Chapter 91: Tremors

Yu Lingxi was jolted awake.

Upon entering the palace and finding that the direction the young eunuch led was incorrect, she became suspicious. She forced herself to remain calm and said, “His Highness instructed that the jade pendant was left in the carriage, I’ll go fetch it.”

She turned around, but before she could take two steps, she caught a whiff of a strange scent.

The last scene that flashed before her eyes was the dark face of the young eunuch.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a small dimly lit room, with an oil lamp on the wall casting a faint light. She was lying in the corner, leaning against a stone wall, feeling the cold seeping through the cracks at the bottom of the wall, chilling her to the bone.

Yu Lingxi’s hands and feet were bound with coarse ropes. She struggled to move, pushing aside the straw and felt piled up in the corner, revealing square blocks of ice stacked inside.

If she guessed correctly, she was locked in some sort of ice cellar.

The imperial city’s ice cellar.

Was she brought here by the eunuch and the round-faced palace maid? Whose people were they?

Did Ning Yin know that there was a spy among the palace maids in the Prince Ning’s mansion?

Lost in thought, taking advantage of the unguarded moment in the secret cellar, Yu Lingxi tilted her head and felt around her hair bun with her bound hands, only to touch the cold white jade hairpin.

Because she was entering the palace to keep vigil, she didn’t bring any extra hairpins, not even a tool to cut the ropes.

As she pondered, she heard a dull sound from above.

Alert, Yu Lingxi quickly hid the jade hairpin among the ice blocks in the corner.

At the same time, a heavy stone slab was moved aside, pouring in cold light. A man wearing a cloak with his face obscured, assisted by an inner servant, slowly descended the steps. The man seemed frail, with a slender figure. If not for the occasional hoarse cough, Yu Lingxi would have almost mistaken the figure under the cloak for a woman.

He stood in front of Yu Lingxi, only showing a bit of his sharp jawline under the shadow of his hood, habitually picking at a piece of wood with his fingers.

After a moment, a low, hoarse voice came, “It’s a last resort, I have offended Princess Ning.”

His tone was weak, clearly an adult’s voice, yet he spoke like a child, very methodically.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Yu Lingxi had no recollection of such a person.

The man hidden in the cloak replied, “Ning Yin’s power is overwhelming, it’s not easy to get him into trouble. So, I had to resort to this plan, borrowing a token from Princess.”

The man caught a glimpse of the jade hairpin hidden in the ice, its body covered with a layer of frost, setting off the delicate blush even more coldly.

Yu Lingxi’s heart stirred, pretending to be weak, she said, “This hairpin was made by the prince himself for me. I wonder if it can be used to redeem my life?”

The man seemed to be considering the truth of her words.

The round-faced palace maid behind him cautiously approached and said something, prompting the man to slightly tilt his head, indicating for the attendant to pick up the hairpin.

“Take it to Ning Yin and tell him, the princess is in my hands.”

He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, lowered his voice, and instructed, “If you don’t want a newlywed to become a new widow, tell him to do as I say and come alone.”

While the attendant went to arrange it, the man didn’t leave.

He sat behind the only table in the small cellar, took out a small file, and concentrated on carving wood. The sharp wood chips pierced his fingers, blood smeared on his fingertips, but he seemed unaware.

It was very cold in the cellar, and the stone wall behind him felt like a cold blade, piercing Yu Lingxi’s thin back.

She curled up, observing the man carving wood in silence. After a while, she tentatively called out, “Third Prince.”

The man’s wood carving paused noticeably.

His tense and slender figure gradually relaxed, he took a deep breath, and took off his large hat.

He turned his face, with a feminine and gloomy appearance, his pitch-black eyes devoid of luster stared at Yu Lingxi for a long time before asking, “How did the princess recognize me?”

“Nowadays, there are not many who dare to call Ning Yin by his name directly.”

Yu Lingxi’s gaze shifted down, lingering slightly on the jade pendant hanging from the man’s slender waist. Having lived for two lifetimes, she didn’t expect the Third Prince to not be truly foolish.

It made sense. Born into the imperial family where people devoured each other without leaving bones, if he didn’t learn to hide his sharpness, he would have died young like the other princes.

Yu Lingxi’s eyelashes frosted, and she exhaled a white breath, saying, “We can talk.”

“What does the princess want to discuss? Why did I pretend to be foolish, and when did I place someone by Ning Yin’s side?”

The actions of the Third Prince’s subordinates didn’t stop as he meticulously carved the wood into a human form. “That palace maid is not my person.”

“What?” Yu Lingxi doubted the truth of the Third Prince’s words.

If that round-faced palace maid wasn’t working for the Third Prince, why would she betray Ning Yin and assist in wrongdoing?

“Blame Ning Yin’s arrogance.”

Seeming to see through Yu Lingxi’s doubts, the Third Prince said, “He controls the court but has no intention of ascending the throne. Some of his subordinates are inevitably wavering. For some people, serving as a regent, no matter how powerful, is just a subject. It’s better to serve as a subject to the Emperor. Don’t you think so?”

What Yu Lingxi feared most had indeed happened.

“So the Third Prince kidnapped me to force Ning Yin to use his power to support your ascension to the throne?”

Yu Lingxi smiled slightly, calmly saying, “It’s a losing deal to exchange a woman for the throne, even fools know that. He won’t come.”

“But don’t forget, lunatics and fools don’t do things in a balanced way.”

The Third Prince stopped carving the wooden figure for a while, then slowly and sluggishly said, “Not getting the throne doesn’t matter, anyway, I won’t live long.”

Yu Lingxi shivered as she examined his feminine face, trying to discern the truth from his expression.

The Third Prince turned his head, meeting her gaze.

Those hollow, pitch-black eyes made Yu Lingxi’s spine tingle. Fortunately, he quickly turned his head away, facing away from Yu Lingxi, and reached back to push aside the loose hair on the back of his head.

The oil lamp was dim, illuminating a faint silver light between his hair, a hint of cold silver gleam.

The light was too dim, Yu Lingxi looked for a long time before realizing that the faint silver light on the back of his head was a needle—a silver needle almost completely inserted into the acupoint.

“This is…”

She felt a chill run through her body, wondering who had viciously inserted this needle into his head.

“I ordered someone to insert this needle.”

The Third Prince calmly put down his hand, his hair closing over, hiding that hint of cold silver light.

“Why would the Third Prince do this?”

Yu Lingxi bit her trembling lips, trying to stay alert through speaking.

The corners of the Third Prince’s mouth twitched.

Yu Lingxi guessed he wanted to laugh, but whether it was due to years of pretending to be foolish or because of the silver needle, even such a subtle expression seemed very strange to him.

“A few days ago, Ning Yin said, only by being a fool all your life could you live long.”

His voice slowed, “But pretending to be a fool is very painful. I’d rather die sober as a prince than live in confusion as a fool.”

So he resorted to desperate measures, willing to endure the pain of a silver needle in his brain to resist the control Ning Yin exerted over his acupoints, in exchange for brief clarity.

“There are things I must accomplish.”

At this point, the Third Prince’s voice softened slightly, “The princess need not fear. I only want Ning Yin’s life.”

“Why?”

Yu Lingxi tightened her fingers, “Just because the throne is within reach, and Ning Yin is blocking your path?”

The Third Prince remained silent for a long time before saying very softly, “Because Shao Wei died at his hands, he was my only close friend.”

Shao Wei, that was Xue Song’s name.

So in her past life, Xue Song went to great lengths, even poisoning her to assassinate Ning Yin, all for… the Third Prince?

With everything connecting, Yu Lingxi vaguely understood why Xue Song was so loyal to the Third Prince. He was the only one among all those vying for power who was willing to form genuine connections with his subordinates.

Across past and present, twists and turns, it turned out these two were the ones who held on until the end.

“It’s finished.”

The Third Prince showed a somewhat childish shyness, placing the wooden figure by Yu Lingxi’s feet, “It’s for you.”

The wooden figure had features and beauty similar to Yu Lingxi’s appearance.

……

In the Fengxian Hall, the coffin lay solitary.

Ning Yin, dressed in a snowy robe, glanced with cold, black eyes at Chen Feng kneeling before the steps. “Where is she?”

Though the end of winter brought a slight chill to the air, Chen Feng’s nose dripped a bead of sweat, his usual smile gone, as he lowered his head. “According to the escorting guards, it was a little eunuch and Xiaoman who took the initiative to lead the queen away.”

“Xiaoman?”

“She’s a palace maid responsible for laundry and grooming in our mansion. Without familiar faces, the Empress wouldn’t have trusted…”

The chilling intent pressed down, causing Chen Feng to swallow hard, his voice lowering.

In this dead silence, a young eunuch approached, trembling as he presented a sealed letter and a jade hairpin.

“Your… Your Highness…”

The young eunuch stuttered, “Someone asked… asked this servant to give you… this…”

Upon seeing the familiar spiral cloud pattern on the white jade hairpin, Ning Yin’s eyes darkened suddenly.

He reached for the hairpin, feeling its icy touch with tiny droplets of water still clinging to it. A strand of red, like a wisp of sunset, stained the pin. Ning Yin gently flicked away a bit of rice straw stuck to the pin and unfolded the letter, chuckling softly.

In the solemnity of mourning, the atmosphere in the hall was incredibly heavy, making this laughter seem particularly out of place.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Ning Yin tossed the letter into the bronze basin of burning paper money, then rose and walked towards the eunuch, smiling innocently.

The young eunuch who risked delivering the letter breathed a sigh of relief.

Even in the midst of war, they don’t kill messengers. It seems that Prince Ning, despite his ruthlessness, is a reasonable man. As the young eunuch was about to get up, a tall shadow loomed over him.

In an instant, he was sent flying, crashing into the door of the hall and splattering thick crimson onto the mourning banners, creating a burst of blood flowers.

Outside the hall, people knelt in a sea of white, unaware of what had happened but too afraid to ask.

The courtiers and consorts, dressed in mourning attire, all kneeled and shuffled aside, automatically clearing a path, allowing those blood-spattered deer-hide boots to stride past.

Ning Yin drew Chen Feng’s sword and headed for the Northern Palace.

He had set a rule for himself: no bloodshed within the first seven days of marriage, wanting to spend time cleanly with Sui Sui. But now, rules and cleanliness were the furthest from his mind. All he could think of was the most primitive urge to kill, kill, kill.

Ding-ling, the dull sound of bells trembled with the splatter of blood.

Bodies fell one by one, and for the first time in his life, he regretted. He regretted not killing Ning Xuan that day at the Dali Temple.

The scattered minions arranged by Ning Xuan were no match at all. By the time he reached the Luoyun Palace, Ning Yin’s sleeves were dyed crimson with blood. Pushing open the palace doors, his bloodied robes fluttered, and the tip of his sword met the ground, his eyes soaked in the red of blood.

The Third Prince was pouring wine from a jug onto the curtains in the hall. Seeing Ning Yin enter covered in blood, he looked somewhat surprised.

“You’re here so soon.”

He said, taking the candles off the table.

The candlelight flickered, unable to cast any shine in his hollow eyes.

“Where is she?”

Ning Yin dragged his long sword forward, casually extinguishing the incense on the table.

“She’s in a place you’ll never find… Ah!”

In the instant the candle fell, flames quickly spread along the curtains, licking up to the ceiling.

Ning Yin seemed unaware, his robes dancing in the heat waves, his blood-stained cheeks as cold and silent as a fallen god.

“Where is she?”

He clenched his fingers, asking softly, one word at a time.

The raging flames distorted the man’s face. The Third Prince’s mouth and nose were bleeding, as he spoke intermittently, “Why don’t you… see… who burns first, you or her…”

He trembled, raising his hand and feeling the silver needle at the back of his head.

Then he yanked it out abruptly, thrusting it toward Ning Yin.

The silver needle pierced through his palm.

In the moment the needle was pulled out, the Third Prince’s eyes returned to their dullness. His lips twitched, and like a marionette with cut strings, he collapsed to the ground.

…

A faint wisp of smoke seeped in from the top of the stone slab, gradually warming the cramped space that had been cold to the bone just moments ago.

There was not a sound in the ice cellar, and Yu Lingxi had no idea what was happening outside.

She struggled to stand up, clumsily hopping over to retrieve the oil lamp on the wall.

The lamp was made of brass and burning hot, but Yu Lingxi paid no heed to the burns on her fingers as she took the lamp down and used its feeble flame to burn through the thick rope around her wrist.

“Faster, please, faster…”

She prayed incessantly, and finally, amidst the searing pain of the burning rope, it snapped.

She quickly untied the ropes around her feet, lifted her skirt, and ran up the stone steps, trying to open the heavy stone slab blocking the entrance to the ice cellar.

But the stone slab was too heavy, far too heavy for her to open from the inside alone.

And it was hot, very hot.

Yu Lingxi sniffed the faint smoke seeping through the cracks and knew that a fire had broken out outside.

“Ning Yin…”

Her heart tightened, unsure if Ning Yin was involved at this moment. The most urgent thing now was to escape and let him know she was safe.

But with the stone slab so heavy and a fire outside, how could she escape?

With a thought, Yu Lingxi bit her red lips and hurried back into the ice cellar, placing her hand at the bottom of the stone wall.

As expected, a faint coldness seeped through the stone crevices.

If she guessed correctly, there must be another ice chamber behind the stone wall.

Ice chambers stored a large amount of ice and generally had secret passages connecting to the moat and imperial city ponds, making it convenient to transport ice in winter. If she was lucky, finding the secret passage would lead to her escape.

Yu Lingxi stood up, swiftly feeling for mechanisms on the wall.

When she found a slightly raised blue brick, she pressed hard, and the stone wall rumbled open, revealing a vast ice chamber. Yu Lingxi’s eyes lit up, and instinctively, she stepped into the endless expanse of ice and snow. But after just a few steps, her neck went numb.

She stopped in her tracks, pressing her hand against her chest to listen carefully.

Yes, it was the sound of a golden bell vibrating!

Ning Yin was nearby! He was in the sea of ​​fire!

It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart. Yu Lingxi shook her bell and shook it again.

After hearing a response, she turned around and ran back, taking three or two steps up the stone steps, using all her strength to push against the blue stone slab.

“Ning Yin!”

Yu Lingxi patted the stone slab. “I’m okay, did you hear that?”

But it was all in vain.

The golden bell rang more urgently, as if responding to her previous shaking.

The madman hadn’t left; he was still looking for her.

In the sea of ​​fire, he was looking for her.

“Get… off…”

The stone slab became hotter and hotter. Blood seeped from her fingernail crevices as she pushed upward with all her might, her voice trembling with tears. “Wei—Qi—”

With a rumble, the blue stone slab was lifted forcefully by someone.

In the next moment, scorching heat rushed toward them.

Veins bulged on Ning Yin’s arm as he faced the burning flames, locking eyes with Yu Lingxi, who was covered in sweat.

Ding ling, the bells of the two rang as one.

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