collaboration

She frowned, puzzled, and rose to see what had happened, but before her hand could even touch the curtain, the carriage gave a violent lurch, tilting the whole cabin to the left.

The sudden shift made it nearly impossible for Zhou Yao to stay upright.

Caught off guard, she was thrown to the floor before she could react.

The brocade on her arm was torn by a sharp edge inside the carriage, and a searing sting joined the lingering ache in her knee. She guessed she had scraped off a layer of skin.

"What's going on?!" Ignoring the pain, she scowled and tried to get up, but the moment she moved her ankle, a sharp stab of agony shot through her. She must have twisted it in the fall, she thought.

Gritting her teeth, she used her uninjured arm to brace herself against the seat and push herself up.

The tilted carriage made everything around her seem topsy-turvy; standing was a struggle in itself. The situation was dire, and she could only be grateful she hadn't been thrown out the window.

Zhou Yao thought the loud thud she had heard should have alerted the attendant, but no one had come to check on her, and her unease grew.

Her hand trembling, she yanked the curtain open...

The driver's seat was empty, with only the startled horse stamping its hooves in place.

Whether from pain or shock, she sucked in a cold breath, but before she could exhale, an arrow grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody cut.

This was clearly a premeditated assassination!

Already injured, she was in no position to move quickly. If she tried to dodge arrows by staying in the carriage alone, she would be dead before anyone passed by.

Her earlier action of lifting the curtain had fully exposed her position. Taking advantage of the opening, the archers sent a volley of arrows straight at her, leaving no room to evade.

"Ah—!"

She pressed herself against the higher side of the carriage, hoping to use it as cover, but an arrow pierced straight through the flimsy wooden panel, heading directly for her brow...

The arrow stopped half an inch from her forehead.

Her eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably, her back soaked with cold sweat, her palms slick with perspiration.

She dared not make a reckless move. The carriage had been turned into a pincushion by the archers, and one wrong step could leave her skewered.

But staying in the carriage was waiting for death. She had no idea where the attacker was. It was them against her—stay and die, or go out and die.

Zhou Yao thought: I haven't earned much yet, and I'm going to die here. What a waste of my prime years if I don't make money!

As she remained locked in a standoff with the unknown enemy, the hail of arrows suddenly ceased, and a fair, slender hand drew the curtain aside.

Instinctively, she reached for the small knife she usually kept at her waist, but she had forgotten she wasn't wearing that outfit today. When her hand found empty space, panic seized her.

A moment later, the familiar scent of sandalwood from Qi Yanhan enveloped her. "Forgive me, Your Highness, I'm late. Are you hurt?" His voice trembled slightly.

In the darkness, Zhou Yao vaguely recognized Qi Yanhan, and her heart eased considerably. Before she could speak, he seemed to notice the wound on her face and her disheveled state.

His expression darkened, and after a pause, he said, "Let me help you out first. Mind your step, Your Highness."

He offered his arm to support hers, perfectly proper, but Zhou Yao didn't move, which made him look at her.

She said awkwardly, "I... I think I twisted my ankle just now..."

"No matter." Qi Yanhan turned around and signaled with a glance for her to climb onto his back. "Allow me to carry you."

Seeing no way to refuse, Zhou Yao let him lift her onto his back. Watching the man, she thought: He usually looks frail, but he doesn't seem to care about revealing anything in front of me?

This position was intimate, and from her angle, she could see that his ears had quietly turned red at some point.

At the sight, she understood and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"Is it funny?" Qi Yanhan asked, his tone cool.

She shook her head, then, remembering he couldn't see, added, "Not funny."

Zhou Yao's eyes searched the area, wondering where her would-be killer might be, when Qi Yanhan spoke up: "Next time you leave the palace, you must wait for me, alright?"

She pressed her lips together and said nothing.

"Thank you."

"I was worried about you."

They spoke at the same time, then fell silent.

Qi Yanhan had so much more he wanted to say, but his status, his position, and her feelings for him all held him back. So he buried this decade-long, unrequited love deep in his heart. He could secretly help Zhou Yao with anything, except gamble with her life.

This assassination attempt—the Crown Prince had gone too far... Qi Yanhan's eyes turned cold and sinister, and the hand behind him, steadying Zhou Yao, clenched unconsciously.

"It... hurts a bit." Zhou Yao hesitantly spoke to the man.

He remained stunned for a long moment, and only when Zhou Yao repeated herself did he relax his grip.

When they returned to the Qi Manor, the imperial physician was already waiting at the door. The moment Zhou Yao was set into a chair, Qi Yanhan made a hasty exit.

Puzzled, she looked after him, but he had already vanished.

Zhou Yao sat at the chess table in her room, her jade-like fingers holding a chess piece, placing it on the unfinished game from days ago. Reviewing recent events, she sensed that something had happened between Qi Yanhan and the Crown Prince, and the tension between them seemed to be costing her as well.

It was only to be expected. Zhou Yao hardly had the energy to meddle in such matters, but with the fire at her own doorstep, she couldn't ignore it.

If word got out that the Crown Prince had harmed his own sibling, his reputation for virtue would be ruined.

There was one simplest and fastest way to help Qi Yanhan regain real power, and that was—

To topple the Crown Prince.

To reshuffle the court.

Toppling the Crown Prince wouldn't happen overnight, but Zhou Yao wasn't in a hurry; she had plenty of time.

She would just have to send people to secretly gather evidence of the Crown Prince's brutality. But if someone could make Zhou Yu do something he could never recover from, that would be even easier...

After all, she still had to set up her stall tomorrow, so she put down the chess piece and was about to call her maid to wash and change when—

The window was tapped twice from outside, the wooden knock sounding clear in the still night.

"Your Highness, forgive the intrusion. I still have a question I'd like your insight on."

The voice was gentle—it was Qi Yanhan, who had just fled.

Zhou Yao looked at his shadow cast on the window, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Speak."

"Your Highness, have you ever considered selling your craft to the public?"

"Haven't I been doing that all along?" She was a bit impatient with his cryptic words.

"No, it's not just that." A tremor crept into his voice. He paused, then said, "If it's convenient, might I come in and speak?"

She glanced around—her movements were limited—then sat back at the chess table and said, "Come in."

Qi Yanhan seemed to have changed into fresh clothes, the smell of blood from earlier gone, replaced by his usual scholarly elegance. His fox-like eyes today held less of that cunning edge than usual.

"Perhaps Your Highness hasn't grasped my meaning," the man said with a smile. "What I wish is to take our partnership a step further..."

"I already know you've had the household staff post a wanted notice for Ling Long, but it's been a long time, and her whereabouts remain unknown." Qi Yanhan raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Your Highness can't keep waiting like this forever."

"How about... doing something else with me?"

"Your Highness is a clever person, and I wouldn't want to disturb your rest at this hour." He laughed. "I must thank you for the small favor you did yesterday. This is a small token of my gratitude, and I hope we can establish a long-term partnership."

From his sleeve, he produced an intricately carved jade box and set it on the table, then nudged it toward Zhou Yao.

Even without Qi Yanhan saying anything, Zhou Yao had already suspected that tonight's assassination attempt was linked to whatever was going on between him and the Crown Prince.

She opened the jade box—and inside was exactly what she had been scheming to get her hands on...