“So beautiful.”
Gu Zhizhuo praised joyfully. She turned her head, looking straight at Shen Xu, and spoke gently, “Duzhu, do you think Young Master Chen will see it?”
Sheng Jiang cautiously glanced at Shen Xu and noticed that the string of prayer beads had already switched from his right hand to his left. He lowered his head even further.
For Young Master Chen to survive into adulthood with such an awkward identity, his mind must be as intricate as a lotus seed pod.
In the middle of the night, first there was thunder, then rain, and now fireworks suddenly being set off; it’s no different from running straight to his ear and saying, “There’s a trap here.”
All of Duzhu’s arrangements were ruined!
Sheng Jiang’s heart trembled in panic, cold sweat slowly seeping from his forehead. He tiptoed out in a hurry, and not long after, he came rushing back in and knelt at Shen Xu’s feet.
“Duzhu.”
“The fireworks came from the direction of the main courtyard of the countryside manor.”
“This subordinate deserves death.”
Sheng Jiang swallowed hard, his mouth unbearably dry—every word he spoke was painfully difficult.
In order not to alert anyone, they had been extremely cautious after entering the countryside manor.
Even though this countryside manor had long since become a place where not even a single fly could enter or leave freely, it still didn’t alarm the tenants. Even the sudden arrival of the countryside manor’s owner hadn’t disrupted any of the plans.
After all, she was just a young girl—so what if she was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Duke Zhenguo’s manor? In the end, she would just be another corpse.
And yet, it was this very young girl who first exposed Duzhu’s identity.
And then, she ruined the entire plan!!
Sheng Jiang bowed his head deeply, so low he could even see the embroidered shoes beneath Gu Zhizhuo’s skirt, still wet with mud.
“I beg the master for punishment.”
His voice trembled, thick with fear.
Such a grave mistake was enough to warrant him being torn into a hundred pieces.
Shen Xu lightly clapped his hands and praised, “Not bad.”
The young girl before him had skin as fair as snow and long brows that extended to her temples. The openness and composure in her expression were something one would never see in women raised in the boudoir.
“Very good.”
These words were said to Gu Zhizhuo, and it wasn’t until this moment that she truly entered his eyes.
Shen Xu’s lips curled into a faint, elusive smile: “You’ve exceeded my expectations.”
Gu Zhizhuo smiled and said, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
Her entire back was taut with tension, not relaxing her vigilance in the slightest.
Shen Xu’s fickle temper was something she had witnessed firsthand—one moment he could be laughing and chatting, and the next, the ground would be strewn with corpses and wails of despair would fill the air.
When it comes to him, one could never judge by standards of ordinary people.
Shen Xu slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand and smiled: “How did you know, Young Miss?”
Gu Zhizhuo made a hand gesture with her left hand and said, half seriously, half jokingly, “I can do fortune-telling, and I’ve calculated it. Do you believe me?”
Shen Xu sneered. He didn’t believe such nonsense at all.
He leaned back against the soft pillow, his bright red open sleeves draped over the snow-white fox fur: “Calculate one for me—let me see.”
Gu Zhizhuo lifted her phoenix eyes and spoke without hesitation, “Duzhu, you were born into wealth and nobility, with a kind father, a virtuous mother, and a harmonious family. You should have lived a life of glory and splendor. Who would’ve thought that war would break out suddenly, with beacon fires and war drums never ceasing? In your youthful arrogance, you believed yourself exceptionally wise, capable of saving the world. So you took the risk of driving the tiger to devour the wolf—only to be bitten back by the fierce tiger…”
Shen Xu’s hand, which was turning the prayer beads, paused; the smile on his face vanished at that moment, and his dark, gloomy expression became intimidating.
In the small hall, even Shen Jiang didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
Only Gu Zhizhuo seemed unaware and continued speaking, “…The people you saved, in exchange for wealth and power, sacrificed[mfn]the word “祭献” carries ritualistic betrayal or scapegoating connotations, like sacrificing a person to appease greater interest[/mfn] you.”
“And so, your family was ruined and your loved ones perished[mfn]家破人亡 (jiā pò rén wáng). An idiom that describes the complete destruction of a family, usually due to war, disaster, betrayal, or major tragedy. It conveys a sense of utter devastation, both emotionally and physically[/mfn].”
“You were physically disabled…”
Before she could finish her words, Shen Xu suddenly leapt up. He quickly closed the distance to Gu Zhizhuo and grabbed her slender, fair neck.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and the intense murderous intent enveloped Gu Zhizhuo like a thousand sharp thorns.
There was only a kang table between Gu Zhizhuo and him. She forcefully kicked the floor with her left foot, toppling backward along with the round stool. Her veil slipped off, revealing her flawless and delicate face beneath.
The black and white chess pieces scattered to the floor with a loud clatter.
His cold fingertips brushed against the delicate skin of Gu Zhizhuo’s neck. She raised her hand, pulled the pearl hairpin from her hair, and slashed it forcefully in front of her. The sharp tip of the hairpin tore through his bright red open sleeve.
The round stool crashed to the floor.
Gu Zhizhuo brushed the stray hair off her cheek, coughed a few times, and then looked up at Shen Xu with a smile.
Their eyes met.
There were crimson finger marks on Gu Zhizhuo’s neck.
Shen Xu’s bright red open sleeve embroidered with gold hung down in large tattered patches.
“Duzhu!”
Sheng Jiang drew the dagger from his waist and lunged forward.
Shen Xu shot him a cold, sidelong glance: “Get lost!”
Sheng Jiang stopped in his tracks, breathing unevenly: What on earth gave this girl such guts!?
Gu Zhizhuo casually placed the pearl hairpin back into her hair. The dangling pearls swayed gently, casting a soft rosy glow on her cheeks. Her beauty was breathtaking, her elegance unmatched.
Shen Xu was so furious he laughed instead. He loathed those who didn’t know their place.
But he admired those who fought with all their might to grasp the chance of survival.
Just like he once was…
Shen Xu tore off the torn sleeve in one go, tossed it aside casually, then lifted his long robe and sat back down on the kang.
His long, jet-black hair fell over his shoulders, and the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye shimmered in the candlelight, making his gaze radiant.
He half-reclined against the pillow, slowly wiping his fingers with a plain white handkerchief, looking at Gu Zhizhuo with a half-smile: “Eldest Young Miss Gu, what happened to the wound on your face?”
“I’m timid, and I was so scared just now that they all healed.”
Gu Zhizhuo replied casually. For Shen Xu, taking her life would be easy; there was no need for him to hold any leverage.
She simply sat down on the floor, not caring whether the dust would dirty her dress—though truthfully, there wasn’t a speck of dust on the floor.
“The water’s boiling.” Gu Zhizhuo pointed to the red clay stove.
After boiling three times, the water became unusable, and no one knows how long this has been boiling. Sheng Jiang quickly poured out the water from the small silver kettle, refilled it, and placed it back on the red clay stove.
“Young Master Shen,” She smiled as she changed the way she addressed him, “This world is vast—how long would it take for you to stir the clouds with one hand and overturn the rain with the other[mfn]A metaphor describing someone who wants to wield great power or manipulates events at will[/mfn]?”
“Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Or… a lifetime?”
“That’s far too long.”
Shen Xu flicked his sleeve and sneered, “You want to cooperate with me?”
He looked her up and down with contempt, as if to say, Are you worthy?
Gu Zhizhuo immediately replied, “I have Duke Zhenguo’s manor.”
Shen Xu coldly retorted, “How much longer can the Duke Zhenguo’s manor survive?”
“A dukedom that can barely protect itself—heh, what use do I have for it? Don’t you want to take this chance to get me to protect you a little longer so you can delay your death?”
Ugh, what he said really did make sense, ah!… Gu Zhizhuo sighed silently. In her previous life, the Duke Zhenguo’s manor truly hadn’t lasted much longer after all.
One could only say Shen Xu understood the Emperor’s true intentions all too well.
Staring into his mocking eyes, Gu Zhizhuo calmly raised the stakes: “What if it’s Young Master Chen?”
Shen Xu hadn’t expected her to say that. His fingers paused on the prayer beads.
From the moment she appeared, every move she made had surprised him.
Gu Zhizhuo placed her hands on her knees, confidence revealed in her eyes and brows, and spoke with ease:
“Young Master Chen dying here would merely be an additional merit for you, Duzhu.”
“But if he lives—returns to the Capital, steps onto the Golden Throne Hall—for you, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Your opportunity lies in ‘chaos.’ When the court is in chaos, the world is in chaos. Only when the world is in chaos do you have a chance. But if the world is peaceful and harmonious, the monarch revered, the ministers subservient, and all united—then, Duzhu, you’re nothing more than a chess piece in the Emperor’s hand, can be used, and can also be discarded.” Gu Zhizhuo picked up a chess piece scattered on the floor and flicked it with her fingertip. The chess piece flew into the air and spun as it dropped, rolling to a stop at Shen Xu’s feet.
She really dared to say such a thing! These words—even Shen Jiang didn’t dare to listen to them. It was as if he had drunk a bowl of ice in the depths of winter, chilled to the bone.
Shen Xu slowly turned his prayer beads; a look of contemplation—or rather, weighing his options—appeared on his face.
Gu Zhizhuo said with a smile, “Why don’t you just give it some thought?”
The current Shen Xu was not yet the flawless and all-powerful man who would rise to the pinnacle in a few years. His foundation was still unstable; he has concerns… or rather, he harbors ambitions.
And with ambition came desire.
People, unless completely without desire or wants, would always have something that moves them.
In the end, it all boiled down to just two words: “interest[mfn]“利益” (lìyì) = benefit, gain[/mfn]”.
Gu Zhizhuo pressed further, “Duzhu, why not meet Young Master Chen first? What do you think?”
Shen Xu lifted his eyelids and sneered: “Knowing this place is a trap, do you think he’d walk into it willingly?”
Gu Zhizhuo said firmly, “He will come.” She spoke these three words with absolute certainty.
After speaking, she made a show of forming a hand seal and said, “I calculated it.”
She raised her thumb and pointed to herself: “Me—people call me the Divine Fortune-teller!”
Shen Xu’s lips twitched. He brushed off his sleeve and said in an ambiguous tone, “As long as he dares to come, what harm is there in me meeting him?”
Gu Zhizhuo met his gaze: “It’s a deal.”
Shen Xu neither agreed nor disagreed, but the slight curve of his lips carried a leisurely air, as if he were watching a play.
He enjoyed watching people struggle for survival.
He also enjoyed watching people end up in hopeless situations after struggling so desperately.
He didn’t believe Xie Yingchen would come.
But if Xie Yingchen did dare to come…
Sheng Jiang silently lit a stick of incense on the table and went to pour the tea.
Smelling the fragrance of the tea, Gu Zhizhuo casually said, “I want some too,” and sat back down at the kang table.
She picked up the scattered black and white chess pieces and quickly rearranged the chessboard with both hands—exactly the same as before.
After arranging the chessboard, Gu Zhizhuo picked up a black piece and gestured a “please” to Shen Xu.
Shen Xu: “…”
After a few breaths, he reached out, picked up a white piece, and placed it on the board.
The surroundings were extremely silent, with only the alternating sound of the two placing their pieces.
Sometimes quick, sometimes slow.
The black pieces advanced cautiously, step by step, from a desperate situation, while the white pieces, already holding a dominant position, pressed forward relentlessly, giving them no chance to breathe.
If one wanted to live, they could only shrink into a corner and cling to life in desperation.
At last, Gu Zhizhuo held a black piece between her fingers but made no move for a long time.
Shen Xu said with interest, “If you beg me now, I might spare your life.”
“The incense has not burned out yet.”
Gu Zhizhuo pointed at the incense stick less than an inch long, with wisps of white smoke still curling around it.
She wagged her finger, “No rush.”
Clack!
The black piece landed.
If one wanted to live, it wasn’t merely to cling to life in desperation.
One could also choose to carve a bloody path forward!
Shen Xu raised the corner of his eyes and glanced at her. His charming peach-blossom eyes shimmered with allure, as if a single gaze could make one fall completely.
Gu Zhizhuo took a sip of tea, propped her cheek with her hand, and smiled innocently.
“Your turn.”
