For a moment, the maid struggled, then became still as a dead fish. Nan Shiying released her grip, and as the bed curtains fell from her hands, the maid’s body crashed heavily to the ground.
Taking advantage of the body not yet stiffening, Nan Shiying swapped her clothes with the maid’s. She then picked up the candlestick from the table, blew out the flame, removed the candle, and squatted down, using the sharp candlestick to disfigure the maid’s face.
She cut deeply, and blood did not splatter but slowly welled from the wound.
Only when the bright red blood stained the maid’s entire face did Nan Shiying slowly stand up. She casually tossed the candlestick aside, lightly brushed the dust from her skirt, and gracefully walked out of the room.
…
In the main hall, there were not many guests.
Although the Regent and the Emperor had been at odds for a long time, no official in Lin Yuan Kingdom dared to offend Regent Ji Jinmo by not attending this grand wedding banquet.
However, since the Regent had forcibly snatched away Nan Luan’er, the Prime Minister’s daughter who was destined to be Empress, from the Emperor, few ministers dared to linger for too long. After a hurried two cups of wine, they excused themselves and left.
The Regent’s study.
“Your Highness, a guard just reported that an unfamiliar maid attempted to leave the Regent’s mansion through the back gate. As you had instructed them not to act rashly, Jia Huan quietly followed the maid and personally witnessed her entering the Crown Princess’s Xin Yuan Pavilion.”
Xuan Yi lowered his head slightly, his eyes fixed on his toes, not daring to look directly at the man seated behind the desk.
Ji Jinmo, who had already changed out of his crimson wedding attire into black and gold brocade robes, leaned against a rosewood chair carved with dragon patterns. His phoenix eyes were half-closed. Upon hearing Xuan Yi’s report, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
He was fiddling with a string of jade beads, the tassels of which hung in the air, swaying gently as if stirred by a hidden breeze. Xuan Yi felt the air in the study grow thinner, his chest heavy as if a mountain were pressing down, making his breathing difficult.
In the study, only the burning candlelight made a soft 'swish' sound as it was fanned by the breeze entering the room. The prolonged silence made Xuan Yi’s throat tighten slightly.
“What hour is it?” Just as sweat began to break out on Xuan Yi’s back, Ji Jinmo finally spoke. The moment he opened his mouth, the stagnant air in the room seemed to release. Xuan Yi secretly let out a breath and replied respectfully, “Your Highness, it is the second watch!”
“It’s already the second watch!” Ji Jinmo lifted the bead string with his left hand and placed it on the table. Xuan Yi heard the beads strike the table, emitting a crisp sound, and then he heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor. He cautiously raised his head and saw his master standing up from the chair and walking slowly towards him.
Xuan Yi immediately lowered his head, his gaze even lower, as if something were bending his spine.
“Let’s go, let’s go see this Prince’s Crown Princess.”
A deep voice pressed down from above, the lingering playfulness at the end of the words completely entering Xuan Yi’s ears. Xuan Yi was slightly stunned.
The Prince married Nan Yuan’er as his consort merely to enrage the Emperor. According to His Highness’s wishes, he had no intention of entering the bridal chamber today. Now, upon hearing his report, he seemed to have developed some interest?
Xuan Yi dared not speculate on his master’s thoughts, only lowering his head and following silently.
…
Nan Shiying returned to Xin Yuan Pavilion. She sat on the bed, looking at Dan Qing, who lay dead in a pool of blood, and sighed, unable to quell the frustration in her heart.
She had thought that by killing a scapegoat to impersonate her, she could sneak out of the Regent’s mansion and be free as a bird, but she hadn’t expected the guards of the Regent’s mansion to be so vigilant even on this festive and chaotic wedding day. She couldn’t leave or escape, and in the end, she could only return.
It seemed that to escape her current predicament, she had no choice but to join forces with her nominal husband.
After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!
Nan Shiying pondered for a while before slowly standing up. She thought about it and decided not to change out of her maid’s clothes, walking out of the room as she was.
…
The red lanterns, adorned with double happiness characters, emitted a dim, reddish glow. In the deep moonlight, they did not add much festivity to the mansion but rather a touch of eerie terror.
Nan Shiying walked along the slightly eerie corridor, her steps leisurely and unhurried, curiously observing the sleeping mansion in the darkness.
After walking for about a hundred meters, Nan Shiying suddenly stopped. The disorderly yet organized footsteps from a distance were getting closer. Lights brighter than the lanterns on either side of the corridor approached from afar, the points of light gradually expanding.
It was someone carrying lanterns to illuminate the path ahead.
Under the light, Nan Shiying vaguely saw seven or eight servants in fitted clothes escorting a tall, slender man towards them.
Nan Shiying turned sideways and stood in the dim corner of the corridor’s turn, trying to minimize her presence. However, this shadow was merely dim, not enough to completely conceal her.
The servants carried lanterns, illuminating Ji Jinmo’s path on both sides. Xuan Yi, with the sword hanging at his waist, vigilantly scanned the surroundings. His gaze swept over the maid standing with her head lowered in the corner of the corridor, glanced around a few times, and then moved away.
A maid?
The Regent’s mansion was never short of maids!
He hadn’t paid much attention initially, but the light not only illuminated the road but also dispelled the darkness surrounding the maid. She had her head lowered, and only her delicate jaw could be vaguely seen. Although the strands of hair at her temples made her bun appear somewhat messy, it also added a touch of disheveled elegance.
Her hands, placed one over the other at her sides, were fair and tender, not at all like the hands of a maid, but more like those of a young lady from a prominent family who had never done any manual labor.
Xuan Yi subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword at his waist, then remembered the unfamiliar maid Jia Huan had mentioned trying to leave the mansion.