Chapter 11.1

The husband and wife boarded the carriage, and Su Jiao lingered with reluctance as she gazed in the direction of Mother Su, not lowering the curtain until the carriage had turned the corner.

Inside the carriage, only a dim yellow lamp burned. The moment she turned her head, she met Xie Yan’s sharp, deep, and dark eyes.

Instinctively, she pulled her sleeves tighter.

“What’s wrong?”

Xie Yan stared at her without a word.

That gaze set her heart into disarray, and she couldn’t help but shrink back slightly.

“Xie Yan?”

The happiness from visiting the Su family home earlier had not yet faded, and her face was still full of cheerful smiles. She looked at him with a pair of clear, puzzled eyes.

Ha. A woman of honeyed words and a pleasing facade.

Xie Yan suddenly averted his gaze.

The question he asked came out cold. Su Jiao was momentarily at a loss for words, then turned her head and ignored him.

The carriage rolled over the bluestone steps. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, it passed through the palace gates and continued for a good while longer, until it finally entered Yongning Hall. Xie Yan had just moved to step out of the carriage when a dark shadow flashed before him.

“Your Highness.”

Chang Lin leaned close and spoke quietly into his ear.

“The eldest young master of the Su family left for the imperial mausoleum a quarter of an hour ago.”

At once, Xie Yan’s footsteps froze.

His expression shifted again and again, and he suddenly turned his head.

“I’m going out.”

He had speculated for so long, yet the one thing he had never imagined was that the person had been hiding at the imperial mausoleum.

Before Chang Lin could say another word, he watched as Xie Yan’s figure swept over the top of the wall like a gust of wind and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

He couldn’t conceal the astonishment in his heart.

Since when had the prince’s martial arts become so formidable?

****

The night was as dark as ink. Su Wei’s eyes held a layer of frost as he arrived at the foot of the imperial mausoleum, dust-worn from the journey.

The events of the entire day still churned through his mind. He bent down and entered a hidden underground passage, not emerging until half a shichen later.

The pitch-black night concealed his figure. Su Wei’s complexion was even colder than when he had arrived. He made his way down to the foot of the mountain, swung up onto his horse, and rode at full gallop toward the west.

He had only just reached the main road when flickers of faint light glinted through the darkness. Su Wei abruptly reined in his horse.

A dark-cloaked figure, their face wrapped in a cloth, had just left the city and appeared unsure of which direction to go. Faint flickers of light shimmered from their body.

That light…

It was the traitor who had come to the study at the Su residence two days ago.

Su Wei immediately launched himself into the air, and the dagger in his hand was hurled in an instant, striking viciously toward the incoming figure.

The person dodged with extreme speed. A flash of cold indifference crossed Su Wei’s eyes as he drew his sword in a reverse grip and cut off the other’s path, engaging them in combat in the darkness of the night.

The person’s martial arts were exceptionally high. Every move they made landed precisely to suppress his own techniques. After a short exchange, Su Wei grew impatient, and his movements became increasingly fierce — every strike aimed directly at the other’s vital points.

Puchi—

In no time, a long sword thrust cleanly through. Fresh blood immediately dyed his entire arm crimson. Su Wei gritted his teeth, and with a reverse push of his sword, he wounded the other’s shoulder in turn.

In the instant their eyes met, a flash of shock crossed the other’s gaze. The dim sense of familiarity in Su Wei’s heart had not yet fully surfaced before he saw the other person discard their sword and throw a punch toward him.

Su Wei evaded, and his own fist, powered by his internal energy, showed no mercy in return. It was only when the sound of footsteps approached from not far away — the city garrison troops had been alerted to the commotion — that Su Wei, knowing the other’s martial arts surpassed his own, gasped for breath as he dodged the incoming blows, swung back onto his horse, and left without any further hesitation.

…..

Xie Yan’s figure, too, had concealed itself beneath the trees.

A moment later, Xie Yan watched the direction in which Su Wei departed, his gaze cold and detached. He swung up onto his horse and rode toward the imperial mausoleum.

At a distance of about three li from the mausoleum, Xie Yan pulled his reins to a halt. His gaze swept across the surroundings and settled on an unremarkable raised mound in the earth.

He made no move to go over and disturb it. Instead, he turned and headed to the other side.

Along the small path beneath the imperial mausoleum, there was a tomb.

Buried inside was his mother, the late Empress.

****

Su Jiao stepped over the threshold and immediately caught sight of Xie Yan sitting there.

“You’re back?”

She had entered the inner chamber not long ago when Chang Lin informed her that the Empress Dowager had summoned Xie Yan. She had thought it would take a good while, but to her surprise, he returned in less than half a shichen.

Xie Yan gave an almost imperceptible nod. He sat on the edge of the couch in black robes, his handsome face carrying even more of an imposing and unfathomable air than usual. His hand casually toyed with a porcelain vial.

“What is that?”

Su Jiao glanced over at it idly.

Xie Yan spoke in a languid tone.

“A keepsake left behind by Mother Empress. Just sorted it out earlier. It’s called something like… the Huishui Condensed Dew Pill.”

His gaze drifted over, and he caught the exact moment Su Jiao heard the name — and froze in place.

The teacup she was holding nearly slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor. Her heart thundered violently. In almost three quick strides, she crossed to where Xie Yan stood.

“You said it’s the Huishui Condensed Dew Pill? Is that truly so?”

She grabbed Xie Yan’s wrist, breathing unsteadily, and immediately reached for the vial.

Xie Yan turned his wrist aside and evaded her grasp, watching her agitated state with an expression that was halfway between a smile and not.

“It’s just an ordinary vial of medicine. Why get so worked up over it?”

“This is something that can save a— naturally it isn’t ordinary, but… this was left behind by Mother Empress. What difference does it make whether Your Highness keeps it or I do?”

Su Jiao dug her nails into her palm to force herself into some semblance of calm. She sat down beside him, gently taking hold of his arm as she spoke.

She recalled what Xie Yan had been like at this point in their previous life — he had seemingly not yet known the purpose of these pills.

The Huishui Condensed Dew Pill was a life-saving elixir that the late Empress had left behind, one capable of bringing someone back from the brink of death. There were only three in all of Great Zhao.

The late Empress had used one to preserve her own life in her final moments, and the remaining two had both been left to Xie Yan.

But an innocent man invites trouble by flaunting his wealth. When the Empress first gave the medicine to Xie Yan, she had not told him what it was for. Xie Yan had simply treasured it because it was something that had belonged to his mother, until half a year after their marriage, when the late Empress’s old nursemaid had sought out Xie Yan and told him the true purpose of the medicine.

One of the two life-saving pills had been used to keep her mother alive for an extra half-month when she had fallen ill with angina. The remaining one…

Had been given to her by Xie Yan in the first year she became Empress.

She had held onto that pill all the way until the very end. When she was on the verge of death and had been about to swallow it to neutralize the poison, it had instead been taken away by Zhang Momo and given to Prime Minister Yun.

Now that she had been reborn and had seen the medicine again, how could Su Jiao not feel overjoyed?

Although her mother was still perfectly well at present, the angina in her previous life had come without any warning at all — and in less than a month, it had claimed her mother’s life. Now that she had been given a second chance, she had come prepared. But if she could have a medicine like this as a safeguard, how could that be anything but a good thing?

Su Jiao’s heart pounded like thunder. Her bright eyes were fixed intently on the porcelain vial, and her throat was tight.

“Your Highness… would you be willing to give me one of the pills?”

There were still two pills remaining. Given that she had died in her previous life because of this tyrant’s involvement, asking for one didn’t seem too much, did it?

Xie Yan’s gaze settled on her, and he spoke with an expression that was halfway between a smile and not.

“Why should I give it to you? It’s just a few ordinary pills. Has the Prince’s Consort not seen fine things enough that she’d set her heart on something like this?”

“Besides, Mother Empress’s things — it’s perfectly fine for me to keep them. After all, the Prince’s Consort did speak of separation just the second day after marriage. How could I feel at ease leaving something in your hands?”

Xie Yan raised an eyebrow, and the porcelain vial traced a graceful arc as it turned in his fingers.

Su Jiao immediately squeezed a smile from the corners of her lips.

“When did I ever say anything about separation? That was simply the first day I came to Yongning Hall — seeing Your Highness unconscious had left me so frightened and flustered that the words slipped out. But didn’t I explain myself to Your Highness afterward? Besides, if I had truly wanted to separate, I wouldn’t have followed Your Highness back inside the palace so readily today.”

She tilted her head up to look at Xie Yan, her eyes clear and sincere. Her hand slipped down to clasp his wrist, and her voice grew softer.

“I said so before — now that I am wed to Your Highness, wherever Your Highness is, there I shall be.”

Xie Yan did not pull away, but he offered no further rebuttal either. Su Jiao weighed this in her mind and sensed an opportunity.

The Xie Yan of five years ago was still quite inexperienced.

“Every word I have said has come from the heart. Ever since I entered Yongning Hall, I attended faithfully at Your Highness’s bedside while you were unconscious. When Your Highness had an injury on your knee, I worried so much I couldn’t sleep through the night. Since this is only a small trifle, why not simply give it to me? Think of it as a little gift to please me…”

Before Su Jiao could finish, a slender hand tilted her chin upward.

“Why should I please you?”

Xie Yan tilted his head and asked again.

Su Jiao answered at once.

“Naturally, because you and I are husband and wife for life.”

She looked at him unwaveringly, her eyes seemingly concealing endless depths of feeling.

“For a husband to treat his wife well — that can never be wrong.”