Chapter 27

In the end, Zuo Lingyu’s whereabouts did not escape his sister’s notice. Within a few days, he was summoned to the Prince Regent’s estate. When he returned, he looked rather dejected and said he would be moving there. He could no longer live with Lian Ai.

Lian Ai didn’t mind. He simply said, “Then go.”

Zuo Lingyu glanced up at him. “Do you want to come with me?”

Lian Ai shook his head without hesitation. “Better not. There must be a lot of rules in the estate. I’d only embarrass you if I went.”

Zuo Lingyu slumped again. “I knew you wouldn’t want to. I don’t even like that place myself…”

Lian Ai helped him pack his things and saw him off to the Prince Regent’s carriage.

After Zuo Lingyu left, the room didn’t stay empty for long. Helian Qiufeng arrived in the capital in a rush from Zhongzhou. The moment he saw Lian Ai, he scolded him before even catching his breath.

“Who told you to come here?” He hadn’t even let go of the riding crop in his hand.

Lian Ai’s voice caught in his throat. He had been about to call him “big brother,” but the fierce question made his eyes dart away with guilt. He didn’t dare meet his gaze.

“I told Mother.”

Helian Qiufeng was genuinely furious. His hand holding the whip had already lifted halfway, but as he turned and caught sight of the faint bite mark still visible on Lian Ai’s neck, he froze. His eyes widened, and he grabbed Lian Ai by the front of his robe.

His actions were harsh, but the question that followed came with noticeable caution.

“Where did that bite mark on your neck come from?”

Lian Ai flinched and instinctively raised his hand to his neck.

“Bu Nian bit me.” He confessed honestly, not hiding a thing.

Helian Qiufeng froze for a moment, then let go of his collar and turned away, walking toward the table. With his back facing Lian Ai, he asked, “Bu Nian? Why would he bite you?”

Lian Ai followed behind him. “He was drunk.”

Helian Qiufeng sat down at the table. When he turned back to face Lian Ai, his expression had softened quite a bit.

“I see.” He nodded, then suddenly shifted tone. “Now, where were we? Right… you need to go home immediately.”

Lian Ai stood in front of him, eyes fixed on the floor beneath his feet, staring quietly.

“Why? I want to stay at least until after the wedding.”

Helian Qiufeng said, “The capital is too dangerous. Have you already forgotten what you looked like when you left a year ago?”

Lian Ai’s eyelids twitched. With that reminder, his thoughts returned involuntarily to the state he’d been in back then.

His arm crippled, his face ruined, his money stolen. And the one responsible for all of it was here in the capital.

“I carry Yuanmao with me.”

The Yuanmao crossbow, also known as the repeating Zhuge crossbow, could fire ten bolts in succession. Its power was great, but its design was complex and somewhat cumbersome, which made it uncommon.

Trying to prove that he could protect himself, Lian Ai quickly pulled a folded crossbow from the cloth bundle at his back. In a single motion, he unsheathed the side blade and snapped the weapon open, then aimed it outside at a water vat and fired three rapid shots in succession.

The vat shattered with a sharp crack, and water began to flow steadily across the ground.

Helian Qiufeng remained unmoved. “The Yuanmao only holds ten bolts. What will you do when they’re gone?”

Lian Ai stroked the side of the crossbow, touched the bolt case, and after a pause, spoke softly.

“I’ll start with the ones who deserve to die most, and use them to cushion my fall.”

Helian Qiufeng struck the table with his palm, fury bristling through him.

“Are you out of your mind?”

In the end, Lian Ai didn’t go back. Just as he had promised Bu Nian, he gave Helian Qiufeng the same assurance. Once the wedding was over, he would leave the capital the very next day without delay.

There were only a few days left until the wedding anyway. And Helian Qiufeng, worried about letting him travel alone, begrudgingly agreed.

When the day finally arrived, the entire capital was wrapped in celebration. It felt more like New Year than a wedding. Crowds filled the streets along the bridal sedan’s route, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman known as the most beautiful in the land.

The Zuo family came from a martial household in Jiangnan, far from the capital. It was unrealistic to expect the Prince Regent to travel that far to receive the bride in person, so Zuo Lingxue was married out of one of the Prince Regent’s outlying estates near the capital. Her family had gathered there as well.

Lian Ai followed the bridal procession into the Prince Regent’s estate. He hadn’t seen Bu Nian anywhere and figured he would likely arrive later for the main banquet. Just as that thought passed through his mind, someone gave his shoulder a light pat.

He turned around and found Zuo Lingyu frowning at his back.

“You’re really wearing weapons to my sister’s wedding?”

Lian Ai realized that carrying something as dangerous-looking as his crossbow on a day of celebration probably wasn’t the most appropriate. He gave an awkward laugh and removed it, handing it off to a servant to store along with the weapons of the other martial guests.

Once the bride was received and the ceremony completed, all the important figures from the bride’s side seemed to vanish. Even Helian Qiufeng was nowhere to be found. Lian Ai stayed with Zuo Lingyu in the courtyard watching the performances. Zuo Lingyu spent the entire afternoon cracking melon seeds.

By evening, the guests arrived one after another. As Lian Ai listened to the ceremonial announcements at the gate, he noticed a pattern. Those with lower rank came earlier, while higher officials arrived later. Bu Nian and the other military commanders came last, stepping in just as the banquet was about to begin.

“See that? Putting pressure on my brother-in-law.” Zuo Lingyu nudged Lian Ai with his elbow and made a face.

Lian Ai glanced after Bu Nian, but felt no particular reaction.

One was a political adversary. The other, a former lover. The fact that Bu Nian had shown up at all was already a sign of discipline and composure. No one could ask for more.

Bu Nian seemed to sense Lian Ai’s gaze. All of a sudden, he looked over and cast him a glance, cold and indifferent. Zuo Lingyu, who hadn’t had time to wipe the scorn off his face, nearly choked on his own saliva.

Lian Ai didn’t look away. He met Bu Nian’s eyes directly. Bu Nian appeared slightly surprised, and his gaze lingered for a few moments before shifting elsewhere.

The Prince Regent stepped out to welcome the guests personally. No matter how forced the smile on his face was, the gesture itself still counted as giving due respect.

Lian Ai scanned the area and noticed that Helian Qiufeng and the others had reappeared.

The young emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager had both sent their wedding gifts. Judging from the look on Gan Yan’s face as he recited the gift list, he had likely seen it in advance. He thanked them formally, but his face showed no particular joy.

Once all the key guests had arrived and the appointed hour struck, the banquet began. Everyone picked up their chopsticks as the feast was served.

To avoid any unpleasant incidents, the court officials including Bu Nian were seated separately from the martial guests. Their tables were set across the courtyard. After the banquet began, Lian Ai and Zuo Lingyu took their seats on the jianghu side.

By the midpoint of the banquet, many of the martial guests were already flushed with drink. Some had even started playing drinking games.

Zuo Lingyu was so drunk he kicked off his shoes and stumbled from table to table offering wine. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Lian Ai stood up and quietly slipped away toward the rear courtyard.

Zuo Lingxue, dressed in a phoenix crown and red ceremonial robes, sat quietly on the bridal bed. A red veil covered her face. Even her breathing was light and subdued.

It was her wedding day, yet there was no joy in her expression. Beneath the veil, her eyes were slightly closed, as if resting, or perhaps lost in thought.

“Since ancient times, loyalty and family could not both be kept. Now that my father has pledged himself to Prince Yong, I can no longer be with you. Bu Nian, I’m the one who betrayed you…”

“Was it truly a choice between loyalty and love… or did you just want the title of Empress?”

Bu Nian’s voice still lingered in her ears, but she could no longer answer with the same certainty she once held.

The world she faced now was like a complex chessboard.

Before entering the game, she had only seen Prime Minister Lu’s hunger for power and the emperor’s growing suspicion. Without the old general, the Bu family’s standing was already crumbling. It was only after stepping into the board that she realized how easily power could collapse, how swiftly everything could change in a single day.

A knock sounded gently at the door, breaking her thoughts. Not long after, a voice followed from outside.

“Your Highness, there is a man outside who calls himself Helian Ai. He says he has something important to discuss with you.”

Zuo Lingxue might have remained within the capital, but she was far from uninformed. She had already learned that Helian Ai was once Bu Nian’s bedslave.

She felt neither guilt nor hostility toward him. What she felt was more a quiet sigh at how fate played its tricks. The lost youngest son of the Helian family had turned into one of the most renowned courtesans in the realm.

A man with such a past… what matter could he possibly bring to her? Still, she found herself curious.

She raised her hand and drew back the red veil from her face.

“Let him in,” she called clearly.

The guards outside hesitated, but recalling how much trust the Prince Regent placed in Her Highness, they eventually brought Lian Ai inside.

The door pushed open and Lian Ai entered. The first thing he saw was the stunning woman seated upon the wide ceremonial bed.

He lowered his eyes, dropped to one knee and bowed respectfully.

“Helian Ai greets Your Highness.”

“You wanted to see me?” Zuo Lingxue looked down from above, her expression cool and haughty.

Lian Ai raised his head. His eyes looked soft, even harmless, but the words that left his mouth made Zuo Lingxue raise an eyebrow in surprise.

“This humble one wish to offer my loyalty to the Prince Regent and Your Highness. I will serve with everything I have, until death if necessary.”

Zuo Lingxue curled her crimson lips into a smile.

“Your father and brother already serve the Prince Regent. The Helian family’s loyalty is well known. There’s no need for you to come all this way yourself.”

Though Zuo Lingxue’s presence was overwhelming, Lian Ai managed to keep his composure. He was tense, but he did not waver.

He spoke slowly.

“My father and brother are who they are. I am my own person. If I hadn’t come to see Your Highness, how would you ever know you could make use of me?”

He wasn’t wrong. Zuo Lingxue truly hadn’t considered using him. Part of it was his lack of ability, but more than that, it came from his connection to Bu Nian. He had once been Bu Nian’s favored bedslave, held in high regard. Even if he had been cast aside later without mercy, there was no guarantee his feelings were entirely severed. Zuo Lingxue could not fully trust someone like that. And if she could not trust him, she would not waste time acknowledging him.

“I’m not trying to be cruel, but what exactly can you offer? Bu Nian has already discarded you. You’re neither clever nor skilled in combat. What could you possibly do for the Prince Regent?” Her words were blunt, but struck directly at the truth.

Lian Ai’s expression dimmed. Still, with pale lips and hurried breath, he pressed on.

“If Your Highness is willing to trust me, I can make General Bu keep me at his side again.”

A wave of irritation rose within Zuo Lingxue for no apparent reason. Her lips curled in mockery.

“You plan to seduce him?”

“Your Highness is right. In terms of wit and combat, I’m no match for the others under the Prince Regent.” He lifted his gaze and looked straight at her. His long lashes were like the petals of a blooming azalea. With the faintest flutter, a wave of seduction seemed to ripple through the air.

“But when it comes to skill in bed, I doubt there’s anyone in the capital who could rival me.”

Zuo Lingxue found herself reassessing him. A man who could so openly speak of his skills in bed must possess a mindset detached from the norm.

Lian Ai continued, “The General used to like me very much. And I’m confident… I can make him fall for me again.”

Zuo Lingxue didn’t respond immediately. She stared at him in silence, eyes sweeping slowly from the faint scar exposed beneath his headband, to his delicate features, down to his slender neck, and finally resting on the lingering bruise at his throat.

Sensing where her gaze had landed, Lian Ai brushed a fingertip lightly over that spot. His voice carried a trace of bitterness he didn’t mean to reveal.

“If Your Highness trusts me, then I can make Bu Nian trust me too. He was heartless. He has no right to blame me for being disloyal now. I’m doing this for the Helian family. For the sake of my own people.”

His words were earnest enough that Zuo Lingxue believed him, at least in part. Seven parts trust, the last three would need something more.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

“I understand your desire to serve the Prince Regent. And in the years I spent at Bu Nian’s side, if I learned nothing else, I learned to be cautious.”

She reached into her sleeve and took something out, holding it in front of him.

“Swallow this. Then I’ll believe you.”

—

When Lian Ai came back from the Prince Regent’s chamber, his gait was light and unstable, and his face looked awful.

He hadn’t expected that same unbearable itch and sharp pain he once knew would come over him again.

What Zuo Lingxue had forced him to swallow was the very same Mianmian Gu Bu Nian had once used on him.

“It won’t kill you,” she had said. “But you’ll need to take an antidote every month to suppress its effects. Otherwise…” She hadn’t finished the sentence, but what he had just experienced spoke for itself. The feeling was nothing short of torment.

Her words had clearly concealed something. Fortunately, this was not Lian Ai’s first time being cursed. Though painful, he knew it could be dealt with. The real question was how Zuo Lingxue had obtained Mianmian. The one in Bu Nian’s possession had been purchased at great cost from the southern Miao. But where had hers come from?

Still feeling weak in the legs, he made his way back to the banquet. Most of the guests were even more drunk than before. Some had collapsed into messy heaps, limbs tangled together. It was the kind of scene that only people from the martial world could make seem so natural.

After some effort, Lian Ai finally found Helian Qiufeng slumped in the crowd. He tried to haul him up, but the man was as heavy as a boulder. No matter how he pulled, he couldn’t get him to budge.

A servant from the estate came over and said politely, “Young Master, the honored guest is clearly too drunk. Why not let him stay the night here? There are more than enough guest rooms prepared. His Highness made sure everything was arranged, and he will not be neglected.”

Relieved to hear that, Lian Ai nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

The servant then asked if he would like to stay as well. Lian Ai gave it a moment’s thought, then declined.

“I still have things to attend to. I won’t stay.”

The banquet wasn’t formally dismissed, but guests were gradually leaving the estate. Lian Ai walked alone toward the main gates, intending to retrieve his Yuanmao crossbow. But when he asked the gatekeeper, the boy looked surprised.

“Didn’t someone already take it for you, sir?”

Lian Ai froze. “What?”

The boy said, “A while ago, someone came and took your crossbow and bolts. I thought you had sent them, so I didn’t stop them…”

Both were at a loss for a moment. Just as Lian Ai was about to question him further, a tall, luxurious carriage rolled slowly up to the gates. It was entirely black, even the four horses pulling it. On each side hung bronze bells, and etched onto the metal was the character for “Bu.” It was clearly Bu Nian’s carriage.

The wheels stopped right in front of Lian Ai. The curtain shifted slightly, and a hand reached out, holding his missing Yuanmao.

“Get in.”

Lian Ai pressed his lips together, stepped forward, and bent down to enter the carriage.

Bu Nian sat at the front, Lian Ai at the back. For a while, neither spoke.

“You’ve grown.”

Bu Nian traced his fingers along the body of the crossbow. He figured out the mechanism almost immediately and unfolded both wings. Then, closing one eye, he looked through the sight and aimed directly at Lian Ai.

Lian Ai didn’t flinch. Letting him take aim, he said calmly, “If I hadn’t, I would still be someone else’s plaything.”

Bu Nian’s finger curled around the trigger blade, as if he might shoot at any moment.

“You left the banquet and went to Zuo Lingxue. What for?”

Whether his gesture was thoughtless or an unspoken threat depended entirely on how Lian Ai answered.

Lian Ai’s lashes trembled faintly. He could have come up with any number of half-truths to deflect the question, but he didn’t. These were things Bu Nian would learn sooner or later.

“I told her I was willing to serve the Prince Regent. To be used as he sees fit.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sharp gust of wind grazed his face. A short bolt tore through the air like a waiting viper and slammed into the carriage wall behind him.

Lian Ai blinked and met Bu Nian’s dark gaze.

He continued quietly, “The Helian family is already involved. I can’t stand aside.”

Bu Nian threw the crossbow aside. Rage surged through him. He glared at Lian Ai and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him forward without restraint.

“Pledging loyalty to Gan Yan? Do you even know what you’re doing?”

The two were so close, Lian Ai could clearly see the vein pulsing at Bu Nian’s temple from the force of his anger.

He placed his hand gently over the back of Bu Nian’s taut grip, as soft as a spring petal caught and carried by wind.

“You were the one who cast me aside. It was you, General, who betrayed me first.”

Bu Nian’s eyes widened slightly. He looked stunned, somewhere between realization and disbelief.

“So… you mean to become my enemy. You want revenge.”

Lian Ai’s eyes shimmered, a thin layer of tears gathering, ready to fall. His voice turned hoarse.

“People always choose what matters most to them. Miss Zuo made her choice back then. I’ve made mine now. Whoever respects me, loves me, and shows me kindness, I will return it twice over.”

Bu Nian’s lips moved slightly, as if struggling for words. The corners of his eyes were tight and red. Lian Ai met his gaze without fear, as though it didn’t matter what might happen next.

In the end, Bu Nian shoved him aside and looked away, as if he couldn’t bear to glance at him even once more.

“Get out.”

The carriage came to a halt. Lian Ai was thrown out into the center of a silent street.

Moments later, his crossbow and cloth bundle were tossed down after him from the carriage.

It was late autumn. The street, quiet in the dead of night, held no sign of passersby. The silence pressed down, lifeless and heavy.

Lian Ai stood there for a while. Then he walked over, crouched down, and picked up the crossbow from the ground, hugging it close to his chest. He sniffed once, but stayed there without moving for a long time.