4: Encounter
Qiuying’s piercing scream shattered the silence, and it took Qiao Shilian a long moment to snap back to reality. Feeling no pain anywhere, she realized the flying leaf that had shot towards her had merely grazed past her arm without causing any harm.
Even so, Qiao Shilian felt as if she had walked the line between life and death once more.
Remembering the leaf imbued with such a fierce killing intent, a wave of retrospective fear washed over her. At this moment, her legs felt weak; she could only stand steady with Qiuying’s support. Cold sweat had long since drenched her back.
The complex feelings she had held for Su Zhuoguang moments ago vanished without a trace. Her already troubled mood became even more difficult to unravel. Qiao Shilian inwardly fumed. She should have known better than to approach this person! Acting without distinguishing right from wrong, he nearly cost her, her life!
Angrily, she looked over and saw a dark shadow stepping over fallen leaves, hurriedly blocking the solitary figure in white. “Master, you mustn’t! This is not one of the concubines sent by His Highness the Crown Prince!”
The voice was deliberately raised, likely intending to explain the situation to the victim.
Qiao Shilian recognized the person who had rushed over. In her past life as a spirit, she had seen him. He was Su Zhuoguang’s guard, Fenglai.
“Young Miss, Young Miss, are you alright? Were you hurt anywhere?” Qiuying immediately examined Qiao Shilian from head to toe and only relaxed after confirming there were no injuries.
In the blink of an eye, Fenglai was already before Qiao Shilian, bowing his head and saying, “May I ask which noble young lady you are? This humble one is Fenglai, a servant of the General’s residence. Tonight was a misunderstanding. My master did not intend to harm you. I offer my sincerest apologies on his behalf. On another day, my master will surely visit your residence with gifts to formally apologize for his offense.”
Fenglai steeled himself and poured out the explanation he had hastily prepared in his mind. Because Su Zhuoguang rarely attended banquets, he wasn’t familiar with many of these official’s daughters. But the young lady before him was dressed in opulent attire, fine silks and sheer fabrics, adorned with pearls and jade—it was clear her status was not low.
It’s all the Crown Prince’s fault, forcing those so-called beauties and concubines on the master, annoying him to the point where he mistook this approaching young lady for another one sent by the Crown Prince and acted to scare her off. Just now, from the shadows, I saw this young lady seemed quite frightened. We’ve definitely caused trouble this time.
“Your master bullied my young lady and nearly cost her her life! Afterwards, he doesn’t say a word, sending you to apologize instead. He clearly doesn’t take our young lady seriously!”
Qiuying had always been straightforward. Even if this person claimed to be from the General’s residence, they were still in the wrong.
She thought to herself, even when the Crown Prince displeases the young lady, he coaxes and indulges her. When has our young lady ever suffered this kind of grievance? Moreover, her young lady was kind and gentle and probably wouldn’t hold a grudge, but she, as a maidservant, couldn’t swallow this anger.
“Qiuying.” Qiao Shilian stopped her maid from saying more. She had also pieced together the general situation from Fenglai’s words.
Su Zhuoguang had returned to the capital from the border two years ago. Already of age, he had neither wife nor concubines. The Crown Prince, taking advantage of his rare attendance at this banquet, likely intended to present him with a woman. This act served the dual purpose of currying favor and perhaps other forms of testing.
However, Su Zhuoguang was not receptive. After several refusals, he had no choice but to withdraw from the banquet to relax in the courtyard, mistakenly taking her, who had approached, for one of the concubines sent by the Crown Prince.
Qiao Shilian took a deep breath, advising herself not to get angry—consider it as repaying a debt from her past life to him.
She straightened her posture and glanced at Su Zhuoguang, who was now walking over step by step. Seeing his indifferent face, showing little emotion, as if nothing had happened, Qiao Shilian almost failed to suppress the anger she had bottled up.
This man… his very existence is infuriating.
Under normal circumstances, knowing it was a misunderstanding and with his subordinate having sincerely apologized, Qiao Shilian wouldn’t have made a big deal out of it. But today, a series of incidents had piled up in her chest, pressing down on her and making her extremely irritable. And then she had to run into Su Zhuoguang and, for the sake of his past kindness, couldn’t even vent her frustration.
She felt even more annoyed.
Fenglai maintained his humble, bowing posture, silently praying: Master, please wipe that cold look off your face and apologize to her properly.
Even if this matter escalated, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. At worst, the heads of the two households would meet, and General Su would bring gifts to mediate. But afterwards, back at the residence, he feared the already fragile relationship between father and son would become strained again.
Thinking of this, Fenglai sighed inwardly. The future looks worrisome. Being the Young General’s attendant was no easy task.
Unlike the anxious Fenglai, Qiao Shilian met Su Zhuoguang’s gaze calmly as he stood before her. Unexpectedly, Su Zhuoguang spoke first, addressing her, “Miss Qiao, my apologies.”
His voice was cold, like his person—clear as the sound of jade pendants striking each other, or water flowing over stones in a mountain stream—giving one a sense of chill.
Qiao Shilian was taken aback. “The Young General actually remembers me?”
With his apology, the displeasure in her heart dissipated somewhat without her noticing.
Her thoughts involuntarily drifted. In terms of time, she and Su Zhuoguang had met once before this.
Su Zhuoguang had been stationed at the border since his youth, resisting enemies and achieving illustrious military exploits. The year he returned to the capital, the emperor conferred upon him the title of Piaoqi General and held a special victory banquet. Because his father was the Grand General, it had become customary for everyone to refer to him as the Young General.
She recalled that after that banquet ended, Su Zhuoguang had specifically approached to ask if she was the second daughter of the Prime Minister’s household. At the time, Qiao Shilian hadn’t paid much attention to this, nor did she know his temperament, thinking it was just an ordinary interaction.
But now, looking back, for Su Zhuoguang to initiate a conversation with a woman was truly a rare occurrence.
Su Zhuoguang’s legend of charging on horseback to meet the enemy and breach city walls was widely known. Coupled with his exceptionally handsome face, few could rival him. This young hero had captivated countless women in the capital, and stories about him were still circulated in the popular chapbooks.
It was only after learning a bit about him that Qiao Shilian came to understand from the chatter among various ladies that this Young General kept his distance from women. Over the years, every woman who tried to get close to him had failed without exception.
She had never deeply pondered the significance of Su Zhuoguang’s question during their first meeting.
In the past, her heart and eyes had been completely filled with the Crown Prince, Qin Shuo. She never paid much attention to or remembered other men. If it weren’t for the overwhelming fame of this Young General Su, she probably wouldn’t have remembered his temperament or his deeds either.
Lost in thought, Su Zhuoguang spoke calmly, answering her question.
“The Flowing Moon Jue. It belongs to the Prime Minister’s residence.”
His gaze fell on Qiao Shilian’s waist, where a piece of jade, translucent and cool as moonlight, hung.
Qiao Shilian: “…”
So, he meant that he recognized her solely based on her jade pendant? This jue was passed down from the Western Regions and was exceptionally rare. It had been auctioned at a merchant guild in the capital; her father had bid a high price for it and given it to her as a coming-of-age gift.
But with such a statement, Su Zhuoguang’s implication was clear: he didn’t remember their first meeting and acquaintance. It was Qiao Shilian being presumptuous and asking an unnecessary question.
The tangled threads of frustration in her heart stirred again. Qiao Shilian found it difficult to maintain her composure. With a slight edge of sarcasm, she said, “The Young General is truly attentive to detail.”
Su Zhuoguang looked thoughtfully at her slightly raised brow. “Miss Qiao seems to hold a grudge against me.”
Qiao Shilian said one thing while meaning another: “No, I don’t.”
Even as she spoke, the dissatisfaction on her face was abundantly clear.
Su Zhuoguang seemed to see through her thoughts. “I have prosopagnosia. I usually identify people by objects.”
Qiao Shilian: “…”
Prosopagnosia? Face blindness? If he were truly face-blind, how could he have recognized her horrifically mutilated corpse at a glance in the wilderness on that rainy night? When she was discarded, there wasn’t a single identifying object on her body, only the simplest of cloth garments, torn to shreds by wolves and crows.
“Please convey to His Highness that Su never accepts gifts.”
Su Zhuoguang’s tone was filled with detachment. Having said this, he turned and left without waiting for Qiao Shilian’s response.
“You…”
Qiao Shilian stared at the now-empty courtyard, a frown creasing her brow.
“That idea of sending concubines wasn’t something our young lady suggested to His Highness. For Young General Su to take his anger out on our young lady is just too much.” Qiuying glared resentfully at the spot where Su Zhuoguang had stood moments before.
In this place now empty of people, the breeze felt cooler, and moonlight cast a frost-like sheen. Qiao Shilian didn’t respond to Qiuying’s words, her brows drawn together in deep thought.
Su Zhuoguang’s parting words had enlightened her.
He was right. As someone close to the Crown Prince, her actions and behavior would inevitably lead to assumptions. Qin Shuo loved ostentation, insisting on pomp in everything. Over the years, Qin Shuo had never concealed his partiality towards Qiao Shilian. By now, everyone in the capital knew her relationship with the Crown Prince was unusual.
Therefore, when she approached Su Zhuoguang today, it was only natural for him to assume she was an emissary for the Crown Prince, maintaining vigilance and distance towards her.
She thought, that outcome of misplaced trust in her past life was also because she became blind within this boundless pampering, losing a heart that could discern the dangers and deceptions of the world, allowing betrayers to trample over her.
As Qiao Shilian walked back, her mind restless and uneasy, she heard the sound of reprimands not far away, mingled with faint weeping.
“How could you be so clumsy? The dance performance is about to begin… what are we going to do now…”
Two maids stood helplessly under the corridor in front of a room. Before them, shattered porcelain pieces littered the ground, perfume spilt everywhere, its thick, rich scent permeating the air.
“I… I didn’t mean to… the handle of the perfume box suddenly broke… and then it just…” The maid who was crying and explaining looked at the mess on the floor, her tear-filled eyes full of panic.
“Is this perfume urgently needed?” Qiao Shilian asked as she approached.
“Our Third Young Miss is scheduled to perform a dance for His Highness tonight. This perfume was prepared well in advance. Who knew this clumsy girl would be so careless and break it?” The other maid answered, hastily picking up the broken pieces as if to leave.
“I happen to have a new bottle of perfume. Qiuying, go and fetch it.”
Even without recognizing the maids’ faces, Qiao Shilian could guess that their mistress was the legitimate daughter of Marquis Zhou, Zhou Shu, based solely on the mention of a dance performance.
In her past life, at this evening banquet at Luoxia Mountain Villa, Zhou Shu had indeed performed a dance.
“Thank you, Miss Qiao, but…” The Zhou family maid hesitated. She remembered her mistress wasn’t familiar with this Prime Minister’s daughter. Besides, the handle of the perfume box had broken under suspicious circumstances…
“Finding new perfume now would be too late. His Highness places great importance on Miss Zhou’s dance performance tonight. You wouldn’t want to delay the performance over a bit of perfume, would you? If the dance is flawed in front of all the guests, it would be His Highness’s face that is lost.”
Qiao Shilian invoked the Crown Prince’s name, making the Zhou family maid suddenly realize the seriousness of the matter and quickly dispel her doubts.
“Thank you, Miss Qiao, for enlightening me.” The Zhou family maid gratefully accepted the perfume brought by Qiuying, thinking to herself, she was indeed being narrow-minded. Someone like Miss Qiao wouldn’t need to use such lowly tactics against her mistress.
Who doesn’t know about the Crown Prince’s favoritism towards Qiao Shilian?
In the past, Qiao Shilian wouldn’t have offered help.
Zhou Shu was Fang Yaoyao’s sworn enemy. The former had a straightforward temperament, clear in her likes and dislikes, and couldn’t stand Fang Yaoyao’s delicate, pitiful act. Whenever the two were together, Fang Yaoyao would inevitably face direct ridicule and sarcasm. Consequently, for Fang Yaoyao’s sake, Qiao Shilian had also become hostile towards Zhou Shu.
Now it seemed Fang Yaoyao targeted Zhou Shu also because Zhou Shu had feelings for the Crown Prince.
Qiao Shilian remembered that in her past life, an accident occurred during Zhou Shu’s dance performance, drawing a cold look from the Crown Prince. After that, Zhou Shu had few opportunities to get close to him.
Gently sniffing the lingering lotus fragrance in the air and glancing at the broken handle of the perfume box, understanding dawned on Qiao Shilian.
**