Chu Tianjiao made her way to the Fourth Prince's Manor, guided by memory.
Her engagement to Lu Zhaoling had been decreed by the emperor himself.
Not wanting to implicate her family, Chu Tianjiao planned to take matters into her own hands. She intended to go to Lu Zhaoling's residence and incapacitate him, preventing him from attending the wedding ceremony at the Marquis of Liyang Mansion the next day.
In her previous life, Chu Tianjiao had married Lu Zhaoling at the age of fifteen and lived in this Fourth Prince's Manor until she was nineteen.
She knew this residence like the back of her hand.
After scaling the back wall, Chu Tianjiao deftly avoided the guards and climbed onto the roof of Lu Zhaoling's study.
Covering her face with a veil, Chu Tianjiao lifted a roof tile to peer inside.
As expected, Lu Zhaoling was in his study, but across from him sat a middle-aged man.
From her vantage point, Chu Tianjiao couldn't make out the man's features clearly enough to identify him, so she decided to hold off on any rash actions.
Their conversation carried clearly to Chu Tianjiao's ears.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. After tomorrow's marriage to the Chu family's eldest daughter, with the support of the Marquis of Liyang Mansion, you'll be like a tiger that has grown wings. Your great ambitions will soon be within reach."
"Ah, but the Chu family isn't so easily controlled. Who knows if they've agreed to this marriage with some hidden agenda of their own."
"That's true. When the time comes for Your Highness to ascend the throne, the Chu family could become a significant threat."
"The Chu family won't have a choice. As long as Chu Tianjiao doesn't bear any children, even if they become imperial in-laws, they'll be like a tree without roots. I have my own plans for dealing with them."
Hearing these words, Chu Tianjiao trembled with anger, thinking to herself:
"So Lu Zhaoling was already plotting to give me drugs to prevent pregnancy even before our wedding."
Chu Tianjiao also recognized the voice of the middle-aged man as Xun Lang, Lu Zhaoling's trusted strategist.
Xun Lang cautioned Lu Zhaoling:
"The Crown Prince and the other princes are wary of Your Highness's alliance with the Chu family. You should be on your guard tomorrow."
Lu Zhaoling's response was filled with disdain:
"What is there to fear? Unless a rock falls from the sky right now and blocks my path to the wedding tomorrow, Chu Tianjiao won't escape my grasp."
...
No sooner had Lu Zhaoling finished speaking than a roof tile came hurtling down from above, propelled by a powerful force.
Chu Tianjiao had put her full strength behind it, and blood immediately began streaming from Lu Zhaoling's head.
"Who's there? Catch the assassin!"
Lu Zhaoling's hidden guards appeared and leapt onto the roof, just in time to see Chu Tianjiao's retreating figure.
"How reckless of me!" Chu Tianjiao berated herself silently.
She thought of how, in her previous life, the Chu family had served the country loyally for generations, only to be completely uprooted by Lu Zhaoling's decade-long scheme.
Despite being husband and wife, he had given her drugs to prevent pregnancy. During her days in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Chu Tianjiao had longed to tear Lu Zhaoling apart and carve out his heart.
After three years of pent-up frustration, seeing Lu Zhaoling again and hearing him plot against her, Chu Tianjiao simply couldn't contain her anger.
Fortunately, as long as she hadn't killed Lu Zhaoling, she could say whatever she wanted. As long as he still wanted to use her, he wouldn't dare do anything to her.
Of course, it would be best if she wasn't caught at all.
The hidden guards pursued Chu Tianjiao relentlessly, staying no more than twenty meters behind her.
Chu Tianjiao's martial arts skills far surpassed those of the guards.
However, she hadn't anticipated that her newly reborn body wouldn't have the same coordination as before.
An arrow whistled towards Chu Tianjiao.
She stumbled slightly, and the arrow struck her shoulder.
"Just my luck!" she cursed.
Chu Tianjiao continued sprinting towards Zhuque Street.
She leapt down to street level and began weaving through the small alleys surrounding Zhuque Street, trying to shake off her pursuers.
Suddenly, she encountered a patrol from the City Patrol Department. Their leader, a young officer with a jade-like complexion, was clad in iron armor and wielding a long halberd, cutting an imposing figure.
The young officer was about to stop Chu Tianjiao, noticing her masked appearance.
Chu Tianjiao almost called out "Second Cousin," but held her tongue, mindful of the other patrol members.
In a flash, Chu Tianjiao pulled down her face covering, winked at the young officer, and dashed away.
The officer was momentarily stunned, silently muttering, "What is Big Cousin up to now?"
The hidden guards from the Fourth Prince's Manor caught up.
The young officer raised his halberd, blocking their path.
"Who are you? How dare you run through the inner city armed at night?"
By the time the guard had explained to the patrol leader that the Fourth Prince had been attacked and they were pursuing the assassin, Chu Tianjiao was long gone.
The other guards from the Fourth Prince's Manor joined forces with the City Patrol Department to begin a citywide search.
Chu Tianjiao continued to hide and evade, eventually climbing over a wall into a courtyard. She realized she had entered the back garden of the famous brothel in the capital — the Surprising Swan Pavilion.
Chu Tianjiao ducked into an outhouse, gritting her teeth as she snapped off the arrow shaft in her shoulder and tossed it into the pit.
Fearing discovery, she left the outhouse and climbed up to the second floor of the Surprising Swan Pavilion. Peering through a window, she almost lost her grip and fell in shock.
Sang Shen, no, Lu Dingfeng — what was he doing here?
How could a mere maid be visiting a brothel?
Watching Lu Dingfeng, in the body of a young girl barely in her teens, with a lecherous expression, embracing courtesans and spouting vulgar phrases, Chu Tianjiao wished she could gouge out her own eyes.
"Let him be. With the meager amount of money a little maid has, I hope he'll be able to leave this Surprising Swan Pavilion tomorrow," she thought.
Chu Tianjiao didn't linger and climbed up to the third floor.
The third floor of the Surprising Swan Pavilion housed the VIP rooms and was relatively quiet. Chu Tianjiao slipped into an empty room.
In her previous life, she had suffered dozens of injuries on the battlefield, both major and minor. The pain in her shoulder was bearable, but the arrowhead still lodged inside needed to be removed promptly.
Just as she was about to rest, footsteps approached from outside. Chu Tianjiao quickly scanned the room and hid behind a folding screen.
Judging by the footsteps, two people entered the room.
"Young Master, yesterday we received news from home..."
"Zi Chen, this young master has no interest in hearing about your family matters. Go on, play me a tune first."
From the voices, Chu Tianjiao could tell they were two men.
Recalling rumors she had heard in her past life about the Surprising Swan Pavilion catering not only to female courtesans but also to male companions, Chu Tianjiao inwardly cursed her bad luck.
She hoped that whatever "young master" this was wouldn't be too eager, and would drink himself half-drunk first, giving her a chance to slip away before any unspeakable acts occurred.
As Chu Tianjiao was pondering this, a sword suddenly thrust through the folding screen, aimed right at her.
Chu Tianjiao narrowly dodged the blade. The screen came crashing down, exposing her hiding spot.
A man dressed in a cyan-colored wide-sleeved gauze robe was poised to strike at her again with his sword, but he was stopped by a young man in a moon-white brocade robe beside him.
"Zi Chen, stop!"
Chu Tianjiao felt that this "young master" looked oddly familiar.
Those sculpted eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and cherry-red lips gave him an ethereal, androgynous beauty. Chu Tianjiao was certain she had seen him somewhere before.
"Ahem, Great King, it's me!" she blurted out.
The man in white covered his mouth and began coughing violently, as if his lungs might burst.
That title "Great King" stirred childhood memories in Chu Tianjiao.
"Beauty? Lu Yu?"
Lu Yu swayed unsteadily.
The man in cyan, seeing that the two knew each other, lowered his guard and moved to support Lu Yu, but somehow failed to reach him.
Like a willow catkin in the wind, Lu Yu inexplicably drifted towards Chu Tianjiao and, as ill luck would have it, collapsed against her.
This familiar scenario...
Chu Tianjiao's mouth fell open in surprise as she caught him, and she blurted out:
"Beauty like autumn waters, when shall we meet again?"
Lu Yu's eyes sparkled like stars, a hint of playfulness flashing across them. He nuzzled Chu Tianjiao's shoulder and responded with feigned tenderness:
"My lord shall be as steadfast as a rock, while I shall be as pliant as a reed. The reed entwines like silk, while the rock remains unmoved!"
"Great King, I'm scared!"
"My beauty, let this Great King protect you!"
Two black lines appeared on Chu Tianjiao's forehead.
This was a scene from "The Peacock Flies Southeast," a play Chu Tianjiao had heard at Prince Kang's Mansion as a child. She used to force Lu Yu to play house with her, but now that they were both grown...
This was way too embarrassing!
When they were young, Lu Yu, a member of the royal clan, had spent a few years in the capital. Because of his frail appearance, he was often bullied by other royal children.
Chu Tianjiao had been practicing martial arts since she was three and was a little tyrant in the noble circles. By chance, Lu Yu had become Chu Tianjiao's little minion for a while.
So when Lu Yu recognized Chu Tianjiao, he instinctively called her "Great King."
And because Lu Yu was so beautiful, he was often ordered by the "Great King" Chu Tianjiao to play the role of "Beauty" when they played house.
Chu Tianjiao was used to calling Lu Yu "Beauty."
The exchange they just had was one they had repeated countless times as children.
Chu Tianjiao calculated the time and realized that, including her previous life, it had been over a decade since she had last seen Lu Yu.
In her previous life, Lu Yu had been taken back to his fief by King Nan Ning at the age of ten.
When she learned that he had returned to the capital, Chu Tianjiao had already married Lu Zhaoling and was trapped in the inner quarters, with no chance to meet him.
Two years later, Chu Tianjiao heard that King Nan Ning was secretly plotting a rebellion.
It was an inconceivable rebellion.
Before King Nan Ning could even raise his troops, he died under a flurry of blades.
From then on, Lu Yu, the crown prince of King Nan Ning, disappeared without a trace.
As Lu Yu was about to lean on Chu Tianjiao's shoulder, she raised her hand and pushed against his chest, thwarting his attempt.
He noticed the wound on Chu Tianjiao's shoulder, and the playful expression on his face turned serious. He turned to the man in blue robes and said:
"Zi Chen, go guard the outside. Don't let anyone in. You know what should and shouldn't be said about what you've seen tonight, right?"
Zi Chen sheathed his sword and bowed to Lu Yu, saying, "Young master, this servant saw nothing today."
Chu Tianjiao's gaze darted between the two, filled with curiosity. Then, with a hint of regret, she asked, "Pretty boy, is he your lover?"
Lu Yu's ears turned red, and he coughed twice, covering his mouth before stammering, "Zi Chen is skilled in playing the zither. I only came to listen to his music."
Chu Tianjiao shook her head disapprovingly, clicked her tongue, but still spoke with a concerned tone:
"Since your health is poor, you shouldn't be lingering in such places of pleasure."
Lu Yu's face, originally fair and translucent, now flushed with a sickly redness, like the morning glow on a jade mountain, causing Chu Tianjiao to swallow hard.
What a pity, he's into men...
Unable to explain his relationship with Zi Chen, Lu Yu changed the subject after Zi Chen excused himself, asking reluctantly, "Your Highness, are you injured?"
Unable to hide the wound on her shoulder, Chu Tianjiao had to admit honestly:
"I went to teach a scoundrel a lesson and got a bit hurt in the process."
Just before coming up, Lu Yu had heard that the Fourth Prince's Manor and the City Patrol Department were searching the entire city for the assassin who had attempted to kill the Fourth Prince.
Considering that tomorrow was to be Chu Tianjiao's wedding day with the Fourth Prince, Lu Yu was somewhat surprised.
He discreetly offered to examine Chu Tianjiao's wound.
Given their childhood friendship and having just learned that Lu Yu had grown up to prefer men, Chu Tianjiao turned without hesitation, allowing Lu Yu to inspect the wound on her shoulder.
"Your Highness, if this arrowhead isn't dug out soon, I'm afraid your arm might be crippled."
"Help me dig it out!"
Chu Tianjiao pulled a dagger from her waist and handed it to Lu Yu.
Lu Yu took the dagger, his hand trembling. Chu Tianjiao reassured him, "Just cut around the arrowhead and remove it, that's all."
Lu Yu looked up, asking with reluctance, "Without any anesthetic, we're going to cut it out raw?"
Chu Tianjiao didn't even flinch, encouraging him, "Don't worry, I can handle it."
Just as they were about to begin, Zi Chen knocked and entered to report:
"Young master, many guards from the Fourth Prince's Manor have arrived downstairs, along with people from the City Patrol Department. They're searching for the assassin floor by floor."
