"Your Highness... thank you for today." Xin Jiuwei's voice broke the silence, soft yet clear. This was the second time she had thanked him, still calm and concise.
Xiao Xun slowly opened his eyes. His deep gaze fell on the top of her drooping hair, paused for a moment, and then he spoke in a low voice: "You cannot go to the Northern Border."
It wasn't an explanation, nor a reassurance; it was just a cold statement. As if stating an undeniable fact.
Xin Jiuwei's heart sank slightly. She knew why. The shadow of Qi Huaiyu, the threat of the Shadow Pavilion, Xiao Zhuo's covetous gaze... the Northern Border was indeed a dragon's den and a tiger's lair for her at this moment. But being restricted so directly by him, as if he were treating a fragile object, inevitably caused a bitter feeling to rise in her heart.
"Jiuwei understands," she replied softly.
Xiao Xun's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, as if trying to discern something beneath her calm expression. Finally, he looked away, closed his eyes again, and simply said, "Stay quietly in Jingyuan."
Silence fell again in the carriage. Xin Jiuwei watched the snow rushing past the window, her heart filled with mixed emotions. His protection of her was both a cage and a barrier. And the invisible contract between them, under the enormous shadow of Qi Huaiyu and Yingge, seemed to have become even more complicated and difficult to articulate.
Back at Jingyuan, Xin Jiuwei had just taken off her chilly outer cloak when Xin Kui walked in with a solemn expression, holding an unsigned secret letter in her hand.
“Miss, someone just threw it in from outside the courtyard wall.”
Xin Jiuwei's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately took the letter. The letter paper was ordinary, but the handwriting on it made her pupils shrink—distorted, strange, with a clumsy, deliberately imitated quality. However, Xin Jiuwei recognized it at a glance; it was the disguised handwriting that Qi Huaiyu had used in his previous life to convey secret information!
The letter was extremely brief, consisting of only one line, yet it pierced Xin Jiuwei's heart like a poisoned icicle:
"The scenery in the North is beautiful. Will the siblings be reunited? 'Shadow' has arrived. We await good news."
boom--!
Xin Jiuwei felt a chill instantly freeze through her blood! Qi Huaiyu! He knew her brother was in the Northern Territory! He even knew her brother was injured! Not only did he not flee, but he used this method to provoke her! That phrase, "Brother and sister can reunite," was a blatant threat! And "The Shadow has arrived, awaiting good news"... further proclaimed that the Shadow Pavilion's assassins had arrived in the Northern Territory, their target Xin Yunzhou!
Overwhelmed by immense fear and rage, she was instantly engulfed like a tsunami! Her vision blurred, her body swayed, and she almost lost her balance!
"Miss!" Xin Kui quickly helped her up.
Xin Jiuwei gripped the thin letter tightly, her knuckles cracking. Qi Huaiyu! That devil! He not only wanted revenge on her, but also to destroy her only remaining family member! To destroy her last hope!
No! She had to tell Xiao Xun! Immediately! Right now!
"Prepare the car! To the Prince's residence!" Xin Jiuwei's voice was hoarse and distorted with extreme anger and fear, carrying a resolute determination that disregarded everything.
"Miss! Calm down!" Xin Kui grabbed her arm tightly, her voice urgent. "His Highness just brought you back. Going there now might arouse suspicion! Besides, this letter... what if it's a trap?"
Xin Jiuwei abruptly stopped in her tracks. Xin Kui's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing some of her impulsiveness. A trap? Qi Huaiyu's greatest skill was manipulating people's hearts! This letter was very likely intended to provoke her, throw her into a panic, make her do something irrational, or even... lure her away from Jingyuan's protective circle!
She forced herself to calm down, breathing heavily. Looking at the letter in her hand, as sharp as a venomous snake, her eyes burned with a deep-seated hatred and icy resolve. Qi Huaiyu wanted to play? Fine! She'd play along! But this letter had to be delivered to Xiao Xun immediately! Let him know that Qi Huaiyu's fangs had already reached towards the Northern Border, towards Xin Yunzhou!
"Grind the ink!" Xin Jiuwei walked to the desk, her voice icy and chilling.
She unfolded a blank sheet of paper, picked up her brush, and dipped it in ink. This time, she wrote nothing superfluous; she simply copied down the vicious threat from the anonymous letter verbatim.
Then, below, she added her own handwriting, just two powerful words, filled with boundless hatred and warning:
"Qi, Huai, Yu!"
She folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and summoned You Ye. Her face was as pale as snow, but her eyes were sharp as knives, and her voice trembled slightly as she suppressed her emotions: "Guard You, please present this letter to His Highness immediately! There can be no delay! Tell him... Qi Huaiyu's fangs are reaching towards the northern border!"
You Ye took the letter and sensed the murderous intent and fear almost bursting forth from Xin Jiuwei's eyes. His expression instantly turned serious: "Miss Xin, rest assured! This subordinate will take care of it immediately!"
Watching You Ye's figure disappear into the snowstorm, Xin Jiuwei collapsed into a chair, exhausted, her inner shirt soaked with cold sweat. Looking out the window at the swirling snowflakes, she felt the whiteness was as glaring as Qi Huaiyu's狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) smile.
Brother... you must hold on! Xiao Xun... this time, you absolutely cannot let me down!
The Prince's Study.
Xiao Xun unfolded the letter Xin Jiuwei had sent. When he saw the familiar, distorted handwriting and the malicious threat, the temperature around him plummeted to freezing point! A violent killing intent, enough to freeze everything, surged within his deep, abyss-like eyes!
“The ‘Shadow’ has arrived…” he murmured, each syllable seemingly ground from between his teeth, carrying a bloody stench. He slammed his hand hard on the solid desk!
"Bang!"
The heavy rosewood desk groaned under its own weight, and a thin crack appeared on the surface as it was forcefully struck! Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones fell to the ground.
"Fine! Very well!" Xiao Xun laughed in fury, but his smile was as cold as the ice of the deepest hell, and his eyes were filled with unprecedented ferocity. "Qi Huaiyu! Shadow Pavilion! You... are courting death!"
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