CT - 65

Since that day at Xiuxiu Temple, or perhaps even earlier, the feigned cordiality between them had grown increasingly tense.

Ye Tingyan couldn’t fathom her thoughts.

Luo Wei also couldn’t fathom his. If Ye Tingyan’s journey to the capital from Youzhou was for a future, then why did he repeatedly lose his composure in front of her?

She repeatedly thought about the eight characters Yan Lang had written: “using him burns your hands, but killing him would be a pity.” She also recalled many other things. Everything churned within her, giving rise to a bizarre idea.

But this idea was too bizarre. She couldn’t voice it, dared not voice it, and there was no one to whom she could speak. She could only swallow it, searching for an opportunity to force him to expose himself.

Ye Tingyan turned around, leaning against the window frame with his back to her, looking up, lost in thought. Luo Wei followed his gaze and saw a moon obscured by dark clouds.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed, “That day, after returning from the palace banquet, I passed by Fanlin and had a sudden impulse to ascend the terrace alone. I watched the moon from Gaoyang Terrace. Although it lacked the grandeur of the sunset, the moon is always there, but unfortunately...”

Before Ye Tingyan could reply, Luo Wei continued, “You and I likely won’t have another chance to admire the moon together.”

Ye Tingyan pursed his lips and said faintly, “Why does the Empress say such a thing?”

“Why pretend to be ignorant when you understand perfectly?” Luo Wei said, resting her chin on her hand and smiling, “I strike at the heart, you clean up the aftermath. This round, we can say we won beautifully. After the Yu family falls in autumn, our common enemy will no longer exist. Lord Ye, have you come here today to bid me farewell? I thought you would wait until after Yu Qiushi’s death.”

As the dark clouds dispersed, Ye Tingyan, upon hearing these words, did not refute them. He turned and leaped closer to her, closing the lattice window beside him, shutting the moon outside.

Luo Wei continued to meet his gaze in the faint moonlight, even reaching out to brush the stray hairs at his temples behind his ear. Ye Tingyan watched her intently. Without a bronze mirror, Luo Wei knew that their gazes must now be tender and lingering, as if facing intimate lovers to whom they had bared their hearts.

After today, such gazes would likely cease to exist.

She was a scheming Empress, he was the Emperor’s most trusted confidant. Even though their relationship was already so ambiguously intertwined, they could never truly trust each other and reveal their bottom lines.

But if they didn’t reveal their bottom lines, this alliance, which had begun in spring, was coming to an end.

Ye Tingyan leaned in, his lips brushing lightly against her cheek before settling on her lips. This kiss was utterly different from before—soft, quiet, like a dragonfly touching the water, without any hint of aggression, like a gesture of goodwill.

He reached out and pressed the back of her head, his palm warm, a warmth transmitted through her disheveled hair. Luo Wei opened her slightly narrowed eyes and saw his dark eyes close up. She found herself unseasonably distracted, thinking: he is so cold, his lips are cold, his chest is cold, perhaps the heart within his chest is also icy, so why are his hands so warm?

She leaned in closer, actively returning his kiss. Ye Tingyan stiffened, surprisingly not very pleased, which once again made Luo Wei wonder—from the moment she met him, she had noticed that he was full of such wondrous contradictions.

He had written a note demanding she be his reward, yet he was greatly startled at first, as if the one who had proactively overstepped the boundary was not himself.

He kissed her, fabricating tales of being deeply in love with her, even repeatedly losing his composure, acting so convincingly that she almost believed him. Yet, his attitude was unpredictable, hot and cold, often making moves she couldn’t understand for reasons she couldn’t grasp.

He could strategize for battles on the frontier, gain such trust from the Emperor in court, and retreat to find and fill gaps in her plans, executing them flawlessly. Such a person...

Luo Wei thought, “burning hands” and “pity” were indeed spot on.

She couldn’t let go of him and leave him to Song Lan. Otherwise, in the future, setting aside the hidden intimacy between them, she had no confidence at all in whether she could outmaneuver him.

If she could make him completely hers, that would be wonderful. But he was too clever. Without a backup plan, how could she reveal everything? How could she be sure he wouldn’t use her as a stepping stone for his own advancement? After all, now that Yu Qiushi was dead, working for her seemed far less profitable than working for Song Lan.

Even if he chose her after knowing the truth, could she ever truly trust that he wouldn’t betray her, wouldn’t harbor ill intentions for his own benefit, wouldn’t stab her in the back one day?

They say use people without doubt, doubt people without use. But there was an unfathomable mist between them. She couldn’t understand what Ye Tingyan truly wanted, couldn’t fathom this person, and dared not take a single risk.

These questions had churned her mind into a chaotic mess recently. Presumably, Ye Tingyan was also wavering between her and Song Lan. His evasion after the Xiuxiu Temple incident, the lotus flowers he couldn’t resist leaving in the Imperial Library, and the sunset and moon they each saw from afar were all evidence of his wavering.

She hadn’t even realized that she had lost her resolute intention to kill him. Her mind was entirely focused on what she could do to force him onto her side.

Luo Wei was still lost in thought during his kiss when she suddenly felt a sharp pain at the corner of her lips. It was Ye Tingyan, displeased by her distraction, gently biting her.

“Empress, what are you thinking?”

His hand moved to her cheek, and he asked gently, “Are you thinking about how to kill me after Yu Qiushi dies?”

Luo Wei’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm. She quickly covered up, “Shouldn’t I be more worried about myself than how to kill you?”

“How could the Empress worry about herself?” he also laughed. “When you decided to act against the Grand Tutor, I thought you were reckless. Who knew you already harbored a sure-kill plan in your heart? I underestimated you. So, it seems my past worries that His Majesty would be unfavorable to you after the Grand Tutor’s death were also overthinking. The Empress has her own plans; what I can think of, you have already thought of. Since you decided to eliminate him, you must have already prepared your escape route, so why speak of worry now?”

Luo Wei peered at his expression, first chuckled softly, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter again: “The one who understands me is Tingyan.”

Ye Tingyan said slowly, “So, at this moment, shouldn’t the Empress be thinking about how to kill this subject?”

He suddenly drew the short knife that Suzaku usually wore at his waist, held it with both hands, and respectfully offered it to her.

Luo Wei was startled: “What do you mean by this?”

Ye Tingyan’s expression didn’t change: “I can’t bear to see the Empress tormented by this matter. After much thought, why don’t I give the Empress an opportunity—you draw the knife and kill me today, discard the body in the garden. Everyone in Qionghua Palace can testify that I broke into the hall in the middle of the night and was killed by guards. Empress, you are so clever, you won’t fail to find an excuse to smooth things over. Compared to the danger of me becoming a major hidden threat in the future, the danger of killing me today is simply insignificant. Wouldn’t you agree, Empress?”

He spoke these words with such excessive sincerity that Luo Wei couldn’t discern how much was true and how much was false. She instinctively reached out and grasped the short knife he offered.

Before she could hesitate, Ye Tingyan covered her hand with his, guiding her to draw the knife. A flash of silver light gleamed in the darkness—the knife was not only sharp but a deadly weapon.

Luo Wei was startled by him and tried to withdraw her hand, but he held it tightly. She swallowed and whispered, “Are you crazy?”

Ye Tingyan scoffed, his tone almost cajoling: “If you’re unsure, Empress, feel it. Beneath my outer robe is only an undergarment. There’s definitely no protective armor. If you miss today, the Empress will surely never get another chance for me to offer my neck for the kill.”

Luo Wei asked tremblingly, “Does Lord Ye mean that he has already made his choice? Do you think if you choose Song Lan, he will tolerate you in the future?”

Ye Tingyan’s eyes curved as he smiled: “And if I choose the Empress, will the Empress tolerate me?”

Luo Wei was silent for a moment, not directly answering, only saying, “Excessive cleverness easily leads to harm. How could Lord Ye not understand this principle? The first day you returned here, you should have hidden your talents.”

Ye Tingyan nodded in full agreement: “You are right. So, rather than saying I’m crazy, it’s better to say I’ve come to beg for mercy now. Since I can see my own ending, why struggle? If the Empress acts today, it will spare me the agony of several years of painstaking effort in the future.”

When it came to striking at the heart, she might be far from his match. In just a few words, he had rekindled the almost forgotten murderous intent within her—she couldn’t allow him to become a major threat, dared not confide in him. No matter what, there would always be a day when they would face each other in conflict. If she only then firmed her resolve, she didn’t know what price she would have to pay to eliminate him.

Though she knew this was his test, such a good opportunity would absolutely never come again.

The sharp blade was in her hand. If she wanted to, she could surely find a way to kill him in one blow. Ye Tingyan knew martial arts, couldn’t she? He was acting crazy tonight, couldn’t she?

The hand holding the knife began to tremble violently. As if sensing her thoughts, Ye Tingyan looked up and smiled at her.

Luo Wei couldn’t tell if that smile was the calm beneath madness or a despairing sadness. At least at this moment, she felt that the other party was truly seeking death.

If that was the case—

At that crucial moment, a gentle dissuasion suddenly echoed clearly in her ear.

“Drawing a sword can be for deterrence, protection, defense, but never for pure slaughter.”

Luo Wei blinked. Everything before her eyes instantly twisted into a different scene.

Perhaps she had been too busy these days, or perhaps too engrossed to think much. Such a hallucination, she hadn’t experienced it for a long time.

She slowly raised her head and saw a sky of azure blue with petals drifting down.

Someone held her hand, whispering in her ear, “Yan Lang is a general; his sword intent carries too much killing aura. You are different from him. You don’t need to go to battle to kill enemies. You face enemies not driven by national hatred, no matter how dangerous, it’s merely a difference in stance. Therefore, when you draw your sword, you must harbor a heart of protection and an intention of compassion.”

It was vaguely a spring day with willow catkins flying. She held the sword in her hand, wanting to turn and look at the person speaking, but she couldn’t move at all.

She could feel his presence, but she couldn’t see him, only hear the voice.

She was so anxious she almost cried, “Am I not drawing my sword for defense now?”

But he stopped speaking, merely guiding her slowly through sword moves beneath the flowers. For a moment, falling red petals scattered like rain. When the hand holding hers suddenly disappeared, she was abruptly startled to realize that the vibrant colors covering the ground were not petals, but half-coagulated blood.

Ye Tingyan saw her silence and was about to say something more when Luo Wei suddenly looked up and snatched the unsheathed short knife from his hand.

A pang shot through his heart, but he quickly closed his eyes.

Yet, he only heard the clatter of the weapon falling to the ground.

Luo Wei stood up, looking shaken, muttering somewhat incoherently, “No, no, never mind what happens in the future... Even if I always...”

She rambled, trying to dissuade herself, retreating a few steps. Ye Tingyan picked up the knife and knelt before her.

A tingling sensation spread through his heart, whether it was the joy of escaping disaster or something else. The exquisitely carved hilt dug deeply into his palm, but he felt no pain: “Empress, if you spare me now, you will surely regret it later.”

Luo Wei looked at his face and suddenly realized that he had actually pushed her to the point of losing her composure. Was this perhaps revenge for all the past incidents?

A surge of stifled annoyance immediately welled up in her, and she said bitterly, “Enough nonsense, go! Just go!”

Ye Tingyan grasped the knife, climbed up from the ground, pushed open the lattice window, and even turned back to smile at her: “I’ll come to see you again after Yu Qiushi is executed.”