The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Young General Feng is truly obedient to you. He's even willing to take other people's prey for you."

Si Xingxuan's voice sounded particularly clear and cold in the night wind, carrying a hint of mockery.

"He's like a piece of soft tofu to be manipulated by anyone in front of you."

Although he did not get close enough to examine the fallen eagle closely, he was certain that it was Tang Xixue's arrow.

Otherwise, why would that proud and arrogant young general be willing to do the work for someone else?

Doesn't he have any temper at all?

Cleaning up the mess left by his love rival—this gesture showed that he was completely under her thumb, and she had forgotten to even struggle.

"General Feng is kind-hearted and righteous."

Tangxi Xue's voice was calm and undisturbed.

"I think he's stubborn and obstinate."

Si Xingxuan sneered, recalling the look in Feng Zhuo's eyes that night at the Hall of Longevity—fiery, focused, and with the resolute determination of a moth drawn to a flame.

"I deserve to be bullied like this by you."

The boy had already been poisoned by a substance called "Tangxi Snow," which had seeped deep into his bones and was incurable.

"He is naturally not as cold-hearted as Young Master Si Xing."

Tang Xixue gently spurred the horse's belly, her voice drifting away on the wind.

Si Xingxuan's breath hitched.

Heartless.

Four words, light and airy, yet like needles chilled to ice, precisely piercing a soft spot he himself hadn't even noticed.

He twitched the corner of his lips, a chilling laugh escaped his throat, and said nothing more.

The horses reached the stream.

The water surface was covered with a thin layer of ice, reflecting the fragmented moon's image in the sky, like a shattered glass mirror.

Chasing Stars pierced the ice with a crisp cracking sound, breaking the silence, and the horse swayed slightly in response.

In the instant of the jolt, Si Xingxuan instinctively tightened his arms, pulling her more securely into his embrace.

In that instant, without any pause, the warm lines of her back pressed against his chest, the scent of begonias in her hair mingling with the snowy air filling his nostrils.

Even clearer was the sudden, disordered beating of his own heart—

Thump, thump, thump, one after another, crashing against our eardrums with a deafening roar.

The stream murmurs beneath the ice, the ice shards gently colliding like the clinking of jade pendants.

Those brief three breaths felt as long as a lifetime.

"Si Xingxuan." She suddenly called his full name, her voice as still as snow falling into a deep pool, "Your hands are trembling."

He suddenly let go, withdrawing his arm as if burned, and once again maintaining that restrained, safe distance.

With his back straight and chin slightly tucked, he turned his face away to look at the dark shadows of the forest.

"The cold symptoms have flared up."

He said calmly, his voice a little hoarse.

"Is that so?" Tang Xixue didn't turn around, her voice devoid of emotion. "Then I'd better hurry up and send you back."

Did she believe it?

Or perhaps they simply don't want to delve deeper?

He had no way of judging, only feeling that the tangled mess in his mind was getting tighter and tighter.

As we passed through the red maple forest, the remaining leaves on the branches shivered in the wind, like congealed blood adorning the vast expanse of snow.

The precipitous outline of Liuyun Cliff finally emerged at the edge of the forest. Several lanterns swayed below the cliff, casting a warm, dim glow, and the figures of servants waiting with their hands at their sides could be vaguely seen.

The horse stopped at Tangxi.

Si Xingxuan released the hand that had been loosely supporting her waist and dismounted.

When she landed, her knees buckled and her body swayed slightly, but she quickly reached out and steadied her.

His wrist bones were as cold as jade, while her palms were warm and soft. They touched briefly and then parted, but the lingering temperature difference remained for a long time.

"Thank you for seeing me off."

He lowered his eyes and bowed respectfully, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"polite."

She remained perched high on her horse, leaning slightly down to look at him.

The light from the lantern leaped into her eyes, rippling out a dazzling array of starlight, breathtaking in the night.

"I'm gone."

She waved her hand and turned the horse around.

The black steed neighed softly, ready to set off on its journey through the snow.

Regardless of their private grudges, she could not allow Si Xingxuan to die at the Chenyao Hunting Grounds.

This beautiful, sickly healer, Zheyue, was backed by Si Xingzhou, the emperor of the Xingyuan Dynasty who had become a demon for protecting his brother.

Everyone in the Nine Provinces knows that to interfere with the Starry Sky is to make an enemy of the entire Star Abyss.

Over the years, her body has been occupied by a transmigrated woman, causing her elder brother, Tang Xiye, enough trouble.

Now that she has returned, she should at least help him avoid some of the storms.

If Si Xingxuan were to be lost at Lintai, the delicate balance between Chenyao and Xingyuan would likely collapse in an instant.

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, disappearing into the deep forest.

"My lord, you're finally back. The medicine has been kept warm."

The medicine servant Qi Zhu, carrying a lantern, stepped forward and saw Si Xingxuan still standing on the edge of the cliff, looking towards the depths of the snow forest, his figure as still as a jade sculpture.

The servants held their breath and kept their hands at their sides, none daring to disturb them.

The wind swept across Liuyun Cliff, lifting a corner of his moon-white cloak, and the silver-threaded epiphyllum on the collar shimmered with a cold, eerie light under the dim lamplight.

Snowflakes clung to his dark blue hair, not yet melted, like stardust frozen in time.

"Hard-hearted, huh?" he suddenly whispered, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, a faint self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. "She's quite good at judging people..."

"My lord, the night at Lintai is cold and the snow is falling heavily. Please return to the medicine hut quickly."

Qi Zhu carefully adjusted his cloak.

"Princess Mirror is truly resilient; she managed to escape even in such a dire situation today. But since the Lord went personally, could it be... that he used a heart-piercing poison?"

"Should we set off back to Xingyuan tonight? Even if Emperor Shengchen wants to investigate, as long as we return to His Majesty's protection, he can't do anything about it."

Si Xingxuan's face suddenly darkened.

"In your eyes, is all I know how to use poison?"

He glanced sideways at Qizhu, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"H-How could this be!"

Qi Zhu quickly smiled apologetically, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Our lord is a healer, skilled in medicine and compassion. Princess Mirror is known for her... well, rather flamboyant ways. If anything goes wrong, it would be for the sake of the people—"

That's enough.

The bamboo grove fell silent.

Si Xingxuan turned around and headed towards the medicine hut on the cliff.

The snow-covered steps were winding, and his steps were unsteady. Qi Zhu hurriedly stepped forward to help him, but he gently brushed her aside.

Back at the medicine hut, a warm, fragrant aroma of herbs wafted towards me.

He took off his snow-covered cloak and leaned against the bamboo couch covered with a silver fox fur coat, his brows furred with an inescapable weariness.

—What kind of bewitching thing is happening to us today?

Poisoned?

He never poisoned her in the slightest.

But it was him...

After that moment of being helped and embraced on horseback, I felt that something was wrong with everything.

Otherwise, why would his usually rock-solid hand holding the needle tremble inexplicably in front of her?

"Could it be..." he murmured to himself, gazing at the flickering flames in the stove, "that she poisoned me."

That's why, upon hearing of her attack, he lost his mind and rushed away through the snow.

But if it really was poison, why did I recall her turning back to pick him up...?

A secret, inappropriate joy would rise in my heart?

"My lord, I heard that Princess Jing not only hunted a tiger today, but also won the top spot on the Lintai Cloud Ranking."

Qi Zhu offered a warm cup of medicine, her worried expression still lingering.

"We really shouldn't stay any longer. If she succumbs to the poison and it's discovered that we're involved..."

"I told you, I didn't poison him."

Si Xingxuan took the medicine cup, his fingertips touching the warm porcelain, and his tone softened slightly:

"Why would I poison her for no reason?"

"But hasn't she... repeatedly offended the Lord?"

Qi Zhu muttered to himself.

"She even dared to lose that rare copy of the elixir formula that you've been searching for for so many years..."

"She has found it and returned it to me."

Si Xingxuan lowered his eyes, and in the misty medicinal aroma, his pale face softened slightly.

"Not only that... but he also gave me all the medical books in the study of the Hall of Longevity."

He paused, a hint of softness in his voice that he himself didn't even realize:

"She must still care about me."

The thought of her obsessive affection used to bother me, but now it's like drinking a cup of warmed mead, the sweetness seeping into every part of my body.

If giving away everything you have isn't considered a token of affection, then what is?

Qi Zhu was silent for a moment, then said cautiously:

"Is it possible... that Princess Mirror is simply short of money? The Seven Generations Pavilion sent word that she recently pawned a large number of her personal belongings and is preparing for a special auction..."

"All those items must be transported back to Xingyuan and are not allowed to be auctioned."

Si Xingxuan suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze slightly narrowed.

"Transport...transport them back to Xingyuan?" Qizhu was taken aback. "But those are women's personal belongings. What use would the master have for them? Besides, where would we put them..."

"The Palace of Eternal Life is quite nice."

Si Xingxuan took a sip of the herbal soup, the bitter taste spreading on his tongue, but he remained calm.

"A replica can also be built in my fiefdom, Suspended Star City."

Qi Zhu's hand trembled, and he almost knocked over the medicine tray.

"My lord," he took a deep breath, trying his best to remain calm, "you... should finish your medicine first."

Si Xingxuan did not respond, but only looked out the window at the increasingly heavy snowfall.

The warm yellow light of the medicine shop illuminated his lean profile, casting a solitary silhouette on the paper window.

Qi Zhu quietly retreated outside the door, looked at the swirling snow, and sighed with worry.

—His master's illness is probably more difficult to cure than a cold.

He's somewhat out of his mind.