CXD - 14

By the time the lamps were lit, in the warm chamber of the Yaoguang Pavilion, Guyu and Xiaoman stood helplessly by the couch where Jiang Zhiyi lay sobbing, staring at each other with wide eyes.

After lunch at the Shen residence earlier that day, Qingsong had repeatedly urged them to leave, claiming it was on his master’s orders. Annoyed, the princess had Xiaoman disguise herself as her, wearing a veil hat, and leave the Shen residence while she secretly stayed behind to see what kind of maiden Shen Yuan Ce would bring back.

Guyu and Xiaoman had repeatedly reminded her to send word if anything happened, but who would have thought the princess would return on foot, crying!

The princess usually traveled by carriage or sedan chair, avoiding walking whenever possible. How heartbroken must she be to walk in this cold weather?

On such a freezing day, seeing the princess return with her nose and ears red from the cold, bursting into tears the moment she entered the room—tears streaming faster than they could be wiped away…

Could it be that she had truly caught him in the act?

“Princess, what happened?” After Jiang Zhiyi had cried for a while, Guyu finally dared to cautiously bend down and ask.

“He’s changed… He’s no longer the Brother Ce I once knew…”

“‘Seeing only the smile of the new love, who hears the weeping of the old’—what the books say is true…”

“He has a new love now, fine,” Jiang Zhiyi sobbed, struggling to catch her breath, nearly fainting. “But he even smashed the token of affection I gave him right in front of me—”

Guyu exclaimed in shock: “How could he do such a thing!”

Jiang Zhiyi took a deep, trembling breath, clutching her robe: “What he shattered wasn’t just the jade pendant—it was my heart…”

Guyu quickly patted her back: “Princess, please don’t cry yourself sick over a faithless man. It’s not worth it!”

“That’s right! Look at how proper Shen Yuan Ce appears, yet he turns out to be—” Xiaoman couldn’t articulate the princess’s poetic and dramatic words, struggling for a long time before blurting out, “Such an inhuman person!”

Guyu: “Not only inhuman, but simply—simply not a thing!”

A maid hurried in from outside, stopping abruptly at the door, nervously looking inside: “Then—if the inhuman Shen Yuan Ce wants to see the princess, will the princess see him?”

Jiang Zhiyi hiccupped, slowly rising from the couch with a tear-streaked face: “…What did you say?”

“Shen Yuan Ce has come to the residence looking for you. He says there’s been some misunderstanding between you two. What do you think?”

Jiang Zhiyi’s tears paused briefly, then flashed back to the ferocious face and the resolute hand that had shattered the jade.

“Misunderstanding? The biggest misunderstanding between us is that I thought he was different from those unfaithful men who abandon their wives after achieving success!”

Guyu: “Exactly! Kicking our princess out the door one moment and talking about misunderstandings the next. Is our princess someone he can summon and dismiss at will?”

“But Shen Yuan Ce is still waiting in the gatehouse, looking deeply aggrieved...”

Jiang Zhiyi laughed bitterly, momentarily amused.

“He’s aggrieved now, isn’t he? Wasn’t he the one bullying me, playing both the red face and the white face all by himself…” Jiang Zhiyi wiped her tears, too angry to cry anymore. “With the jade shattered, our bond ended the moment he broke it. Let him enjoy everlasting happiness with his new lover!”

Late at night, the study in the Shen residence was brightly lit. Yuan Ce sat before the desk, his face dark with anger, one hand holding tweezers, the other a wooden spoon filled with fish glue, staring intently at the scattered fragments of jade before him.

Applying glue to the edges of the broken jade, using tweezers to join two pieces together, holding them steady for a moment until they stuck, then picking up another piece and repeating the process…

Snap—the first two pieces came apart again.

“…”

After countless attempts of fixing one part only for another to fall apart, Yuan Ce finally slammed down the tools in frustration.

Kneeling on the floor, Mu Xinhong and Qingsong heard the sound, looked up, and saw Yuan Ce loosening his collar as he walked to the window, his hands sticky with glue.

Mu Xinhong: “Young General, go rest. Once I find the missing piece of jade, I’ll take over and fix it for you.”

Qingsong: “This jade is so slippery, and it’s shattered into so many pieces. Maybe we should call a jade craftsman to repair it?”

Mu Xinhong shot him a sharp glare: “Such a private token, which the elder Master guarded so carefully, even hiding it from you. Now you want to make it known to everyone?”

Qingsong, already upset about being kept in the dark, muttered a soft “oh,” rubbed his tired eyes, and continued crawling on the floor, searching for the missing dot of the character “Yi” on the jade pendant.

“Sigh… All because I grew a lion’s heart today and dared to escort the princess out. This must be divine retribution for me…”

Mu Xinhong massaged his numb legs, crawling to an area that hadn’t yet been searched: “If that’s the case, I’ve done no less in helping the young general fend off the princess. My retribution must be worse than yours!”

As soon as they finished speaking, they felt a chill run down their spines. Turning their heads, they saw Yuan Ce glaring coldly at them.

…Right, why were they competing over who was suffering more retribution when, in this field, if the young general was second, who could dare claim first place?

Yuan Ce stood by the window for a while, frowned, and pointed at the pile of broken jade: “Must we really fuss over this thing?”

The urgent matter now was to explain to the princess about the “new lover” and ensure she didn’t realize it wasn’t “the lover who changed his heart” but “the lover who changed his identity.”

But the princess was refusing to see him, saying the bond was severed with the jade shattered. Clearly, the crux of the problem lay in this piece of jade.

Qingsong: “Without something to appease the princess and calm her anger, we might not even get the chance to explain…”

Yuan Ce closed his eyes, turning to Mu Xinhong: “You’ve been married for years. Don’t you have any tricks to… soothe her?”

Mu Xinhong: “I’m a seven-foot-tall man. Am I supposed to coddle a woman?”

Yuan Ce’s brow rose dangerously.

“I…” Mu Xinhong cleared his throat softly, pointing to his knees on the floor, “I just kneel directly before her.”

“…”

“Or else—”

“? “

Mu Xinhong scratched his head awkwardly, looking at the young general, who hadn’t yet reached adulthood, and mumbled vaguely through his nose: “Do some… intimate things…”

“…………”

Yuan Ce turned away, facing the winter night’s chill, loosening his collar further.

Qingsong blushed and whispered: “Isn’t this inappropriate? With the token already given, the princess and the elder Master must have privately pledged their futures. Technically, the princess is your late brother’s widow. Wouldn’t this violate moral principles?”

Mu Xinhong: “Then what do you suggest we do!”

“If we can’t fix the jade, maybe we should give her something else to cheer her up? Not long ago was the princess’s birthday. I heard many noble sons sent gifts.”

“Gifts either fill a gap or cater to her preferences. The princess gets whatever she wants. What could she lack? And what she likes must surely be precious treasures. Where do we find those quickly? Even if we do, they wouldn’t match the wealth of those noble families.”

Qingsong pondered for a moment, suddenly bright-eyed, and clapped his hands: “Then give her something special! Something no other noble son has, something only our master can offer!”

Early the next morning, in the sleeping quarters of the Yaoguang Pavilion, Jiang Zhiyi sat listlessly on the bed, her messy black hair loose, her swollen eyes like walnuts. She weakly rinsed her mouth from a jade basin held by Xiaoman and drank a calming tea.

She had tossed and turned all night, finally falling asleep briefly at dawn, only to dream of catching her beloved in the act at the Shen residence.

In the dream, she hid outside the wing of the Shen residence, watching an indistinct woman nestling in Brother Ce’s arms, crying and saying: “You drove the princess away for me. Now that I’ve taken her place, I must have offended her terribly. I’m so scared…”

Immediately, that familiar male voice gently replied: “How can you call this taking her place? She’s the cuckoo, and you’re my magpie. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with her now.”

Before the dreaming her could understand what “deal with” meant, a flash of silver swordlight rushed toward her face!

Screaming awake, she saw the frightened faces of Guyu and Xiaoman…

Even now, Jiang Zhiyi still felt a lingering chill, clutching her chest, unable to shake the feeling.

If it were just a dream, it would be fine, but the spine-chilling sensation when the swordlight flashed in the dream was identical to the feeling of being stared down by those cold eyes in the study yesterday.

That seemed… like killing intent.

Could he have intended to kill her yesterday…

“Princess, don’t be afraid. Dreams are always opposite.” Xiaoman consoled her.

Guyu: “Yes, you’re the princess of the court. Even if Shen Yuan Ce has a new lover, he wouldn’t dare harm you!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a maid led several servants in, carrying a large box. “Princess, Shen Yuan Ce has sent this box of gifts, saying it’s his token of affection for you.”

Guyu: “See? Even though Shen Yuan Ce offended you yesterday, he’s eager to make amends!”

Jiang Zhiyi’s expression softened slightly, her heart slowly settling. Frowning, she raised her eyes to look at the large wooden box behind the maid: “What is it?”

“The servant doesn’t know. General Mu said it’s a surprise. You’ll understand when you see it.”

“Surprise?” Jiang Zhiyi snorted coldly. “Is there anything in this world that can surprise me? I won’t look!”

“Then I’ll have them take it away.”

The four servants hoisted the box again, took a deep breath, braced themselves, and staggered out step by step, grunting under the weight.

These were the strongest servants in the courtyard, their strength rivaling men’s. Yet even four of them struggled to carry it. What could possibly be inside?

Jiang Zhiyi curiously blinked: “Wait.”

The servants turned around, carrying the box back.

Jiang Zhiyi sat on the bed, glancing down at the large box from above.

No one had dared to describe a gift to her as a “surprise” for years. She decided to take a look, just to see what could be so presumptuous.

Just a glance wouldn’t prevent her from severing ties with him completely.

Jiang Zhiyi weakly gestured with her chin: “Put it here.”

The servants placed the box down, removed the carrying poles, opened the lock, and respectfully retreated.

Jiang Zhiyi leaned on Guyu’s arm, walked to the box, and examined the plain wooden box with a frown. Wrapping a handkerchief around her palm, she bent down and pushed open the lid.

Snap! The lid opened, and countless blinding flashes of silver light burst forth, accompanied by a rush of cold air. Guyu and Xiaoman pulled Jiang Zhiyi back three steps in unison!

Breathing heavily, Jiang Zhiyi trembled and extended a finger, pointing at the box full of large swords: “…Did you see that? H-he really wants to kill me!”