Ye Jiao lifted her gaze, locking it onto Li Zhang's face. In her eyes shimmered the triumphant gleam of a plan realized, the audacity of one unafraid to perish, and a domineering disdain that brooked no compromise."Trapped within the palace gates?" she laughed, wilder than Li Zhang himself. "Unless Your Highness ascends the throne this instant, even if you dig a pit and bury me alive, someone will unearth the entire Jin Prince's manor inch by inch to demand justice from the Emperor."
Li Zhang appeared unfazed by the blood seeping from his shoulder. He asked coldly,"You mean the Duke of Anguo's residence? Or perhaps Li Ce?"
The Duke's house was of little concern, and Li Ce's influence in the capital was negligible.
"For instance," Ye Jiao suddenly broke free from his grasp, her elbow recoiling before landing a solid punch to Li Zhang's abdomen. Her voice was low and resolute: "For instance, Prince Wei, Li Chen."
Li Zhang staggered backward, clutching a pillar to stay upright. He seemed impervious to pain, merely murmuring in realization,"Li Chen... yes. He alone is worthy to stand against me. Do you know he played a part in the collapse of the eaves?"
Ye Jiao nodded."He knocked over the beam. That's how the eaves fell."
Though she hadn't been present that day, she had pieced the events together through persistent inquiry.
Li Zhang gazed at her, his expression empty, then shook his head slowly."So, you would trade your life to provoke a blood feud between me and Li Chen? Li Ce was merely injured—was that truly worth this madness?"
"Therefore," Ye Jiao stooped to retrieve her dagger, "I suggest Your Highness bear the blow with grace. After today, neither I nor Prince Chu will pursue the matter of the eaves any further. We'll call it even."
To strike someone and demand they accept it cheerfully—was there anyone more absurd in this world?
Li Zhang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced outside the window. The servants of Jin Prince's manor were well-trained; despite the commotion, not a single one dared to approach. Though imperial spies were stationed nearby, unless he or Ye Jiao spoke, no one would ever know what had transpired here.
He weighed the consequences. With the matter of the crown prince's succession at hand, there was no sense in antagonizing the Duke of Anguo or Prince Chu. Nor could he afford to give Li Chen any opportunity to act. All debts would have to be settled later. Ye Jiao had clearly seen this too, which was why she had acted so boldly.
Leaning against the pillar, he straightened with effort and said,"What if I were to tell His Majesty that I was injured during a spar with the General of Wu, and request she stay to tend to my wounds for a few days?"
His tone was half-jesting, yet his eyes held a gleam of mockery.
Ye Jiao's face flushed crimson in an instant. She had hurt him—now he meant to humiliate her.
Li Zhang continued slowly,"The last time I was assaulted, those responsible died to the last man. Only then did my mother relent. This time, if I'm to let it pass, I should at least gain something in return."
"If you dare report this to His Majesty," Ye Jiao retorted, "I'll expose the truth about the eaves."
"Is it worth it?" Li Zhang asked. "You'd die here for Li Ce, but won't lift a finger for yourself—?"
He broke off, his gaze shifting sharply toward the window. He gave a discreet nod toward someone far in the distance.
Footsteps sounded swiftly in the courtyard. A moment later, the servant who had earlier rushed to Daxingshan Temple returned, pushing the door open. Upon seeing Li Zhang's injury, he gasped in horror and dropped to his knees.
"Speak," Li Zhang ordered curtly.
The servant cast a hesitant glance at Ye Jiao, then said,"Reporting to Your Highness, everything is settled. What needed burning has been reduced to ashes."
Despite having suspected this, Li Zhang still turned pale. He strode slowly to the desk, picked up a block of fragrant rosewood, and tossed it before the servant.
"Burned to ashes, you say? Then what is this?"
The servant replied nervously,"I heard the General of Wu visited the firewood shed. She must've salvaged it from the ashes to deceive Your Highness."
Li Zhang turned to Ye Jiao, his face as cold and brittle as frost. She clenched the dagger in her hand but said nothing—clearly affirming the servant's claim.
Not only had she come to deceive him, she had struck him.
Fury churned in Li Zhang's chest. The blood loss was making him feel colder by the second. He sat heavily by the desk and reached for a cup of water—only to find it had long gone cold.
Ye Jiao chose that moment to murmur,"Farewell."
Farewell? She still intended to leave?
Reason urged Li Zhang to let her go, to cut his losses. But rage at being tricked—and the pain in every inch of his body—demanded vengeance. Even if the matter of the eaves was buried, even if he said nothing of his wounds, he still wanted retribution.
"Seize her!" he barked.
The servant lunged forward, blocking Ye Jiao's path.
"Do you think you can best me?" she asked coldly.
"I am capable of defeating the champion of the martial exams," the servant replied, drawing his short sword and slashing without hesitation.
Ye Jiao barely dodged. The blade followed her relentlessly, always angling for her throat—no matter how she twisted and parried, it seemed she could never escape its trajectory.
"Does the Prince of Jin intend mutual destruction?" Ye Jiao demanded while evading.
"You exaggerate, General," Li Zhang said. "With the rosewood gone and no evidence in your hand, your words are empty slander. I won't kill you. I won't strike you. I merely require your presence for a few days—to tend my wounds."
And, of course, he would decide how that care was given.
Ye Jiao scoffed as she continued to dodge."The Emperor has already granted me and Prince Chu a marriage decree. What you suggest would shatter the bond between brothers. His Majesty would never allow it."
To force an unmarried woman to tend to a man's injuries—he might as well destroy her honor outright.
"Then plead with His Majesty," Li Zhang said. "Beg him to allow it. Say you wounded me by accident and are too remorseful to leave. Say you must remain by my side, just as you do with Li Ce."
"Impossible!" Ye Jiao cried. She finally maneuvered behind him, her dagger poised just half a foot from his back.
But the servant's blade was already at her throat.
"Too short," Li Zhang said weakly. "Where is your sword?"
She had returned it to Bai Xianyu.
Li Zhang turned around, one hand clutching his wound, the other lifting a kettle. He rose slowly and raised it toward her forehead, ready to drench her.
But just then, an angry shout rang out from the courtyard.
"Are you blind? Let me through!"
It was Prince Zhao—Li Jing.
He burst in, practically squeezing under the curtain instead of lifting it, only to be greeted by the sight of the three locked in standoff. His face turned ashen.
"Ninth Sister, hurry! Second Brother's about to beat up the General!"
Li Zhang's face darkened. He pulled the kettle back with a scowl.
You're blind, indeed! I'm the one bleeding, I'm the one wounded, and yet this madwoman is the one who looks wronged?
Li Ce arrived.
His clothes were hastily thrown on, buttons mismatched, belt unadorned. His eyes were bloodshot, jaw shadowed with stubble. Leaning on Li Jing's arm, he stepped forward and saluted stiffly.
"I know not what offense my wife has committed to provoke Your Highness into drawing a sword against her."
Li Zhang nearly laughed in disbelief.
Wife? You're married now? Offense? Is the blood on me not offense enough?
But before he could respond, Ye Jiao spoke first.
"I sparred with the Prince of Jin. He was injured—by accident."
Li Zhang glanced at her. His voice was stiff, but he said,"Yes. An accident."
Li Ce had awoken, Li Jing had come—clearly, he had no choice but to swallow his anger today.
"She hurt you that badly by accident?" Li Jing exclaimed, striding over in indignation. "General, couldn't you have held back a little? You've gone and opened a bloody crater in Second Brother—right at the New Year, too. You'd better pay for his medicine!"
Li Zhang sneered. As if he lacked the money.
Li Ce also stepped forward and said,"If my wife is at fault, I shall see she is properly disciplined."
Li Zhang glanced at him and said nothing.
You...