Chapter 66: Symbiotic Game
Xue Sui smiled and didn’t speak, releasing the little County Princess’s hand.
But the little girl was displeased and looked up at Xue Sui, saying:
“You promised to play hide-and-seek with me, you can’t go back on your word.”
Xue Sui lowered her eyes, her expression and voice extremely gentle.
“As long as the little County Princess likes it, Xue Liu is happy to accompany you.”
Ping Le hurried over, pulled her daughter into her arms, and examined her, staring at a peach blossom garland on the little County Princess’s head. She pulled it off and looked at her braid.
“Who braided your hair and made this garland? Where is the wet nurse, where is she?”
In the little County Princess’s eyes, her mother was usually gentle and smiling, rarely so fierce with her, and she had taken away her favorite garland without a word. The child was quite scared and immediately pouted, on the verge of tears.
“The wet nurse fell into the pond, and Tong Tong almost fell too. It was this kind aunt who saved Tong Tong and the wet nurse. Tong Tong’s braid came undone, and the aunt re-braided it for Tong Tong. Tong Tong likes peach blossoms, so the aunt wove a garland for Tong Tong with vines and brought Tong Tong to find Mother…”
The little girl spoke haltingly, but managed to explain.
That wet nurse hadn’t taken good care of the child and had nearly drowned the little County Princess.
This was a life-saving grace from Xue Liu.
But in Princess Ping Le’s eyes, this was Xue Liu’s blatant provocation.
What kind of peach blossom garland, it looked like a funeral wreath.
She glared at Xue Sui, “Stay away from my daughter from now on, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”
A life-saving grace, and instead of thanks, she threw a tantrum.
There was no sound from the surroundings, but everyone’s faces showed embarrassment.
Li Zhao merely looked weary, a hint of amusement at the corner of his lips, as if an outsider observing the scene, too lazy to pay much attention.
Li Huan frowned slightly, “Since Tong Tong is safe and sound, Ping Le should heavily reward Miss Xue Liu.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Xue Liu does not need a reward. Saving a life requires no repayment.”
Under everyone’s scrutinizing gaze, Xue Sui smiled calmly and composedly, seemingly unbothered by Princess Ping Le’s rudeness and hostility, and took the initiative to explain what had just happened.
“The wet nurse choked on some water and was soaked. I first sent her back to change her clothes to prevent her from catching a cold and then passing on any illness to the little County Princess…”
Princess Ping Le was furious today, but she was not foolish.
She could sense that today’s events were very unusual, but the two nannies had already been beaten to death by Li Zhao. Many things could no longer be revealed as truth. Not only did she fail to catch Li Zhao, nor could she deal with Xue Liu, but she had also gained a “savior”…
Her Imperial Brother offered her a way out.
Ping Le knew that the best course of action now was to suppress her hatred, apologize to Li Zhao, and then reward Xue Liu.
But—
She was a Princess, the most favored Princess.
How could she lower her head after holding it so high? Compromise in front of so many people?
When people are angry, it is difficult to control their emotions.
Ping Le stared at Xue Sui with fiery eyes and gave a cold laugh.
“Well done, Xue Liu. I don’t believe you possess the art of evasion?”
Xue Sui blinked slightly, “What are you talking about, Princess Ping Le? Why would I need to escape?”
She turned to look at Xue Yuechen, her face full of confusion.
“Princess Consort, did I do something wrong?”
Xue Yuechen looked slightly embarrassed, her gaze flickered over Li Huan’s face, and said, “There was a small misunderstanding.”
“Sixth Sister, where did you go just now?”
Xue Sui looked at the unease flickering in her eyes and smiled slightly, “After changing my clothes, I felt a bit stifled, so I went for a walk by the lotus pond to get some air. After saving the little County Princess, I learned that Princess Ping Le was here, so I followed…”
She looked at the scene ahead and asked in confusion:
“What happened here?”
Xue Yuechen said in a low voice, “Don’t ask any more questions.”
Xue Sui nodded, appearing very obedient.
She was the sister of the Princess Consort Duan, and Li Huan was present. It was best to de-escalate the situation now. No matter how arrogant Ping Le was, she should be given some face. But at this moment, Ping Le’s pent-up anger had nowhere to go, and upon hearing this, she became even more enraged.
“Xue Liu, tell me honestly, how did you get out of the Bamboo Forest Elegant Pavilion?”
Xue Sui tilted her head slightly, a faint smile on her lips, “Why is Princess Ping Le so certain that I was in the Bamboo Forest Elegant Pavilion? And why are you so sure that once I was inside, I wouldn’t be able to get out? This place is free to come and go, is it locked?”
Her word-by-word questioning almost exposed the truth of Ping Le’s setup.
She said no more, but looked calmly towards the flower path.
“When I came from the lotus pond in the southwest corner, many people in the garden saw me. Otherwise, how could I have saved the little County Princess? If Princess Ping Le doesn’t believe me, she can send someone to verify and see if I’ve spoken a single false word?”
“Impossible! You’re lying!”
Ping Le pointed at her face and was about to say something more when Li Huan let out a low roar.
“Enough!”
He looked at the palace servants on either side with a cold face.
“The Princess drank a bit too much at the Spring Banquet and her words and actions are inappropriate and nonsensical. Why aren’t you taking the Princess back to sober up properly!”
Seeing that her Imperial Brother was truly angry, Ping Le’s agitated emotions could not be controlled. She suddenly clutched her chest, her face pale as she looked at Li Huan, as if overcome with extreme anger. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed softly into the arms of a palace maid…
The palace maid was greatly alarmed, “Princess, Princess… Your Highness, the Princess has fainted.”
Li Huan was slightly taken aback at the sight.
“Quick, summon the Imperial Physician.”
The scene became chaotic. The Princess’s unconsciousness was naturally a major event, and everyone became anxious, as if the matter of being caught in the bamboo house had never happened.
Empress Xie watched coldly and snorted heavily.
“We must have the Imperial Physician examine her thoroughly, lest there be something wrong with her brain.”
Li Zhao remained silent, picked up the teacup beside him, and was about to take a sip when he seemed to remember something and slowly put it down, letting out a soft snort.
He and Xue Sui were at a moderate distance from each other, glancing at each other from afar as if they didn’t know each other.
Li Huan’s gaze swept over them silently.
The warm spring sun shone down, and the blooming hundred flowers exuded a sweet fragrance.
Xue Sui couldn’t help but think of the moment she had planted the “Love Silk Gu” on Li Zhao in the bamboo room. She recalled his cold, smiling gaze upon learning of it, his distant eyes, and his inscrutable face.
“You are orphaned and full of hatred. You hate everyone, including me. You think you are invulnerable, unbreakable, as hard as a rock, but in reality, you are strong on the outside and weak on the inside.”
“Xue Liu, you are fragile and desperately lacking in love. You yearn to return to your childhood, to receive a piece of candy, a word of praise, a smile from your parents and family…”
His voice sounded as if it had been steeped in ice water, each word like an ice shard piercing the heart.
“For this, you are willing to give up everything.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“You don’t understand at all.”
“I do,” Li Zhao said. “You hate having gone through this life, enduring countless hardships without receiving any warmth. You hate those who bully the weak and treat you arbitrarily, yet you long for recognition…”
“That’s you,” Xue Sui said. “I have received the purest love in the world.”
“You haven’t.”
“I have.”
Xue Sui laughed at him. “The one who didn’t receive warmth is Your Highness, not me. What I seek by returning to the capital is not love, but karma. Sow good deeds and reap good karma, sow evil deeds and reap evil karma. All the karmic obstacles in this world should have justice.”
“You will do what even gods cannot?”
“I don’t do the gods’ work, I do King Yama’s work.”
At that moment, they faced each other.
The dim, yellow lamplight, like a thin veil, cast mottled shadows on their faces, dreamlike and illusory. Her proud shadow fell at his feet, like a silent testament to her stubbornness.
A strange and absurd emotion, like wild grass…
Grew wildly in this confined space…
The air was thick and hot.
His gaze was locked onto her, a faint fire burning in his dark eyes. He didn’t know how he reached out, pulling with such force, like an eagle snatching a rabbit, pressing her soft body against his chest, an irresistible dominance, gritting his teeth in near restraint.
“Xue Liu!”
His slender fingers, with distinct knuckles, pressed against her neck…
Not with much force, as if caressing, yet she inexplicably couldn’t breathe, a faint tremor in her throat as she let out a soft moan.
On that wooden couch, they fought like madmen, their robes tangled and rubbing, their breaths audible, like two trapped beasts, silently vying…
After a bout of sweating, they were like they had just been fished out of water. He, wet, pressed a wet her against him, their bodies tightly pressed together, their heat mingling, indistinguishable from each other. In their tightly pressed chests, their hearts beat hotly…
A drop of cold sweat traced a path down his chiseled jaw, quietly rolling into his elegantly curved neck and the slightly rising Adam’s apple…
She could hear his panting but couldn’t see into his eyes, until the nanny outside heard their sounds and quietly unlocked the door to peek…
Sometimes she thought.
She and Li Zhao were the same kind of people.
Both cunning and lonely, self-aware.
They wouldn’t compromise for anyone, unless it was for mutual survival…
Chapter two is only half written, dear readers, it’s best to read it during dinner, it’s great with a meal…
