Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
7
I pretended not to understand.
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“I hear Vice Minister Nhiếp is strict with his children. Everyone in his household is skilled at riding and archery. Yet you say you cannot ride. Do you take me for a fool?”
“Since that day, you’ve become perceptive, glib, and careless of propriety. Your temperament is completely different.”
My heart sank.
He was far too sharp.
Even Nguyên Giai hadn’t noticed, but he had.
His voice grew colder.
“Answer.”
Obviously, I couldn’t say I had entered the book.
No one would believe it.
All I could do now was look pitiful.
I pulled up my right sleeve, revealing a slender pale arm.
A red birthmark lay on its inner side.
“I’ve had this since birth. Ask my parents if you don’t believe me.”
“A year has four seasons, Your Highness. Even the moon waxes and wanes. Can’t a person change?”
“As for riding, I’m merely out of practice.”
He hesitated, then released me.
I forced out a few tears.
But I truly felt wronged.
I had worked so hard planning everything.
He did nothing but suspect me.
“Whenever you see me, you either throw me into a lake or scold me.”
“I finally persuaded the princess to come to the polo ground today, and you immediately snap at me.”
“Could you stop being so fierce all the time?”
Tears shimmered in my eyes.
He pressed his lips together.
I quickly added:
“We’re on the same side, aren’t we…”
A clear tear fell onto the table.
His voice softened.
“I was too suspicious.”
“Too hasty.”
…
So the bastard had a little conscience after all.
“I don’t know how to comfort people. You had better stop crying.”
…
Listen to him.
Was that something a human being said?
“If you insist on crying, I could try.”
I immediately pricked up my ears.
He said nothing more.
Never had I hated his pride so much.
I looked away in annoyance.
And saw a plate of lychees.
Plump and red.
I wanted one.
He gritted his teeth.
“Don’t even think it. I’ve never peeled lychees for anyone.”
…
“Open your mouth.”
“Huh?”
Before I could react, he put a lychee into my mouth.
The translucent flesh was sweet and cool.
My lips parted instinctively.
His fingertip happened to move a little farther.
I… closed my lips around it.
…
We both froze.
Soft, warm contact.
He slowly withdrew his finger.
Too embarrassed, I swallowed the fruit, stone and all.
He calmly wiped his hand and pushed tea toward me.
I stammered:
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“Mean to do what?”
Fine.
I was the only one embarrassed.
“Nhiếp Khanh Khanh.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve eaten my lychee. No more crying.”
“Oh.”
8
In the carriage home, I asked what the princess thought of the prince of Hexi.
She considered, her lips curving.
“He praised my riding.”
“No one has ever praised it before. Everyone only says I cook well. Even Bùi Tế. Master Trịnh said few women in the Central Plains could ride, and I was already very good.”
I wiped the sweat from her forehead and gently tucked back a loose strand of hair.
Once I saved her from the drugged wine at the palace banquet, once Bùi Tế passed, she would face the greatest choice of her life again.
I could only keep her alive.
Try to show her more choices and possibilities.
As we passed a narrow lane, Bùi Tế’s voice came through the window.
I stepped out to meet him.
His voice was hoarse.
“I know I shouldn’t seek Nguyên Giai out.”
“But I miss her.”
“The examination is in three days. If I fail, we’ll never have a chance.”
“May I see her once?”
I softened.
As they caught up, I glanced over.
She was telling him something happily.
There was little smile on his face.
After helping her back into the carriage, I felt a bone-deep chill behind me.
As though a gaze sharp as a blade watched me.
I turned.
Night had fallen.
The lane was empty.
The prince’s words returned.
“Bùi Tế is no good.”
9
The palace banquet arrived in the blink of an eye.
Early that day, I sent Tiểu Liên to warn the princess not to drink any wine.
But when I entered the palace, my maid hurried over, crestfallen.
“Her Majesty kept the princess beside her talking. I had no chance to warn her.”
Unease rose in me.
Whatever happened, I had to stop the wine that would kill her.
The banquet was about to begin.
Seats were strictly assigned.
Officials below the second rank and their families could sit only in the outer hall.
Far away, I saw the prince at the entrance to the inner hall.
His back was to me. He seemed to be giving a guard instructions.
As I approached, the guard glanced at me.
“Your Highness, Miss Nhiếp is here to see you.”
“Shut up.”
…
Pretending not to hear, I made a respectful bow.
“I have an impertinent request, Your Highness.”
“May I sit beside the princess? The feast will run late. I would like to keep her company.”
“Only to talk to Nguyên Giai?” he asked evenly.
Of course not.
Could I tell him I knew the plot?
No.
He was suspicious enough.
Besides, who knew what other villains were in this palace?
His voice brought me back.
“Answer.”
I could only lean closer and lower my voice.
“Actually…”
“I would rather talk to Your Highness.”
A faint flush crossed his face.
His tone was warning.
“Nhiếp Khanh Khanh. Behave.”
Then he turned to the guard.
“Take her in. Find her a seat.”
…