A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 1

“Lord Zhao, you’ve worked hard. I’ve received Lord Pei’s orders, so I’ll take over your watch from here.”

The clear, mellow voice was exceedingly pleasant to the ear. Delighted though he was, Zhao Sheng still could not help looking toward its source in surprise. After all, He Jingling had nothing to gain from taking over his shift!

A faint smile curved He Jingling’s lips, the reflections of the palace lanterns shimmering in her eyes.

“There’s no need for such courtesy, Lord Zhao. Strictly speaking, I’m still your junior. I’m not worthy of it.”

“Hahaha!” Zhao Sheng laughed heartily and simply reached out to pat He Jingling on the shoulder. “Lord He, those words truly put this old man to shame! You are young and accomplished! How many people in the Jinyiwei could possibly be like you and receive an imperially bestowed Flying Fish Robe?”

After speaking, he looked He Jingling over once more with open envy.

She was tall and slender, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The Flying Fish Robe only made her upright figure appear even more striking.

The flickering tongues of dim golden light licked across He Jingling’s face. Though her features had definition, they remained soft, and in the hazy glow, they seemed to strike the perfect balance between masculine and feminine.

Zhao Sheng could only sigh inwardly once again. The praise everyone gave her truly was well deserved.

It was simply strange that such an outstanding and beautiful man had yet to start a family!

“Speaking of which, there is something I have been wondering about.” Zhao Sheng leaned closer and lowered his voice curiously. “Lord He, you are in the prime of your youth, yet you still have no intention of marrying. Could it be that your heart already belongs to some beautiful lady?”

A sly gleam shone in Zhao Sheng’s mung-bean-sized eyes.

Truthfully, he greatly hoped He Jingling would stammer and fail to answer—

Her task was to help Yan Changjun ascend the throne while simultaneously developing a romantic relationship with her.

He Jingling herself had initially rejected the idea.

Although she liked women, she was not so desperate that she would fight over the powerful female lead in a male-rivalry novel.

Yan Changjun was a ruthless and vicious woman who had even secretly worn the imperial dragon robe as a child. A large group of men with different identities and personalities fought viciously over her until their heads bled, while she devoted herself entirely to plotting her path to the throne.

Aside from the named supporting characters in the original novel, He Jingling had also heard plenty of news over the past year about various nameless men meeting their deaths.

Those cannon fodder characters all shared one thing in common.

The emperor had sent them into the Eldest Princess’s residence under the pretext of giving her “embroidered spring shirts,” and within a few days, they had died.

They entered standing upright and were carried out horizontally.

After carefully comparing and analyzing the evidence, He Jingling had reached a conclusion:

Yan Changjun was a bad woman who grew tired of someone after a single taste and then silenced them permanently.

Of course, according to the original novel, Yan Changjun had naturally never actually slept with them.

The place where He Jingling stood now was the route the princess would inevitably take when she fled later.

Her superior, Jinyiwei Commander Pei Jin, had never ordered her to change shifts. She merely wanted Her Highness the Princess to become acquainted with her, that was all.

It was only a tiny lie.

First, she would make sure the princess remembered her face.

Bored out of her mind, He Jingling idly played with the Xiuchun blade hanging from her waist as she waited for time to pass.

Unexpectedly, a palace attendant appeared and called to her in a thin, delicate voice.

“My lord, you are one of the Jinyiwei, are you not?”

He Jingling glanced at the newcomer, and a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face.

“Yes.”

Her clothing already made her identity obvious. Tonight, she had even deliberately worn the imperially bestowed Flying Fish Robe.

Seeing that He Jingling was exceptionally handsome and possessed a warm, jade-like bearing, the palace attendant relaxed considerably before explaining why he had come.

“They are short of people at the banquet. His Majesty ordered us to find several Jinyiwei officers to make the occasion look more impressive.”

He Jingling raised one long eyebrow. Only then did she realize that this was also part of the original novel’s plot.

Her superior, Pei Jin, had first become acquainted with Her Highness the Princess here.

Although He Jingling had originally intended only to appear along the princess’s escape route and earn a little goodwill, now that someone had personally come to ask her to “make the occasion look impressive,” she had no reason to refuse.

After all, without her, who else in the Jinyiwei could possibly live up to the words “look impressive”?

This palace attendant had certainly chosen the right person.

She agreed and followed briskly behind him.

He Jingling had not originally been scheduled for duty that night.

For reasons of his own, Pei Jin had replaced every Jinyiwei officer assigned to the palace that evening with middle-aged men who already had families. Clearly, he intended to eliminate every possibility apart from himself.

Just look at that. The competition for favor had already begun.

Men getting jealous over other men… [The original text here appears corrupted.]

He Jingling, however, had no interest in any of it. She did not want to offend her superior before anything had even begun, so she had chosen to switch shifts.

Yet unexpectedly, she had still been dragged straight to the banquet.

The Mid-Autumn Banquet was enormous in scale. Seats had been arranged everywhere, and the tables were piled high with fruit and plates of delicacies. Laughter filled the air as people exchanged cups of wine, every face overflowing with happiness.

None of them knew that a palace coup was about to erupt.

The full moon suspended in the ink-dark heavens seemed coated in a layer of cold, indifferent silver frost.

He Jingling did not care about that.

She was simply curious about what the princess looked like.

Just how beautiful could this female lead possibly be?

Heh.

She followed the palace attendant into the banquet grounds and happened to meet Pei Jin’s startled yet furious gaze.

With others present, Pei Jin could not directly question He Jingling’s sudden appearance. He could only knit his brows in displeasure.

“Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei officers you requested have arrived—”

The flourishing vegetation within her heart withered and fell away in a single instant.

Waves surged violently.

The winds and clouds opened and closed.

Across the ostentatious embroidered curtains, beyond thousands upon thousands of lanterns, nothing remained between heaven and earth but that one distant glance shared between them.

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

The noble young lady beside her spoke in surprise.

“What is wrong? What did you see?”

The cup in Her Highness’s hand had already begun to crack beneath her grip.

From where the princess was seated, she should have been looking at Lord Pei Jin!

Lord Pei was also a talented and distinguished young man. How could the sight of him possibly make Her Highness so furious that she nearly crushed her cup?

Only then did Yan Changjun abruptly return to her senses.

Yet all she saw was that person’s elegant back, clad in a Flying Fish Robe.

“Nothing.”

Yan Changjun denied it immediately. Her tone was perfectly calm, no different from usual.

“I was merely curious.”

She paused, then asked:

“Tell me—once a person dies, can they truly return to life?”