The mountain was quiet and peaceful. After returning from the peak, Qi Shen changed into training attire and went to spar with the feudal lords.
He always went looking for trouble, enjoying the sight of the feudal lords striking back only to fail to land a hit on him. Even more, he took pleasure in watching the crowd seethe with hatred behind his back, grinding their teeth yet powerless to do anything.
Jing Xin did not follow along to act as a cheering admirer. Instead, she went alone to a hot spring in the mountains.
She soaked comfortably until her body and mind felt completely relaxed before rising and stepping up the stone stairs.
Water droplets slid down between her pale, slender legs as she walked barefoot over a fur rug. Her skin was smooth and delicate, like fine jade, soft and fragrant. Two palace maids respectfully dried her body while Chang Huan brought over freshly brewed floral tea.
Lowering her fair, graceful neck slightly, she blew aside the petals floating in her cup. “Is the Son of Heaven still engaged in the martial contests?”
“Yes. The bonfire over there is still burning brightly. Shou Quan says it has not ended yet, and the guards have even brought roasted meat and fine wine inside.”
The maids helped her dress. Jing Xin raised her arms and let them clothe her, then asked, “Any movement from the mountain below?”
She was referring to the place she and Qi Shen had gone to watch the sunset, where Qin Wuheng had been.
Chang Huan understood her meaning and replied that there had been no movement.
Jing Xin nodded.
A maid knelt to put shoes on her, but she declined and put them on herself, stepping into embroidered silk shoes before walking around the screen and heading outside.
The forest was tranquil, filled with the sound of insects that was unexpectedly soothing. Fireflies drifted past her from time to time. Walking down the steps, she could see the brightly lit martial grounds in the distance.
Chang Huan asked if she wanted to go watch the Son of Heaven’s contest, but Jing Xin was not interested. She only felt slightly hungry and instructed the servants to prepare some food.
At that moment, a figure rushed toward her from the corridor. It was Qin Quan.
He ran hurriedly and stopped only when he was out of breath. “Your Highness, there is trouble down the mountain,” he said quietly. A villager had died, and a child had drowned and was unconscious. The family was in deep grief, and the villagers all believed it was the tyrant’s doing. The old man’s son had lost his reason and tried to force his way into the Son of Heaven’s restricted area, only to be stopped by soldiers.
They could not enter. This place had already been designated as imperial grounds by Qin Wuheng before Qi Shen arrived. High walls had been built on all sides, guarded by troops.
“Does the Son of Heaven know about this?”
“He does not.”
That was expected. To Qi Shen, such matters did not even count as matters at all, and the imperial guards would not dare disturb him.
“Do not alarm the Son of Heaven. I will go take a look,” Jing Xin ordered, summoning a sedan chair.
Contrary to what she expected, there was no large-scale disturbance. The troublemakers had already been detained by the guards. Outside the enclosed walls, only a few bold villagers remained, demanding an explanation, but the imperial soldiers naturally gave none.
Jing Xin noticed a graceful figure approaching from outside the wall. The villagers also saw her and cried out urgently for “Shen Qingyue.”
It was Shen Qingyue.
Shen Qingyue did not argue with the guards. Instead, she tried to persuade the villagers to return home and not gather here.
Commander Cui Kaijie said to Jing Xin, “Your Highness, these unruly commoners show no respect. This servant will drive them away…”
“Wait. No need to force them away. Isn’t someone already persuading them?” Jing Xin said. “Where is the deceased?”
“Do you wish to see him? The body is gruesome. This servant fears it may frighten Your Highness.”
“Bring him here.”
Still seated in the sedan chair, Jing Xin watched as the body was carried over. Suddenly she narrowed her eyes. She recognized him as the old farmer who worked the fields below the mountain.
He was dead?
Could it be that he had accidentally witnessed Shen Qingyue speaking with Qin Wuheng, and was therefore silenced?
The death was gruesome. Her stomach churned violently, and she quickly covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve.
Commander Cui Kaijie immediately ordered the body removed.
Jing Xin understood what was happening. They had killed someone and were now trying to frame Qi Shen. They would not even spare a three-year-old child.
She did not wish to meet Shen Qingyue at that moment and was about to leave when a sharp shout rang out from beyond the wall.
“Someone is coming! That’s Old Li Head! Old Li Head is there!”
The villagers surged forward, trying to rush in and reclaim the body.
Shen Qingyue also looked over, and Jing Xin’s gaze met hers.
She no longer avoided it. Jing Xin lowered her sleeve and looked directly at her.
Shen Qingyue was clearly shocked. Seeing Jing Xin seated high in her sedan chair, dressed in luxurious robes and surrounded by attendants and guards who obeyed her every command, she immediately understood her identity.
After the shock came anger, tightly suppressed anger, the kind that wanted to rush forward and kill her but had to be restrained.
There was no way to avoid it.
Jing Xin looked at her in surprise, then broke into a smile. “Sister, it’s you!”
She ordered the guards to let Shen Qingyue in and had the sedan chair set down.
Shen Qingyue walked up to her. Jing Xin smiled and dismissed everyone. “Don’t scare her.”
She stepped forward and took Shen Qingyue’s hand. “Sister, I never expected to see you here!”
As expected of the female lead in the original story, Shen Qingyue remained composed and smiled back. “I am also surprised. But why do they call you Your Highness? Could it be that you are a consort beside the Son of Heaven?”
Jing Xin lowered her gaze and nodded. “Yes, but I did not mean to hide it from you.”
Suddenly as if remembering something, she looked anxious. “Sister, please do not tell anyone what I said that day. The Son of Heaven did not hit me or scold me, nor did he make me do anything evil. I was speaking nonsense. He treats me very well.”
Her eyes shimmered with tears that seemed about to fall but were forcefully held back. Such a pitiful expression made it impossible not to feel sympathy.
Even Shen Qingyue fell silent for a long moment before gently withdrawing her hand. “I understand. You are His Majesty’s favored consort.”
“Yes, I am His Majesty’s favored consort.” Jing Xin’s voice carried a faint sigh. Tears filled her eyes but she held them back with effort. Meeting an old acquaintance felt like a caged bird finally glimpsing the sky again. She smiled, pure and harmless. “Sister, why are you here? Do you live here?”
Shen Qingyue nodded and glanced toward where the body had been taken. “The deceased was a neighbor of mine.”
“I also came after hearing about it. That old man was not killed by the Son of Heaven. He did not even descend the mountain today. He would not harm the villagers here. I will release those detained immediately, so Sister need not worry, and please do not come here again.”
Jing Xin glanced around, her clear eyes showing a hint of fear. She leaned closer and whispered into Shen Qingyue’s ear, “Sister, you should leave quickly. The Son of Heaven is cruel by nature. You are so beautiful, you must not be captured and harmed by him.”
Her gaze darkened slightly. “I will secretly release the old man’s family. If there is any blame, I will bear it myself.”
Shen Qingyue looked at her complexly. She had never had someone speak into her ear like this. The girl before her was about the same age, yet because she served the most brutal ruler in the world, she lived cautiously and fearfully.
She naturally knew how Li Weng had died. The hidden weapon used was Qin Wuheng’s. Others did not know he possessed such a technique, but she, having trained with him, was very familiar with it. Li Weng died because of her, and she felt guilty, yet could not meet Qin Wuheng to ask him to release the family. This girl before her could help.
Her expression softened into a smile. “Alright, thank you. Take care of yourself as well.”
Jing Xin smiled gently at her.
Shen Qingyue turned to leave, then suddenly looked back. “Consort Jing, is the Son of Heaven truly so tyrannical?”
Jing Xin nodded, then seemed to realize the surrounding guards were still present. She hurriedly shook her head vigorously. “No, no, the Son of Heaven treats me very well. I am very happy every day.”
Her eyes were filled with fragile tears. Shen Qingyue understood she was forcing a smile, and after a faint smile of her own, turned and left.
“Take me to the prison,” Jing Xin said as she boarded her sedan chair.
The mountain prison was not truly a prison, only large iron cages originally used to hold Qi Shen’s hunting beasts.
Li Weng’s family of four was imprisoned together. When Jing Xin arrived, the old woman immediately recognized her identity. Fearless of death, she glared at her. Li Song, the young man, looked ready to rush out and fight her, while only a young village woman in the corner held a fainting child and cried endlessly.
The old woman and Li Song cursed her. Jing Xin ordered the guards, “Release them and escort them home safely.”
Both guards froze, thinking she had come to kill them.
Jing Xin stepped forward. Chang Huan tried to stop her anxiously, fearing she would be hurt. Jing Xin only smiled faintly. “It is fine.”
The guards unlocked the chains. Jing Xin opened the door and entered.
The old woman and Li Song stepped back warily.
“I am the Son of Heaven’s consort. My words carry weight. You may not believe me, but listen first,” she said.
“If the Son of Heaven truly wished to kill, would this child still be alive? Would I personally come here to release you?”
The old woman hesitated, unsure. Li Song frowned. “Then who killed my father? Our village has always been peaceful. Ever since the Son of Heaven arrived, disaster followed!”
“Tell me everything you know.”
Li Song explained everything from morning until evening, how the black ox suddenly went mad, broke out of its pen, and ran wild, how they later discovered his father dead in the field.
Jing Xin listened carefully. Finally, she found something useful.
“Is the black ox still there?”
“Yes, tied at home.”
Her eyes turned cold and sharp. She gave instructions to Shou Quan, dismissing the guards outside, and quietly told Li Song a few things. The child was still alive but unconscious, so she arranged for a physician to treat him.
On the way back, she did not ride the sedan chair, finding it too uncomfortable.
She walked back on foot, sweat forming on her body. This body was prone to sweating, but perhaps because of that, the original owner had developed a way for it to emit a faint fragrance. The more she moved, the more fragrant she became, though the scent was light and soothing.
Jing Xin did not return to Qi Shen’s chamber that night, instead staying in another room.
Only in the middle of the night was she awakened by movement. Chang Huan reported that Qi Shen had returned from a night hunt. The soldiers had heard a tiger’s roar. His desire to conquer was so strong that he even hunted tigers at night.
“The Son of Heaven asked if Your Highness had slept. This servant said you were already resting. Should I inform him you are awake?”
“No need.” She had no desire to serve him.
Yet Jing Xin did not fall back asleep. She knew that by the next morning, everything might become even more unpredictable than in the original novel.