Chapter 6: The Agreement

The carriage wheels rumbled onward, the vast procession stretching as far as the eye could see.

Inside the Crown Princess’s lavish four-horse carriage, a medical attendant carefully cut away the blood-soaked clothing, revealing a deep gash where the flesh had been torn open.

Shi Yuning held her breath in an instant, her brows knitting tightly as she stared at the vivid red wound cutting into that porcelain-white skin. It stung her eyes, and guilt flooded her heart.

“I’m so sorry, Crown Princess. This is all because of me, and yet you suffered such a serious injury.” Shi Yuning’s eyes reddened, and she sniffed back her tears as she spoke.

A flicker of novelty passed through Xie Zhaoran’s eyes. Her gaze remained fixed on Shi Yuning, taking in every nuance of her expression, though her face betrayed nothing unusual.

“It’s not your fault. You’re not the one who sent the assassins.”

“But they were coming for me. I’ve dragged you into this.”

Xie Zhaoran watched as the medical attendant finished bandaging the wound. She waved the woman away. Only after she had gone did Xie Zhaoran speak again. “Miss Shi, you’re jumping to conclusions too soon. They might well have been after me. But regardless of who they were targeting, that’s not the most pressing matter.”

Shi Yuning looked up at the sound of that, curiosity lighting her eyes as she gazed at Xie Zhaoran. “Then what is the most important thing?”

Xie Zhaoran let out a light chuckle, her expression shifting back to that familiar air of commanding everything with a glance.

“You need the ability to protect yourself.”

Shi Yuning pondered it carefully and realized she was right. No matter who the attackers were after or when they struck, only the power to defend oneself could prevent them from succeeding.

Seeing that Shi Yuning had taken it to heart, a gleam of triumphant scheming flashed in Xie Zhaoran’s eyes.

“If Miss Shi has some free time in the coming days, come find me at the Eastern Palace. My leg is injured right now, so I have nothing much to do. I could teach you some archery and horsemanship. That way, if you run into something like this again, you’ll be able to protect yourself.”

Shi Yuning hesitated. “The Eastern Palace? Won’t that be too much of a disturbance?”

Everyone knew the Crown Prince was in poor health and spent most of his time recuperating in the Eastern Palace, rarely venturing out. How could she just show up unannounced? What excuse would she even use?

“I was injured while we were out together,” Xie Zhaoran said, guessing at her concerns. “Don’t you plan to come see how I’m doing? The Eastern Palace is vast. You needn’t worry about disturbing the Crown Prince’s rest.”

Hearing Xie Zhaoran mention her injury pushed Shi Yuning’s misgivings aside. Xie Zhaoran had been hurt on her account—how could she not go and pay a visit?

Shi Yuning agreed.

Once they returned to the city, Shi Yuning took her leave and headed home. Xie Zhaoran and the Crown Prince still needed to enter the palace and report the incident; it wouldn’t be appropriate to bring her along.

News of the Crown Princess’s ambush at the hunting grounds had already spread through the capital via the servants of various great houses.

The Shi family had received word early on. When Tu Chunhua and Shi Minda heard that their daughter had been with the Crown Princess at the time, they had no idea if she was hurt and anxiously waited for her right at the gates of the marquis mansion.

Only when they saw Shi Yuning return safe and sound did they finally relax. Tu Chunhua thanked every god and immortal under the heavens, then dragged her daughter toward the Buddhist hall, eager to offer prayers.

Shi Minda stopped the pair. “Father’s waiting in the main hall. Yuning, you had something you wanted to ask Grandfather anyway.”

The family of three hurried toward the main hall.

In front of her family, Shi Yuning recounted the assassination attempt in detail.

When Tu Chunhua heard that the killers had actually been after Shi Yuning, she leaped to her feet, unable to sit still.

“What kind of bastard would show such ruthless intent toward a young girl? We’ve only been back in the capital for half a year—how could Ningning have made enemies who want her dead? Could this be aimed at the marquis mansion instead?”

Shi Minda nodded vigorously. “You’re right, my lady. We’ve kept a low profile since arriving in the capital and haven’t offended anyone.”

Shi Chao listened to his son and daughter-in-law, his mind swirling with complicated thoughts. Over the years in the military, he must have made enemies, but he couldn’t think of anyone who would target the Shi family like this.

The Shi family had always kept a low profile in the capital. It was only after Prince Yu had publicly declared his interest in Shi Yuning that they had started drawing attention.

Could it be because of Prince Yu?

He had his suspicions but no proof, so he kept them to himself to avoid worrying the family. He simply gave a few extra warnings, telling Shi Yuning to stay home for the next few days and not go out.

“Yes, Ningning,” Tu Chunhua added. “We’d better not go out lately. It would be terrible if we ran into danger again.”

Shi Yuning shook her head at once. “The Crown Princess was injured because of me. I can’t very well do nothing about it. I was thinking of visiting her tomorrow. Mother, could you help me prepare some gifts?”

Tu Chunhua nodded eagerly. “Of course, of course. She saved your life—we should send gifts. Ningning’s grown so much more sensible these days.”

Shi Chao spoke up suddenly. “Yuning, you never had much to do with the Crown Princess before. But from what you said, it sounds like she’s taken quite a liking to you this time.”

Before Shi Yuning could respond, Tu Chunhua jumped in with an explanation. “I know why. It’s because our Ningning’s so much more proper now. They say the Crown Princess can’t stand anyone without manners.”

“She didn’t like Ningning before because she was a bit wild. But now that Ningning’s turned into such a proper young lady, the Crown Princess must admire her.”

Shi Yuning thought her mother’s explanation rang perfectly true. “You’re right, Mother. The Crown Princess did say I’ve changed a lot.”

“You see?” Tu Chunhua crowed. “I told you—girls need to act like girls. All that training in etiquette wasn’t for nothing. Now even the Crown Princess is praising our Ningning.”

Shi Chao listened, the furrows in his brow deepening further. “It’s best if our family doesn’t get too entangled with the people from the Eastern Palace—or with Prince Yu, for that matter. Yuning, you need to be careful about that going forward.”

Tu Chunhua didn’t agree. Once they left Shi Chao’s courtyard, she pulled Shi Yuning aside and urged her to learn well from the Crown Princess—how to conduct herself, deal with people, navigate the world, and become a young lady who was beautiful on the outside and wise within.

Shi Yuning had grown numb to these lectures since arriving in the capital. She agreed to everything and asked her mother to prepare the gifts. Tomorrow, she would go visit the Crown Princess.

Back in her room, Shi Yuning collapsed onto her soft canopied bed. So much had happened that day—she felt utterly drained.

She rolled over toward the inside of the bed, but something dug into her waist. Sitting up slightly, she saw it was the sachet she wore.

For no reason at all, Shi Yuning thought of Xie Zhaoran, the image springing to mind of her leaning down to sniff the sachet.

She untied the sachet from her waist and lay back down on the bed. Lifting it to her nose, she took a deep whiff.

The fragrance had faded considerably after more than half a year. Shi Yuning recalled how much Xie Zhaoran seemed to like the scent.

Her mother’s gifts would be from the marquis mansion, after all. To express her thanks properly, Shi Yuning felt she should add something personal.

She rolled out of bed in one swift motion and went to the desk beneath the eastern window. Pulling out a sheet of stationery, she took up her brush.

She wrote a letter to her grandmother, asking her to prepare another batch of the same spice and herbal ingredients and have them sent to the capital. Shi Yuning planned to sew a sachet with her own hands as a token of gratitude for Xie Zhaoran.