Chapter Twenty-Four: Your Life Belongs to You

"I don't care!" Feng Jinye's gaze lingered on the burn mark on Weishao Qingyu's hand. His voice was harsh, full of menace. "Whoever dared harm you, I won't spare a single one!"

Weishao Qingyu was caught off guard, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor.

"You? Aren't you suspicious that I'm a spy? That I'm here for military power? That I have ulterior motives? That even though I failed to kill you, I'm here to assassinate you again?" She fired off a string of questions.

Feng Jinye, uncharacteristically, pulled her closer, his eyes resting on the reddened skin on the back of her right hand. His elegant brows furrowed, and he lowered his head to gently blow on the wound...

After blowing on it, Feng Jinye retrieved a burn ointment from a drawer, applying it as he spoke. "If you desire my life, I will give it to you!"

A smile curled at Weishao Qingyu's lips. She knew that blowing on a wound was useless, but her heart was deeply moved.

His words and actions were so unexpected that she couldn't help but remark, "You're acting very strangely today."

Feng Jinye realized his own words had been reckless, and that holding her hand was too intimate. He struggled to explain, "Twelve years ago, you and your father saved the current emperor outside Yue Capital."

Weishao Qingyu knew her father had once saved the emperor, but had not known that she herself had been there.

Seeing she didn't recall, Feng Jinye continued, "I was there as well, injured. You bandaged my wound. My life was saved by you. If you ask for it, I will give it to you!"

Since awakening from her drunken stupor, Weishao Qingyu had suspected from the pair of eyes Feng Jinye painted that he had met her as a child.

She hadn't expected it to be like this. She murmured, "Before I turned thirteen, I never appeared before outsiders. How did you recognize me?"

"You—" Feng Jinye only managed one word before Weishao Qingyu cut him off.

"No!" She nearly let him sidetrack her, but quickly recovered, "What you just told me is completely unrelated to what you said earlier in Zhi Yu Pavilion. You're just trying to brush me off!"

Feng Jinye knew he couldn't hide much from her; he hadn't expected her to see through him so quickly.

He looked at her for a long moment, worry filling his eyes. Unable to conceal the truth, he confessed, "There is a sword identical to Cangyuan, missing for over thirty years. I never expected it to resurface twelve years ago—and you saw it."

Weishao Qingyu could infer that those who had seen this sword had all become ghosts beneath the earth—so she was a survivor?

Suddenly, she realized that the original Qingyu had been poisoned at a poetry gathering at thirteen. Could it be connected?

"Why didn't you ask about Cangyuan before? You even drew it to kill the assassin that day!" Feng Jinye guessed this had something to do with her detoxification.

She took a deep breath, trying not to recall the scene of Cangyuan held to her mother's throat, and explained, "When I was thirteen, I fell seriously ill and forgot everything before then. On New Year's Eve, as I detoxified myself, my whole body felt engulfed in flames. In my dreams, I remembered the burning of the Weishao family and my mother's murder."

She regretted living so freely after transmigrating, never considering her father or her family's fate.

"Everything I know of the past was told to me by Qingxia and Xuechun. I never understood why my father claimed I was surnamed Lu, why I had to wear a veil when I went out, why I worked so hard at martial arts. Now I understand." She realized it was all for her protection. But why then did the original Qingyu still get poisoned at the poetry gathering?

Feng Jinye recalled the night she detoxified herself, his heart still uneasy. He knew she was suffering, and soothed her softly, "It's all behind you now. From now on, I will protect you."

She looked at him, pondering his earlier words, and wondered if he'd switched from fasting to indulging in sweets.

Feeling awkward under her gaze, he changed the subject, "From today, focus only on investigating your father's death."

His tone was gentle at first, then suddenly commanding and stern, "Your mother's death and the Weishao family—I'll investigate those. You must not interfere. Do you understand?"

Even though she wanted to investigate her mother's death, she would have started with Feng Jinye's sword Cangyuan—so letting him handle it seemed reasonable. She nodded.

He relaxed, seeing her compliance, and asked, "How do you intend to deal with the rumors outside?"

"Let them ferment for now," she replied indifferently. "If Luo Yanqing thinks I'm the legitimate daughter of the Lu family, she'll dig up Lu Yanran's background, likely uncovering Lin Rui and Lin Yichu as well."

"But you suspect she knows you're Weishao Qingyu, so she may expose that the Princess of Zhan is Weishao Qingyu, and accuse you of treason." The slander surrounding her father's supposed betrayal would be the greatest weapon against her.

Even if her identity is revealed, she already has countermeasures in mind.

"If you have a plan, act quickly. Don't let your identity get entangled; the more people know, the worse it is for you." Feng Jinye's words made her realize he was like her father, shielding her beneath his wings.

She wondered what he was thinking, but then heard him say coldly, "If Luo Yanqing learns your identity, I cannot let her live."

She was startled—clearly he was hiding something from her, but since he wasn't saying, she wouldn't press further. She'd leave it to him.

She worried he might simply bury Luo Yanqing, so she cautioned, "We should test her first. It's hard to tell which of her words are true, which are feigned, which are manipulated. The more she says, the more confusing it gets. We should probe her motives first."

Luo Yanqing was also linked to the Empress Dowager and Yunming. She thought the Empress Dowager wouldn't be hard to deal with—the real challenge was curing Yunming's illness. She asked, "How is Yunming's illness?"

Since New Year's Eve, after the palace banquet, Yunming had feigned illness. On the first day, Qingyu detoxified herself; on the second, she quarreled fiercely with Feng Jinye; now on the third day, she felt guilty—she still didn't know what poison Yunming had.

Feng Jinye was also troubled by Yunming's toxin. "Imperial Physician Leng suspects it's a poison from the former Xiyan Kingdom."

She understood Xiyan poisons well—unless the antidote was found, there was no hope.

She guessed as much, and asked, "Did Imperial Physician Leng say what dangers might arise before the antidote is found?"

"We will find the antidote," Feng Jinye said, not mentioning any dangers.

But she read urgency and helplessness in his eyes—the time left was short.

"Yes, we will find the antidote," she said firmly.

Xiyan once had a palace of poisons, but a year ago, when Li Yue's army captured Xiyan's capital, the palace was completely destroyed.

The poison on her face also originated from Xiyan. Suddenly, she remembered the person who delivered her antidote. "Feng Jinye, my antidote was sent to the Duke's Mansion by a man in black. Perhaps we can find Yunming's antidote through him."

She had once suspected the man in black was Huangfu Chen. She thought he avoided appearing because of military power, but if it was Huangfu Chen, surely after nearly two months of marriage, he would have contacted them by now.

But if it wasn't Huangfu Chen, who else knew she was poisoned and needed an antidote?

Feng Jinye nodded. The mention of the man in black reminded him of the assassin sent to test Qingyu, who came from the Twilight Pavilion.

But why would the Twilight Pavilion send a third-rate assassin to the Prince of Zhan's mansion?

He didn't know why Qingyu was poisoned, nor why someone sent her an antidote, but now he no longer suspected her of any connection with Xiyan.

She also sensed his inexplicable trust. Was it truly because she saved him as a child?

"Will you save the emperor?" She knew the current emperor had been entrusted to Feng Jinye by the late emperor. Now the Empress Dowager wanted to adopt Yunming as her son, which meant the emperor's days were numbered.

If they needed to find an antidote, and Feng Jinye wanted to save the emperor, preparations were necessary.

"If Yunming recovers, the emperor's life is safe. If we find the antidote, he can be saved as well." Feng Jinye's meaning was clear: the emperor could be saved, but Yunming must be saved first.

Qingyu burst out laughing, teasing, "Isn't the Prince of Zhan supposed to worry for the world before all others?"

Her address of "Prince of Zhan" was entirely different from the one she used earlier in Zhi Yu Pavilion. Feng Jinye couldn't help but smile.

He didn't answer, and she sighed, "If only the Empress Dowager could enjoy the nation's happiness only after ensuring the people's welfare, and the emperor were a puppet, I wouldn't complain. Anyway, the weather is fine and the country is safe."

"But she should never have harmed Yunming!" Both she and Feng Jinye were fiercely protective, unwilling to let anyone bully their loved ones.

But dealing with the Empress Dowager would inevitably bring turmoil to the court. In history, every upheaval in court had been a river of blood.

"Isn't the emperor the Empress Dowager's own son? Why would she harm him?" Qingyu murmured, unable to understand the lure of power—it was like a wild horse that could never be reined in.

Feng Jinye knew she disliked political strife and explained, "The emperor's poison came from an assassination attempt years ago; it has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager."

She was stunned, then quickly grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. "Are you poisoned?"

She was flustered—she had checked his pulse countless times before.

He was surprised and asked, "You know medicine?"

"Yes, Huangfu Chen taught me." She knew a little, enough to discern his pulse was strong and healthy, with no signs of poisoning.

Feng Jinye fell silent. Between them, there was still Huangfu Chen.

She noticed his expression but didn't know how to explain her relationship with Huangfu Chen.

"Feng Jinye, I..." She had barely begun when he interrupted, "I know. Huangfu is different to you."

Her heart ached. It was true, but not in the way he imagined.

"Yes, different—like how you feel about Feng Qingxuan. Do you understand?" she said.

Feng Jinye was momentarily stunned. Did she mean she and Huangfu Chen were siblings?

But how to explain that vow-like declaration at the palace banquet three years ago?

"Then three years ago, at the palace banquet..." Before he could finish, she hurriedly said, "That was you!"

He wondered if Qingyu had mistaken Huangfu Chen for him.