Chapter 51
“Hey, you still haven’t woken up? If you don’t wake up soon, the next main quest is going to time out. Then everything you did before will be wasted!
When Ye Rui heard that, her heart suddenly started pounding. She forced her eyes open, her mind still filled with Hu Tu’s familiar electronic voice.
No way it could be wasted! Absolutely not!
She struggled to wake up. Her eyelids felt heavy, but when she heard the voice beside her, she grew a little more alert.
“Ye Rui, Ye Rui...!”
Xie Tinglan gripped Ye Rui’s hand tightly. Seeing her eyelids twitch, her long lashes tremble, and her lids lift just a little, she looked as if she might actually wake up.
Hu Tu: [As expected, I had to pull out the big move. Otherwise, who knows how long it would’ve taken you to get yourself together.]
Ye Rui’s consciousness was clear, but her body refused to move at all. Even lifting her eyelids took effort. Since she couldn’t argue with Hu Tu out loud, she could still retort with that mysterious voice in her head.
Ye Rui: [How much time has passed? Why didn’t you call me sooner!]
Hu Tu: [I did call you! You just wouldn’t wake up... wait, uh... turns out I’d forgotten to turn the mic on all along. No wonder I called you so many times and you still didn’t wake up.]
Ye Rui forced her eyes open. She was angry enough to wake herself up!
Ugh... my chest!
In her agitation, Ye Rui tried to breathe, only to feel as if something were pressing down on her chest. After a moment, she finally realized she had been lying face down the whole time.
The thing pressing down on her chest was herself.
“Ye Rui?”
Xie Tinglan’s fingers trembled slightly, yet she still didn’t dare touch Ye Rui. Even though she knew this person could barely move, she was still afraid Ye Rui might flinch away from her touch.
“Mm... it hurts.”
Everything hurt. It felt like she hadn’t moved in too long; every joint in her body was stiff and rusted. Her back, especially, was blazing with pain, as if countless needles were stabbing into it.
Just then, Ri Xi came in with a basin of water. Seeing that Ye Rui was awake, she slammed the basin onto the table, splashing water everywhere. Then she hurried to the bedside and, together with Xie Tinglan, softly called Ye Rui’s name.
“I... hurt.”
Ye Rui felt as if even her throat had been sliced open by a blade. Every word hurt like hell, but if she didn’t speak, she couldn’t let them know how she was doing.
Xie Tinglan and Ri Xi worked together to turn Ye Rui over. The moment her back touched the bed, Ye Rui’s face crumpled.
It hurts so much I want to call for my mom, but my throat hurts too. I can’t even shout!
Hu Tu: [Right now, I kind of want to laugh. What do I do?]
Ye Rui: [I advise you to hold it in!]
Xie Tinglan no longer had time to worry about her own guarded feelings. She helped Ye Rui sit up and lean against her, then said, “Ri Xi, go get some water.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ri Xi brought a cup of warm water. Xie Tinglan fed it to Ye Rui slowly; every drop that spilled from the corner of her lips was carefully wiped away.
As she drank, Ye Rui still felt as though her throat had been cut open with a knife. Thankfully, it felt a little better after she finished. She asked, “How long was I asleep?”
She had no idea at all. The last time she’d fainted, she’d still dreamed, but this time she had truly blacked out and fallen into a stretch of darkness, as if she were dead. Even her clever System had forgotten to open the mic and wake her up.
Hu Tu: [...]
“More than half a month.”
Ri Xi took Ye Rui’s hand to check her pulse. It was steady, with a slight emptiness to it; that was a normal sign after an injury. Now that she was awake, everything would be fine.
Half a month... she’d lain there for half a month. What happened before that again? Ah! Right, she’d been beaten with the staff! And it was still Xie Tinglan’s suggestion!
As her thoughts returned, a flood of emotions surged up at once. Feeling the cold fragrance that surrounded her, Ye Rui’s mood suddenly sank.
She knew Xie Tinglan had wanted to draw a line between them to protect them both, but once there was a first time, there would be a second; once there was a second, there would be a third. When would it ever end?
If twenty military blows had really come down, she probably wouldn’t have lasted long enough for Yin Yue to carry her away. Did she want her dead, just so she’d stop being an obstacle?
Ye Rui frowned. Her head was dizzy, her body weak, and she was hungry too.
“Ri Xi, I’m hungry.”
“Okay. I’ll have Lin Aunt prepare something.”
Hearing that Ye Rui had an appetite was excellent news, whether as a physician or as a friend and companion. Ri Xi didn’t hesitate and immediately headed to the kitchen.
Only Xie Tinglan and Ye Rui remained in the room. Silence seemed like the best bridge for the moment; anything they said would only tear the wound open again.
After Ri Xi left, Ye Rui said nothing more, and Xie Tinglan understood at once. Yet she was reluctant to leave just like that, so she said, “At least wait until Ri Xi comes back. Once she does, I’ll leave.”
Ye Rui held resentment in her heart; Xie Tinglan understood that, and because she understood it, she lowered herself.
“Am I a burden to you?”
Ye Rui felt she could have polished that sentence a bit more, but once it came out, it came out like that, and she had no intention of taking it back. If it hurt Xie Tinglan, then let it hurt. She was hurting too.
Xie Tinglan gave no answer. She remained silent.
The person who was usually so quick with words was now speechless. For the first time, Ye Rui felt how suffocating silence could be; even more suffocating than when she’d been lying face down just now.
Fortunately, Ri Xi didn’t stay away long. By the time she returned, Xie Tinglan had already left without looking back. Watching her retreating figure, Ri Xi suddenly had things she wanted to tell Ye Rui, but Xie Tinglan had said that the fact she had come every day during this time to look after Ye Rui could not be told to her.
Ri Xi had asked why. Could it be that Xie Tinglan really intended to keep her distance from Ye Rui?
He obviously... liked her so much.
“Keeping our distance is the only way to protect her, and to protect myself. Ri Xi, this official will not abandon the path I’ve chosen to walk. My ambition cannot be cut short halfway.”
Ri Xi understood that. It was just that at the time, she desperately wanted to ask Xie Tinglan: if that’s the case, why are your eyes red, my lord?
Ri Xi didn’t mention Xie Tinglan. She only carefully asked Ye Rui where it hurt, where she felt unwell, and recorded every detail.
Two hours after Ye Rui woke up, the news had already reached Dongfeng Ward.
**
Inside the Golden Phoenix Palace, incense drifted through the air. Beneath the swaying curtains, a beauty sat before the chessboard, one hand propping up her head, the other holding a black piece between two fingers as she considered her next move.
Today she wore a moon-white palace robe. Her black hair was simply pinned up with a phoenix hair ornament, a few strands falling over her chest. In that languid pose, she still carried a grace and nobility no one else could imitate, like a beauty stepped straight out of a painting.
“Your Majesty, I heard that the Ye girl from the Xie residence has awakened.”
Shen Zhuiying had just returned from outside. While pouring tea for Helian Shaohua, she reported the information she had gathered.
“Oh? She certainly has a strong life. Tinglan also went quite ruthless this time.”
Helian Shaohua’s gaze remained on the chessboard. She was neither surprised nor pleased.
After pouring the tea, Shen Zhuiying stood to the side and said no more. That should have been the end of it, but Helian Shaohua saw through her and, sure enough, she seemed about to speak again.
“You still have something to say?”
Helian Shaohua set down the black piece and turned to look at Shen Zhuiying, her eyes carrying a faint, indifferent smile.
“Last time, Your Majesty knew that that person intended to imprison Ye Rui, which was why Prime Minister Xie struck so hard. Then... will that person do anything else to Ye Rui next?”
After hearing this, Helian Shaohua picked up a white piece and rolled it lightly between her fingers. “Not for the time being. He has already lost interest in her. Setting aside whether it was twenty military blows or ten, both were aimed at killing her.”
A woman’s flesh and blood were inherently more fragile. Fortunately, Ye Rui was a martial artist, which was why she survived.
“Is Prime Minister Xie really willing to kill Ye Rui?”
Shen Zhuiying didn’t know Ye Rui well, but she had heard Helian Shaohua mention her several times. Xie Tinglan treated her as special; very special indeed.
“Of course not. Tinglan knew that person wouldn’t let her kill Ye Rui either, because Ye Rui only has value if she’s alive.”
Helian Shaohua paused, then continued, “Ten military blows was already the limit. For the same punishment to be imposed as on two generals, the one who truly struck ruthlessly wasn’t Tinglan; it was that person.”
Now Shen Zhuiying was confused. “But didn’t Your Majesty just say that person wouldn’t kill Ye Rui?”
“This palace guesses that when Tinglan spoke of twenty military blows, he probably felt Ye Rui’s value had become negligible. As for those ten blows, it was likely just a whim. If she died, she died; if she lived, it didn’t matter.”
Shen Zhuiying fell silent.
Helian Shaohua went on, “So his interest in Ye Rui probably isn’t that strong for the moment. She’s passed through one difficult hurdle. As for the future... that’s hard to say.”
She set down the white piece, then suddenly remembered something and raised her delicate brows slightly. “By the way, has that maid been arranged properly?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s all been arranged. Presumably, when that person goes to Ziwei Palace today, he’ll meet her there.”
Helian Shaohua nodded. “Good. Saves him from wandering around here.”
She picked up another black piece and held it between her fingers, seemingly thinking hard about where to place her next move. Then she reached out and drew Shen Zhuiying closer, gently rubbing her palm with her thumb as she asked in a low voice, “Zhuiying, where do you think I should place my next move?”
Shen Zhuiying’s face reddened. She didn’t pull her hand away. Her gaze fell on the chessboard, but the thumb stroking her palm left her unable to think at all.
“Your Majesty, I..."
Her heartbeat was completely beyond her control; even her palm seemed to be growing damp. Helian Shaohua curved her lips in a smile and set the white piece down on the board, then said softly, “Could this move be landing on Zhuiying’s heart?”
“Why so flustered?”
Helian Shaohua stood up so they were face to face. Just as she was about to say more, Shen Zhuiying unconsciously averted her gaze from that burning look. “Your Majesty, there are many loose tongues in the palace.”
Shen Zhuiying tightened her fingers. Helian Shaohua’s expression changed. She let go of Shen Zhuiying and said in a cold, low voice, “So Zhuiying has noticed something in the Golden Phoenix Palace and not told this palace?”
Shen Zhuiying’s face went white. She knelt at once. “Please spare me, Your Majesty. This subordinate discovered that Yinqin has been behaving strangely lately. She even left the palace to meet with someone from the Helian family. I wasn’t certain yet, so I didn’t report it to Your Majesty.”
Helian Shaohua’s face darkened. The corners of her mouth curved into a thin, mocking line that was almost a smile. “Instead of being content with an easy life, they insist on joining this mass grave and fighting over it. This palace will show them that keeping their heads down and behaving is the only way to survive.”
She lowered her eyes to the kneeling Shen Zhuiying, then frowned almost imperceptibly. “Get up. Don’t kneel there.”
Shen Zhuiying rose. Helian Shaohua even helped her up a little, then said, “You handle Yinqin. I don’t want to see her again tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Shen Zhuiying kept her head lowered like a child who had done something wrong. Then warm fingertips came and lifted her chin. Helian Shaohua looked at her intently. “Don’t lower your head.”
Compared with her earlier cold tone, her voice had softened, coaxing her like a child. “Only because Zhuiying observes so carefully does this palace know who is human and who is a ghost.”
Helian Shaohua then withdrew her hand, straightened her palace robe, and sat back down gracefully. Her slender, jade-like fingers picked up a black piece and placed it on the board. The little finger wearing a gilded nail guard lifted slightly.
“It wasn’t necessary to make this move so soon, but... they should never, ever have set their sights on the Golden Phoenix Palace.”
On the chessboard, the black pieces were grim and cold, like a flock of crows in the depths of winter, silently hemming the white pieces in until there was nowhere left to go.
**
Winter was fierce. The paulownia trees in Smoke and Cloud Courtyard had shed their green and taken on a desolate look. Their branches stretched elegantly in the cold wind, like a sorrowful dancer whirling through a dance.
Ye Rui had woken up, but she still spent every day lying face down on the bed. A few times, when she truly couldn’t bear it anymore, she wanted to get up and walk around, but the moment she stood, her thighs hurt terribly. In the end, she could only lie back down again.
Ri Xi said that although her tendons and bones weren’t badly damaged, her muscles had been strained and twisted. For now, she still couldn’t stand and walk properly.
These past few days, Xie Tinglan hadn’t come. But Ye Rui knew she had stood outside her door before, because late at night, when the candlelight in her room hadn’t yet gone completely out, it faintly reflected the hazy silhouette outside.
The person standing outside was especially silent. That silence felt familiar to Ye Rui. She knew it was Xie Tinglan.
Only her silence made her feel suffocated.
Sometimes Ye Rui didn’t understand how she and Xie Tinglan had ended up like this, but then again, it felt natural enough. Xie Tinglan had never given her any promise, and perhaps that alone made the ending obvious at a glance.
They were nothing more than accomplices taking what they needed from each other, occasionally sinking into nights where desire could no longer be restrained, becoming prisoners of their most primal wants.
Though Ye Rui’s body was useless these days, her mind was still working at full speed. She remembered that she was supposed to meet Lu Yihua, but there was no way she could go now. By now, Lu Yihua had probably already met Mu Xue.
That was a matter involving over a hundred lives. Ye Rui was trembling just thinking about it. She had gone to sleep and somehow incurred a massive debt to Mu Xue, and she didn’t even know what conditions Mu Xue would demand.
Mu Xue’s mouth was sharp, but her heart was still warm in the end. She would probably help Lu Yihua. On that point, Ye Rui wasn’t worried.
Today, Ri Xi still brought her meal, so Ye Rui asked whether anyone had come looking for her while she’d been unconscious. When she learned that Mu Xue had sent the ward matron once, only to be driven away by Xie Tinglan, and that she had sent a letter again yesterday, but the matron had to deliver it personally to Ye Rui’s hands and Ri Xi hadn’t accepted it, Ye Rui felt even more at ease.
Since the ward matron had brought a letter, it had to be about Lu Yihua. Now that Mu Xue had already made contact with Lu Yihua, Ye Rui no longer worried and rested in peace for several more days.
By now, Ye Rui could get out of bed. That was partly because she had kept up her internal energy cultivation, which helped her recover faster, and partly because of Ri Xi’s medicine. Everything was coming together naturally.
Thinking of Lu Yihua reminded Ye Rui of something very important, and it made her hurt so badly that even her wound seemed to ache.
“Ri Xi, the emperor massacred Ping’an Village and framed Xie Tinglan for it. A lot of the survivors think it was Xie Tinglan who gave the order.”
Ri Xi, who had been clearing away the dishes, startled so badly that the chopsticks in her hand fell onto the table.
“What did you say?”
She had never received this information. She knew Ping’an Village had been slaughtered, but the reports sent back by the spies said it was bandits who had done it. If she had to choose whom to believe, she would naturally believe Ye Rui.
“The soldiers who massacred the village shouted that it was Xie Tinglan’s doing, but the emperor said in court that it was bandits... Ri Xi, if you didn’t know about this, and the information you received said the latter, then there must be a mole in the Xie residence.”
Seeing Ri Xi’s shocked expression, the same kind of shock she had shown when hearing Ye Rui say that Xie Tinglan was the mastermind, Ye Rui immediately knew things were not simple. If this was left unchecked, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Xie Tinglan’s usual way of doing things may be ruthless, but at least there’s some reason behind it. Massacring a village is the sort of thing that enrages public opinion. If incidents like this keep happening, the emperor will always have a reason to kill Xie Tinglan.”
Ye Rui gripped Ri Xi’s sleeve tightly. The urgency in her voice made it clear how worried she was about Xie Tinglan.
Ri Xi sighed. Yet these two were like stars apart, one in the east and one in the west; even in the same room, they might as well never see each other. Fate really was cruel.
“I understand. I’ll report this to my lord immediately.”
-----------------------
Author’s note: I’m here, I’m here. I’m still busy, so I’m updating while wearing makeup, sob sob [burst into tears][burst into tears]
TL Note:
“like stars apart, one in the east and one in the west” (动如参商) means two people who are fated to be apart and rarely meet
“mass grave” (万人冢) = a bleak metaphor for a deadly power struggle where many people can be sacrificed