After her initial panic passed, Qin Yuan quickly forced herself calm. The worst had already happened, and life and death now hung by a thread. The most urgent matter was to find some way to escape from this dead end.
She could only blame herself for letting too many unexpected turns tonight rob her of her composure, allowing her to fall into the trap set by Qu Qinyao and Lin Xiao.
In truth, she could still flatly deny everything—she could even turn around and accuse Qu Qinyao of using illusion magic on her, claiming they had deliberately disturbed her mind and tricked her into saying those things she didn’t mean.
She could of course also reverse everything she’d just said, refusing to the death to admit to any of her actions.
But while such tactics might fool others, they could never fool the Crown Prince, and they would grind away the last shred of affection he still held for her.
She knew that what had first drawn his heart to her, aside from her looks, was a measure of pity for her—a young girl alone with no one to depend on. If she now twisted her face and stubbornly argued her case, it would only make this man abandon her completely, leaving no room whatsoever for reconciliation.
In that split second, she swiftly rearranged her expression, composed herself, and let two lines of clear tears fall at just the right moment, looking up at the Crown Prince with a pitiable, fragile look. “Your Highness, I have failed your kindness and have no face left to go on living. I beg only that Your Highness grant me death.”
Though her manner remained as soft as ever, her tone carried an air of utter resolve, clearly determined to die.
The Crown Prince, his heart full of resentment, had been waiting to see how this woman would struggle for her life, but he hadn’t expected her to actively beg for death. Caught off guard for a moment, he found himself unsure how to respond.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao’s expression turned cold, and he cut in, “There were four victims that day in Pingkang Ward. By the laws of this dynasty, you should already be sentenced to the harshest punishment. There’s no need to pretend to beg for death in front of Sixth Brother now.”
He was reminding the Crown Prince that this woman’s nature was unlike any other—he could afford to pity anyone else, but never this woman.
Hearing this, the Crown Prince immediately recalled the cruel methods this woman had once used to harm others. A chill ran through his heart, and the look in his eyes returned to one of disgust. He shoved her back to the ground. “A woman with a heart as venomous as yours, harming others first and then toying with me besides. Even my own sister-in-law—back then she only went to fight off demons out of duty, and your father lost his life because he brought the disaster on himself by provoking evil spirits. What does that have to do with her? Yet you held a baseless grudge against her and even tried to take her life. Just now my sister-in-law was right—you really are far too vicious, utterly without conscience. Fortunate that I now know the full truth, otherwise, had I truly made you my Crown Princess, with a character like yours, who knows how many more would have suffered in the future!” Having said this, he turned without sparing her another glance and said to Lin Xiao, “Eleventh Brother, handle this however it ought to be handled.” He turned and walked out.
Qin Yuan sat dazed on the ground. Not even looking at the Crown Prince, she seemed lost in memory and wept sorrowfully. “My mother died in difficult labor giving birth to me. The moment I was born she breathed her last, never even seeing my father one final time. Since childhood I always envied others who had mothers—every time I looked at her portrait, I always thought how wonderful it would be to see her even once. Later my father spent years away at war, leaving me alone in the household with no brothers or sisters, so very lonely. After my mother’s death my father never remarried, missing her day and night until he nearly went mad. Later we father and daughter learned by chance of a way to revive her, and naturally we were overjoyed beyond words—” Ostensibly a memory, but in truth she was quietly wrapping her own actions in a veil of justifiable excuse.
What’s more, her tone, expression, and tears were all pitched perfectly—truly enough to move any listener to grief and any onlooker to tears. Had one not known this woman’s deeds, anyone who suddenly witnessed this scene would only think her a pitiable orphan, never imagining she was someone capable of gouging out people’s facial features without the slightest hesitation.
Sure enough, the Crown Prince’s footsteps slowed. He had been raised in comfort since childhood, with a generous, easygoing temperament. Though he couldn’t tolerate being deceived and made a fool of, how could he feel no shred of pity for a woman he had once given his heart to? Though he resented her for using him, hearing her speak so pitifully now, his heart couldn’t help but ache all the same.
Qin Yuan caught this from the corner of her eye, a hint of satisfaction rising within her, and she spoke all the more pitifully.
Qin Yao thought to herself that this was bad. She had once heard Lin Xiao explain in detail the people and affairs of the palace, and she knew the Crown Prince had always been somewhat indecisive—if not for the Emperor’s strict oversight over the years, he would be the type easily swayed by others. Qin Yuan had surely seen this in him too, which was why she’d set her sights on the Crown Prince in the first place.
Now this performance of Qin Yuan’s—appearing to reminisce but actually defending herself—struck right at the Crown Prince’s weak point. Even if he despised her character, as long as he still held some lingering affection for her, hearing this would likely make him unconsciously look for excuses for her actions.
Realizing this, Qin Yao couldn’t help growing anxious, and she turned to glance at Lin Xiao, only to find him standing with his sword in his arms, watching Qin Yuan calmly, with no intention of interrupting.
At first Qin Yao didn’t understand, but the next moment, seeing the Crown Prince stride out without listening to another word of Qin Yuan’s tearful plea, she understood. No matter how indecisive the Crown Prince might be, he was still a member of the imperial family after all—even if he hesitated at first, given a moment’s more thought he would surely see through Qin Yuan’s tricks and would no longer let her twist the truth to clear her own name.
They had Qin Yuan escorted back to the Marquis of Jinghai’s residence and removed the guards originally stationed there. The Crown Prince had originally wanted the Imperial Guards to watch over Qin Yuan, but Lin Xiao, for reasons unclear, did not agree, instead suggesting the Crown Prince assign his own personal guards to keep watch, placing Qin Yuan under temporary house arrest within the residence.
Once the two of them had arranged everything, the Crown Prince went into the palace on his own to report the night’s events to the Emperor.
Lin Xiao took Qin Yao home.
In the carriage, Qin Yao looked at Lin Xiao’s silent profile and recalled how, a few days earlier, he had taken those embroidered shoes to speak with the Crown Prince. She had no idea how much effort it must have taken to persuade the Crown Prince, who still held feelings for Qin Yuan, to cooperate in setting up such a scheme. Filled with admiration, she leaned her head against his chest and sighed. “If we weren’t so unwilling to wrong an innocent person, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.”
From the very start of dosing her food, to later using Yu Ruoshui’s diagnosis to determine that Qin Yuan had consumption, to drawing her out of the palace, to arranging for Imperial Guard soldiers to disguise themselves as bandits and stage a fake “robbery and murder”—every single step had been calculated with precision, all to force Qin Yuan to reveal her true face.
As Qin Yuan herself had said, throughout it all she had left behind almost no evidence against herself—the only real flaw was the trapdoor in the tunnel.
If Qin Yao hadn’t seen with her own eyes how easily and familiarly Qin Yuan had crawled out of that tunnel, she would never have been able to confirm that Qin Yuan was Qin Zheng’s accomplice.
Such a formidable opponent—even with every step calculated and carefully planned, there had still been moments of real danger. But Qin Yao knew that Lin Xiao always had a way of handling things without leaving a single loose end.
She curled up her legs and lay down across Lin Xiao’s lap, looking up at the line of his jaw. He looked weary, leaning back against the carriage wall with his eyes closed, resting.
Qin Yao watched him for a while, then couldn’t resist reaching out a finger to trace lightly along that handsome jawline. This man was like her in that he always weighed things carefully in his heart—unwilling to wrong an innocent person, unwilling to kill indiscriminately—but once the truth came out and it was time to strike back, he never held back.
“Do you think the Crown Prince might soften again once he gets back, and go easy on Qin Yuan?” Qin Yao spoke up. For someone like Qin Yuan, as long as there was the slightest hope, she would seize any chance to claw her way back from the brink.
“He will.” Lin Xiao opened his eyes and answered without hesitation. “That’s exactly why I didn’t agree to the Crown Prince’s suggestion of having the Imperial Guards watch the Marquis of Jinghai’s residence, and instead had him assign other guards to keep watch—to make things easier for him.”
Seeing Qin Yao looking up at him in surprise, he lowered his head and smiled, explaining, “Don’t forget the Crown Prince still has the Emperor above him. Even if the Crown Prince wanted to shield Qin Yuan in this matter, word would still reach the Emperor’s ears, and my imperial uncle has always hated most of all anyone who harbors ill intentions toward the Crown Prince. Once he learns of this, even if he doesn’t have Qin Yuan executed on the spot, he certainly won’t let her off easy. So why should I be the one to play the villain? I’ll simply wait for my imperial uncle to deal with Qin Yuan.”
Qin Yao nodded in sudden understanding. Lin Xiao had already involved himself far too much in the matter of Qin Yuan—if the Crown Prince’s feelings for Qin Yuan ran deeper than they’d thought, it might well create a rift between him and Lin Xiao afterward. That was why, the moment it was time to step back, Lin Xiao had decisively withdrawn, unwilling even to take part in keeping watch over Qin Yuan afterward.
Thinking this through, the phrase “old and cunning” inexplicably surfaced in Qin Yao’s mind, and looking at Lin Xiao’s young face, she couldn’t help but find it funny no matter how she thought about it.
“What are you laughing at?” Lin Xiao, seeing Qin Yao’s odd smile, pinched her cheek. “Is it because you’ve now found both the person who tried to kill you on Shouhuai Mountain and the other culprit behind the Pingkang Ward case, and you feel pleased with yourself?”
Qin Yao’s smile faded. “Pleased, yes, but the moment I think of how there was another person on Shouhuai Mountain who also went up that cliff, it irritates me.”
Lin Xiao said flatly, “You mean Xia Yuan?”
So he already knew. Qin Yao pouted. “I’m guessing she was actually looking for Chen Yuqi at the time, and happened to stumble upon Qin Yuan pushing me off the cliff. Yet she came back and said nothing about it at all—who knows how pleased with herself she’s been behind our backs. What grudge does she even have against me, that she keeps playing these little tricks behind my back?”
She finished, then looked Lin Xiao up and down with a half-smile, as if trying to study just what made her own husband so appealing.
Lin Xiao could hardly fail to notice the teasing in her eyes, but he pretended not to and said flatly, “Once this woman marries Seventh Brother, her days won’t be easy. There’s no need for us to dirty our hands. Let’s just wait and see.”
Qin Yao hadn’t expected this answer from Lin Xiao, and she froze for a moment. Wanting to ask further, but the instant she opened her mouth, she immediately realized she’d nearly let him distract her train of thought again with a single sentence. Both annoyed and amused, she couldn’t help sitting up, wrapping her arms around him, and biting his lip lightly, saying fiercely on purpose, “Why do you keep changing the subject? You still haven’t answered me—why does she keep thinking about you?”
This was something she’d long wanted to ask Lin Xiao. Xia Yuan’s actions were clearly all directed at Lin Xiao, and someone as clever as he was couldn’t possibly fail to see through Xia Yuan’s intentions.
Lin Xiao laughed inwardly, pulling her slender waist closer, and without the slightest courtesy bit her earlobe in return, laughing. “I didn’t realize you were such a little jealous jar. Your husband hasn’t said a single unnecessary word to her—if you’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask?”
Qin Yao knew Lin Xiao’s character well enough, but she couldn’t help it when others harbored such thoughts. Her eyes fixed on his thin lips, an itch rising in her teeth, and as if addicted to biting, she leaned in to bite him again, laughing as she did. “Sometimes I really hate you.”
Lin Xiao turned the tables, lifting her skirt and sliding his hand up along her slender, straight legs, stopping wherever he pleased, stroking gently as he asked, “Why do you hate me?”
Qin Yao bit her lower lip, struggling to hold down that mischievous hand, and glanced at him sideways. “I just hate you, that’s all.”
Having said that, she saw him gazing down at her, his face strikingly handsome in the dim carriage light, and couldn’t resist leaning toward his ear to bite it, murmuring, “If only your good points were something only I could see.”
Lin Xiao pressed her down beneath him, saying solemnly, “Mm, I can’t control what others see. Might as well let you have a taste of just how good your husband is, right now.”