"Which family's young lady are you?" Xie Yu peeked out from the alley to check that the patrol of rebels had already left the street. "Your servants must be looking for you right now."
Shen Changyin followed her out of the alley. Her footsteps were as light as falling snow. "My attendants were scattered in the chaos."
"Judging by the way you look, you probably can't make it home alone."
Since she had already rescued her, she might as well go all the way. Xie Yu said, "You can stay with me for now. I'll hide you somewhere later."
"But you nobles should know more about the rebels than commoners do. Can you tell me who the rebel leader actually is?"
Shen Changyin said, "Everyone in the world knows she is ruthless, decisive, and merciless."
"She's amazing."
Xie Yu's eyes brightened. "To bring twenty thousand soldiers into the heart of a dynasty without raising an alarm, that kind of maneuver is practically a miracle. I can't even imagine how strong her control over her army must be."
Even though her entire goal tonight was to escape from this leader's forces, she still couldn't help feeling curious.
The street was nearly empty. Civilians who had been hiding earlier began to come out in small groups.
Xie Yu scanned the area, trying to spot a little child dressed in light yellow and wandering alone. "That nickname 'the Demon' feels a bit exaggerated, doesn't it?"
"Maybe not." Shen Changyin stood beside her. A faint medicinal scent clung to her, drifting into Xie Yu's nose. "What are you looking for?"
Xie Yu thought to herself that this person's health really was terrible.
Then she answered, "Did you happen to see a three or four year old child wearing a light yellow jacket and holding a dragon-shaped sugar figurine?"
"Is she related to you?"
"No." Xie Yu quickly explained how she had rescued the children and why she was searching.
After she finished, Shen Changyin said nothing. When Xie Yu turned around and saw her silent expression, she assumed she was scared.
"Don't worry. The river passage is very well hidden, over in the east side of the city. Once we find that little girl, we'll hide there too."
She tried to reassure her. "Judging by the situation, the rebel leader doesn't plan to trigger a full-scale battle just yet. By tomorrow night at the latest, everything should settle down."
Shen Changyin looked at her carefully, then suddenly said, "I saw that child in the light yellow jacket on East Third Street. She should still be there."
"That's great." Xie Yu lit up with relief and grabbed her wrist again. "Show the way. Let's run."
She pulled her along at full speed. Cold wind brushed across her face as faint directions of "left" and "right" came from behind her. After more than twenty minutes, they finally reached East Third Street.
When she turned around, Shen Changyin's usually pale face was now flushed pink. Her lips were pressed tightly together and her chest rose and fell quickly from exertion.
Xie Yu, who had dragged someone at full speed like a sled dog, scratched her head. She had forgotten that not everyone had her stamina. She awkwardly patted Shen Changyin's back.
There were very few people left on East Third Street. Several small stalls had caught fire and collapsed to the side, and the air was heavy with the smell of burning.
"Little sister!" Xie Yu shouted loudly. "Your older sister sent me to find you!"
"Little sister!"
Afraid they might get separated in the chaos, she didn't dare let go of Shen Changyin's hand. She shouted while pulling her along, scanning the tightly shuttered storefronts for a place where a child might hide.
Suddenly she heard the clatter of hooves and immediately shut her mouth.
Rebels again? Why now?
Sure enough, another mounted unit appeared at the end of the street.
Xie Yu grabbed Shen Changyin and spun around to run.
But rebels appeared on the other side as well. They were being surrounded from both directions.
The rebel leading the group closest to her had a pair of hawk-like eyes—it was the same person she had locked eyes with earlier in the alley.
So they had been discovered back then. The rebels had never intended to let them go.
Both sides closed in. Dozens of long blades reflected the flickering flames along the street. Layers of horse shadows fell over Xie Yu and Shen Changyin.
Instinctively, Xie Yu tightened her grip, as if she meant to crush something. But then she heard a soft cry of pain.
She snapped back to herself and let go of Shen Changyin's hand, lowering her voice. "I'll draw their attention. You run. As fast as you can. As far as you can."
She aimed for the blade in the leader's hand and prepared to leap forward, but a hand clamped tightly around her wrist.
Why wasn't Shen Changyin letting go?!
Xie Yu tried to pull her arm free, but before she could struggle, two gleaming blades were pressed to her shoulders.
The back of her neck went stiff.
The rebels had cleaned their blades until they shone like mirrors, reflecting firelight, but they hadn't removed the smell. A thick stench of blood rushed into her nose, nauseating.
The muscular woman with hawk-like eyes swung down from her horse. She approached step by step, her heavy armor clanging with each movement. Xie Yu's nerves pulled taut.
She was tall, broad-shouldered, imposing. Was this the rebel leader?
The woman stopped three steps away, then suddenly cupped her fists and bowed her head. "My leader, your subordinate is incompetent. We turned the palace upside down but still couldn't find the Third Princess."
It took Xie Yu two full seconds to understand what she was saying.
Leader. Who was she calling leader?
The one called the Demon?
Cold dread swept across her back.
Her neck stiffened as if it had rusted. She turned her head little by little like a winding toy and saw the person she had believed needed saving—the one who had just grabbed her hand.
She instinctively tried to yank her hand away, but it was like being wrapped by a giant serpent. She couldn't break free.
That beautiful face suddenly revealed a faint, gentle smile.
"Don't bother looking."
Shen Changyin lifted their joined hands, her prize held high.
"The Third Princess is right here."
Two soldiers stepped forward and pinned Xie Yu by the shoulders.
Her hands were tied behind her back. She watched Shen Changyin take a clean white towel and begin to wipe.
Between her fingers, her wrists, every place that had touched Xie Yu was wiped thoroughly.
The muscular woman pointed toward the rear of the formation. "Leader, the child you were looking for is back there."
Xie Yu looked up and saw a tiny figure in a light yellow coat hanging off a horse.
Little sister!
They had been together all along. When had Shen Changyin sent a message to have the rebels grab her?!
"Good." Shen Changyin handed off the towel. "There's a river passage in the east of the city. Go search it."
"What are you doing?!"
Xie Yu erupted in fury. She struggled like a trapped tiger, almost breaking free.
Four or five soldiers lunged to restrain her, pinning her down again.
Even so, anger bulged in the veins of her neck. "They're all just ordinary children!"
"Shen Changyin!"
Shen Changyin looked down at her, the flames reflected in her dark eyes.
In that instant, Xie Yu understood. The title Demon wasn't exaggerated at all.
In those eyes, she saw her own reflection. Bright with rage, yet powerless.
"She's too noisy. Make her behave." Shen Changyin straightened her posture, her robes falling gracefully.
Someone strode forward, stuffed cloth into Xie Yu's mouth, dragged her to the back of the group, and began to search her.
Even gagged, Xie Yu growled and cursed. She watched them pull a kitchen knife off her, then a packet of pear blossom cakes, then tear a jade pendant from her waist.
"So the dignified Third Princess defends herself with a kitchen knife?" one soldier teased.
Xie Yu rolled her eyes.
In a life-or-death escape, that was all she could find.
They confiscated the knife and snacks, but surprisingly fastened the jade pendant back onto her.
Xie Yu calmed down slightly and lowered her gaze to examine it.
Smooth luster, delicate texture… even an unfavored princess wouldn't carry cheap jade.
So why hadn't the soldiers tried to keep it? What kind of army had discipline like this?
They simply tied her up with a rope as thick as a thumb, wrapping her like a silkworm cocoon.
One soldier said, "That's enough. Present her."
Present her to whom?
Xie Yu was hoisted onto someone's shoulder, her stomach pressing painfully against it. She nearly vomited before they finally pulled the cloth from her mouth and tossed her face-first onto a carpet.
Two soldiers walked away laughing.
Xie Yu rolled around like a turtle and finally flipped herself over. Only then did she realize she was inside a spacious carriage.
And she wasn't alone.
The woman who had become nearly ghostlike in her mind, Shen Changyin, sat inside as well.
She sat straight, her posture impeccable, a stack of yellowed letters in hand.
Her face was cool and serene, lashes lowered slightly… almost divine.
A demon wearing such a beautiful mask.
Xie Yu stared for a moment, then shifted. Her position was uncomfortable and she was in danger of rolling right off the carriage, so she wiggled toward the center.
Shen Changyin silently moved her feet farther away.
Xie Yu noticed.
She dared be disgusted by her?!
Someone this cruel, deceitful, heartless, untrustworthy… and she still had the nerve to act picky?!
Xie Yu kicked the carriage cabinet hard, making a loud bang.
Shen Changyin didn't react at all and calmly turned another page.
Xie Yu wanted to express more indignation, but suddenly her stomach growled loudly.
The sound echoed inside the carriage.
This time Shen Changyin finally looked over.
Heat rushed to Xie Yu's cheeks.
After a few seconds she gave up on dignity. "What are you staring at? Never seen a hungry person?"
She jerked her chin toward a white porcelain jar in the carriage. "Give me two pieces. That should be pastries."
She had seen jars like that in the imperial kitchens when she was preparing to escape. They were always filled with neatly arranged snacks.
"Third Princess, that's not a pastry jar." Shen Changyin ran her hand over the smooth porcelain. "It's an urn for ashes. It's empty for now."
Her gaze lingered on Xie Yu. "Someone close to me once asked on her deathbed that I grind her bones and seal her inside this urn, never to rest. I have been waiting to fill it."
Her tone was airy and cold. Xie Yu shivered but then suddenly realized something.
Grind her bones?
She meant cremation.
That was perfectly normal and civilized.
The carriage rattled onward. Shen Changyin resumed reading.
Soon the muscular woman lifted the curtain to report.
"We have news from the palace. According to your orders, the emperor has been surrounded in Chaoyang Hall. She's now holding three thousand imperial guards and refuses to come out. You said you wanted her alive, so we didn't push further."
"The remaining six princesses, the other royal relatives, and the Daoist priests have all been locked in the Hall of Diligence. Third and Fourth Battalions are guarding."
"I know." Shen Changyin nodded slightly.
The woman withdrew respectfully.
Xie Yu blinked from the carpet.
The rebels were winning. In fact, they were on the verge of total victory. And all of this was due to Shen Changyin's command. The rumors were true. She really did plan flawlessly.
She was rational, driven by benefit.
If she could make "letting the children go" benefit her…
Xie Yu set aside her conscience and spoke sincerely. "Heaven truly has eyes. The Xie family is cruel and unfit to rule. Even the heavens couldn't stand it, so they sent you, a wise ruler."
Shen Changyin lowered the letter and gave her a light glance.
"Your soldiers didn't even try to steal my jade pendant. Their discipline shows your leadership."
Shen Changyin's gaze fell on the pendant and she suddenly asked, "Third Princess, do you know what that pendant is for?"
"What is it for?" Xie Yu asked blankly.
"That pendant is the betrothal token of the eldest daughter of the Shen family of Jiangnan."
"Oh."
So she had been arranged into a feudal marriage. She could always run away later. It didn't stop her from flattering.
"Oh?" Shen Changyin repeated in a strange tone. "Do you know that the Shen family's eldest daughter is famed across the land for both her beauty and talent? Countless people wish to propose to her."
"That doesn't matter." Xie Yu insisted on flattering her. "What matters is you. Even in the chaos of war, you still take in lost children. If you aren't a sage ruler, then who is?"
She played a small trick, avoiding asking directly what Shen Changyin planned to do with the children, and instead said.
"Are you sending those little ones back, or will their parents come pick them up? Either way, your kindness and wisdom will spread across the land."
At that, Shen Changyin's eyes curved slightly, as if she were smiling.
"The life or death of those children… what does it have to do with you, Third Princess?"
Xie Yu froze inside.
This woman didn't fall for it.
Tsk.
—
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