Upon learning that Prince An had not brought the daughter of the disgraced minister with him, Luo Wushuang’s expression softened slightly. She turned her gaze toward Shangguan Liqian and gave her two choices.
“Sister, would you like to return to the bedchamber and wait for me, or come with me?”
Hearing the question, Shangguan Liqian felt a bitter smile tugging at her heart.
Wushuang clearly wanted her to go back to the bedchamber.
However, for reasons she couldn’t explain, she was unable to speak directly about her past life. Every time she tried, the words felt trapped. Now, her only hope was to find traces of evidence regarding Prince An’s impending rebellion to convince Wushuang to take precautions against her own half-brother.
Because of this, she had to choose the latter. The problem was how to say it.
Shangguan Liqian lowered her eyes, searching for a way to phrase her request that wouldn’t provoke Wushuang’s suspicion. She could vaguely sense that Wushuang was becoming increasingly reluctant to let her interact with outsiders.
Before she could find a suitable excuse, Luo Wushuang spoke up to make the decision for her.
“The bedchamber is closer to here than the study. Why don’t you head back and rest for a while? I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve finished meeting with Prince An.”
Shangguan Liqian’s eyes remained lowered, but she secretly rolled them.
How about it? It’s not okay!
She had no intention of going back to that room. However, Wushuang’s words gave her an opening, and she quickly found a decent enough excuse.
“By the time I go back and come all the way out again, how much time will have passed? Can I go to the study with you?”
Seeing the flicker of hesitation in Luo Wushuang’s eyes, Shangguan Liqian added, “If you mind, I can just wait for you in the side hall.”
Luo Wushuang had indeed intended for her to stay away, but now that Liqian had voiced the option herself, the Empress couldn’t very well force the issue without sounding unreasonable. She could only respond with reluctant grace.
“Do not overthink it, Sister. I was merely worried you would find it tiring.”
It was a blatant lie, so thin that anyone could see through it.
Shangguan Liqian acted as if she hadn’t noticed, smiling brightly. “I won’t be tired. I just want us to go to the Imperial Garden sooner.”
The excuse was flawless. Luo Wushuang couldn’t argue, though she secretly added another mark against Prince An in her mental ledger for the interruption.
Liqian wasn’t wrong; Luo Wushuang truly did not want her to meet Prince An. In fact, aside from the close-serving palace attendants, she didn’t want her “Sister” to meet anyone at all. If her beloved had no way to communicate with the outside world, she would never think about leaving.
However, these were thoughts she only dared to harbor in the dark corners of her mind. She could feel that Liqian was slowly starting to accept her, and she didn’t want to cause any friction now. It was precisely because of this delicate progress that Prince An’s arrival annoyed her so much.
Luo Wushuang led Shangguan Liqian toward the Imperial Study at a sluggish pace, her mind churning over the Prince’s intentions.
Important business? What important business could Luo Wuyan possibly have?
She had only just dealt with Shen Zhengfeng, and now the Prince was at her door. It was obvious this visit was connected to the Ministry of Justice.
…
By the time the two of them reached the Imperial Study, Prince An had clearly been waiting for some time.
Seeing them enter, Luo Wuyan immediately rose and bowed deeply. “This subject brother pays his respects to Your Majesty.”
Then, he turned toward Shangguan Liqian, who followed closely behind the Empress, and gave a similarly respectful salutation. “This subject brother greets the Imperial Sister-in-law.”
That single phrase, “Imperial Sister-in-law,” caused much of the gloom on Luo Wushuang’s face to dissipate. She decided that perhaps this annoying brother of hers had some redeeming qualities after all.
At the sound of the title, Shangguan Liqian’s gaze fell upon the figure before her. Luo Wuyan was dressed in magnificent embroidered robes, presenting himself to the world as a man.
Back when she was a wandering spirit in her previous life, she had seen Prince An a few times from a distance, though he had been significantly older then. Yet, as he spoke, she felt a strange sense of familiarity in his voice.
Shangguan Liqian furrowed her brows, trying to pull a specific memory from the cluttered fragments of her past.
Suddenly, a cold, sinister voice broke through the barriers of time and space, exploding in her mind:
“Then let everyone who ever received the Empress’s favor be buried alive with her! Let them all follow her to the grave!”
That voice was strikingly similar to Prince An’s current voice, though the one in her memory sounded slightly more mature.
Was the young Emperor in my dream actually Prince An, Luo Wuyan?
Shangguan Liqian was inwardly shaken, but she continued to observe him without letting her emotions show.
Luo Wuyan wore a mask of perfect respect, but the depth in his eyes seemed far beyond what his years should allow. She remembered the twenty-something Prince An from her previous life—specifically the look of panic and unease in his phoenix eyes when Wushuang had offered him the throne.
But this Luo Wuyan was only eighteen. He possessed a gravity that didn’t match his age. Even his gestures and the way he carried himself held an undeniable air of nobility and… majesty.
This was not the aura of an idle young prince.
There was definitely something wrong with Luo Wuyan.
While Shangguan Liqian was lost in her suspicion, Luo Wushuang noticed that her “Sister’s” eyes were fixed entirely on the Prince. The Empress’s expression darkened once more.
Why does she keep looking at him?
Luo Wuyan isn’t as handsome or well-built as I am. What is there to look at?
Feeling a surge of jealousy, Luo Wushuang suppressed her displeasure and pulled Liqian over to a chair. Once Liqian was seated, the Empress turned a frigid gaze toward Luo Wuyan.
“What ‘important business’ does Prince An have that requires an audience at this hour?”
Shangguan Liqian, pulled into her seat by Wushuang, still hadn’t fully snapped back to reality. Her mind was filled with the scenes from her dream.
She faintly recalled the words of Master Yujing in that vision:
“The Six Paths of Reincarnation are all predestined. The Empress Consort’s true form is that of a demon…”
If the young Emperor was Luo Wuyan, and his Empress was Shen Youran… then the “demon” the monk spoke of was none other than Shen Youran.
Shangguan Liqian’s frown deepened. If her guess was correct, Wushuang’s current situation was incredibly dangerous.
A younger brother with the heart of a rebel, aided by a powerful demon… Wushuang was in peril.
My working theory now is the prince just wants to find a way to live with his demon wife