Every palace within the Princess’s estate had a reception hall for guests.
Tea had been served.
But Shang Changge didn’t touch it.
She was afraid of being poisoned to death.
After all, the “little brother” sitting across from her was a genuine wolf in sheep’s clothing.
What they were about to discuss wasn’t meant for outsiders’ ears.
So, except for Qingyao, everyone from Mingxuan Hall was ordered to leave.
Once the room was empty, Shang Changge took out a jade pendant engraved with cloud patterns and got straight to the point.
“Doctor Jing, do you still remember this jade pendant?”
Jing Xiuming accepted it.
The moment he saw it, his slender frame stiffened.
His fingertips brushed across the cloud carving, and his voice became hoarse.
“This commoner dares ask… where did Your Highness obtain this jade pendant?”
It was his.
A token of love his father had given his mother.
Later, his mother had passed it on to him.
His mother’s surname was Yun (Cloud), and the cloud motif symbolized her name.
The carving had been done personally by his father.
Because it wasn’t the work of a master craftsman, there were small imperfections in the design.
Shang Changge curled her lips into a smile and slowly began recounting a story straight out of a melodramatic cliché.
“Twelve years ago, Changze and I accompanied Mother Empress to Lingyin Temple on South Mountain to pray for blessings.
I was only ten years old at the time and naturally rather playful.
While Mother wasn’t paying attention, I dragged Changze off to chase a fat orange cat around the temple.
Eventually, we followed it to a secluded little courtyard.”
Before she had even finished this part, Jing Xiuming’s harmless rabbit-like face had already gone pale.
Pretending not to notice, Shang Changge continued.
“The courtyard was small and shabby, but it was clean enough. There was also a well.
Lying beside the well was a boy.
He seemed to be suffering from a severe fever caused by a cold. His forehead was burning hot, and he kept murmuring for his mother.
Coincidentally, I had only recently recovered from a serious illness myself.
The medicine pouch I carried contained pills specially prepared by the Imperial Physician.
So I fed him two of them.”
She paused.
“But I’ve never been a particularly good person.
If I do a good deed, naturally I expect something in return.
So I took the jade pendant hanging around the boy’s neck and figured I’d come back someday to collect my reward.
After all, those two pills could not only cure a cold but were also highly effective against chronic cold-related illnesses.
Calling them worth a fortune wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
She sighed.
“Unfortunately…”
She didn’t continue.
Instead, she looked up and met Jing Xiuming’s gaze.
“Perhaps the kindness was too insignificant.
I forgot about the whole thing after only a few days.
Who would’ve thought that the boy never forgot?
He remembered it for over ten years.”
“Remembering a favor is a good thing.
The problem is that he mistook the wrong person for his benefactor.
Not only did he mistake her—
he was foolish enough to be deceived and manipulated by others and ended up repaying kindness with hostility toward the person who had truly saved him.”
Jing Xiuming’s hand trembled around the pendant.
It was clear he was struggling to believe it.
Seeing this, the faint smile on Shang Changge’s face disappeared.
Her expression turned cold.
“Even if you made a mistake, let’s set aside these old matters.
Since the day you entered my estate, I have always treated you with courtesy and respect.
Yet time and time again, you’ve added things to my medicine that shouldn’t have been there.
And repeatedly leaked affairs of the Princess’s estate to Wen Wanyi.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Jing Xiuming, your stupidity and your character truly open my eyes.”
Silence.
A very long silence.
Outside the reception hall, birds that had sought shelter during the rain emerged once more.
One after another, they landed on the branches.
Some shook the water from their feathers.
Others preened themselves.
All the while chirping noisily, adding life to the stillness after the storm.
Qingyao remained standing behind Shang Changge like a silent guardian.
She stared coldly at Jing Xiuming.
She didn’t question why her mistress had only now remembered the pendant and the events of the past.
Instead, she blamed herself for not seeing through Jing Xiuming sooner.
Because of her failure, her mistress had suffered through countless bowls of tainted medicine.
As for Jing Xiuming—
he held the recovered pendant tightly and said nothing.
No one could tell whether he believed the story or not.
Shang Changge wasn’t worried.
She knew he would believe it.
And more importantly—
he had no choice but to believe it.
As a physician, Jing Xiuming understood better than anyone how precious those two pills had been.
The person who had impersonated Shang Changge and stolen the credit was Wen Wanyi—
one of the original owner’s many so-called “good sisters.”
The Wen family was no great noble house.
Neither Wen Wanyi’s grandfather, father, nor brother held particularly important positions in court—neither twelve years ago nor now.
A family like theirs could never have possessed medicine of such value.
And even if they had, they certainly wouldn’t have casually given it to a complete stranger.
Most importantly—
before Shang Changge had produced the pendant, Jing Xiuming had already begun suspecting Wen Wanyi’s claim.
He had tested her several times, both openly and indirectly.
Each time, she had dodged the subject and avoided giving a direct answer.
Now, with the pendant and the detailed account of that day—
he could no longer deny the truth.
Finally, Jing Xiuming spoke.
“What does Your Highness want me to do?”
That was exactly the question Shang Changge had been waiting for.
Her goal achieved, her mood improved instantly.
A smile returned to her face.
“During the two years you’ve lived in my estate, you’ve exchanged quite a few letters with Wen Wanyi, haven’t you?
I don’t know whether you’ve kept them or burned them.
But those letters are very useful now.
Before the Hour of Xu tonight, either correspond with her again or imitate her handwriting and recreate the letters if necessary.
Tomorrow morning, bring all of them with you when we enter the palace.”
Her smile widened.
“I want Wen Wanyi dead.
And I want the Wen family ruined.”
In the original novel, the Wen family would eventually collude with foreign enemies and commit treason.
As the Grand Princess of Qingyan Dynasty, wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for her to destroy them in advance?
Shang Changge certainly thought so.
Everything she did was for the stability of Qingyan and the welfare of its people.
Jing Xiuming’s eyes widened.
He stared at the woman seated opposite him, smiling as calmly as if she were discussing the weather.
Shang Changge raised an eyebrow.
“You seem surprised.
What surprises you?
I’ve always been the type to repay every grievance.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“I suppose you don’t know yet that Wen Wanyi bribed two maids in my household and attempted to poison me?”
A flash of confusion crossed Jing Xiuming’s eyes.
It quickly transformed into shock and concern.
His lips turned pale.
The words ‘Are you unharmed, Your Highness?’ reached his throat—
but wouldn’t come out.
The skies had already cleared.
The birds, now free of rainwater, regained their energy.
One particularly restless bird hopped from branch to branch.
Its chirping grew louder and more incessant than ever.
It was annoyingly noisy.
Shang Changge frowned.
Rising to her feet, she casually brushed nonexistent dust from her luxurious gold-embroidered peony gown.
Looking down at Jing Xiuming from above, her beautiful eyes gleamed.
The upward sweep of her eyes carried both amusement and mockery.
“What an impressive poison.
Colorless, odorless, impossible to detect.”
She smiled.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who gave it to her, aren’t you?”
Then she added casually:
“Fortunately, I’m a disaster destined to live a thousand years.”
Otherwise…
“You would’ve personally murdered your own savior, Divine Doctor Jing.”
The moment those words fell, the last trace of color vanished from Jing Xiuming’s face.
“Qingyao. Let’s go.”
Shang Changge had said everything she wanted to say.
She had no intention of staying longer.
Yet just as she stepped over the threshold, she suddenly stopped.
Turning back, she met Jing Xiuming’s fixed gaze.
Killing the man wasn’t enough.
She wanted to stab his heart one more time.
Just in case he still couldn’t bring himself to hate Wen Wanyi.
“Oh, right.”
She smiled.
“Do you think Wanyi knew that I was the one who saved you all those years ago?
After all, the reason you mistook her for your benefactor was because she arrived shortly after Changze and I left.
She should’ve seen the two of us.”
She clicked her tongue softly.
“If she didn’t know, then convincing you to harm me is understandable.”
Her smile grew colder.
“But if she did know…”
“…tsk.”