Chapter 43: Siblings
This so-called brother-sister relationship was utterly nauseating.
Late that night, when Li Youqing saw Cong Ying again, the woman seemed completely transformed.
Dressed in a tight-fitting night suit, she was accompanied by two burly men similarly clad in dark martial attire.
Seeing Li Youqing not only awake but already packed and waiting in her room, Cong Ying sighed in relief: “Thank you for your consideration, Princess. The carriage awaits outside. Please change your clothes.”
With that, Cong Ying handed her a set of men’s clothing.
Noting how the two guards had discreetly withdrawn outside, Li Youqing remained silent and quickly changed.
All household lights had been extinguished, leaving the countryside enveloped in tranquility—a different world compared to daytime.
Finally leaving the small courtyard she’d inhabited for days, Li Youqing cast a fleeting glance at the large recliner at the foot of the bed, her eyes clouded with transient emotions.
Steeling herself, she turned and departed without looking back.
The carriage raced through the night. Arriving at the city gates, Li Youqing expected obstacles, but when she lifted the curtain, she froze.
A dense crowd knelt on the ground, restrained by twenty-odd Golden Blade Guards wearing silver masks and gold-threaded dark patterned black robes, their movements completely restricted.
The carriage passed through the gates unimpeded, only stopping when it reached desolate outskirts.
Cong Ying lifted the carriage curtain and announced respectfully: “Princess, we’ve arrived.”
Frowning, Li Youqing followed her gaze to see a golden-roofed carriage made of black nanmu wood parked roadside, drawn by two gleaming Black Steeds.
Its curtain was made of luxurious cloud-patterned brocade, flapping vigorously in the night wind. Occasionally, a glimpse of white robe flashed within—dragon patterns embroidered in dark silver—making her heart race with just a glance.
Both the carriage and its occupant clearly stood apart from Ming City’s overall atmosphere.
Hadn’t Jin Cheng been waiting for her at Ten-Mile Slope? What was happening now? Contemplating one possibility, Li Youqing held her breath.
The sea-blue cloud-patterned brocade was drawn aside by a jade-like slender hand, its pale finger adorned with an exquisite jade thumb ring.
Meeting those familiar eyes, Li Youqing stood utterly stunned.
The curtain opened fully to reveal the Crown Prince seated solemnly in the carriage’s center, his gaze fixed ahead.
The Crown Prince had always resembled brilliant stars and moon, his demeanor as gentle as polished ink.
Yet careful observation revealed profound emotions simmering beneath his elegant exterior—still waters running deep beyond containment.
For the legitimate heir of Daliang to risk his person in such a place… What could he be thinking?
Seeing the little princess react not with delight but with a horrified expression upon noticing him, Li Jing’s eyes darkened. He rose, stepped down from the carriage, and extended his hand toward her.
His wide sleeves brushed past her delicate knees as he moved to help her down as he’d always done.
Inside the carriage, Li Youqing dressed in boy’s clothing appeared younger than her actual age.
Her cheeks were rosy, her lips vermilion, but beyond youthful innocence now lingered a woman’s allure—surpassing even the beauty of the kingdom-toppling concubine Sima Shi.
Li Jing stood nearby, examining her from head to toe without missing a single strand of hair.
When he spotted the faint red mark on her earlobe, resembling a mosquito bite, his expression shifted abruptly before he forced a calm demeanor. “Imperial Sister, I’ve come to take you back to the palace,” he said.
He still maintained that gentle and refined appearance, momentarily making Li Youqing feel as if she had returned to the past.
But soon she remembered why she had ended up in the northwest and why she had suffered so much hardship.
Li Youqing shook her head firmly, brushed off his hand, and said coldly, “I won’t go with you.”
“The northwest remains under the rebel king’s control. It won’t be long before I personally lead troops to suppress the rebellion. If you refuse to leave, Imperial Sister, are you abandoning Father Emperor and Daliang, the land that raised you?” Li Jing’s tone grew resolute and forceful. “Don’t forget, you are Daliang’s Third Princess. You must never align yourself with the rebel king’s followers!”
“Who was it that sent me to the northwest to become Zhenbei Wang’s plaything? How dare you speak of such things? If not for your secret dealings with Zhenbei Wang and those underhanded schemes, would I have fled the imperial city and ended up in this state?” Li Youqing’s emotions flared, and she made as if to jump off the carriage and return to Aunt Chen’s courtyard.
“So this is how you see me!” Li Jing took a deep breath, suppressing the pain in his heart. Seeing her refusal to accompany him, his expression darkened. “Imperial Sister, do you still remember how I treated you when you first arrived at Changxin Palace?”
Li Youqing halted her steps, drawn into memories by his words.
When she was seven, she fell ill with a persistent high fever. Coincidentally, Father Emperor was away on an inspection tour, so Aunt Zisu carried her to Changxin Palace, pleading tearfully with the Empress to save her.
But the Empress was also absent from the palace at the time. The people of Changxin Palace, wary of Shu Fei, though pitying the delirious little princess, dared not offer assistance recklessly.
It happened that the Crown Prince was passing by. Upon hearing the situation, he immediately carried the little princess to the East Palace himself, arranging for imperial physicians to treat her.
Li Youqing had always been frail, and Shu Fei intentionally neglected her, refusing to summon imperial physicians. Instead, she only fed her sedatives to keep her from crying.
The delay led to a chronic cough.
Later, the imperial physicians said that if treatment had been delayed another day, it would have damaged her lungs, possibly leaving her with a lifelong ailment.
No matter how Shu Fei usually treated her, when seriously ill, a child naturally yearns for her birth mother.
At night, Li Youqing cried incessantly. Even when the Empress finally arrived, she was helpless against the willful little princess in her sickness.
To comfort his imperial sister, Li Jing ordered various trinkets to be brought from outside the palace, devising new ways daily to amuse her until the little princess stopped crying and began obediently taking medicine to recover.
It was from that recovery onward that Li Youqing grew closer to the Crown Prince. She not only followed him studying during the day but often sneaked over at night, clinging to the East Palace and refusing to leave.
During that time, she seemed to transfer all her attachment to her birth mother onto her half-brother.
As time passed, she gradually forgot that there had ever been such a person as her birth mother.
Now, the Crown Prince had deliberately evoked these memories, filling Li Youqing’s heart with bitterness. She turned to face him squarely. “It was you, Imperial Brother, who first made a choice between your sister and the throne.”
Li Jing averted his gaze and sighed. “This is no time for willfulness. Get in the carriage first. I will explain everything to you clearly.”
Her hand was taken in his, a gentle warmth flowing through their touch. Before Li Youqing could gather her thoughts, she was already being led by the Crown Prince into the golden-roofed carriage.
The interior was filled with a faint, cool fragrance—the scent of Night Lo Flower, which she had once adored.
Unfortunately, the Crown Prince did not know it had now become the flower she detested most.
As the carriage began to move, Li Jing’s expression softened slightly. His large hand stroked her head with a tender, reverent care, as if handling a long-lost treasure.
Li Youqing turned her head away, murmuring in a muffled voice, “Didn’t Imperial Brother say you would explain? I’m listening now.”
A flicker of hurt passed through Li Jing’s eyes. His voice deepened as he said, “All these years, the kindness I’ve shown you seems to have vanished from your mind. Just a few words of provocation from others, and you thought yourself clever enough to flee the palace. Youqing, you have truly disappointed me!”
He had once hated himself for developing forbidden feelings toward his sister. Now, having regained her after losing her, he despised even more those who stood in their way.
That eunuch Zhang Heng would be dealt with in due time. As for those who had harmed her in the northwest—not a single one would escape his retribution.
Li Youqing stared at him blankly, momentarily overwhelmed by the intensity emanating from him. Finally, she whispered softly, “Imperial Brother.”
“Mm.” Li Jing responded immediately, his voice betraying a slight tremor despite his usual restraint.
He closed his eyes, convincing himself that he would deceive her just this one last time.
“The reason I did what I did was to prevent you from marrying into the northwest.” The Crown Prince drew a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to her. “Read it. The Sima Family and Zhenbei Wang had struck a deal to marry you into the princely estate. Moreover, Shu Fei had already reported this to the Empress Dowager, who personally issued the decree.”
Li Jing frowned. “At the time, Father Emperor was still unconscious, and I was isolated and powerless. To stop this, I secretly orchestrated that feigned death.”
Hearing that it was her birth mother’s doing once again, Li Youqing felt nothing but profound irony.
After reading the letter, she clenched her hands into tight fists, leaning against the carriage wall in deep sorrow.
Feeling guilty, Li Jing tried to comfort her. “Do not worry, Imperial Sister. Father Emperor has awakened now, and you need not fear anyone forcing you into marriage.”
“Imperial Brother, is all of this true?” Li Youqing held back her tears, her voice choked with emotion. “You will really take me back to the capital to see Father Emperor? You’re not deceiving me, planning to send me to someone else?”
Gazing at her innocent, youthful face, Li Jing felt a moment of hesitation—should he bring her back to the palace, let her resume her life as the cherished little princess?
But then he recalled the desires he had suppressed through countless late nights and the thought of her spending days and nights with another man these past few days. Ruthlessly, he dismissed the idea.
Only if she were no longer a princess could they be together without hindrance.
He was confident that no one in the world could treat her better than he did.
Ten years of companionship had made him familiar with her every preference, every subtle gesture, and every fleeting thought.
This affection was forbidden by societal norms and could very well lead him into an abyss of ruin—
Yet, upon discovering they shared no blood relation, he found himself unable to sever these feelings. He had even risked his life to pursue her to the northwest.
He only regretted that he could not yet be completely honest with her. He had to wait until the situation became clearer before they could truly understand and love each other.
“Could it be that all these days, Imperial Sister has only been concerned about Father Emperor, with no thought for me at all?” Concealing his ulterior motives, Li Jing maintained a calm and gentle demeanor.
She had even asked him earlier which mattered more to him—the imperial throne or her.
He couldn’t help but envision how, upon returning to the capital and securing his imperial sister in a safe place, he would make her understand just how absurd that question truly was.
Li Youqing remained silent for a long moment until the Crown Prince’s gentle chuckle sounded by her ear: “Never mind, it was all a misunderstanding. But after we return to the capital, you’ll need to stay at the suburban estate first. Only after I’ve cleaned up the mess in the palace can I restore your identity as princess.”
Remembering the previous fake death arrangement, Li Youqing understood she couldn’t appear publicly yet, or it would become a royal scandal.
She reluctantly nodded and muttered: “As long as you don’t marry me off to that wretched old Zhenbei Wang, I’ll follow Imperial Brother’s arrangements.”
~
Outside the City
The battle had just ended, the aura of bloodshed still clinging to Xuan Rui’s body. As he prepared to return to Ming City to fetch Li Youqing and bring her to the military camp, intelligence from scouts arrived.
Yesterday, Zhenbei Wang had dispatched his entire personal guard to Ten-Mile Slope, seemingly to capture some important figure, even setting up an inescapable net.
Yet they appeared to have been fooled in the end—turning Ten-Mile Slope inside out yielded nothing.
Today, all border checkpoints were conducting strict inspections. The men sent by the prince’s estate carried portraits of a man and woman, arresting anyone who bore even slight resemblance to the images.
When the portraits were unrolled, Xuan Rui felt all blood drain from his face, wishing he could seize the woman in the painting and strangle her immediately.
Without even changing out of his armor, he found a fast horse and rushed toward the border with a darkened expression.
He knew it—he should never have trusted that woman again.
He’d given her his whole heart, only for her to turn around and run off with another man.
Did she think she could quietly return to the palace like this?—
He wanted to see what capabilities that pretty boy possessed to help her escape Zhenbei Wang’s pursuit.
Seeing the General depart in haste right after fighting all night, Xiao Ziqi grew concerned and quickly mounted his horse to follow.
Ming City wasn’t far from the border. Two hours later, Xiao Ziqi nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
Indeed, the prince’s personal guards were conducting inspections everywhere. Among the coming and going merchants and travelers, any young man and woman traveling together were being stopped.
Xuan Rui had men specializing in helping people cross borders, their longstanding network more extensive and efficient than the prince’s estate.
Soon, they identified over ten Daliang nationals who had purchased border passes in recent days.
After half an hour of elimination, only one sibling pair remained—they had entered Baoyue Brothel at Yin hour this morning and never reemerged.
Now with darkness fallen, it meant they had spent the entire day alone together in a room.
Xuan Rui felt his blood freeze, remembering that charming face as a fresh wound seemed to tear open in his chest, bleeding profusely.
Baoyue Brothel was originally a rather obscure singing house opened by a wealthy Daliang merchant. Though decorated with elegant simplicity, having never deliberately catered to market tastes, its business had remained sparse over the years.
Had he not tracked them here, he wouldn’t have noticed this was actually a royal property.
Upon entering Baoyue Brothel, both men immediately sensed something unusual.
Despite the “Closed” sign hanging outside, the main hall remained in operation with twenty or thirty men dressed as commoners sitting at tables in small groups.
With one sweeping glance, Xuan Rui recognized these “commoners” shared similar builds, all appearing to be trained fighters.
That pretty boy had brought quite a few guards from the capital—perfect for venting his pent-up frustrations first.
The Golden Blade Guards in disguise, seeing these two meant trouble, all rose and closed in.
But just then, a commotion erupted outside the door. Dozens of officers and soldiers burst in together, breaking down the door and immediately launching into a fight.
Xuan Rui had already drawn his sword, but was interrupted midway. Instructing Xiao Ziqi to guard downstairs, he took advantage of the chaos to head straight upstairs to search.
On the second floor, a whole row of private rooms stretched before him. He searched them one by one. As he neared the end, he heard a familiar crying sound.
His heart clenched. He thought to himself, she had finally reunited with her lover—why was she still weeping and wailing?
A surge of anger rose in his chest. He stood frozen at the door, listening as she cried and said to the man, “Zhenbei Wang is after me. Why haven’t you left? What if something happens?”
“With my dear sister caring so much for me, even dying in the northwest would be worth it.” Li Jing’s heart warmed. He picked up the sword from the table and reached out a hand to take Li Youqing’s.
“But I don’t want you to die!” Li Youqing shook off his hand, crying loudly. “Why did you hide those things from me? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand so we could discuss it together? Now it’s too late—we can’t go back anymore.”
Hearing the sounds of fighting downstairs, Li Jing pulled Li Youqing along, about to escape through a hidden door in the room.
Just from these few lines of dialogue, it was clear how deeply attached these two were to each other. Xuan Rui, furious to the extreme, let out a cold, mocking laugh, his eyes icy with disdain.
That day when he led the troops to battle, she hadn’t shown the slightest concern for his safety. Even if he died on the battlefield today, it wouldn’t earn him a moment of her pity.
What “brother” and “sister”—so sickeningly sweet, it was downright disgusting!
Xuan Rui kicked the door open and saw them standing hand in hand in the room. Both were exceptionally good-looking, with noble bearing, and together they created an aura all their own.
In contrast, he was steeped in the thick scent of blood and slaughter—clearly incompatible with people like them.
Li Youqing hadn’t expected to see Xuan Rui here again and was momentarily stunned.
Imperial Brother had said that all those sent to capture them were dispatched by Zhenbei Wang. Did that mean he, too, had come on Zhenbei Wang’s orders to arrest her?
Seeing the two men—one in front, one behind—simultaneously draw their weapons, on the verge of clashing, Li Youqing, in a moment of desperation, threw herself at Xuan Rui. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pleaded through tears, “Stop!”