Chapter 4

Mild surprise flickered through the princess’s eyes. She looked down at the corpse on the straw. “My blade struck him squarely through the heart. Not even an immortal could survive that.”

She considered for a moment. “If he somehow did, I suppose I could stab him again.”

Her ruthless decisiveness was nothing like the foolish women before her, so I kindly explained, “That man isn’t Shen Changyuan. The real Shen Changyuan may have fled long ago.”

Thought sharpened her gaze. She crouched, rolled the body onto its face, and examined the head.

Her fingers found a seam where something met the dead man’s skin.

With one hard pull, she tore away a human-skin mask.

Beneath it lay the face of another handsome young man.

I narrowed my eyes.

I knew him. He had been one of Shen Changyuan’s followers. Across hundreds of cycles, he never concealed his malice toward the transmigrators. Shen Changyuan had not only permitted it but used the man to probe, little by little, just how much each woman would endure.

His death was no loss.

The princess gave a lazy laugh. “He played the part well.”

“Since I failed to kill him, I shall simply kill him a second time.”

I was surprised—and pleased—by how quickly she understood.

“You can really see me?” I asked.

“Mm.” She leaned against a pillar. “I saw you from the moment I opened my eyes. I don’t know why. At first, I thought you were a wronged ghost. Then I saw in the bronze mirror that you and this body have the same face, and I realized you must be its original owner—Princess Changle.”

“What is your name?”

She paused, then her eyes curved faintly. “Xu Qingyao.”

I lifted my chin. “I am Gu Xi, Princess Changle.”

Xu Qingyao inclined her head, her smile widening. “A pleasure, Princess Changle.”

After witnessing so many transmigrators overestimate themselves, I could not contain my curiosity. “Many women tried to redeem Shen Changyuan before you. Why didn’t you?”

His life had indeed been pitiful. Though born a crown prince, his kingdom was destroyed by my grandfather while he was still in swaddling clothes. In an instant, the exalted heir to a throne became a remnant of the previous dynasty who would die if discovered. For more than ten years, he fled from place to place, destitute, trampled underfoot, abused by anyone who pleased—treated worse than a dog.

An earthly hell like that had twisted him. It made him cold, vicious, and utterly consumed by darkness.

Redemption. What a hopeful word.

I sneered inwardly.

Xu Qingyao answered with a question. “Did I cause his suffering? If not, why am I responsible for redeeming him?”

“The world is full of people who suffer. A general whose family is exterminated because his victories threatened the throne. A princess sent away in marriage to preserve peace between two kingdoms. Maids and eunuchs who walk on blades with every step inside the palace. The beggar outside the city gate who lost a leg.”

“Are all of them insignificant beside Shen Changyuan? Is he the only miserable soul beneath heaven, the only one who deserves to be saved? How absurd.”

Her voice turned soft and ominous. “Besides, he is the surviving heir of the former dynasty, and I am a princess of this one. We were born on opposing sides. Heaven destroys those who refuse to protect themselves. If I want to live, he has to die.”

My interest deepened. “Did you never consider making him fall in love with you? Making you the center of his world, until he abandoned revenge and chose you over everything?”

“Princess,” Xu Qingyao said quietly, “love is the least reliable thing in this world. Today it is honey. Tomorrow it is poison that eats through the heart.”

I laughed.

What a clear-eyed woman.