She surveyed the crowd. At the street corner directly opposite the Grand Tutor's mansion, a nondescript youth knelt on the ground, his thin frame clad in tattered rags, his face obscured by grime.
Before him was a placard: "Selling myself to bury my brother." Beside him lay the corpse of a child, no older than five or six, emitting the foul stench of decay.
In this desperate plight, his gaze met Lin Yanxi's, neither humble nor arrogant, his eyes firm.
She no longer wished to bicker with the pair; it was utterly uninteresting.
Pah, pah, pah! Witnessing this pair of scoundrels perform was truly bad luck. She rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flew out of her head.
Lin Yanxi walked towards the boy selling himself to bury his brother, casually tossing the jade earring she held before him.
The jade earring landed on the ground with a crisp sound. The boy's eyes flickered. Sunlight struck the gems inlaid in the earring, refracting a seven-hued fire. Even someone ignorant of fine arts could tell this was an object of immense value.
The surrounding commoners watched this scene with envy in their eyes, wishing they were the ones begging at the Grand Tutor's mansion.
"Oh my, the Grand Tutor's young lady is truly generous!"
"Didn't you see? It seems that eldest daughter stole something from her sister."
Amidst the sighs and murmurs, Lin Yanxi returned to the front of the Grand Tutor's mansion, saying indifferently, "Sister, you shouldn't mind. It's just an earring, I have plenty more."
Lin Yuan said nothing more, cowering timidly behind the Crown Prince. However, if looks could kill, Lin Yanxi would have been dead ten thousand times over.
Lin Yanxi had directly injured her ear to retrieve the earring, preferring to give it to a beggar rather than her sister. She deserved to die!
This was a blatant insult!
"However, with so much blood flowing from Sister's ear, we won't be able to go to the palace today. If you see the imperial physician promptly, you might even have fewer scars," Lin Yanxi taunted the pair with her bright, playful eyes, her gaze unrestrained.
Shen Qingyun, always magnanimous, in his flowing white robes, exuded the demeanor of a gentle, jade-like scholar. Seeing his woman insulted, he merely displayed a faint hint of anger before his expression returned to its usual calm.
He said to the servant behind him, "Go to the palace and summon an imperial physician. Yuan'er, you should return home first and let the imperial physician examine you thoroughly."
Lin Yuan said unwillingly, "But..."
She was unwilling to let the opportunity to enter the palace, which she had plotted for so long, be ruined. Even more so, she was unwilling to let Shen Qingyun and Lin Yanxi be betrothed by the Emperor.
Shen Qingyun interrupted her, raising his voice slightly. His tone, when he spoke again, was unquestionable: "Obey me."
Lin Yuan bit her lip, having no choice but to swallow her resentment for the moment. She walked towards the mansion gates. As she passed Lin Yanxi, Lin Yanxi suddenly grabbed her arm.
Lin Yanxi whispered beside her ear, "Earlier, you asked how my mind recovered. I must thank my sister for her meticulous arrangements. I never knew our relationship had deteriorated to this extent."
Lin Yuan froze on the spot, her face pale and tinged with fear.
What? Did she know everything?
Lin Yanxi released her hand, took out a sachet from her embrace, and said, "Sister, please return home and rest well. Father and Mother will be back tonight, and I will explain Sister's painstaking efforts to me one by one."
As she uttered the last few words, each syllable was delivered with a heavy pressure, striking Lin Yuan's heart.
"This sachet..." She shook her head in panic, her legs weakening, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Lin Yuan cast a pitiful, tearful glance at Shen Qingyun, utterly helpless.
In Shen Qingyun's dark eyes, there was not a trace of emotional fluctuation at that moment. He was distant and cold. He gently lifted the carriage curtain for Lin Yanxi, helped her onto the carriage, and took her to the palace.
As long as Shen Muzhou had not left the capital, he needed his engagement with Lin Yanxi, obtaining the combined influence of the Grand Tutor's mansion and her maternal grandfather to help him ascend the throne.
In the carriage, Lin Yanxi sat as close to the innermost side as possible, trying to maintain as much distance from Shen Qingyun as she could.
In her previous life, when Shen Qingyun was slightly displeased with her father, he would not wait until they returned to the palace. In the carriage, he would gag her with his belt and beat her.
She had cowered in the corner of the carriage like this, his fists raining down upon her, making her stomach churn. The bustling street, separated by only a wooden board, was a picture of peace and harmony. No one would have suspected the violence within the luxurious carriage.
After the carriage entered the palace, he would straighten his clothes, regulate his breathing, and present himself to the world as the gentle and virtuous Crown Prince.
Shen Qingyun took a handkerchief from his sleeve and offered it to Lin Yanxi: "You entered the palace with me early this morning, so you must not have washed yet. Why don't you wipe your face first? It will make you more comfortable."
The moment he produced the handkerchief, Lin Yanxi's eyes widened in terror. She instinctively flinched back, her hand reaching for the soul ring on her finger.
With the soul ring, she would never have to be afraid again...
!!
Where was the soul ring?
Shen Qingyun, seeing her extreme aversion, did not get angry. "You experienced a sudden change in your childhood and your mind was damaged. It's normal for you to be distant from me now that you've suddenly regained your senses. Your father is my teacher, and he taught me diligently. We have known each other since childhood, and with our engagement, we should interact more and become more familiar."
No, what was he rambling about?
Her head was buzzing. How did the soul ring disappear? She tried to recall where she had lost it, but her memory was completely blank.
Shen Qingyun, seeing that she was no longer dodging him as she had before, assumed she had taken his words to heart and felt slightly better.
The commoners on the street suddenly erupted in a clamor, gathering in one spot and blocking the path to the palace.
The carriage stopped. Shen Qingyun's attendant went ahead to investigate the situation, reporting that a murder had occurred.
Shen Qingyun furrowed his brow slightly. "Sister Yanxi, wait for me here. I'll go down and see what's happening."
Lin Yanxi couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention. After he alighted from the carriage, she searched her sleeves and skirt inside the carriage, but could not find what she was looking for.
"Second Miss, what are you looking for?" a chilling voice inquired.
She stiffened and turned her head. Indeed, she saw the person she least wanted to see: Shen Muzhou!
Shen Muzhou stood outside the carriage. Through the carriage window, with the curtain rolled up, his clearly defined jawline could be seen. His hand rested on the window frame, and on his little finger, he wore a somewhat worn ruby ring.
"My soul ring, how did it end up with you!" Lin Yanxi lunged towards the window, reaching out to snatch it.
Shen Muzhou withdrew his arm, causing Lin Yanxi to miss. His words were laced with a hint of amusement: "This King believes you should see this murder."
As he glanced sideways at her, the corners of his eyes slightly raised, and a sense of oppression washed over her.
Lin Yanxi glared at him but obediently squeezed to the front. A straw mat was rolled up, containing a corpse.
The body's limbs had been severed, its vocal cords cut, and its chest pierced by a single stab wound. This was the cause of its death. It stared with unwilling eyes, its eyeballs bulging, its yellow teeth bared.
It was that yellow-toothed man who had bullied her. Fortunately, she had already cut out his vocal cords, so he wouldn't reveal her talisman术 (shu, arts/skills).
Shen Muzhou walked half a step behind her, leaned close to her ear, and asked in a deep, magnetic voice that sounded like a male demon luring mortals into sin, sending a tremor through her heart.
"Is this gift I've given you to your liking?"
Shen Muzhou's eyebrows rose, his voice rarely carrying warmth. "How is it?"
Lin Yanxi frowned, looking at him, her eyes filled with wariness.
What did he mean by this? Was he threatening her? She had saved him, yet now she was being threatened?
Wait, he had just called her Second Miss. Did he know her identity and was he deliberately bothering her? Was he planning to harm the Grand Tutor's mansion?
"You've seen it, so you should return my belongings to me now." She reached out, trying to grab the soul ring.
Shen Muzhou shifted his body slightly, dodging her grasp. "Why is Second Miss in such a hurry? I have already shown my sincerity. However, Second Miss is not entirely sincere, claiming to admire me yet concealing your true identity."
She was now certain: he was threatening her! She had known in the woods that she shouldn't have meddled.
Lin Yanxi suppressed the anger in her eyes. Her almond eyes curved, her eyelashes fluttered, and she said shyly, "After all, I am betrothed to the Crown Prince. How can I express my admiration using the identity of Second Miss? This ring was left to me by my grandfather and holds immense significance for me. I hope Ninth Prince will return it soon."
Shen Qingyun saw Shen Muzhou and Lin Yanxi conversing again and felt a flicker of displeasure. He strode towards them.
He walked to Lin Yanxi's side and said, "It's just an unnamed male corpse. Sister Yanxi, you shouldn't look. It might give girls nightmares. Fortunately, the road ahead has been cleared of people, and we should proceed to the palace quickly."
Shen Muzhou, seeing him approach, put the ring back into his sleeve. Lin Yanxi was anxious to retrieve her soul ring but did not want the Crown Prince or anyone else to notice the matter of the soul ring, so she would have to find another opportunity.
Before getting back into the carriage, Lin Yanxi glanced at Shen Muzhou again. His exceptionally handsome face was curved in a subtle, enigmatic smile.
What was this? Mockery?
She rolled her eyes at him and pulled the carriage curtain shut. She had to find a way to get the soul ring back as soon as possible.
"Your Highness, are you sure she is the person we are looking for?" Xiao Liu asked, leading the horse.
Shen Muzhou had suffered from a serious illness for many years with no cure. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau had calculated that his time was short. Even if he miraculously survived, his future fate would be one of nine deaths for every one life. His only chance of survival lay in the Heavenly Disaster Star that had descended in the western suburbs' woods.
He had encountered an assassination attempt while searching for the Heavenly Disaster Star in the woods, and then he met Lin Yanxi.
The Heavenly Disaster Star would bring endless calamities to Yue You State and must be eliminated.
When Xiao Liu investigated the woman's background, he discovered this yellow-toothed man and suspected he was connected to Lin Yanxi. After reporting to his Prince, he was instructed to kill him and present the act as a gift to Lin Yanxi.
"When I approached her, my internal cold condition eased. I just didn't expect her to be the Grand Tutor's daughter. However, she liked the gift I gave her. Since she needs me to treat my cold condition, I must show sincerity."
"Liked it? How could Your Highness tell she liked it?"
"She dared not kill, so I killed for her. The things she could not bear to do, I did for her. How could she not be pleased?"
Shen Muzhou finished speaking and looked at Xiao Liu with cold eyes. Xiao Liu nodded, returning a look of admiration.
Xiao Liu suddenly remembered the invitation from Princess Chaoyang. Many women in the capital admired the Prince's appearance, yet the Prince had always remained distant from women.
Princess Chaoyang had grown up with the Prince in the palace and was considered the only woman who could speak with him. She was also the daughter of Prince An Chang and was a Princess conferred by the Emperor.
"Your Highness, will you attend the hairpin ceremony in the palace today? Princess Chaoyang has invited Your Highness every year since she was fourteen. This is the fourth year."