Pheonix Ascending(PA)

Chapters 36-40

Chapter 36: Pulling the Strings

Nan Xun frowned at Jun Huang’s pale face. It was clear that Jun Huang could not accept this answer. He sighed and held her cold fingers in his hand. “I know you want to help Qi Yun find the truth, but truth is often cruel. At the moment Qi Yun may not be able to bear it. Maybe it’s better to keep him in the dark. If he knows that the emperor was involved in his mother’s death, what do you think he’ll do? He’ll resent the emperor, which will prevent him from gaining the throne.”

Jun Huang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For the longest time she had thought that the emperor was a kind leader, but no emperor could really be kind, could they?

She sat there, trying to calm down. The tea had long gone cold. When her heart finally stopped racing, she picked up the cold cup of tea and swallowed it down. She tried a smile, shaking her head at Nan Xun.

She stood up and looked at woman who was old before her time.

“Thank you for your help. We will take our leave now.” She walked outside.

Nan Xun sighed and said to the woman, “Ma’am, I’d like to ask you to please keep our visit today a secret. Thank you.”

The woman nodded. She was no stranger to conflicts within the royal family. Those were exactly what she escaped the palace to avoid. She had chosen to live under a different name so that she could stay away.

When Nan Xun bid her farewell and left, Jun Huang had already walked quite a long distance. She walked along the dimly-lit street, the expression on her face cold and distant. Nan Xun jogged up to her.

“Wait.”

Jun Huang didn’t stop. Instead, she continued forward. Nan Xun frowned. He knew that what he told her had hurt her genuine heart, but there were too many things one could not avoid in life. No one could remain unchanged.

He grabbed Jun Huang by the wrist and stopped her. She frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing? Why are you here for?” Nan Xun’s tone was harsh. He stared at Jun Huang like he wanted to see through her.

Meeting Nan Xun’s eyes, Jun Huang suddenly came to her senses. Her overreaction came out of nowhere. It was laughable, really. She quickly regained her composure and broke out of Nan Xun’s hold. A small smile appeared on her face. “I have embarrassed myself in front of Your Highness. It’s late. I will take my leave now.”

Jun Huang gradually disappeared into the light in the distance. Nan Xun sighed. This woman wore her heart on her sleeves, but who could keep her bleeding heart from hardening for a lifetime?

That night, Jun Huang twisted and turned on her bed. Her head kept spinning. After a whole night of consideration, she agreed with what Nan Xun said. The world was unstable enough as it was, and Qi Chen was ambitious. This really wasn’t the time to tell Qi Yun the truth. In order to help Qi Yun obtain the throne, she had to keep it from Qi Yun.

It wasn’t until dawn that she finally fell asleep. And when she woke up, it was past noon. After resting, she ceased dwelling on what happened yesterday. She was even unconsciously suppressing the memory.

Now the imperial court was split into a few factions, all of which were at conflict with one another under the table, and they would stop at nothing. Qi Chen even tried to instigate Qi Yin’s remaining people to eliminate royal uncle’s supporters once and for all.

Ever since Jun Huang made the poison that killed Qi Yin, Qi Chen had become closer to her. Every once in a while he would invite Jun Huang for tea. Jun Huang always accepted with a smile and went back to her building with light footsteps.