As night fell, the bright yellow tent in the center still had lights on.
Emperor Qi lay on the bed, looking weakly at his two sons who were taking care of him inside the tent.
After coughing twice, he spoke with a weak and feeble voice, "I just didn't sleep well last night and caught a cold. It's nothing serious."
The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince exchanged a glance and were about to bow and say a few more words, but Emperor Qi waved his hand impatiently, "There's no need to say more. Standing here in front of me is of no use. Doctor Zhang has already prescribed medicine, it's late at night, you should retire now."
Before leaving, Emperor Qi suddenly called out to the Crown Prince, "Yu'er, has Princess Zhao Yang arrived yet?"
The Crown Prince turned around and looked at the Emperor whose face was hidden in the candlelight, then replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, Princess Zhao Yang yang arrived earlier."
"Oh, she's already here," Emperor Qi rubbed the Buddhist beads on his wrist and looked towards the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince standing at the tent entrance. He coughed twice again, "Princess Zhao Yang is your aunt, now that she has arrived, as nephews, you should go and pay your respects to her."
The Fifth Prince smiled, "Father, don't worry. Princess Zhao Yang has just arrived at Changfeng Weichang Hunting Grounds, and I invited my elder brother to go with me to pay respects to her."
Emperor Qi's face showed little expression as he nodded, "The Crown Prince is thoughtful."
"Your Majesty flatters us, we dare not accept it," the Crown Prince bowed respectfully, declining the compliment. He looked at Emperor Qi and asked warmly, "Is there anything else Your Majesty needs? Both Cheng’er and I are willing to share your worries."
Emperor Qi looked at the Crown Prince for a while before averting his gaze. He didn't reply immediately, but turned his head to look at the bows and arrows and horse whips on the weapon rack, and sighed, "I remember many years ago when Taizong also went hunting here. However, at that time, I was just an unfavored prince, my riding and archery were not good, and I annoyed Taizong for no reason."
The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince knew it was not appropriate to interrupt, so they stood respectfully and listened.
"But Princess Zhao Yang is different. She excels in both civil and martial arts, and her riding and archery are also outstanding," Emperor Qi squinted and raised his finger to point at the heavy bows and arrows on the weapon rack, "The bows and arrows she used back then were much heavier than these, and as a weak woman, she hunted a cart full of game."
The Fifth Prince praised, "Princess Zhao Yang is indeed a heroine among women, and I am amazed."
The fifth prince spoke up in praise: "Princess Zhaoyang is truly a heroine among women, and I am in awe."
"Yes, Princess Zhao Yang was the most favored princess by Emperor Taizong. If it weren't for her being born a woman, I'm afraid I wouldn't be sitting in this position today."
Upon hearing this, both the Crown Prince and the fifth prince were speechless.
Emperor Qi seemed to realize that what he said was difficult to continue. He turned to the Crown Prince and said, "Please ask Princess Zhao Yang to come here and say...the medicinal herbs she sent me a few days ago were excellent, and I want to thank her in person."
The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "I will comply with your order."
Inside the Emperor Qi's tent was a four-legged lion-shaped incense burner on a tripod. The smoke rising from the burner was very light and faint, like a few strands of silver spring water flowing down from a mountain stream.
Agarwood has the effect of concentrating the mind and calming the spirit.
Emperor Qi sniffed the faint fragrance, closed his eyes, and remembered a distant past.
When the Emperor Qi opened his eyes again, Xiao Shuang was already standing beside the incense burner, moving a few steps and adding a few scoops of incense powder with a silver spoon.
Her movements were very casual, but the amount of incense powder she added was just right, the amount the Emperor Qi usually used.
Emperor Qi was taken aback: "When did Princess come? Why didn't the guards outside notify me?"
"Your Majesty, it's not the fault of the guards." Xiao Shuang smiled faintly, her tone light. "It's just that it's quiet inside, and I guessed that Your Majesty might be resting, so I didn't ask them to announce me."
"Since it's your intention, then I won't pursue their fault." Emperor Qi nodded, but his hand didn't stop caressing the Buddhist beads on his wrist.
Xiao Shuang put down the silver spoon, looked up at Emperor Qi, and said, "Your Majesty is gracious."
Emperor Qi didn't respond to Xiao Shuang's words, he just asked her to take a seat.
Xiao Shuang casually chose a seat and sat down. As soon as she sat down, the maidservant brought over a lot of medicinal herbs.
At the same time, she didn't forget to introduce the origin of the medicine to Emperor Qi: "The Prince of Yan heard that Your Majesty had contracted a cold, and wanted to come and visit you. But she herself has a leg disability and cannot move easily, so she could only send some medicine to show filial piety."
Emperor Qi looked at the medicinal herbs on the table and nodded, "Jin'er is considerate. She sent medicine just two hours ago, and now she's sending it again."
Xiao Shuang furrowed her brows slightly.
Emperor Qi had just fallen ill and immediately sent for medicine. This was not something that Xiao Jin would typically do.
Xiao Shuang could only speculate that through experiencing these events, Xiao Jin had probably matured a lot. .
Seeing Xiao Shuang silent, Emperor Qi stopped playing with his Buddhist beads and began to chat on his own: "Over the years, I have been taking the medicine that Sister has found for me. I always remember the care and concern that Sister showed me in the past."
"However, now that I am getting older, I occasionally catch a cold and feel a bit inadequate."
"If Your Majesty, in the prime of his life, feels old, then I really don't know how to describe myself."
Xiao Shuang's expression did not change as she calmly said, "Moreover, Your Majesty has caught a cold and needs to rest well. One must not rush in treating an illness."
Emperor Qi seemed a bit tired and rubbed his forehead, saying, "Then I will borrow Sister's kind words."
There was nothing else to say at this point, but Emperor Qi looked at the wooden hairpin in Xiao Shuang's hair and suddenly asked, "What do you think of Cheng'er?"
Xiao Cheng was the fifth prince who had just returned victorious from a battle in Quzhao Country.
So when Emperor Qi asked Xiao Shuang this kind of question at this time, it seemed a bit strange.
Xiao Shuang said indifferently, "Cheng'er is talented in both literature and martial arts, filial, and intelligent. Naturally, he is very good."
Emperor Qi, who was still ill, showed a relieved smile on his face. "The boy is just a young calf, how can he live up to Sister's praise."
"Cheng'er is a rare good child, he can certainly live up to it." Xiao Shuang gave a high evaluation, then suddenly changed the subject, "It's a pity that Cheng'er's birth mother wasn't of good standing. She didn't raise Cheng'er for more than a few years before she passed away.
This child is so clever, but unfortunately his fate... is really bitter."
Emperor Qi knew that Xiao Shuang was saying that although the fifth prince had exceptional qualities, he was still far from being able to compete with the crown prince."This child's fate is indeed not very good."
He looked at Xiao Shuang and casually asked, "What about Jin'er?"
Although the incense has the effect of concentrating one's mind, at this moment, the atmosphere in the tent was obviously not calm, and even became somewhat eerie due to Xiao Shuang's silence.
After a long time, Xiao Shuang seemed to remember something interesting, and smiled slightly, "Compared to Jin'er, Cheng'er's background is much better."
Emperor Qi pondered for a moment and did not answer.
Xiao Shuang narrowed her eyes and watched the smoke rising from the furnace.
Her tone became light and airy: "On the day that Jin'er's biological mother was giving birth, an assassin sneaked into the palace and she died of fright and hemorrhage."
"Jin'er was lucky to survive the incident, but unfortunately, she was secretly plotted against during the Yao Country rebellion and developed a debilitating disease in her legs, which has never been cured. It seems that her life may be more bitter than Cheng'er's."
Emperor Qi held a porcelain bowl filled with medicine and took a sip or two. "I already know all of this."
Xiao Shuang replied indifferently: "Yes, everyone in the palace knew about it."
Upon mentioning this matter, Emperor Qi looked tired. "Sister, that matter is in the past... Over these years, whenever I think of Jin'er's mother, I always feel guilty."
"Guilty?" Xiao Shuang chuckled and shook her head. "Your Majesty is the emperor, what fault is there for you? Why should you feel guilty?"
The saying goes, "Words that don't match are more than half untrue," which probably applies to Xiao Shuang and Emperor Qi.
Seeing that there was nothing more to discuss, Emperor Qi didn't intend to force the conversation and decided to let each other go: "Alright, it's already late at night, and I don't want to disturb Sister's peaceful sleep."
He stood up, took the carved bow from the weapon rack, and coughed twice. "I just saw this bow and remembered that when I was weak and sickly and not favored by Taizong, Sister never despised me for being young and taught me archery, telling me that it's important to have goals in life."
"Sister's teachings have always been in my heart, and I never forget them."
Xiao Shuang frowned and reminisced for a moment before calmly saying, "Your Majesty doesn't need to keep this in mind. At that time, you and Prince Shen were both my younger brothers. I treated all of my siblings the same way."
Emperor Qi was briefly stunned before smiling and putting the bow back on the rack. "I understand, Sister has always been kind."
Xiao Shuang didn't care whether Emperor Qi was being sarcastic or not.
Seeing that the incense in the furnace was about to burn out, she touched the crane pattern on her sleeve and stood up. "It's getting late. Your Majesty should rest well."
Xiao Shuang's intention to leave was clear.
However, Emperor Qi looked at her vermilion figure and slowly said, "Sister, don't forget that Jin'er's body not only carries the blood of the Qi imperial family but also the blood of an enemy country."
It seemed as if the wind had stopped blowing, and the candlelight stopped flickering.
Xiao Shuang stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around. With her back to Emperor Qi, she replied coldly, "So what?"
Emperor Qi remained silent for a while before saying, "Sister, sometimes what you do may not be what Jin'er wants."
Xiao Shuang sneered, "No one is born knowing what they want, and no one can get what they want just because they want it. Jin'er is like this, the Emperor is like this, and this palace is the same."
With that, she tossed her sleeve and walked out of the tent without looking back.
....
The next day, the palace's nobles and officials arrived one after another. The sky was high and the clouds were wide, and the cavalry in silver armor entered the field in order.
A gust of wind blew, causing the flags in their hands to flutter and sway under the blue enamel sky.
Xiao Jin looked at the bright and colorful flags fluttering around and felt like it was the New Year. But the hot wind around her kept her sober. She couldn't celebrate the New Year, especially not in this heat.
Sitting at the table, she watched the cavalry stationed in the center, occasionally moving around, and thought that Emperor Qi's naval tactics were really clever.
What was clever was that everyone was gathered together like dumplings in the same pot and boiled together. No one could escape, and no one could survive.
Only Xiao Jin felt sad.
The others seemed to be very accustomed to this era without air conditioning. Fanning the already hot wind, they even had the mind to gossip, "Brother Chen, the two sitting next to the Emperor are the Prince Yan and the Fifth Prince."
"That's the Prince Yan? Earlier, I heard from Lord Lu that the Prince Yan had publicly drawn his knife and injured someone at a banquet. I thought she must look fierce and vicious, but now it seems that she is quite delicate. She just looks a little weak, not as arrogant and domineering as the rumors say."
"You don't know, ever since the Prince Yan contracted a leg disease, her temper has been restrained. Although she seems no different from usual, her temperament... is still much better than the one locked up in the Ancestral Hall."
Xiao Jin was far away from them seat and naturally couldn't hear these words.
However, Chu Shao, who was sitting next to her, could hear them clearly and even had a slight curve on her lips.
In Chu Shao's opinion, these ministers were all insignificant people, so what they were saying was just idle chatter.
But when these uninteresting topics were vaguely related to Xiao Jin, they became especially clear and meaningful to her, regardless of whether they were good or bad. Chu Shao liked this feeling very much. Although only Xiao Jin's name was clear to her, she was still satisfied.
This hunting party was originally a muddy water pond to her.
For her, the people involved in it, whether they fell into it or sank into it, were like muddy dirt melting in the water.
Everything was quiet, even lacking in originality. But now it was different. A gem was hidden in the mud, and the whole dirty pool seemed to be shining.
While Chu Shao was lost in thought, Xiao Jin's attention was drawn to a sentence spoken by Prince Shen.
Even in such a situation, Prince Shen was still not very cautious.
He shook his fan and said to Princess Zhao Hua beside him, "Sister Zhao Hua, do you know who that woman sitting next to the crown prince is? I looked at her from afar and she seems a bit unfamiliar."
Princess Zhao Hua didn't want to pay attention to Prince Shen at all and coldly replied, "Brother, you also know that is the woman sitting next to the crown prince. It's strange if you find her familiar."
This remark hit the nail on the head, not only leaving Prince Shen speechless but also causing even the women present to cover their mouths and laugh, saying, "It's not surprising that Prince Shen finds her unfamiliar. Even we women think that the girl is exceptionally beautiful, a rare beauty to behold."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin began to doubt. After all, the book's beauty ceiling was right there with her.
With Chu Shao present, she really couldn't believe that anyone could claim to be exceptionally beautiful under the absolute crushing blow.
So Xiao Jin lifted her head, slightly turned to look towards the crown prince. And when she looked, she was instantly stunned, because the person next to the crown prince looked so much like
... Chu Shao.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator's note: "Oh! Another yandere? Este... Chu Shao?!" Who's more beautiful, the original or the replica? 🤭😆 Who cares, I love Chu Shao more.
And... hmmm... Xiao Jin, don't look too much. The yandere is beside you; she might get jealous again and attempt to kill someone! 😆😆😆
TO BE CONTINUE...