Ink Burns

Chapter 269 Pride
When Shan Yue left the residence of the Grand Princess Jing'an, the sky was already as dark as ink. Upon returning to Xue Nan's residence, as soon as she entered the second gate, she saw a tall, dark figure leaning against a pillar in the shadows of the vermilion-lacquered pillars of the corridor. His face and expression were hidden in the darkness, with only his star-like eyes shining through, like a well-oiled bronze mechanism operating alertly and keenly in the quiet night.

Upon seeing Shan Yue return, the dark figure emerged directly from the shadows, quickly taking a few steps before reaching Shan Yue.

Xue Xiao pursed his thin lips, looked Shan Yue up and down, and after seeing that Shan Yue was unharmed, he calmed himself down and, ignoring Shan Yue's objections, slowly let out a long breath.

The sound of a man and a woman crying their hearts out could be heard from outside the second gate.

Shan Yue turned her head to look.

Xue Xiao didn't turn his head, and said in a low voice, "After the people from the palace took Liu Er away, the couple cried every day—I thought you would come back soon."

He spent several days alone at home, feeling as if he had lost his heart or had his hands and feet cut off—he couldn't even recall how he had endured the decades of solitary life he had lived as a wandering monk.

"First, Empress Dowager Fang stayed for two days, and when she left the palace, she was taken to Chang Le Hutong," Shan Yue replied in a low voice.

Chang Le Hutong?

“Jing’an?” Xue Xiao frowned, his sharp eyebrows furrowing. “I thought she would hold back for a couple of days before confronting you.”

Shan Yue shook his head.

"Let me in! Let me in! I know that little slut is back! I see the carriage! Ah—let me in! Let me in!"

A shrill commotion erupted from the second gate.

It was the sound of Qiu, Liu Bozhu's birth mother, pounding on the door frame.

Shan Yue turned her head: "Let's go into the inner courtyard first."

Upon entering the inner courtyard, the noise gradually faded away. In the west wing, the scent of mint and plum blossoms, which Xue Xiao liked, burned, clear and aloof. The gauze curtains were half-rolled up and half-hanging down. On the side table, there was a bowl of cold, strong tea and a book that was half-rolled up. The bedding on the couch remained as it was when she left, while on the daybed among the flowers, there was a low jade pillow and a neatly folded coarse linen quilt.

Shan Yue glanced at Xue Xiao.

In the seven or eight days she was away, did Xue Xiao still spend his time huddled on the narrow couch in the west wing? — That day, on that daybed, he couldn't even stretch his legs out!

Shan Yue shook her head slightly, banishing these irrelevant thoughts from her mind, and mentally spitting at herself: What a muddled brain and a muddled mind! In a life-or-death situation, how could she still have the mind to care where Xue Xiao was sleeping? —Men, indeed, affect the speed at which they can draw their daggers.

"Shh-"

A dagger gleaming with cold light was drawn from Shan Yue's sleeve.

Xue Xiao's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at the blade and said, "The blade is both sharp and tough. It's made using the unique 'three fires and two warms' technique of Wu Mingshui, the craftsman in the palace. Jing'an gave it to you?"

Shan Yue blinked.

"You want me to kill you?" Xue Xiao guessed correctly as soon as he heard it.

Shan Yue placed the dagger behind her back: "Jing An let me choose between the poison needle, the arsenic, and this dagger. I chose the dagger."

Xue Xiao slowly sat down, his eyes deep and unwavering. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately said, "You made the wrong choice."

Shan Yue lowered her head, gently moving the tip of the dagger with her fingertips, pointing the blade at herself: "I know, I subconsciously picked up the dagger and immediately realized that I had made a huge mistake."

Poison needles or arsenic should be selected.

The dagger is the only one of the three that still offers a chance of redemption.

Her subconscious reaction inadvertently revealed her intention to protect Xue Xiao to Jing An.

"Jing'an came too fast and pressed too hard, catching me completely off guard."

Shan Yue tried to explain, but then realized her own guilty conscience and simply admitted it with silence: when Xue Xiao was in danger, she possessed the emotions and thoughts of a normal person, and her subconscious actions showed her protection and identification with Xue Xiao. Before that, only Shui Guang could make her lose her composure and self-control.

Shan Yue fell silent in frustration.

This silence stood out particularly in the night.

Xue Xiao's lips curled into a high smile, his index finger curling as he rhythmically tapped the back of his hand in the shadows: he could enjoy his pleasure in secret. The crucial thing was not to expose him. If the windowpane between him and Shan Yue were to be pierced, this girl of unparalleled strength and spirit would immediately tear it down and quickly replace it with an iron window that even a knife couldn't cut through.

"Yes, I chose the wrong one."

Shan Yue readily admitted her guilt, and when she looked up again, her eyes regained their calm and clear expression: "Jing An is not the Chang family that is all talk and no action, nor is she like her muddle-headed daughter. She is a clever and ambitious she-wolf. When she took out these three weapons, she was secretly testing me—if I exposed myself, she would definitely take action."

Shan Yue's mind was clear. She squinted slightly, thinking about her encounter with Jing An that evening: "Her makeup was very heavy, even down to her neck, with a thick layer of powder. The room was filled with the strong smell of incense, perhaps to mask the smell of medicine. When I first arrived in the capital, I met her. She sat upright, and her manners were extremely disciplined. The last time she was half-leaning on the couch, but this time she was completely leaning back—her health was deteriorating, and she was very anxious, eager to eliminate any possible threat."

Shan Yue's knuckles bent slightly as she tapped the table lightly and crisply. Frowning, she turned to Xue Xiao and asked, "In the Great Wei Dynasty, are members of the imperial family permitted to have private armies?"

Xue Xiao leaned casually back in his chair, his gaze towards Shan Yue filled with undisguised admiration and fervor: "We can have a vassal king, but the loyalist vassal states have 30,000 soldiers, both openly and secretly; we cannot have members of the imperial family in the capital, and certainly not the princess's residence. But—"

Xue Xiao paused slightly: "Do you believe that Jing'an has never privately amassed elite troops?"

How could a woman who single-handedly built the "Qingfeng" system not build a reliable and protective force for herself?

"After the power shift in the Northern Frontier, Emperor Zhaode tacitly allowed the gentry and relatives in the court to recruit 'household servants,' not as military households, but merely as attendants." Xue Xiao stood up and, with a "whoosh," unfurled a silk scroll in front of the bookshelf in the west wing, revealing a map of the capital region. "Over the years, Jing'an has purchased more than a dozen estates in the eastern part of the city outside the capital, each with dozens of able-bodied laborers. Adding and subtracting, there are hundreds of people—'tacitly approved,' the key is 'silence.' Emperor Zhaode can tolerate it, but once these people are exposed, the current Emperor Yongping will definitely strip this aunt of her power."

Xue Xiao raised his eyes: "Do you think Jing'an would be willing to use these people to deal with me and you?"

Shan Yue pursed her lips: "Now that 'Qingfeng' is suffering defeat after defeat and many of its spies have been eliminated, it is a critical moment of life and death. Although Jing'an is a woman, she is by no means a timid or hesitant person."

Xue Xiao laughed: "I didn't know that you thought highly of her."

Shan Yue pursed her lips, her voice deep: "Respect your opponent, and you will be able to strategize effectively; underestimating your opponent will surely lead to your downfall."

Xue Xiao praised, "If you were a man, you would surely thrive in the officialdom and become a high-ranking official."

He then bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "I'm afraid I should address you as 'Lord He,' and beg Lord He to have mercy and protect this humble official."

Shanyue:?
She was busy calmly analyzing the situation, while Xue Xiao was busy flattering her.

When it comes to serious matters, can you please focus on the important things—not on her?
Shan Yue laughed and said, "Since we know that Jing'an might reveal his true intentions and fight to the death, if we have no way to deal with it, we might as well stay home and wait until things are settled in Shuiguang Palace before making any further plans?"

In summary, it can be summed up in one word: "hide".

Shan Yue knew Xue Xiao's family background very well.

A snowball bird is currently flapping its wings sleepily; a dog chasing the wind is drooling for miles; Gale and Falling Wind, although they are quite powerful, are no match for the four of them, and their chances of winning the team battle are basically zero.

As for the young men in black robes at Tianbao Temple, they cannot be considered part of Xue Xiao's family fortune. They are his subordinates, not his retainers. Now they are scattered like stars in the sky, with most of them going to the Jiangnan officialdom to serve as substitutes.

Once Jing'an launches a decisive attack, their only option will be to "hide."

Xue Xiao leaned against the tall rosewood cabinet, his eyes slightly lowered, his eyebrows and eyes showing a hint of casualness and indifference: "Avoid? Hide? I, Xue Xiao, have been in office for six years, and I still don't know how to write the word 'hide'—it's all about arm wrestling! It's all about head-on collision. If we play well this time, it won't be difficult to wipe out most of Jing'an's private soldiers."

"Cluck cluck—" The parrot Snowball stretched its neck in perfect sync, cheering for its male owner.

Shan Yue turned around and squinted: "What do we have to compete with her on?"

Does Xue Xiao have cards she doesn't know about?

Xue Xiao slowly leaned down: "Tell me first, what does our sister want to do?"

Shan Yue's eyes were deep and thoughtful, but the corners of her lips involuntarily curved into a slight smile.

Xue Xiaoyi bent down even more deeply.

After a long silence, Shan Yue breathed softly and whispered two words in Xue Xiao's ear: "Secret."

Xue Xiao's face was very close, his eyes slightly lowered, his long, curled eyelashes casting trembling shadows on his narrow jaw. Under the shadows, he also raised the corners of his lips in a half-smile: "My lady, it's fortunate that you chose the dagger. If you had chosen the poison, I would have drunk myself into a stupor before I died."

Shan Yue's face showed none of the composure she would have displayed when she uttered the word "secret." In fact, she felt two blushes quietly rising on her cheekbones.

She leaned back instinctively, glancing at the map in front of the bookshelf, and hurriedly steered the conversation back to her own comfort zone: "So, does this mean we should give Jing'an a good opportunity to take the initiative?"

How can this opportunity be given in a natural and reasonable way?
Outside the low wall of the second gate, the Qiu family's wailing and howling sounded like the lonely ghosts wandering in the mountains and forests.

Shan Yue and Xue Xiao exchanged a knowing glance, instantly understanding each other.

"When the old man is going home, his daughter and son-in-law should naturally see him off."

Xue Xiao raised his hand, his long, well-defined fingers pointing casually into the distance: "Let's take Old Master Tai to the ferry at Qiushui Ferry in the east of the city. We'll depart at noon, and on our return journey, we can stay at Hanshan Temple in the east of the city."

Shan Yue squinted as he examined the map.

Hanshan Temple?
Why at Hanshan Temple?
Isn't Hanshan Temple an imperial temple?

Wouldn't this be making things easier for Jing'an?

Xue Xiao's next words resolved Shan Yue's doubts: "Recently, Mu Sheng, the lame man by Cui Yulang's side, has been frequently visiting Hanshan Temple. We might as well go and investigate."

Xue Xiao stretched out his arms and casually twisted his neck. A few sharp cracking sounds came from his shoulders, the sound drawn out as if he were pitifully exhausted: "These days, one thing after another has been happening, without end. I'm new to the Xishan camp, and there's a group of men who don't respect each other. I'm willing to risk my life to win them over as soon as possible. I'm exhausted, and my mind is constantly racing—I'll go on a trip, settle two matters, pick up the pace, and then I can finally take a break."

While in the palace, Shan Yue heard about Xue Xiao's "heroic feat" of taking on twenty-eight people in the Xishan camp. Her eyes swept over his shoulders, then looked at the short, narrow daybed. As she turned around, she said in a low voice, "Bring the quilt into the inner room. The warm couch in the inner room is bigger than this daybed."

The voice was kept very low.

Fortunately, she no longer needs to draw her dagger.
"What did you say?" Xue Xiao asked, leaning forward and straightening his back, deliberately pointing to his left ear: "You know, my left ear was slapped so hard by Xue Changfeng since I was little that I lost my hearing. You have to speak louder when you say nice things."

The tone was somewhat pitiful and sticky. Upon closer listening, it was surprisingly similar to the intonation of Shui Guang when she was being coquettish.

Where did he learn that?!
Shan Yue stopped in place, clenched her fists, and said, word by word, "I said, you, don't, push, an inch, a mile!"

"Huh? I shouldn't be arrogant and reserved?"

Xue Xiao smiled broadly, becoming cheerful: "I'm not being reserved at all! I'll go sleep in the bed later!"