Princess Mingyue

That afternoon, in the rear palace of Great Qian's imperial palace.

Tie Sanniang and Bi You'er followed a palace maid along a covered corridor.

Seeing a female guard in fitted martial attire stationed every fifty paces, Bi You'er looked surprised and asked quietly, "Miss, why are there suddenly so many people in the rear palace?"

Tie Sanniang glanced at the maid leading them. Relieved to see no reaction, she turned back and glared at Bi You'er. "If you don't know what to say, keep quiet."

"Oh."

Bi You'er hastily covered her mouth.

Soon, the two arrived at a courtyard.

They entered, and a palace hall appeared before them.

Three large characters were written on its plaque.

"Bright Moon Pavilion"

As its name suggested, this was the residence of Great Qian's foremost princess, Princess Mingyue.

"Please wait a moment while I inform the princess."

The maid approached the hall and called softly, "Your Highness, Miss Tie requests an audience."

Silence lingered inside for a moment before a voice answered.

"By the princess's command, please invite Miss Tie inside."

The maid opened the door and gestured for them to enter. "Miss Tie, please come in."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Tie Sanniang nodded and entered with Bi You'er.

As soon as they stepped inside, another maid appeared before them.

"Please follow me."

With that, she took the lead, guiding them through the hall.

The interior was empty and quiet.

Yet Tie Sanniang, with her Innate cultivation, detected many people concealed within, all of them cultivators.

She could even faintly sense several auras no weaker than her own.

Before long, they arrived at another set of doors.

This time, the maid pushed them open without announcing their arrival and gestured them inside.

"The princess is waiting for you within."

Tie Sanniang nodded and entered, with Bi You'er hurrying after her.

Inside, Tie Sanniang saw several white gauze curtains hanging across the room.

Behind them, a figure reclined on a bed, her silhouette alone revealing her graceful curves.

"Sanniang, You'er, you're here."

The figure behind the curtains sat up and said gently, "Attendants, bring seats for Sanniang and little You'er."

"Yes, Princess."

Two maids brought chairs and placed them beside Tie Sanniang and Bi You'er.

After sitting down, Tie Sanniang surveyed the room. "Mingyue, what's all this..."

The figure was none other than the owner of this hall.

Princess Mingyue-Zhao Yue.

"Cough, cough."

A fit of coughing came from behind the gauze, making her voice sound even more delicate. "I caught a chill recently. I drew the curtains to keep it from spreading to anyone else."

Concern appeared on Tie Sanniang's face. "Have you had an imperial physician examine you?"

Princess Mingyue answered softly, "Yes. It's nothing serious, so don't worry."

Tie Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her. "Mingyue, did you hear that the Chancellor's Residence had the Earl of Anyuan's manor smashed up today?"

"No."

Only after a moment did the answer emerge from behind the curtains.

Thinking of it, Tie Sanniang couldn't help exclaiming, "It's all that damned wastrel's fault. How dare he ruin... never mind. He deserved to die."

Apparently afraid of reopening her close friend's wounds, she changed her words at the last moment.

Princess Mingyue said quietly, "What's past is past."

Though she said that, Tie Sanniang heard a trace of complicated emotion in her voice. Clearly, her princess friend was not as untroubled as she appeared.

And that was only natural. How could any woman untie the knot in her heart so quickly after something like that?

Afterward, they chatted about other things.

Perhaps because Princess Mingyue was ill, Tie Sanniang spent most of the time telling her about amusing experiences outside the palace.

Her voice grew particularly cheerful when she spoke of recent events.

Tie Sanniang chuckled. "You have no idea how that fellow ran circles around our silly You'er."

Bi You'er puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "I'm not silly! That bad man was just too bad!"

Tie Sanniang laughed. "I wonder which little girl went white with fright when I told her he'd died."

Princess Mingyue gently chimed in, "You'er, if you really fancy him, you must let Sanniang judge him carefully for you."

"Princess, Miss, you..."

Bi You'er's face flushed crimson, whether from embarrassment and anger or because they had guessed her thoughts.

They chatted a little longer before Tie Sanniang noticed how late it was and rose. "It's getting late. You're ill, Mingyue, so get some rest. You'er and I should be leaving."

"All right. I'll have someone escort you out."

"Sorry for the trouble."

At Princess Mingyue's instruction, a maid led Tie Sanniang and Bi You'er out.

An incense stick's worth of time later.

Once Tie Sanniang and Bi You'er had left completely, Princess Mingyue's voice emerged from behind the curtains.

"All of you may leave. I wish to rest."

Voices answered from every corner of the hall. "Yes, Your Highness."

A little later, once everyone concealed in the room had left, a voice suddenly rang out in the empty chamber.

"You were quite pleasant to that friend of yours just now. Why not speak to me in that same tone from now on?"

Princess Mingyue's voice suddenly sounded within the room.

Strangely, although it was the same voice, it had lost its earlier gentleness and instead carried a faintly seductive quality.

Soon, Princess Mingyue's voice sounded again.

"Do you think that's possible?"

Though the reply was brief, the voice held neither its earlier gentleness nor its seductiveness. Instead, it was extraordinarily cool, like the cold, bright moon in the sky, filling others with a boundless sense of distance.

"Don't tell me you still don't trust me?"

"What reason have you given me to trust you?"

"But you really are me, and I really am you. No one can change that."

A hint of teasing mingled with the seductive voice, seemingly directed at the cool one.

"I still don't trust you."

"Fine, believe what you like. But I believe you'll beg me sooner or later."

"Why would I beg you?"

"Hehe, you're me, and I'm you. I don't believe you can't feel something unusual in your belly. I counted the days. We haven't had our monthly courses for three months, have we?"

"Was this your doing?"

"Heehee, I don't have that ability. It's all thanks to my benefactor."

"Your benefactor?"

"Yes, that fellow who came running here three months ago. Without him, I wouldn't have had a chance to emerge."

There was a measure of earnestness in the seductive voice.

The cool voice paused before asking, "So you seized my body back then to plead with Father?"

The seductive voice chuckled. "Don't put it all on me. We pleaded together. Without your consent, I couldn't have taken full control of your body."

The cool voice fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "I just didn't want Qing'er to hate me."

The seductive voice said, "There's no use talking about that now. Our father secretly had my benefactor killed, and even his home was destroyed today."

"But then again, judging by your correspondence with her, that little girl probably isn't someone who can't tell right from wrong. My so-called benefactor was the one at fault, wasn't he?"

The cool voice said, "Honestly, I should thank him too."

The seductive voice replied, "You certainly should. Otherwise, after that banquet, you might have been betrothed to that cousin of yours."

"Being pinned beneath a man for only two hours was clearly a better bargain than being beneath one for a lifetime."

Embarrassed anger tinged the cool voice. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

The seductive voice said, "I'm only telling the truth. Isn't that all there is between men and women?"

The cool voice said, "I'm done talking to you. I'm going to sleep."

The seductive voice replied, "We'll sleep together. Remember what I said. When the day comes that you truly can't hide it anymore, beg me. Since we're the same person, I might help you."

The cool voice said, "I don't need your help."

The seductive voice replied, "Hehe, some things aren't yours to decide."

Afterward, the room fell silent again, as though nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, outside the imperial palace.

Tie Sanniang and Bi You'er sat in a carriage heading back to the Iron Family.

"Say, You'er, what do you think about winning that bad man of yours over to our side?"

Having more or less dealt with her current affairs, Tie Sanniang thought again of the man who held her secret.

Bi You'er's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again. "Miss, he already turned you down. Do we still have a chance?"

"Hmph."

Tie Sanniang brushed a hand over her face and chuckled. "Opportunity favors the prepared. I refuse to believe there's a man I, the Iron Lady, can't handle."

Bi You'er grew enthusiastic at that. "Then I'll leave it to you, Miss! Tie him up and bring him back to tell us stories. He still hasn't finished the one he promised me last time."

Tie Sanniang considered it carefully, then said, "Once we're home, we'll have someone investigate his identity and background first. Then we'll find his weakness and break through his defenses in one stroke."

This was also her most frequently used method.

As a merchant, human nature was what she trusted least. In her eyes, every failed deal simply meant the stakes weren't high enough.

She refused to believe that, with her abilities, she couldn't get a single man under her thumb.

Half a month later.

After returning home and ordering an investigation, she was stunned by the result.

"This is all you found on him?"

Beneath a pavilion, Tie Sanniang held a sheet of paper, disbelief flashing through her beautiful eyes.

The paper in her hand contained only a few brief lines.

Outside the pavilion, Tie Xin knelt on one knee and answered gravely, "Yes, Miss. That's all there is."

"We only discovered that he first appeared in Jade Gate Town. His earliest contact was a junior officer guarding Jade Gate Pass, but the trail ended there. That officer refused to reveal the subject's identity."

Tie Sanniang's delicate brows furrowed. "The officer refused to talk?"

"Yes."

"Did you offer him money?"

"We did. He wouldn't take it and still refused to talk."

At that point, Tie Xin suddenly added, "With your permission, Miss, I could find a way to make him speak."

Tie Sanniang's face darkened. She wanted to recruit the man, not make an enemy of him.

If he were an enemy, she wouldn't mind resorting to certain methods.

But thinking of that man, she felt certain that if she dared do such a thing, the outcome would be very bad for her.

"Forget it."

Tie Sanniang waved a hand. "Stop investigating. Leave it at that."

Bi You'er asked from beside her, "Miss, are you giving up?"

"Giving up?"

Tie Sanniang chuckled. "There's no such thing as giving up in my life."

At that moment, no one knew what she was truly thinking.

At the same time.

On an old road in eastern Great Qian.

A carriage traveled slowly along it.

"Achoo!"

Seated at the front of the carriage, Li Dao suddenly sneezed.

The carriage curtain lifted, and Jiu'er poked her head out, her eyes full of concern. "Young Master, I told you to wear more!"

Li Dao himself was taken aback.

With a physique nearly a hundred times stronger than an ordinary person's, how could he catch a chill? Still, he had no idea what had caused the sneeze and couldn't very well argue with his little maid.

Before long, Jiu'er climbed out with a coat.

"Young Master, it's almost midautumn, and it's getting colder here. Put on another layer."

Seeing her stubborn expression, Li Dao knew he couldn't win. He accepted the coat and draped it over his shoulders.

Then she put on another layer herself and sat beside Li Dao, asking softly, "Young Master, how long are we going to keep traveling before we stop?"

Li Dao reached out and patted the girl's head. "Don't worry. We'll be there soon."

"Grrr."

Just then, a muffled rumble sounded.

Little Jiu'er's face instantly flushed red.

"Ha."

Li Dao couldn't help chuckling. "You're hungry, aren't you, little girl?"

Little Jiu'er pouted. "Young master, that dry food just doesn't fill me up."

"All right, I'll stop teasing you."

Li Dao briefly recalled the route, then said, "There's a village another ten li down the road. We'll see if there's anything to eat there."

He said this not because he had been here before, but because he had already committed the entire map to memory.

At his words, Little Jiu'er's eyes lit up. She hugged her young master's arm and shook it. "Then make the horse go faster, young master."

"All right."

Li Dao flicked the whip, and the carriage picked up speed as it headed onward.

An incense stick's worth of time passed.

"Young master, look! There's a village up ahead."

Little Jiu'er stood on the carriage, tugging at Li Dao as she looked down the road and spoke.

"Yes, I see it."

Li Dao had just answered with a smile when his ears twitched slightly. His expression froze, and the smile slowly faded from his face.