Chapter 9: The Storybooks

In the silent room, Xie Zhaoran’s icy voice rang out, coldly recounting the events of yesterday’s assassination attempt.

“You’ve seen the assassin’s confession and met the man in person. He admitted right in front of you that Prince Yu was behind it. So, how do you intend to handle this?”

The faint curve at the Crown Prince’s lips gradually vanished. In an instant, the smile was gone from his face entirely.

He had been reluctant to believe that his own brother now harbored such ruthless ambition. He had doubted the confession at first.

Xie Zhaoran must have known his temperament well, which was why she had brought the witness directly to him.

She had shattered his illusions.

The Crown Prince’s face turned deathly pale in a flash, like that of an old man on his last legs. The weariness and pain in his eyes ran as deep as the sea.

Now it was his turn to fall silent for a long moment.

At last, he let out a sigh.

“Leave it to Zhaoran to deal with. Since he wants you dead, whatever you decide, this prince has no objections.”

Those were the exact words Xie Zhaoran had been waiting for. The Crown Prince was too sentimental. Prince Yu had schemed against them multiple times before, but he had always let it slide. Even now, with his health in such poor shape, Prince Yu’s sabotage had played no small part.

She had long wanted to give Prince Yu a harsh lesson, but the Crown Prince and her aunt the Empress had always held her back.

Xie Zhaoran knew that even if this incident reached the Emperor’s ears, the outcome would be the same as before—swept under the rug, no real consequences.

In the end, they would say it hadn’t caused serious harm, so they would raise the stick high only to let it fall lightly.

This time, however, Prince Yu’s target wasn’t just her. When Xie Zhaoran thought of Shi Yuning, who had also been dragged into the scheme, her anger surged uncontrollably.

“Someone, come here.”

Qin Xiao heard the command and hurried into the room, awaiting orders.

“Find a suitable box, stuff that assassin inside, and send him to Prince Yu as a gift in this palace’s name.”

Qin Xiao paused slightly. The assassin was now a gruesome sight, utterly unrecognizable.

“Yes.”

Qin Xiao accepted the order and went off in search of a box large enough to hold a person.

The next morning, as Shi Yuning set out early for the Eastern Palace, she noticed the streets were unusually bustling.

Her usual haunt, the Jing Sheng Tea House, was packed from dawn. The place buzzed with chatter as patrons heatedly discussed some juicy gossip. She called for the carriage to stop and lingered at the door just long enough to catch the gist.

It was all rumors about Prince Yu.

“Word is, Prince Yu’s Mansion was attacked by a gang of assassins last night. The prince seems to have taken quite a fright.”

“I heard he was badly wounded. The palace gates opened in the dead of night, and all the imperial physicians rushed to his mansion.”

“What audacious assassins. First they strike at the hunting grounds, and now they’ve got the guts to attack right under the Emperor’s nose.”

“Exactly. No one knows where they came from.”

Shi Yuning got the general idea and quickly urged the coachman onward, her mind racing with surprise. Had those assassins gone after Prince Yu too?

The group at the hunting grounds had been targeting her. Now they had gone for Prince Yu. Could it be because he had been loudly proclaiming his intent to ally with the Shi Family through marriage, drawing the assassins’ attention?

But Prince Yu was royalty. Even the Shi Family’s bitterest enemies wouldn’t dare assassinate a prince out of spite…

She still hadn’t pieced it together by the time she reached the Eastern Palace. The moment she saw Xie Zhaoran, Shi Yuning asked about it straightaway.

After hearing Shi Yuning out, Xie Zhaoran let out a light chuckle. “All rumors. Prince Yu is doing just fine.”

He had only taken a bit of a scare.

The “gift” she had sent over yesterday had given him quite the fright. What a spineless fellow—he had even fainted.

In the end, it had alarmed the palace enough to send imperial physicians.

That was likely how the rumors started: folks assuming Prince Yu had been attacked by assassins, and with each retelling, the story grew more distorted.

Relieved to hear it wasn’t assassins, Shi Yuning felt a little easier. “What about the assassin we captured? Did he confess?”

Xie Zhaoran gave Shi Yuning a deep look and shook her head.

With only that one assassin’s confession, Xie Zhaoran wasn’t sure Shi Yuning would fully buy her account. She worried that even if the Shi Family learned the truth, they might not completely trust her.

Shi Yuning felt a twinge of regret, but seeing Xie Zhaoran’s troubled expression, she hurried to reassure her. “Those kinds of assassins are desperate criminals, tough as nails. If he won’t talk, it’s not the Crown Princess’s fault.”

Xie Zhaoran met Shi Yuning’s earnest gaze, her mood lifting a bit. She nodded, letting the matter drop, and led Shi Yuning to the Martial Training Field.

Today’s lesson wasn’t fixed-target archery like yesterday. Instead, they practiced archery and horsemanship from horseback.

Shi Yuning threw herself into it with enthusiasm. Time always flew when she was absorbed in learning, and the day slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Before she knew it, a whole month had passed.

For that entire month, Shi Yuning entered the Eastern Palace with the rising sun and left with the setting one.

She hadn’t missed a single day. Such frequent visits naturally stirred up plenty of gossip.

The biggest topics in the Imperial Capital were two-fold.

First, Prince Yu. Rumors said he had been wounded by assassins and confined to bed for nearly a month. He used to be a fixture at wine shops and pleasure houses, but he hadn’t been seen in ages. The whispers had evolved into tales of some unspeakable injury.

Second, the Crown Princess’s assassination attempt at the hunting grounds. Marquis Shi’s daughter had been visiting daily for a month to check on her. The capital buzzed with speculation.

Some said the Crown Princess had been wounded while protecting Miss Shi at the hunting grounds, so Miss Shi was repaying the favor with frequent visits.

But that didn’t hold water. No one visited the sick every single day.

The hottest rumor now was that Shi Yuning had ulterior motives—that her diligent trips to the Eastern Palace were to seduce the Crown Prince.

They claimed she and the Crown Princess hadn’t been close before. Now that the Crown Princess was injured and less mobile, Shi Yuning had suddenly turned attentive. It was like a weasel paying respects to the hen—no good intentions.

The gossip spread far and wide. Even the Shi Family servants heard it while shopping and reported back to Tu Chunhua.

Tu Chunhua was a simple countrywoman at heart, clueless about the capital’s twisted intrigues. How could frequent neighborly visits lead to such nonsense?

When had her daughter ever tried to seduce the Crown Prince?

Was the Crown Prince so irresistible that every young lady had to throw herself at him?

Tu Chunhua was furious. If the servants hadn’t stopped her, she would have stormed out to confront the rumormongers.

Shi Yuning had just finished dressing to head out when her maid relayed Tu Chunhua’s order: stay home today, don’t go anywhere.

Puzzled, Shi Yuning pressed for details, and the maid reluctantly spilled everything.

“The Madam is just looking out for you, Miss. It’s not that we’re guilty of anything—the talk outside is just too vile.”

Shi Yuning was stunned. What kind of twisted logic was this?

When had she ever seduced the Crown Prince? He was Xie Zhaoran’s husband. They were friends now—how could she covet her friend’s husband?

Then she realized if her own mother had heard, Xie Zhaoran probably knew too. She hoped there was no misunderstanding. Her daily visits were only to learn archery and horsemanship properly.

On second thought, Xie Zhaoran wouldn’t misunderstand. They were together the whole time in the Eastern Palace. If she wasn’t seducing the Crown Prince, who else would know better than Xie Zhaoran?

Thinking of the Jiangnan dishes she’d enjoyed there for a month, Shi Yuning sighed heavily. No more of those today.

She told the maid to inform her mother she wouldn’t be going out.

Shi Yuning flopped back onto the bed, eyes closed in annoyance. She rolled back and forth furiously, loosening her bun until a few stray locks fell across her forehead.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She sat bolt upright, blew the strands from her face, and strode to the desk by the eastern moon window. She pulled out a sheet of stationery and scrawled a wobbly message.

Once finished, she blew the ink dry, folded it into an envelope, and wrote “Personal for the Crown Princess” on the front. She handed it to the maid with instructions to send a page boy to the Eastern Palace.

By the time Xie Zhaoran received the letter, she had been practicing the meteor hammer on the Martial Training Field for over an hour.

A few days earlier, Duke Xie had sent her some novel gadgets via messenger, including an array of weapons. Her eye had immediately fallen on the legendary king of hidden weapons—the meteor hammer.

The one her father sent was forged from pure iron, weighted at about five pounds to suit her strength, with a ring at the chain’s end to loop over her wrist.

It was easy to carry and conceal, but mastering it was no simple task.

Xie Zhaoran had studied the manual her father included over the past couple of days. Today was her first real practice.

The weapon had originated from the Desert North and was rare in Great Ye. Shi Yuning had likely never seen one.

Xie Zhaoran had even planned to teach it to her once proficient—as excellent self-defense.

After more than an hour, she had grasped the basics, but Shi Yuning was still nowhere in sight.

When Qiangdi delivered the letter, the sweat steaming off Xie Zhaoran’s body from practice suddenly cooled. An ominous feeling gripped her.

In the letter, Shi Yuning thanked her for the month’s instruction, then rattled off a string of reasons that boiled down to one thing: she wouldn’t be coming anymore.

Xie Zhaoran gave a self-mocking tug at her lips. With a fierce yank, she hurled the meteor hammer straight at the weapon rack ahead. Another pull, and the hammer head wrapped around a red-tasseled spear, sweeping it in a wide arc.

Weapons clattered to the ground on one side of the field, piling up with a cacophony of metallic crashes.

Xie Zhaoran didn’t spare them a glance. She strode out of the Martial Training Field and ordered it sealed off.

Her private yard had its own training ground. She had set aside this spot near the Crown Prince’s quarters to make Shi Yuning more comfortable. No need for it now.

After Shi Yuning stopped coming, the Eastern Palace lunches reverted to bland fare.

A week of boiled vegetables later, the Crown Prince slammed down his chopsticks in protest.

“Xie Zhaoran, don’t you go too far!”

“Miss Shi isn’t coming, so you send the cooks on holiday? Does only she deserve decent food in this palace?!”

Xie Zhaoran didn’t look up, picking up a clump of greens and chewing slowly.

Only after finishing the last one in her dish did she raise her head unhurriedly. “This is how we’ve always eaten. You know your condition—low salt, low oil.”

The Crown Prince smacked the table in fury. “When Miss Shi was here, this prince didn’t have to eat this watery slop.”

“That was you shamelessly crashing her meals. They weren’t for you. Now you’re just back to your proper diet.”

“You! Xie Zhaoran! You’re inhuman! After those delicious dishes, who could stomach this tasteless mush?!”

Xie Zhaoran pointed at the empty bowls and plates before her. “As you see, I’ve finished mine.”

“You!”

The Crown Prince gnawed at his chopsticks in frustration, tempted to snap them—but lacking the strength.

Xie Zhaoran sipped her post-meal tea calmly, unmoved.

Seeing her feigned nonchalance masking listlessness, the Crown Prince slapped down his chopsticks.

“This won’t do!”

Xie Zhaoran drained her cup, set it aside, and closed her eyes as if resting.

“Look at you, always scheming for absolute certainty. Fine in strategy, maybe, but not in feelings!”

Xie Zhaoran cracked her eyes open, looking at him, her silence an invitation to continue.

“See how you are now—listless, like a soulless shell. Imperial Sister wrote; she’s coming back early. She’ll thrash you seeing you like this.”

The Crown Prince mused that while he couldn’t beat Xie Zhaoran, Imperial Sister had real martial prowess. She had disciplined Xie Zhaoran in their youth.

“You’re just stirring up trouble.” Xie Zhaoran slumped in her armchair, looking utterly dejected.

Hearing Imperial Sister was returning early, she could guess the Crown Prince had tattled.

“If you miss her so much, why not go find her?”

Xie Zhaoran said nothing. She had considered it but lacked a good excuse.

She wasn’t even sure if Shi Yuning wanted to see her.

“Imperial Sister always said you were the boldest of the Xie children. She’d take it back seeing you now.”

Xie Zhaoran bristled. “What do you know?” She wanted to snap that he had never loved anyone—how could he grasp such twists of the heart?

“This prince knows better than you. I told you to read more than just military treatises. Books are full of wisdom!”

Seeing Xie Zhaoran’s surprised look, the Crown Prince waved it off with a mysterious grin. “Never mind. This prince will have them sent over.”

He rose, glanced at the boiled vegetables, and snorted. “Remember, Jiangnan snacks as payment after!”

That afternoon, Xie Zhaoran received a crate of books.

They were all the rage in the capital—erotic tales.

Night Exploration of the Spring Boudoir, General Chasing Wife Matters 2-3, Domineering Little Lady and Jade-Faced Gentleman, Marquis’s Spoiled Wife Runs with Ball…

Xie Zhaoran frowned tightly, picking each up, reading the title, and setting it down.

What kind of books were these? The Crown Prince was outrageous, secretly reading such lurid, indecent stories.

With a cold face, she flipped through them all and selected the tamest-titled one, Legend of the Jade Beauty. She would see what nonsense lay within.

She opened it.

Xie Zhaoran furrowed her brow as she flipped through the pages one by one. After skimming roughly seven or eight pages, she abruptly snapped the book shut, lost in thought.

That night, the bright moon hid faintly behind the clouds. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves with a soft whispering sound, like lovers murmuring sweet nothings in the darkness.

Shi Yuning finished bathing and stepped out of the bathing chamber. There, seated primly on her canopy bed draped in peach-pink gauze, was a solitary figure.

Xie Zhaoran was clad all in black, her ink-black hair tied up high. She wore no makeup and no adornments.

Moonlight filtered through the moon-gate gauze window, bathing her face and illuminating the subtle upward curve at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight, as if a scattering of stars had fallen into their depths.

Smiling, she waved at Shi Yuning. In her hand gleamed the Fierce Beast Copper Mask, its surface flickering with a chilling silver light under the moon.