"Then I'll go inspect things again, to avoid any mishaps with tomorrow's wedding."
The person who had originally been opposed changed his tune.
Su Heting pulled the man to his feet. "Thank you for your hard work."
Liang Shi shook his head. What hardship was this for him?
It was his master who truly suffered.
He had originally been the Crown Prince designated by the late Emperor, the future Son of Heaven, yet he had been framed by the Emperor and burned alive.
Heaven had eyes, allowing his master to live again in this body.
But this body had also carried poison since childhood.
If his biological father's scheme had left his master grief-stricken and hateful, then Qiao Xi's heartlessness was a piercing, bone-eroding pain to his master.
The Emperor was unkind, the Empress unaffectionate—she shut herself in the Buddhist hall all day, rarely inquiring after his master, and later passed away early. To his master, Qiao Xi was his future wife, and even more so the person he depended on to survive.
Yet after nine years of sincere devotion, when his master died miserably, Qiao Xi did not pay her respects, did not seek justice for his master—instead, she shared deep father-daughter affection with the very enemy who had killed him, cementing the charge that his master had murdered his own father.
Now she had come provoking them again, and Liang Shi felt both hatred and fear.
Hatred for Qiao Xi's coldness, fear that his master would be hurt by her again.
But he also understood that feelings were the most complicated thing in this world. Someone you cherished as a treasure and loved for nine years could not simply be let go.
Otherwise, why had his master's eyes been unable to take in any other woman these past few years?
To be husband and wife with Qiao Xi for nine months was to fulfill a nine-year dream, and also to make a clean break with the past.
It was even more because if no antidote could be found, his master had only one year left to live.
And that so-called Tongxin Poison…
Liang Shi let out a long, faint sigh.
His master, in the end, could not harden his heart toward Qiao Xi.
His heart ached for his master, and he could no longer voice any objection. He only wished for his master's happiness for the rest of his life—that was all!
But!
"Master, I beg you to promise me—don't let her know your identity."
Liang Shi knelt again, his eyes full of pleading. "I don't trust her."
If Qiao Xi were to learn that within Su Heting's body was the Crown Prince's soul, and it leaked out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Enough, stop kneeling at every turn. I am Su Heting—what other identity could I have?"
Su Heting pulled the man up again and changed the subject. "Keep an eye on Ji Yao's side. Don't let any trouble arise."
Liang Shi knew his master had agreed. He quickly rose and asked, "Are we really going to fall out with the Ji family?"
Su Heting gave a faint smile. "We were never allies—how could we fall out?"
"But Ji Chuan sent Miss Ji here precisely to form an alliance through marriage. Now Miss Ji has been injured and used by you as a bargaining chip."
Whether Ji Chuan would be coerced into giving his master benefits was still unclear, but he would certainly come to hate his master.
"Uncle Liang, why does the Emperor fear Jiangbei?"
Liang Shi replied, "Because you have a hundred thousand soldiers, because you are supported by the people."
"The court will be wary, and the various regional military governors will be equally wary.
Ji Chuan's territory, Jiangnan, borders Jiangbei. If Jiangbei has designs on expansion, Jiangnan would bear the brunt. Ji Chuan's wariness of me will only grow.
Moreover, no one knows how long this drought will last. Why would he give us life-saving grain and water for nothing?"
Liang Shi was shocked. "You mean, he's deceiving us?"
"He fears us, and he wants to annex us even more."
Su Heting's eyes darkened. "That palace maid named Bixiang, when she contacted the capital, used the Ji family's connections. I suspect Ji Chuan is the Emperor's man."
And Qiao Xi had already known, and deliberately leaked it to him.
Liang Shi had always trusted Su Heting's words without question. "That damned Emperor goes too far. So what should we do?"
Su Heting leaned back, his hands pillowed behind his head, his long legs propped up on the table. He gave a sly, mocking smile, brimming with roguishness. "Let's get married first."
Qiao Xi wanted to make a move on Liangzhou, didn't she? He was also curious to see what she was really up to—whether she had truly turned against The Emperor.
Seeing him like this, Liang Shi felt he had been overthinking. The master before him was acting exactly like Su Heting—no trace of The Crown Prince Siyu's gentle, elegant demeanor remained.
His heart relaxed, and the itch in his throat surged up. "Cough, cough…"
Once he started coughing, it seemed he couldn't stop.
Su Heting's expression tightened. He patted Liang Shi's back to help him along. "Leave the household affairs to others. I'll have someone send you to Su Que's place."
Su Que was his sworn sister, skilled in medicine and poisons.
"Cough… This subordinate is fine."
Liang Shi quickly waved his hand. "Even if I leave, my heart stays here. Besides, when you get married, Miss Que and the others will surely come."
Su Heting poured him a cup of water.
He knew how loyal Liang Shi was to him, and he knew even better how stubborn he was about protecting him.
Back when the traveling palace caught fire, Liang Shi had been away on assignment. Upon hearing the news, instead of thinking of his own escape, he had charged into the flames, just to swap out his charred corpse.
After the borrowed-body resurrection, when the poison flared up, Liang Shi had again risked his full martial arts and half his life to suppress the poison in this body, so that he wouldn't return to the underworld right after coming back to life.
And Liang Shi himself had gone from a strong, middle-aged man skilled in martial arts to the frail old man he was now—yet he still insisted on staying by his side, attentive to every detail.
Now that Qiao Xi had come to the northern frontier, Liang Shi would only be more uneasy about leaving.
So Su Heting didn't force him. "Fine. When the time comes, I'll have Su Que stay at the prince's residence a while longer to properly nurse you back to health."
"How could that be? She still needs to develop the antidote for you…"
"Uncle Liang."
The refusal was cut off. Su Heting put on a stern face. "No acting like a nagging woman. Do as I say."
Life and death were fated. These extra years were already heaven's great kindness—but he couldn't let the people around him lose their own lives because of him.
Just as Su Heting understood Liang Shi, Liang Shi also understood the master he had watched grow up since childhood. He smiled. "Alright, this subordinate will obey you and recuperate properly."
In his heart, though, he secretly resolved: if there was no antidote, then the day his master's poison flared up would be the day he followed him in death.
…
The next day, Qiao Xi was awakened early by the servants of the Northern Frontier Prince's Residence.
Today was the day of the grand wedding.
She washed up and changed into her wedding dress, letting the old women and maids fuss over her as they pleased.
A maid of the residence led in an old woman with snow-white hair and said softly to Qiao Xi, "Princess Consort, this is Granny Jinhua, the most blessed longevity star in our northern frontier. She and her husband loved each other all their lives and have four generations under one roof. The Prince invited her to comb your hair."
Qiao Xi had tossed and turned all night and only closed her eyes when the sky began to pale. In her hazy state, hearing these words, she suddenly looked up at the old woman.
The old woman looked at Qiao Xi with a smile. "Miss Xi, it's been many years. Do you still remember me?"
When The Emperor altered Qiao Xi's memories, he had blurred her recollections of the northern frontier. If this were before her rebirth, Qiao Xi might not have remembered.
But after her rebirth, Qiao Xi had recovered all her memories. Returning to the place of her birth, even seeing the yellow sand and the setting sun felt dear to her.
Those distant memories had been turned over and over in her mind, so naturally she remembered Granny Jinhua, who used to set up a stall selling fried sesame cakes in front of her home.
Qiao Xi was overjoyed. She grasped the old woman's hand. "Granny."
She hadn't expected that after the northern frontier had suffered the barbarian massacres, the old woman was still alive—and even less expected that she would appear here today.
The old woman's twig-like hand gripped hers back with equal force. "Miss Xi, Granny brought you some sesame cakes. Would you like some?"
Qiao Xi's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Scene after scene surfaced in her mind—her father and brothers hoisting her onto their shoulders, carrying her to Granny Jinhua's stall to eat cakes.
That year she had fallen ill, and her mother took her to the capital to seek medical treatment. Before leaving, she said goodbye to Granny Jinhua.
"Granny, once I'm better, I'll come back to eat your cakes.
By then, Father will take a day off, Mother will take a day off, my brothers and sisters will each take a day off, and all my uncles and aunts, my cousins too—oh, and the steward and Xing'er said they'd take days off as well.
Granny, by then I'll be able to eat sesame cakes for a hundred and thirty-three days straight."
Her fourth brother, three years her senior, rapped her on the head. "Silly girl, our family only has a hundred and thirty-three people including you. You're counting yourself in—are you going to treat yourself too?"
She remembered Granny Jinhua smiling as she said, "That extra day, Granny will treat you. Granny hopes Miss Xi comes back soon."
But not long after she and her mother arrived in the capital, news came that the Qiao family had all died in battle. Her mother, struck by the blow, coughed up blood and died.
She was taken into the palace and never returned to Jiangbei again…
Qiao Xi took the cake from Granny's hand and bit into it hard, smiling through her tears. "Thank you, Granny."