Upon hearing this, she was stunned for quite some time before finally getting up from the pile of straw and following Cheng Xu out.
“Are you alright?” Cheng Xu glanced at her complexion, his brows furrowed with concern.
Huaiyu tried to smile at him, but her lips were so dry that when she pulled them, they cracked, and beads of blood quickly emerged.
Cheng Xu was startled; it had only been one night since they last saw each other, yet Madam appeared as if she had just recovered from a severe illness.
Pressing his lips together, tasting a metallic tang, Huaiyu lowered her eyes and stopped looking at Cheng Xu. She walked step by step on the damp ground of the prison towards the interrogation room.
Inside the interrogation room, many lights were lit, making her feel uncomfortable. She closed her eyes for a moment upon entering, before gradually adjusting to the scene inside.
Jiang Xuanjin stood with his back to her, facing Bai Ai who knelt on the ground. Upon seeing her, Bai Ai straightened his back a bit, his eyes filled with concern.
“Master,” Cheng Xu entered and reported, “the person has been brought.”
Without turning around, Jiang Xuanjin pulled up the sleeves of his Qing amber-colored robe embroidered with snow pines a bit. “If you’re not kneeling, do I still need to invite you?” His tone was icy, colder than any previous court sessions.
Huaiyu chuckled lightly, dressed in prisoner’s garb as she approached Bai Ai’s side, lowered her head, and slowly knelt.
“Greetings, Your Majesty,” she said.
Jiang Xuanjin glanced sideways, saying, “My officials are tight-lipped. Since I can’t get them to talk, perhaps Your Highness should come and ask personally.”
Force Bai Ai to speak? Huaiyu was stunned and then thought of Liang Sixian’s situation. She whispered to Bai Ai, “Are you foolish? At this point, what’s the harm in speaking?”
Luckily, Jiang Xuanjin was asking; if anyone else had been here, he might have endured physical punishment.
Bai Ai stubbornly shook his head—unless His Majesty personally loosened his tongue, he wouldn’t utter a word.
“Truly…” Huaiyu looked at him with a mix of anger and amusement, her eyes slightly reddened.
The front desk knocked a few times, the sound crisp.
“It’s getting late,” Jiang Xuanjin said expressionlessly. “Please, Your Highness, be quick.”
Retracting her gaze from his embroidered patterns, Huaiyu had lost all interest in joking or teasing. She spoke seriously, “Regarding the selection of officials, I used Second Brother and you. I used a drug in Second Brother’s protective talisman. When he left, he smelled it and naturally felt drowsy at the exam site. His seal was stolen by me and given to Bai Ai, who used it to stamp the examination paper he wrote. Then I stealthily placed the seal in the Court of Literary Works.”
Thus, when Bai Ai’s papers were reviewed, the person would assumed they had mixed up the papers of low-born and high-born students, and Bai Ai’s paper would be attributed to Jiang Shen, a member of the Jiang family. When Jiang Shen, a member of the Jiang family, reviewed the paper he submitted, he naturally raised objections, and Jiang Xuanjin thoroughly investigated the matter, exposing Liang Sixian’s other despicable acts.
His ink-colored eyes roiled, and Jiang Xuanjin said, “So, the painting and calligraphy in the Court of Literary Works were intentionally arranged by you?”
“Yes,” Huaiyu nodded. “The Court of Literary Works originally belonged to Lu Jingxing.”
He had accidentally seen similar handwriting, pretended to be so alike, and was guiding him step by step into the trap she had designed.
Jiang Xuanjin chuckled coldly. “I was foolish.”
Huaiyu lowered her eyes, her voice hoarse. “Liang Sixian’s favoritism is a fact, harming students from humble backgrounds for many years.”
“You deceived me.” That was the biggest fact.
“I didn’t deceive you. Would you suspect Liang Sixian?” Huaiyu asked him. “In your eyes, is Liang Sixian a decent and good official?”
Jiang Xuanjin frowned at her, only to see her suddenly raise her head, her almond eyes staring straight at him.
“Your Majesty is good everywhere, just too pure and upright,” she said lightly, “Do you think that because you are honest, everyone in the world is equally honest inside and out?”
Her clear and restrained almond eyes burst with an imposing air.
Why hadn’t he noticed before? This person’s appearance and temperament were fundamentally different from hers.
His heart and chest felt tight; he looked away and said in a deep voice, “Is that your reason for deceiving me?”
Feeling a bit weak, Huaiyu knelt and said quietly, “I’m sorry for deceiving you. I have something I must do.”
Fingers curled into a tight fist, Jiang Xuanjin said, “Did you ever consider the consequences of using me for all these deeds?”
Did she ever consider what would happen if he found out?
Huaiyu looked at him in silence.
How could she not have considered it? But even if she had, she would still have done it.
Seeing her expression, Jiang Xuanjin understood, “You never intended to live peacefully with me.”
The words echoed lightly in the interrogation chamber like a cool breeze carrying autumn rain.
Huaiyu found it hard to breathe, her face pale as she stared at him.
Jiang Xuanjin stood stiffly for a while, then lowered his gaze, “I never asked you why you chose to relocate Qing Si to another place on the day Yun Lie’s people searched Moju.”
“Nor did I ask why you think the Emperor is more important than me.”
“Now these questions have answers. Can you answer my last question?”
Her heart tightened slowly. Huaiyu seemed to anticipate what he was going to ask and awkwardly avoided his gaze.
But his voice still pierced her ears, “On the day we went to Bailong Temple. Was it you who leaked my whereabouts to Sun Qing?”
Sure enough.
Huaiyu nervously pinched her fingers, feeling overwhelmed with guilt and anxiety, leaving her at a loss.
She was ashamed of this matter. Yu Feng said that day was extremely dangerous, and he almost didn’t make it back.
When the carriage passed through the woods, he even covered her nose and mouth with his hand. After returning, he didn’t mention a word to her, completely trusting her, afraid that she would worry and fear, protecting her well.
But she… treated him as bait, not even considering his life or death.
Her nails dug into her flesh, and she dared not look up or make a sound.
The person in front of her waited quietly. After waiting for a long time without a response, he smiled softly, “You don’t even bother to lie to me anymore, do you?”
The green amber-colored hem of her clothes was lifted, and he slowly squatted in front of her, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear, “Lie to me one more time, say it wasn’t you. You know, you could never bear to let me die.”
Her cracked lips moved, and blood beads appeared again. Huaiyu avoided his eyes, her face pale.
Jiang Xuanjin looked at her steadily, his thin lips devoid of color. The fingers touching her cheek were cold as snow, “What kind of person are you, deep down?”
The day before, they were joking and laughing together. How could she turn around and put him in mortal danger? They were already married, had gone through the ceremonies, and even shared intimate moments like peeling sweet oranges for each other and gazing at the moonlight outside the city. They were close, yet when he revealed his true feelings, why did she respond with a knife?
Why?
“… I’m sorry,” Huaiyu explained with difficulty, “At that time… I heard you were using the servants of Feiyun Palace as bait to lure out enemies, so I…”
“So you thought, using my life as a bet. If you won, you could lure out enemies. If you lost, you could seek revenge. Regardless of the outcome, it would be according to your will, right?”
It felt like something heavy had just struck his chest. Jiang Xuanjin stood up, no longer wanting to hear her answer. He simply reached for her wrist and took off the string of Buddhist beads he had once given her.
“No…” Huaiyu struggled to keep that thing, her intuition telling her it was too important to lose.
However, Miss Bai’s body was already weak beyond recognition. She didn’t even have the strength to resist anymore. Between her raising and lowering hands, that string of Buddhist beads had returned to Jiang Xuanjin’s hand.
Jiang Xuanjin lowered his gaze and took out a handkerchief, meticulously wiping the Buddhist beads clean, one by one.
“If you don’t cherish it, then return it to me,” he said.
“Jiang Jie,” Li Huaiyu’s eyes turned red, “I will cherish it from now on. Please don’t take it away from me.”
With a soft chuckle, Jiang Xuanjin looked at her, “Do you think there’s a future for you?”
Treason is a capital offense.
“No future in this world, perhaps in the underworld,” she whimpered, tears and blood drops mixing on her lips, pleading sadly, “Give it to me.”
“You’re delusional.” Jiang Xuanjin closed his grip on the Buddhist beads and walked out without looking back.
“Jiang Jie!”
Her hoarse voice echoed through the entire interrogation room, but he hesitated briefly and then disappeared outside the door.
Huaiyu choked back tears, sitting on the ground hugging her knees, fingers absentmindedly caressing her empty wrist, tears streaming down her face one by one.
“Your Highness…” Bai Ai stared at her in astonishment.
The Eldest Princess, as she remembered her, had never been so heartbroken before, her face contorted in sobs, like a lost child.
“It’s my fault,” Huaiyu cried, “I shouldn’t have done this. It’s all my fault.”
Lu Jingxing was right, playing with fire will only burn oneself. Now she was burning all over and just wanted to cry out loud.
If only everything could start over again, if only she could redo it, she would never have set that trap for Sun Qing. Instead, they would have gone together to burn incense and seek guidance, then returned home peacefully.
Cheng Xu stood nearby, initially angry, but seeing her cry so intensely, he furrowed his brow but refrained from harsh words, saying only, “You hurt him deeply.”
“I know, I know…” She wiped her face haphazardly, but tears flowed even more freely. “I hate to see him unhappy the most, but he doesn’t even give me a chance to explain.”
“How could he?” Cheng Xu frowned slightly. “It’s one thing for everything else, but you’ve been with His Highness for so long. Yet you still wanted to kill him. How do you think he feels?”
“I didn’t… I didn’t want to kill him…” Her crying became convulsive, and Huaiyu shook her head vigorously. “I had arranged reinforcements. If I wanted him dead, why would I have informed Jiang Qu and Xu Yan ahead of time?”
But… even with reinforcements, who could guarantee they would arrive in time? When Lady made that decision, His Highness was not in her thoughts.
Cheng Xu sighed repeatedly, feeling choked up.
Bai Ai listened nearby, unable to hold back, “Hasn’t His Highness also attempted to kill the Princess before? Moreover, His Highness has truly died once, but Your Highness is still alive and well.”
“That’s different.” Cheng Xu shook his head. “When His Highness acted, there was no emotional attachment to the Eldest Princess.”
“Who told you there was no emotional attachment?” Bai Ai’s face darkened.
What kind of emotions could Lord Ziyang and the Eldest Princess have? Even if it was just a master-disciple relationship, they had been at odds for years.
Cheng Xu didn’t agree, thinking he was protecting His Highness. He raised his hand and gestured, then followed Jiang Xuanjin out.
Huaiyu sobbed uncontrollably, Bai Ai reached out and gently pressed her onto his shoulder, whispering, “Don’t be sad.”
“Loving someone is hard.” Li Huaiyu wanted to laugh, but her tears flowed even more fiercely as if she wanted to cry out all the tears of her life.
Bai Ai looked at her in distress but didn’t know how to comfort her, so he could only gently pat her back.
“His Highness has ordered to take her back to the prison cell,” a bailiff came up beside them, separating the two and dragging them out, one on each side.
Huaiyu stood up, took two staggering steps, and almost fell.
“Your Highness!” Bai Ai’s voice lowered.
Waving a hand at him, Li Huaiyu reluctantly straightened up. She followed the bailiffs out.
She and Jiang Xuanjin were indeed fated to have a doomed relationship from the beginning, destined to have no happy ending. She had foolishly fantasized about a perfect ending.
The dream should end now, after crying out this much. She should return to her former self in Danyang.
“Your Highness.”
Back in the prison cell, Xuxian noticed her swollen eyes and asked, “Have you seen His Highness?”
Picking up the scattered straw from the ground and stacking it by the railing, Huaiyu sat down, clutching her abdomen. “Yes, I have.”
Xuxian said, “I don’t know what His Highness intends, but he has taken over our treason case, and the Emperor has agreed.”
Before meeting today, Huaiyu might have hoped upon hearing this news, thinking he was coming to protect her like the countless times he had stood in front of her.
But now, she lowered her gaze. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
He definitely wouldn’t let her off easily. As for Huai Lin…
Huaiyu thought for a moment and said, “General Xu, if there’s a chance to escape in the future, please leave the capital without looking back, and don’t do anything foolish again.”
Xuxian was taken aback. “A chance to escape?”
Unless Lu Jingxing arranged a prison break, how could there be a chance?
Huaiyu shook her head without further explanation. After resting for a while and feeling less discomfort in her stomach, she called for a guard. “Pass on a message for me. The daughter of Imperial Censor Ba Dezhong ng, and wife of Lord Ziyang Jiang Xuanjin, requests an audience with the Emperor.”
It was common for prisoners to request an audience with the Emperor from death row, but hearing her introduction, the guard hesitated for a moment before reporting to the chief of the prison, who bypassed Lord Ziyang and directly passed it on to Yun Lie.
Two hours later, Li Huaiyu was handcuffed and shackled, escorted into the palace.
Feiyun Palace was tightly shut, with dim lighting inside. Li Huai Lin sat quietly on a sandalwood couch, watching her enter.
“Aren’t you supposed to recognize me?” Huaiyu chuckled softly. “Seeing your imperial sister, why such a tense expression?”
His expression was tense as Huai Lin stared at her, his eyes full of vigilance. He spoke softly only after she approached him. “Imperial sister.”
Hearing these familiar words, Huaiyu couldn’t help trembling, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Is there anything that I have done to offend you, imperial sister?” she asked.
Huai Lin looked at the chains on her hands, remained silent for a long time, then spoke slowly and firmly, “Do you truly not know?”
Shaking her head slowly and resolutely, Huaiyu curled her lips, her eyes fragile. “Then tell me.”
Sunlight filtered through the ornate windows, casting dust particles into the air. They danced around, suffocatingly dense. After she said these words, the surroundings fell silent, save for the faint jingle of the uncontrollably trembling chains.
…
Jiang Xuanjin returned to Moju and immediately sensed the murderous intent.
Glancing coldly to the side, he stood still, waiting for Qing Si to make a move.
However, the person slowly approached him, emitting a strong aura of hostility, yet made no move, only saying, “Does His Highness want to know how Pingling Jun died?”
Jiang Xuanjin lowered his gaze. “You know?”
“Naturally,” Qing Si said. “I’ll give you two secrets in exchange for you arranging a meeting with the Emperor for me. How about it?”
Jiang Xuanjin looked at her coldly. “You dared to even threaten the Emperor?”
“He deserves it!” Qing Si narrowed her eyes. “The person who deserves to die the most in the whole world isn’t Pingling Jun, it’s him!”
“Outrageous!” Jiang Xuanjin’s voice was low. “Insulting the Emperor is a capital offense!”
“Insulting the Emperor is a capital offense…” Qing Si’s eyes held mockery. “Then may I ask, Your Highness, what should be the punishment for someone who usurps the throne, and harms members of the imperial family?”
Jiang Xuanjin froze for a moment. When he finally reacted, he strode purposefully towards the inkstone pool.
Qing Si followed him, matching his steps, and once inside the study, she closed the door.
“What do you mean by usurping the throne?”
After listening intently for any sounds around them and confirming there was no one else except Cheng Xu, Qing Si spoke, “Li Huai Lin is not the biological son of Emperor Xiao.”
Like a bolt from the blue, Jiang Xuanjin’s pupils contracted at her words.
Qing Si looked at him, her face cold and expressionless. “This was a secret known to His Highness before his death. It was because he knew this that he brought about his demise.”
“…”
“His Highness could never have rebelled no matter what. Everything she did was not wrong.” Qing Si continued, “In the eyes of the world, she has three major crimes: killing Pingling Jun, torturing Zhang Neishi, and during the plague in Jiangxi, abandoning the people of seven counties, sealing off the cities and letting the people inside fend for themselves.”
“But if she wasn’t wrong in any of these three things, shouldn’t you reconsider your views on her?”
Jiang Xuanjin slowly sat down behind the desk. “Go on.”
“As for the plague in Jiangxi, His Highness investigated it thoroughly. He should also know the origins: it was preceded by corruption in disaster relief funds, leading to unresolved droughts and subsequent plague outbreaks.”
“The decision to seal off the cities was made by the Imperial Physician. Under the consideration of the Eldest Princess, it was decided to proceed. Though the method was cruel, was there any wrongdoing? Such a rampant plague eventually stopped at the seven counties, preventing further spread to neighboring areas.”
Qing Si, usually taciturn, now spoke forcefully in defense of Huaiyu, each word crystal clear. “And regarding Pingling Jun and Zhang Neishi, Your Highness, do you know what they did to the Princess?”
When Emperor Xiao first passed away, Li Huaiyu was only twelve years old. She could only sit in Feiyun Palace, overwhelmed with sorrow and crying inconsolably.
Li Shan, Pingling Jun, was Emperor Xiao’s fifth younger brother. In terms of age, he was more suitable to inherit the throne, but Emperor Xiao somehow convinced Li Shan to assist in governance instead.
So Li Shan naturally moved from Pingling to the palace to reside.
Li Huaiyu had never liked Li Shan from the start. Although she had rarely seen this Fifth Prince before, she always kept her distance, her eyes full of wariness whenever she encountered him.
At first, Qingsi found this behavior odd, thinking the prince was just shy. But later, she discovered that Prince Pingling behaved extremely inappropriately. Whenever he got close to His Highness, he would act as if he were an elder fondly doting on a younger relative, embracing her and being overly familiar.
Upon noticing this, Qingsi would always shield His Highness behind her and prevent Prince Pingling from approaching.
However, one day, Chamberlain Zhang came to deliver a message, saying that some relics left by the late Emperor had been found, and asked if the Eldest Princess would like to see them. Chamberlain Zhang, who had served the late Emperor for many years, was trusted by Huaiyu. Despite Qingsi not being present at the time, she decided to accompany him.
As a result, Chamberlain Zhang led her to Prince Pingling’s chambers. When Qingsi arrived to rescue her, the chambers were already in a mess. Her Highness was crouched in a corner, blood smeared around her mouth, clothes disheveled, her gaze unusually fierce. On the other side, Prince Pingling had a large bloody wound on his hand and was loudly cursing.
“Your mother was no chaste and virtuous woman, so why pretend to be innocent with me?” Li Shan angrily roared, “Without me, do you think you could still comfortably be Eldest Princess?”
Listening to this, Qingsi trembled with anger and swiftly walked to His Highness’s side, helping her up.
Twelve-year-old Li Huaiyu was frail and slender, only reaching Qingsi’s shoulder, often prone to tears. However, on that day, Qingsi did not see a single tear in her eyes.
She stood upright, retying the loose straps of her palace dress and carefully wiping the blood from her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Your Highness…” Qingsi called out with concern, feeling both furious and eager to confront Prince Pingling.
Huaiyu reached out, her small hand gently pulling at Qingsi’s sleeve.
“Don’t rush,” she calmly said as she looked towards Prince Pingling in the distance, “He will meet his end at my hands sooner or later.”
From that day on, Li Huaiyu changed. She rarely cried again and never mentioned what had happened that day. She began learning to wield power, negotiating with courtiers, and gradually reclaiming the authority that belonged to her younger brother from Li Shan.
This prolonged struggle lasted for four years. Li Huaiyu suffered hardships she never imagined, nearly losing her life on several occasions. If it weren’t for the later support of Xu Xian and others, she might not have endured.
Fortunately, after four years, Li Shan’s power was completely marginalized, and he was relocated from the palace to Pingling Manor outside. Li Huaiyu smiled as she counted the days, choosing the anniversary of her mother’s death to find him with the Heart-Eating Powder.
“Huaiyu, you’re my niece!” Li Shan was startled, scrambling around the room in panic, staring at what she held in her hand and shaking his head repeatedly, “How could you possibly harm your uncle? I am your Fifth Uncle!”
“I have met Fifth Uncle,” Huaiyu continued to smile, opening the vial in her hand and instructing someone to restrain him on the soft couch.
“Don’t be afraid, Uncle,” she said, “this substance is quite precious, containing the finest pigeon poison and arsenic, along with fresh snake venom. Drinking it should be quite pleasant.”
Li Shan looked at her in horror, then cursed urgently and fearfully, “How can you be so vicious!”
“Vicious?” Huaiyu murmured, “You call me vicious just for mentioning a few poisons. But if you knew that consuming this Heart-Eating Powder would rot your internal organs, causing hours of agony before bleeding from every orifice and death, what words would you use then?”
Li Shan was dumbfounded, staring blankly at her.
Huaiyu padded the handkerchief and opened his mouth, pouring the medicine down his throat.
“You… cough…” Li Shan struggled in vain, only able to watch as the medicine slid down his throat.
“I told you that sooner or later, you would die by my hand.” She flicked her finger, and the empty vial fell to the ground and shattered. Huaiyu stood up, smiling as she addressed him, “Rest assured, even without you, I can still fulfill my duties as Eldest Princess.”
The Flying Cloud Palace echoed with soft laughter. Li Huaiyu looked up at the pale-faced figure before her and softly asked, “Sister, haven’t you seen what’s in the secret chamber? I saw it when I was ten.”
Emperor Xiao’s “Abdication Edict”.
Li Huairin wasn’t Emperor Xiao’s biological son; he was the illegitimate child of the late Emperor’s consort and Lord Ziyang. Despite knowing she had betrayed him, Emperor Xiao raised Huairin as his son, driven by deep affection for the late Emperor’s consort.
However, raising him “as” his own was never truly the same as being his biological father.
Emperor Xiao harbored reservations. He dressed Huairin in dragon robes only to prevent Lord Ziyang from seizing the throne. He left behind the “Abdication Edict,” instructing Huairin to abdicate the throne when the eldest child of Dan Yang turned fifteen.
When Li Huaiyu learned this secret, she felt as if the heavens had darkened. She hadn’t expected her father to conceal so much from her, nor did she anticipate his intention for Huairin to abdicate.
Yet, despite Emperor Xiao’s meticulous calculations, he overlooked one detail—by normal standards, a young lady should have borne a child by seventeen or eighteen. However, Dan Yang, already in her twenties, had yet to find a suitable man.
She thought it wouldn’t hurt to let Huairin ascend the throne. Even if he was Lord Ziyang’s child, he still carried royal blood and was her brother.
She hadn’t expected Huairin to have seen this before her.
With a slight tightening in her throat, Li Huaiyu smiled gently, gripping the chain in her hand as she looked at him. “So, are you avenging your father’s death on me?”
Li Huairin trembled slightly, meeting her gaze with a hoarse voice. “Shouldn’t I?”
“You…” Her heartache became unbearable. Huaiyu couldn’t stand anymore and slowly squatted down, her voice hoarse. “Do you think I killed him just to seize power?”
“Then why?” Li Huairin frowned.
Li Huaiyu fell silent, recalling the past, her expression grim.
Huairin thought she was feeling guilty, clutching his hands reluctantly. “Sister, why did you change?”
When Father Emperor was still alive, she had been so gentle. But ever since assuming power and donning court attire, she had become unrecognizable to him—ruthless, cruel, and cold-blooded. Although she still smiled and protected him, she knew he wasn’t blind or deaf.
What she had done deserved punishment, and he hadn’t been wrong.
She slowly covered her eyes with her hand. Huaiyu’s voice trembled. “If Father Emperor were still alive, I would have wanted to remain a naive Eldest Princess forever.”
But Emperor Xiao was dead, and her innocence had only brought countless people to covet the throne. What use was that innocence when she thought the court was a place for children to play house, with two silly children to point their fingers?
Huairin looked deep into her eyes, showing sadness and reluctance, but also the indifference of an emperor.
“Sister has passed away,” he said. “Since she has passed away, why not obediently go with the Black and Bai Impermanence, instead of returning to disturb the court?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Huaiyu smirked self-deprecatingly. “Do you think I still want to compete for the throne with this Miss Bai?”
Li Huairin frowned.
I’m doing all of this for you.
—Li Huaiyu couldn’t bring herself to say these words anymore. She felt foolish, even more foolish than Jiang Xuanjin.
She had thought she treated him as a true brother, born of the same parents, and expected him to treat her the same. Yet, since five years ago, he had harbored resentment.
Why hadn’t she noticed anything at all? Now, she was stabbed in the back and the pain was unbearable, yet she dared not turn around to see if the one holding the knife was truly him.
With a hoarse laugh, Huaiyu shook her head, then thought better of it and shook her head again, murmuring something unintelligible that Huairin couldn’t quite make out.
“Since Eldest Sister has no intention of seizing the throne, should you not hand over the command token?” he asked. “Keeping it serves no purpose.”
Since the day they entered the prison, Huairin had been searching for the military command token. He had searched all their residences but to no avail.
“From childhood to adulthood, Eldest Sister has always given you what you wanted,” Huaiyu raised her eyes to him, her voice gentle. “If you want the command token, Eldest Sister will naturally give it to you. However, this time, Eldest Sister needs to ask you for something in return.”
Huairin frowned slightly, pondering for a long time before asking, “What does Eldest Sister want?”
“The lives of those people in the death prison,” Huaiyu said. “You know they had no intention of rebellion. They were only implicated by me, which led them into your trap.”
Looking at her uncomfortably, Huairin said, “They have always been a major threat to me.”
“Eldest Sister knows,” Huaiyu nodded. “So, this time, if you release them, Eldest Sister will ensure they never return to the capital. Is that acceptable?”
Huairin smiled faintly, “Eldest Sister, you understand the principle of ‘wildfire cannot be easily extinguished, and the spring breeze brings it back to life,’ better than Huairin, don’t you?”
“I understand,” Huaiyu nodded. “So, as long as you let them go, I will end my own life, taking with me everything that could threaten you. Is that acceptable?”
To publicly state that Bai Zhuji was possessed by Dan Yang would not convince the court officials and the people. Because of the protection of Ba Dezhong ng and Jiang Xuanjin, he wanted her dead, which wasn’t so easy.
So, as long as he spoke, she would die.
Huairin’s throat moved slightly, his eyes filled with complexity. He wasn’t weighing the pros and cons of the matter but carefully observing her reaction, with a little caution and some inexplicable pity.
“Do you know I want you dead?” he asked softly.
Huaiyu chuckled, “There are many things. Just because I trust you too much, I pretend not to know.”
“But…this time, can you not use Lord Ziyang to kill Eldest Sister?” Pressing down on the burning pain in her chest, she smiled, “You know what he means to Eldest Sister.”
Lord Ziyang…
Huairin closed his eyes guiltily.
In the Dragon Prolongation Palace long ago, Lord Ziyang would come every day at dusk, wearing a long robe of green and amber brocade, his jade crown high and his appearance striking. At this hour, the palace gates of Dragon Prolongation would have many more maids than usual, quietly watching him teach the emperor to write and discuss the meaning of words.
Huairin was accustomed to such scenes; he knew that Ziyang Jun was very popular among the palace’s maids, both big and small. However, from a certain day onward, when he casually glanced outside, he caught a glimpse of Eldest Sister.
Wide-eyed in astonishment, Li Huairin looked at the flash of the peony palace skirt that passed by, then glanced at the emperor beside him, earnestly reciting the “Oath of the Nation,” feeling vaguely uneasy.
Everyone in the palace knew. Princess Chang and Ziyang Jun didn’t get along; while Ziyang Jun taught her etiquette and calligraphy, she never learned, only engaging in mischief and angering the emperor.
But Li Huairin knew that his elder sister liked Ziyang Jun. It’s just that… she seemed to have reservations about something, never daring to get close to Ziyang Jun, only stealing glances when he wasn’t aware.
This small secret, Eldest Sister hadn’t hidden from him but rather reminded him not to tell anyone, and it later became the dagger he stabbed into her heart.
He knew how upset Eldest Sister must be, he knew it all.
But he went ahead and did it anyway.
“Does Eldest Sister hate me?” Li Huairin asked softly.
Her legs were getting numb; slowly sitting down on the ground, Huaiyu whispered, “I don’t know.”
Getting hit does hurt, but if one blow is too harsh, the person might not react in time.
That was her current state.
Li Huairin seemed restless. Lifting the dragon robe, he stood up and walked in front of her, saying, “I promise Eldest Sister, if she wants them to live, I’ll let them live. However… Eldest Sister’s promises must also be kept.”
“Alright,” Huaiyu nodded slowly and seriously.
Seeing him eager to leave, Huaiyu stopped him again, “Eldest Sister has one more question to ask.”
“You may speak,” Li Huairin paused in his steps, his hand already on the palace door’s string.
Curling her lips, she asked, “Between the Ninth Five Sovereign and Eldest Sister, who holds greater authority?”
Li Huairin was stunned, his fingers tightening slightly.
The childish laughter seemed to linger in the Feiyun Palace, where the little child was held in the arms of Emperor Xiao, answering without hesitation.
“Eldest Sister.”
He heard his voice, echoing with that tender childish tone.
A low, hoarse laugh came from behind him. Li Huairin felt suffocated in his heart and dared not turn back or linger. He lifted the dragon robe and stepped out of the Feiyun Palace.
“Do you think such a person shouldn’t die?”
Inside the Ink Residence, Qing Si finished recounting the past, her voice cold, and asked this question.
Jiang Xuanjin sat quietly behind the desk, his slender fingers against his brow bone, the knuckles cold and turning pale.
His face showed no expression, but Qing Si looked very anxious.
Was he believing it, or not?
“Master,” Cheng Xu called from outside, “Young Master is here.”
“Hmm.” Jiang Xuanjin responded lightly, stood up without looking at Qing Si, and said, “Stay put in the Ink Residence.”
How could she kill the Emperor if she didn’t move?
Qing Si was slightly annoyed, “Are you going back on your word?”
“I never promised you anything, so how could I go back on my word?” He tossed this calmly, then walked out.
Qing Si was stunned, realizing immediately that this man had indeed not promised anything, and her face darkened.
If he wouldn’t help, she would have to rely on herself.