Chapter 31: Evidence Part 1

Yuan Man took the opportunity to grab her hand and lightly pecked it at her lips. “Asu, you should pay attention to the movements in the Borderlands. From what I know, the Princess Consort will definitely return. She seems to have some lingering attachment in her heart. I accidentally saw a painting in the study—it looked like a man from the Borderlands. She said it was her brother, but the last time I saw the ruler of the country, he wasn’t the man in the painting.”

Xun Yisu was stunned for a moment and wondered, “But she and the Prince are deeply in love. How could she miss someone else?”

“You’re such a little fool. You and Ana Xuan put on a show of affection in public but are mortal enemies behind the scenes—it’s the same principle. Besides, the Prince guards the Southwest Region and rarely returns home. Even the strongest feelings would fade, let alone ones that never existed in the first place. You also know that the Prince has always loved his original wife, Gu Liangyin. The current Princess Consort is nothing more than a figurehead.”

Yuan Man flipped over and sat up, stroking her long, soft locks of hair. Her gaze lingered with reluctance as she said seriously, “Asu, don’t you feel like you’ve changed?”

Xun Yisu grew even more puzzled upon hearing this. “I… how have I changed?”

Yuan Man hooked her lips into a smile. “Good Asu, you’ve become even more beautiful, like a celestial fairy. I’m about to lose my way because of you.”

Such outrageous lies, and she didn’t even blink!

Xun Yisu pushed her away, slightly annoyed. “Smooth talker. Have you been frequenting brothels too much and picked up those performers’ lines to use on me? ‘Lose my way’? You’re clearly sitting right here—how are you losing your way?” She glanced at her, unhappy, but Xun Yisu’s lips still curved up involuntarily.

“It’s true, Asu. To me, you’re Xi Shi, and everyone else is Dong Shi.” Yuan Man said the joke with utmost seriousness, her deep gaze like still water, full of captivating charm in her pitch-black eyes. It was mesmerizing, impossible to look away from directly yet impossible to tear one’s eyes off, lost in infatuation.

Xun Yisu stared at her for a long while before finally shifting her gaze away. She had nearly fallen into those eyes again. She said, “It’s getting late. Hurry up and leave.”

She was chasing her out again. Every time, Yuan Man carefully dodged the wolf-like guards outside to come in, only to be shooed away after just a few words. It wasn’t fair. Yuan Man’s arm tightened, pulling her into an embrace. The fragrance assaulted her senses as Yuan Man smiled devilishly. “Asu, I missed you.”

Xun Yisu jolted in surprise, feeling her entire body go light and floaty. She glanced around and whispered, “Yuan Man, let go of me. There are people here.”

“Of course there are people here. Otherwise, what would you and I be? Ghosts?” Yuan Man joked, lowering her head to kiss her.

Amid the rising heat, Xun Yisu quickly dodged. Anxiously, she said, “Aman, stop fooling around. It’s too dangerous here. I haven’t finished what I was saying. When you go back, you must request reinforcements from the Imperial Capital. The soldiers in the Borderlands train day and night, and they might demand someone from Great Qi. The Princess Consort’s disappearance is exactly the excuse they’re using.”

Her words made perfect sense but utterly ruined the mood. Yuan Man’s restless hands pressed against her lips. “Good Asu, no business talk in the room. I’ve already sent a memorial back. His Majesty knows how to arrange things—you don’t need to worry.”

Xun Yisu grew even softer from her teasing, taking a deep breath. She could only plead, “Aman, stop playing. Please.”

“I’m not fooling around. Let me hold you and sleep for a bit. Don’t rush me out, that’s all.” Unable to resist her plea, Yuan Man relented, picked her up, placed her on the bed, lay down beside her, and couldn’t help but pull her into her arms again. It was an irrepressible joy and relief; the grass in her heart revived, sweeping away the gloom of recent days.

In the silence laced with intimacy, Xun Yisu nestled against her, feeling warmth in her heart. The person before her seemed more and more like a child deprived of candy. She shifted closer to Yuan Man and whispered, “Aman, just wait a few days. I’ll leave with you.”

Yuan Man seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion but still murmured a soft response.

Yet Xun Yisu couldn’t sleep. Her furrowed brows carried immense weight. No matter what, Great Qi owed the Borderlands an explanation for this matter, but it had been delayed far too long. Either her father knew where the Princess Consort had gone, or he no longer had the capacity to deal with it. The Shao Family’s power had grown too quickly these years; Xun Yiran probably couldn’t control them anymore.

Her guess was spot on. Emperor Xun Ziqian truly had no time for the Princess Consort’s disappearance. The death of the Third Prince, Xun Yishu, had struck him too hard. He lingered on his bed all day, physically and mentally exhausted, delaying state affairs considerably.

Meanwhile, far away on Lingyun Mountain thousands of li distant, the scene was entirely different. After Xun Changqing learned of these events, she worried but understood her mother consort had her own purposes. At this point, relations between the two nations weren’t overly entangled. Both Great Qi and the Borderlands were waiting, waiting for the other to respond—clearly, both sides were stalling to strike at the right moment.

The Borderlands eagerly sought Ana Yanran to learn why she had disappeared and whether she carried what they wanted.

Great Qi was the same; they desperately wanted to know if she had truly stolen the city defense map and where it had gone once they found her.

Xun Changqing was curious too. Why had her mother consort left? If she had taken something, why linger outside instead of rushing back to the Borderlands? Would she be silenced upon return?

Layers of fog, tangled and unclear. It seemed her memories from her past life hadn’t given her much advantage. Trapped on Lingyun Mountain day after day, she knew nothing of the Imperial Capital’s happenings or the enemy’s depths. All she knew was the general course of history. But since she had been reborn, she couldn’t let Xun Yiran ascend the throne or allow the Shao Family to control the court.

Zi Jin had given her all the intelligence gathered during this time, all about Lingyun Mountain.

One thing had always puzzled her: If the Lingyun Sect Leader Xu Ke was aligned with Xun Yiran, how could he tolerate Wang Pingjun’s actions? After all, that was his lord’s beloved. Why let his disciple marry her? It meant Xu Ke wasn’t Xun Yiran’s man.

Evidently, Xu Ke couldn’t be the Emperor’s either. Was he just a fence-sitter? She burned all the intelligence to ashes to avoid trouble if others found out.