Chapter 44
After a long while, she slowly turned her head and looked at Yin Huaisi's face. Her gaze was calm, yet sharp, as if it could penetrate all his anger and pretense and reach the most unbearable corner of his heart.
"Young Master questions me with such anger..." Her voice was soft, yet every word was clear, "Haven't you ever plotted against me?"
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharp and intense, locking onto his suddenly contracting pupils. Her voice turned icy and chilling: "My mother, Wu Lingwei, treated you like her own flesh and blood, caring for you in every way, from food and clothing to shelter and shelter. And what have you done for her? How have you repaid her? You joined forces with foreign enemies, forcing her into a deadly predicament, just to obtain a pass for you to escape from the Southern Frontier!"
Yin Huaisi seemed to have been struck in a sore spot. His angry expression froze instantly, replaced by a surge of guilt and embarrassment. He subconsciously lowered his head, avoiding the gaze that seemed to burn him through, and his voice lost its previous force, becoming dry and hesitant: "Back then... that person was ruthless, the defeat in Southern Xinjiang was already inevitable, I... if I didn't go with the flow, I would be the one to die, what choice did I have?!"
He suddenly raised his head, as if he had found an outlet for his emotions, and pointed his finger sharply at Xi Xiao, his emotions rising again: "But who can I blame? If it weren't for you, how could I have been trapped in that godforsaken place for so many years? My birth mother is a madwoman, my father despises me, and those people from the Southern Border royal family are eyeing me covetously and questioning my bloodline. How could you possibly understand my pain?! Wu Lingwei is good to me? That's just because of her ridiculous sense of guilt!"
Xi Xiao silently watched his forced arrogance and agitation until he finally couldn't bear her gaze and turned his head away in a disheveled manner, revealing an expression of pain and regret. Only then did she slowly speak: "Yin Huaisi, you hate me for taking away the peaceful life that you should have had, and I also resent you for being Pei Yun's lackey, causing the death of my mother, indirectly leaving my senior brother with only half a life, and my beloved brother Qingfeng also dying in this conspiracy... and separating me from Yunwu, confining me to this deep palace prison."
Her eyes were devoid of warmth, yet her words revealed a deep-seated weariness: "I know you may have your own compelling reasons, but this incident with the Xie family is a lesson for you, to teach you that even pawns can turn on you."
She paused briefly, her gaze piercing him sharply: "The ancient book of the witch clan's secret arts is in your hands. Give it to me."
Yin Huaisi's expression changed drastically, and she instinctively denied it, saying, "I... how could I have such a thing?!"
Xi Xiao didn't want to waste any more time with him and directly tore off his disguise: "That day, when Mother used her body to perform magic and tried her best to control that evil thing, you were by her side. I saw it. Your lips were moving, and you were reciting the incantation fragments from the ancient book."
The secret arts of the witch clan have always been passed down only to direct bloodlines, and only to women, not men. On that day, when her mother performed the secret arts, Yin Huaisi chanted incantations, but because their bloodlines were incompatible, they had no effect whatsoever, and he could only futilely mimic the movements from the sidelines.
Because he seemed insignificant, his mother did not take precautions, allowing him to secretly copy some of the content. This was Xi Xiao's boldest guess after reviewing all the details in her mind these past few days. Now, seeing his reaction, her five-point guess has become a ten-point certainty.
Yin Huaisi was horrified, wondering how she could deduce this from only fragmented memories and lip movements. He suppressed his fear and tried to dissuade her: "What...what do you want that ancient book for? Don't you know the price of using the forbidden techniques on it? Mother...Wu Lingwei was gradually dying because of this, until..." A trace of real pain appeared in his eyes, as if he were trapped in some painful memories.
Xi Xiao was too lazy to read his post-event lamentations and interrupted him coldly: "How I use it is none of your concern. Give me the incomplete book, and I will solve the Xie family's predicament for you, so that you will no longer be controlled by Pei Yun."
A fierce struggle and weighing of options flashed in Yin Huaisi's eyes. After a moment of silence, she finally couldn't help but ask, "You... how do you plan to deal with the Xie family?"
Xi Xiao stared at him intently, her eyes filled with disdain, but her voice was light and airy: "I have my own methods, and you will know them in due time. In the meantime, stay quietly in the mansion and do not go out."
Before the words were finished, steady and clear footsteps came from outside the hall, heading towards the inner room.
Xi Xiao's eyes suddenly sharpened as she looked at Yin Huaisi, conveying a clear, silent warning.
With a rustling sound, the beaded curtain was abruptly thrown open, and Pei Yun walked straight in, still wearing his bright yellow court robes, as if he had rushed here immediately after court. He stood in the hall, his gaze deep and unfathomable, staring silently at Yin Huaisi with a piercing, oppressive, and chilling intensity.
Xi Xiao lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously curling slightly, and remained silent.
Yin Huaisi felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end and his heart pounded wildly. He tried his best to regulate his breathing, forced himself to force a smile that was still somewhat natural, and even shook his hand casually, saying half-jokingly, "Your Majesty, you are being too stingy. Xi Xiao and I are, after all, like siblings. My sister is about to get married, and I, as her brother, can't even come to offer my congratulations?"
Pei Yun's icy aura seemed to change, especially when he heard the words "wedding," which miraculously softened slightly. He turned his gaze to Yin Huaisi, as if casually mentioning it, yet also as a silent warning: "You've been quite idle lately. The prefect of Yingcheng just submitted a memorial saying that they're in dire need of a capable clerk. You're quick-witted and would be perfect for gaining experience there, which would also be good for the Qin family's future."
Startled, Yin Huaisi's playful expression vanished instantly. He hurriedly waved his hand and retreated hastily, saying, "Your Majesty is joking, joking... I have important matters to attend to at my residence, so I will not disturb Your Majesty and the Empress any longer." Perhaps it was the word "Empress" that pleased Pei Yun, for he did not press the matter further and allowed Yin Huaisi to flee in disarray.
The hall returned to silence.
Seeing Yin Huaisi leave, Xi Xiao sat back down at her dressing table, picked up the ram's horn comb, and absentmindedly combed the ends of her hair, as if nothing had happened.
Pei Yun walked slowly behind her, naturally taking the comb from her hand, holding a strand of cool, smooth hair, and gently combing it for her. He asked casually, "What...did you talk about just now?"
Xi Xiao felt a chill creep up her spine to the back of her head. She struggled to control the slight trembling in her body, her voice flat and emotionless: "It's just that I was thinking about some old things in the Southern Frontier… I miss my mother a little…"
Pei Yun paused slightly as he combed his hair, remaining silent for a moment. After a while, he put down the comb, squatted down, and looked at Xi Xiao, who was sitting at eye level. His tone was unusually hesitant and clumsy in his attempt to please her: "After the wedding, I will choose a beautiful place in the outskirts of the capital to build a cenotaph for your mother, so that you can pay your respects and remember her in the future."
Xi Xiao clenched her fingers tightly in her sleeve, suppressing the nausea and grief surging in her throat. The murderer was actually hypocritically trying to erect a monument for the victim. If her mother were watching from heaven, she would find it utterly disgusting.
She held back for a while, then changed the subject: "I heard that the young marquis of the Wenyuan Marquis's mansion will be getting married in half a month. I am an old acquaintance of his, so it is only right and proper for me to go and offer my congratulations."
Pei Yun's gentle expression faded slightly. He stood up, his gaze fixed on Xi Xiao's calm profile reflected in the mirror, and said in a slightly somber tone, "It's just a wedding banquet for a young nobleman. It's not worth you going there to save face for him."
Xi Xiao remained seated, as steady as a rock, neither refuting nor responding.
Pei Yun said a few more words, but seeing that she still remained indifferent, he finally gave in first, his tone tinged with helplessness and indulgence: "Fine... I will accompany you, but only for a short while. After the ceremony, you must return to the palace immediately." He gazed at her beautiful face in the mirror, his eyes tender, and his tone softened, "Our wedding is imminent, and there are many matters in the palace that require your personal attention and decision. Don't always worry about other people's affairs."
Xi Xiao remained silent for a moment, then finally raised her eyes, met his gaze through the mirror, and responded very softly, "Okay."
*
Yin Huaisi acted swiftly. Within two days, a booklet that looked no different from an ordinary collection of poems was quietly sent into Zhaoyang Palace by an unfamiliar eunuch, mixed in with a batch of newly presented brocade.
Xi Xiao dismissed everyone around her and opened the "Collection of Poems" alone in the inner room. Her fingers flipped through the pages quickly, but the more she looked at it, the more her brows furrowed. She didn't know if it was because Yin Huaisi had made a hasty and careless copy back then, or if the ancient book of the Wu tribe was obscure and incomplete. The characters and pictures on this rubbing were mostly blurry and unclear, and there were even places where they were completely broken and missing. Many key chapters were vague and the plot was hard to follow.
She sighed softly, a sense of anxiety spreading from the bottom of her heart. Time was of the essence, and repairing and comprehending this tattered ancient book would be no easy task.
Just then, the clear greetings of palace servants and familiar footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the palace.
Xi Xiao's heart tightened instantly. Almost instinctively, she quickly closed the ancient book and stuffed it into a wooden box with a hidden compartment at the bottom of the dressing table, locking it with a soft "click." Then, she casually pulled out a popular storybook from the side, quickly leaned back in the rocking chair by the window, forcibly suppressed her rapid breathing, and pretended to be engrossed in reading it.
When Pei Yun stepped into the inner hall, this was the scene that greeted her eyes: the soft glow of the setting sun enveloped her, she wore no makeup, her black hair cascaded down her back, she was casually dressed in a plain white undergarment, nestled in a rocking chair, her fingertips resting on the pages of a book, her expression seemingly focused, yet revealing a hint of languidness.
A strange and warm sense of satisfaction instantly gripped Pei Yun's heart. He subconsciously placed his hand gently on his chest, where there was a calm, even a sense of comfort and peace that was almost unfamiliar to him. He suddenly realized that the love potion that had tormented him day and night, reminding him of his love, hate, and obsession, seemed to have not acted up for a long time.
The feeling of being completely filled intoxicated him, causing him to unconsciously relax his constantly tense nerves. He walked over quietly and sat down naturally on the embroidered stool next to the rocking chair. He reached out and picked up a plump, purple grape from the glass plate on the table, patiently and carefully peeling off the thin skin, and presented the crystal-clear flesh to Xi Xiao's lips.
Xi Xiao seemed startled and abruptly put down her storybook. She slowly stood up, avoiding the grapes offered to her lips, and said in a calm voice, "Your Majesty, I would like to visit Grand Secretary Qin. After all, he is my master's father. I heard that he was frightened for no reason a few days ago and is not feeling well. It is only proper for a junior to visit him."
Pei Yun's hand froze in mid-air. He looked at the peeled grape, his eyes darkening slightly, then casually put it down, picked up a damp cloth from the side, slowly washed his hands, and then used the dry cloth to wipe the water off his fingers one by one.
When Xie suddenly launched her attack, how could he not know that she was behind it? But he took it as a small punishment for her betrayal of Yin Huaisi, and even found her acting childish and lively. So he let her make a fuss. After all, she would be his empress in the future, and he would protect her. A little willfulness was not a big deal.
But at this moment she proposed to go to the Qin residence...
After wiping her clean, he tossed the handkerchief back into the dish, looked up at her, and said indulgently, "Alright, I'll go with you."
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