Qingzhou, in the governor's Mansion.
Zi Ling walked over and served a cup of tea to Governor Xu next to him.
After Governor Xu thanked her with a bow, Zi Ling quietly retreated.
Governor Xu held the hot tea in his hands and glanced down before looking up and smiling, "This is Erquan Yinhao tea."
Xiao Jin nodded.
Seeing the tea, Governor Xu couldn't help but sigh, "When I invited the prince to a banquet at Yuhua Tower, I once served this tea, and I didn't expect that you still remember it after so long."
Xiao Jin replied calmly, "When I first met Governor Xu you served me a pot of Erquan Yinhao tea, which was tender and green, with a lingering fragrance."
"Since it's good tea, and you've kindly served it, I naturally wouldn't forget it," Governor Xu gratefully took a sip of the tea.
After tasting the tea, Governor Xu met Xiao Jin's gaze and felt that his words probably contained some deep meaning.
Was Prince Yan reminding him not to change his original intention easily and to remember his gratitude?
In fact, Xiao Jin didn't have much thought about it.
She didn't even remember that Governor Xu had served her this tea at the banquet.
It was just that Chu Shao had been fond of Erquan Yinhao tea recently, so she had also tasted it a few times and found the taste to be okay.
Therefore, she paid attention to buy more of it.
As luck would have it, the tea she brewed today was also Erquan Yinhao tea.
However, Xiao Jin was still able to maintain a poker face and lie.
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, Governor Xu's expression became solemn, and he said firmly, "Your Highness, you have given me the opportunity of a lifetime. If not for you, I'm afraid that I would have spent my whole life in Qingzhou and never been promoted."
Xiao Jin waved her hand and said, "Governor Xu, you're overthinking it. I just came up with some insignificant tricks."
"The key is that you govern wisely, otherwise, even if you put in a lot of effort, it won't reach the emperor's ears," she added.
The two of them exchanged pleasantries back and forth.
As Governor Xu became increasingly sincere, Xiao Jin became increasingly uninterested.
To be honest, after running her business for most of the day, she was already tired.
In the end, it became Governor Xu talking and her listening.
Governor Xu also noticed something wrong, and finally stopped talking about it and came to the key point: "Your Highness, yesterday, His Majesty summoned me back to the capital, saying that he wanted to appoint me as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I am really afraid."
Xiao Jin took a sip of tea and moistened her throat.
Since her lifespan became abundant, the time she spent coughing has decreased.
In the eyes of others, it was the Prince Yan's body that was getting better day by day.
Maybe one day... even her legs could have a chance to recover.
Obviously, Governor Xu also thinks so.
So this is also one of the reasons why he refused the Crown Prince's recruitment.
In the eyes of the people, the compassionate and popular Crown Prince is the future wise monarch of Qi Country.
However, Governor Xu stubbornly pinned his fortune on the person in front of him.
The reason for the bet was not very reliable, just relying on intuition.
He had a hunch that the Prince Yan was not an ordinary person.
After finishing the tea, Xiao Jin asked, "What are you afraid of, Governor Xu?"
Governor Xu looked at Xiao Jin's expression and considered his words: "I am afraid because the Crown Prince seems to be interested in promoting me, but I know my ability is insufficient, and it's not good to offend the Prince. It's really difficult to handle."
Xiao Jin heard Governor Xu's implication and shook her head: "This is the official position bestowed by His Majesty. What does it have to do with the Crown Prince?"
Governor Xu looked embarrassed: "But, Your Highness, a few days ago, the Crown Prince informed me of this matter."
To be honest, he was a little surprised. Didn't he just mention this? How could the Prince Yan forget it so soon?
Xiao Jin nodded: "The Crown Prince did inform Governor Xu of this matter, but it is His Majesty who appointed you to the position, not the Crown Prince."
Governor Xu seemed to understand something: "Your Highness, are you saying..."
Xiao Jin said nonchalantly, "Governor Xu doesn't need to be too afraid. His Majesty wants you to take over the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue because he values your ability, not because the Crown Prince suggested it."
"In the court, the position of Vice Minister has been vacant for a long time. His Majesty summoned you back to the capital at this time just to prevent other factions from taking advantage of the opportunity to insert their own people. Governor Xu can rest assured and return to the capital. The people of Qingzhou will send you off when the time comes."
Governor Xu suddenly realized and couldn't help but stand up and bow deeply to Xiao Jin: "Thank you very much, Your Highness. I have learned from you."
...
"Did Governor Xu really say that?"
Chu Shao sat under the wisteria flower trellis, casually pointing at Qin Xueting who was practicing her sword while listening to Xiao Jin's words.
Xiao Jin was also sitting beside her, basking in the sun.
Nodding, Xiao Jin said contentedly, "Yes, the Princess's analysis made Governor Xu convinced and admiring."
Chu Shao didn't care and smiled, "But it was all just nonsense from me. How much I guessed correctly is just luck."
Just as she finished speaking, she reached out and pointed at a light purple flower on a wooden rack, tapping it lightly.
Suddenly, she smiled and plucked a branch, placing it in Xiao Jin's hair beside her temples.
Xiao Jin didn't resist but only furrowed her brows slightly as she touched the soft petals of the flower and asked, "Why are you giving me a flower to wear?"
The sunlight shone down as Chu Shao propped her chin and looked at Xiao Jin.
She flattered her casually, "The sun is so beautiful today. If I didn't put a flower in your hair, it would be a waste of the spring scenery."
Xiao Jin stared at Chu Shao's smiling eyes and fell into silence.
The lotuses in Qingzhou were already blooming, so what spring scenery was she talking about?
She must be lying.
Chu Shao's eyes curved, bringing a smile like the spring mountains. "Besides, the flower looks even prettier and brighter on your hair."
Xiao Jin was choked up for a moment.
After a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Princess, where did you learn this kind of talk?"
Chu Shao was slightly stunned and surprised, "Why do you know that? It's just something I learned elsewhere."
"Because it's too cheesy."
"Your highness, what does 'cheesy' mean?" Chu Shao frowned, not understanding.
Xiao Jin touched the flower on her head and gave a matter-of-fact evaluation, "It has a taste of ancient court romance novels."
Chu Shao smiled, "I don't understand."
Xiao Jin thought to herself, "Good, if she really understood, it would be like two villagers meeting each other." Despite this, she changed her wording and explained, "It means that it sounds like the phrases written in those romance novels."
Chu Shao smiled, "Oh, I see."
"Your highness is really insightful. Recently, Zi Ling has been reading these novels, and I found them interesting, so I borrowed them to read," Chu Shao explained.
Xiao Jin was a bit curious about what kind of novels they were that made Chu Shao interested. So she asked.
Chu Shao replied, "The Empress's Biography, The Jia Nan Princess, and Coral on the Palm."
"..."
Xiao Jin paused and said, "The first two, I can see what they are about. But the last one suddenly changes the style."
Chu Shao explained a bit, "The protagonist of this novel is a illegitimate daughter of a noble family. She was supposed to die, but instead she went back in time to her youth. Because she knew what happened in her previous life, she worked hard to change things in this life and eventually became a queen."
Xiao Jin fell silent.
It was nothing worth pitying over, not like it was the novel "Rebirth of the Peerless Poisonous Consort" or "Useless Shu Daughter: Cold-hearted Empress Seizes the Affections of the Emperor"?
Xiao Jin's face was calm as she gave her opinion, "It sounds good, but the development is a bit too cliche."
Chu Shao smiled at Xiao Jin and whispered, "Is that so? It seems that Your Highness and I are the same, not believing that life can be relived."
Xiao Jin nodded, "If everyone could relive their life, then wouldn't gaining or losing in the world become meaningless?"
Chu Shao continued to smile, but her eyes drooped slightly as if there was a layer of mist, "What Your Highness says is true, but I am curious about one thing."
Xiao Jin nodded and gestured for Chu Shao to continue.
Chu Shao smiled faintly, "If you could relive your life, would Your Highness still be the same as now? If not, what would you want to do?"
Xiao Jin thought to herself, if she could relive her life, she definitely wouldn't be reading this outdated dog-blood web novel.
However, she was surrounded by soft sunlight and flower petals floating in the breeze.
As the words were about to leave her lips, what she said was, "If I could relive my life, I would still want to sit here and enjoy the sun, watch these flowers bloom and float away."
Xiao Jin paused for a moment and met Chu Shao's clear eyes, and for some inexplicable reason, added, "And having the Princess by my side would be great."
Chu Shao seemed stunned for a moment.
Then she smiled and asked softly, "Do you really think so?"
Xiao Jin cleared her throat and said, "At least I thought so for a moment just now."
Now that she had come back to her senses, she would rather go back to the present, take out her phone, and order a cup of milk tea to spend a comfortable afternoon.
The world without milk tea and takeout was still too feudal.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Xiao Jin's words, Chu Shao laughed softly with a gentle expression.
This smile made Xiao Jin's heart skip a beat.
She couldn't tell if it was her heart pounding or something else.
Chu Shao leaned lightly on the wisteria trellis and said to Xiao Jin, "Sometimes, people shouldn't be too greedy."
"So I also feel that one moment is enough."
...
Late at night.
In the study, a few lamps and candles were lit.
Xiao Jin sat in the room, not reading, but casually holding a pair of silver scissors and cutting the lamp flowers with them.
Jue Ge, who was guarding on the side, was a little tired of watching.
She spoke up, "Jue Ge, what kind of person would think that a moment is better than a hundred years?"
Suddenly asked about this topic, Jue Ge was still a little stunned. "Let me think," she replied.
Xiao Jin put down the scissors and said, "It doesn't matter. I was just asking casually. Take your time to think."
Jue Ge thought for a long time and gave an answer, "Most likely, it would be immortals."
"Immortals have endless years of life. One day in heaven is equal to one year on earth. A mere hundred years cannot enter an immortal's eyes."
"..."
Absurd, yet it made some sense.
Thinking about the nature of this novel, it probably wasn't a cultivation novel.
Xiao Jin rubbed her forehead and asked, "Besides immortals, who else?"
Jue Ge couldn't think of anything reasonable and had to make something up, "Unless that moment is very important to that person, such as meeting an old friend in a foreign land, or experiencing a long-awaited rainfall after a drought..."
"What if that person doesn't experience any of those happy moments?"
Jue Ge shook her head, "I don't know about that. Because I'm just an ordinary person, I certainly think that a hundred years are better and longer than a moment. A moment is just a flick of a finger. How can it compare to a hundred years of longevity?"
Xiao Jin didn't speak and lowered her eyes, staring at the purple wisteria on the desk.
She picked it up, held it in her palm, and suddenly mentioned an unrelated topic, "I vaguely remember that the Prince Yan's Mansion has more than one mansion in Qingzhou. There seems to be a villa on Yan Mountain."
Jue Ge didn't expect that Xiao Jin would remember this. "Your Highness, there is indeed a villa on Yan Mountain."
"How is that villa?"
"I heard that the steward in charge changed the plants from before and purchased many Qing lotuses from the Yunqin Country. They were nurtured with the warm spring water from Yan Mountain, which attracted many visitors, and the business has been booming."
"Whether the business is good or not is secondary."
Xiao Jin touched the small flower in her palm and said casually, "The key is that when the Blood Rain Pavilion sends the third invitation, we should choose a place of our own to stay. Moreover, the location should be a little remote, and the defenses don't have to be too strict."
Jue Ge nodded, "If that's the case, that villa satisfies Your Highness's conditions." As Xiao Jin and Jue Ge spoke, they seemed to have thought of something, and put the flower back on the desk.
Then Xiao Jin smiled, "Summer is here, and there are lotus flowers in the village. It wouldn't be bad to row a boat and pick some lotus seeds with the princess."
"..."
Jue Ge was speechless.
Seeing her subordinate fall silent, Xiao Jin coughed and tried to make up for it, "I'm just joking."
However, Jue Ge's face was filled with disbelief.
Xiao Jin coughed again.
Jue Ge also started to make up for Xiao Jin, "Indeed, if Your Highness takes the princess to the village for a trip and the news is spread, and Blood Rain Pavilion doesn't come, it would be strange."
The conversation turned, and he said again, "However, Your Highness, forgive me for being blunt."
"You may speak."
"I always feel that the people of Blood Rain Pavilion are not good people. Moreover, the people behind them seem to be very powerful."
"They dared to assassinate important officials of the court, relying on the support of someone behind them, and that's why they are so confident. And now, Blood Rain Pavilion is being so attentive to the Yan Mansion, which is very strange."
Xiao Jin agreed with Jue Ge's point of view, "This analysis is very reasonable."
"However, whether or not Blood Rain Pavilion's intentions are true or false, it doesn't matter to me."
Jue Ge was a bit confused, "Why, Your Highness?"
Xiao Jin said, "Since it's a business discussion, sincerity is good enough. As for what they want, if their people don't say it, we won't know, and there's no need to investigate."
"If Blood Rain Pavilion has any ulterior motives, we don't need to do anything, and they will reveal their true intentions."
Jue Ge suddenly realized, "Your Highness is wise."
It wasn't really that wise.
She just didn't understand the motivation behind Blood Rain Pavilion's behavior and decided to wait and see for the time being.
Xiao Jin didn't explain too much, and said to Jue Ge, "Now, I want to see someone."
"Who do you want to see?"
"Shen Lan." Xiao Jin lowered her eyes, put the flower back in her palm, "I want to meet him."
...
In a dark room, a few candles were lit.
The sound of the rolling wheels grew louder, and the candle shadows flickered, swaying on the walls.
Shen Lan was chained to an iron frame and, hearing the noise, struggled to raise her head and look over.
She saw Xiao Jin on the wheelchair, stared at her for a long time, and then started coughing violently.
As she coughed, blood flowed from her lips. But, probably due to the excessive bleeding, her blood was not thick at this moment, and the color was already very light.
Xiao Jin watched everything coldly, her fingers slightly moving as she caressed the small flower in her palm, but did not say a word.
After Shen Lan's cough subsided for a while, Xiao Jin asked in a calm voice, "Now that you have fallen to this point, do you want to kill me?"
Shen Lan replied with hatred, "Whether it's for myself or for Yao Country, I should kill you."
"Is that so, Master Shen Lan? If that's the case, I should be even more worried and should send you back."
"If you go back and then come to assassinate me, won't I be digging my own grave and jumping in?"
Shen Lan sneered, "You know it's true. Why don't you just kill me now and avoid future trouble?"
"Eliminating future trouble does sound reasonable," Xiao Jin said as she looked at Shen Lan, but then she smiled. "However, have you ever heard of elephants being too scared of mice to move forward?"
"Or have you ever heard of eagles being too afraid of ants to fly into the sky?"
Shen Lan laughed mockingly, "Elephants are too big to even see mice. Eagles fly in the sky and probably haven't even seen what ants look like. Why should they be afraid?"
Xiao Jin fell silent.
Looking at it this way, Shen Lan's response was indeed very poor, and he was not impressed.
After a moment, Shen Lan still hadn't reacted.
Xiao Jin sighed, "Really, it's like a summer insect trying to talk about ice."
Hearing this, Shen Lan was stunned for a moment.
It was only then that she realized what he meant and angrily said, "Xiao Jin! Who do you think you are? If it weren't for being born into the royal family of Qi Country, relying on the power of others, and acting tyrannically, with your character, you would have been killed many times by now."
She agreed with what she said.
Xiao Jin agreed with her words, "You're right."
"Master Shen Lan, your brother, Shen Lang, at least had a name in the book because of Shen Ronglian's glory."
"As a nameless passerby, you naturally have nothing to fear and act arrogantly. Anyway, you don't take up much space, and you think you're always right."
Although Shen Lan didn't understand what Xiao Jin was talking about, she understood that what he said was not a compliment.
Frustrated, Shen Lan could only utter, "Xiao Jin, you..."
However, Xiao Jin was already tired of this pointless conversation and interrupted Shen Lan, saying, "Alright, Master Shen Lan, stop with the empty words. I, at least, have the fortune to use other people's power to my advantage, but what about you?"
"What about me?" Shen Lan asked.
Xiao Jin gave him a glance and said, "You're locked up here. I just hope that you can accept your identity as a prisoner and stop speaking nonsense."
"That's useless, and it sounds stupid," Shen Lan retorted.
When it came to verbal attacks, Shen Lan was no match for Xiao Jin. His face turned red, and he struggled to find the right words to say. He was so angry that he could hardly breathe.
"And it's also very cliché, lacking in originality," Xiao Jin added.
Upon hearing this, Shen Lan was completely unable to speak.
Perhaps it was because the air in the dark room was too bloody and stuffy.
Yin Zhu quietly entered the room, carrying a small carved incense burner, and placed it in the corner.
She said to Xiao Jin, "Your Highness, light some incense and dissipate the bloody smell."
Xiao Jin looked at Yin Zhu and nodded slightly.
Thin smoke rose from the incense burner, and the fragrance was light and elegant, dispelling some of the bloodiness in the room.
At this point, all of Shen Lan's attention was drawn to Xiao Jin, so he didn't even notice the sudden appearance of incense in the room.
Even if he did notice, he probably wouldn't have thought much of it.
After all, nobles like Xiao Jin always avoided the smell of blood and decay.
It was not surprising to Shen Lan that Xiao Jin would light incense during an interrogation.
Yin Zhu had already left the room.
The descendants of princes and nobles have always avoided the bloody and foul smells. Xiao Jin would light incense during interrogations and he did not find it strange.
The silver and vermilion colors have faded away.
Xiao Jin smelled the lingering fragrance in the dark room and spoke lightly, "Master Shen Lan, let's talk about business now."
"Prince Yan, do you think there is anything left to say between us?"
Xiao Jin's tone was gentle, "Now, I won't mention the things you don't want to answer, but I just want to ask some ordinary questions."
Shen Lan didn't know what Xiao
Jin wanted to ask.
However, after being interrogated by Ye Suyu for several days, he felt a bit tired now.
His thoughts had also slowed down and for a while, he forgot to respond to Xiao Jin's words.
Xiao Jin wasn't surprised by Shen Lan's silence.
She asked while touching the small flower in her palm, "Is there still any gu poison in Chu Shao's body?"
Normally, Shen Lan would not answer such a question.
However, upon hearing Chu Shao's name, he was silent for a moment and moved his lips to answer, "There is none left."
Xiao Jin asked again, "I heard that the pharmacology of gu poison is extremely complicated and there is no clear antidote. Since there is no cure, how was it removed?"
Shen Lan showed a strange expression on his face.
Instead of directly answering the question about removing gu poison, he sneered, "For this kind of thing, you have to ask the National Teacher under the Nine Springs."
"After the empress was dethroned, Chu Shao was raised by Nan Jin. Her poison was also removed by Nan Jin."
Xiao Jin remembered Nan Jin's crazy appearance and had a hunch that she wasn't good at taking care of children.
At best, she might be a little better than the empress.
After learning this, for some reason, Xiao Jin felt a little stuffy and uncomfortable.
Suppressing this sense of stuffiness, she didn't ask about Chu Shao anymore and turned to ask, "After the country was destroyed, Nan Jin committed suicide. How did Shen Ronglian die?"
In the fragments of memory, Tang Ling had said that Shen Ronglian had been disfigured and died a miserable death.
But Xiao Jin always felt that there was more to it than that.
Nan Jin learned of Ronglian's death a year after it happened.
At that time, Tang Ling had not yet revealed her undercover identity.
Nan Jin was still fighting in battles and had not been shot by that poisoned arrow.
Even if Tang Ling had hidden it, at that time, the emperor and empress wouldn't dare to act rashly and directly kill Shen Ronglian to stabilize Nan Jin, who was leading troops to war.
Shen Lan seemed to remember something and his expression became a little trance-like.
His voice was very low, describing a picture.
Shen Lan said it was the coldest day in the year, during the winter of the first lunar month, in the palace of Yao Country, they were celebrating the Lantern Festival.
He followed Shen Lang, taking deep and shallow steps as they walked towards the direction of the Liuli Palace.
Shen Lang carried an nameless sword and told him that regardless, Rong Lian was their sister and always a member of the Shen family.
He explained that Rong Lian did not return with them last time because she knew even if she returned to the Shen family village, she could not become a disciple of Tianya Sect or be Shen Ronglian again.
He also mentioned that when Nan Jin retaliated against the Shen family village, she only had one sword on her, but still insisted on protecting them even though she knew she couldn't hold on for long.
Shen Lang looked at Shen Lan and said firmly, "Although Rong Lian has harmed the Shen family village, she did not break the Shen family village's spirit."
He continued, "Rong Lian is a member of the Shen family village, and she is also my sister Shen. Now that the people say that the empress has harmed the concubines, I cannot let her continue to stay in the palace."
In winter, the snow fluttered down from the sky.
The two of them pushed open the vermilion gate and entered the Liuli Palace, facing the broken white snow.
In the distance, at the palace banquet, elegant music arose.
The grand hall was resplendent with gold and jade, and the young princes and princesses held hands and sang songs to the accompaniment of music.
The hymns were solemn and pure, echoing in the wind and snow, like the moment when a shaman knelt and prayed.
In a small courtyard of the Liuli Palace, Shen Lan looked at the scene in front of her, and her hands and feet became cold.
The fine snow fluttered around her, creating a holy and pure white world.
However, a patch of blood had splashed onto the stone slabs.
A woman in blue clothes with silver sleeves lay quietly in the pure white snow, with her back covered in blood, like a peacock cruelly strangled.
Her hair was white and covered her face, and through the fluttering veil, Shen Lan could only see the silver-blue petals splashed on her shoulders, stained with blood.
Those beautiful but ominous flowers bloomed resplendently on the corpse-like skin.
The petals that had fallen like snow and silk seemed to cover up all the dirt and ugliness.
Just then, a blood-stained dagger hit the snow.
All the ugliness surfaced again.
The little princess stood in the snow, looking down at the red splashes in the white snow, with no sadness in her eyes, only a smile that was exceptionally gentle on her lips.
It was at this moment, Shen Lan finally realized that the fatal wound on the body on the ground was pierced through the heart.
It was a swift and sharp blade that could penetrate and withdraw quickly, splashing blood everywhere.
When the blade reaches such a level of speed, the dying person may not even feel pain and will just stop breathing.
The little princess was standing in place with blood on her sleeve after throwing away the dagger, looking at them with a gentle expression that had not yet faded.
With a smile on her lips, she said softly to them, "You've come."
There was no surprise, as if everything was expected.
The sword in Shen Lang's hand was trembling as he asked, "You, killed Rong Lian?"
The little princess nodded and said gently, "Just now, Mother wanted to strangle me, but after a while, she let go."
"She looked very painful, staring at my eyes, begging me to kill her."
"She said that living was worse than being tortured to death, and death was the only release."
"So, I helped her."
Shen Lang and Shen Lan were speechless.
The princess Shao had a deep red mark around her neck, but she seemed unable to feel any pain.
However, because the blood on her wrist was gradually becoming cold, she felt a little sad and said, "It's already lost its warmth so quickly."
Tears rolled down her chin and dripped onto the silver-blue petals stained with blood.
A water mark was left behind.
Beautiful things were shattered, and snow began to fall in the palace, pure and white.
Shen Lang didn't know why Princess Shao was crying, he just murmured, "Chu Shao, Rong Lian was your mother, how could you... how could you dare to kill her..."
Princess Shao did not respond to Shen Lang's words.
She reached out her hand and, as if afraid of disturbing someone, raised her bloodstained fingertips to her lips, making a motion of silence.
"Shh, don't speak."
"My mother, she's already asleep."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator's note: WHAT!?. Sigh... Chu Shao is definitely crazy!.
TO BE CONTINUE...