Bai Ling raised an eyebrow, her master was right, these two were truly a pair of lovers who could also be enemies. They clearly cared for each other, yet had to oppose one another. People were truly contradictory beings.
"Fifth Princess, do you not hate the Fourth Princess?"
"I don't hate her, I just don't want to be abandoned by her." The Fifth Princess's eyes welled up. "I've always caused her trouble, only to get her attention. We are sisters, sisters who grew up together. I've always protected her, guarded her, how can she abandon me just because she's grown up?"
"Even if you don't kill her, she is going to die." Bai Ling sighed. "She was struck in a vital spot, there's no saving her."
Hearing this, the Fifth Princess was struck by lightning. She stumbled and fell to the ground, and after a long while, began to cry with heartbroken sobs. Bai Ling was suddenly at a loss, and quickly looked at Ying Xue. Ying Xue shrugged helplessly, she wasn't good at handling such situations, and besides, you made her cry, you have to be responsible for comforting her.
Bai Ling sighed, "Fifth Princess, stop crying."
"Lan Yuan, you liar, you are a big liar. You said we would never be apart, but first you drove me out of Bianjing, and now you want to leave me alone." The Fifth Princess cried very sadly. No matter how Bai Ling tried to persuade her, she wouldn't stop.
"So noisy, I'm not dead yet, and you're already holding a wake for me. Do you... want me dead so urgently?" A voice came from within. The Fifth Princess immediately stopped crying, sniffled, and looked towards the door. She didn't see Lan Yuan's figure, so she got up and rushed into the room, only to see Lan Yuan lying on the bed, pale but quite energetic. She immediately burst into laughter.
"You're not dead?" the Fifth Princess asked excitedly.
The Fourth Princess's face immediately darkened. "Who starts by asking if someone is dead?"
"I thought you were dead." The Fifth Princess wiped the tears from her face. "It's good that you're not dead. If you dare to die, I won't let you go even if you go to the Underworld!"
The Fourth Princess rolled her eyes. "I don't know who it was, crying so disgracefully. I almost thought we had a good relationship."
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess immediately snorted, "What a pity, why aren't you dead yet? I actually came to see you off."
Xiao Man looked at the two of them, their words sharp as swords, and couldn't help but shake her head. They clearly cared about each other, yet neither was willing to concede. Couldn't they just get along? They had to be lovers who were also enemies.
"Since you've both come, I'll make myself clear," Xiao Man said slowly. "Today, only one of you can leave my Imperial Concubine's residence. Discuss it amongst yourselves and decide who will leave."
The two, who were just bickering, immediately changed their expressions and looked at Xiao Man in unison, "What do you mean?"
"It means, only one of you can live." Xiao Man said carelessly, but they both knew that Xiao Man was not joking. She would really kill them.
"What happens if we don't choose?" the Fifth Princess asked, staring at Xiao Man. Did she really dare to kill them?
"Both will die."
The joy of surviving a disaster had not yet faded, and they were faced with a new predicament. A choice between two, a choice they ultimately had to make. The Fourth Princess felt a pang of bitterness.
The Fifth Princess lowered her head in silence. After a moment, both spoke simultaneously, "Let her go."
After speaking, they looked at each other in unison. The Fifth Princess was genuinely surprised. After all, the Fourth Princess had framed her so many times just to drive her out of Bianjing. Facing such a life-or-death crisis, how could she possibly choose her? She must have misheard.
"What did you just say?"
The Fourth Princess was also a little surprised, then gave a bitter smile. She had thought the Fifth Princess hated her to the bone, but unexpectedly, when faced with a life-or-death choice, she still chose to protect her.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to let Lan Yin go. She is simple-minded and will not cause you any harm." The Fourth Princess spoke first. "I know I have done many things to hurt you, and I am willing to atone with my death. Please spare Lan Yin."
"No, Xiao Man... no, Your Majesty, I beg you, let Lan Yuan go. She is already like this, she has no more strength to fight you. If you let me go, I will lead my troops and fight you..."
"Shut up!" the Fourth Princess snapped, interrupting the Fifth Princess. She took out a dagger she carried and handed it to Xiao Man with both hands. "As long as you let Lan Yin go, I am willing to offer my neck for the blade."
"Good." Xiao Man took the dagger and raised her hand to strike. The Fifth Princess, terrified, immediately pounced forward and blocked in front of the Fourth Princess. "Kill me first!"
"Lan Yin, move aside!"
"I won't move!" Lan Yin roared. "Why should you be able to die after hurting me like this? I don't agree!"
Lan Yuan, with tears streaming down her face, grabbed Lan Yin's arm. "A'Yin, you must live well. Don't stay in Bianjing. Go outside. It's dangerous out there, but it's much more carefree than in Bianjing. Here, you have no room to survive."
"I won't. Wherever you are, I will be." Lan Yin cried. "I know I'm stupid, I'm foolish, I only have brute strength and will only be a burden to you, but I don't want to be separated from you. We grew up together, ate and slept together, why do we have to separate when we're finally living a good life?"
"She wants you to live, so she has to let you go," Xiao Man's voice came. It was only then that the two belatedly realized Xiao Man was still there.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to let Lan Yin go. I am willing to bear the responsibility for the mistakes I have made."
"Your Majesty, let Lan Yuan go. I sent people to assassinate you. It was the Eldest Princess who revealed the news to me. I didn't want to kill you, but she told me that if I ambushed you, I could return to Bianjing, so I took the risk."
"I know."
"You know?" Lan Yin was a little surprised. If she knew, why didn't she strike against the Eldest Princess? With her vengeful nature, she should have torn the Eldest Princess to shreds.
"I know, but what does it matter if I know?" Xiao Man's tone was steady. "The current Lan Yue is surrounded by enemies. Yun Qi, Yu Sheng, Bei Rong, which one doesn't look at Lan Yue as a piece of fat meat, waiting for an opportunity to take a bite? And the five of you are the guardians of Lan Yue, each with your own responsibilities. If any one of you is missing, it's easy for people to take advantage of the weakness. Even though you have provoked me repeatedly, I have never tried to kill you, because I do not want Lan Yue to have any mishaps."
The Fourth Princess stared at Xiao Man, silent for a long time. "You... when did you know your identity?"
"On my sixteenth birthday, my father gave me a gift, which contained my origins." Xiao Man said slowly. "From then on, I knew that Yu Sheng was not my destination. Once my identity was exposed, if I stayed in Yu Sheng, I would become a pawn for Yu Sheng to restrain Lan Yue. That's why I used my father's death as an excuse to rebel against Yu Sheng."