005 Enemies Meet
Perhaps because she had seen Shu Xuanqing and Third Prince Xie Yongze during the day, that night Su Niao dreamed of her past life again.
At that time, she had already been framed by Su Xuan and left with a notorious reputation. After being confined to a side courtyard by Xie Qinglan, Su Xuan still refused to let things go, using a Jinyiwei officer to falsely accuse her of adultery. Just when she was at her wit's end, unexpectedly, her biological father and elder brother came looking for her.
It turned out that she was actually the young miss of the General's Manor who had been stolen away all those years ago.
The General's Manor held no low status, and Su Niao, the long-lost young miss who had finally been found, was cherished in the palms of her father and brother's hands. By then she had already become somewhat unhinged, holding a grudge and determined to compete with Su Xuan, insisting on marrying another prince.
Her elder brother Shu Xuanqing doted on her and used his immense military achievements and the life-saving favor he had done for the Third Prince as leverage, forcing Third Prince Xie Yongze to marry her.
However, not long after the marriage, rumors spread throughout the capital that the Third Prince despised Su Niao's tarnished reputation and refused to touch her, instead admiring the heroic female general Ye Linlang.
Having gone from being the capital's celebrated "number one beauty" to a discarded wife left alone in an empty chamber after a second marriage, Su Niao flew into a rage and went to catch her husband in the act—only to be locked up by a newly promoted deputy general under Ye Linlang.
That deputy general was audacious and reckless. Not only did he prevent her from catching her husband in the act, but he also said that the Third Prince and General Ye were deeply in love and a match made in heaven, while she, with her bad reputation and frivolous, dissolute ways, should voluntarily step aside.
Su Niao was nearly mad with fury. She then used her brother's men to capture that deputy general who had spoken so arrogantly to her, subjecting him to extreme torment and humiliation.
But she could never have imagined that the deputy general she had tormented and humiliated with such shameful and explicit methods in her madness was actually the Eldest Prince, who had suffered a severe injury on the battlefield, lost his memory, and ended up wandering outside.
When Xie Chenyan lost his memory, he had been recruited into the Yunzhou army by Ye Linlang. Not long after Ye Linlang returned to the capital, she promoted him and brought him to the capital as well. Yet who would have thought that within just a few days of arriving in the capital, he would fall into Su Niao's hands. It was right after she had tormented and humiliated him that Xie Chenyan regained his memory, returned to the palace, and subsequently took up residence in the Eastern Palace as Crown Prince.
Not long after, Emperor Jiaheng abdicated due to illness and passed the throne to Xie Chenyan… The man whom Su Niao had tormented and humiliated became the new sovereign of Daqi.
And her husband, the Third Prince, used the excuse that she had nearly killed the new emperor to divorce her and confine her to a villa, only sending someone to deliver meals, leaving her to eke out a miserable existence.
By that time, her biological father and brother, who had still been willing to protect her, had already died on the battlefield. There was no one left to back her up…
On that final day, a palace matron pushed open the door of the side courtyard and delivered the Imperial Wine bestowed by the new emperor.
One cup down, and her five organs were set ablaze.
In her dream, Su Niao sobbed, crying out in pain one moment and calling "Brother…" the next…
Her personal maidservant Lichun hurriedly woke her: "Miss, miss, did you have a nightmare?"
Su Niao suddenly opened her eyes, steadied her mind, and slowly shook her head. "It's nothing."
But thinking of those foolish, incomprehensible actions she had taken in her dream as if possessed, Su Niao gritted her teeth in fury.
Why should she be the cannon fodder!
After staring blankly into space for a moment, she said to Lichun, "Pack up our things quickly. We'll set out for the estate as soon as possible…"
The voices she had heard while dying in her past life were too eerie. Su Niao felt that she needed to take a long-term approach in dealing with Su Xuan, and for now, she had more urgent matters to attend to.
No one knew why she was rushing to leave the capital for the estate in Yunzhou without delay. Only she herself knew—she was going there for revenge!
Now, the dog emperor Xie Chenyan, who had poisoned her to death in her previous life, was still suffering from amnesia and wandering in the countryside of Yunzhou, destitute and without any support.
Su Xuan and her lot couldn't escape—she could deal with them slowly later. But this man who had poisoned her in her past life—if she didn't take care of him now, she would never have the chance to avenge herself again!
Thinking back to her previous life, Xie Chenyan had sided with Ye Linlang against her, mocking her relentlessly. After he ascended the throne, when she kowtowed and admitted her faults, he explicitly said he wouldn't hold her past humiliation of him against her… yet in the blink of an eye, he first had Xie Yongze divorce her, then forced poison down her throat.
A hypocrite who went back on his word… the enmity of poisoning was irreconcilable!
Three days later, a grand procession left the capital and headed straight for Yunzhou.
Yunzhou was less than two days' journey from the capital. By noon the next day, Su Niao had entered Yunzhou city.
The long street was bustling with activity, vendors hawking their wares as pedestrians jostled shoulder to shoulder.
Su Niao, dressed in resplendent silks and brocades, walked down the street with her personal maid Lichun at her side, a veiled hat on her head as she surveyed her surroundings.
The translucent light gauze didn't obstruct her vision, but it shielded her from prying eyes, preventing the kind of stares she found distasteful.
Just then, a ragged figure, as if shoved by someone, collided with her legs without warning. Scrambling to his feet, he panicked, apologizing profusely as he hurried to flee.
However, his escape was cut short as Lichun grabbed hold of him.
After seizing the man, Lichun slapped him directly across the face. "Hand it over."
Seeing there was no escape, the beggar trembled and hastily handed over the pouch he had snatched during the brief collision.
Only then did the onlookers realize he was a thief.
But just as everyone assumed the thief would be released after obediently returning the pouch, the young lady in the veiled hat, with her refined attire, spoke in a cold voice: "Your filthy paws ruined my dress. How do you intend to compensate for that?"
On the ornate, intricate hem of her skirt was a dark, grimy handprint.
The beggar dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing and begging for mercy, insisting he couldn't afford to pay. Then the crowd heard the young lady with the pleasant voice let out what seemed to be a cold laugh.
"A simple 'I can't afford it' and that's the end of it?"
As she spoke, she extended her hand… in it was a leather whip. With a flick of her wrist, it cracked with a sharp snap across the thief's arm.
She had noticed this beggar earlier—at the city gate, when Lichun was giving alms to the little street urchins, he had snatched copper coins from several of them. Now he had followed them all the way here, waiting for an opportunity to steal.
A bloody welt rose on the thief's arm, and he cried out in pain.
The onlookers saw that the young lady was still unsatisfied, raising her hand to strike again. Just then, a hand shot out from the side, suddenly catching hold of her long whip with such speed that even the guards several paces behind Su Niao hadn't reacted in time.
By the time the guards rushed forward, the tall, slender man had already released the whip and stepped back, speaking in a calm, soothing tone: "He is young and only stole to fill his stomach. Surely you, miss, with your magnanimity, need not be so harsh."
Su Niao felt that the man's voice sounded strangely familiar, but before she could place it, her thoughts were interrupted by the murmurs of the surrounding crowd.
"One should be lenient where leniency is due."
"Dressed so finely yet so heartless to the poor—tsk tsk."
Su Niao ignored the ignorant masses. With a scoff, she addressed the man who had intervened: "Since you say he's pitiful and ask me to spare him, then you can compensate me for my dress on his behalf. This is Cloud-Smoke Gauze—fifty taels of silver."
Silence fell over the entire area.
Through the sheer veil, Su Niao could not discern the man's expression. When he fell silent, she let out a scornful laugh. "As expected, it's easy to be generous with others' belongings, but when it comes time to contribute your own effort, you have nothing to say."
"Hypocritical ruffian!"
Her red lips parted slightly, her tone dripping with disdain. Su Niao kicked aside the thieving beggar and continued on her way.
She had important matters to attend to and no patience to tangle with these ignorant commoners.
In her previous life, Su Niao had once inadvertently overheard Ye Linlang telling someone about how she and Xie Chenyan had first met.
The story went that at noon on the Ghost Festival, the amnesiac Grand Prince had come to procure Blood Ginseng for his aunt's illness, only to find that the sole Blood Ginseng in Yunzhou Prefecture had already been purchased by her. He then encountered the Grand Prince seeking the medicine.
She had shared some of the Blood Ginseng with the Grand Prince, and the two had become acquainted from there.
It was now nearing noon. Without wasting further time, she headed straight for Zixia Hall, the largest medical clinic in Yunzhou Prefecture.
Upon entering, Su Niao had Lichun step forward and expressly request to purchase the Blood Ginseng.
The shopkeeper of Zixia Hall hesitated at first, as the Blood Ginseng was their establishment's prized treasure, but the moment he saw the bank draft in the young maidservant's hand, he immediately broke into a smile and hastily ushered them into the inner chamber, respectfully and carefully presenting the thumb-thick, invaluable Blood Ginseng.
Su Niao had it put away, and her heart settled at once.
She needed to prevent Ye Linlang from forming a connection with Xie Chenyan, and she also needed to eliminate Xie Chenyan—this exiled prince—before anyone discovered him!
In her previous life, he had killed her with a cup of poisoned wine. If she waited until he returned to the capital and took up residence in the Eastern Palace, revenge would be hopeless.
Sure enough, moments later, a voice requesting to purchase Blood Ginseng sounded from outside—a woman's voice.
Su Niao guessed it was Ye Linlang.
Upon hearing the shopkeeper say it had already been sold, Ye Linlang did not press the matter and promptly left with her attendants.
Su Niao sipped her tea quietly, in no hurry. Then she heard that no sooner had Ye Linlang stepped out the front door than another person came in.
Again, the inquiry was for Blood Ginseng. The shopkeeper, caught between laughter and tears, informed him once more that the Blood Ginseng here had been sold just moments before.
Just as the man was asking who had purchased it, Su Niao calmly led Lichun and the guards out. Lichun, unhurried, closed the lid of the Blood Ginseng box as she walked.
Su Niao glided gracefully outward, and the next instant, a figure stepped before her.
The man seemed to hesitate for a moment but ultimately spoke: "Forgive my impertinence, but might I ask whether the young lady would be willing to resell a portion of the Blood Ginseng you purchased? I only need a few of the fibrous roots."
Su Niao immediately recognized him—it was the man who had stopped her earlier on the street from striking that thief.
So this was the Grand Prince Xie Chenyan, who, even with his lost memory, remained upright and noble in character, fond of championing the weak against the strong?
She paused, then lifted the sheer veil of her hooded hat, casting a casual glance at the man… only to meet a pair of clear, piercing phoenix eyes directly.
Chen Yan, at that same moment, saw the appearance of the noble young lady.
Even clearer and more striking than when he had seen her in the carriage last time.
The face revealed beneath the veil of the hooded hat was one of extreme, ravishing beauty—slender moth-like brows, cat-like eyes, a delicate nose, and rosy lips. She was like a tender blossom just beginning to bloom, bathed in bright yet gentle sunlight, radiant and dazzling.
Recalling the fear and fury in those cat-like eyes when he had subdued her in the carriage last time, Chen Yan lowered his gaze and clasped his hands in salute. "A family member is gravely ill. My bold request for medicine is born of desperation. I hope the young lady will forgive me."
Those clear, crystalline phoenix eyes dropped downward, leaving only his cold, sharp profile visible.
Even dressed as an ordinary commoner, his tall, straight posture and cold, sharp demeanor made it clear at a glance that he was no ordinary man.
Recalling how Xie Chenyan's eyes had burned red with shame and fury when she toyed with and tormented him in her past life, and the cold, ruthless authority he wielded upon ascending the throne, Su Niao smiled.
She said, "It's you."
The First Prince, Xie Chenyan… ah, right, he was now just a commoner, Chen Yan.
"My earlier offense on the street was my fault. If you would be willing to sell me a few ginseng fibers, miss, I would gladly offer my apologies."
Su Niao withdrew her gaze and continued forward. "Sorry, not selling."
The young lady of a wealthy house spoke with an imperious air, clearly not deigning to look at him. Chen Yan hurried forward a few steps and pleaded in a low voice, "An elder in my family is gravely ill. I beg you to overlook past grievances. If you would sell me some ginseng fibers, I will let you take whatever anger you wish upon me."
Finally, the young lady paused slightly in her steps.
"You really want it?"
Su Niao turned her head to look at him.
Chen Yan clasped his hands in a respectful bow.
Su Niao smiled. "Fine then. I happen to be short a servant by my side. If you serve me as a servant for one month, at my every beck and call, I'll sell you some ginseng fibers. How about that?"
So she truly bore a grudge and wished to humiliate him to vent her anger.
Chen Yan nodded. "Deal."
Su Niao lifted her chin slightly, and Lichun immediately tore off some fibers from the Blood Ginseng. "Ten taels of silver."
Blood Ginseng was precious, and with the other party deliberately making things difficult, selling a pinch of fibers for ten taels was hardly surprising… but Chen Yan didn't have that much money on hand at the moment.
A few days ago in the capital, he'd nearly been discovered by the infamous Jinyiwei and had made the trip for nothing without earning a cent. He only had five taels of silver on him now.
Seeing his expression, Su Niao understood. "What, no money?"
Chen Yan gave an "mm" in acknowledgment. "I don't have enough. I can only offer five taels."
Su Niao made to walk off again, but then Chen Yan caught up and said in a low voice, "I'll serve you for three months as your servant, and within those three months, I'll repay the remaining five taels."
Su Niao thought it over. "Fine."
Chen Yan immediately looked at the ginseng fibers, but Su Niao said, "The goods will only be given to you after three months as well. Otherwise, with a ruffian like you, if you ran off with the fibers, where would I go to find you?"
The "ruffian" Chen Yan sighed and earnestly assured her, "I won't run… but my family member is gravely ill. I hope you can be lenient, miss."
Then he heard the young lady let out a scornful laugh. "Your promise isn't worth a single coin… Now, take me to Jiming County."
Jiming County in Yunzhou Prefecture?
Chen Yan's home was in Jiming County, so it was along the way.
Su Niao suddenly seemed to take pity. "Tell you what—first escort me safely to Jiming County. Once I arrive home and settle in, I'll give you the fibers so you can go back and save a life."
Suddenly she was being reasonable again?
Chen Yan glanced up at the veiled hat, unable to see the young lady's expression. He nodded. "Thank you, miss."
A moment later, Su Niao had purchased a large pile of goods on the street and finally returned to the carriage.
Chen Yan, now reduced to a "servant," loaded the items onto the carriage, then walked to the front to prepare the reins, while several guards rode on horseback behind the carriage.
But just then, Chen Yan saw the young lady walk up to him and lift her chin.
"Kneel."
Chen Yan's brows furrowed slightly as he looked at her.
Su Niao sneered coldly. "If you don't kneel for me to step on, how am I supposed to board the carriage?"
The girl's eyes were full of malice. "Surely you don't need me to teach you how to be a servant?"
A stool was clearly placed by the carriage step, yet she insisted he kneel instead—plainly a deliberate humiliation over what had happened before.
After a glance at the delicate young lady, who with her veiled hat on barely reached his chin, Chen Yan paused, then knelt down on one leg, the other bent and braced against the ground.
His aunt was waiting for the Blood Ginseng to save her life, and since he had agreed to serve as her attendant in exchange for the medicine, he was willing to lower himself.
Su Niao had originally intended to make him kneel prostrate, but fearing that pushing too hard might make him refuse and ruin her plan, she refrained from making further trouble and simply stepped onto his thigh.
However, a thigh was not a stool, and Su Niao clearly lacked experience. She stepped on it, then, wanting to vent her frustration, ground her foot hard… but with the force she applied, her foot slipped. Lichun tried to steady her but failed to catch hold, watching helplessly as her young lady let out a startled cry and toppled over, directly knocking the half-kneeling mud-footed servant to the ground.
Chen Yan instinctively reached out to steady her, but was met with a face full of the young lady's elaborate, billowing sleeves.
With his vision obscured, he dared not reach out blindly, so he simply let himself fall backward, managing to shield her as best he could… and then felt a soft, springy, fragrant softness against his face.
Su Niao's veiled hat fell off. Sensing something, she froze and looked down, meeting Chen Yan's gaze, which stiffened for a moment before quickly darting away.
Without the slightest warning, Su Niao raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
"Smack!"
She gritted her teeth and scrambled to her feet.
Chen Yan, his head turned to the side by the slap that came with a whiff of fragrance, looked up to see the young lady, who had stormed off to the carriage in a huff, her earlobes bright red.
He recalled what had just happened… his face had been pressed beneath her chest, a sensation entirely different from that time in the carriage.
Though it had not been intentional, it was indeed improper.
Touching the tip of his tongue to his cheek, Chen Yan's expression remained impassive. Without a word, he climbed onto the carriage and cracked the whip: "Giddy up…"