After burning the handkerchief, Ru Shuang returned after having left earlier.
Ru Shuang: “Master, did Ruoxue see your true face?”
The master always wore a fanged mask within the organization. Except for the heads of various departments and a few key personnel, no one had ever seen the master’s true appearance.
Song Yao: “Mhm.” Recalling the amusing scene, her already good mood improved even further. Stroking her nails painted with bright red polish, she sighed with pity.
“She died without even understanding why, how pitiful.”
Changing the subject, she brought up the idea that had occurred to her late last night.
“Send word to my third brother, Huai Qing, and the others to prepare to raid Changle Lodge sometime soon. Keep this quiet for now; only the department heads need to know.”
Her inquiry last night about whether Nangong Yi would target the Sixth Prince wasn’t out of curiosity but stemmed from her desire to annex Changle Lodge.
Changle Lodge’s influence in the martial world was relatively low-tier, primarily focused on gathering intelligence through singing houses, and had never been particularly prominent.
It was only about two months ago that Changle Lodge began openly and covertly probing the organization’s information from all sides. That was when she had Hongyue send assassins to eliminate Changle Lodge’s leader, planning to wipe out the entire lodge afterward.
Who would have thought Ruoxue would betray them? And who could have guessed that Changle Lodge’s leader was actually the current Sixth Prince?
Fortunately, the organization had established procedures for dealing with traitors, and the defecting Ruoxue was merely a minor underling. Otherwise, the organization might well have fallen into Nangong Zhe’s hands for his own use.
Even better, she was the Crown Princess.
And Nangong Zhe had the misfortune of provoking Nangong Yi, the Crown Prince, at this very time. By chance, she also learned that Nangong Yi was about to deal a fatal blow to Nangong Zhe.
This was simply the perfect alignment of timing, location, and circumstances, making it hard for her not to seize this opportunity to annex Changle Lodge.
Once Nangong Zhe met his demise, her people would strike immediately. Those were claws nurtured by a prince’s hand—what a juicy piece of meat! Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage.
Ru Shuang: “Understood.”
Since it wasn’t something to be publicized, Ru Shuang didn’t ask further and left to carry out the orders.
After Ru Shuang departed, Song Yao found sitting alone rather dull, so she went to sit at the dressing table.
Rummaging through the jewelry box she had brought along, she picked out a pair of begonia flower gold hairpins and adorned herself with them.
From the time the imperial edict of marriage was issued until after the wedding, the gold, silver, jade ornaments, and rare treasures Nangong Yi had gifted her had piled up like a mountain in her private treasury.
None were particularly special except for this pair of begonia hairpins, which Nangong Yi had personally given to her.
Though she didn’t know if they held any special meaning, wearing them couldn’t hurt. She had never worn them before, as she hadn’t paid much attention to Nangong Yi in the past.
Now was different from before. Since she intended to develop genuine feelings, why be stingy in expressing her affection for him?
As for whether their outcome would be good or bad, that could be dealt with later. Good would naturally be best, but bad was acceptable too.
Love wasn’t the entirety of Song Yao’s life. When the time came, she would treat it like removing rotten flesh from a wound—resolve to endure the pain and cut it out.
For now, she would only focus on developing and enjoying it.
Hesitation and timidity weren’t in her nature; daring to love and hate was her way.
Around the end of the Si hour.
The hunters returned one after another, and just then, a series of sharp, piercing screams erupted from Xian’an Hall where Nangong Zhe resided.
It was the maids who had entered to wake Ruoxue, estimating that the Sixth Prince would return soon, discovering Ruoxue who had been dead for some time.
“Hurry! Go report to His Highness at once—Miss Xue’er has met with misfortune!”
When the maid rushed over in a flurry to deliver the news, the Emperor, Nangong Yi, and Nangong Zhe had not yet returned. Only the Empress, along with several accompanying consorts and Song Yao, were present.
Consort Liang, recognizing the maid from her son’s residence, immediately scolded, “What is the meaning of this? Such hysterical behavior is utterly improper!”
Terrified, the maid’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground with a thud. Gasping for breath, she stammered with her head bowed, “Your Majesty, Consort Liang… something terrible has happened. Miss Xue’er was bitten by a snake… she appears to have… stopped breathing.”
The Empress frowned and gestured to her attendant matron. “Send someone to Xian’an Hall to check if she can still be saved. Then conduct a thorough search of the surroundings—we cannot allow that venomous snake to roam freely through the Imperial Villa. If it isn’t found, have snake-repelling powder scattered about. Issue orders for everyone to exercise caution to prevent further casualties.”
As expected of the Empress, her first thought was to maintain overall stability.
Consort Liang, inherently ill-tempered, grew even more irritated seeing the Empress—who always overshadowed her—take charge once again. Unable to vent her frustrations on her underachieving son or family, nor daring to show disrespect to the Empress, she directed her anger at the maid: “If she’s dead, then she’s dead. Just dispose of that nameless stray girl. If you cause another commotion like this, I will not spare you!”
Just as Consort Liang was venting her temper, the Emperor and his retinue returned.
Both Nangong Yi and Nangong Zhe were among them—whether by chance or by the Emperor’s summons, the brothers returned side by side behind the Emperor.
The Empress led the others in greeting the imperial party. Dismounting, the Emperor inquired, “What has happened?”
After the Empress summarized the situation, the Emperor glanced first at Nangong Yi, then at Nangong Zhe, his gaze finally settling on the latter. “Go and see to it. Handle this properly. I do not wish for any further disruptions during this summer hunt.”
It was unclear whether the final remark was directed solely at Nangong Zhe or included others as well.
“Yes, thank you, Father.” Nangong Zhe’s handsome face was grim, though not excessively so. After expressing gratitude, he departed with his attendants for Xian’an Hall.
She was merely a somewhat attractive female assassin. Initially, he had kept her alive to extract information about her organization, but later, he found her amusing—a novelty. After more than ten days, the novelty had long worn off. He had already planned to silence her in a few days; now, it seemed this saved him the trouble.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Song Yao was dabbing Nangong Zhe’s forehead with a scented handkerchief, presenting a picture of marital devotion to onlookers.
After returning to Qingyun Hall, washing away the dust, and changing into a fresh robe, Nangong Zhe scooped Song Yao into his arms, seating her on his lap. With a pleased expression, he praised, “You look beautiful.”
But Song Yao, feigning displeasure, teased him, “Is Your Highness referring to this humble servant or the begonia hairpin?”
Perhaps weary from the morning hunt, Nangong Zhe leaned back against the sandalwood chair. His phoenix eyes held a faint smile as he gazed at her. “Naturally, I mean Yao Yao.”
The Crown Prince, usually a man of few words, had recently learned the art of glib talk, often speaking sweet words to delight his beloved wife.
Song Yao reached out and pinched his cheek. “Before this humble servant wore this hairpin, I never heard Your Highness praise me so.”
Nangong Zhe curved his lips, tightening his arm around her slender waist to draw her soft, fragrant form closer against his chest. “My mistake,” he conceded. “How may I make it up to my Furen?”
The voice carried a hint of desire, thick with temptation. Song Yao understood, waiting with keen interest for the man’s next words. The follow-up was good, intoxicating and disorienting.
As passion took over, Song Yao imitated Nangong Yi’s beast-like behavior from that day, leaving a mark on him in return to declare ownership.
“Your Highness, you are mine.”