Chapter 4

Beneath the cliff, Zhao Yunshang drew the cloak around herself and spoke in a cool voice. “Wei Zhao, the wind here is bitter and the snow is freezing. Why not come with me? Once we reach the temple, I will give you a meditation room of your own. There will be a warm brazier and hot tea…”

Shen Zhao was so exasperated that she laughed. Did Zhao Yunshang intend to trick her into going, then use her superior numbers to surround and kill her?

She raised her head and looked toward the torches. There were quite a few people coming. Under these circumstances, only a fool would stay.

She quickly ran to the dead tree. There was certainly no time to escape with the two men, so she rummaged through their clothes. After finding a fire striker, she snatched up one of their sabers and ran.

“I’m leaving! Let’s hope we never meet again!” Shen Zhao shouted as she fled.

Zhao Yunshang watched Wei Zhao’s retreating back and slowly spoke. “Why bother struggling, Wei Zhao? Do you truly think you can escape?”

“How will I know unless I try? Should I stay and wait for a wicked woman like you to bully me?” Shen Zhao shouted without looking back.

Zhao Yunshang drew her brows together and said nothing. A wicked woman? From the day she was born, no one had ever dared call her that to her face!

Shen Zhao repeatedly looked behind her as she ran, afraid that Zhao Yunshang would pursue her. Although Zhao Yunshang could not defeat her, being entangled with her would prevent Shen Zhao from escaping for some time. Once the other woman’s people arrived, she would be trapped even if she grew wings.

Fortunately, Zhao Yunshang did not pursue her.

Because it was dark, Shen Zhao did not dare run any farther. She lay beneath a slope not far from the cliff, her eyes fixed on the place where the torches had gathered. She saw Zhao Yunshang speaking with someone, after which Zhao Yunshang’s people untied the two men from the tree and escorted them away.

Shen Zhao tightened her grip on the saber and nearly rushed out. If Zhao Yunshang wanted to leave, then she could simply leave. Why did she have to take those two men with her?

If Zhao Yunshang found them so repulsive, she could have killed them on the spot. Taking them away alive must be… bait to lure Shen Zhao into a trap. She had saved Zhao Yunshang twice, yet in the end, that woman still refused to let her go.

Beside the torches, Zhao Yunshang looked back in the direction Wei Zhao had fled.

“Commander Song, there is someone on this mountain with considerable skill. You must all remain vigilant tonight.”

“Your Highness, should we send people to search the mountain?” asked the black-armored woman beside Zhao Yunshang in a low voice.

“No need. She will follow us of her own accord,” Zhao Yunshang said softly. “However, during the changing of the guard, remain vigilant in secret while appearing relaxed. Leave an opening for her to enter, then capture her once she is inside.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Song Ling answered, though her eyes were filled with confusion.

Zhao Yunshang withdrew her gaze, bent down, and entered the sedan chair. She closed her eyes, fatigue already apparent on her face.

She was escorted back to her meditation room in the temple.

Inside, candles burned brightly, illuminating the entire room. The brazier had not gone cold and continued to blaze vigorously.

Behind the folding screen, steam hung thick in the air as hot water rippled gently inside the bathing tub. Zhao Yunshang removed her clothes, and a figure like flawless white jade slipped into the water. The water level rose around her, and before long, the steam had flushed her cheeks as pink as peach blossoms after the rain.

She closed her eyes, allowing her body to relax in the warm water.

After a long while, she opened her eyes and scooped up some hot water. When her fingers touched the area below her shoulder, her movements stiffened. She lowered her gaze in disbelief, and a distinct bite mark entered her sight.

Zhao Yunshang frowned slightly, a trace of anger appearing on her face. Wei Zhao! How dare she leave teeth marks on her body?

She tightened her grip on the edge of the bathing tub, nearly dizzy with fury. Had her shoulder hurt at the time? She had absolutely no recollection of it.

As she pondered, the scene beneath the cliff uncontrollably leaped into her mind.

Annoyed, Zhao Yunshang pinched the space between her brows and forced herself to stop thinking about it. She quickly began washing. When her fingers touched the slick wetness, the tips of her ears rapidly grew hot and red. She remained frozen for a long moment before turning her head aside and continuing to clean herself, both embarrassed and indignant.

Dressed in a soft inner robe, Zhao Yunshang sat leaning against the warm bed, her long black hair loose around her as she held the quilt to herself. Her dark gaze rested on the paper window of the meditation room. Today, she had suffered two major setbacks…

Every year on this day, she traveled lightly with only her trusted subordinates and came to the temple incognito to perform rites for the souls of the dead. The nuns of Fahua Temple did not even know her identity. Nothing had gone wrong in eleven years. Who had discovered her movements? Who exactly were the black-clad assailants who had stormed her room?

The person behind them seemed to possess extraordinary reach, even managing to switch her medicine without anyone noticing.

Did such a formidable person exist in Great Chu? Zhao Yunshang frowned slightly. She had governed the kingdom as regent for eight years and did not believe anyone would dare scheme against her so directly.

“Your Highness, Miss Xuanying has awakened. Her life is no longer in danger, so please rest assured.” Song Ling’s voice came from outside the meditation room.

Zhao Yunshang truly breathed a sigh of relief. When the black-clad assailants had stormed the room, the Plum Blossom Lure had just flared up again. Her maid had fought desperately to hold them back, allowing her to escape into the mountain behind the temple. Now that she knew Xuanying’s life was no longer in danger, the weight hanging over her heart finally lifted.

“Have someone take good care of her. She must be allowed to recuperate in peace.” As Zhao Yunshang spoke, her throat suddenly began to itch, and she stifled a cough. “Also, have Huang Chan and Tianyu still not returned?”

The two of them had left to retrieve her ​stolen content​medicine nearly two hours ago. Something must have happened along the way…

“They have not yet returned. This subordinate has already sent people to search both of Physician Xia’s secluded retreats.”

Zhao Yunshang’s face was filled with concern. “The moment you receive any news of them, report it to me immediately, regardless of the hour.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Song Ling answered, then spoke again. “Your Highness, Miss Xuanying also entrusted this subordinate with an important message. The black-clad assailants who stormed the meditation room today were from Qing.”

“What?” Zhao Yunshang’s heart jolted. She instantly sat upright, her entire demeanor turning icy in an instant.

People from Qing?

“Pass down my command. Send riders to the city gates at full speed and seal every exit overnight. Everyone entering or leaving must be thoroughly inspected!”

“Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate will see to it immediately,” Song Ling answered.

“Come back!” Zhao Yunshang suddenly thought of Wei Zhao. The hand gripping the corner of the quilt trembled slightly with anger. “During the changing of the guard tonight, station more people to keep watch in secret. You must keep a close eye on that person from the rear mountain. I want her brought before me first thing tomorrow morning. If she resists, do not shoot her. I want her alive.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Song Ling turned and left.

The meditation room fell silent, but Zhao Yunshang’s thoughts refused to settle. If that Wei Zhao truly was someone from Qing who had deliberately come to humiliate her, Zhao Yunshang would have her cut into ten thousand pieces.

“Cough, cough…” Zhao Yunshang covered her mouth as she coughed. She felt around beside her pillow for a handkerchief, only to turn her head and notice a silk handkerchief neatly folded beside the one she usually used.

Her expression froze. She stared at it for a long while before hesitantly picking it up. Her delicate pink fingertips gently brushed across the embroidered character “Yang,” and her thoughts drifted back many years.

“I have reached marriageable age, and all you give me is a silk handkerchief? Why does it look used?”

“It is used. I’ve used it before.”

Beneath the sunlight, Xiao Yang, disguised as a man, smiled brightly, warm as the winter sun.

“Your Highness, look at the direction of the silk threads. Whether across or down, they all mean longing. I am giving my longing to Your Highness. Before we marry, whenever Your Highness sees this handkerchief, it will be as though you are seeing me.”

“Who wants your old handkerchief? And who wants your longing? The older you become, the more shameless you are!”

“Oh? If Your Highness doesn’t want it, why are you putting it into your sleeve?”

Plop. A teardrop fell onto the handkerchief, followed by a second and then a third.

Zhao Yunshang pressed the handkerchief tightly against her chest and slowly lay down. Her tears had already formed an unbroken stream, sliding from the corners of her eyes.

“You promised to protect me for the rest of my life, yet you abandoned me and left me all alone.” Her eyes remained closed, her expression restrained, but the tears did not stop. Her slender shoulders trembled faintly, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s hum. “It has been twelve years, Xiao Yang…”

Inside the meditation room, the woman wept inconsolably in its warmth.

On the mountain behind the temple, Shen Zhao held a rabbit in one hand and a saber in the other, looking worriedly at the rows of torches and guards.

Standing on the slope, she raised the arm holding the rabbit and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Zhao Yunshang’s people had occupied the temple. Shen Zhao had searched for a long time but could not find anywhere sheltered from the wind where she could warm herself.

Moreover, the heavy snow had sealed the mountain, leaving no dry firewood with which to start a fire. Even if there had been some, she would not have dared light it. The moment smoke rose, Zhao Yunshang’s people would immediately pinpoint her location.

“Cough, cough.” Shen Zhao could not suppress ​Read on BaiLianTales​two coughs. She felt even worse now than she had beneath the cliff. Her hands and feet felt as though they were about to freeze solid.

“I refuse to believe there’s no way in.” With that, Shen Zhao strode down the slope.

She hid in a gully not far from the temple’s rear entrance, followed it until she reached the western wall, and observed for a while. During a gap in the changing of the guard, she scaled the wall and entered the temple.

Whether or not Zhao Yunshang was “inviting her into a trap,” she had no other choice.

If she did not want to freeze to death, she had to go inside. Besides, tonight was her last opportunity. Who knew where Zhao Yunshang would take those two men once day broke?

After entering the temple, Shen Zhao hid beneath an outer wall. When a team of four guards passed, she struck the rearmost guard with her palm and knocked her unconscious.

She caught the guard from behind and dragged her back beneath the wall, then efficiently began stripping off her clothes. Just as Shen Zhao stood to put them on, she heard a rush of air behind her.

Her heart jolted. She had just begun to turn when a cold sword pressed against her neck.

“Do not move. Move even once, and I will kill you immediately.” Song Ling’s voice rang through the night.