To think someone would choose to believe Shen Zaiye wouldn’t kill her! If it were anyone else, Xu Yangui might understand, but Jiang Taohua? What could he say? Something he could see through at a glance – how could someone as clever as Jiang Taohua not understand?
“About our previous bet,” Xu Yangui suddenly remembered and quickly asked Jiang Taohua, “Are you admitting defeat? You said before that when faced with a critical situation, Shen Zaiye would choose to abandon you. Otherwise, you’d give me your life.”
“Why would I admit defeat?” Taohua looked at him strangely. “He will indeed abandon me. I just don’t think he’ll kill me. There are many ways to abandon someone, aren’t there?”
“…” That did make sense.
Xu Yangui circled the table a few times before sighing, “Be careful. I’m leaving now.”
Taohua nodded, watching him disappear through the window. Her eyes then dimmed.
Shen Zaiye wanted to kill her? This was truly… unexpected. So much time had passed; she thought he’d long abandoned that idea and would protect her more, given their generally good relationship. Who knew his choice hadn’t changed from the beginning?
In other words, she was the only one who took this play seriously. He never truly cared.
What a failure.
Taohua covered her eyes with her hand and lay on the soft couch. She could still faintly smell the medicinal scent lingering on the pillow.
“My lady?” Qingtai looked at her worriedly. “Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing,” Taohua smiled, still covering her eyes. “I’ve just disgraced my master. If he knew his top disciple was so useless, not only failing to win someone’s heart but losing herself in the process, I wonder if he’d slap me to death.”
Qingtai was stunned, looking at her mistress in shock. Her lips were curved in a smile, but through the gaps between her fingers covering her eyes, tears seemed to be flowing. At first, it was just a drop, but soon more followed, streaming down in rivulets, impossible to contain.
“My lady…” She was dumbfounded, kneeling beside the couch, not knowing what had happened. This was the first time she’d seen her mistress so heartbroken.
It was a genuine heartache. Apart from acting for others, Taohua rarely cried. But now she felt a sting in her nose, probably homesickness.
It had been several months since leaving Zhao. Thousands of miles away, with no news, she wondered if Changjie was still as stubborn, always getting into trouble. She didn’t know if her master was still wearing that big red peony dress, attracting crowds on the streets. And that little flower she’d raised – was anyone taking care of it now?
The folk songs of Zhao were so beautiful, always drifting in from beyond the palace walls. The women’s voices were gentle and soft, giving a motherly feeling. Whenever Changjie angered her, she would lean against those high palace walls to listen. She’d fall asleep listening, and upon waking, all troubles would be gone.
“Qingtai,” Taohua said with a hoarse laugh, “Sing me a tune, will you?”
Qingtai was startled but quickly nodded. She sat by the couch, gently patting her mistress’s shoulder, and hummed a Zhao folk song. The melody was soft and warm like a mother lulling a child to sleep at night. The gentle hands seemed to wipe away all pain, leaving only sweet dreams.
Taohua fell asleep, curled up in Qingtai’s arms like a little kitten. Her furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and her hands fell away.
Slightly relieved, Qingtai thought with reddened eyes that after this sleep, her mistress might forget all the unpleasant things. It would be as if they never happened.
However, when Taohua woke up in the evening, the heaviness in her eyes hadn’t diminished at all.
“My lady,” Huadeng entered from outside, “The Prime Minister has sent dinner and says he’ll be here shortly.”
“Alright,” Taohua smiled, going to the dressing table to make herself presentable, hiding any trace of distress. Then she sat properly, waiting for Shen Zaiye to arrive.
Shen Zaiye was still in his study, not yet ready to leave.
Xu Yangui paced back and forth in front of him, almost making him dizzy. Shen Zaiye frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” Xu Yangui said, but his eyes were full of complexity as he looked at the man behind him. “Are you planning to abandon her here?”
“Didn’t you want me to deal with her all along?” Shen Zaiye lowered his gaze, his hands in his sleeves, and said softly, “Now it’s as you wish. What other opinions do you have?”
“I have no objections, I just find it surprising,” Xu Yangui pursed his lips. “You’re willing to let her go?”
Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, “If I weren’t willing, wouldn’t you all force me to anyway? Might as well skip the struggle in between and do what needs to be done.”
Sighing deeply, Xu Yangui nodded, “Fine. Since you’ve decided, I can’t stop you. Take the antidote first.”
There was only one pill of antidote in the jade-green bottle on the table. Shen Zaiye looked at it silently for a moment, then took it and put it in his sleeve. “It’s not too late to take it later. In case she has any tricks up her sleeve, if the effect wears off, I’d have to die with her. That’s not worth it.”
“She does like you very much,” Xu Yangui pouted. “I could see it. She embroiders pillows for you every night.”
Shen Zaiye’s hand tightened slightly, and he gave Xu Yangui an icy look. “If you dare to go to her place again while I’m not around, I’ll break your legs.”
“No, no, no,” Xu Yangui quickly waved his hands. “I didn’t do anything. Why are you so agitated? The poor girl traveled thousands of miles to marry you. I just talked to her a bit, didn’t even touch her.”
Just talked? Shen Zaiye stood up, approaching him step by step. “How many times?”
“…Maybe two or three times?”
A soft sword flew out from Shen Zaiye’s waist, hovering lightly by his neck.
“How many times?”
Taking a deep breath, feeling the cold, numbing sensation on his neck, Xu Yangui immediately became honest. “Every day. I’ve lost count of how many times in total.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the soft sword coiled around him like a snake. Xu Yangui was greatly alarmed, dodging up and down while exclaiming, “Calm down! I didn’t do anything. Besides, even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t dare! That woman is so formidable. It’s already good enough that she didn’t bully me. Are you afraid I’d bully her?”
With a frosty expression, Shen Zaiye struck fiercely, landing a punch in his chest. The soft sword looked as if it was about to coil around his face!
“Aren’t you going to kill her anyway?” Xu Yangui quickly shouted. “What’s this about now? Settling scores with me over a dead person? Do you dare say she’s not in your heart?”
Shen Zaiye’s hand froze, and he stared at Xu Yangui in a daze.
Xu Yangui had initially wanted to tease him a bit more, but faced with this look, he felt a shock in his heart and began to feel distressed.
The mighty Shen Zaiye, the domineering Prime Minister who had always stood at the pinnacle, and who could smoothly resolve even the most difficult matters, had never tasted failure. Such a man now had a look of despair in his eyes.
He hadn’t seen wrong. It was despair – a sea of darkness without a single point of light.
“You…”
Dropping his usual playful demeanor, Xu Yangui wanted to ask him, “Are you alright?”
But Shen Zaiye didn’t give him the chance. He retracted the soft sword and strode out.
The sun was setting, and lamps were being lit one by one in the Shen mansion. Shen Zaiye walked through the corridors, through the garden, and finally stopped at the entrance of Zhengchun Pavilion. He felt he had walked quite quickly, but for some reason, by the time he stood here, the sky had completely darkened.
“My lord, you’re finally here?” The door opened, and someone rushed towards him as usual, head lowered slightly with a hint of complaint. “I’m starving. The dishes have all gone cold. What kept you?”
“Something came up,” Shen Zaiye didn’t dare look at her. He led her inside and sat down beside the table full of delicacies.
Taohua’s face wore a smile, but she didn’t raise her eyes either. She diligently set out bowls and chopsticks for him, then said, “Thank you for the meal, my lord. These dishes should still be delicious even if they’re cold. It seems the kitchen put in a lot of effort.”
“Do you like them?” Shen Zaiye asked.
“Mm, I do,” Taohua held her chopsticks, smiling softly as she asked, “Which dish would you like to start with, my lord?”
“You eat first,” Shen Zaiye pursed his lips. “I’m not very hungry yet.”
The room fell silent for a moment. Taohua took a deep breath, picked up some pork, and slowly put it in her mouth. She ate it as if it were ordinary food, and after swallowing, she smiled, “It’s delicious.”
Shen Zaiye didn’t look at her. His face remained calm as he watched Jiang Taohua taste a bit of each dish and finally drink a large bowl of soup.
“Thank you for the feast, my lord,” Taohua stood up and bowed deeply to Shen Zaiye. “And thank you for your care all this time.”
Shen Zaiye stiffened, closing his eyes briefly. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you.”
Knowing it was poisoned, she still ate?
Taohua didn’t speak. Her head was bowed to the ground, her body kneeling and curled up, looking like just a small bundle.
She was only eighteen. In an ordinary family, she should still be an innocent young girl, waiting naively and kindly for her husband to come and marry her, giving her a happy life.
But she was born as Jiang Taohua, a princess of Zhao, his wife. Wearing gold and jade hairpins, and dressed in fine silks, her life was more privileged than others, but also much shorter.
“Stand up,” Shen Zaiye said softly. “Since you can see through it and choose to follow my path, I have nothing more to say. After you’re gone, I will give you a grand burial.”
“Thank you,” Taohua looked up, her face still smiling, though her eyes were very red. “Even in death, I must thank you, my lord. Thank you for choosing the least painful poison, and for deciding to give me a grand burial. Your great kindness, I will never forget.”
Shen Zaiye’s throat tightened. He stood up and turned to leave.
“For this final journey, you won’t stay with me, my lord?” Looking at his back, Taohua said softly, “Don’t worry, I won’t hold a grudge against you. Please stay.”
(End of Chapter)