“Please!” Qing Xia suddenly rushed over like a madwoman, throwing her arms around Chu Li’s waist and sobbing uncontrollably. “Please, let me go! Let me catch up with him, will you?”
“Get away!” Chu Li finally exploded in fury, pushing Qing Xia to the ground. His eyes seemed to be on fire, blazing with the anger in his heart. His voice was low, filled with tremendous pain and unbearable suffering. “What kind of spell has he cast on you? To make you say such things to me? What’s so good about him? What makes him worth such devotion from you? Tell me!”
Grabbing Qing Xia’s thin face, Chu Li’s brow furrowed deeply. Like reciting a curse, he ground his teeth and said: “I will definitely catch him again. I will make him wish he were dead. I will make you watch it all with your own eyes—watch that man die irredeemably before you. Just wait!”
The furious man suddenly turned around and walked out of Lanting Palace’s gates with resolute and fierce momentum. The servants of Lanting Palace, who had been joyful just moments before, all fell silent as cicadas, unable to understand how His Highness, who had just been eating breakfast happily with their mistress, could suddenly leave in such rage.
Qing Xia sat collapsed on the thick carpet, watching Chu Li depart through tear-blurred eyes. Then she closed the door, shutting out all the worried or gloating gazes outside. At this moment, she knew that the crisis regarding Prince Qi An’s escape had been completely resolved.
Wiping the tears from her face, she gazed into the depths of Chu Palace and let out a soft sigh.
“Zhuang Qingxia, everything I needed to do, I have already done. Your lover… your family… From now on, I owe you nothing more.”
Every secret agent is also a superb actor.
All the dust had settled, but why did Qing Xia feel a heavy weight slowly pressing down on her heart?
In the north, wind began to blow slowly.
With a “splash!” Princess Jiayun immediately soared through clouds and mist before plummeting into the cold lotus pond in the early morning. A group of accomplices cried out and rushed down, frantically pulling her up. Her gorgeous palace dress was covered with green water plants and black muddy silt, her hair disheveled, one boot lost, her small face flushed red as she coughed loudly without cease.
“You! How dare you, woman! My imperial sister…”
Qing Xia turned her head, looking impatiently at a young girl in pink palace attire beside her, her eyebrows raised slightly. But when the girl saw Qing Xia turn around, she immediately stopped her stammering muttering. As if Qing Xia were a man-eating tiger, she screamed in fright and fled.
Qing Xia moved her neck left and right, secretly sighing. She had lost count of how many times this had happened.
Ever since successfully teaching Princess Jiayun a lesson last time, the little princess had latched onto Qing Xia like she’d swallowed gunpowder, using various schemes and tricks to sabotage and cause trouble every few days. Fortunately, Qing Xia had exceptional skills and extensive experience—how could this little girl possibly handle her?
Initially, Qing Xia had been courteous out of respect for her princess status, but seeing her become increasingly excessive, she stopped being polite. Especially since this little princess, despite her young age, was ruthless in her methods. If it had been someone else, they might have been killed by her several times over. With anger in her heart, Qing Xia’s actions became increasingly merciless toward her dignity.
Just like earlier—the girl had secretly set trip wires and had people release a bunch of rats on Qing Xia’s path to frighten her. She had also deliberately dismissed other servants, planning to trip Qing Xia into the cold pond while she was startled. Who knew those dark rats not only failed to frighten Qing Xia at all, but she turned the tables using the trip wire to capture the little princess and unceremoniously threw her into the pond, making her lose complete face before her subordinates.
This girl was really quite stupid. Previously using venomous snakes hadn’t scared her—did she think switching to a bunch of rats would work? Qing Xia wore a white cotton hemp robe and dress, her black hair braided. She leaned leisurely against a poplar tree, gently swaying a yellowed dead branch, watching Jiayun’s great embarrassment with an amused smile.
Life had been extraordinarily quiet recently. Without Jiayun’s daily entertainment, it would be quite boring indeed.
That Chu Li would henceforth ban her from Lanting Palace was also within expectations.
From that day on, Lanting Palace instantly fell from the clouds. The Internal Affairs Department, with keen eyes and ears, quickly grasped the changing winds. Seeing this Concubine Lan who had been glorious for just a few days fall from favor again, even her daily allowances gradually decreased.
Regarding such human warmth and coldness, Qing Xia had seen through it all in her previous life, so naturally she felt no sense of loss. Compared to the sighing and lamenting servants, Qing Xia’s behavior was obviously much more optimistic. She took the lead in rearranging the bedroom, removing all unused incense burners and ornaments, and replacing them with sandbags, soft mats, and various weapons. In the blink of an eye, it became a martial arts training room.
Zhuang Qingxia’s body was too weak. For her escape plan, some necessary training could not be reduced. As for packing supplies, in just a few days she had already secretly gathered all the valuables from Lanting Palace that could be taken, as funds for future travels.
Everything was ready except the final opportunity. For now, she would enjoy herself here for a while longer. When Qi An safely returned to his country and Father Zhuang safely returned to court, that would be when she disappeared without a trace.
After enjoying the comedy with great pleasure, Qing Xia was in excellent spirits and turned to head back to Lanting Palace. She had been restless lately, and since Nanyuan was always deserted, she often came here in the mornings to exercise without shocking the world. Unexpectedly, Jiayun had secretly learned of this and brought people to cause trouble. But it indirectly fulfilled her desire for physical activity. Thinking of this, she swung the willow branch while whistling, walking briskly away from the pond. Jiayun and her group of subordinates all stared blankly at her, but not one person dared step forward to act.
During this time, Qing Xia had deliberately concealed herself, never exposing that she knew martial arts. She only used wisdom and clever tricks to deal with Jiayun, which made the little princess increasingly unconvinced, thinking she was just more alert, luckier, and more agile. She never considered that if luck favored someone too consistently, things were definitely not as simple as they appeared.
The morning air was exceptionally good. Last night had brought a thin layer of light snow. The Eastern Palace area had already melted, but Nanyuan, being rarely visited, still had a thin layer remaining.
The path behind was no longer passable. Jiayun had just suffered a blow—if she truly became angry and stopped playing pranks, directly ordering her guard subordinates to rough her up, Qing Xia couldn’t count on these guards who were accustomed to being arrogant under the willful princess to show mercy to her, this abandoned consort of the Crown Prince. Though it wasn’t that she truly feared their open assault, if Chu Li confirmed that she truly possessed martial arts and exceptional skills, everything would become troublesome. Since Qing Xia wasn’t in a hurry to return anyway, she began wandering the palace.
Turning around a corridor, she saw a crescent-shaped side gate made with exquisite craftsmanship. Qing Xia’s heart leaped with joy, and she passed through it. Suddenly, she felt pure whiteness flood her vision, with waves of fresh, elegant fragrance entering her nostrils. Under the morning sun’s glow, she saw plum blossoms layered and surrounding the entire garden, quietly blooming—white as snow, serene as orchids. Qing Xia was momentarily stunned. Having stayed in the palace for over half a month, she hadn’t discovered such a wonderful place existed.
Unconsciously, she had already walked deep inside. The plum branches were gnarled and twisted, subtle fragrances swirled around, and the snow on the ground reflected the garden full of plum blossoms, making the entire world appear white as snow.
When Qing Xia was in modern times, even though she often traveled worldwide, she was always on important missions and had no leisure to appreciate such scenery. Now seeing this garden of plum blossoms, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat delighted. Just as she was intoxicated by the beauty, she suddenly heard a delicate cry. An instinctive alertness immediately struck her. Without thinking, Qing Xia’s body suddenly spun backward, then like a water snake, she flipped sideways, grabbed a plum tree with one hand, and leaped up, barely dodging that flash of blue steel.
The attacker, having missed her, seemed surprised and exclaimed “Eh!” Then with a movement of waist and body, her full head of black hair swirled in the wind, and in an instant she pursued forward again.
“Zheng!” A clear, sharp zither sound immediately rang out. The sword-wielding woman, upon hearing the sound, seemed to receive some command. Her graceful form turned and she retreated elegantly.
Qing Xia stood under the plum tree and looked up to see a young maiden in red across from her. Her small face was sharp as a knife blade, white as snow, paired with black eyes. She appeared even two years younger than Zhuang Qingxia’s body. However, her expression was ice-cold, making her seem more like an assassin than Qing Xia herself. At that moment, two more zither sounds came from deep in the plum grove. The woman frowned, finally walked to Qing Xia’s side, raised her hand to gesture at Qing Xia several times, then made some babbling sounds before turning toward the depths of the plum grove.
Unexpectedly, this beautiful young woman was mute. Qing Xia was momentarily surprised. Seeing her gesture as if inviting her deeper into the plum grove, she didn’t hesitate and followed inside.
Her boldness in following had two reasons: first, absolute confidence in her own abilities, and second, curiosity about whoever could make this rebellious mute woman so obedient with just zither sounds—wondering what kind of extraordinary person this might be.
Passing grove after grove of plum trees, Qing Xia felt this plum forest was absurdly large, seemingly covering more area than half the Eastern Palace.
After walking for a full half-hour, just as Qing Xia was becoming slightly impatient, a clear and handsome flute sound suddenly broke the silence, rising melodiously and startling all the birds in the forest. They fluttered up in confusion, spreading their wings toward the sky.
An autumn breeze rose accordingly, and the fallen flowers and white snow on the ground swirled upward in the wind, drifting throughout the sky. Qing Xia’s robe danced gently in the breeze. She squinted slightly, shielding her eyes with her hand to avoid being blinded by the flying petals.