Inside the Carriage

Jingrong and Ji Yunshu sat facing each other.

Accompanying the carriage’s gentle swaying motion, their originally even breathing became somewhat hurried.

After a long pause, Ji Yunshu glanced at him and said, “Actually, Your Highness need not accompany me into the palace.”

“It’s not really accompanying you. This prince also needs to enter the palace today to see Father Emperor. The border situation is pressing. Someone was already sent yesterday to summon this prince for discussions.”

“Oh!” came her muffled response.

Jingrong paused, then said seriously, “Although Noble Consort Xiao has long resided in the deep palace, she absolutely must not be underestimated. You should have understood this deeply at her birthday banquet.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“You must guard against her at every turn. If this prince hasn’t guessed wrong, she’s summoning you to the palace ostensibly to inquire about the disappearance case, but whatever her true intentions, they cannot be separated from the two words: power and position.”

At this point, Jingrong felt a trace of worry.

It wasn’t worry that he himself would become a target for Noble Consort Xiao’s hunt to seize power for her son, but rather worry that Noble Consort Xiao intended to recruit Ji Yunshu.

And if this woman became single-minded and directly rejected everything outright, that couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t become Noble Consort Xiao’s second hunting target.

Seeing Jingrong’s concern, Ji Yunshu merely smiled.

She made no reply!

“Did you hear this prince’s words clearly?” Jingrong’s brows furrowed tightly.

“Since I’ve come, I’ll take things as they come. Your Highness need not worry for me. Even if Noble Consort Xiao wants to control the entire situation, she needs game pieces that will let her manipulate them. But if I remain in the chess jar opposing her without emerging, presumably her hand cannot reach over.”

Ji Yunshu’s eyes carried a mysterious smile. As Jingrong had said, she understood quite well what kind of person Noble Consort Xiao was.

Jingrong didn’t fully understand her words.

He sighed softly. “In any case, be careful yourself. The women in the deep palace are all extremely terrifying. Those who have survived until now and remain standing are all monsters.”

Ji Yunshu strongly agreed with these words.

Yet she couldn’t help but be amused, raising her delicate jade hand to cover the corners of her lips that curved upward.

Her wide sleeves were gently lifted by the wind outside the curtain, brushing against her long dark hair, causing her exquisite half-face to appear and disappear intermittently.

Truly breathtakingly beautiful!

Jingrong’s ice-cold eyes, whenever they rested on Ji Yunshu, always seemed like a blazing fire, willing only to burn bit by bit at her side.

In an instant, he averted his gaze, reached out to lift the carriage curtain, looked outside, and said:

“We’re almost at the palace gates.”

Ji Yunshu’s gaze also shifted outside the carriage. Last time she entered the palace quite hastily and hadn’t had time to look at these magnificent palace gates.

The high-hanging South Gate plaque was embedded in the center above the three great gates. The gilded characters emitted a cold light in the chill wind, like the meridians in a human body, transmitting that cold light to every brick and tile of the palace quarters.

Ice-cold and firm, like a great ice cellar.

This was probably why every moment and measure in the deep palace caused people such tremendous anguish.

Jingrong said to her, “I don’t care what plans you have. In any case, one must always guard against others. Be careful yourself. After I finish discussing matters with Father Emperor, I’ll wait for you at this South Gate.”

“Your Highness should rather devote more thought to contemplating the border situation. The recent invasions by the Qujiang Kingdom have caused border unrest—it’s truly a headache-inducing problem. If I haven’t guessed wrong, His Majesty will probably ask Your Highness if you have any good strategies for handling it. At this moment, Your Highness should properly devise one.”

Uh!

Jingrong was suddenly stunned!

No, shocked!

He hadn’t known that Ji Yunshu’s intelligence wasn’t limited to criminal investigation. She also understood court affairs.

Probably because astonishment surged to his heart, Jingrong asked, “Since you can guess this, do you have a good strategy?”

She shook her head. “Your Highness has asked the wrong person. I have no good strategy. I merely thought about it and made some guesses. However, when two nations go to war, it’s ultimately all about interests. Whether power schemes or territory, in the end they’re not as important as the precious lives of the common people. Presumably, since ancient times, no emperor would risk bearing the crime of offending all under heaven to realize his own ambitious hegemony.”

Her tone was flat, revealing no ripples whatsoever.

As if these were words spoken casually!

But across from her, Jingrong’s eyes revealed towering waves of astonishment.

“Who told you all this?”

“The ‘Lin Chronicles’ mentioned some things. I spent a bit of effort to memorize them and casually mentioned a couple of sentences.”

Jingrong was half-believing, half-doubting!

What ‘Lin Chronicles’! Ji Yunshu had never touched it at all!

These matters were all things she heard Ji Pei mention. During those two years, Ji Pei not only taught her poetry and writing but also taught her some matters of power schemes and military strategy.

Probably out of interest, Ji Yunshu very attentively studied for two years.

She still remembered a sentence Ji Pei had said to her:

“The greatest enemy under heaven is not those soldiers and warriors standing before you holding sharp swords and long spears, but rather the people of the world whom you exhaust all your strength trying most to protect.”

At the time, Ji Yunshu didn’t quite understand, but later she gradually comprehended this statement.

The more wildly ambition expands, what it ultimately brings in return is definitely the rise of resistance from all people under heaven.

A generation’s emperor would become the next “First Emperor of Qin”!

Seeing that she had become somewhat lost in thought, Jingrong said softly:

“Thank you!”

“I didn’t say anything!” Her lowered eyes lifted, then she turned her head away, saying indifferently.

“But you awakened this prince.”

“That’s because Your Highness is intelligent.”

These words brought a knowing smile to Jingrong’s face.

Indeed, Ji Yunshu hadn’t contributed any good strategy to him, merely spoke a few casual sentences.

Mm!

Just spoke a few casual sentences.

She was unwilling to claim credit, and he wouldn’t force it upon her.

The carriage stopped outside the palace gates.

After the two descended from the carriage, they each went to different palace halls.

When parting, Jingrong didn’t forget to instruct her a couple of times and inform her he would wait at the South Gate.

Ji Yunshu agreed to everything and followed the young eunuch who had come to receive her to Zhang’zhi Hall.

Inside the hall, a warming brazier was placed every few steps. In the cold weather, this place formed a stark contrast.

Arriving outside the main hall, Ji Yunshu waited outside while the young eunuch went in to announce her. He emerged after a moment.

“Master Ji, please.”

She followed him inside, her wide-sleeved robe at her sides fluttering lightly with her movement.

Her upright bearing showed not the slightest trace of stage fright. Entering the hall, before her eyes was a piece of green silk gauze curtain hanging down from the ceiling beams, vaguely revealing the woman sitting on the noble consort’s couch inside.

As the gauze curtain was gradually “peeled” away!

Noble Consort Xiao’s face, made up so heavily that her age was indiscernible, appeared in Ji Yunshu’s eyes. That purple-red brocade robe still embroidered with phoenix tail feathers, and the hem of the robe-skirt, also resembled a Turkish black rose blooming around her body.

Peerless elegance!

The description fit her perfectly.

No wonder His Majesty doted on her—this was probably the reason!

After all, since ancient times emperors have doted on beautiful women. This was an eternal, unchanging truth.