Chapter 36

The eunuch looked at Chu Shao with a beaming smile, flicked his horsetail whisk, and announced, “Princess Consort Yan, please kneel to receive the Eldest Princess’s verbal decree.”

Chu Shao remained standing where she was, returning the smile, and then said something that left everyone utterly baffled: “Gonggong, this humble wife is a citizen of Yao.”

The eunuch frowned, not understanding what Chu Shao was getting at.

Xiao Jin sat in her wheelchair, observing everything. Though nothing had happened yet, an ominous premonition stirred within her.

Sure enough, the premonition came true the very next moment.

Chu Shao smiled and continued addressing the eunuch: “This humble wife was born in Yao and was a princess of that kingdom. According to the laws of Great Qi, princesses of foreign nations need only kneel to the Qi Son of Heaven. Apart from him, they need not kneel to anyone else.”

At these words, the kneeling crowd fell utterly silent. Even Xiao Jin’s brows furrowed slightly.

After all, Chu Shao was now a princess of a fallen kingdom. To still invoke the law in such a manner seemed rather untenable.

That aside, how did Chu Shao come to be so well-versed in Qi’s legal code?

It was quite a curious matter.

The eunuch was a favored confidant of Eldest Princess Zhaoyang. Even Prince Gong and the Crown Prince would exchange polite pleasantries when meeting him.

Now, it was one thing for Chu Shao to refuse him face, but she was even denying face to the Eldest Princess herself, constantly invoking the laws of Great Qi.

A woman from Yao—what could she possibly know about Qi law?

The eunuch’s face immediately darkened. He shrilled, “Princess Consort, since you have become Prince Yan’s wife, you are naturally considered a subject of my Great Qi. To see the Eldest Princess’s decree and refuse to kneel—this can only be described as ignorance of propriety!”

Hearing this, Chu Shao shook her head. “Gonggong’s words are mistaken. From ancient times to the present, the law has always superseded propriety.”

“Moreover, since this humble wife now resides within Great Qi’s borders, she must naturally obey the law first, then speak of propriety. If everyone were to prioritize propriety over law, that would be putting the cart before the horse, and order would descend into chaos.”

Chu Shao delivered this speech with perfect composure, leaving the eunuch utterly dumbfounded.

Xiao Jin’s face remained expressionless, but inwardly, she rather wanted to laugh.

She had been pondering how to smooth things over for Chu Shao, but the moment the other opened her mouth, she directly invoked Great Qi’s legal code, leaving the eunuch completely speechless.

Truly worthy of someone destined to become Empress—her ability to spout nonsense with such logical coherence, leaving almost no room for rebuttal, was impressive.

The eunuch indeed hadn’t expected that Chu Shao, a princess who had lived secluded in Yao, would be so intimately familiar with Great Qi’s laws.

“Princesses of foreign nations need not kneel to anyone except the Son of Heaven”—he himself hadn’t even known such a clause existed!

The eunuch’s face paled with rage, but for the moment, he could find no grounds to refute Chu Shao.

Yet Chu Shao was merely a princess of a fallen kingdom. With Yao destroyed, what ability did this person have to be so defiant before him?

Though Chu Shao had Xiao Jin backing her, the status of a fallen kingdom’s princess brought no tangible benefits to Xiao Jin.

Serving someone with one’s beauty—when beauty fades, love wanes. How long could such favor last?

Since the eunuch couldn’t out-argue Chu Shao, he simply stopped arguing, resolving to settle scores in the future.

For now, he only needed to invoke his mistress: “Princess Consort, you have spoken at length, but within Great Qi, to receive Princess Zhaoyang’s verbal decree and not kneel—that is gross disrespect towards Her Highness.”

Once the accusation of gross disrespect was leveled, the matter became gravely serious.

Xiao Jin watched the enraged eunuch, then glanced at the gently smiling Chu Shao, feeling as though Chu Shao was simply past caring at this point.

No matter what the eunuch said, she flatly refused to kneel.

Recalling the Ice Bellflower Handkerchief quest the System had issued, which seemed somehow connected to Eldest Princess Zhaoyang as well—

Connecting the two matters, Xiao Jin’s intuition told her that Chu Shao likely bore some grudge against Eldest Princess Zhaoyang, which was why she was so insistent on exploiting legal loopholes.

After all, she had knelt when meeting the Qi Emperor. Chu Shao was no brainless idiot; there was no need to be so stubborn.

At this moment, she and Chu Shao were on the same boat, so Xiao Jin stepped forward to support her, concurring, “What the Princess Consort says is reasonable.”

The moment the words left her mouth, the eunuch’s expression turned exceedingly ugly. Even the manor’s kneeling servants trembled and prostrated themselves even lower.

Prince Yan was Eldest Princess Zhaoyang’s most beloved royal nephew—this was common knowledge throughout the capital.

Were it not for that, with Prince Yan’s infamous temper for committing every imaginable evil, now that his legs were crippled, the number of people who would kick him while he was down would likely be considerable.

A single spitball from each of them would be enough to drown him.

However, Xiao Jin did not fear the crowd’s curses, because the original Xiao Jin was already dead and gone. She herself was now nothing but a cold-hearted quest-completing machine.

Anyone hindering her quest completion was an obstacle to be eliminated.

Facing this obstacle before her, Xiao Jin understood that he was Eldest Princess Zhaoyang’s man, so reason must still be observed.

She lifted her gaze to fix on the eunuch and continued, “Aunt Zhaoyang’s status is noble and honored. As a junior, I should naturally bow to her.”

Hearing this, the eunuch’s expression improved somewhat, deeming Prince Yan still sensible.

But no sooner had the words landed than Xiao Jin’s tone shifted: “However, my Great Qi is a kingdom of ten thousand chariots, a land of rites and propriety. We have always adhered to the principle: first the sovereign, then the subject; first courtesy, then force. Thus, the Princess Consort’s refusal to perform the kneeling salute is not at fault.”

The eunuch froze, his face alternating between ashen and flushed. For a long moment, he could not utter a word.

As a person in the Eldest Princess’s service, when had he ever suffered such cold treatment?

Unfortunately, Xiao Jin’s words were watertight.

Though not explicitly stated, the implication was clear: the Qi Emperor was sovereign, while Eldest Princess Zhaoyang was a subject. No matter how noble the Eldest Princess’s status, could it possibly exceed the Emperor’s?

That Eldest Princess Zhaoyang’s power dominated the court was known to all, but to amend the law, she was still short of one Imperial Jade Seal.

The eunuch choked on his anger, unwilling to swallow this insult.

Yet the moment he recalled the verbal decree the Eldest Princess was about to issue, the smile on his face blossomed radiant once more: “In that case, may Prince Yan and the Princess Consort please receive the decree.”

Xiao Jin nodded, glancing at Chu Shao in the process—only to find the other was also looking at her, the smile still curving her lips.

She had to admire Chu Shao. Moments ago, she had nearly courted a capital offense, yet now she could still smile and even dared to play innocent before her.

Though, when a beautiful person played innocent, it was ultimately pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Jin could tolerate Chu Shao’s innocent act because this person was a necessary condition for quest progression, with martial prowess soaring beyond the heavens—no one could stop her.

But he who often walks by the river will eventually get his shoes wet. This did not mean Chu Shao was immune to others’ sanctions.

For instance, retribution arrived right now.

The eunuch cleared his throat and mimicked Eldest Princess Zhaoyang’s tone with uncanny precision: “Come to meet This Palace. Prince Yan alone will suffice.”

Xiao Jin froze.

Prince Yan alone? This was practically saying outright that Chu Shao was unwelcome.

Even without having met Eldest Princess Zhaoyang in person, Xiao Jin could imagine the languid expression with which she had spoken these words.

She glanced at Chu Shao again but could not fathom why Eldest Princess Zhaoyang would specifically target her.

According to the original plot, these two had never even crossed paths; there was absolutely no reason for such confrontation.

Chu Shao, hearing the eunuch’s words, also seemed somewhat surprised.

But what surprised her was not the decree itself, but curiosity over how Xiao Jin would react.

Chu Shao was not the only one curious. Even the eunuch delivering the decree, and all the manor servants kneeling on the ground, were closely watching Xiao Jin’s every move.

Because Xiao Jin’s next reaction would represent the entire Prince Yan Manor’s stance.

At this moment, however, Xiao Jin found herself in a dilemma.

She felt as though she had fallen into the age-old conundrum of “your wife and your aunt fall into the water at the same time, and you can only save one.”

But it was winter—the lake was frozen over. Why was she still forced to choose?

Xiao Jin was silent for a long while. Finally, she simply asked one cold question: “Why?”

Just two words, but they revealed her stance.

The eunuch’s gaze toward Chu Shao now changed entirely.

He truly could not understand what kind of bewitching spell this Yao woman had cast on Xiao Jin, to seduce the ever-decisive Prince Yan into such a state.

Prince Yan was clearly utterly bewitched, to the point of being unable to distinguish right from wrong, all reason gone!

The eunuch could only suppress his indignation, shrilling in a pinched voice: “This old slave is merely here to deliver Princess Zhaoyang’s verbal decree. For other matters, when you arrive at the Moon-Asking Palace, you may ask Princess Zhaoyang yourself.”

Xiao Jin could tell that the eunuch was still somewhat giving her face. And for some reason, she could faintly detect a note of disappointment—as if lamenting that excellent steel was not being forged into a blade.

Yet Chu Shao refused to give face, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Quests still needed completing, and she had to keep playing Prince Yan.

Xiao Jin could only speak with indifference: “This Prince and the Princess Consort have just wed. We have not yet paid respects to you, Aunt, or to Imperial Consort Mother. It occurs to me this is a lapse in propriety.”

The eunuch: “…”

To brazenly snatch a bride and then speak of lapses in propriety—what propriety?

Xiao Jin’s expression remained unchanged as she continued, “Therefore…”

“Your Highness.”

To Xiao Jin’s surprise, Chu Shao interrupted her.

Xiao Jin furrowed her brow slightly and looked up at Chu Shao.

She saw the other still wearing a gentle smile as she softly said, “Since Princess Zhaoyang wishes to see Your Highness alone, then this humble wife will remain in the manor and await your return.”

“…”

Xiao Jin fell silent.

If only you’d had this awareness earlier, I wouldn’t have had to butt heads with the big thigh.

But Chu Shao was now exceedingly aware. She picked up the heavy cloak from the daybed and gently draped it over Xiao Jin’s shoulders, then bent down and whispered close to her ear.

“After all, this humble wife feels that rather than meeting Princess Zhaoyang face-to-face, staying in Prince Yan Manor and awaiting Your Highness’s return…”

Chu Shao lowered her gaze to look at Xiao Jin, her fine, dense lashes fluttering softly.

Her voice close at hand seemed to carry a hint of delighted amusement: “…seems far more meaningful.”

…

Even when Xiao Jin arrived at the Moon-Asking Palace, she still could not grasp the logic behind Chu Shao’s “more meaningful”.

But she no longer cared either.

After all, Chu Shao spoke with such eloquence; nobody knew what was really going on in that head of hers.

Since Eldest Princess Zhaoyang had bid Xiao Jin to come alone, she had only brought one young maidservant to push her wheelchair.

After helping her down from the carriage, the young maid followed behind, slowly pushing the wheelchair into the Moon-Asking Palace.

The wheels rolled over the soft white snow, pressing a rut into it.

Though not deep, anyone capable of leaving wheel tracks in the Moon-Asking Palace definitely possessed no shallow background. And Xiao Jin, whose background was indeed not shallow, had come to pay respects to Xiao Shuang—a person she had never met and whose depths she could not yet fathom.

Xiao Jin looked at the exquisite incense burner atop the Moon-Asking Terrace. Breathing in the scent of fresh rain in mountain streams, her palms gripping the wheelchair armrests broke out in cold sweat.

Snow continued to fall over the capital.

Heaven and earth were vast and boundless, a sheet of pure white, making the glazed tiles atop the Moon-Asking Palace appear all the more crystalline and translucent.

Everywhere she looked was ice and snow, yet one person stood alone on the desolate, cold terrace, clad in vermilion robes embroidered with silver cranes.

Xiao Jin knew who stood upon the terrace, and the one on the terrace knew who she was.

Yet neither spoke.

Because Xiao Jin was waiting for Xiao Shuang to turn around, and Xiao Shuang was waiting for Xiao Jin to speak.