I know you’ve all been waiting for this one 😌💖 I’ll be dropping the ending today — thank you for being so patient with me!
He Sui’an asked, “Does the emperor believe what you told him, Sister Su?”
“Yes.”
Su Yang nodded, “But the emperor said if the prince does not make a move, we should consider this matter as if it never existed, and I should forget about it and return to Fengling Town.”
Emperor Duan Jing was too sentimental about his brother.
In the royal family, being overly sentimental about family is not a good thing.
Although Su Yang only held the title of a county lord and was not a royal family member, she understood that an emperor should not have too many personal emotions.
He Sui’an looked at the map, “So, Sister Su, what are your plans?”
Su Yang pondered for a moment.
“On the day of the princess’s distant marriage, the prince will definitely use the excuse of the emperor’s ill health to personally escort her out of the palace. We can’t switch her in the palace, so I suggest we switch her when they pass through the main street.”
Su Yang was struggling with who to replace the princess with. The carriage couldn’t be empty as it would easily arouse suspicion. The substitute had to be someone in the know, who wouldn’t reveal their plan.
It was best not to use a man in disguise.
Otherwise, if someone from the welcoming party from Nanliang asked questions, their cover would be blown.
Emperor Duan Jing didn’t want Nanliang to know about this in advance. At least before it happened, they shouldn’t find out. He still harbored the unrealistic hope that Liu Yan might turn back, and didn’t want to burn all bridges.
If Liu Yan didn’t make a move, then Su Yang would need to return the princess to the carriage without alerting anyone and ensure the marriage proceeded smoothly.
Therefore, the person posing as Princess Luoyan had to be a woman.
Su Yang glanced at He Sui’an.
No, she dismissed the thought immediately. He Sui’an couldn’t do it. She didn’t know martial arts and being in a carriage possibly surrounded by Spirit Gu people would be very dangerous. Qi Buyan wouldn’t agree either.
She herself wasn’t a good option either. Emperor Duan Jing had given her the tiger tally, and she had to command the troops that day. Moving the troops too early would be noticed.
The tiger tally couldn’t be handed over to anyone else—that was Emperor Duan Jing ‘s exact words to her.
So Su Yang shared her difficulty with them: “Think carefully and see if you can come up with a better solution.”
After a while, He Sui’an raised her hand.
They looked at her.
He Sui’an hesitantly said, “I do have a candidate in mind: General Jiang’s daughter, Jiang Xuewan, from Weicheng. She’s in Chang’an too, but I’m not sure if she would be willing to help us. I can ask her.”
Aunt Cui had removed the Soul Capturing gu from Jiang Xuewan, and by now, she should have returned to normal.
If they told Jiang Xuewan about the true culprit behind the destruction of Weicheng, she would likely agree to help, especially since in the original story, she was determined to seek revenge, even at the cost of her life.
He Sui’an wanted to give it a try.
Su Yang didn’t ask much, only one question: “Can you trust this person?”
“Yes.”
Even if Jiang Xuewan didn’t help them, she wouldn’t betray them to Liu Yan. The annihilation of her family was an irreconcilable enmity for her, so He Sui’an believed in her.
Su Yang pondered and said, “If you trust her, we trust you. Go ahead and ask her.”
“Okay.” He Sui’an’s hand brushed against Qi Buyan’s as she lowered it, and when she tried to pull it back, he hooked her little finger with his.
They discussed their plan from noon until nightfall.
Su Yang pressed her temples, “That’s all for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Not wanting to intrude on the newlyweds’ private time, they left. He Sui’an wanted to see them off, but Su Yang declined, citing that she shouldn’t look at the snow.
So He Sui’an returned to the room.
With Qi Buyan leading her, they both went back to their room.
While discussing the plan to deal with Liu Yan, He Sui’an had thought about the Heavenly Silkworm Gu in Qi Buyan’s body. Once back in the room, she became restless, worried that it might backfire on him on that day.
“Didn’t you already obtain something to refine the King Gu? Why don’t you start refining it right away to get rid of the Heavenly Silkworm Gu in your body?”
Qi Buyan knew what she was thinking.
He poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to her to warm her hands, “Refining the King Gu takes several months, and there’s not enough time. It also needs to be done in a quiet environment, which we don’t have right now.”
Moreover, the King Gu might not be able to remove the Heavenly Silkworm Gu in his body and could potentially harm him.
He Sui’an became even more worried.
Qi Buyan, however, hugged her onto the bed, “I’m tired. Stay with me and rest for a while.”
He Sui’an understood he didn’t want her to overthink. Besides, he tended to sleep a lot when it was cold. She let him hold her and settled into the bed with him.
Qi Buyan’s breathing became steady.
It seemed he had fallen asleep.
Unable to sleep, He Sui’an gently sat up, gazing at Qi Buyan for a while before her eyes drifted to the closed window. Could she really return to the modern world through this snowfall?
“What are you looking at?” Qi Buyan asked, his eyes open, catching her by surprise.
He Sui’an suddenly threw herself into his arms.
She couldn’t hold back any longer; her emotions surged and tears came without warning.
She sobbed, “I think I might be going home, and it seems to be related to the snow, but I don’t know how or when I’ll go back. And… and I’m both happy and sad.”
Qi Buyan sat up, his hand tensing slightly, which He Sui’an noticed. He lifted her face, wiping away her tears, “Why are you happy, and why are you sad?”
He Sui’an choked up, “I’m happy because I’ll be with my parents again.”
She looked at him.
Her eyes were red.
He Sui’an watched as he wiped her tears, feeling an overwhelming sadness. She spoke from her heart, “I’m sad because I’ll have to leave you. I don’t want to leave you…”
Seeing her tears increase, Qi Buyan stopped wiping them away and instead leaned in to kiss them, “Alright, I understand. But for the next few days, promise me you’ll keep your eyes covered, okay, He Sui’an?”
He Sui’an agreed.
Qi Buyan kissed her lips.
But what could he do? He didn’t want to let her go, and the dark thought of taking her with him in death grew stronger. Qi Buyan held the back of He Sui’an’s neck, his tongue parting her lips, deepening the kiss.
He Sui’an, if you have to leave, why not die with me?
—
They stayed in the room for about half an hour before He Sui’an told Qi Buyan she needed to find Jiang Xuewan. To avoid any delays, she wanted to complete this task as soon as possible.
Sometimes He Sui’an could be slow, but she could also be very urgent, especially when it came to important matters that she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Qi Buyan agreed to take her.
He personally covered her eyes with a silk ribbon, skillfully leading her out.
Jiang Xuewan was at the Xie residence.
Their destination was the Xie residence.
The Xie residence wasn’t far from where they were staying, so He Sui’an preferred to walk. Even at night, Chang’an was bustling. Through the silk ribbon, she could sense the shifting light and shadow and hear the sounds of vendors.
However, the Xie residence was in a secluded area. Once they left the main street, they walked down a quiet path paved with blue stone slabs. Along the way, she barely got wet from the snow.
Because Qi Buyan held an umbrella to shield them from the snow.
He Sui’an being exposed to the snow wasn’t an issue; she wouldn’t see her parents. Nonetheless, Qi Buyan insisted on holding the umbrella, and she stayed obediently under its cover.
When they arrived at the Xie residence, they ascended the steps. He Sui’an didn’t walk quickly, and Qi Buyan matched her pace. Once at the top, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Unlike large households that had servants standing guard, the Xie residence only had two stone lions by the entrance.
Old Zhu shuffled over to open the door, puzzled as to who would visit at night. Xie Wenqiao had few friends in Chang’an, and his colleagues rarely came by. The Xie residence was usually quiet.
“Coming,” Old Zhu’s aged voice sounded from behind the door, and he soon opened it.
He Sui’an got straight to the point, “Is Miss Jiang still staying here? We have an urgent matter and need to see her tonight.”
Old Zhu recognized them.
Not long ago, they had returned the lost Jiang Xuewan to the Xie residence and had even met his young master a few times. Old Zhu quickly stepped aside to let them in, “Yes, she’s here. Please, follow me.”
As they entered, they encountered Xie Wenqiao, who had just finished his work and stepped outside for some fresh air.
Xie Wenqiao stopped.
He asked, “What brings you here?”
Old Zhu answered for them, “They are here to see Miss Jiang on urgent business.” Then he added, “Young master, I have prepared some soup for you. Please remember to drink it later.”
He Sui’an nodded in the direction of the voice, acknowledging the greeting.
Qi Buyan glanced at Xie Wenqiao.
Xie Wenqiao’s gaze swept over Qi Buyan and He Sui’an. He had heard that they had married the previous day.
He Sui’an had married from the princess’s residence, which had been widely discussed, so he knew about it.
He didn’t inquire further, “Alright.”
Since they weren’t there to see him, Xie Wenqiao didn’t pry. He was preoccupied with the issue concerning Liu Yan, having recently discovered that the destruction of Weicheng was indeed connected to Liu Yan. He was preparing evidence to present to the emperor.
Old Zhu led He Sui’an and Qi Buyan past Xie Wenqiao and towards the back courtyard.
It wasn’t too late, and Jiang Xuewan hadn’t retired for the night. Hearing that He Sui’an had come to see her, she quickly put down what she was doing and went out to meet her.
Jiang Xuewan greeted them with a delighted smile, “Miss He, Mr. Qi.”
Old Zhu tactfully withdrew.
The guests needed to discuss matters, and it was best for someone unrelated like him not to linger.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Songwei, who lived in the room next to Jiang Xuewan, came out. Seeing the two of them, he was a bit puzzled: Why were they here?
Before he could ask, He Sui’an directly stated her purpose and asked if they could go inside to talk. Jiang Xuewan and Jiang Songwei exchanged a knowing glance, immediately realizing she had something important to discuss.
Jiang Xuewan opened the door, inviting them in, “Of course.”
They entered the room one after another.
Jiang Songwei noticed He Sui’an’s blindfold and was about to ask about it when Qi Buyan slowly removed the silk ribbon, revealing her perfectly intact eyes that could clearly see.
Qi Buyan explained kindly, “She can’t look at the snow.”
He Sui’an nodded in agreement with his explanation.
Jiang Xuewan found chairs for them to sit.