The last three words were spoken plainly and casually, seemingly indifferent, yet precisely because of this casual tone, they revealed the firmness of her already determined resolve. Princess Wen Chang felt as if those three words were like three knives, stabbing her entire body into trembling and causing her heart to ache with pain.

Lost in thought, she murmured, “Past affections and love have turned to dust on the ground, meeting again without recognition, separated by nine heavenly realms… How unbearable is fate…”

“Unbearable?” Qin Chang Ge turned around with a smile. “If past affections and love can transform into the shocking sea of fire at Changle Palace, if past kindness can become the sharp blade that gouged out my eyes, if past feelings can become exquisite hidden weapon mechanisms, that would truly be called unbearable.”

“This mortal world, no matter how many times one walks through it, has never been for allowing mortals to instantly become Buddhas.” She smiled softly, her gaze flowing.

“It’s merely to settle all debts of gratitude and resentment.”

Princess Wen Chang didn’t hear Qin Chang Ge’s last two sentences. Her gaze was absently fixed on Xiao Rong not far away. That little fellow hadn’t immediately taken the golden crossbow to practice shooting, but was very curiously examining it carefully.

Qin Chang Ge’s gaze also naturally fell once again on the golden crossbow she hadn’t noticed before.

That small crossbow was extremely exquisite – ebony arms inlaid with gold foil, a pure gold stock, light and convenient, brilliantly gleaming. The arrows in the groove had golden fletching and white wood shafts, much smaller than ordinary arrows. It was truly an excellent toy that combined adorability with practicality.

However, Young Master Xiao seemed to value destruction more than play, because he was putting tremendous effort into… dismantling the crossbow.

Using an iron rod to pry, stones to hammer, when his strength wasn’t enough he used his hands to pull and feet to kick, wishing he could even use his teeth. Sweating profusely, he fought against that sturdy golden crossbow.

This little fellow seemed to have considerable natural talent with weapons. Before long, the golden crossbow had been dismantled by him. The parts that were too heavy and difficult to separate, he dealt with using various methods that completely disregarded consequences, clanging and banging until pieces fell scattered on the ground. Squatting on the ground, he muttered and fiddled with each piece for a while, then suddenly understood: “Oh, so that’s how it works!”

Raising his head, he said proudly: “Mother, Princess Aunt, I understand now. This thing is really simple – you just hang the string on this ‘tooth’ (hook), then pull the ‘hanging knife’ (trigger), and after the string separates from the tooth, it rapidly springs back and shoots the arrow from the arrow groove.”

After thinking a moment, he added: “It can only shoot one arrow at a time? That’s no good – it should shoot several arrows to be satisfying.” Squatting on the ground, he began chattering and fiddling with it again.

Princess Wen Chang’s face showed a mixture of crying and laughing. The golden crossbow she had treasured for many years, the thing A’Jue had loved most as a child – when given to Young Master Xiao, it was completely finished within a quarter hour.

Qin Chang Ge stared at the parts scattered on the ground, suddenly frowned, stepped forward, grabbed her son, and pushed him aside.

Xiao Rong looked up in bewilderment. Qin Chang Ge had already picked up a tree branch, gently tested the position, hooked where the hanging knife had originally been, and pulled the box-shaped crossbow stock that contained the crossbow mechanism.

The crossbow stock immediately vibrated with fine, rapid tremors, followed by a low, subtle explosive sound. The box body cracked, and a large cloud of needles fine as ox hair shot out violently, falling on the grass like green rain. The lush green grass on the ground immediately turned yellow and withered, then quickly blackened.

Xiao Baozi’s sharp intake of breath was loud enough to be heard three li away.

What fierce poison!

Her heart turning cold, Qin Chang Ge silently cursed her own carelessness. Just now when mentioning past events, her thoughts had been scattered and chaotic, and she hadn’t noticed the crossbow was unusual. If it weren’t for Rong’er not playing by normal rules and dismantling the golden crossbow first, but instead following normal behavior and trying to shoot first, he would have triggered the crossbow mechanism the moment he loaded it, immediately taking his little life.

It was also fortunate that he had first dismantled the hanging knife – otherwise, if the hanging knife had been removed last, it could have similarly triggered the crossbow mechanism and cost his life.

She had glanced over earlier and noticed the seams of the crossbow stock seemed slightly wide, as if it had been disassembled before. Since Rong’er hadn’t even opened the crossbow stock, she had momentarily suspected something, and indeed discovered this vicious mechanism.

Grabbing her son’s hands to check that they hadn’t been contaminated by the poison gas, Qin Chang Ge breathed a sigh of relief, frowned, and turned back to look at Princess Wen Chang.

Staring wide-eyed at the withered grass on the ground, Princess Wen Chang was already stunned speechless. Seeing Qin Chang Ge turn back to look at her, she finally drew a sharp breath and murmured: “Chang Ge… it wasn’t me…”

“I know it wasn’t you,” Qin Chang Ge sneered coldly. “Who would use something they personally gave away to kill someone? It’s just that, Princess Wen Chang, where did you take this golden crossbow from?”

Princess Wen Chang said: “It was always kept in a chest in my room, with three locks. Only Qi Mo and I have keys.”

Qi Mo was Princess Wen Chang’s maid, a personal servant who had followed her since the Prince of Huainan’s mansion, growing up together – her most trusted maid.

They immediately summoned Qi Mo. Princess Wen Chang only asked if Qi Mo had given the keys to anyone. The usually capable and efficient head maid hurriedly searched her clothes and pulled out a string of copper keys, her face full of surprise: “These keys have always been on this servant’s person, never removed, much less given to anyone. Though this servant may be dull, I still understand such propriety.”

Qin Chang Ge looked at those keys and smiled: “Sister Qi Mo, may I have a look?”

Princess Wen Chang had told all her trusted people that Qin Chang Ge had shown her kindness and should not be treated as a servant. Naturally, Qi Mo dared not refuse. She untied the keys and handed them over.

She continued chattering: “The items in the Princess’s gold-painted chest are precious, even the locks are rare – they’re ‘Four Gentleman’s Pursuits’ locks meticulously crafted by the famous locksmith master He Yan from Zhongchuan, extremely ingenious.”

“Four Gentleman’s Pursuits – music, chess, calligraphy, and painting,” said Qin Chang Ge. “Which three does the Princess have here?”

“Green Qi, Pattern Board, and Ink Stone,” said Princess Wen Chang. “The Scroll lock is in the palace, being used by His Majesty.”

After carefully examining Qi Mo’s keys – ancient keys naturally couldn’t compare to modern ones in terms of precision, mostly being long strips with ends shaped according to their respective lock holes – Qin Chang Ge compared Princess Wen Chang’s and Qi Mo’s keys, smiled, and said: “So-called masters put all their effort into making lock designs ingenious and elaborate. The locks are made beautifully with unique craftsmanship, but the lock cylinder cores are merely ordinary. You haven’t seen truly extraordinary locks – those are ones no one can imitate or open. These keys have definitely been replicated. Sister Qi Mo, did anyone come near you today?”

Shaking her head, Qi Mo said: “No one did. I was in my room organizing scented clothes all along.”

Qin Chang Ge looked at Princess Wen Chang, who nodded and said: “This morning she was in my room the entire time. I watched her open the locks and take out the golden crossbow, then I personally took it to give to Rong’er. During this time, we encountered no one.”

“Very well, sister, you may go. Do not speak of today’s events to anyone.” Qin Chang Ge dismissed Qi Mo and smiled at Princess Wen Chang: “It seems your chest was tampered with before leaving the palace.”

Slightly alarmed, Princess Wen Chang frowned: “The palace has many people of mixed character, so it’s very possible. But this way, trying to find out who it was would be harder than climbing to heaven.”

Qin Chang Ge listened to her words with a half-smile, then said lightly: “There are no schemes that don’t reveal flaws, only ignorant and foolish people. But Princess Wen Chang, have you thought about why that person would tamper with your golden crossbow? Who exactly did they want to harm?”