Chapter 14

“You want money?” The masked man sounded incredulous, as if Zhao Mingzhu were some gold-digging temptress.

Zhao Mingzhu gave a light snort. “Hurry up. I need to get back to sleep.”

The man stared at her, gritting his teeth. “Aren’t you afraid our master will be angry?”

“If he’s angry, well, that’s not my problem.” Zhao Mingzhu spread her hands and pouted.

And so—

Zhao Mingzhu returned to the palace with five silver notes and a vial of Duanchang Powder. Humming a tune, she tucked the notes into her lockbox.

Just like the day before, she arrived much earlier than Gu Qingheng—and had already polished off all the desserts. She beat Chang He to the punch and said seriously, “Too much sugar causes impotence. Let me bear that burden for His Highness.”

Chang He’s face flushed red. Shameless…! He pretended not to hear.

Gu Qingheng sipped his clear broth, clearly aware that Zhao Mingzhu had uncovered some secrets. But that was fine. Secrets weren’t only kept by the dead.

After Zhao Mingzhu had eaten her fill, she saw Gu Qingheng still sipping his soup slowly. She glanced at the hourglass. “Your Highness, aren’t you going to court?”

Come to think of it, the Eastern Palace was unusually quiet—few people, no scheming servants or malicious attendants. It saved her a ton of trouble—truly the ideal retirement home.

Gu Qingheng glanced at the smile on her face and said dryly, “The Crown Princess seems quite pleased.”

Zhao Mingzhu nodded emphatically. Then, with sudden sincerity, she said, “Your Highness, I mean it—I’d trade ten years of my life for your peace and safety.”

Because only if he’s safe can her retirement home stay intact. As for those ten years, she might not even live that long. In the end, she’d just become a sacrificial offering to love.

Zhao Mingzhu shed silent tears for herself. She was determined to eat well, drink well, and play to her heart’s content—only then would she be treating herself right.

Gu Qingheng watched her, his lashes flickering slightly before he looked away.

“Alright, I’m done talking. I’m heading out to have some fun.” Zhao Mingzhu cheerfully grabbed her purse and left.

Chang He finally found the perfect moment to vent, “She’s gotten so good at acting! Slick talk, sweet words—she’s full of it.”

At the restaurant, Zhao Mingzhu pushed open the door. Sure enough, the masked man in black was already seated. Upon seeing her, he asked bluntly, “Did you use the Duanchang Powder?”

Zhao Mingzhu poured herself a cup of tea and downed it in one gulp—then kindly poured one for him.

“Mm-hmm. The body’s probably cold by now.”

“How can you prove it?”

The masked man gripped his teacup, suspicious. They’d been trying to take down Gu Qingheng for years without success, and Zhao Mingzhu managed it in one night?

Zhao Mingzhu replied with certainty: “Lying is your specialty, not mine.”

The man stared at her coldly. Slick and glib—whether she was telling the truth or not, he’d find out soon enough. No rush.

“Miss Zhao, why did you ambush me in the peach grove last time?”

Zhao Mingzhu gasped and covered her mouth. “I was ambushing Gu Yu! Don’t you know she and I are enemies?”

Of course, he knew. He drained his tea and prepared to leave.

“Miss Zhao, our master is furious with your failure. You’d better think carefully about how to—”

Suddenly, his vision darkened. He jerked his head and glared. “You drugged the tea?!”

“You… you wretched—so you really did betray us!” He staggered, bit his tongue, but still couldn’t clear his head. He raised his arm and dislocated it on the spot.

“Just a little,” Zhao Mingzhu said sweetly, inching toward the doorway. She offered a friendly warning: “If you don’t leave now, someone’s going to show up.”

No sooner had she spoken than she shrieked at full volume, “Help! Thief! Murder!”

The masked man turned to flee, but An Yun burst through the window: “Scoundrel! Prepare to die!”

Sword in hand, An Yun engaged him in combat. The man, already drugged and dizzy, couldn’t dodge properly and was quickly entangled.

An Yun had rushed over the moment she heard her sister was in danger—thankfully, she arrived just in time.

Zhao Mingzhu hid behind a flower vase. An Yun was her secret weapon, summoned to blow the whole thing wide open.

The masked man was already covered in wounds. Hearing footsteps on the restaurant’s outer corridor, he glared at Zhao Mingzhu with murderous hatred—he wanted to tear her apart. But in the end, he found an opening and leapt out the window to escape.

An Yun leaned out and shouted, “Catch him!”

Zhao Mingzhu watched his retreating figure and murmured, “You won’t catch him. If he’s shown up, it means there’s an army behind him.”

“You’re talking about a human being?” An Yun turned to look at her, then added, “Seriously—how did you end up entangled with him?”

Zhao Mingzhu had already prepared her story. She wiped away a tear, full of tragic flair: “They’re holding evidence of my past misdeeds, using it to blackmail me. They want me to harm the Crown Prince—or else they’ll ruin me. But I’d rather die than give in. That’s why I came today—to settle things once and for all!”

An Yun frowned. “Evidence of misdeeds? You got caught killing someone? Then what are we waiting for—let’s chase him!”

Zhao Mingzhu clasped her hands behind her back and gazed sorrowfully at the sky. “Something like that.”

Between “illicit lover” and “murder,” it was hard to say which sounded worse.

An Yun muttered, “I knew you’d end up in a mess like this.” She was about to give chase, but Zhao Mingzhu stopped her. “He won’t get far.”

The two were already walking down the street when they spotted Bai Mu and Su Lu chatting and laughing ahead.

Su Lu was politely refusing a gift from Bai Mu. An Yun pulled Zhao Mingzhu aside, her face cold. “Move. Good dogs don’t block the road.”

Bai Mu flared up. “Who are you calling a dog? An Yun, do you have no sense of noble decorum?”

An Yun: “Heh.” She didn’t bother arguing further. Once they turned the corner, she finally blurted out her frustration: “He never even gave me a Big Fortune Doll.”

Zhao Mingzhu blinked. “I thought you’d given up on him.”

An Yun rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you say the favored always act with impunity? I was trying to give him the cold shoulder.”

Zhao Mingzhu sighed. So it wasn’t that she didn’t love him—it was that she had no leverage.

“An Yun, if I told you you’d die because of Bai Mu… would you still love him?”

That question caught An Yun off guard. She faltered. “Impossible. I’ve known Bai Mu for thirteen years. Our families are close. We even have a childhood betrothal. There’s no reason for things to end like that.”

But Zhao Mingzhu just looked at her quietly.

An Yun blinked, then asked softly, “But if I don’t love him… who else am I supposed to love?”

She’d grown up with Bai Mu, always centered her life around him, and saw becoming the general’s wife as her destiny. It was etched into her bones.

Zhao Mingzhu understood her confusion.

An Yun had never ventured far, never seen how vast the world could be—how breathtaking the mountains, rivers, and seas truly were. Bai Mu was the biggest part of her life. But he wasn’t her whole life. That’s why she was trapped.

“An Yun,” Zhao Mingzhu said, tapping her chest, “Ask your heart. Is it willing to swallow this half-cooked rice for the rest of your life? If not, then cut your losses while you can.”

Then she flipped her imaginary bangs and declared boldly: “No Bai Mu? Fine. There’s Zhang Mu, Li Mu, Wu Mu… Men are just men. I’ll find you a whole Mu catalog—ten rows of them. You’ll be a bride every night!”

An Yun: …My skin’s about to peel off.

Just then, Chang He appeared. “His Highness is waiting in the carriage.”

Zhao Mingzhu blinked. “You came so fast—did you catch the guy?”

Chang He nodded, still unable to make sense of Zhao Mingzhu.

Zhao Mingzhu patted An Yun’s shoulder in farewell, but An Yun grabbed her arm and hissed, “When did you get so good at this? I don’t care who you are—get off my sister!”

Chang He was the Crown Prince’s close attendant. He used to ignore their whole troublemaking duo. Now he’d come personally to fetch Zhao Mingzhu.

Zhao Mingzhu gave a bashful smile. “Guess I’m just lucky.”

An Yun clenched her fists, but with people watching, she forced a smile through gritted teeth: “Go away.”