Chapter Fifty-One
“Them?” Yixiao was still puzzled, but her smile gradually faded. “Yes, them—those civil and military officials, even Father,” Feng Suige affirmed with a nod. “Because if I become king, I will declare you as my queen on the day of my coronation!”
Yixiao’s expression darkened instantly. She sneered, “Should I kneel now and thank you in advance?”
“Let me finish,” Feng Suige said urgently, seemingly oblivious to her anger. “I’ve thought over what you said that day again. No matter what, I won’t let you return to Brocade. I want to keep you by my side. Though I can’t think of a better way to express it, I truly hope you can see my sincerity—even just a little.”
“Stay by your side, so I can play archery and mind games with you every day?” Yixiao retorted coldly. “This isn’t a request—it’s a decree. If you’ve already made your decision, why bother pretending to discuss it with me?”
Feng Suige seized her shoulders. “Yixiao, I know this will not only make you hate me but also pit you against most people. But this is the only way I can win you over now. I swear on my life—whether you are that man’s lover or still love him, from today onward, I will never let you go. We will be entangled for lifetimes, until death. Every lifetime, no matter how many cycles, I swear it!”
Fu Yixiao glared fiercely at Feng Suige. His hands gripped her shoulders tightly, trembling slightly. Suddenly, she swung at his hands. Feng Suige dodged back, his expression dimming as he watched her. But then he heard her say through gritted teeth, “Feng Suige, if one day I kill you with my own hands, don’t resent me—it’ll be because you forced me!”
“You’ve agreed,” Feng Suige said, his face lighting up as if he hadn’t heard her threat. “Have you agreed?”
The fury in Yixiao’s eyes had long since hardened into icy indifference. Her gaze fell on the leather painting in the corner as she answered irrelevantly, “Feng Suige, I don’t hate you. But if there truly is a next life, I only wish for us to never meet again—not in heaven nor on earth…”
Power and status meant endless strife and slaughter.
She had never told anyone, but she loathed killing. Though she never hesitated on the battlefield, because there, her choice wasn’t whether to kill or not—it was kill or be killed. One day, even that choice would be taken from her, though she didn’t know when. All she had left was her pride. So she would hold her head high. Even if she died in battle one day, she would die with dignity.
Feng Suige stood frozen. Her last words twisted his heart in agony. After a long silence, he forced a smile. “King You of Zhou lit the beacon fires to amuse his concubine Bao Si, winning her fleeting smile… Yet when I offer you the throne and my heart, all I earn is your wrath. Did I use the wrong method, or are you simply too hard to please? Fine. The only thing I can give you is my life. If you want it, come and take it with your own hands!”"If you die, there will be nothing left, and I will forget you very quickly. Don't you think that's utterly meaningless?" Yixiao turned her head away coldly, but Feng Suige gave her a strange smile. "So I gambled," he said. Yixiao still didn't look at him, yet she couldn't help asking, "Gambled on what?" Her hands, hanging at her sides, had long clenched into tight fists, as if she already foresaw his answer.
"On... you... not... letting... go," Feng Suige whispered, leaning close to her ear, enunciating each word deliberately.
Fu Yixiao flew into a rage, sweeping everything on the table—along with the brocade tablecloth—onto the floor. Amid the cacophony of clattering objects, a palace lantern adorned with crystal, pearls, and agate crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. It was the most expensive and exquisite lamp in the Prince's mansion. A maid, who had already retreated to the outer chamber, clasped her hands together in prayer, murmuring to Buddha, begging for the Minor Imperial Concubine's fury to subside quickly, for her own shift to end soon so she could clean up the mess, and for the guards who had rushed to summon the Imperial Son to return swiftly...
On... you... not... letting... go. The four words struck like thunder, crashing onto her heart, making it hard to breathe for a moment.
After uttering those words, Feng Suige called her name softly, "Yixiao—" She suppressed her ragged breath, forcing herself to steady. "What?" she asked, turning to look at him. Feng Suige's face loomed larger in her vision as he lowered his head—she stood rigid, as if trapped by the frozen air around her, until his scorching breath brushed against her lips. "Were you waiting for me to kiss you?"
Yixiao shoved him away violently and bolted out the door, sprinting back to the Prince's mansion. Once inside her empty room, she nearly vomited, unable to tell whether she was more disgusted with Feng Suige for toying with her or with herself for forgetting to resist.
Fu Yixiao, what were you expecting back then? Why did you return to this place after leaving? What were you even thinking? Self-loathing hammered at her taut nerves.
Like a caged beast in a frenzy, Yixiao kicked aside a palace stool blocking her path, snatched up the Greedy Wolf bow and quiver from the table, and strode toward the door. She couldn't take it anymore. She refused to dwell on that revolting scene any longer. She would leave the Prince's mansion, leave Su Sha—even if venturing out alone meant dying beneath the city walls, she would never see that man again.
"Minor Imperial Concubine... Minor Imperial Concubine, where are you going?" The maid on night duty chased after her, calling out. Yixiao whirled around, her voice icy. "Shut up. If you follow me, you'll be the first one I kill." The maid immediately fell silent, stopping in her tracks.
She couldn't afford to delay any longer. Yixiao quickened her pace. The maid's earlier shouts had already alerted the night patrol, and faint voices could be heard in the distance.
"Who—" A shadow flickered in the dimness, but Yixiao, prepared, ducked low and slipped past the approaching Sentry in the cover of darkness. With her right hand, she swung the Greedy Wolf, the bow's limb striking heavily against the Sentry's neck. The man let out a muffled groan before collapsing limply to the ground.
Lights flickered on here and there, near and far. Yixiao's eyes gleamed unnaturally bright in the faint glow. Her natural night vision had once made her a key player in several nighttime raids on Su Sha's camps during the war. The irony was, after so many battles, so much suffering, and killing so many Su Sha soldiers, she was now the Imperial Son's concubine in Su Sha.Shouts came from the rear courtyard, and the bright lights in the front courtyard were flickering on one by one. Yixiao carried Greedy Wolf on her back, pulled out two arrows, and snapped off their fletchings. The remaining foot-long broken shafts became makeshift close-combat weapons—she gripped the broken arrows tightly and crouched in the shadows of the bushes, avoiding a squad of Prince's mansion guards rushing past. As long as she could safely cross the open space ahead, she was certain she could escape the mansion.
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