How exactly Qi Man and Crown Prince Hongxi ended up rolling together in bed must have involved considerable effort from the emperor himself. However, when Xiang Xiaoyuan saw the scene before her that day, she didn’t fly into a rage as everyone expected. She remained cheerful and composed, not showing the slightest mistake, preserving Crown Prince Hongxi’s dignity and leaving the originally provocative Qi Man with nothing to say in the end.
Xiang Xiaoyuan personally arranged for Crown Prince Hongxi to marry Qi Man.
Xiang Xiaoyuan had a fiery and passionate temperament, and in matters of love possessed an extraordinary possessiveness beyond ordinary people. Yet ultimately she was someone who understood the bigger picture. In many matters she could distinguish priorities and urgencies, silently swallowing her bitterness for the peace of the Jin Dynasty.
Crown Prince Hongxi had originally been schemed against by his own blood brother and found Qi Man quite detestable. Seeing Xiang Xiaoyuan endure such grievances only made him cherish his wife more. Not only did the couple not develop estrangement because of this matter, they became even more intimate. As for Qi Man living in the palace, they simply acted as if this person didn’t exist.
Everyone had underestimated the Southern Border princess’s methods, or perhaps thought that as just a woman, she couldn’t stir up much trouble. Who knew that a woman’s jealousy could be so terrifying? Qi Man couldn’t tolerate her beloved treating her with disdain while speaking gently to another woman. The Southern Border Kingdom was skilled in witchcraft and dark magic, and she actually controlled Xiang Xiaoyuan, placing extremely terrifying parasitic insects in her body. She originally intended to use Xiang Xiaoyuan to control Crown Prince Hongxi, but who knew Xiang Xiaoyuan had such a fierce nature? She deeply understood that a crown prince, the future heir, could not be controlled by one woman, so she simply left on her own. Having superb medical skills, she wanted to find a place to remove the curse herself—if unsuccessful, dying outside would be acceptable.
Fate always delivers fatal blows silently. Xiang Xiaoyuan’s departure ultimately became her eternal farewell with Crown Prince Hongxi. She never managed to break the curse. Not long after, someone brought Xiang Xiaoyuan’s ashes to the door—that person was Master Baqi. Though Master Baqi was older than Xiang Xiaoyuan, he was actually considered her disciple. Before Xiang Xiaoyuan entered the capital, she had lived with Master Baqi in the deep mountains. Xiang Xiaoyuan had taught him all her medical knowledge without reservation, and Master Baqi, inheriting her medical arts, acknowledged this young woman as his little master.
Crown Prince Hongxi suffered a tremendous blow and wanted to kill Qi Man, but Empress Dowager Yide stopped him. Qi Man indicated that as long as Crown Prince Hongxi treated her well, the Southern Border’s one hundred thousand troops could still be lent. But Crown Prince Hongxi refused. In his solitary courage, he actually took the still-swaddled Xiao Shao and personally went out to quell the rebellion, leaving only a letter saying that the imperial position was ultimately unsuitable for him, but before that, since Xiang Xiaoyuan had already sacrificed herself for the greater good, he must deliver this realm safely into the emperor’s hands.
How the crown prince who governed the country and brought peace to the world charged ahead fearlessly and conquered all during the eight princes’ rebellion is recorded in history books. However, the brutality of war cannot be fully captured in books. Crown Prince Hongxi himself paid many prices, and in the final battle, though he had captured enemy forces, he was surrounded at the last moment by one hundred thousand Southern Border soldiers who emerged halfway—those soldiers came specifically for him. Crown Prince Hongxi would rather die than surrender, fighting to the end, ultimately dying trampled by thousands of horses in the chaotic army. The little prince also perished in that war.
But in fact, Xiao Shao didn’t die. Even before that, Crown Prince Hongxi had sensed that the Southern Border would likely pull such a move halfway through. So he had switched Xiao Shao out, using a substitution—what followed him was actually another infant. The real Xiao Shao was being raised in Prince Jinying’s residence.
Though Crown Prince Hongxi died, the eight princes’ rebellion was ultimately quelled by his desperate fighting style in a tragic manner. The emperor ascended to the throne, and this chaotic struggle for power finally came to an end. When the emperor first took the throne, his foundation was unstable. Crown Prince Hongxi’s already few former subordinates had mostly perished during the rebellion suppression. Empress Dowager Yide had no choice but to marry off Princess Yuanrong for political alliance to gain support.
After the emperor secured his throne, the first thing he did was destroy the Southern Border Kingdom that had caused everything. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse—since the Southern Border princess had bullied them too much, their land and people’s blood would pay the debt. The Southern Border Kingdom was destroyed, but that princess’s whereabouts were never found. And the dead would never come back to life.
Time gradually passed, and the Great Jin Dynasty’s realm gradually stabilized. Old ministers entered the earth, new ministers entered the court, and those who could remember the brutal succession struggle were few and far between. It seemed everyone tacitly agreed that the Great Jin Dynasty’s realm had been smoothly passed from the late emperor to the current emperor—there was no Crown Prince Hongxi, no Princess Yuanrong. History only records victors, while those who were sacrificed are always glossed over.
But someone always remembered—Prince Jinying was one such person. Prince Jinying and his wife were Crown Prince Hongxi’s former subordinates, or rather than subordinates, they were close friends. Crown Prince Hongxi made friends widely and was righteous, having shown Prince Jinying tremendous kindness. Prince Jinying’s residence had always been part of Crown Prince Hongxi’s faction. Even before the incident, Crown Prince Hongxi had entrusted Xiao Shao to Prince Jinying. He didn’t keep Xiao Shao in the palace and instructed Prince Jinying to keep Xiao Shao’s identity secret. Perhaps he didn’t want his flesh and blood to walk the same path as himself—being born into the imperial family might look glamorous, but who knew the helplessness within? Perhaps being born among common people would be happier.
Prince Jinying and his wife truly kept their word, claiming to the outside world that Xiao Shao was their own flesh and blood. The couple never had other children afterward and truly loved Xiao Shao.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Shao grew from a babbling child into a cold youth. However, his identity was eventually exposed one day. Southern Border people seemed to have infiltrated the capital and appeared to be knowledgeable about that incident from years ago. Assassins gradually began appearing around Xiao Shao. And when the Southern Border people seemed to discover his identity, the emperor finally found him too.
If not for Crown Prince Hongxi’s death, the current emperor should have been succeeded by Crown Prince Hongxi. The emperor had always felt guilty about his thoughtless actions that led to the deaths of Xiang Xiaoyuan and his brother. For so many years he had thought Xiao Shao was long dead, never expecting to discover that the supposedly dead person was actually living right under his nose. Naturally he wanted to cultivate Xiao Shao as the future heir. But Prince Jinying opposed the emperor. Prince Jinying faithfully kept his promise to Crown Prince Hongxi—he would never let Xiao Shao’s identity be exposed and would never let Xiao Shao return to the palace. The emperor was furious but helpless, and Xiao Shao didn’t yet know his true identity. At that time, conspirators from the former rebellion were causing trouble in the capital. The emperor gave Prince Jinying a difficult task, not providing him with military seals but requiring him to suppress the rebellion. The emperor intended to use this matter to threaten Prince Jinying, but that very night Prince Jinying left the capital to quell the rebellion. He believed that a scholar dies for his benefactor, and a great man should die worthily. Prince Jinying was also a remarkable person—in this doomed battle, he ultimately outsmarted the emperor by using secret orders to mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard to create the appearance of rebellion.
Prince Jinying died during the rebellion suppression, but the matter of the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s rebellion in the capital caused quite a stir. Prince Jinying used his life to protect Xiao Shao’s secret. From then on, Xiao Shao became a treacherous subject’s son. To enter the court would inevitably face many obstacles, and for the emperor to make arrangements wouldn’t be so simple either. More importantly, Xiao Shao himself wouldn’t be willing. And those Southern Border people who had some awareness would inevitably be confused by this matter—even if just for a short time, it was enough for Xiao Shao to grow.
Prince Jinying’s wife revealed Xiao Shao’s background completely, then hanged herself the next day to follow Prince Jinying. Xiao Shao experienced tremendous upheaval overnight—the renowned prince’s residence became treacherous rebels overnight, and his background became twisted and unpredictable. Prince Jinying and his wife had treated him with genuine sincerity, and over the years they had developed feelings no different from blood relatives. Even so, suddenly discovering his birth parents were others was undeniably shocking for him.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard had always been under Prince Jinying’s command, but Prince Jinying was Crown Prince Hongxi’s man. These one hundred thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards—rather than saying Prince Jinying left them to Xiao Shao, it was more accurate to say that many years ago, Crown Prince Hongxi had left them for Xiao Shao. It was just that before then, Xiao Shao had never accepted the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn’t serve a young master for no reason. In those few short years, Xiao Shao learned assassination techniques on Jia Nan Mountain, growing rapidly and finally earning the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s recognition, becoming able to use the token for mobilizing soldiers.
And the first thing he wanted to do was revenge.
The Southern Border Kingdom was like a centipede that doesn’t die easily—though the country had long been destroyed, remnant forces repeatedly attempted to make a comeback. Qi Man’s former subordinates were especially restless, waiting for opportunities to act against the Great Jin Dynasty. During his youth, Xiao Shao had repeatedly infiltrated the Southern Border. He discovered that there seemed to be an extremely mysterious force in the Southern Border that was uniting those scattered Southern Border people. Though it didn’t look significant on the surface, someday their goal would target the Great Jin Dynasty.
Xiao Shao finished speaking, and Jiang Ruan quietly looked at him. From beginning to end, Xiao Shao’s expression remained very calm, his long eyelashes hiding the light in his eyes, making it impossible to clearly see his emotions. It seemed he was accustomed to not revealing his thoughts, or perhaps because in the past years he had experienced enough things that now nothing could easily touch his pain.
Jiang Ruan slowly walked to his side and reached out to embrace his waist. No matter who it was, if they could feel some warmth at this time, it would always be good. Xiao Shao’s body stiffened, seeming to tremble slightly, then slowly reached out to cover her soft hands wrapped around his waist.
“Since you don’t want to enter the palace to be emperor, and he treats you this way, why bother with Southern Border affairs?” Jiang Ruan said softly: “You want revenge, you can’t let go, is that right?”
“He” naturally referred to the emperor. In this entire matter, the emperor seemed to play a very unpleasant role. Perhaps it was because of his position, but in Jiang Ruan’s view, among Empress Dowager Yide’s children, neither Crown Prince Hongxi nor the emperor were really suitable for the supreme position. Princess Yuanrong, on the other hand, was magnanimous and composed, but unfortunately was born female. Crown Prince Hongxi was too soft-hearted and emotional, more suited to being a free-spirited idle gentleman. The current emperor was like a spoiled child—though he had changed much over the years due to his high position, in his bones he remained the same: selfish and willful.
“This is what they sacrificed their lives to win, I must protect it.” Xiao Shao said lightly.
“They” referred to Crown Prince Hongxi and Xiang Xiaoyuan, or perhaps Prince Jinying and his wife. These two couples—one Xiao Shao’s birth parents, one his adoptive parents—all loved him identically. Xiao Shao’s words weren’t wrong either. The realm that his closest relatives had exchanged their lives for—even if he wasn’t the one to sit in that position, he certainly didn’t want it to decline and be invaded by outsiders.
“Do you hate him?” Jiang Ruan asked. She was referring to the emperor. If not for the emperor, Xiang Xiaoyuan wouldn’t have met with misfortune, and Crown Prince Hongxi wouldn’t have left the capital in despair to suppress the rebellion with a mind of mutual destruction. If not for the emperor, Xiao Shao’s identity would forever remain a secret, and he might have remained just Prince Xiao of Prince Jinying’s residence, just a youth with a slightly cold temperament. Prince Jinying and his wife might still be alive.
“It doesn’t matter.” Xiao Shao answered.
Jiang Ruan’s hand paused slightly, then she smiled: “So speaking, you and I are somewhat similar. Originally I thought I wasn’t worthy of you, but now I feel… it doesn’t seem so bad after all. You once said you hoped to help me take revenge. Ah Shao, I’ve also remembered your revenge.”
She rarely called Xiao Shao “Ah Shao” so tenderly. Xiao Shao was startled and hummed softly in acknowledgment. Jiang Ruan blinked, deliberately wanting to prevent him from being so heavily immersed in those memories, so she said: “Since that’s the case, Steward Lin probably isn’t an ordinary person either. He was your father’s… former subordinate?”
“He was originally the former dynasty’s third-place scholar.” Xiao Shao said: “After my father’s death, he entered Prince Jinying’s residence as steward, living under a false name.”
Jiang Ruan was surprised: “Third-place scholar?”
Speaking of it, Steward Lin’s original name was Lin Wei. He originally came from a poor family and was appreciated by Crown Prince Hongxi, who spent money to sponsor his entry into the Imperial Academy. The young third-place scholar was elegant and graceful, a handsome youth in fine clothes who had once ridden spirited horses in splendid garments, and was close friends with Crown Prince Hongxi of that time. Before Crown Prince Hongxi’s death, he entrusted Xiao Shao to Prince Jinying. At that time, Lin Wei had no family either, so he simply gave up his official career as well, claiming he wanted to resign and retire to seclusion. But he lived under a false name, even taking medicine prepared by Master Baqi to change his appearance, transforming into Steward Lin to care for Xiao Shao all along. Over these many years, he seemed unreliable but had silently helped Xiao Shao with many things during many moments. Where Prince Jinying and his wife were negligent, Steward Lin was very cautious. Though learned and talented, he had to pretend to be crude and ignorant. No one would connect this crazy, garrulous, vulgar person with the handsome third-place scholar of the former dynasty. Steward Lin used his own methods to subtly teach Xiao Shao many things. Such a person could truly be said to possess great benevolence and great wisdom.