Occurring right around the Lunar New Year holiday, the official residence of the City Patrol magistrate had originally been immersed in a dead, suffocating atmosphere laden with intense anxiety. However, upon hearing that Miss Xie was still alive, everyone breathed a unison sigh of relief, feeling that their heads were likely saved after all.
“Who would have thought Miss Xie, with her short-lived appearance, actually possesses such immense luck for survival!”
“Is that not so? Even General Xie met a tragic end, yet she unexpectedly turned out completely fine!”
“Was General Xie not out searching for her in the first place? If you ask me, for a heroic figure like General Xie to end up in such a state, she was most likely the jinx that brought his ruin!”
“Shh—dare not speak nonsense! According to internal sources, this Miss Xie is the one favored by the Emperor to become the Crown Princess…”
“Even like this, she’s still going to be the Crown Princess? What does she even look like?”
…
They were all colleagues, and with their superior absent, everyone had originally been on edge. Now that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief, chatter broke out naturally among them.
Before Xie Ning even stepped through the doorway, these discussions had already reached her ears. She said nothing, but Wang Zhan’s complexion turned exceedingly ugly: “Are you all so idle with nothing to do? Everyone gets a full year’s salary docked!”
Right at the turn of the Lunar New Year, such a punishment was truly disastrous news. The gazes the City Patrol officers cast toward Xie Ning instantly turned sour with resentment.
Xie Ning hurriedly stopped him, “Commander Wang, please wait! It is the peak of the New Year holiday, and I already feel deeply guilty that my family’s mishap has caused everyone in the City Patrol such immense trouble. Besides, when such an incident occurs, it is inevitable for others to gossip; I truly do not mind. I ask Commander Wang to show leniency and pardon everyone’s punishment!”
The moment these words were spoken, many within the City Patrol instantly felt ashamed. After all, having suffered such a calamity, the main party Xie Ning was the one feeling the greatest grief, yet she was actually pleading on their behalf. Most importantly, General Xie’s death was indeed related to the City Patrol’s lax watch, which made everyone feel all the more uneasy.
Wang Zhan had also not expected a young girl like Xie Ning to dare publicly countermand his order. Under normal circumstances, Wang Zhan would naturally pay no mind or even scold her, but things were different right now. He was desperate to curry favor with Xie Ning, so he immediately praised: “Miss Xie possesses such breadth of mind, which is truly admirable! Since Miss Xie has spoken, Wang shall certainly comply!” He then scolded the City Patrol officers, “Why are you all staring blankly? Hurry up and express your thanks to Miss Xie!”
This time, everyone genuinely felt grateful to Xie Ning. Knowing she had come to view Xie Yuanshan’s body, they proved exceedingly attentive one after another. As they approached the body, one officer stepped forward, hesitating: “Miss Xie, General Xie’s state of death is somewhat gruesome. Do you truly wish to see it?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Wang Zhan was also deeply worried, “Chen Ji speaks the truth. Why not refrain from looking, lest you suffer a fright?”
Xie Ning cast a glance at Chen Ji, feeling that this name sounded somewhat familiar, though she could not recall it at the moment, “I wish to see.”
Chen Ji froze for a moment. Stared at by her resolute and unquestionable gaze, any words of objection were temporarily impossible to utter.
Wang Zhan, on the other hand, was truly unable to set his mind at ease: “Miss Xie, you are unaware, but General Xie’s appearance is genuinely tragic. As a sheltered young lady who rarely leaves her inner chambers, and being so weak right now, if you suffer a fright, what if—hey, you!”
Xie Ning paid no heed to his nagging at all. Since these men would not show it to her, she directly lifted the shroud herself.
The instant she pulled it open, numerous sounds of gasping cold air rang out from the surroundings, and some even covered their eyes after a single glance. Although Xie Yuanshan’s body had been recovered by the City Patrol, not many had seen his state of death with their own eyes; they merely knew it was tragic, without knowing to what extent. Originally knowing a young girl like Xie Ning was coming to look, they assumed a weak young woman would merely take a distant look and be done with it—could she possibly step up close to inspect it carefully? No one expected that before Commander Wang could finish speaking, Xie Ning had already pulled it open—
Caught completely unprepared and off guard, many City Patrol officers looking at Xie Yuanshan’s tragic state felt they were bound to suffer nightmares tonight!
Even grown men like them felt chilled to the bone; had that frail Miss Xie not already fainted from fright long ago? After their initial shock, many turned their eyes toward Xie Ning. Yet to their utter surprise, not only did Xie Ning fail to faint, but she even took a step closer forward.
Xie Yuanshan’s body had already been cleaned up, yet even so, the bloody hole traversing his throat remained horrifyingly unbearable to witness. Gazing at Xie Yuanshan, who died with wide, unclosing eyes, Xie Ning’s gaze gradually shifted to the tusk beside him. That sharp tusk was still stained with blood—the very weapon Xie Ning had used to pierce through Xie Yuanshan’s throat.
“Is this the thing that killed my father?”
Looking at the unfazed young girl, Wang Zhan felt immense shock in his heart: “Are you not afraid?”
“I am afraid,” Xie Ning’s voice was extremely soft, “but fear is useless.”
Wang Zhan fell silent, “Truly worthy of being General Xie’s daughter!” Only then did he continue, “During his battle with the wild boars, General Xie had already suffered severe injuries, but this boar tusk was the final fatal blow. Had his throat not been pierced through, with the capabilities of the imperial physicians in the palace, perhaps General Xie might still have had a slim chance of survival.”
Xie Ning said nothing, merely picking up the tusk: “I shall take this.”
Her slender hand picked up that sharp and vicious tusk, her fingers bearing numerous minor wounds. Though clearly a fragile and frail young girl, holding up the tusk at this moment caused Wang Zhan to instinctively feel a wave of chilliness, “This—Miss Xie, this is an ominous object; what do you want it for?”
“A reminder.” Xie Ning tightened her grip on the tusk, “I must remember this day forever.”
Her speaking voice had remained low throughout, her tone unhurried, with her brows and eyes lowered obediently, appearing quite gentle and submissive. Yet every single word she spoke caused a chill to run up Wang Zhan’s spine. Wang Zhan could not help stepping back slightly: “Miss Xie, the dead cannot come back to life; you should restrain your grief and accept the change “
Before he could finish, Xie Ning had already turned to leave.
Passing by Chen Ji, who had spoken earlier, Xie Ning suddenly raised her head, “Officer Chen, I am not afraid.”
She remembered now no wonder the name sounded familiar. Was this not Chen Ji, the female prince consort who later married the Sixth Princess? She had never met this person, only hearing rumors from the execution block. Looking at her now, Chen Ji disguised as a man appeared far more convincing than Xiao Rong ever did!
Xie Ning could not help taking an extra glance at her before taking her leave.
Gazing at her departing back, Chen Ji’s expression was exceedingly complex, momentarily lost on what to think.
Wang Zhan, on the other hand, remarked with emotion from behind: “This Miss Xie is truly extraordinary!” He patted Chen Ji’s shoulder, “When you see her in the future, yield to her whenever possible this Miss Xie is not one to be provoked lightly.”
Not just Wang Zhan, but all the City Patrol personnel stationed here felt somewhat shaken by Xie Ning. In past days, they had always deemed women fragile, entirely reliant on five-foot men like them for protection. Today, however, they felt utterly useless, possessing even less courage than a weak young girl, giving rise to an indescribable sense of strangeness in their hearts. That was until someone remarked, “This Miss Xie does not resemble a woman in the slightest!”
Listening to their chatter, Wang Zhan also felt they had voiced his own thoughts, yet unwilling to court trouble, he scolded everyone once more. Just as the commotion subsided, an imperial decree arrived from the palace stating that the Emperor summoned Xie Ning, specifically sending personnel to the City Patrol to fetch her. Cold sweat broke out on Wang Zhan once again; his City Patrol had barely received Xie Ning, and the messenger sent to report to the palace had likely not even arrived yet. For the Emperor to demand her presence already indicated that His Majesty had been monitoring the situation here continuously!
Wang Zhan flinched. Past fifty years of age, he did not even have time to catch his breath before personally leading the decree-bearing eunuch to find Xie Ning.
Xie Ning had not walked far before being caught up with. Learning that the Emperor summoned her, she could not help feeling startled in her heart.
She was unwilling to show weakness either; matters had developed to a point far beyond Xie Ning’s expectations.
She had merely carried the resentment of two lifetimes, gathering her strength to commit patricide in a single burst without even considering the consequences of success or failure. This pent-up rage had suppressed her for a lifetime, released only in this life. Xie Ning was no longer willing to compromise her principles, act out scenes of filial piety with Xie Yuanshan, or let her timidness and illusions hold her back, cowering in fear to do anything.
Only after undergoing cruel struggles for power did she realize that so-called submissiveness was a deception—it was merely that this deception targeted women across the entire world, making people dare not believe it was a lie. She could pretend to be very submissive, but she could not truly be submissive, for submissiveness was equivalent to allowing oneself to be slaughtered at will.
Only through struggle could true peace be attained.
Xie Ning softly exhaled a breath, dispelling the fear in her heart, and followed the eunuch with poised grace. She had prepared herself mentally: no matter what the Emperor said, she could handle it steadily. Yet Xie Ning never expected that upon entering the Hall of Grand Celebration, the first person she saw was not the Emperor, but the Eldest Princess Xiao Rong.
Xie Ning’s originally calm composure instantly skipped a heavy beat.
Xiao Rong stood beside the Emperor, looking completely ordinary, showing no reaction upon seeing her enter.
The moment Xie Ning entered the hall and finished her prostration, a eunuch arranged a seat for her. Xie Ning hurriedly declined: “This humble subject’s daughter dares not!”
Only then did the Emperor sigh, “Good child, there is nothing to be afraid of. I often heard your father say that your health has always been frail, and now you have suffered such a fright. Today, the Xie family is left with only you as the sole child” The Emperor actually choked up slightly, “Your father was a grand loyal minister who devoted himself to the nation. Having now met with such misfortune, leaving behind an isolated mother and daughter, rest assured that I shall never let you suffer grievances! Quickly, sit down!”
Xie Ning hesitated slightly, only to hear Xiao Rong speak, “Imperial Father truly cares for you; Miss Xie, please sit, and do not fail Imperial Father’s good intentions!”
Only after the Eldest Princess spoke did Xie Ning dare to take her seat.
The Emperor asked again, “I heard you ran away from home; for what reason was that?”
Xie Ning had long anticipated this question, so she detailed the events one by one, only lowering her voice at the end to choke up, “…I was truly terrified that day. Although my father often beat my mother, each time harsher than the last, last time it really seemed as if he were going to beat my mother to death. I… that was why I was terrified and wanted to run. Had I known earlier”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed slightly, yet smoothed out quickly, “Do not be afraid. I see you have an injury on your forehead—” He signaled with his eyes, and Xie Ning said, “It was smashed by my father using a teacup.”
“Sigh, Old Xie’s character was simply impetuous, lacking restraint in his actions,” the Emperor glossed over it lightly, “Quickly summon the imperial physician to examine Xie Ning!”
An imperial physician seemed to have been waiting aside all along, stepping forward almost immediately to diagnose Xie Ning. Before long, the imperial physician reported, “To report to His Majesty, Miss Xie suffers from chronic frailty, deficiency in qi and blood, and is prone to fright. She must take tonics to nourish her health.”
Xie Ning had not felt anything amiss with these matters; the Emperor summoning her to express concern and specifically finding an imperial physician to treat her seemed like ordinary actions, but…
But she understood Xiao Rong.
Xiao Rong stood by his side, yet remained silent throughout, her expression faint as if caring about nothing at all.
This was wrong.
Based on her understanding of Xiao Rong, given Xiao Rong’s habit of playing the naive daughter in front of the Emperor, she should have said something at this moment, yet she did not.
Though Xie Ning could not pinpoint the exact reason, she kept a cautious eye out because of it, stating: “To report to His Majesty, this subject’s daughter has been frail since childhood. Physicians in the past examined me, but could not cure it completely. Traveling from Bianyang Pass to the capital all the way, my body has indeed grown somewhat weaker, but it matters not. Though my body is weak, my spirit is not. I am the daughter of the Zhenyuan General, and I must never bring shame upon my father’s face!”
Hearing her speak thus and seeing her hold her head high with her chest out though putting on a show of strength, her body could not stop trembling, her small face deathly pale with a bloody bump on her forehead that made her act of bravado even more apparent the Emperor sighed, “Good, good, good! Truly worthy of being a tiger’s daughter from a military family! No wonder you fell off your horse alone and spent a freezing day in the wilderness, yet remained safe and sound!”
The Emperor’s words were spoken as praise, yet Xie Ning’s heart could not help tightening. One must know that she had been picked up by Xiao Rong afterward, rather than spending a night in the freezing snow!
Xie Ning’s heart thumped wildly, momentarily uncertain, yet thinking that she must never implicate Xiao Rong, she hurriedly said: “To report to His Majesty, this subject’s daughter did not spend the night in the wilderness, but was saved by an old gentleman”
“Oh?” The moment the Emperor’s words fell, Xie Ning caught sight from the corner of her eye that Xiao Rong suddenly raised her head, letting out a soft sigh as if teasingly complaining, “Imperial Father, I told you I played the benefactor for nothing. Look at her she doesn’t know who her true savior is at all!”
The string in Xie Ning’s heart instantly snapped taut. What did Xiao Rong intend to do?