Xiao Ran made a gesture, and the guards immediately dispersed to maintain vigilance. She personally stepped forward and knocked three long and two short coded signals on the door.
The door opened a crack.
"The person has been brought," Xiao Ran said in a low voice.
Xin Jiuwei took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold. The tea stall was dimly lit, with only an oil lamp flickering in the corner. Her eyes adjusted for a moment before she could make out the figure sitting at the far end—
Xiao Xun.
He wore a typical merchant's brown robe, his hair was casually tied up, and he had a fake beard on his face. But his eyes, those all-seeing eyes, still shone like stars in the dim light. When his gaze fell on Xin Jiuwei, she felt a jolt of electricity run up her spine to the back of her neck.
"You've come." Xiao Xun's voice was hoarser than he remembered, but a familiar faint smile played on his lips. "I guess Xiao Ran couldn't persuade you to change your mind."
Xin Jiuwei stood rooted to the spot. She should be angry, she should question him, she should be furious at his deception. But when she actually saw him, all the words she had prepared stuck in her throat. Because under the light, she could clearly see the fine beads of sweat on his forehead and the bandages faintly visible under his collar.
"You lied to me." In the end, she could only squeeze out these three words, but her voice trembled slightly.
Xiao Xun sighed and gestured for Xiao Ran to leave. Once they were alone in the room, he slowly rose, his movements noticeably slower than usual: "I never lied to you. Everything written in the letter was the truth."
"You said you were alright!" Xin Jiuwei suddenly pulled the blood-stained letter from her sleeve and slammed it on the table. "But you clearly..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xun suddenly coughed violently. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, but Xin Jiuwei still saw the bright red blood seeping through it. Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
"It's just a minor injury." Xiao Xun put away the handkerchief, casually poured her a cup of tea, and pushed it towards her. "Sit down, we don't have much time."
Xin Jiuwei didn't take the tea; instead, she grabbed his wrist. She tore open a section of his sleeve, revealing the bandage wrapped around it—which was already stained with fresh blood.
"You call this a minor injury?" Her voice suddenly rose. "You said in your letter it was fake poisoning, a ploy to lure the snake out!"
Xiao Xun gently withdrew his hand and straightened his sleeves. "It was indeed a ploy to lure the snake out of its hole. However..." He gave a wry smile, "the Second Prince's poison was more potent than expected."
Xin Jiuwei's chest heaved violently. She should remain calm, should analyze the situation rationally like him. But looking at his pale lips, all her schemes and calculations became irrelevant.
"Why?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "Why take the risk?"
The oil lamp popped and emitted a spark. Xiao Xun's face looked exceptionally tired, yet strangely gentle, in the flickering light.
"Only in this way can we ensure that the Second Prince will feel comfortable launching a coup on the day of the birthday banquet," he said softly. "And only in this way can we identify all his cronies lurking in the court before he takes action."
Xin Jiuwei clenched her fists. Rationally, she knew this was the best strategy, but emotionally...
"Do you know how worried I was when I received the letter?" She regretted saying it as soon as it left her mouth. It sounded too much like a childish complaint, too much like exposing her vulnerability.
Xiao Xun's gaze suddenly deepened. He reached out to touch her face, but stopped halfway, instead picking up his teacup: "I'll have Xiao Ran escort you to Jiangnan. Once everything is over..."
"No!" Xin Jiuwei jumped to her feet, knocking over her teacup and spilling tea across the table. "I won't abandon my sister and father to escape alone!"
Xiao Xun looked at her quietly, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "I knew you'd say that." He took a token from his pocket and placed it on the table. "In that case, you can take this."
The token was entirely black, with the character "玄" (Xuan) engraved on the front and intricate dragon patterns on the back. Xin Jiuwei recognized it as a higher-level Xuan Ying Token than the one Xiao Ran had given her.
"The Second Prince has already won over half of the court officials," Xiao Xun's voice suddenly turned serious. "On the night of the birthday banquet, he will launch a coup under the pretext of 'purging the court of corrupt officials.' The first person he will kill is Lord Xin, who supports me."
Xin Jiuwei gasped. Her father was the primary target!
"The so-called evidence Qi Huaiyu brought to the capital is precisely false evidence used to frame Lord Xin for colluding with me," Xiao Xun continued. "Once this comes to light, not only the Xin family, but also the Qi family will be implicated."
A sudden hoot of an owl came from outside the window. Xiao Xun's expression hardened, and he quickly stood up: "Someone's approaching. You must leave immediately."
Xin Jiuwei instinctively grabbed his sleeve: "And what about you?"
"I have my own plans." Xiao Xun hesitated for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pulled her closer, whispering in her ear, "Three days from now at midnight, have your sister light a red lantern at the highest point of the Xin residence. No matter what happens, do not go out."
His breath brushed past her ear, carrying a faint scent of medicine and the stench of blood. Xin Jiuwei wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by footsteps outside.
Xiao Ran hurriedly pushed open the door and entered: "Your Highness, people from the Second Prince's residence are coming this way!"
Xiao Xun's expression changed, and he quickly shoved Xin Jiuwei from the back door: "Go! Remember what I said!"
Xin Jiuwei was pulled by Xiao Ran towards the back door. As she turned back, she saw Xiao Xun standing alone by the oil lamp, his figure as upright as a pine tree. He smiled slightly at her and mouthed something:
"Believe me."
The moment the back door closed, Xin Jiuwei heard the sound of the front door being kicked open and a jumble of shouts. Her heart leaped into her throat, but Xiao Ran forcefully pulled her into a dark passage.
"Your Highness was prepared," Xiao Ran whispered as she ran. "Those people couldn't find any evidence."
But Xin Jiuwei's mind was filled with Xiao Xun's pale face and the blood-stained handkerchief. How much longer could he hold on? Could this game of chess, where lives were at stake, really go as he wished?
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