12
Mu Mingtang silently watched the jade hairpin with fine quality jade was snapped in Xie Xuanchen’s hands as easily as if it were a toy. He hadn’t even used any real force, just the strength of his fingers.
Mu Mingtang thought to herself that thankfully, she had already received her nuts; the waste now was Xie Xuanji’s money. She mentally reassessed the difference in physical strength between the two men and tried to mount a self-defense: “Your highness, this has nothing to do with me. I am completely innocent.”
Xie Xuanchen broke the story-laden jade hairpin into pieces and casually tossed them on the ground, only then feeling that things looked much better. After disposing of the item, he said, “Now, tell me. What exactly is going on between you and him?”
Mu Mingtang breathed a sigh of relief—as long as she was allowed to explain herself before being condemned. She immediately told him everything, from start to finish: how she had been adopted by the Jiang family, how she had been made to take Jiang Mingwei’s place in the engagement to Xie Xuanji, and how, after Jiang Mingwei returned, she had been sent to the Prince of Qiyang’s mansion.
It took Xie Xuanchen a while to sort out the relationships between these people. He nodded and said thoughtfully, “So, to put it simply, Jiang Mingwei was engaged to Xie Xuanji, but she ran away, so the Jiang family had you fill in. Then Jiang Mingwei came back, and with nowhere to put you, the Jiang family shoved you into the Prince of Qiyang’s mansion.”
“…That’s one way of putting it,” Mu Mingtang murmured. “But do you really have to phrase it like that about yourself? I feel like you just insulted both yourself and me.”
Xie Xuanchen let out a cold laugh, full of contempt. “I know exactly how much those father and son sons are worth. By the way, who are the Jiang family?”
Mu Mingtang was stunned. She paused for a long moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth after the sound escaped, but she couldn’t help herself—her shoulders shook with laughter.
All the curses Mu Mingtang had hurled at the Jiang family in recent days couldn’t compare to the sheer brutality of Xie Xuanchen’s question. Jiang Honghao would stop at nothing to climb the ranks, yet in Xie Xuanchen’s eyes, even the Jiang name wasn’t worth mentioning.
That was the ultimate blow to an enemy. Xie Xuanchen didn’t quite understand why Mu Mingtang was laughing, but this woman was more agreeable than he had expected. From the moment he woke up until now, he found her acceptable enough that he had no immediate plans to kill her. So, even though he didn’t know what was so funny, he patiently waited for her to finish laughing.
Finally, Mu Mingtang composed herself. Wiping away tears of laughter, she said, “The Jiang family is the household of Jiang Honghao, the Deputy Vice Commissioner of the Three Offices. He might be the full Commissioner by now.”
Xie Xuanchen understood immediately. “Because he sent you here?”
Mu Mingtang didn’t dare speak and nodded slightly. Xie Xuanchen needed no further explanation. He had grown up mired in such schemes and political calculations; he understood the emperor’s subtle intentions better than anyone.
Xie Xuanchen gave a knowing, sardonic smile. “It seems they truly believe I won’t live much longer. They’re already arranging my funeral arrangements for me.”
Hearing him say this, Mu Mingtang felt an inexplicable ache in her chest. In a low voice, she said, “Don’t say that. You will live to be a hundred.”
Xie Xuanchen scoffed. “I know my own body better than you do. I wasn’t going to live long anyway. What’s the point of all these empty pleasantries? How old are you? You’ve probably never even seen the outside world. What do you know about the meaning of life and death?”
“I do know.” Since Xie Xuanchen had woken up, Mu Mingtang had been obedient and agreeable, but at this moment, she suddenly became obstinate. “Of course I know what life and death mean. Although I was adopted by Madam Jiang in Chenliu, I am not from Yingtian Prefecture. Originally, I am from Xiangyang.”
Xiangyang? Xie Xuanchen was startled and turned his head to look at her. Mu Mingtang pressed her lips together and said, “Xiangyang was breached by the Jie people in the third year of the Hongjia era. My parents died in the chaos of war. Later, I followed the tide of refugees northward until I reached Chenliu. I am a nobody, so of course I cannot compare to you, your highness, in your profound understanding of war. But I am no naive, ignorant young lady raised in a sheltered boudoir. Back then, someone told me: ‘It’s hard to live, but dying is far too easy.’ So I struggled all the way to Yingtian and somehow survived. That person was my benefactor. Now, I want to pass those words along to you, your highness.
“Since you are not afraid to die, why don’t you have the courage to live?”
Hongjia era, year three, Xiangyang. Xie Xuanchen immediately realized what had happened that year. When he had entered Xiangyang city, half of it had already been destroyed—a scene of utter devastation, unbearable to look upon. So, she was from Xiangyang.
While he had been unconscious, he had vaguely heard Mu Mingtang mention something about a “benefactor,” but he had assumed it was just polite, empty talk.
Xie Xuanchen was silent for a long time. Finally, he asked, “Did we meet back then?”
Mu Mingtang was crying so hard she couldn’t make a sound, and could only nod vigorously. Xie Xuanchen relaxed his body, leaning back against the soft pillow that he found rather effeminate, and thought for a long time. Finally, he dug up a vague, hazy shadow from the depths of his memory.
Back then, she had been so small, frozen in fear on the ground, so weak that Xie Xuanchen felt she wouldn’t survive past the end of that street. He never expected that such a delicate little girl would manage to make it out of the city, survive among the refugees, and travel all the way to Yingtian on her own two feet.
Even less could he have imagined that the little girl he had casually saved back then would now become the person accompanying him through his final journey. He had grown up in military camps, and later, with nothing but a knife and a horse, he would chase down entire armies. Countless people had died by his hand, but just as many, like Mu Mingtang, had been saved by him on a whim.
He had spoken a casual sentence, yet she had remembered it for many years. And today, she returned those same words to him.
Xie Xuanchen sighed. For the first time, he felt that there was still someone in this world who remembered him, who hoped he would live. Those years of campaigning across the land, of iron horses and battlefields—only a few years had passed, yet they already felt so distant.
Rarely reminiscing about the past, Xie Xuanchen remained silent for a long time. After a while, he smiled lightly and said, “It hasn’t been easy for you to survive this long. After I die, I will leave word for them to let you remarry.” He paused, then reconsidered: “Never mind. I don’t trust those hypocritical father and son. When the time comes, I’ll contact my old subordinates and secretly send you away.”
Upon hearing the word “remarry,” Mu Mingtang’s heart turned cold. “Are you arranging your final affairs?”
Xie Xuanchen laughed indifferently. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Those of us in the military don’t fear death. I wasn’t going to live past next year anyway.”
“Next year hasn’t arrived yet, so how do you know you won’t live to see it?” Mu Mingtang persisted. “On the road as a refugee, I felt like I wouldn’t survive so many times, yet I still made it through. As long as you want to live, there’s always a chance.”
“You’re only so young, how dare you lecture me?” Xie Xuanchen raised an eyebrow, his tear mole shifting slightly, his expression dripping with sarcasm.
Mu Mingtang bit her lip, sniffling. “When I first learned I was to be married, I didn’t know you were the Marquis of Wu’an. I thought I had been sold off, so I pointed right at Jiang Honghao’s nose and called him a corrupt dog of an official. Later, I also cheated Madam Jiang out of a huge dowry. Oh, right, Xie Xuanji was there that day too. I was so heated in my ranting that I dressed him down as well.”
Xie Xuanchen raised his eyebrows in surprise. He thought he himself was already quite skilled at courting death, but it seemed each generation produced its own talents—Mu Mingtang was even bolder than he was.
“So…” Mu Mingtang’s eyes glistened with tears as she looked pitifully at Xie Xuanchen. “Your highness, you absolutely must survive. If you die, what will happen to me? The Jiang family will surely make my life a misery.”
Xie Xuanchen was silent for a long while. Finally, he gruffly tossed a handkerchief in front of Mu Mingtang. “Stop crying. Wipe your tears. If you cry again, I’ll kill you.”
Mu Mingtang murmured an acknowledgment, picked up the handkerchief, wiped her tears, and slowly quieted down. Regaining her composure, she realized she had been crying in front of Xie Xuanchen for quite some time. Feeling both embarrassed and awkward, she stood up and looked outside. “Why hasn’t the imperial physician arrived yet?”
“Imperial physician?” Xie Xuanchen let out a laugh, leaning back. “They’re not coming.”
“But Prince Jin clearly said when he left…”
“You also said he left from here. Would he dare to say what he came to the Jade Qilin Hall to do?”
Mu Mingtang had no retort. Thinking it over, she found his words made sense. Xie Xuanchen seemed utterly indifferent to his own fate. Leaning against the bed frame, he had already half-closed his eyes. “What happened today stays between you, me, and him. The emperor and the Imperial Hospital will definitely never find out that I woke up. But that’s fine. It gives me a few days of peace and quiet. Otherwise, the moment those undying old bastards show up, I’ll want to wring their necks.”
Mu Mingtang thought of Xie Xuanchen’s unnaturally immense strength and silently shivered. When he said “wring their necks,” he might have meant it quite literally.
Earlier, Mu Mingtang had thought the guards outside were cowards making a big deal out of nothing—Prince Qiyang wasn’t a demon; how frightening could he be? Now, she reconsidered: indeed, Prince Qiyang wasn’t a demon. No demon could be as terrifying as him.
Seeing that his energy seemed depleted as he closed his eyes, Mu Mingtang quietly and gently helped him lie down, softly lowered the bed curtains, and slipped out. After taking two steps, she looked back at Xie Xuanchen. Through the layer of bed curtains, his profile was blurry, appearing even more serene and innocent.
And yet, this man possessed an extraordinary capacity for destruction.
No wonder he had been invincible in battle after joining the military, known as the “walking battle standard.” No wonder, after he became mentally unstable, the court treated it as a major threat, stationing so many soldiers to guard him and even custom-forging heavy black iron chains to restrain his movements.
Mu Mingtang sighed and quietly walked out.
This time when Xie Xuanchen woke up, no one knew how long he would remain conscious. But based on Mu Mingtang’s brief and subjective observation, she felt that Xie Xuanchen was not the indiscriminately murderous person rumors made him out to be, nor was he completely consumed by the urge to kill, having lost all human consciousness.
Perhaps, there was more to the story behind his massacre of his own men back then.
Regardless, Mu Mingtang was now bound to Xie Xuanchen on the same boat. The emperor wished for his death, Xie Xuanji wished for his death, and even the soldiers stationed outside wished for his death. Only Mu Mingtang wanted him to live a long, long life. For this reason alone, she would do her utmost to help him recover as quickly as possible.
The most pressing priority right now was undoubtedly to nourish his body—at the very least, to restore his strength so he could sit up on his own. Next, she needed to find a way to remove the black iron chains so he could move freely.
A proud man like Xie Xuanchen would surely prefer death over living in captivity, bound by such shackles.
One good thing that came with Xie Xuanchen’s awakening was that he could now eat.
That evening, Mu Mingtang tried to wake him and to her delight, she succeeded. Overjoyed, she immediately brought her own dishes and fed them to Xie Xuanchen.
When she had instructed the kitchen on the menu the day before, she hadn’t anticipated that Xie Xuanchen would wake up. So, today’s dishes weren’t particularly suitable for a sick person. Still, being able to eat fresh vegetables was far better than surviving on liquid food. As she fed Xie Xuanchen, she chattered, “Your highness, even though this is your mansion, right now, you’re really eating from my ration allowance. Luckily, I’ve been pretending to have a big appetite these past few days, so now that the portions have been reduced, no one outside will find it strange.”
Xie Xuanchen said nothing. Mu Mingtang continued her rambling. “Come to think of it, tomorrow I’ll have to figure out a way to bribe the guards. Thank goodness I brought a generous dowry and can afford to support you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep this up with all the selling.”
A vein pulsed on Xie Xuanchen’s forehead. He lifted his head and shot her a cold glance. “Shut up.”
Just because he didn’t mention it didn’t mean he had forgotten. He still clearly remembered her secretly calling him a “pretty boy.” He had been magnanimous enough to let it slide, and now she was getting even more insolent?
**