Chapter 59: The Onset of Poison

Half an hour earlier, in the Left Hall.

“Is Your Highness returning to the Eastern Palace now?”

Liu Baiwei glanced at the half-book in Zhao Yan’s hand. “This thing is quite troublesome. I’m afraid they won’t let it go easily.”

Zhao Yan let out a faint laugh, her eyes clear and transparent under the blazing summer sun. “I know. The enemy is in the shadows, and we are in the light. That’s why we need to turn their scheme against them, to transform our passivity into initiative.”

Liu Baiwei almost immediately understood Zhao Yan’s meaning, looking up in surprise.

The Divine Light Master had been silenced in front of everyone, and the young prince was on the brink of life and death. Any other youth of the same age would likely be as frightened as a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, trembling with fear.

But she merely paled slightly, pondered for a moment, and then used her disadvantage to make a clear and bold decision. In less than a year, she had grown significantly.

“Let’s proceed as Your Highness suggests, and split into two groups,” Liu Baiwei said, crossing his arms and thinking. “Your Highness will hide with the evidence first, while I will swap clothes with you and take the Eastern Palace carriage to draw them out.”

“No. Liu…” Liu Ying paused, then corrected herself, “The young prince is taller than Your Highness. It would be more appropriate for me to take your place.”

Liu Baiwei swiftly removed his belt and outer robe, snorting, “This is about luring the enemy, not going to our deaths! This kind of task isn’t for a delicate woman like you.”

“Perhaps… I should go,” a soft voice chimed in. Zhao Yan followed the sound and saw Li Fu cautiously raising his hand.

Li Fu was not old and had been a eunuch since childhood, his frame and height similar to Zhao Yan’s.

Zhao Yan saw the guilt and unease in him and pondered, “The Empress has been kind to you. It’s your duty to relay messages for the Kunning Palace. There’s no need to feel this way.”

“Yes, but Your Highness has also been very kind to me. If Your Highness doesn’t allow me this chance to redeem myself, I won’t have the face to see you again. I might as well just end it all…”

Li Fu’s face crumpled like a bun as he kowtowed, “I beg Your Highness to permit me.”

With that, he knocked his head firmly on the ground, making it clear he wouldn’t get up unless agreed to.

Zhao Yan couldn’t sway him, and since Liu Baiwei and Liu Ying’s disguises were indeed unsuitable, after much deliberation, she had to instruct Gu Xing: “Find a way to get him a set of armor, place it in the carriage, and have him change into it secretly once inside for protection.”

Li Fu immediately brightened up, tears turning to smiles: “Thank you, Your Highness!”

Zhao Yan reached out to help him up, deliberately putting on a stern face: “Take good care of your life. Once we return safely to the Eastern Palace, I still have to settle accounts with you.”

Li Fu thumped his chest, a dimple appearing as he smiled: “Don’t worry, Your Highness! I’m quite clever!”

Halfway through the journey, the carriage was indeed ambushed.

After listening to Li Fu’s trembling account of the events, Wen Renlin said nothing, mounted his horse, and with a single hand on the reins, turned back.

Zhang Cang followed closely, pulling out a token and shouting, “The Prince of Su has urgent business in the gardens, open the gates!”

The guards at the Penglai Garden hurried to unbolt the gates. As soon as they opened, the Prince of Su galloped through, stirring up a cloud of dust.

There is a hidden passageway connecting the Heavenly Platform and Penglai Garden.

At this moment, the slanting sun cast a golden glow, and the chirping of birds filled the air.

In front of the Hegui Pavilion, on the stone steps of the long corridor, a slender “little eunuch” sat hugging their knees, their figure dappled with fragmented shadows from the trees.

Hearing the rapid hoofbeats, Zhao Yan, dressed in the dark red robes of a eunuch, lifted her chin and slowly stood up.

A black steed reared up, neighing loudly. Wen Renlin didn’t bother to soothe the overworked beast, simply slung his longbow over the horse’s back and strode towards Zhao Yan, stepping through the shifting light and shadows.

He walked so steadily, yet so swiftly, the gust of wind he stirred carrying a frosty, wintry scent that didn’t belong to midsummer, billowing his sleeves. Zhao Yan couldn’t help but blink.

“I took a shortcut from the Heavenly Platform, never thought I’d just miss you…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a tight grip on her fingertips.

Without a word, Wen Renlin pulled Zhao Yan by the hand, leading her up the stone steps, around the corridor, and pushed open the doors of Hegui Pavilion.

A cool breeze greeted them, dispelling the stifling heat.

Zhao Yan stumbled to steady herself, sensing something amiss with Wen Renlin, and softly asked, “Are you angry?”

“Are you hurt?”

Wen Renlin turned to scrutinize her, his tone as elegantly gentle as ever, but his eyes held a deep, unfathomable darkness, different from his usual self.

She was taken aback, gazing into his eyes as she shook her head. “No, no. The Divine Light Master is dead, there’s a traitor among the imperial guards, I really didn’t know where else to go, so I swapped clothes with Li Fu and came here to find you.”

She had said that the Prince of Su would always be her first choice.

In her desperation, the only safe place she could think of was the Hegui Pavilion where Wen Renlin resided.

Suddenly, a cool warmth touched her cheek; it was Wen Renlin’s finger lightly caressing her, moving from her brows down to her face, as if confirming her safety.

“What did I tell you last night, hmm?”

Wen Renlin lowered his gaze, his thin, crimson lips parting gently, “Do you know what taking the Divine Light Sect’s ledger means?”

“I know, that’s why I turned their scheme against them, to draw the snake out of its hole.”

Zhao Yan hadn’t yet figured out the source of Wen Renlin’s pallor and sickly appearance. Hesitating, an inexplicable sense of foreboding welled up in her heart. “It was the Grand Tutor who taught me that even if I am the fish on the chopping block, I must not give up on myself. Instead, I should learn to use my disadvantages to set a trap, to lure the opponent in.”

Wen Renlin gazed intently, nodding slightly: “Very good.”

“Your Highness has done very well,” he repeated with a smile.

As early as the Flower Banquet, he knew that this delicate yet resilient young girl was no clinging vine dependent on others for survival. She had her own backbone and tenacity, always inadvertently absorbing the dew, thriving and growing.

Strangely, he found himself flustered by a fact he already knew.

That momentary heartache had flooded his cool rationality like a tide. The ruthless Prince of Su couldn’t even bear the thought of a one in ten thousand chance of defeat…

When had he become so fragile? What was he afraid of?

It was truly laughable; someone who saw teasing cats as a pastime, how could he be panicked by the mere possibility of the cat being in danger?

Relaxing, Wen Renlin heard the faint sound of shackles breaking deep within his heart.

Like the collapse of the Star-Gazing Pavilion, it started with an imperceptible crack, then overwhelming, the suppressed emotions instantly rebounded manifold, burning through his insides.

He raised his hand to cover his mouth, and almost simultaneously, a hot flow spurted onto his palm.

Caught off guard, the pale gaps between his fingers were instantly soaked in a dark red, the glaring color dripping down his pale, veined hand, a shocking sight.

“Wen Renlin!”

Zhao Yan’s pupils trembled, her eyes widening in disbelief, shocked and bewildered.

Zhang Cang, who had been chasing after them with medicine, happened to witness this scene and was also scared out of his wits. He hurriedly untied the silk bag from his waist, pulling out a small red-lacquered medicine box that had been prepared in advance: “Your Highness! The medicine!”

Wen Renlin did not take the medicine.

He was wholly focused on gazing at the stunned Zhao Yan, calmly lowering his hand, allowing the blood in his palm to meander and intertwine, dripping down his knuckles.

“Zhang Cang,” he called.

Zhang Cang respectfully placed the medicine box on a nearby table, turning immediately upon hearing his name: “Here!”

“Get out.”

“Ah… ah?”

“Get far away.”

“Yes!”

Zhang Cang spun around in a smooth motion, leaving in trepidation, and incidentally closed the chamber door behind him.

The warm light in Wen Renlin’s eyes extinguished, leaving only a strange, misty dark red.

He pulled a cotton handkerchief from his robe and leisurely wiped the blood from his palm. As soon as he opened his mouth, another gush of dark blood spilled out, splattering onto the gleaming floor tiles.

That eerie dark red stabbed at Zhao Yan’s eyes.

Wen Renlin had always been the supreme controller, even when deciding life and death, he was composed and elegant, without weaknesses, showing no vulnerabilities. Thus, seeing the continuous spill of blood from his lips, she felt a strong sense of disorientation, as if her understanding was collapsing.

“What’s wrong, Grand Tutor?”

It took Zhao Yan a while to find her voice, bewildered, instinctively lifting her sleeve to wipe the blood from his lips. “Are you injured? Should we call the imperial physician?”

Her wrist was grasped, and Zhao Yan was forced back against the door by an overwhelming presence, having to look up at Wen Renlin.

He was pale and handsome, with dark red at the corners of his eyes, this handsomeness now tinged with an unfamiliar and intimidating allure, making one’s very bones tremble.

This was not the demeanor of someone merely injured, it was more like…

Zhao Yan seemed to understand something, looking towards the small red-lacquered medicine box on the nearby table.

Yes, she remembered now.

Wen Renlin would suddenly disappear, and after a few days, suddenly reappear. Every time she caught the scent of frost and snow on Wen Renlin, it was at the beginning of the month or close to it.

During the chaotic affair at the Flower Banquet, she had vaguely seen such a pair of magnificent, enchanting eyes. Afterwards, Wen Renlin had said to her:

“After all, Your Highness has seen this state of mine when detoxifying.”

“Your Highness really chose an inopportune time to provoke, I had no choice but to be cautious.”

At that time, Zhao Yan didn’t understand the underlying meaning of Wen Renlin’s words, but now it was as if she had awoken from a dream: Wen Renlin was testing her.

When Wen Renlin uncovered her secret of disguising as a man and impersonating, she had also uncovered Wen Renlin’s hidden secret.

“Seeing me in this state, Your Highness must feel quite satisfied, right?”

As Wen Renlin lifted his hand to cradle the back of her neck, his blood-stained lips still curled in a lingering smile. “Your Highness has always wanted to find my weakness, hasn’t she? Now, Your Highness has found it.”

Zhao Yan looked into Wen Renlin’s dark red, icy eyes, fully aware of what she should do at this moment.

Their gazes intertwined, locked, each seeing the surging struggle in the other’s eyes.

It might have been a moment, or perhaps a long time.

Finally, Wen Renlin was the first to lower his gaze, the hand that had clasped the back of Zhao Yan’s neck slowly releasing.

He stood before her, tall and imposing like a mountain, pale yet formidable.

He chuckled very softly, suppressing the surging sweetness and bitterness in his chest, a faint mockery curling at the corner of his mouth: “Let it all end, kill me…”

The self-deprecating words abruptly ceased.

Zhao Yan instinctively stepped forward, reaching out to encircle his waist.

Feeling the warmth and softness that rushed into his embrace, Wen Renlin was momentarily stunned.

Zhao Yan knew very well, rationally she understood she should seize this leverage over Wen Renlin for her own use.

But she simply held him gently.

Just as Wen Renlin, knowing that killing her would be the safest course, still chose to place the power of life and death in her hands…

They had both equally made choices that defied reason.

During her visit to the Prince of Su’s residence, Wen Renlin had remarked: Maybe if you stoop to giving a hug, it might just make everything better?

“Take your medicine, Grand Tutor.”

Feeling the almost lifelessly cold body in her arms, Zhao Yan unconsciously tightened her embrace, soothing, “Take your medicine first, then we’ll talk, okay?”

Her soft voice, tinged with fear and uncertainty, carried a tremble.

Like sunlight piercing through an iceberg, for a moment, Wen Renlin truly forgot the icy malice seeping from his bones.

He said nothing, only raised his hand to gently touch the back of the young girl’s head in his embrace, slowly burying his nose into the crook of her neck.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the door, falling on their shoulders, illuminating the floating dust in the air.

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