Chapter 66: The Sickly Prime Minister Poisoned to Death by Her Beloved

The Eldest Princess had truly decided to leave.

Just when everyone, including Xinyi, thought there might be other possibilities for improving relations between the Prime Minister and the Eldest Princess.

After the Eldest Princess had nursed her injuries for a while, summer slowly passed. The cicadas’ cries grew fainter, the red lotuses withered, and the weather gradually cooled.

When the Prime Minister returned from handling a day’s official duties and passed by the market, she inadvertently lifted the carriage curtain and spotted two branches from a persimmon tree in a roadside home, the fruits on them already tinged with pale red.

She stared blankly for a long while before realizing that autumn had arrived.

Once the weather turned cool in early autumn, Her Highness would leave.

Xinyi felt a pang of reluctance and hesitantly called out, “Miss, if you can’t bear to let her go—”

She didn’t finish the sentence. The Prime Minister lowered the curtain and instructed flatly, “Continue on.” Her voice betrayed no emotion. The carriage resumed its journey, and after a stretch, the Prime Minister glanced back from afar.

In that instant, she darkly wished she could go back and uproot that persimmon tree entirely, making this summer last longer—much longer, ideally forever.

But she was far too clever to believe such things were possible.

She couldn’t hold onto the height of summer, nor could she hold onto Her Highness.

The Prime Minister, who now wielded supreme power over the court, closed her eyes silently in the carriage, suddenly overcome by a wordless sorrow at how vast the world was and how mortals were mere ants.

—

The Little Emperor was eager to shift the blame for the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister. He exerted great effort to investigate the matter thoroughly. After several twists and turns, he finally pinned all the charges on the Barbarians.

The Barbarians, who had come to present tribute, had no choice but to sacrifice pawns to save the king. Since Xiao Jinse hadn’t died, they didn’t dare act rashly. In the end, they sacrificed several trusted aides in a dramatic act of righteous fratricide, barely closing the case.

Xiao Jinse was no fool to be easily deceived. In secret, the Barbarians offered her many gifts, begging her to show mercy. The most precious was a horse named Jade Shadow, pure white from head to toe without a single stray hair. It was said to be a descendant of the Zhaoye Jade Lion, capable of traveling a thousand li in a day.

The Prime Minister’s impassive expression shifted slightly. The Barbarians, reading her face, proactively sent the Jade Shadow horse to the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s rear courtyard. With that, the matter concluded. Not long after, Gu Ciyan got into trouble and was thrown into the Water Prison by the Prime Minister.

The Little Emperor grew anxious, his heart burning like fire. Unwilling to expose his own power too early, he considered seeking out his aunt to sell some charm and coax the Prime Minister—only to discover that the Eldest Princess had completely vanished.

The hidden guard knelt solemnly and reported that the Prime Minister’s Mansion was guarded as tightly as an iron barrel. They couldn’t infiltrate a single person, and no news of the Eldest Princess emerged. They had only vaguely learned one piece of information.

The hidden guard hesitated to speak.

“Speak!” The Little Emperor had a faint sense of foreboding.

The hidden guard bowed his head deeply. “…It is said that after the last hunting expedition, the Eldest Princess angered the Prime Minister and was imprisoned in Zhao Prison, from which she has completely vanished.”

The Emperor slumped to the ground in despair. After a long silence, he suddenly slammed his fist onto the rosewood table, his body trembling uncontrollably with rage.

In Xiao Jinse’s eyes, even the imperial family’s Eldest Princess was merely a plaything—to be toyed with at will, made to disappear on a whim. Then what of him? How many peaceful days did this so-called Emperor have left?

In the end, only one of them—he and Xiao Jinse—could live.

The hidden guard hesitated for a moment before asking softly, “Your Majesty, shall we rescue the Eldest Princess?”

The Emperor’s lips tightened. She was a useless pawn, and besides, now was not the optimal time to confront Xiao Jinse. He merely waved his hand wearily and retreated into that icy throne, panting with the patient restraint of a wild beast.

Lurking, waiting for the right moment to strike.

—

When the autumn winds began to rise, it was time for Shi Qingyi to depart. Craving the summer coolness, she had moved to the Waterside Pavilion, and Xiao Jinse often watched her from afar across the long corridor, not daring to approach, merely furrowing her brow in extreme forbearance at times.

The night before Shi Qingyi’s departure, she drank a little wine and dozed off against the central couch in the Waterside Pavilion. When she awoke, the moon was high in the sky, a waning crescent hanging from the treetops. The gauze curtains around the pavilion swayed in the wind, and her body burned with intense heat, as if a fire scorched through her limbs and bones.

Yet her mind remained calm. She merely loosened her collar slightly and leaned back halfway. Soon, she heard footsteps.

The Prime Minister had thought of many things—how she might never return, how this departure would last a lifetime, how they would never meet again for years to come. She would lose this person completely, eternally.

But what could be done?

A lifetime apart was at least better than growing to loathe each other. She had driven Her Highness to death. Rather than reaching the mutual destruction of her previous life, she preferred Her Highness live well in some place unknown to her.

She should set Her Highness free—before it reached the point where Her Highness truly hated her to the bone, to the extent of poisoning her.

Her Highness was so kind-hearted. She had carried her out from the deep mountains, sought medicine for her, even knowing what a treacherous, scheming person she was inside.

So how could she repeat the same mistakes and ruin her life?

Cherishingly, the Prime Minister cupped Shi Qingyi’s face and kissed her forehead, then trailed down to her eyelids and the corner of her lips. Finally, she undid her sash. Layer upon layer of fine silk robes slid away. In the faint moonlight, her entire body trembled.

When one liked someone to the extreme, even touching them felt forbidden.

She thought for a long while, then slowly straddled Shi Qingyi’s lap, kneeling on either side of the armrest chair. She wrapped her legs around her waist, slowly embraced her, and finally took her hand to undress herself.

Shi Qingyi’s hand was scorching hot—whether from the drug or something else, it burned so fiercely that she could barely hold it, trembling more and more in panic. Everywhere her fingers brushed felt like wildfire spreading, making her shudder endlessly.

She fumbled for ages without success, her clothes disheveled around her. When she finally reached the last thin layer of nightclothes and her fingers grazed her chest, Xiao Jinse finally let out a trembling sob, then bit down hard on her own arm.

—Afraid of waking Shi Qingyi.

The moment she finally stripped off her clothes, she pressed close to Shi Qingyi’s ear and whispered through gritted teeth, “Your Highness, leaving comes at a price…”

With that, she shakily gripped Shi Qingyi’s shoulders, her waist and back taut as a slender line. She closed her eyes and lowered herself—only to be firmly caught at the waist.

Shi Qingyi opened her eyes, grinding her teeth in fury, almost laughing from sheer exasperation. “Is this how I taught you before?”

What a reckless fool. Unable to bear letting her go, she drugged her first—yet Shi Qingyi had held back, waiting to see what tricks she had. Even burning like this, she waited until Xiao Jinse fumbled clumsily, botched the whole thing, and still dared to plunge right in.

As if she didn’t know pain. With that fragile, tofu-like body of hers, a few rounds like this would leave her bedridden.

As the Prime Minister’s legs gave out and she nearly tumbled off Shi Qingyi, she was caught and held.

Shi Qingyi: “…”

How did she dare come like this—just in a barely-there nightgown, empty beneath, the heat of her skin nearly seeping through the fabric.

An inexplicable anger surged. Unable to resist, she pinched her most sensitive spot. “You came over like this?”

Even knowing no one was around, she instinctively pulled her close, shielding her from any prying eyes.

But the Prime Minister didn’t answer. Propping herself on her arms, she stared at her, eyes wide with shock, like moonlight drowned in their depths. After a long pause, she spoke with great difficulty. “You’re awake…”

As if her waking meant she would immediately pull away and leave.

“Yes, this Princess is awake. Unable to indulge the Prime Minister’s fun as intended—disappointed?”

Shi Qingyi’s eyes darkened. Though she smiled, it carried a casual chill. The Eldest Princess, indignant, bit her ear and lips.

“Is this how I taught you before?”

In her previous life, when deceiving her, she had been tender and lingering, passionate and reluctant. Yet she had learned nothing from it—only how to force herself crudely.

She leaned down to kiss Xiao Jinse’s rouged lips, her tongue prying past her teeth. Xiao Jinse learned everything swiftly—strategy, martial arts, without exception—except for the ways of love, where she was truly hopeless.

Xiao Jinse arched her neck in shock, tears streaming down her jaw. Shi Qingyi kissed away the tears at her eye corners, kneading her soft flesh and bones. At first disbelieving, Xiao Jinse slowly wrapped her arms around Shi Qingyi’s neck. That sob, pent up too long in her throat, emerged twisted and heart-wrenching—yet only one phrase.

“Your Highness…”

Even amid the haze of passion, Shi Qingyi inwardly cursed her a madwoman. Xiao Jinse hadn’t just drugged her with an aphrodisiac—she had dosed herself too. Thus, the night rose and fell in waves: from the Waterside Pavilion to the inner chamber. The final time, Xiao Jinse nearly bit her to death, leaving a glaring red mark on her neck like a seal.

As dawn neared, Xiao Jinse sensed someone leaving her side and instinctively reached to tug her sleeve—to threaten or beg. But in the end, she curled her fingers back, restraining herself.

No, she couldn’t. Having decided, she mustn’t waver again.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, she felt someone bring hot water and a towel. Thinking it was Xinyi come to clean up, she sensed a familiar presence.

Shi Qingyi kissed her eye corner, bidding her not to struggle. Xiao Jinse had no choice but to yield.

“I’ll apply medicine for you.”

The one who had drugged and forced the whole act, now couldn’t even crawl out of bed, leaving her to painstakingly wipe her down and tend her wounds. The Eldest Princess felt a slight pang.

This wasn’t something a prisoner should do.

She didn’t know what Xiao Jinse thought of then, lost in contemplation for a long time. By then, Xiao Jinse had fallen asleep beside her.

That night, unusually, the Prime Minister slept soundly—no nightmares, no sudden awakenings. When she woke, daylight streamed in. Xinyi stood by with her clothes, speaking softly.

“The Eldest Princess has left.”

The bed beside her had long gone cold.

Xiao Jinse paused for a long while, something boiling inside her, surging forth—yet in the end, she only rasped, “Where has she gone?”

Xinyi lowered her gaze. “The Eldest Princess left slowly. She’s just now passed the city gates.”

After a silence, she asked, “Shall you go after her?”

Xinyi fully expected her to chase. But no. Xiao Jinse, supporting her trembling legs, arduously mounted a horse and rode out of the city. From a li away, she escorted the Eldest Princess for ten li—yet never closed the distance. She merely watched from afar, glance after glance.

Each glance was one less.

She was bewitched, harming others and herself, bringing calamity that trapped both her beloved and herself in irredeemable doom. If only in her previous life she had seen clearly sooner, perhaps everything would have been different.

Xiao Jinse had killed countless in her life—never merciful on the battlefield, sparing no old, weak, women, or children. In court intrigues, she showed no softness; her schemes were innumerable. Yet in the end, retribution came.

Watching her beloved die before her eyes, heartbroken yet powerless to save her—blood splattering, head severed. That was the cruelest punishment for her lifetime of evil.

—Nothing was more brutal.

Since Her Highness wished to leave, better to grant it than mutual torment.

At least the image left in Her Highness’s heart would be of a repentant Xiao Jinse.

Xinyi silently draped a cloak over her. “Prime Minister, the wind is picking up. Let’s head back—any further and we’ll be out of the Capital Region.”

Xiao Jinse didn’t respond, merely watching that receding figure, wondering if they would ever meet again in this life.

—

In the distance, the Eldest Princess rode leisurely onward atop her horse. In her bosom were a thousand taels in banknotes; in the bundle behind, the name, background, and registry of a fallen noblewoman.

Even on the back of that unparalleled steed hung a flask of fine wine.

The System grew frantic. “The Prime Minister has stopped—she really isn’t chasing. You’re really leaving?!”

“Else what?” Shi Qingyi tilted her head back for a swig of the potent liquor. Her bare face was radiant and blazing.

It was strong liquor, yet sweet on the tongue—the very wine she had once praised.

She never looked back, spurring her horse to a gallop.

“Naturally, as she wished.”