Chapter 107: Just you? You Dare Bully This Sect Master's Disciple?
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
That kind of gentle caress was too soft. That kind of gaze was too affectionate.
It actually scorched the Princess' heart, making it burn terribly hot.
What a pity there were too many idle people around, and the situation was extremely dangerous. This was truly not a good place for them to be affectionate.
Li Qiubai could not guess why the Young Master would stare at her like this, almost obsessively, in such a situation. But she still indulged the Young Master's movements. Afraid that the Young Master would struggle, she even lowered her own head a bit more to make things easier for her.
What a pity. At this moment, Young Master Meng no longer had any chance to clearly see the tenderness in the Princess' eyes.
The thick mist of blood had completely blocked Young Master Meng’s vision. No matter how many times she blinked, it did not help at all.
She really could not see anymore.
Just thinking of this made the Young Master’s nose sting, and her eyes too.
When she felt the distance between them getting closer and closer, she really wanted to lean in and kiss her right then and there.
But she still forcibly held back that absurd and untimely romantic impulse. Reluctantly curling her fingertips, she withdrew from the Princess’ cheek and obediently tilted her head, burying it into the Princess’ arms.
Meng Chang’an did not dare to cry loudly like a child in the Princess’ embrace.
She only clutched tightly at the Princess’ collar, aggrieved, and held back the pain as she spoke in a muffled voice.
“I... am not too badly hurt. It just still hurts a little. You do not need to worry about me. Go on with what you were doing.”
She looked obedient and sensible.
It was at this moment that Shen Lingyun arrived beside Li Qiubai, half-carrying Shuyao in her arms.
She did not think as much as Meng Chang’an, fearing this and that. Without hesitation, she immediately reported to the Princess, “They poisoned A'Yao and Chang'an!”
Upon hearing this, Li Qiubai was taken aback and quickly raised her head, carefully observing the condition of Shu Yao and Meng Chang’an.
At this moment, Shu Yao's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, but she still gritted her teeth and endured the pain throughout her body, trembling as she leaned against Shen Lingyun.
On the other hand, Meng Chang’an had her eyes closed. Her complexion was not as pale as Shu Yao’s and even appeared somewhat flushed. However, the wounds and blood on her body looked even more horrific than Shu Yao’s.
The symptoms shown by the two after being poisoned were completely different.
Li Qiubai’s expression grew heavy, and for a moment, she did not notice the Young Master’s abnormality. Instead, she placed her hope on Shen Lingyun. “Do you know what kind of poison this is? Is there any antidote you can prepare?”
Shen Lingyun's brows remained furrowed, and she hesitated on how to explain just how troublesome this poison was. Before she could speak, the Prince of Yu had already spoken up first.
“This poison is called Three-Day Yellow Spring*. On the first day, the victim feels as if they have fallen into an ice cellar. On the second day, it feels like entering a sea of fire. On the third day, it is as if thousands of arrows pierce the heart. Normally, by the third day, one cannot survive and will have already passed into the Yellow Spring.”
*world of the dead/underworld
Shu Yao's condition now was a clear sign of the poison taking effect.
“This poison was specially brought from the Western Regions. There are few in the Central Plains who can cure it. This one may be from the Divine Doctors Sect and skilled in medicine, but by the time she figures out a prescription and prepares the antidote, these two will have long since departed this world together.”
Upon seeing Shen Lingyun’s increasingly unpleasant expression and her silence, Li Qiubai’s heart sank. It seemed the Prince of Yu’s words were not false.
And at this moment, his attitude made it even clearer.
When he noticed the corner of the robe swaying in front of him, the Princess had already lost the mood to continue negotiating with him. She spoke directly and to the point.
“Speak plainly. What do you want?”
"Is there anything on you that is worth me trying to get? Do you not already know in your heart?"
After saying that, the Prince of Yu had already lifted the corner of his robe and crouched down.
When he was level with Li Qiubai, he looked straight into her eyes and spoke in a low voice.
"Give me the military tally*, and I will give you the antidote."
*兵符 (Bīngfú) - refers to a military tally or token used in ancient China as a credential for commanding troops or transmitting orders. It was often made of materials like bronze, jade, wood, or stone, and shaped like a tiger. The tally was split into two halves: one held by the emperor and the other by the military commander. Only when the two halves were matched could orders be authenticated and executed.
The tally in Li Qiubai’s hand was the Huwei Army’s tally.
It was personally handed to her back then by her maternal grandfather, Lu Jing, the current Duke of Dingguo.
The Huwei Army was the only army in the whole Great Chang Dynasty that could rightfully go to war in the name of protecting the Emperor.
Seeing the Prince of Yu speak out his ambition so openly, Li Qiubai could not help but laugh coldly.
"There is only half a tally in my hand. Even if I give it to you, you cannot use it."
"That is true. But it does not matter. Even if it is just half, Imperial Uncle will not mind."
The Prince of Yu leaned on his own knee and pretended to be troubled as he said,
"To tell the truth, I only have one dose of antidote left in my hand right now. How about this—half a military tally for one dose of antidote. When you bring me the other half one day, I will go look for the remaining dose for you, how about that? Ai, but I do not know if the one who does not get the antidote can still hold on by then."
After pausing for a moment, the Prince of Yu slightly curled up the corner of his mouth.
He glanced at the young girl carefully held in the Princess’ arms.
"Why do you not think it over first—should you save that half-sister of yours, or this little plaything who still seems to hold a place in your heart for now?"
Meng Chang’an clearly felt that the hand the Princess was holding tightly with hers was slightly trembling.
Li Qiubai did not answer, and the Prince of Yu did not keep pressing her either.
He simply stood up again, brushed the dust off the corner of his robe, and shook his head as he sighed and spoke.
"Mm, not agreeing is the right choice. Look at you now—this is what a child of the imperial family should look like. Heartless enough, you do have the style your Imperial Father had back then. What counts as a younger sister? What counts as a lover? How could they compare to a real military tally and real power? I say, Y atour Highness, you should take a bit of advice from your Imperial Uncle. As long as you are not trapped by these silly feelings between men and women, then you will have no weak spot."
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Unlike the Princess who only kept a calm face and said nothing,
Ye Wuyou at the side was almost burning with rage from this shameless man’s provoking words.
If He Changping next to her had not held her back tightly, she nearly would have drawn her sword and rushed up to fight him to the death.
Just as the Prince of Yu turned to leave, Li Qiubai finally spoke and stopped him.
"Wait."
She directly took out the half military tally she carried in her sleeve.
She only glanced at it briefly before throwing it toward the Prince of Yu,
who had turned back around.
After he caught the tally steadily and checked it over,
that smug smile of having everything under control appeared on his face.
Only then did Li Qiubai reach out and urge him.
"The antidote. You can give it to me now, right?"
Since he had already gotten what he wanted,
the Prince of Yu did not bother to play any tricks or go back on his word.
He tossed a small porcelain bottle to her just as agreed.
Right before he left,
he turned around once more and looked down from above
at the Princess, who was still sitting on the ground, tightly holding the little girl in her arms without caring about her posture.
He mocked her and said,
"Alright, now you can start choosing who to save today. Once you pick, hurry back and start thinking of a way to get the other half of the tally and bring it here, before the other one walks the road to the underworld."
Li Qiubai held the porcelain bottle tightly and said nothing.
The others all glared at the Prince of Yu with hate in their eyes.
Especially Shen Lingyun.
It was all because Shu Yao had just leaned close to her ear, her breath as faint as a wisp of smoke, yet she still begged with a weak voice, "Lingyun... I beg... I beg you... help me end this... Do not let Imperial Sister be put in a hard spot... She has loved Chang'an for nearly ten years... It was not easy... not easy for her to finally get what she wished for... She definitely cannot bear the pain if something happens to Chang'an... Please... please help me..."
Shu Yao knew that if both she and the Young Master had something happen at the same time, no matter who was saved and who was not, her Imperial Sister would fall into deep pain and live in regret for the rest of her life. She did not want her Imperial Sister to be controlled by others any longer, and she did not want her to suffer and struggle either. She only wanted to take the initiative and give up herself...
Right now, Shu Yao, who felt like she had fallen into an icy cellar and was in unbearable pain, had her mind growing more and more unclear. In her messy thoughts, there was only one thing left. As long as... as long as she could die right now, then her Imperial Sister would not have to struggle anymore, would not have to be at anyone's mercy anymore...
What was hateful was that she no longer even had the strength to end her own life.
After hearing all this, Shen Lingyun’s eyes had already turned red with tears. She held Shu Yao tightly, as if she wanted to merge her into her own flesh and bones.
"If she cannot take it, do you think I can?"
Shen Lingyun pressed close to Shu Yao’s ear and said in a hoarse voice, “Li Shuyao, how can you be so heartless? You cannot bear to let her be in pain, but you can bear to let me suffer?”
“Do not worry, I will not force your imperial sister. No matter what she chooses, I will accept it, and I will never blame her. But I warn you, if you dare to seek death, even if I must go up to the blue skies or down to the yellow springs, I will follow you! You better live well! Your life was saved by me, so your life is mine now. If I do not let you die, you are not allowed to die!”
What Shu Yao could think of, Meng Chang’an could naturally think of as well.
The Young Master could not hear the whispers between those two, and she could not see the pain on the Princess’ face. But she still guessed the pain and unease inside the Princess’ heart at this moment.
How could she bear it, how could she be willing to let the Princess face such a painful and difficult choice?
So she made the decision for the Princess directly, “Your Highness, hurry and give the antidote to your younger sister.”
Even though the Young Master was already blind now, she still did not dare to let the Princess see anything unusual. She only continued to rub in the Princess’ arms and pretended to be cheerful as if nothing happened, and she spoke playfully, “Did you forget what I told you before, that normal poison has no effect on me?”
When she heard this, Li Qiubai finally remembered that matter outside the Xueyue Tower in the capital back then.
That was when she first seduced this person, shamelessly curling up into her arms and doing all sorts of improper things. Yet, this person still foolishly believed she had been poisoned by spring poison*, feeling sorry for her and even seriously telling her that common poisons were useless to her, as she had been conditioned by poisons since childhood.
*lust poison/aphrodisiac
The Young Master could not see the expression of the Princess and could not guess how she felt at this moment. Afraid that the Princess might not believe her, she groped around and took the Princess' hand, pressing it against her face.
"See, I am still warm, not cold. This is not a sign of poison acting up. Hurry and give the medicine to your sister."
Only then did the Princess believe her completely.
At this moment, she was incredibly relieved that the Young Master had such a special constitution, allowing her to avoid the unbearable pain of the poison.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten that this poison was not the so-called ordinary poison the Young Master mentioned before, but a rare and strange poison from the Western Regions.
Li Qiubai had no idea how her beloved, curled up in her arms, was forcing a smile, nor did she know what kind of suffering and grievance she was enduring. She thought all the strange expressions were due to the pain from the wound on her shoulder, and she didn't think much of anything else.
"Lingyun! Please check this medicine. If there is no problem, feed it to A'Yao."
She handed the antidote to Shen Lingyun. After watching her confirm that the medicine was safe and successfully feed it to Shuyao, the Princess finally let out a small sigh of relief and turned her gaze back to the Prince of Yu.
At this moment, the Prince of Yu had already returned to his seat by the chess table. He was sipping tea with great interest, as if enjoying the scene he had just witnessed.
“Imperial Uncle, this game is not yet over,” said the Princess.
Now that the two people she loved most were both “safe,” the Princess could finally wear a smile again.
Yet within that smile, the coldness was even stronger.
Seeing her like this, the Prince of Yu could not help but feel surprised. “Oh? You have already lost this badly, and you still want to keep playing?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of brilliant fireworks suddenly lit up the sky.
That… that seemed to be the signal flare unique to the Jinwei Camp.
Such a pattern meant only one thing—victory at the first battle.
The Prince of Yu instantly felt something was wrong.
As expected, Chen Ruiyun, who had just been calmly watching the show, suddenly ran to the Prince of Yu’s side in a fluster after hearing his subordinate’s report. He said urgently, “Something bad has happened, Your Highness! On Mount Qingcheng outside the city… something went wrong…”
On Mount Qingcheng outside the city was exactly where the Prince of Yu had hidden his private soldiers under the name of mountain bandits…
A total of fifty thousand.
That was the trump card he had hidden for a long time!
Recalling what Li Qiubai had said just now, the smile on the Prince of Yu’s face had disappeared without a trace. He glared at Li Qiubai with hatred.
“It was you!”
“Imperial Uncle, you said earlier that I was feinting in the east while actually attacking in the west. Then why not think a bit more and guess—which west did I strike?”
The Princess was still holding tightly onto Young Master Meng’s hand, letting her fiddle with her fingertips at will.
Unlike the gentleness of her hand movements, the words she next said to the Prince of Yu were cold-blooded, fierce, and merciless: “The lives of your fifty thousand private soldiers, in exchange for the remaining antidote and the life of the one who hurt them—would that be enough?”
“Otherwise, as for such rebellious troops who have committed treason, this Princess has the authority to slaughter them all right here.”
Slaughter them all… truly, the most venomous is a woman’s heart!
Upon hearing this, Chen Ruiyun could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
That was fifty thousand soldiers! Judging by her casual tone, someone who did not know better might have thought she was talking about five cows!
The Prince of Yu was enraged. He immediately clenched his fist and slammed it heavily onto the chessboard, scattering the game they had just been playing.
“Li Qiubai, are you insane?!”
“Yes.” The Princess did not deny it. She lowered her gaze slightly, looking at the still-hideous wound on Young Master Meng despite it being bandaged, and murmured, “I really did almost go mad from the heartache.”
The Prince of Yu was practically driven to laugh by his own anger.
“Your Highness is certainly generous. I really did not expect that this little plaything’s life would be so valuable in your eyes. But surely, you are not naïve enough to think that now all of you have already entered my royal residence, I would still let you leave unharmed, are you?”
The Prince of Yu flung his sleeve, and the soldiers and masters of the royal residence who had been hiding in the surroundings all revealed themselves at once, surrounding everyone Li Qiubai had brought!
“Come, take them all down!”
Just as the Prince of Yu’s voice fell, a blade’s aura suddenly descended from mid-air, slashing straight toward where he stood.
The fierce blade’s aura swept up a violent gust, already throwing the Prince of Yu to the ground.
In just an instant, a yanling saber* had smashed the stone chess table to pieces and landed, slanted, right beside the Prince of Yu’s golden-threaded boots.
*goose feather saber, a close combat weapon with a straight blade and a curved tip and a reversed edge resembling goose's feather, popular during the Ming Dynasty and was carried by officials and soldiers alike.
Before the Prince of Yu could recover from the terror of almost losing his life in that moment, a woman’s voice followed right after.
“What kind of thing do you think you are?”
That cold, biting tone of mockery, laced with thick killing intent, entered the ears of everyone present without missing a word.
“Just you? You dare bully this Sect Master's disciple?”
