Chapter 73

In fact, Yiling kept saying how much she hated the Crown Prince, but deep down she was convinced he wouldn’t die.

After all, he was a royal heir. Even if she did die at his hands, could it be that the Emperor would allow his own son to pay for her life?

Moreover, the enmity between her and the Crown Prince had not yet been revealed. In the Emperor’s eyes, the Crown Prince’s only crime was ruining the Luo Tian Great Ceremony, which, while a serious mistake, certainly didn’t deserve death.

So Yiling simply thought that since he wouldn’t die, he should be kept imprisoned for a longer period, enduring more suffering. Ideally, he’d never see the light of day again.

But Yiling knew that was also wishful thinking. Even without today’s queen mother’s plea, in a few years, the Emperor would surely consider family ties and release him.

And all he had lost was the hope of inheriting the throne. The rest of his life would still be one of wealth and honor, a royal existence above all others.

If one day someone handed her a knife and told her to kill the Crown Prince to vent her anger, would she dare?

Of course, she wouldn’t dare!

It wasn’t because she was physically weak, but because she had grown up in a family of officials. The closer one was to the royal family, the clearer their power became. She knew well that she was merely an ant, unable to stand up to them.

But now, Xie Hengzhi had killed the Crown Prince.

So decisively and cleanly that Yiling wouldn’t have dared to imagine it so simple and direct, even in her dreams.

She looked at Xie Hengzhi, who sat calmly in the carriage, and it suddenly struck her that he had already stepped to the edge of a cliff, and with even the slightest misstep, he could fall into an abyss.

“Will it be discovered?”

She asked.

Seeing the worry in her eyes, Xie Hengzhi’s gaze shifted slightly.

For a moment, an impulse surged within him. He wanted to ask if she was worried about him or if she was concerned that he might be implicated.

But in the end, he didn’t ask. He simply said with certainty, “It won’t. He was already bound to die. I’ve only brought that day forward.”

In the cool spring night, Yiling broke into a fine sweat.

Hearing Xie Hengzhi’s answer, she finally let out a full breath.

The next moment, in the quiet, cramped carriage, she heard Xie Hengzhi ask, “Do you feel relieved?”

It was a simple question, but Yiling realized that something deep inside her heart had surfaced a secret sense of satisfaction that contradicted her deeply ingrained fear over the past twenty years, now taking root and growing in her body.

Just then, the night breeze swept into the carriage through the window, causing Yiling to shiver.
She quickly turned her face away, staring at the dark buildings outside, but her heart trembled uncontrollably.

From then on, she didn’t speak again.

The group returned to the residence quietly, moving in silence as they entered the quarters. 

Once the door closed, Yiling immediately collapsed onto the couch.

Still unable to regain her composure, Li Chun’s voice came from outside the door.

Seeing Xie Hengzhi about to go out, Yiling hurriedly stood up and asked, “Is something wrong?”

So, Xie Hengzhi didn’t go out but instead called Li Chun in.

At the table, Li Chun opened a black package, revealing two small paper figures with arrows stuck in their chests.

No explanation was needed. Upon seeing the names written on the chest of the two paper figures, Yiling immediately understood what they were.

“We found three paper figures in total. I quietly took these two, leaving the one with the Crown Prince’s name on it. I didn’t touch anything else.”

Xie Hengzhi nodded, then proceeded to lift the lamp shade.

Watching as the two paper figures turned to ashes in the candlelight, Yiling felt that the fear of the Crown Prince’s death that had been in her heart seemed to be burned away as well.

Gazing at the flickering candlelight, she could only be thankful that Xie Hengzhi hadn’t allowed him to walk out alive.

Inside the Taiyi Palace.

Emperor Renle’s mood that night could be described as one of constant turmoil.

Under the pressure of those around him, he had released the Crown Prince, which eased the frustration weighing on his heart these past few days.

However, before the imperial edict could even be issued, he had already received the news that the Crown Prince had drowned in a lake.

He even doubted if he had heard wrong and refused to believe that his son had simply disappeared like this.

It wasn’t until the queen began crying, lamenting how the Crown Prince had been unable to endure and how, even though he was so close to being freed, he had tragically died just a few hours short, that Emperor Renle was plunged into a sudden wave of regret.

Could it be that he had been too heartless, driving his own son to death?

But soon he learned that the Crown Prince hadn’t taken his own life.

During his confinement, the Crown Prince had relied on daily doses of Five Stone Powder to alleviate the frustration and anger in his heart.

It turned out that the queen mother’s so-called display of repentance in winter, by wearing only a single layer of clothing, was simply because she had to dissipate the heat from the Five Stone Powder.

Recently, his use of the powder had escalated, and by today, he had completely lost control. After ingesting a dangerous amount, his mind became disoriented, and he cried out “so hot, so hot” before jumping into the lake.

The Emperor’s brief moment of self-blame immediately vanished.

But after all, it was still his eldest son who had met such a tragic end, and that fact still pained him deeply.

Before he could fully process the sorrow, the Imperial Guards presented several items—paper figures bearing the Crown Prince’s name, a set of arrows and lanterns, and a book titled Seven Arrows of the Nail Head.

This… What is this?

Before Emperor Renle could react, the queen, standing beside him, gasped in surprise.

“Witchcraft! Your Majesty… the Crown Prince actually used witchcraft to curse the Crown Prince!”

After calming the Emperor, the queen finally left the Taiyi Palace.

She didn’t take a palanquin but instead chose to walk back to the palace.

The palace attendants, noticing her somber expression and the silence surrounding her, tried to console her: “Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. There’s no such thing as supernatural forces in this world. The Crown Prince is fine, and this shows that witchcraft is nothing to be taken seriously.”

Seeing that the queen still had a stern look on her face, one of the attendants added, “Moreover, His Royal Highness is now in control of all matters, and His Majesty is pleased with him. The Crown Prince has killed himself, and the palace is left with nothing more than the insignificant Fifth Prince. The future is secure.”

The Fifth Prince has killed himself.

If he had truly wanted to destroy everything, he wouldn’t have been holed up in his mansion using witchcraft.

He had hoped for the Crown Prince’s death so that the Emperor would release him.

Only Xie Hengzhi had the motive and the courage to act.

Though the Crown Prince’s death was, of course, beneficial to the queen, she could not stand seeing Xie Hengzhi take matters into his own hands.

For years, she had endured his actions, even swallowing the grievances her own daughter had suffered at his hands.

Now, he had grown even bolder, daring to kill a prince.

It seemed it was time to plot his removal.

Rather than going through elaborate schemes, the queen preferred to repay him in kind.

A short while later.

The queen, her gaze dark and focused on the road ahead, quietly spoke: “Ask Xiao Mi to see me.”

Fifteen minutes later, inside the long-abandoned Hehuan Palace, the queen stood by a pond behind a rock garden, gazing at the reflection of the moon in the water.

If the water hadn’t reflected a figure, she would not have noticed anyone leaping from the rock garden.

Not wanting to face Xiao Mi’s terrifying scarred face, the queen didn’t turn around but spoke to him without looking: “Your time for vengeance has come.”

Before the person behind her could respond, she added, “But you mustn’t act rashly. Wait for the right moment, and I will let you strike.”

After a pause, she seemed to think of something and turned to face him, saying, “If you can’t find a breakthrough, focus on his wife. It seems he cares greatly for that woman. She might be his weak point.”

Because the Crown Prince died due to an overdose of Five Stone Powder, which caused him to lose control of his mind, the cause of his death was never made public, thus sparing the imperial family from further disgrace.

When it was also discovered that he had used witchcraft to curse his brother, the Emperor’s anger over the Crown Prince’s death had long since overshadowed his sorrow. He was so enraged that he stayed in bed for three days, leaving the matter to the Crown Prince to handle.

The Crown Prince, realizing that if he declared the Crown Prince’s death to be from illness, people would still think the Emperor had treated his son harshly, decided to announce that the Crown Prince had moved to Queming Mountain to pray for the country and would not return to the capital until no more natural disasters occurred.

After some time, they would release the news of his death from illness on Queming Mountain, so there would be no fear of gossip.

Thus, aside from the imperial family, only the people in the Xie family knew of the Crown Prince’s death.

Even so, Yiling hid in the mansion for several days, waiting until the matter had been conclusively settled before daring to step out of the Xie family estate.

Yet, despite the clear weather for the past few days, it began to rain on that spring afternoon.

Having been cooped up for so long, Yiling didn’t want to return home just because of a sudden downpour, so she instructed the carriage driver to change direction.

Soon, the carriage stopped outside a teahouse in Liqin Garden.

There weren’t many places to go on a rainy day, and ordinary people couldn’t even enter Liqin Garden.

When Yiling entered, her maid and bodyguards followed behind, and there were few other customers in the main hall.

However, the private rooms on the second floor were all closed, indicating that many people had come today to enjoy the rain.

After Yiling sat down, Mallow closed the private room door. As she turned around, she suddenly remembered something.

“Madam, I forgot to tell someone to go buy the golden pastry just now!”
 
In the neighboring private room.

Martial artists have particularly sharp hearing, and for someone like Xiao Mi, even a wall was no barrier. It didn’t affect his ability to hear every word spoken by the two women in the next room.

When he overheard them mentioning going to buy golden pastries soon, Xiao Mi turned his tea cup in his hand, thinking to himself that even Xie Hengzhi’s wife, who was renowned all over the world, could not escape the common taste for such street snacks.

However, the mention of golden pastries brought back a flood of memories for Xiao Mi.

In the silence of the neighboring room, Xiao Mi gazed out the window at the distant, decaying Duke Dingyuan’s manor.

Back then, he was still a promising noble youth in the capital, with limitless potential. He would ride his horse to the East Market to buy a pack of golden pastries and bring them to his childhood sweetheart, his fiancée, just to see her smile.

Now, nearly six years had passed.

His appearance was ruined, he was living under a false name, and every day was filled with hatred.

And his fiancée had died in Qingyang; her body lost to time.

Only Xie Hengzhi had risen to prominence, calling the shots in the capital.

Thinking of this, Xiao Mi clenched his fist, and a dull sound echoed from his hand. He raised his gaze once more towards the window, and the fragments of the porcelain cup fell to the ground, their sound drowned out by the rain.

At that moment, the innkeeper brought in tea and snacks for the room next door.

Xiao Mi crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and quietly listened to their movements.

There was a “thud” as a careless maid knocked over the tea.

“Madam, are you burned? I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine.”

The woman said calmly, “If the tea is spilled, it means peace. Pour me another cup.”

Xiao Mi suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed.

He slowly turned around and stared at the wall. When he focused all his attention on listening, his ears would twitch slightly.

“Spilling the tea means peace.”

Wasn’t that the saying his late fiancée had made up?