“I nodded. It’s not a problem that she wants this heir position; I just don’t understand why she suddenly changed her mind. There must be something wrong. And her previous words were strange, ‘doing anything for the person you love’? Was she talking about herself?”
“It seems something must have happened during Jiang Yunqiao’s trip,” An Jin concluded decisively. “When I chatted with Consort Yin earlier, I could tell he was in low spirits and distracted. Based on your conversation, Jiang Yunqiao’s change of heart must be because of the person she loves, the so-called ‘snow youth’. But why would she compete for the heir position for him?”
“I sighed. It seems the key to everything lies with this snow youth. But Jiang Yunqiao only said he’s from Qi State. How can we investigate?”
“Actually, it’s not difficult. We just need to start with the people around Jiang Yunqiao, and we’ll definitely find something,” An Jin smiled slightly. “Leave it to me to investigate.”
“Are you going to investigate?” I hesitated, thinking that this was not Qi Kingdom and not An Jin’s territory, so how could he investigate?
An Jin raised an eyebrow, speaking with a hint of mockery. “What, don’t you trust your husband’s methods? Did you think I was just leisurely playing around in Nanrui these past few days?”
I suddenly understood, both surprised and delighted.
I remembered that Nanrui also had secret agents, and Anjin must have been thriving in the imperial court, establishing contact with these covert operatives. The secret service that served the Qi royal family had become an independent entity, now only answering to Anjin – something I never expected would prove useful again.
“If I wasn’t confident about the situation in Nanrui, how could I have sent you here?” Anjin smiled. “At the very least, I had to ensure your and your family’s safety. That was my bottom line.”
“So – you knew that the Emperor truly wanted to pass the throne to me, and that Jiang Yunqiao would not harm me,” I realized. Thinking back to how cautious I had been when first arriving in Nanrui, I now understood that Anjin had already made all the arrangements in advance.
Anjin shook his head. “At the time, I couldn’t be completely certain that the Emperor truly intended to favor you. I just made sure to protect you and your family no matter what. It was a risky move, but fortunately, we ultimately won.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I felt regretful. If I had known about these people’s existence earlier, perhaps I could have done something to help him, instead of being anxious and cautious.
He seemed to see through my thoughts. “Because I didn’t want you to do anything. Just learning to protect yourself was enough. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Anjin’s investigation quickly yielded results. When Jiang Yunqiao returned from her travels, she brought an additional male companion to the Princess’s residence. Although they couldn’t discern the man’s appearance, there was no doubt he was likely the snow-clad youth she had been thinking about. Whether their reunion was accidental or deliberately sought, the direct consequence was that Jiang Yunqiao changed her mind and decided to compete for the heir’s position for his sake.
Infiltrating the Princess’s residence to investigate this man would not be difficult, but Jiang Yunqiao had openly declared that we would compete for the heir’s position by our own means. This could be considered fair and aboveboard. However, if I secretly sent people to investigate her secrets and she discovered this, it might push our already delicate relationship to an irreparable extreme.
So I asked Anjin to temporarily halt his actions, and I once again invited Jiang Yunqiao to meet. She readily agreed, suggesting we go to her brother’s tavern to listen to music, just like last time.
It was the same private room, the same musician Bai Chen was called, and once again, the song “Chang Xiangsi” was played.
Jiang Yunqiao listened very intently this time, her eyes focused on Bai Chen’s fingers moving swiftly across the strings. After the song ended, she turned to me with a smile, “Ah Yao, I didn’t expect you to invite me. I hope you weren’t offended by what I said last time.”
I returned her an understanding smile. “Not just sisters, but friends. Yunqiao, I want to ask you something.”
“You want to know why I suddenly changed my mind?” She laughed, looking at Bai Chen, her gaze lingering on him. “Ah Yao, what do you think of Master Bai’s performance?”
“Very good,” I replied.
She stood up, slowly walking to Bai Chen’s side, and unexpectedly bent down, holding his hand.
In a country like Nanrui, her noble birth meant that having another consort was not a big deal. However, I always felt uneasy and sensed something was amiss.
“Alright, you’ve fulfilled your wish to be with him; you want the position of heir and to become empress. But if you still consider me a sister, at least tell me who his enemies are? What is it that you want to reclaim for him?”
Her expression stiffened slightly, and she turned away: “Sorry, I cannot say.”
I was choked up, wanting to grab her shoulders and shake her to make her speak. I suppressed this impulse.
“Fine, if you won’t tell me, so be it.” I forced myself to calm down. “Before the truth is revealed, I won’t give up the heir’s position either. As you said, let’s each rely on our own abilities.”
Throwing out such harsh words was just a momentary anger. Later, when I calmed down, I realized that becoming heir meant nothing to me. Why compete with her? If she could convince Emperor Hong to change his mind and pass the throne to her, I’d be happy to be a nominal King Yu or get a piece of land for myself, living happily with my family. As long as she treats Afu and her consort well, whether she wants to avenge Bai Chen or do anything else, so be it.
However, An Jin disagreed with my thoughts. He believed I should not only not give up the heir’s position but actively fight for it.
“But I don’t want to be empress,” I lay in his arms, enjoying the relaxation from his fingers gently combing through my hair. “I just want to live well with my family.”
An Jin leaned close to my ear and softly said: “You’ve already declared war on Jiang Yunqiao. Do you think you can withdraw now? The struggle for succession has always been full of schemes and bloodshed. Even if you retreat, she’ll only think you have another plan. Once she ascends the throne, how could she tolerate you?”
“Yunqiao won’t do that,” I said stubbornly, closing my eyes.
An Jin chuckled lightly, pinching my cheek. “Haven’t you suffered enough in the royal family?”
I felt somewhat troubled. While An Jin wasn’t wrong, I felt he was different from before. In the past, he would have followed my wishes, planning together how to avoid this conflict and realize our pastoral ideal.
Now, he was urging me to enter this struggle and grasp power.
The departure of my in-laws, the turmoil in the secret department, fleeing to a foreign land, and changes in identity – the impact on An Jin might be far greater than I imagined. For the first time, I understood he was not a god, not perfect, and could be hurt, lost, and insecure. Perhaps only by holding power could he feel at peace.
I suddenly felt deeply sympathetic to him. As Yunqiao said, giving everything for a loved one is a foolish thing everyone might do. An Jin had meticulously planned for me to escape the three-country situation, and now I was willing to re-enter this game for him.
Yunqiao was a formidable opponent. Since our final declaration of war, she had been taking action, frequently contacting people from the Cen Taizai faction. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Personnel under her management had made several impressive reforms, gradually increasing support for the Second Princess’s faction.
