have a different ending.
However, she couldn't say these words aloud, so Xue Rongyue could only nod in agreement with the maid's words.
The next moment, the maid chuckled, "General!"
Xue Rongyue was taken aback, and then she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Qin Jin standing in front of her.
He wore a pomegranate red brocade robe with gold-embroidered cranes and pearls, his black hair was tied up with a black jade crown, and his tall and upright figure stood in front of me. His handsome face had a slight smile on it. Behind him was a huge incense burner that carried the expectations of countless mortals, and the smoke rose and fell in wisps.
In that instant, countless emotions welled up in her heart. Xue Rongyue wanted to say something, but after a long pause, she could only utter one sentence: "...What are you doing here?"
“I was on official business down the mountain when I heard that you were offering incense here, so I wanted to invite you to come back to the mansion with me.”
Qin Jin said.
Xue Rongyue was at a loss for words, worried that she might say something she shouldn't, or... she might soften her heart: "Then let's go."
Just as she took a step, she suddenly heard her maid exclaim in surprise behind her. Following her gaze, she saw the red rope that had been hanging on the branch just moments before being lifted by the wind and blown towards...
cliff.
Xue Rongyue's face turned pale instantly.
The maidservant couldn't help but panic and stammered, "This...this..."
A long wind began to rise, and the chill spread inch by inch along her skin. Xue Rongyue felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and her heart sank lower and lower.
The maid looked at her with concern, stepped forward, and gently tugged at her sleeve: "Madam..."
"It's nothing." Xue Rongyue came back to her senses, forcing a smile. "I never believed in these things anyway. Marriage is predestined, how could a red thread possibly control it?"
The maid didn't know how to comfort her and carefully observed her expression.
"Let's go." Xue Rongyue patted her hand and then walked forward on her own.
The maid had no choice but to lower her head and hurry after her.
"You should go down the mountain first. I will order Guang Sheng to escort you."
Qin Jin touched his waist and suddenly said, "I forgot my jade pendant in the Buddhist hall. I'll go back and look for it."
Xue Rongyue stopped and looked at Qin Jin's waist. Sure enough, the jade pendant he usually wore was missing. "I'll help the young master look for it."
"No need. The weather has changed, and you're only dressed lightly. You should go down the mountain first and wait for me in the carriage," Qin Jin said. "I'll be right back."
The weather had indeed changed. Xue Rongyue was shivering from the cold. Hearing this, she stopped pretending to be strong and followed Guang Sheng down the mountain.
They had only gone a short distance, descended two stone steps, when suddenly they heard a faint cry of surprise coming from the mountain.
Xue Rongyue seemed to sense something, abruptly stopped, and turned to look—
The old trees on the mountain have gnarled and strong branches that stand tall and straight. Their lush green leaves rustle in the wind. Unfortunately, the view is blocked by the majestic Buddhist temple, so the whole mountaintop is not visible.
"My lady, what's wrong?" The maid stopped and looked in the direction Xue Rongyue was looking, puzzled.
Xue Rongyue asked hesitantly, "Didn't you hear anything just now?"
The maid shook her head: "Apart from the sound of the wind, I didn't hear anything else."
Xue Rongyue then looked at Guang Sheng, who also looked puzzled.
...Could I have misheard?
Xue Rongyue looked back again, but still couldn't see anything, so she reluctantly turned her gaze away.
She slowly walked down the mountain.
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Author's note: Goodnight, see you tomorrow~
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