Chapter 63: The Sickly Prime Minister Poisoned to Death by Her Beloved

That night was exceptionally chaotic. The brutal slaughter didn’t stop until midnight. The mountain valley was littered with corpses. Xinyi gazed up at the bright moon through the clawing branches of the trees, and in her daze, she felt as though the moon was shrouded in an eerie red glow.

After a while, she wiped her eyes with her hand. It turned out it wasn’t a blood moon, but rather a splash of blood that had gotten into her eyes at some point.

“Where is the Prime Minister?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Changche replied, pulling his blade from a man’s chest. “The Eldest Princess’s horse bolted out of control toward here. Later, in the chaos, they switched to another horse. I escorted the Prime Minister out, but halfway there, we ran into an ambush and got separated from her…”

“How could the Prime Minister, with her riding skills, fail to control a horse?” A burly man approached from behind, blade in hand.

“…The horse was being ridden by the Eldest Princess.” Xinyi’s eyelid twitched unnaturally. She couldn’t exactly say that the Prime Minister was pretending to be frail to take advantage of her beloved.

“Enough. Don’t think about that now. The priority is finding the Prime Minister and the Eldest Princess.” Jiang Changche scolded. He wiped the blood from his long blade with his hand, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes. “The assassins and the later pursuers don’t seem to be the same group. The ones who attacked first used our weapons, but their moves were those of the barbarians. The ambush later used authentic Central Plains techniques.”

“Who else but those turtle sons—who can’t beat us head-on—would dare pull dirty tricks on the Prime Minister?” The trusted subordinates had quickly gathered in the valley upon hearing Xiao Jinse was in trouble. The general cursed vehemently. Suddenly, the woods fell deathly silent, so quiet that only the flapping of a crow’s wings could be heard.

Xinyi gripped her blade tightly and gazed toward the towering mountains, saying coldly, “We’ll discuss these matters after we find the Prime Minister. The urgent task now is to locate her. Mobilize everyone to search the hunting grounds for traces of the Prime Minister. We must find her before those people do.”

A general hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and speaking. “What if—”

The Prime Minister’s health had always been poor, and now with the assassination attempt, what if something really happened to her? Her loyal followers might face the Emperor’s poison. Without their pillar, what would they do?

Xinyi mounted her horse. Her sharp blade gleamed with blood under the moonlight, her voice icy: “No ‘what ifs.’ Anyone who dares harbor disloyal thoughts at a time like this should prepare to never leave this place!”

Xinyi might not seem remarkable, but she was the most loyal to Xiao Jinse. With Xiao Jinse absent, she could take charge on her own.

The bright moon hung high, casting a faint silver light over the entire stream and mountain. Outside a certain valley lay a chestnut horse riddled with long arrows, long dead.

A group of black-clothed men chased to the spot and dismounted to inspect it. One checked the horse’s nostrils. “The horse is still warm. It couldn’t have gone far. Chase!”

The group scattered in all directions. As their shadows dispersed, a drop of blood fell with a patter onto the horse’s mane, mixing with its blood. At the same time, a suppressed, low cough came from the tree above.

In the dense foliage under the night sky hid two figures. Xiao Jinse’s face was deathly pale. An arrow feather protruded from her knee, not even pulled out yet, soaking her clothes in blood. She bit down on Shi Qingyi’s arm.

Two rows of red marks had already imprinted on the fair skin. Xiao Jinse coughed a few times and carefully touched the marks, a hint of heartache in her eyes. “Your Highness, does it hurt?”

“Forget about that. Hurry down.”

Shi Qingyi jumped down nimbly and extended a hand to catch Xiao Jinse. When they landed, the arrow in Xiao Jinse’s leg trembled twice. In an instant, cold sweat poured down her forehead like a waterfall, her fingers curling in pain.

“We can’t pull it out yet. Once we find a hiding spot, I’ll treat the wound.” Shi Qingyi crouched to examine it. The arrow was embedded in the side of her leg; she’d already snapped off half, leaving only a short stub lodged in the bone.

“Mm.” Xiao Jinse closed her eyes slightly. Without hemostatic medicine, pulling the arrow now would leave a blood trail and cause more trouble.

After a pause, the hand Xiao Jinse had rested on Shi Qingyi’s shoulder slowly withdrew. Her voice turned distant and cold. “Your Highness, how did you know someone was coming?”

If Shi Qingyi hadn’t pulled her up into the tree just now, they would have fallen into their hands by now.

—Of course, it was because the System had unusually done something decent for once.

Shi Qingyi’s hand paused as she checked the wound. She looked up. Under the moonlight, Xiao Jinse’s brows and eyes held suspicion and coldness, her body shrouded in the moon’s chill light.

The Eldest Princess’s narrow phoenix eyes narrowed, and she laughed in anger. “Xiao Jinse, you suspect me?”

If it had really been her colluding with the Emperor, Xiao Jinse would already be dead.

“You haven’t… You’ve always wanted to escape from my side, haven’t you?” Xiao Jinse’s throat bobbed as she dodged the topic, slowly withdrawing the hand on her. Her gaze under the moonlight carried an unusual chill and mockery. “Congratulations, Your Highness. You’ll soon get your wish.”

With that, she closed her eyes. Her trembling fingers clenched her sleeve bit by bit. The summer cicadas chirped and the long wind blew by her ears. After a long silence came a cold laugh, mingled with the sound of footsteps departing, slowly echoing beside her ear.

—She had left.

In that instant, Xiao Jinse felt as though she had died again. The pain of the arrow piercing her body paled compared to the agony at her heart, as if it were being sliced by a thousand knives, making even breathing excruciating.

Her Highness no longer wanted her. In the end, she still couldn’t keep her.

The intimate whispers from not long ago were still vivid, but it had all been a mirage. She leaned against a tree, her lips trembling, coughing until she could barely breathe, only hot tears rolling from her dry eyes.

Without this crippled burden, Her Highness should easily find a way out. The Little Emperor hadn’t fully seized power yet, so Her Highness posed no real threat to him and shouldn’t be hunted to extinction.

—As for herself, she slowly closed her eyes. What did it matter what happened to her? Her Highness wouldn’t care or feel sorry for her anyway.

Only when the sharp pain in her heart made her consciousness blur did she vaguely feel someone wiping her face with water.

She struggled to open her eyes. What entered her vision was endless moonlight and, under it, the girl cupping water in leaves.

“Y-Your… Highness…” She almost thought it was a hallucination.

Shi Qingyi held the water to her lips, her voice fierce. “Do you think I can survive without you, or you without me? If I ditched you and ran, your subordinates wouldn’t tear me apart?”

Xiao Jinse was stunned, then stubbornly shook her head. Her voice was weak. “No… I gave them strict orders. They absolutely won’t harm Your Highness in the slightest.”

Shi Qingyi: “…”

Shut up already.

“…Drink the water.”

The injured woman was force-fed two gulps, coughing even harder. Shi Qingyi quickly pulled away in exasperation, but Jinse slowly leaned in again.

Chancellor Xiao’s eyelashes trembled. The mountain spring water cupped in the broad leaf was hard to hold steady. Drinking brought her too close; with each sip, Xiao Jinse’s lips brushed Shi Qingyi’s fingers lightly, like a dragonfly skimming water.

…What audacious lust.

Shi Qingyi nearly laughed from anger but, mindful of her injuries, didn’t do anything to her.

Shi Qingyi supported Xiao Jinse as they fled arduously through the dense forest. Thanks to the System’s rare moment of conscience providing hints, they narrowly avoided all pursuers and found a mountain cave to hide in. The arrow was deeply embedded in the flesh. Shi Qingyi helped her sit properly inside.

After walking some distance, Xiao Jinse couldn’t even sit up anymore and could only lean weakly against Shi Qingyi. Shi Qingyi had her bite her shoulder—better a short pain than a long one—and swiftly pulled the arrow. Even so quick, flesh and blood had limits, and it hurt.

The arrowhead was exceptionally sharp. Xiao Jinse let out a muffled groan, her whole body trembling finely. She instinctively wanted to bite down but stopped herself upon realizing it was Shi Qingyi’s shoulder, instead clamping down restrainedly on the corner of her clothing. Her teeth chattered.

Shi Qingyi steadied the shaking woman with one hand over the wound and the other around her back. The short arrow rolled away on the ground. In the dim night, one could vaguely see countless barbs on it, stained with blood.

Using barbs on the arrow was vicious. If there were barbs, then could it be—

Shi Qingyi suddenly lowered her gaze. The person clutching her collar had bluish lips and eyes she could barely open, only fine sweat beading on her forehead and soaking into her hairline. She trembled in Shi Qingyi’s arms, as if she might lose consciousness any moment.

Staying in the cave ensured they wouldn’t be found by pursuers, but there was no water or medicine here. With Xiao Jinse’s frail body and severe injury, remaining meant no chance of survival.

Staying meant Xiao Jinse would surely die. Leaving offered a slim chance, though they might both fall into enemy hands.

Xiao Jinse tugged her sleeve weakly, her voice barely audible. Shi Qingyi had to lean down to hear. “Your Highness, let’s wait a bit longer. Xinyi will come…”

So, don’t risk going out.

Shi Qingyi ignored her and tightly bandaged the wound. She didn’t know if Xinyi would come; she only knew that with Xiao Jinse’s current condition, continuing like this might really kill her.

She bundled Xiao Jinse’s clothes tightly before daring to carefully carry her on her back. She was so thin it hurt the heart—her weight less than two-thirds of a normal woman’s. If not for her emaciation, a pampered princess like Shi Qingyi might not have managed to carry her.

The night stretched endlessly, as if without end. Xiao Jinse’s head rested softly on Shi Qingyi’s shoulder, her presence faint, as if she might vanish into the long wind at any moment.

At times, Shi Qingyi even felt afraid—afraid the person on her back would suddenly stop breathing. Someone with such a tenacious life in her past existence might perish here.

Xiao Jinse’s breathing grew fainter and fainter until she finally tried to speak in a hoarse voice.

The heavens and earth were vast and silent. Only the woman’s voice echoed through the dense forest.

“Xiao Jinse, you have such a renowned name across the world, yet how can you be so foolish? If I left you behind, could I escape? Could you? Waiting alone in the cave to die, or going out to draw the pursuers—you think I’d be grateful? No, impossible…”

Xiao Jinse’s breathing weakened further. Shi Qingyi trudged forward step by step, treading through the moonlight.

“Do you want me to feel guilty forever, to remember you, unable to let go?”

“You wish! Once you’re gone, This Princess will take lovers left and right, surround myself with handsome men and beauties. Who’d care who Xiao Jinse even is?”

Her tone was fierce, unclear if for herself or Xiao Jinse. Yet the woman who had clearly fainted had hot tears seeping from her eyes, sliding into Shi Qingyi’s collar, a sorrowful whimper escaping her throat.

So, she was still conscious.

Shi Qingyi’s voice trembled. “The Emperor’s long planned to send me off for a marriage alliance. If you die, This Princess will immediately remarry as a wangfei in the Northern Frontier…”

Suddenly, a hand on her back gripped her shoulder tightly. A gritted, aggrieved voice sounded: “You dare…”