The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife

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S T E L L A R C L O U D

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O R A N G E S T A R

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T H E S U N

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Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)

After nightfall, the three of them had dinner together in the side hall.

Princess Xinyang looked across the table at Shangguan Qing with a warm smile and said, “Ah Heng told me you don’t like fennel. I told the chefs not to use any spices. Try and see if the dishes suit your taste.”

Shangguan Qing had long since lost any real appetite. These days, he either forced himself to eat or had the accompanying medical officer give him a bit of nutrient infusion.

But seeing the table full of delicately prepared and appetizing dishes, he still moved his chopsticks and tasted a little of everything.

“Is it good?” Princess Xinyang asked with a smile, pretending not to notice how he forced each bite down.

“It’s good,” Shangguan Qing replied. “It suits my palate more than State of Yan cuisine.”

Princess Xinyang smiled gently. “Even if it’s delicious, don’t eat too much. It’s late, and eating too much at night can upset your stomach.”

Shangguan Qing’s chopsticks paused. His nose tingled, and an emotion surged in his chest, though nothing showed on his face. He hummed, “Alright, I’ll just eat a little less then.”

He was already unable to eat more.

Every bite felt like a torment.

Xiao Heng glanced at him, then at Princess Xinyang, and said to Shangguan Qing, “You already had so many candied hawthorns earlier, do you still have room in your stomach? Don’t eat too much and make yourself sick.”

Princess Xinyang quickly added, “You had candied hawthorns? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Then stop eating, quickly.”

“Oh.” Shangguan Qing cast her a deep look, then lowered his gaze and set down his chopsticks.

Xiao Heng said, “Elder brother… still has to return to the State of Yan.”

Princess Xinyang’s hand, hidden beneath her wide sleeve, clenched tightly. It took all her strength not to break down in sobs.

She looked at the two brothers, surprise flickering across her face. “Is that so? Qingʼer won’t be staying in the State of Zhao?”

Xiao Heng sighed inwardly but continued playing along with the act. “My Elder brother and I have talked it over. There’s no need for us to switch back our identities.”

Princess Xinyang’s sore throat moved slightly as she swallowed, then she forced a smile and asked, “When will you be leaving?”

Xiao Heng replied, “There’s still war at the border, and the State of Yan’s Emperor just suffered a stroke. With no one in the imperial court able to take charge, elder brother has to return as soon as possible. Most likely within the next couple of days.”

Princess Xinyang, holding her chopsticks in her right hand, had already dug the fingernails of her left deep into her palm.

She looked at Shangguan Qing with deep reluctance, her eyes involuntarily reddening. “Then… will you come back to see me again?”

Shangguan Qing answered with a smile, “Of course I will. Right, younger brother?”

Xiao Heng said, “Mm.”

I’ll come back, disguised as you, to visit Mother.

Princess Xinyang’s tears fell with a soft splash.

Shangguan Qing looked at her with restraint, wanting to speak but unable to find the words.

Princess Xinyang wiped away her tears, her eyes swollen and red as she said, “I didn’t think you’d be leaving so soon after coming back. Let me go pack for you. Yu Jin!”

“Yes, princess.”

Yu Jin lifted the curtain and came in, helping Princess Xinyang up from her chair.

Princess Xinyang left the side hall and walked along the long corridor.

After turning a corner, she could no longer hold it in. Amid the swirling wind and snow, she covered her face with both hands and broke into trembling sobs.

Inside the room, Xiao Heng looked helplessly at Shangguan Qing. “Mother saw through it.”

Shangguan Qing replied in a low voice, “I know.”

Xiao Heng asked, “And you still plan to leave?”

Shangguan Qing’s expression was calm. Every step he took had never been made on a whim, they were decisions he had made from the very beginning. “I can’t die in front of her. I want her to remember me… as I was when I was alive.”

“As a living, breathing son.”

“And not a corpse in her arms that could never be woken again.”

“That would be a nightmare she would never escape from.”

……

It had been snowing continuously for three full days at the border in the eleventh month.

The doors of the common folk were frozen shut, the streets were slick with ice, and traveling was completely impossible. Soldiers of the Black Wind Cavalry were dispatched to sweep the snow and break the ice.

“Qing’er and Ah Heng were quite lucky.” Someone commented. “The snow only started after they left. Had they been delayed by even a day, they might not have been able to leave the city at all.”

Snow was falling heavily in Pucheng as well.

Shangguan Yan stood outside the military tent, murmuring to herself as she gazed toward the direction of the official road.

Huan’er draped a thick cloak over her shoulders and gently said, “It’s still not dawn yet, Your Highness. Why don’t you go back inside and get a bit more sleep?”

Shangguan Yan instinctively gathered the cloak tighter around herself and shook her head. “No, I can’t sleep.”

Huan’er tied the ribbon for her and offered comfort. “The two young Highnesses are blessed; Heaven will surely protect them.”

Shangguan Yan nodded slightly. “Let’s hope so.”

As a trusted confidante, Huan’er knew all too well the origins and background of those involved. She sighed and said, “The Marquis… has been gone for nearly twenty days. I wonder if he’s managed to obtain the antidote for His Highness.”

Half a month earlier, Marquis Xuanping and Chang Jing had traveled north from Tianshan Pass, heading all the way to the northern border of the State of Yan. Beyond the mountains ahead, now blocked by iron-barred fences, lay lands that no longer belonged to the State of Yan.

“Let’s leave the horses here.” Chang Jing said. “Past the end of the mountain range lies the icefields. Regular warhorses can’t move on ice, and there’s nothing for them to eat. Of course, if you plan to eat them yourself, then sure, bring them.”

Marquis Xuanping glanced at the well-fed, muscular Black Wind Cavalry mounts and thought to himself that if he really slaughtered them for food, his daughter-in-law would skin him alive when he returned.

The three handed their horses over to the border soldiers. Under Chang Jing’s guidance, they crossed the gorge and scaled the mountains, arriving at an endless expanse of frozen plains.

Ye Qing had grown up in Shengdu and had never seen such a vast icefield before. In that instant, he felt as small and insignificant as a grain of sand.

It was also Marquis Xuanping’s first time setting foot in the far northern icefields. Unable to help himself, he turned slightly to glance at Chang Jing beside him and asked, “So what you’re saying is… the few of us have to cross this place on foot?”

“Of course not.” Chang Jing replied coolly.

Marquis Xuanping gave him an amused look. “Oh, look who’s acting all proud in front of me now.”

Chang Jing didn’t respond and simply turned and walked away.

Ye Qing asked, “He’s not angry, is he?”

“No.” Marquis Xuanping replied calmly and lightly.

No one knew where Chang Jing had gone, but he returned after nearly half an hour, and not alone. He came back seated in a very strange-looking…

Ye Qing frowned. “Uh, what is that? And… are those wolves pulling it?”

Chang Jing halted the vehicle and jumped down, saying to the two of them, “They’re icefield wolves. They’re specially trained to pull snow carriages.”

Ye Qing exclaimed, “This is my first time seeing a carriage without wheels!”

If Gu Jiao were here, she would have immediately recognized the similarities between this snow carriage and the sleighs from her previous life. They weren’t exactly the same, but both had waxed bottoms, making them glide smoothly over snow and ice.

Chang Jing explained, “This is one of Hidden Night Island’s snow carriages, stashed nearby.”

It was said that Hidden Night Island had no dealings with the six states, but that was only in the political sense. In truth, people from the island still had to leave to procure supplies and carry out tasks assigned by the Island Lord.

Raz P.ʼs Thoughts

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Description:

In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succumb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.

When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.

The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.

From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.

***

Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.

After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, ”Scared?”

Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!”

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, ”The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?”

Shi Dai replied, ”Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!”

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, ”Donʼt abandon me, alri—”

Shi Dai responded, ”Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah.”

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

He hasnʼt finished his lines yet though…