Chapter 53

Tao Chuyi’s cheeks were flushed bright red, her big eyes brimming with moisture as she raised the index finger of her right hand like a child lodging a complaint.

“It’s bleeding…”

Nangong Yunshang took hold of her hand. Sure enough, there was a trace of blood on her fingertip, as if from a needle prick.

“Quick, fetch something to bandage it with!”

The others sprang into a flurry at her words, bumping into each other in their haste. Amid the pandemonium, they finally located the medicine chest.

Tao Chuyi wailed, “Am I going to die? It’s bleeding!”

“Prince Consort, this won’t kill you. If we don’t bandage it soon, it’ll heal on its own.”

Yinghong teased from the side, only to receive a sharp glare from Nangong Yunshang. She immediately shut her mouth.

There was nothing to be done—who could argue when the princess doted on her so? A mere pinprick to the finger, and she was carrying on as if it were the end of the world.

Tao Chuyi’s finger was bandaged into a plump little carrot. She stared at it for a long moment, thinking it looked rather bite-sized.

Nangong Yunshang coaxed her gently. “Why were you using a needle and thread?”

“I wanted to make pretty clothes for my sister!”

It turned out she had watched the servants mending clothes all day and got the idea herself. Unfortunately, she had overestimated her own skills.

“Alright, no more sewing. Tomorrow we’ll go to the silken cloth shop and buy some. How does that sound?”

After much coaxing and persuading, Nangong Yunshang finally convinced her precious darling to give up on the notion of making clothes.

Some cloth shops in the city streets stocked rare and exquisite fabrics, their styles sometimes even more appealing than those in the palace.

The one Nangong Yunshang took Tao Chuyi to was Fu’s Silk Shop, a place she had frequented before.

No sooner had they arrived than Tao Chuyi dashed inside, looking this way and that. The walls were hung with finished garments in a dazzling array of colors and cuts.

Nangong Yunshang sipped tea nearby, letting Tao Chuyi run about and explore to her heart’s content. She paid a hefty sum of silver to reserve the entire shop for the day, ensuring her companion could browse without restraint.

“Sister, this one’s pretty! That one’s pretty too!”

Tao Chuyi pointed excitedly at four or five outfits.

Nangong Yunshang smiled indulgently, then turned to instruct a shop assistant to take them down for trying on.

The fitting rooms were in private chambers on the second floor. Everyone else waited in the main hall below, with only Nangong Yunshang accompanying Tao Chuyi upstairs.

Tao Chuyi tried on the clothes inside the inner room while Nangong Yunshang sat in the outer one. The second floor was reserved for esteemed guests to try on and rest in comfort, so the rooms were well-insulated against sound.

“Sister, I can’t tie this sash.”

Tao Chuyi called out several times with no response. With a sigh, she set the new garment aside, slipped back into her own clothes, and stepped out.

“Sister? Sister!”

The outer room was empty. Nangong Yunshang, who should have been waiting there, had vanished without a trace.

“Sister!”

Tao Chuyi slapped her hands against the walls, shouting loudly. Suddenly, one spot gave a hollow echo. Before she knew it, a stone door swung open, pulling her inside.

She tumbled into a dark chamber, landing hard enough to ache all over. But Tao Chuyi ignored the pain—her sister was gone, and she had to find her.

The passage in the secret room was dim and narrow. Pressing onward, she came upon another door. She rapped on it, hearing footsteps above, but it wouldn’t budge.

Above the hidden door was a canopy bed. Someone paced the room—it was Liao Mi.

Nangong Yunshang stirred slowly awake, only to see Liao Mi’s face at first glance. She jolted in shock.

“You…”

Liao Mi curved his lips in a smile, greeting her leisurely.

“Hello, Your Highness.”

“Where is this place?”

Nangong Yunshang glanced around the unfamiliar room. Could the silk shop connect to another residence?

Liao Mi chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. “This is the Southern Suburbs Villa. Rest easy, Your Highness—no outsiders here. No one will disturb us.”

Nangong Yunshang forced herself to stay calm. She shoved his hand away and scolded him sternly. “Insolent!”

Liao Mi’s gaze turned vicious in an instant. “I can be far more insolent than that, Your Highness.”

Tao Chuyi heard the commotion above growing louder, along with cries that sounded like her sister’s.

She pounded on the door with all her might. “Sister! Sister!”

“Liao Mi, you dare!”

“‘To die beneath a bed of peonies is the way of a true man.’ There’s nothing I don’t dare, Your Highness. I’m heading back to the Southern Frontier soon. Before I go, I intend to do what I’ve always wanted. Your Highness, I fell in love with you at first sight.”

Tao Chuyi grew frantic. The force in her blows suddenly intensified, her eyes turning cold and focused.

Liao Mi grew even more excited. To him, Nangong Yunshang’s struggles were mere tickles. People of the Central Plains prized their virtue above all, and with no witnesses, no one could prove a thing, no matter what he did.

But before he could lay a hand on her, the bed canopy flipped up, slamming him to the floor in a heap of dust and debris.

“Who’s sneaking up on me? I…”

His words cut off as a hand pierced straight through his chest. Blood gushed forth in a torrent.

Liao Mi collapsed into a pool of his own blood, his eyes bulging like a dead fish’s. He went utterly still.

The events unfolded so abruptly that Nangong Yunshang tumbled to the bedside, staring in shock. She had watched with her own eyes as Tao Chuyi seized Liao Mi by the throat and drove her hand through his chest. From behind, she saw an aura of cold-blooded killing intent radiating from Tao Chuyi—something she had never witnessed before.

“Chuyi…” Nangong Yunshang called out, her voice trembling.

Tao Chuyi glanced at her blood-soaked hands, then at the corpse on the floor. She snapped back to herself and recoiled in fright.

“He’s dead—he’s dead! Did I… did I kill him?”

Nangong Yunshang scrambled up and pulled her into an embrace. Footsteps passed by the door—not just one person, but several.

“Shh, quiet now. Be good, Chuyi.”

Tao Chuyi was badly shaken, on the verge of losing control.

“I killed someone… I did it…”

Shadows drew nearer on the door and windows. Nangong Yunshang gripped Tao Chuyi’s shoulders and silenced her with a kiss.

At last, the shadows faded, and the footsteps receded into the distance. Nangong Yunshang released her, still shaken herself but forcing calm to comfort her.

“Chuyi saved me. Chuyi was so brave.”

Tao Chuyi blinked, the terror fading from her eyes. Her mouth crumpled, and she was about to burst into tears.

“Sister, Sister… He was bullying you. He deserved to die. I had to kill him!”

Nangong Yunshang hugged her again, regaining her composure.

“Listen to me, Chuyi. We were never here today. Got it?”

“Mmm, got it.”

If her sister wanted her to lie, there must be a good reason.

The two slipped back through the hidden passage. Nangong Yunshang straightened her clothes and hair, acting as if nothing had happened, and immediately took Tao Chuyi back to the Princess Mansion.

The next day, the silk shop was sealed for selling counterfeit fabrics and evading taxes. The owner and assistants had vanished without a trace.

Nangong Yunshang sat by the bed, gazing at the sleeping Tao Chuyi. She couldn’t help tracing the curve of her brows and eyes.

“Who exactly are you?”

Chuyi wasn’t just disguised as a man; she bore mysterious scars and had turned the tide in a critical moment. Her martial prowess was extraordinary—not the mark of some simpleton.

As Nangong Yunshang frowned in thought, Yinghong slipped quietly into the room to report.

Nangong Yunshang looked up. “Is everything cleaned up?”

Yinghong nodded. “No one left alive in the silk shop. We just set it ablaze—no one will find the hidden passage now. The owner confessed before he died: that villa was his private bolt-hole. But when Liao Mi learned Your Highness frequented the shop and that the two places were connected, he paid a fortune for access, just waiting for you to show up.”

At that moment, Tao Chuyi murmured in her sleep and suddenly grabbed Nangong Yunshang’s hand, pressing it to her cheek.

The bloodstains had been scrubbed clean from her body. Only Xichan and Yinghong knew of the incident—no risk of it leaking out.

Nangong Yunshang still found it unbelievable. This girl, who appeared so fragile and foolish, hid such formidable skills.

“And Temple Minister Tao?”

“We’ve informed him. Temple Minister Tao reported to Your Majesty that it was the work of bandits.”

Yinghong looked worried. “What if the Ministry of Punishment gets involved?”

Nangong Yunshang wasn’t concerned. “They won’t. My father emperor excels at sweeping things under the rug.”

Even though they spoke softly, Tao Chuyi woke up.

“Sister, Sister…”

Nangong Yunshang signaled Yinghong to withdraw, then patted Tao Chuyi’s back and soothed her. “I’m right here.”

Tao Chuyi looked utterly pitiable. “I… I dreamed a big bad man was bullying you, and then I beat him to death.”

“It was just a dream. See? We’re both fine.”

Nangong Yunshang lied through her teeth, hoping to make Tao Chuyi forget the whole ordeal.

Tao Chuyi snuggled closer, aggrieved. “Chuyi protected Sister.”

Nangong Yunshang let her lean in, chuckling despite herself. “You did protect me.”

“Chuyi likes Sister the most.”

Tao Chuyi tilted her head, pillowing it on her shoulder. Moments later, she was gently lifted upright.

Nangong Yunshang regarded her with unprecedented seriousness.

“Chuyi, do you really like me?”

Tao Chuyi nodded vigorously. “I do!”

“Will you always like me? No matter what happens in the future—even if we end up opposed? No matter your true identity, or all the obstacles in our way—would you still like me?”

Nangong Yunshang knew her questions might come to nothing in the end, but she couldn’t hold them back.

Tao Chuyi looked puzzled. What did all that mean?

“I like Sister. I’ll always, always like you.”

Nangong Yunshang laughed softly, making a promise in a light, breezy tone.

“Very well. Then Sister will like Chuyi too—no matter whether you’re really Tao Chuyi or not.”

Tao Chuyi didn’t yet grasp the depth of that promise. All she knew was that her sister liked her back, and she beamed with joy.

On the eve of Dali Temple’s attempt to close the case, an imperial eunuch suddenly summoned them, announcing that the emperor wished to see the Third Princess and her Prince Consort in the palace.

When Nangong Yunshang and Tao Chuyi arrived at the Imperial Study, the Second Princess, Nangong Yuyuan, was already there. It was clear this was no friendly visit—her gaze was sharp as daggers, as if she were ready to strike at any moment.

“We greet Father Emperor. May we ask why Father Emperor has summoned your subjects?”

Nangong Yunshang remained unflustered amid the sudden turn of events. After bowing in salute, her gaze met that of the Second Princess.

The Emperor spoke gravely. “This concerns the case of the Sixth Prince of the Southern Frontier.”

“The Third Imperial Sister has washed her hands of it quite cleanly. This Palace has heard that it was the Third Princess Consort who killed that Sixth Prince.”

The Second Princess pointed straight at Tao Chuyi. “Men, seize him!”

Nangong Yunshang stepped in front of Tao Chuyi. “This Palace would like to see who dares?”

The guards hesitated, unsure whether to act, and in the end, none of them moved.

“The Second Imperial Sister must take responsibility for her words. Who said that? Call them forward for a confrontation.”

Nangong Yunshang was certain the Second Princess had no evidence and was simply bluffing.

When this approach failed, the Second Princess made another proposal. “How about letting this subject question the Third Princess Consort alone?”

The Emperor fell silent for a moment before finally nodding his assent. Attendants pulled Nangong Yunshang aside, leaving Tao Chuyi alone with the Second Princess for the interrogation.

Having gotten her way, the Second Princess circled Tao Chuyi once.

“Men, bring in the brazier.”

The glowing red charcoal, paired with a branding iron, was a standard tool for interrogating prisoners in the dungeons. Heat from the furnace washed over Tao Chuyi, causing her to step back involuntarily. But with guards holding her in place, she could only crane her neck backward, unable to retreat any further.

“Sister! Sister! I want Sister!”

The Second Princess settled into the grand armchair, her fingers drumming idly on the armrest.

“Your precious sister can’t save you this time. Confess—was it you who killed the Sixth Prince?”