Ever since returning from Jiyue Lou, Qin Chengze felt that something was off.
Qing Ci had addressed him as “Young Master” and handed him the edict without once lifting her eyes to look at him—her deference identical to that of the servants in the manor.
“You did very well.”
Qin Chengze looked at her lowered gaze and praised her sincerely.
She had always been exceptional, never once disappointing him.
Qing Ci nodded. “That was only the copy for the deposed Crown Prince. The one naming the Seventh Prince as Crown Prince was not obtained.”
Qin Chengze smiled. “This one is enough. A Ci, come here.”
“Very well.”
She said the words, but walked toward the door instead. She had only heard the first half—”this one is enough”—and deliberately ignored his request for her to come to him.
“A Ci?” Qin Chengze called after her.
Qing Ci halted her steps. “Young Master, is there anything else?”
Qin Chengze met her cold, clear eyes, and the abyss of doubt in his heart yawned ever wider.
“I’ve told you, there’s no need to address me that way in private.”
Qing Ci nodded. “Yes.”
Qin Chengze’s hand, clutching the sachet at his waist, fumbled with unease. “Stay with me tonight.”
Qing Ci looked at his peach-blossom eyes, as full of deep affection as ever. She could not reconcile this man with the one in that vivid scene an hour ago.
Thinking this, she smiled inexplicably.
What a fine performance. What a pity he wasn’t an actor on stage.
Qin Chengze caught the smile that did not reach her eyes, and his heart tightened. He spoke softly, “What’s wrong, Qing Ci? Let’s be like last night. You just need to be by my side.”
Qing Ci said with detachment, “No. I can’t sleep when I’m by your side. I may practice martial arts, but my body isn’t made of iron. It will break down if this continues. If you still want me to serve the manor well, then don’t do this.”
She strode away.
Qing Ci had returned so early that the two girls inside, who had been whispering to each other, were taken aback.
“Oh, what’s this today…” Chun Xi clicked her tongue.
“Xiao Wu, I’d like to have a talk with you.”
Xiao Wu immediately rose and threw on an outer robe. “Let’s talk outside.”
The winter night was especially cold. The moment she stepped out of the room, Xiao Wu curled into herself and shivered.
Seeing Qing Ci’s slender frame standing tall and straight, showing no sign of feeling the cold, she clicked her tongue. “You’re used to being out at night, alright. You can really take the cold.”
“This is nothing.”
Qing Ci took her hand and led her to sit beneath the evergreen tree in the courtyard, where there happened to be one stone seat each.
Some memories remained vivid. Like soaking in an ice pit on winter days like this—the bone-piercing cold still ached in her bones whenever Qing Ci thought back on it.
Her master had said that those who practiced martial arts must endure pain and suffering. Only by surviving such trials could one forge an unyielding will.
But Qing Ci felt that this merely weeded out those with weaker constitutions—many more had died of illness in those ice pits.
And those who were already mediocre in constitution were successfully broken down into chronic invalids. These invalids were no luckier. The Taishifu kept no useless people—they would rather kill than let them go.
“What did you want to talk about?” Xiao Wu looked at her sideways.
Qing Ci looked at Xiao Wu, who was vigorously rubbing her hands together, and curved her brows slightly. “Two years ago, there were also two girls in the courtyard where I lived.”
Xiao Wu looked at her, unsure where this was going.
Qing Ci’s gaze grew distant. “Actually, there were many girls at first. We grew up together. I remember every one of them, every face. But every year, a few would disappear. Later, only two girls were left to keep me company. Worst of all, one day, the two of them never came home either.”
“…”
“I stayed alone for about a month, until the Young Master, under the pretext of reshuffling personnel, had me move in here to live with the two of you.”
The confusion in Xiao Wu’s eyes grew thicker. She could guess that those who never returned were dead. But she couldn’t imagine what kind of work could wear people down like that.
“I’m a girl too. I get scared too. I’ve had thoughts of running far away.”
Qing Ci looked through the dappled shadows of the tree at the waning moon above. “But I can’t leave. I have an older sister—she lost her life because she tried to run.”
Xiao Wu’s mouth twitched involuntarily. “You, you…”
Qing Ci smiled. “You can guess, can’t you? I’m nothing more than a blade in the Taishifu—a weapon.”
“You have a day when you’ll leave this manor. I never will. I know too much, and I’ve done too much.”
Xiao Wu’s entire body tensed. All of Qing Ci’s words pointed to one thing—she was one of the assassins the manor had raised, and moreover, she was the last surviving one.
That was why she always came home late, why her strange behavior went unquestioned. Yet by all appearances, she was nothing more than a delicate young woman.
“Why are you so tense? Afraid I’ll kill you?”
“No, it’s not that…” Xiao Wu denied it repeatedly, unaware that her constricted pupils betrayed her.
Qing Ci reached out and squeezed Xiao Wu’s stiff wrist. “You’re very interested in the matters between Qin Chengze and me. I brought you out to talk, but let me make things clear.”
She paused, then continued, “And I want the person behind you to understand as well. The reason Qin Chengze involves himself with me is nothing more than to coax me into unwavering loyalty, so that I’ll truly work for him.”
The warmth of her palm eased some of the turmoil in Xiao Wu’s heart.
Xiao Wu lowered her head and said, “I noticed the knot on the bundle was tied differently. You’ve been through my things.”
Qing Ci nodded in acknowledgment.
She had originally planned to feign ignorance, to watch what Xiao Wu would do and investigate the person behind her.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Wu was more perceptive than she had imagined.
Still, now that she had guessed the gist of it, there was no need to keep up the act.
“You’re one of Commandery Princess Nanhua’s people, aren’t you?”
Xiao Wu bit her lower lip, pressing it until the color drained from it.
Qing Ci smiled. “It’s fine. It’s only natural that she’d want to keep an eye on me since she doesn’t trust her fiancé. I won’t hold it against her.”
Xiao Wu looked at her in surprise.
Qing Ci said, “If anything, I’m the one in the wrong. The engagement between them was already on the horizon, yet I kept putting off ending things.”
She had believed Qin Chengze’s nonsense—first he said it was just a rumor, then he said he would handle it, and then he kept repeating how helpless he was.
Qing Ci untied a wineskin from her waist—one she had bought from a roadside stall when she left Jiyue Lou—and pulled the stopper to take a drink.
“The princess knows what kind of man he is, yet she still chooses to marry him. Her devotion is something I can’t match.”
She couldn’t do it herself, nor could she understand the princess’s state of mind.
What was there to love about him? Those grand promises of undying love were all lies. Aside from that, what else did he have to offer?
“I don’t understand either. For two years, the princess had countless opportunities to let me discover Qin Chengze’s true nature, but she never did. Why is she so impatient now?”
Hearing this, Xiao Wu shook her head. “I don’t know. The princess only told me to watch you. I can be certain… the princess doesn’t intend to harm you.”
Qing Ci took another drink.
“What a devoted and magnanimous princess.”
In her mind, she replayed that scene of fragrant indulgence—the woman beneath Qin Chengze had skin like smooth jade, a figure as supple as willow branches and as soft as spring water. Truly a sight to stir pity in anyone.
She had also heard that Commandery Princess Nanhua was unmatched in both talent and beauty, cherished as a jewel in Nanjing Wang’s palm.
Qin Chengze really had gotten lucky with that one.
“Drink less. You’re inside the residence—it wouldn’t look good if you got drunk.” The barrier in Xiao Wu’s heart had unknowingly faded, and she found herself fussing over Qing Ci as she had before.
As Qing Ci lowered her head, Xiao Wu caught sight of the bloodshot veins in her eyes.
A sudden pang of sympathy struck Xiao Wu. “Then go ahead and drink. Maybe it’ll lift your spirits a little.”
The strong liquor burned her throat, and Qing Ci smiled. “There’s a reason I trained so hard in martial arts and tried so hard to please Qin Chengze.”
Xiao Wu asked, “What is it?”