I'm Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman - Chapter 18

“You’re asking me how I know?”

Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin, her expression somewhat unfathomable. “I thought everyone knew about this.”

“…”

Xiao Jin was silent.

What does that mean? Is she implying I’m not a person?

Although Xiao Jin wasn’t a native, she knew that a large-scale event like the assassination of the Prince of Yan, which required extreme secrecy, was impossible for everyone to know about.

However, to avoid saying the wrong thing and misunderstanding common knowledge, she decided to remain silent and let Chu Shao continue.

Fortunately, Chu Shao was cooperative this time. Seeing Xiao Jin’s silence, she smiled and continued.

“A few days ago, when I went to the imperial palace with you, I saw the emperor in the imperial study. But it was quite boring just standing there and listening to others talk. So I found some fun for myself and observed the clothes and behavior of the people around me.”

Clothes and behavior?

Xiao Jin frowned. At that time, she was busy fighting wits with the male lead and the second male lead and didn’t pay much attention to this.

Besides, even if she had, it was unlikely that she, a modern person, would fully understand the clothes in a fictional novel.

“Then I found that the Fourth Prince seems to be extremely fond of crape myrtle flowers. Not only are crape myrtle flowers embroidered on his shoes, but the jade pendant on his waist also has a crape myrtle totem.”

After Chu Shao said that, Xiao Jin finally remembered this small detail.

The Fourth Prince did indeed wear a dark purple robe that day. He was also handsome. As long as he didn’t open his mouth and reveal his true nature, he looked like a graceful and polite person.

Using crape myrtle as a characteristic feature was a standard trope for a noble prince in web novels—a typical second male lead.

Since the Fourth Prince was so fond of crape myrtle flowers, it would seem very suspicious if she, at this point, didn’t know this obvious detail.

But she couldn’t be blamed.

After all, she always read web novels quickly, and the original author never seemed to mention that the second male lead’s insignia was crape myrtle.

Of course, even if the author had written it, Xiao Jin wouldn’t have noticed the second male lead’s details. Everyone knew that the Fourth Prince was just an insignificant stepping stone.

Seeing the smile on Chu Shao’s lips deepen and her eyelashes fluttering as if in anticipation.

However, Chu Shao was destined to be happy for nothing, because Xiao Jin had already thought of a flawless response.

Xiao Jin held the token in her hand and said calmly, “Precisely because my fourth brother’s jade pendant is carved with a crape myrtle, the assassin couldn’t have been sent by him.”

“Everyone knows he loves crape myrtle. But the assassin just happened to have a crape myrtle token on him? There’s no such thing as a coincidence in this world.”

Of course, there was one exception.

It wasn’t impossible for such a dramatic and intelligence-lowering coincidence to appear in a novel.

Chu Shao said, “But what if the person who left the token also thought of this and deliberately shifted the blame to someone else? That’s not impossible either.”

A smile was on her lips as she gently caressed Xiao Jin’s bamboo wheelchair as if she was exploring something.

After the assassination attempt, Xiao Jin had replaced her wooden wheelchair with a bamboo one. She was a little curious about what the other person wanted to do.

After listening to Chu Shao, Xiao Jin was silent for a moment.

If they were to deduce based on this premise, the crape myrtle on the token must have been a setup to frame the Fourth Prince.

The biggest beneficiary of the conflict between herself and the Fourth Prince would naturally be the Crown Prince. And doing something that harms others to benefit oneself was indeed something a schemer male lead would do.

Furthermore, those assassins were highly skilled, yet they went easy on her. Aside from the male lead being the mastermind, Xiao Jin could hardly think of any other reason.

Besides, this was just a melodramatic, old-school novel. The political intrigue was very weak. She believed that the characters other than the male and female leads wouldn’t have very high intelligence.

But Xiao Jin always felt that things weren’t that simple.

Considering all this, Xiao Jin rubbed her forehead. “The Princess Consort’s words are logical. If this token causes a rift between my fourth brother and me, the biggest beneficiary will naturally be… the Crown Prince.”

“But if someone thought of this and deliberately framed the Crown Prince, it’s not impossible. However, I have always been on good terms with the Crown Prince. Using such a clumsy plan would be too crude.”

“Furthermore, this token is a replica made by someone else, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. Only a person who is well-versed in antiques and jade would be able to see through it. What if I hadn’t noticed this? Wouldn’t the mastermind’s plan have been a complete failure?”

Chu Shao said nothing. She only lowered her eyes and looked at the crape myrtle token in Xiao Jin’s hand.

In fact, she wasn’t very interested in these political disputes.

More than the mastermind hiding behind the crape myrtle, Chu Shao was more concerned about what kind of body was hidden beneath Xiao Jin’s robes.

Chu Shao’s intuition told her that Xiao Jin was hiding a secret.

Xiao Jin was different from many people she had met. The secret on this person might be her crippled legs, or it might be the fresh blood on the handkerchief.

Such a broken person, even if patched together, was just a half-dead invalid.

Logically, Xiao Jin shouldn’t be alive. But she was. She had even started to investigate which power was trying to assassinate her.

This alone was already entertaining enough.

Thinking this, Chu Shao smiled slightly and echoed, “Your Highness is right. The mastermind is no more than those few people. If you want to find out, you’ll eventually know who it is.”

“…”

No more than those few people?

Xiao Jin thought, The female lead is really arrogant. She doesn’t sound like a princess from a fallen kingdom at all.

But Xiao Jin wasn’t surprised that Chu Shao said such a thing in a casual tone.

After all, Chu Shao’s personality was what it was, so she wasn’t surprised by anything she did.

However, Chu Shao was right. The only ones who wanted something from the original owner were the most noble people in the Qi Kingdom.

Xiao Jin inexplicably felt a little comforted. She put away the crape myrtle token. “Indeed, it’s nothing more than those few people. Since someone wanted to kill me last time, there will definitely be a next time.”

“But this time, he left a flaw. Perhaps we can find something from it.”

“What flaw?” Chu Shao asked.

Xiao Jin answered concisely, “In a way, this flaw is thanks to the Princess Consort.”

Chu Shao smiled as if she was surprised. “Oh?”

Xiao Jin explained, “Because the Princess Consort’s sword skills are too superb, you didn’t leave a single living assassin behind. So now, I can only pry information from a dead person’s mouth.”

Chu Shao smiled faintly. She really didn’t know that she had unintentionally made such a “great contribution.”

“However, I don’t have the ability to make a dead person speak. I can only let that person pry something out.”

The rain in the capital had stopped.

The pharmacy in the depths of Cangjin Alley opened its doors early. Su Tan also picked up a broom and swept away the last pile of snow in front of her door.

She only had one broom and only swept the snow in front of her own door.

It wasn’t because she was unfriendly. The shop owners around her had all gone back south for the New Year and would only return next year.

The south was a good place. There were wild geese and hot springs.

If it weren’t for the old debts she hadn’t paid off many years ago, Su Tan might have already returned to the south, planting some herbs and taking good care of the flowers of the four seasons.

Su Tan leaned against the door, squinting at the clear, glass-like sky. She suddenly missed the winter of the Great Yao and the honeysuckle flowers that grew everywhere in winter.

Unfortunately, Su Tan didn’t have much time left to reminisce.

Because not long ago, she had already found her creditor. She might be able to find a way to pay off some of her old debts.

However, it would take time.

Su Tan sighed. Although she knew that time was running out, she still felt that she needed to plan carefully to find a way to sneak into the heavily guarded Prince of Yan’s residence.

This thought only lasted for a moment.

Because the next moment, a carriage broke through the morning fog and galloped toward her.

The neighing of the horses echoed, just like the uninvited guests who barged into Cangjin Alley a few nights ago.

Su Tan looked at the dozens of guards who jumped off the carriage. They were wearing silver armor. They must be brave and skilled soldiers.

But these soldiers were all holding a pot of lush green mint. Some had a few pale white flowers, while others had wilted from the rain and were unwilling to bloom.

It seemed that the owner of these mints probably didn’t know how to take care of flowers.

Thinking this, Su Tan had already guessed who the owner of the mints was. She looked at the soldiers but asked knowingly, “May I ask where you are from?”

“Miss Su, we are from the Prince of Yan’s residence.”

The silver-armored soldiers laughed heartily. They didn’t seem to think it was offensive for a proper man to suddenly appear at her doorstep with a pot of green plants.

After all, they had done more offensive things.

Snatching a bride in the middle of the street, and a prince’s bride at that. It was really exciting.

After listening to the soldiers, Su Tan was silent for a long time.

It had been many years since someone had called her “Miss Su.”

She looked at the overly energetic guards and then thought of the Prince of Yan, who had crippled legs.

After a long time, Su Tan still found it hard to imagine how a tyrannical killer could lead a group of such vibrant soldiers.

If they were just vibrant, it would be fine.

But the point was that those guards piled dozens of pots of mint in front of her pharmacy without saying a word, shouting, “Miss Su, these plants were specially sent by His Highness for you. We’ll leave them here for you.”

Su Tan couldn’t say anything because she didn’t want to accept the mint plants from Xiao Jin at all.

However, since she still wanted to sneak into the Prince of Yan’s residence, she had no reason to refuse.

But whether she accepted or refused, it would look suspicious. After all, it was very suspicious that Xiao Jin would send her dozens of pots of mint out of the blue.

Just as Su Tan was speechless, the most suspicious thing happened.

In the freezing cold, a middle-aged man in a black long shirt got off the carriage.

He had a very ordinary appearance. But when he smiled, many wrinkles would appear at the corners of his eyes.

There was a small purple bruise on the middle-aged man’s forehead. It seemed like he had accidentally bumped into something.

But he didn’t seem to care. He walked forward and bowed humbly to her. “Doctor Su, I am the steward of the Prince of Yan’s residence. His Highness the Prince has asked me to deliver a message. I hope you can listen.”

Su Tan said politely, “Please speak.”

The middle-aged man took a few steps closer. His words and actions were very mysterious. He whispered to Su Tan, “Well, His Highness doesn’t have a big deal. He just wants to ask you…”

“Ask me?”

“Ask you to help with an autopsy.”

Su Tan was silent for a long time before she said, “But I’m a physician, not a coroner.”

The middle-aged man smiled. “His Highness said he knows that. But he still wants to find you because the Dali Temple couldn’t find anything.”

Su Tan shook her head. “Since the Dali Temple couldn’t find anything, what could I possibly find?”

“But His Highness said that he believes you can find something.”

Su Tan’s face was expressionless. “His Highness the Prince believes I can perform an autopsy? So this is the reason why His Highness would rather find a pharmacy owner to perform an autopsy than a coroner?”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then smiled awkwardly. “Doctor Su, His Highness might not believe in you. He might just believe in himself.”

Su Tan looked at the middle-aged man with the bruise on his forehead. She found that everyone in the Prince of Yan’s residence was not well.

It was a bright and sunny day. The main courtyard of the Prince of Yan’s residence was very empty.

The Prince of Yan was in a good mood today. He brought a woman back from outside the residence. It was said that the woman was a physician with a very beautiful and ethereal appearance.

The maids saw Su Tan in her green dress slowly getting off the carriage. They felt that the Prince’s taste had become more and more unpredictable lately.

After Su Tan entered the main courtyard, they dared to whisper, “The Princess Consort is already the most beautiful person in the world. Why would His Highness bring that young lady back to the residence?”

“Oh, you don’t understand. No matter how bright the pearl in the family is, it will no longer be rare after a long time. As long as a man is a man, he will always take a concubine.”

And the person who was being talked about was sitting in a wheelchair, leisurely drinking a cup of honeysuckle tea.

The tea was fragrant. Xiao Jin was supervising Su Tan’s autopsy and handed the other cup of tea on the table to Chu Shao.

Chu Shao smiled and took it. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Xiao Jin held her cup and took a sip of tea.

Looking at the hard-working Su Tan, she suddenly recalled her days as a corporate drone and felt a sense of pity.

Considering they were both corporate drones, why make things difficult for each other?

There was only one pot and two cups on the table, but Xiao Jin still pretended to be friendly. She said calmly to Su Tan, “Doctor Su, if you’re tired, have a cup of tea and rest.”

Su Tan held a silver scalpel, and the blood on her hands hadn’t even been wiped off yet.

She turned her head and looked at Xiao Jin with a cold expression. “Your Highness the Prince, this common woman would like to know why you insist on making tea with honeysuckle flowers?”

For her, honeysuckle was both the flower of her lost country and a hidden scar in her heart.

Su Tan narrowed her eyes and even began to suspect that Xiao Jin knew something.

But Xiao Jin was actually puzzled. Was there a reason to make tea with honeysuckle? What, did honeysuckle commit a crime in its past life and offend the second female lead?

Xiao Jin was already being sarcastic internally. But on the surface, she still maintained a smile.

She didn’t care at all about the smell of the corpse in the room or Su Tan’s resentment.

Instead, she stared at the other person and asked unhurriedly, “Why else? This tea clears heat and detoxifies. When else should I brew it if not now?”