The phrase "let's take our time to discuss this" left An Jiu speechless. She wondered if she should find a way to kidnap Mei Yanran.
But then she thought better of it—hadn't she been hunted enough in her past life? In this life, even if she couldn’t guarantee avoiding the same mistakes entirely, at the very least, she shouldn’t go out of her way to provoke unnecessary hatred.
With that in mind, An Jiu glanced at Mei Yanran and caught a fleeting look of wariness and distance in her eyes. It stung a little, but she quickly brushed it off. After all, to a wandering ghost who had somehow taken over her daughter’s body, not being outright killed was already an act of mercy.
Mei Yanran saw her smile but didn’t know what else to say. No matter what An Jiu said, she wouldn’t fully believe her anyway.
After standing there for a few moments, Mei Yanran slipped out of the room.
An Jiu poured water into a cup but paused before drinking. She dumped the entire pot and went to the kitchen to boil fresh water.
Her mother was kind, but she wasn’t hers .
Given Mei Yanran’s reaction, she had no choice but to be cautious.
As she boiled the water, An Jiu reflected on how much had changed in such a short time. Everyone around her had their own choices—except her. She drifted along, letting fate push her wherever it pleased, never having a direction, never even considering the meaning of her existence in this world.
Even Mei Jiu had a goal—to marry and bear children. But An Jiu? She was just a killing machine. When orders came down, she carried them out. Every thought, every action, revolved around her missions. It wasn’t that she lacked intelligence—she had simply forgotten how to think and choose for herself.
An Jiu had never dreamed of achieving great things, much less marrying and having children…
So where did her path lie?
The warm glow from the stove flickered across her face as she gave a self-deprecating smile. She was just a rat, blindly following the crowd, occasionally sneering at the humans passing by— You fools!
But in truth, wasn’t she the most pitiful and laughable one of all?
The water in the pot boiled. An Jiu scooped some into a ladle and carried it to the courtyard, intending to drink straight from it.
The moonlight spilled like water as she stood by the vegetable garden Sui Yunzhu had planted. The seeds, sown not long ago, had already sprouted tender green shoots.
"Don’t water them with hot water!" Sui Yunzhu rushed out of the house in alarm when he saw her standing by the garden with a ladle of boiling water, eyeing the seedlings.
An Jiu rested one hand on her hip and held the ladle of scalding water in the other, turning her head calmly to look at him as he lunged forward. "Do you have a dream?" she asked.
Sui Yunzhu jerked to a halt, shaking his numb hand from the sudden recoil of force. He gave her a strange look— Is she having another episode? —and answered cautiously, afraid of setting her off. "Yes."
"What dream?" An Jiu asked with interest.
Sui Yunzhu glanced at the hot water in her hand, muscles tensing slightly in case she suddenly flung it—either onto the ground or at him. "Plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, gazing leisurely at the southern mountains," he recited. "I want to find a peaceful place with beautiful scenery, marry a simple-hearted girl, and live a quiet life."
Right now, he felt anything but leisurely.
"Hmm." An Jiu thought for a moment. "I actually know a simple-hearted girl."
Sui Yunzhu was half-nervous, half-confused.
"She’s already married, but not very happily. Want me to introduce you?" The "simple-hearted girl" in An Jiu’s mind was none other than Mei Jiu.Sui Yunzhu didn’t respond to that remark. Instead, he couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing with that hot water?”
“Drinking it!” An Jiu gave him a look as if he were an idiot.
“Ahem, I see.” Sui Yunzhu relaxed and finally continued their earlier conversation. “I’m still not in control of my own life—how could I have the fortune to marry?”
“Whether it’s fortune is hard to say. She loves crying and whining.” An Jiu brought the ladle to her lips and took a sip. “Do you like that type?”
Sui Yunzhu was speechless. Who acted as a matchmaker like this? Not only was she suggesting a married woman, but she also only pointed out the flaws.
Seeing her waiting earnestly for an answer, Sui Yunzhu could only chuckle. “I prefer someone more fiery.”
Hearing this, An Jiu immediately dismissed the idea. Mei Jiu could hardly say a harsh word in her lifetime. But she tucked Sui Yunzhu’s words away in her mind.
Unbeknownst to him, his words today would lead to a “tragic” second half of his life—he had merely been humoring a madwoman.
“I’ll head back to my room first,” Sui Yunzhu said.
An Jiu grunted in acknowledgment and sank back into thought. Her conversation with Sui Yunzhu had suddenly sparked inspiration. Since she couldn’t find her own direction, why not help others? Assisting people in fulfilling their dreams was a pretty good path! It could also make up for the blood on her hands.
An Jiu was a woman of action. Once she thought of something, she did it. After finishing the ladle of water, she went straight to Li Qingzhi’s room.
Li Qingzhi was hanging upside down from a beam, practicing his martial arts. When he noticed An Jiu entering, he flipped down.
In the pitch-black room, he could faintly see the gleam in An Jiu’s eyes. “Do you have a dream?”
Li Qingzhi was taken aback. His first reaction was the same as Sui Yunzhu’s—this girl was having another episode.
“Sit.” Li Qingzhi thought it was crucial she didn’t act out in public. This was the imperial palace, where a single misstep could cost one’s head. Feeling responsible, he decided to keep her occupied with conversation. “Of course! I admire Ling Jiangjun. A man with ability should protect his home and country. Ah, but look at the mess we’re in now!”
An Jiu nodded repeatedly. “That’s a good thought.”
Li Qingzhi found this even stranger. Since when did she ever say anything nice? This was practically a miracle. He almost wanted to drag Sui Yunzhu over to hear it too.
“Never mind. Keep practicing.” An Jiu waved a hand and strode out of the room. Riding this momentum, she went to find Gao Dazhuang, planning to deliver the medicine Mo Sigui had sent along the way.
Li Qingzhi hurried to Sui Yunzhu’s room. “Do you think we can afford not to follow her? Last time at the border, she caused such a stir—we were lucky Lord Chu handled it. But Lord Chu isn’t here this time!”
Sui Yunzhu was also hesitant. “Her mental strength is high. If we follow, she’ll definitely notice.”
“If things escalate, we’ll all be held accountable,” Li Qingzhi said.
Sui Yunzhu nodded. “Fine. We’ll follow from a distance.”
Their figures flashed as they chased after An Jiu’s direction, but they had already lost track of her presence.
The critical areas of the palace were guarded by the Dragon Martial Guard. Since they weren’t familiar with the other teams, wandering around would only invite unnecessary trouble.
After a moment’s thought, Sui Yunzhu said, “Let’s inform Lord Gao.”
By sheer luck, when they arrived, they happened to run into An Jiu speaking with Gao Dazhuang.
Naturally, she had asked him the same question.If it were any other time, Gao Dazhuang's dagger-like glare could have flayed her alive. But having received Mo Sigui's generous gift, his mood was soaring beyond limits, so he merely rolled his eyes and grumbled, "You dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night just for this? Don’t you know how busy I usually am? So inconsiderate!"
Gao Dazhuang hadn’t just been in a good mood today. He wasn’t the type to swallow grievances quietly. A few days prior, stewing in pent-up frustration, he had taken advantage of the dark and windy night to ambush and thrash several eunuchs who often made trouble for him—his face concealed, of course. Only then did his anger subside slightly.
An Jiu, brimming with excitement and utterly unfazed by the cold reception, cheerfully speculated, "If your dream is to grow back your little pecker, that might be a bit tricky. I wonder if Mo Sigui could pull it off."
Gao Dazhuang’s face turned green with rage. He yanked off his shoe and hurled it at An Jiu. "You little runt, you tiny stump, you lunatic! Instead of worrying about my pecker, why don’t you ask Miracle Doctor Mo to cure your own sickness!"
An Jiu dodged with lightning speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Sui Yunzhu and Li Qingzhi, fearing collateral damage, hastily retreated under the radar.
Though thwarted, An Jiu remained in high spirits. Whether her line of thinking was correct or not, she had at least managed to brainstorm a goal unrelated to killing.
Suddenly feeling a sense of fulfillment, it was a wonderful sensation!
Sui Yunzhu and Li Qingzhu slunk back into their respective rooms, pretending they had never stepped out that night.
The next day during their rotation, Sui Yunzhu deliberately pulled An Jiu outside to stand guard with him, lest she be left alone in the room and impulsively ask the Crown Prince about his dreams.
An Jiu was still basking in her joy, while Li Qingzhi had grown depressed after just four close-protection shifts with the Crown Prince.
Taking one look at his expression, An Jiu knew he must have witnessed the Crown Prince’s debauchery! Over the past fortnight, during her own shifts, the Crown Prince had only skipped his nightly escapades twice. At this rate, he was likely engaging in "activities" at least twenty-five days a month. For Li Qingzhi to have stumbled upon it four times was hardly surprising.
The Crown Prince… was even more unrestrained in this regard than his father! The emperor, devoted to Cultivation of the Tao, paid more attention to health preservation and at least didn’t seek dual cultivation partners every day.
"Looking at a future ruler like this, I’ve lost all desire to serve," Li Qingzhu muttered as he squatted beside Sui Yunzhu’s vegetable patch.
Sui Yunzhu, weeding diligently, replied, "Watch your words."
An Jiu added, "No one’s within a hundred feet."
"What if we switched allegiances?" Li Qingzhu asked.
Sui Yunzhu pondered the feasibility of the idea when a strange thought struck him. Lowering his voice, he said, "I remember reading in the Crane Control Army records that the Dragon Martial Guard used to have a rule about taking Poison Pills. Why haven’t we?"
"That squad over there has them," An Jiu pointed toward the neighboring courtyard.
The three fell silent.
After a pause, Sui Yunzhu beckoned them closer.
Li Qingzhu and An Jiu leaned in as he whispered, "Could it be that Commander Gao withheld them…?"
That was entirely possible!
The emperor trusted Gao Dazhuang implicitly—his loyalty was so unwavering it had left a deep impression even on the Crane Control Army’s commander. The Poison Pills had likely been issued to him first, only to be intercepted. Otherwise, there was no reason why everyone else had taken them except for their group.
If that were the case, Gao Dazhuang must have ulterior motives!
Sui Yunzhu shot Li Qingzhu a glance. "Don’t ever voice such defeatist talk again. It’ll only invite unnecessary trouble."The Crane Control Army was made up of people who never saw the light of day. Aside from carrying out missions, they usually kept to themselves. But wherever there were people, there was strife, and this place was no exception. There were always those hungry for power who would scheme openly and covertly.
"Once Commander Gao calms down in a few days, I'll go ask," Sui Yunzhu said.
An Jiu replied, "What if it's not him?" (To be continued...)
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