Xiao Changling stood alone in the center of the ice-cold palace room.
Waves of chill invaded from all directions, causing Xiao Changling to cough in a low voice.
Standing beside her was a woman clad in brocade silk. A delicate bun was styled upon her head, yet in the center of the hairstyle, there was no hair ornament grand enough to serve as a proper centerpiece; all that was present were merely a few gold hairpins.
At this moment, that woman stood off to the side with her head bowed.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Xiao Changling spoke softly to the maidservant disguised as Princess Yong’an.
The maidservant immediately lifted her head: “This servant suffers no hardship.”
This maidservant shared a four-to-five-tenths resemblance with Xiao Changling. With the addition of heavy rouge and a splendid hairstyle, the likeness reached seven to eight tenths.
The maidservant and Xiao Changling had grown up together since childhood, and her speech and demeanor had naturally taken on the noble elegance of the royal family. Ordinary guards and the servants of the Princess Manor of Changlin County were completely incapable of telling them apart.
Without this maidservant here to blind eyes and ears, anyone would discover that Her Highness Princess Yong’an did not reside within the princess manor.
If that happened, it would likely stir up a massive disaster.
Xiao Changling toyed with a whistle fashioned out of pure gold in her hand. A human figure emerged within the darkness, silently bowing his head to await orders.
“Investigate for me and find out who truly calls the shots in this Changlin County. I feel as though things have been exceedingly turbulent recently.”
A layer of chill rested within Xiao Changling’s brows and eyes. Her gaze fell upon the dark shadow in the corner, and she said in an indifferent voice: “Furthermore, look clearly into how long the wanted posters outside are going to remain posted. Our General Who Leaps and Attacks is a hero of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not a convict; how could things reach the state where notices are pasted in every street and alley to arrest her?”
“Yes, your subordinate obeys the order.”
A raspy voice resonated from the shadows, and Xiao Changling nodded her head slightly.
Before long, another shadow appeared inside the spacious palace room.
In the hand of that hidden guard was a cloth bag, from within which came a dense, heavy stench of rust.
The hidden guard remembered only her master’s instructions. She tore open the cloth bag; inside were two round human heads, both bearing the expressions of those who died with unclosed eyes.
Xiao Changling merely cast a single glance to confirm the identities of those two thugs, then withdrew her gaze and said: “Add quicklime, burn them thoroughly, and bury them. Do not let anyone see any clues.”
“Yes, your subordinate shall clean it up thoroughly. Please rest assured, Master.”
The hidden guard dwelling in the darkness dared not raise her head to look upon the princess’s face. She only remembered that her entire family, young and old, had been saved by the princess alone.
Had it not been for the princess’s kindness, they likely would not have survived the winter before last.
Now, her parents and sisters had been allocated farmland to cultivate. Not only were they free from paying exorbitant taxes, but they could also keep the grain they harvested for themselves. In addition, they raised some cattle and sheep to make a living, leading a life vastly superior to that of the past.
Eleven said in a low voice: “Does the Princess have any further orders?”
Xiao Changling used a handkerchief to dispel the bloody stench in front of her nose and said: “It is winter recently, and the Great Zhou Dynasty is short on grain and fodder; presumably, the Northern Di are in the same state. Both sides will take a breathing spell for a time. Search on my behalf and see whether the General’s remaining scattered subordinates are still spread deep within the steppes?”
“Yes.”
Eleven uttered a low response to accept the command, and in a split second, she vanished inside this palace chamber.
Disappearing along with her were the heads dripping blood downward and the dark red blood that had pooled on the floor.
Xiao Changling gave a couple more instructions, and another hidden guard likewise vanished without a trace. Everything became quiet, as though no one had ever arrived.
“Thank you for your hard work.” Xiao Changling stuffed the small charcoal hand-warmer in her hand into the hands of the maidservant disguised in her likeness.
That maidservant immediately performed a deep, brimming-with-gratitude bow: “Many thanks to Your Highness for taking care of this servant.”
Had it not been for Her Highness’s protection, as a servant girl in this barbarian land, she would inevitably be bullied by the local servants.
Everything relied upon Princess Highness’s life-saving grace.
Xiao Changling withdrew a brocade pouch from her sleeve and stuffed a stack of silver banknotes into the maidservant’s hand: “This is what you deserve.”
Inside the bedchamber where the charcoal fire radiated gentle heat, Ning Yan tossed and turned on the bedstead, unable to fall asleep.
Waves of pain from her leg struck time and time again, leaving her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
“Mmh… mmh…”
Hurried gasps broke from Ning Yan’s throat in fits and starts.
Half-awake and half-asleep, she seemed to feel a gentle hand stroking her cheek.
In the air drifted an aura that enamored her to the point of obsession.
As her consciousness wavered in a haze, a hand raised Ning Yan’s chin, forcing her to tilt her head up slightly.
Slightly cool lips pried open her mouth, and that intoxicating aura surged forth in waves.
Enveloping the heat exhaled from the oral cavity and a soft tongue tip, it swirled inside her mouth.
The tongue tip swept across her upper palate, incessantly entwining with her tongue, deepening this kiss.
“Ah Yan, do you miss me that much?”
Ning Yan’s consciousness was blurred. She continuously catered to the other person’s kiss, a hazy mist filling her eyes.
Only this kiss could resolve the endless passion poison burning throughout her body.
I do not like you; I don’t like you at all, and I can even be said to hate you.
Ning Yan added a sentence in her heart, yet her body still honestly sought to coil around her.
“I like it… I like Changling’s… I beg you to show mercy and cherish me.”
“Good child.”
The person in the dream toyed with her tongue tip, a thread of silver sliding down.
After a night passed, Ning Yan snapped her eyes open. She was the only person inside the bedchamber.
She was also the only person on the bedstead; there was no trace of another person’s aura in the air.
The charcoal fire continued to burn, emitting crackling sounds.
Ning Yan sat up with sudden clarity. Her fingers pressed against the side of her lips in utter disbelief.
Even if her mind was currently addled due to her injuries, she still knew full well that she had experienced a thorough spring dream last night.
Ning Yan’s face instantly turned pale,
How could she possibly have a dream related to Xiao Changling?
That woman had confined her in this place, treating her as a concubine. Once her body recovered in the future, she bound to exact her revenge.
Thinking up to this point, Ning Yan lowered her eyes once more. Looking at the brocade quilt beneath her, she gripped the bedding tightly.
Then she recalled the mutton soup that Xiao Changling had fed into her mouth spoon by spoon.
One matter was separate from another.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Ning Yan’s eyes.
Ultimately, she thought that if she could escape this calamity in the future, she would inevitably offer up tens of millions of ounces of gold in gratitude.
She would also thoroughly investigate Xiao Changling’s background; if she had committed even a fraction of a dirty deed, she would never tolerate it.
Just as Ning Yan was engaged in a fierce inner struggle within her mind, the door to the bedchamber was knocked on. Shu Lan poked half a head inside and said, “Are you awake yet? I’m taking you to the physician for a follow-up consultation.”
Seeing the heroic woman on the bedstead with her hair draped loose, her fingers continually pressed against her lips, Shu Lan muttered and said: “It has only been how long since you last saw her, and you’re already thinking about our young lady?”
Ning Yan immediately refuted flatly: “I did not think about her.”
“You truly are an ungrateful wolf. Our young lady stewed soup for you and made a wheelchair for you, yet you don’t even think about her at all. How could there be a person as heartless and unfeeling as you?”
“No, I don’t.”
Shu Lan was articulate and sharp-tongued; Ning Yan was no match for her. She replied dryly: “I dreamed of her.”
Shu Lan choked for a moment, then her entire face flushed bright red: “In broad daylight, you truly have no shame.”
“Our young lady is a person of the utmost noble status! Don’t you go acting brazen and improper in front of the young lady; it’s truly, truly out of line!”
“What the lady says is correct.”
Ning Yan pushed the porcelain shard inside her sleeve further back.
A person of noble status, yet holding the intent to play with and disrespect her.
She felt chilled by the unpredictability of human hearts, and she was also angered by her own crippled body.
Coupled with the resentment toward the passion poison causing havoc.
Xiao Changling stood by the door, listening to the conversation inside the bedchamber from afar.
She tilted her head in confusion.
Ning Yan dreamed of her?
Xiao Changling inexplicably recalled a hound with jet-black fur that she used to raise in her Empress Mother’s palace in the past.
Even when asleep, it insisted on lying beside her bed. No matter how many palace maids and older servant women came to drive it away, it refused to leave, insistent on guarding beside Xiao Changling’s bed before she could fall asleep.
Waking up in the middle of the night, it would even use its wet snout to nudge against Xiao Changling’s palm.
Would that black hound dream of her in the middle of the night as well?