The cooing of pigeons outside the window shattered the intimate atmosphere in the small room.
Si Que pushed open the window, and a carrier pigeon flew in from outside, flapping its wings and landing on the dressing table under the window. Si Que removed the message tube tied to the pigeon’s leg, sat on the chair slanted beside the dressing table, and took out the letter to read.
You Yuji had no intention of reading Si Que’s letter. Leaning against the corner of the dressing table, she adjusted her hair, stood up straight, and started to walk out. However, she had barely taken a step when her wrist was grabbed by Si Que. She stumbled slightly and was pulled into his arms, ending up sitting on his lap.
You Yuji turned to look at Si Que.
His eyes were downcast, his gaze fixed on the note held between his long fingers. His expression was as cold as usual. But within that coldness, there seemed to be another emotion.
You Yuji didn’t have time to discern it carefully before Si Que raised his hand, and the note suddenly caught fire, gradually burning to ashes.
You Yuji watched the flames on the note and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you really have poison in your body?”
“Hmm?” Si Que looked over at her nonchalantly.
You Yuji pursed her lips and frowned slightly.
She often thought about those rumors, which said that the master of the Poison Pavilion was poisonous everywhere, lethal upon contact. But his body…
Si Que chuckled softly and asked, “What do you think?”
His emotionless black eyes gradually took on a glint of amusement, as if he had found interest in teasing her.
“Just don’t poison yourself to death,” You Yuji pushed away his hand from her waist, stood up, and walked out.
Si Que watched You Yuji’s retreating figure. After a long while, he shifted his gaze to the ashes of the note.
——It was another letter from Si Lang.
In an inconspicuous residence, Si Lang sat behind a desk, a military map spread out before him.
As a member of the royal family, even with food and clothing assured, no one wants to be a prisoner. Who wouldn’t covet that high position on the jade steps?
Emperor Chen, for the sake of his reputation, had imprisoned many royal members of conquered nations within the royal household. Si Lang believed that many of those imprisoned royal members were as unwilling as he was.
Since his escape from the palace, he had stayed in the capital to secretly contact other royal members from different nations.
Of course, he would soon leave Chenjing.
The emperor, growing old and fearing he couldn’t complete his ambition of unifying the twelve countries, hastily launched a winter campaign against Ning.
Si Lang had long been in contact with Ning.
In the matter of rebellion, military power is crucial.
Without troops under his command, he had no choice but to collaborate with Ning. He needed to help Ning repel Chen’s invasion. Besides military strategy, he also needed the poison in Si Que’s possession.
The poison was also the reason Emperor Chen had been eliminating the Poison Pavilion in recent years. Eliminating it was a pretense; obtaining the poison would be better.
The poison, a special toxin that could turn ordinary soldiers into ones capable of fighting ten men each.
“Sigh,” Si Lang sighed.
He stood up, pushed open the window, and looked at the cool light of the moon spilling onto the ground beneath the window.
As for this younger brother…
Si Lang closed his eyes and wearily pressed his thumb against the corner of his eye.
When did he first realize that this twin brother of his was not as weak and incompetent as he appeared? Perhaps it had been many years already.
Initially, he truly believed that his brother had been frail and sickly since childhood.
He had discovered the absurdity of the National Teacher’s prophecy at the same time as Si Que. He had been moved, had sighed, and had been angry. But like Si Que, he was inherently cold-hearted. Or perhaps, he felt a sense of recompense for years of resentment. He was the universally praised prodigy, but he knew that in many ways, he was not as capable as his younger brother who had been abandoned since childhood.
Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder, if the one born first had been his brother, would he have been the one abandoned? If Si Que had been born a moment earlier and become the crown prince, would he have done better?
Later, he gradually noticed his brother’s transformation.
Twins naturally understand each other well. He stood by and watched coldly as his brother, who had been abandoned since birth, struggled.
His brother started tinkering with strange things, making a mess of his palace. There were odd smokes and strange smells.
For a time, he watched like a spectator, curious about what else his brother would do. While he studied and practiced martial arts dutifully, he knew his brother often sneaked out of the palace. He couldn’t help but be curious about what his brother was up to, just as he had been secretly observing his brother’s actions over the years.
Or rather, comparing himself to him.
If his brother could write such articles and poems, so could he. He was healthier and could do more than his brother!
It wasn’t until he saw his brother outside the palace, effortlessly beheading someone, that he realized his brother had secretly learned martial arts.
Later, when he realized that his brother’s poison skills had become formidable, the evil reputation of the Poison Pavilion was already known throughout the land.
Yes, he had always known his brother was the master of the Poison Pavilion. He was even clear on how his brother had gradually built the Poison Pavilion’s infamous reputation.
He would smile and call him brother to his face, acting as a kind older sibling, pretending to be ignorant of his brother’s secret activities.
But he vaguely felt that his brother knew he was aware of everything.
Si Lang needed the poison his brother held. He had written two letters to Si Que, but neither had been answered. Si Lang didn’t want to beg this brother, as it made him seem even more incompetent. Reluctantly, he still wrote the letters. He anxiously waited for a response, yet had a nagging feeling that Si Que wouldn’t help him.
Those around him said that Si Que still remembered their brotherly bond, which is why he had gone to such lengths to help him escape from the separate palace. But Si Lang knew that his brother had not genuinely helped out of sincerity.
“He’s just watching for a laugh,” Si Lang fiddled with the red plum blossoms on the windowsill. “He wants to see how I fail at rebelling, to see how Father will be disappointed when I fail.”
Si Lang sighed again.
How could he obtain the poison from Si Que? If he couldn’t plead for it, he would have to force it.
In the past, Si Lang had always felt helpless regarding his brother. He knew that his brother was indifferent to worldly desires and even life and death, otherwise he wouldn’t have used his own body to test poisons, turning it into that rotting state.
But now it was different.
Now, his brother had a weakness.
Si Lang plucked a petal from a bright red plum blossom, using the flower’s juice to write a word on the windowsill, stroke by stroke—
You.
“Someone, come.”
With a cold smile, Si Lang used the vibrant red plum blossom juice to smear away the word he had just written.
—
Two days later, Chen Anzhi went to see his father again. This time, Prince Jinnan met him in the princess’s room.
Chen Anzhi’s complexion had improved significantly. As he entered the room and saw his mother drinking medicine while sitting on the bed, he hurriedly walked over, but then stopped abruptly before reaching her. He feared that his presence would anger his mother, which would be bad for her health.
“What do you want?” Prince Jinnan frowned, his tone unfriendly.
After all, he was his biological son, so he couldn’t bring himself to punish him harshly. But the anger in his heart was hard to dispel.
Chen Anzhi lifted the front hem of his robe and knelt solemnly before his parents.
“Your son was foolish and deceived, causing anger in father and mother, and also harming mother and sister. All the fault lies with me.”
“Hmph,” Prince Jinnan snorted heavily, turning his head away, unwilling to look at him. Clearly, Chen Anzhi’s admission of guilt did not appease his anger.
“I have decided to follow your advice and join the army as a soldier this time, to temper myself and wash away my debauchery.”
Only then did Prince Jinnan turn back to look at him.
Even the princess, who hadn’t looked at him since he entered, lifted her eyes to gaze at him. She looked at Chen Anzhi, who had lost a significant amount of weight in just a few days, and couldn’t help but feel pity. She said in a low voice, “You’re injured like this, how can you go to war?”
“The journey to Ning is long. By the time I get there, my injuries will have healed enough. Then I can serve the country.”
“Ridiculous!” The princess’s voice rose in anger. “You’ve been pampered too much. Do you think going to war is like recuperating on a journey?”
Chen Anzhi lowered his head and said softly, “If I can’t make it and die on the way, it’s just my bad luck.”
The princess was taken aback, “You…”
Chen Anzhi lifted his head and looked at the princess, his lips moving, “Mother, please don’t be angry…”
“Your son truly knows he was wrong.” Chen Anzhi’s tears fell one by one as he knelt and crawled to the bedside, holding his mother’s hand and sobbing, “Mother, please let me go. I am too ashamed to stay in the capital any longer…”
The princess turned her head away, holding back her tears.
“Fine!” Prince Jinnan agreed. “Originally, considering your injuries, I didn’t want you to go. But since you brought it up yourself, I naturally support it.”
“Thank you, Father and Mother, for your approval.”
Chen Anzhi did not stay long in the princess’s room. After leaving the courtyard, he hesitated for a moment and then headed towards Tanxiang Yingyue.
Tonight, the main household and the servants of Tanxiang Yingyue had enjoyed a hearty meal of roast suckling pig and were now contentedly preparing for bed after their washing up.
You Yuji sat by the table, resting her chin on the back of her hand, staring blankly at Baisui, who was grooming itself on the table.
The faint pain in her chest and the bloated feeling in her lower abdomen were familiar, reminding her that her period was approaching.
You Yuji’s brows furrowed involuntarily.
This month, she hadn’t conceived again.
Si Que emerged from the bathroom after bathing and saw You Yuji sitting by the table in a daze. He walked over to her and naturally bent down to hug her from behind.
You Yuji gently pushed away Si Que’s hands wrapped around her and softly refused, “No.”
Si Que stood beside her and pinched the tip of her ear.
You Yuji turned her head slightly to avoid him and gently declined again, “I’m not feeling well, not tonight.”
Si Que looked down at her.
Why was she refusing? Was it because today wasn’t one of the days marked in red?
“Madam,” Zhenxu softly knocked on the door from outside, “the young master has come. He says he will be leaving the capital with the army in a few days and wishes to speak with you.”
Chen Anzhi is leaving the capital?
You Yuji stood up and, puzzled, opened the door. Chen Anzhi stood three or four steps away, and upon seeing You Yuji, he didn’t make any move to come closer.
“I came to thank you for saving my mother the other day. If you hadn’t been the first to know that Fang Qingyi had preemptively dismantled the back wall, my mother might have been more seriously injured.”
You Yuji nodded casually without responding.
She didn’t speak, and Chen Anzhi fell silent as well. You Yuji could tell he had more to say, but she didn’t prompt him, just waited.
After a long time, Chen Anzhi spoke with difficulty, “I have wronged you during this time…”
You Yuji was astonished, hardly believing these words were coming from Chen Anzhi’s mouth.
“Since you married me, I’ve repeatedly taken concubines, embarrassing you and making you a subject of gossip in the capital. I’ve been suspicious, doubting you about everything, wronging you and scolding you…” Chen Anzhi kept his head down, not looking at You Yuji, his voice very low.
He had lived twenty years and, aside from occasionally admitting fault to his parents, had never spoken to anyone in such a humble tone. After days of deliberation and rehearsal, he finally forced the words out. Chen Anzhi didn’t dare look at anyone’s expression; he felt his face burning.
Zhenxu and Baohe exchanged glances. The expression on Baohe’s face was one of utter disbelief.
You Yuji carefully observed Chen Anzhi in front of her. It was rare for him not to be hysterical or aggressive in her presence. As for his apology, it didn’t evoke much feeling in her.
Another long silence ensued.
“When I come back…”
“Already divorced,” Si Que said coldly as he walked out from inside. He grabbed You Yuji’s wrist forcefully and slammed the door shut.
