Scent Of Time

Chapter 44

I had no intention of saying much and prepared to leave, but Zhong Xiwu did not let me go. He followed me. His face looked tired, but he still smiled, “Qianqian, a lot of things have happened during this period, and it’s not easy for me to find the time to look for you, so don’t push me away anymore, okay?”

The palace attendant had the foresight to stand far away, but this kind of sensible behavior stung my eyes, “I thought what I said that day was clear enough.”

Zhong Xiwu looked at me without annoyance. “I have waited for so long. I don’t mind waiting for you some more time, waiting for you to accept me.”

“Your Majesty, you always think of problems too simply. It’s not just you and me between us,” I replied.

Zhong Xiwu’s expression looked like he wanted to laugh as he said, “Are you now saying that an emperor thinks simply?”

Knowing that he deliberately misinterpreted my meaning, I turned around and walked away. He carelessly continued to speak after me, “Qianqian, you are also interested in me, aren’t you? I know you’ve always been overly worried, but what I said that day still stands. You can always turn your head to find me.”

“I said there is no need ……”

“I won’t listen to anything you say now,” Zhong Xiwu interrupted me. “Qianqian, you just need to know I’ve always been waiting for you.”

Facing Zhong Xiwu’s eyes, which seemed like they could drown a person, I felt bitter at the bottom of my heart and eventually fled in haste.

After returning to the Hua Mansion, I kept my door closed until the guards monitoring King Jin’s Mansion said they had seen a figure going in and out of the Mansion and that the movements were quite stealthy. The person accidentally revealed his trail on the King Jin Mansion’s opposite street. Luckily, the guards were vigilant and felt that the sudden appearance of that person was strange, so they paid attention to it. Unsurprisingly, after waiting for about half an hour, I saw a few masked figures pass by and immediately shouted: “Catch them.”

Those few figures seem to have never thought someone would be here waiting, so they panicked and messed up. Coupled with the fact that I had brought at least a hundred Hua Mansion guards, those four people were outnumbered and gradually lost the upper hand.

One of the man-in-black finally couldn’t hold back and roared at me, “Damn you, Hua Qian. Do you want me dead?”

I pretended not to hear and smiled at the pedestrians who occasionally passed by, “Our servant escaped. We are catching escaped slaves.”

The pedestrians half-believed but did not intervene. The four black-clothed men gradually received wounds on their bodies, and the black-clothed man who had just opened his mouth said again: “Hua Qian, killing the prince of another country, can you afford this crime?”

“Prince?” I pricked my ears, “Which prince?”

The man in black couldn’t bear it anymore and finally cursed, “I am Wu Shuomo.”

I smiled coldly, “Bold servant! The ambassador and his party left the capital a long time ago. How dare you pretend to be the prince of another country. Beat him hard.”

So what if Wu Shuomo has high martial arts skills? With only four people and not to the extent of fighting one against a hundred. Blame it on his carelessness, thinking that no one knew where he was, so he let his guard down like this. Moreover, he did not dare to make a big fuss to call for help in this capital. His identity might raise diplomatic issues if exposed. I dared to arrest people willfully, but he dared not to call for help so he would be stretched to the limit and lost.

The head guard at the side was slightly worried and approached me to speak, “Miss, this is getting bigger. I’m afraid it will be bad if it alarms the capital…”

I replied unhurriedly, “I just want to make a big fuss. I still don’t think it’s big enough. Go and publicize it tomorrow. It’s best to make a big deal out of it. Just say that the Hua Mansion has captured four escaped slaves at the foot of the mountain.”

The head guard hesitated momentarily but did not dare to say anything more. Seeing that the four had all gone half-dead, I spoke up and called a halt, ordering people to surround them. I moved closer and spoke, “If you surrender now, I’ll stop here, and we’ll have a good discussion; otherwise…we won’t rest until you’re dead.”

The three black men looked together at the person in the center who had been talking. That person hesitated for a long time before dropping the sword in his hand, and the guards swarmed up, tying them up and escorting them to me. I picked off his mask, revealing Wu Shuomo’s face, which looked at me with gritted teeth.

I laughed softly and said, “It’s been a long time, Grand Prince.”

The next day, just as I expected, a rumor spread in the capital about Hua Mansion chasing fugitive slaves; even Zhong Xiwu sent someone to ask about it. I casually found words to make an excuse, and he no longer asked questions.

In the woodshed, I sat on a stool while Wu Shuomo was tied up and thrown on the ground, looking like a twisted caterpillar.

“Hua Qian, I underestimated your ruthlessness.” Wu Shuomo glared at me.

“Ruthless?” I looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Only you are allowed to slaughter at the banquet, but you don’t allow others to resist?”

Wu Shuomo’s face changed. He spoke, “How did you know?”

I did not speak, walked to his side, twisted the bracelet into a small knife, and cut open the shirt on his arm; a knife wound came into view, obviously not a new injury.

“It was you down in the valley.” I played with the knife in my hand.

Wu Shuomo stared at me and asked, “How did you know?”

“How did I know? Should I say that Mu Yao betrayed you?” I tilted my head to look at him.

His face changed, but he instantly returned to his usual self, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I snorted lightly, “It’s a truly touching and deep love. I wonder if Mu Yao would be touched if she knew about it. What do you think I should give her as a gift that would make her instantly recognize it’s you? Fingers? An ear? Or eyes?” While saying this, I spun the knife and swept my eyes over him.

Wu Shuomo’s eyes turned red with anger at me, “You poisonous woman.”

I walked before him and squatted, “Or maybe a tongue is better. You can’t spit out good words with this mouth anyway.”

Wu Shuomo’s body retreated, dodging my hand that reached out to grab his face, and yelled at me, “If you have anything, come at me.”

I frowned and pretended to be puzzled, “Am I not coming at you? The tongue I’m going to cut is yours, the fingers I’m going to chop are yours, and the eyes I’m going to poke are yours.”

In the novels I’ve read, Hua Qian escaped from the brothel and became somewhat neurotic and blackened. This look was similar to the one I’m using now.

Wu Shuono closed his eyes, seemingly holding back. Only after a long time did he open his eyes to look at me, “Hua Qian, didn’t you say that if I surrendered, there would be something to discuss?”

I withdrew my knife and put away my smile, “Have you ever given me the chance to talk properly?”

“The ones who assassinated you at the banquet…were not my men.” Wu Shuomo spoke first without waiting for me to ask.

“Then who was it?”
“I don’t know.”

I laughed softly. “That is to say, there are other people mixed in with your people?”

Wu Shuomo lowered his head and said, “Yes.”

“Then what was the reason for your assassination?” I narrowed my eyes and asked.

Wu Shuomo’s lips moved, but he eventually hung his head and stopped speaking.

“I already know, even if you don’t say it, you’re in my hands anyway. I’ll wait to see if Mu Yao comes looking for you.”

“You should not disturb her.” Wu Shuomo spoke after hearing these words.

“On what grounds?” I replied expressionlessly.

“She …… and I are already completely separated, so you should not disturb her because of my business.” Wu Shuomo’s eyes were full of self-righteous love.

If I didn’t still have some sense, I wanted to take a knife and stick a few in his body: “Why should I care about your relationships? Do you think your deep love will touch me and let me fulfill you two bitter lovebirds?”

My mockery did not anger Wu Shuomo. He looked at me and spoke, “You already know the reason, don’t you? Why bother going to her to ask more questions.”

I got up and walked out, “It’s only after asking that I have a reason to negotiate.”

Behind me came Wu Shuo Mo’s voice: “You are very different from before, no wonder …… she has a sense of crisis.”

My footsteps lurched before I strode out without turning back. The next few days, Hua Mansion was not peaceful. Every night, there was a set of people’s night visits, but they dared not have too much action, and ultimately, all returned without success. It was Wu Shuo Mo’s weakness; after all, nominally, he left the Capital City a long time ago. Whether it was his people or Mu Yao’s, they didn’t dare to make a big fuss about the search. I was bored of waiting and frequently received the invitation of Noble Consort Qi, so I went into the palace to attend the appointment.