Indoors during the night shift.
A maid carried freshly brewed tea and presented a small tea tray to Chu Shao and Shangguan Xun.
Chu Shao took the tea cup and said to Shangguan Xun, "Master Shangguan, please have a seat."
"Thank you, Princess. I am honored to comply," Shangguan Xun smiled and took a seat.
After serving the tea, the maid excused herself.
The room was now silent with only Shangguan Xun and Chu Shao present, both sipping their tea with gentle smiles.
For a while, there was complete silence.
Finally, Chu Shao placed her tea cup on the table and broke the silence.
She smiled but looked puzzled, "Master Shangguan, how come you came alone? What about the gift you mentioned earlier?"
Shangguan Xun looked at Chu Shao's slightly furrowed brows and felt an invisible pressure despite her gentle demeanor.
He smiled mysteriously and said, "Before presenting this gift, have you heard of a rumor about Yao Country?"
Chu Shao was not interested in rumors and smiled softly as she asked, "Rumors are as numerous as flying catkins in the world, too many to count. If Master Shangguan does not speak, how would I know?"
Seeing that the other party was straightforward and not willing to give him an out, Shangguan Xun could only cover up his embarrassment with a folding fan and tell the story of the rumor he had mentioned earlier.
The rumor was that when Prince Yan led her troops to attack Yao Country, the new emperor Chu Yu learned that the Qi army was approaching fiercely and unstoppably.
He sighed and wept, then split the imperial seal into two parts.
Chu Yu handed the right seal to Marquis of Pingcheng, who led Yao Country's elite soldiers and generals, along with the refugees fleeing the country, to a border area in the south to recuperate and await the opportunity to rise again.
To avoid detection by the country's national teacher, Chu Yu hid the other half of the seal in the sleeping quarters of the deposed Empress Ning.
Shangguan Xun leisurely said, "Some people say that before Marquis of Pingcheng led his troops to the south, Chu Yu made him swear an oath that the descendants of the Su family would serve and be loyal to the Chu family's descendants who held the left seal for generations."
"It's just a rumor," Chu Shao's expression did not change, still smiling lightly. "Besides, it is said that the Marquis of Pingcheng seems to have died before he arrived. The remaining refugees from the Yao Country, who now reside in the south, are all ruled by his descendants."
"The Princess guessed right. Now, the son of the Marquis of Pingcheng, Su Fu, has occupied the southeast and declared himself king. Many refugees from the Yao Country who were not captured have fled there," praised Shangguan Xun.
Chu Shao nodded slightly and said softly, "Master Shangguan has spoken so much, but in the end, what does it have to do with me?"
Shangguan Xun paused his fan motion and was quite surprised, "Princess, although you are now the wife of the Prince Yan, you still have the blood of the Yao Country royal family flowing in your veins. Don't you want to restore your country?"
Previously, when Chu Shao said that she did not love the Yao Country, Shangguan Xun thought it was just an excuse.
Now, looking at the indifferent smile on Chu Shao's face, he realized that it was probably the truth.
"Chu's blood?" Chu Shao seemed to hear something funny, and the smile on her lips became stronger. "Before Chu Yu bestowed the royal bloodline upon me, he never asked for my consent."
Shangguan Xun was momentarily stunned and had no idea what Chu Shao was talking about. But soon, he understood.
Chu Shao said in a gentle voice, "If Chu Yu had asked me, I would have told him that I don't like this kind of bloodline and he should choose someone else."
Chu Shao's perspective was too sharp, and her views were too novel.
Shangguan Xun had to carefully analyze each word for a long time before he could barely force out a bitter smile.
This task was too difficult. Talking to Chu Shao was extremely easy to be led astray, and he completely could not understand what this person was saying.
Since they were all talking past each other, Shangguan Xun decided to just go with the flow and said with a pat on his hand, "Although the Princess has no intention of restoring the country, she can't possibly have no intention of seeking revenge, right?"
......
After speaking, he raised his hand and clapped three times.
The sound of clapping was crisp and startled the birds perched on the eaves. The birds flapped their wings and flew away, disappearing into the vast night sky.
Inside the room, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard.
Unlike the slight sound of bamboo wheelchairs rolling over slate, this sound came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by the heavy vibration of metal collisions.
In front of Chu Shao eventually appeared two men wearing half-blood red masks and a massive object covered in black cloth.
Chu Shao sat on a chair, looking down with interest.
Supporting her chin, she gazed at the wheels made of dark iron under the black cloth, and smiled, "The Vice Master put a lot of effort into preparing a gift for me."
Shutting his fan, Shangguan Xun also smiled and said, "Since it's a gift for the Princess, it naturally has to be well prepared."
Chu Shao examined the black cloth for a long time. Then she turned her head and smiled at Shangguan Xun, "Master Shangguan, why is the Empress not speaking?"
Shangguan Xun raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So the Princess knows who is inside?"
"Your organization performed the play so absurdly, someone must have been guiding it from behind," Chu Shao said gently, as if discussing an unrelated matter, "The national teacher has died, so other than the Empress, who else could remember such boring details so clearly?"
Shangguan Xun was not particularly surprised that Chu Shao guessed the gift. He just found her nonchalant attitude somewhat amusing. "It turns out that in the eyes of the Princess, these are all boring details."
"But, I am only responsible for delivering the gift. As for the rest, it depends on you, Your Highness."
As he spoke, Shangguan Xun glanced at the two men. They immediately understood and pulled off the black cloth.
The moment the black cloth fell to the ground, Xiao Jin, who was hiding behind the screen, slightly widened her eyes.
...
Due to Ye Suyu's report to Xiao Jin yesterday, a group of suspicious individuals appeared in Qingzhou.
Coupled with Tang Ling and Tang Yu still being in the city, Xiao Jin was somewhat uneasy.
Therefore, before Shangguan Xun entered the room, she brought Ye Juege and quietly hid behind the screen.
Although it was supposed to be a quiet action, Chu Shao probably had already sensed their presence.
Therefore, she meticulously traced the ice crystal flower on her forehead in front of the bronze mirror.
At the same time, she also happily tied on her waist ornament.
It was not because she cherished her appearance.
She didn't usually care about her appearance.
But because there was someone behind the screen who was looking at her through the hollowed-out pattern, she felt a bit self-conscious.
However, at this moment, Xiao Jin was staring at the person imprisoned in the iron cage and was even hesitant to call her a "person".
After the black cloth fell, Xiao Jin's attention was completely focused on the person's face inside the cage.
The woman's face was covered with hideous scars as if a fish had been gutted.
Her dirty, tangled white hair was like a cobweb, and those outside the cage could only occasionally glimpse her lifeless eyes through the cracks.
The most unbearable thing for Xiao Jin was the sticky fluid oozing out of the festering wounds on her skin, which had a pungent odor and floating worms struggling in it.
The woman was like a broken puppet or a motionless plant that couldn't speak.
Her hands and feet were chained, and she was placed in the center of the iron cage.
Feeling uncomfortable, Xiao Jin moved her gaze away and looked at Chu Shao through the hollowed-out pattern.
Chu Shao didn't show any emotional fluctuations after witnessing the situation of the person in the cage.
There was no surprise or satisfaction.
Chu Shao stood up, and the ornaments on her waist jingled crisply.
She still wore a gentle smile on her lips, walked calmly, step by step, towards the foul-smelling cage.
Then she stopped and squatted down, gently gazing at the woman's twisted legs, and asked softly, "Since her legs have been broken, why chain her ankles with iron chains?"
Shangguan Xun smiled and explained, "Your Highness, the Empress's legs are still attached with gu worms despite being broken. Whenever the gu poison flares up, she goes crazy and hits the iron cage, smashing the flesh and skin of her legs. So the Vice Master simply locked her legs up."
Chu Shao nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Can she hear me talking now?"
"Under the erosion of gu poison, she cannot hear ordinary sounds, but if you get closer and speak louder, she can still hear it."
Chu Shao smiled and nodded, then stood up and walked a few steps closer.
Seeing the scars on Empress Ning's skin, Chu Shao knew that they were from Nan Jin repeatedly planting and extracting gu poison from her body in order to keep her alive.
The method used to save herself when she was summoned by Nan Jin and Empress Ning was exactly the same.
Thinking back to the sharp and profound pain she felt, Chu Shao's smile became even more joyful.
However, it was a pity that after that day, Nan Jin burned down the Empress's palace.
The magnificent gold and jade turned into thick smoke rising higher and higher.
Since then, Chu Shao had never again felt the pain that made her tremble all over.
Nowadays.
Chu Shao looked down at the woman trapped in the cage.
She raised her voice slightly and called out, "Empress Mother."
Hearing the familiar title, the person in the cage gradually focused her eyes and no longer appeared lifeless like before.
Her eyes rolled, and through the hair tangled on her face, she saw the smiling face.
Empress Ning's eyes were stunned for a moment.
Then, it was quickly replaced by madness and hatred.
Her thin fingers tightly grasped the iron cage, and her throat also overflowed with broken and unclear syllables.
Xiao Jin stayed behind the screen and listened to the hoarse and sneering voice.
After listening for a long time, she could vaguely hear that the other party seemed to be shouting the three words "Shen Rong Lian".
On the other side, Chu Shao didn't care what Empress Ning was shouting.
She lowered her eyes and looked at the crazy posture of the person in the cage, her smile still gentle and elegant.
She didn't even explain to the other party that she was not Shen Ronglian.
Chu Shao just leaned in and stood still.
With a faint smile on her lips, she said to Empress Ning, "Empress Mother, lift up your head, and then-"
"Look at me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator's note: Oh! She's alive?! I thought Nan Jin had killed her. By the way, Cocunbine Ning and Empress Ning are the same person. I also got confused, but I'm certain they are the same person who ruined Shen Ronglian's and Nan Jin's lives. And I'm too lazy to edit, so no more edits🙂.
TO BE CONTINUE...