The assassins came around three in the morning. Xie Yu had been deeply asleep, but the clang of blades outside her window jolted her upright instantly.
Shen Changyin's soldiers had already surrounded the area layer upon layer. Xie Yu knew she was unarmed and didn't try to jump out and confront assassins foolishly.
She hastily threw on an outer robe, grabbed a wooden stool from the room, and hurried through several doors to find Shen Changyin.
The assassins obviously weren't here for her—they were here to kill Shen Changyin.
Xie Yu thought: These assassins seriously have terrible timing.
A month ago I hated Shen Changyin so much—they didn't come.
Now that I'm planning to take half her property in the divorce—they show up.
When she rushed into Shen Changyin's bedroom, she found her already out of bed, fully dressed except for her collar, which still needed a bit of arranging. One would barely guess she had been asleep.
The sound of assassins remained outside—they hadn't broken in—so the room was calm, a faint incense burning on the table.
Xie Yu set the stool down, glanced at the magnolia flower on the windowsill, then touched her hair.
She slept terribly—as always. Half a night was enough for her hair to become a fluffy mess.
Shen Changyin silently went to the dressing table, opened a wooden drawer, took out a wooden comb, and returned to hand it to her. "It'll be fine. Comb your hair. When this is over, we'll still have to show ourselves."
Xie Yu combed a few strokes and, as expected, found her hair hopelessly tangled. When she pulled harder, several strands came loose.
After watching for a moment, Shen Changyin couldn't hold back and simply took the comb from her hands.
"Sit."
Xie Yu obediently sat before the dressing table. Shen Changyin slowly worked through her hair, smoothing it out.
Moonlight shone through the papered window, falling softly across them.
Outside, the shouting, clashing steel, and the wet sound of blades piercing flesh never stopped.
Xie Yu couldn't help tightening her hand. Her nails pressed into her palm until it turned white.
"Let go." Shen Changyin reached into the dressing table and took out a green hairpin. After seeing Xie Yu's clenched hand, she asked her to release it.
"I think that's difficult to do." Xie Yu spoke softly. "Someone faced danger directly just to protect me."
"You feel uneasy because you're the one being protected. But I know you would be willing to face death if it meant protecting someone else."
Shen Changyin gathered a strand of her hair into her hand. "In that moment, what would you expect from the one you're protecting? Only a saint without equal in this world would be worthy of your protection?"
Xie Yu had never thought about it.
"This world is full of people who exaggerate their own worth for fame. And it's also full of people who underestimate their own worth, always thinking they don't deserve anything."
"But unfortunately, the latter are not nobler than the former."
A simple yet neat hairstyle took shape beneath Shen Changyin's hands, one that suited Xie Yu perfectly. "The books of sages have always taught people to be humble. Even now, farmers who can't read still teach their children to hide their abilities. When they receive praise, they must say they aren't that good, that the gods simply blessed them."
"But that's not morality."
She glanced out the window, listened, and recognized the shouts of several familiar soldiers. Her gaze lowered as she slid the green hairpin into Xie Yu's dark, cloud-like hair.
She bent slightly and rested her chin on Xie Yu's shoulder, watching the young woman reflected in the mirror beside her. Her presence felt like a spirit capable of charming hearts. "If accepting a certain kind of power means you can do more for others, then is refusing that power something that can be called immoral?"
Xie Yu didn't answer. She didn't meet the eyes of Shen Changyin in the mirror. Instead, she looked past the mirror, toward the white window veil, trying to glimpse what was happening outside.
A stray thought passed through her mind. If Shen Changyin ever became a preacher, she would be great at it. The leader of some cult, even.
The noise outside slowly faded. Old Jin entered to report. "Commander, they're all taken care of."
Shen Changyin raised her head. "Casualties?"
"Thanks to the good armor you gave us last time, only a few are injured. None of our sisters lost their lives. A little medicine from the military doctors, some bandages, and in a few days they'll be lively young women again."
Shen Changyin adjusted her collar and said darkly, "Let's go."
Xie Yu followed her out.
Soldiers had already dragged the assassins' bodies to the center of the courtyard and laid them out neatly, like rows of sleeping mats.
The women in the courtyard chatted and laughed, paying no mind to the blood running down their blades. A few injured soldiers proudly pointed at certain bodies and said, "These are my kills."
When Shen Changyin and Xie Yu appeared, the atmosphere grew even more spirited. The soldiers stood and shouted loudly and powerfully. "Commander!"
"As usual, anyone who should collect a bounty can register with Old Jin."
Shen Changyin said it simply, but it caused a wave of cheers.
"Alright, alright, don't think I don't know you all." Old Jin waved a fist at them, scolding with a smile. "You refused to leave because you were waiting for Commander Shen to say that, weren't you?"
"It's not like without Commander Shen's approval I'd steal your money."
"Get out of here, all of you. Those on duty stay. Injured ones go treat your wounds. The rest of you, go eat."
The soldiers laughed and walked off with arms slung over each other's shoulders.
"Investigate thoroughly. Tonight's matter is probably connected to Mingyan House." Shen Changyin tossed the money pouch Xie Yu had given her, the one belonging to the second princess, back to Old Jin. "See if there's any clue in it. Once you find something, put the pouch back into the second princess's residence."
"Got it." Old Jin agreed immediately and soon ordered soldiers to search the bodies carefully.
"Your Highness." Shen Changyin turned to Xie Yu. "You may also return to rest."
Xie Yu frowned as she watched the soldiers clumsily handling the bodies, destroying potential evidence. It felt like ants were crawling all over her.
She took a deep breath and spoke to Shen Changyin. "I knew you showed me this on purpose."
Then she exhaled in defeat, turned toward the courtyard, and shouted. "Stop—! You there, put her arm down. Everything is evidence. Don't damage it!"
She rushed forward and began teaching them how to conduct a proper body search. Old Jin smoothly handed command over to her and quietly walked back to Shen Changyin's side.
"Our third princess..." Old Jin was already in her forties, with a daughter about the same age as Xie Yu. She spoke without reverence for royal blood, sounding instead like any ordinary aunt sighing with affection. "She complains daily about not wanting to do this or that. But once something falls under her domain, she gets very serious about it."
Shen Changyin looked toward the courtyard. Xie Yu was crouched beside a dead assassin's body, demonstrating each step loudly and clearly, as if she wanted the soldiers to take notes.
"Mm." She nodded.
It didn't take long for Xie Yu to find several clues. She rushed indoors to fetch her small notebook and began writing while investigating.
By the time the sky brightened, she finally finished. She ordered the bodies taken away and the courtyard cleaned again. Only then did she take her notebook and go to find Shen Changyin.
By then, Shen Changyin was already having breakfast. Xie Yu slapped the notebook onto the table.
"There are several clues."
"Judging by the calluses on their hands, they all trained in the same martial style. And it's childhood martial training. They must have been gathered from a young age to train together."
Shen Changyin nodded. "That's how large households usually raise their death soldiers."
"Judging by their facial features, they likely came from the same place, possibly even lived very close to one another."
In ancient times, population movement was uncommon. The strong similarity in their features meant they likely came from an isolated or closed-off region with little interaction with outsiders.
"On top of that, I found that each of them carried the same type of dried flower." Xie Yu opened the notebook to show her the blossom. "It looks like a double-petaled pear flower. But none grow near the capital. I just went out to ask several flower sellers."
"And judging by the color of the petals, these flowers were all picked at the same time and dried together."
She concluded, "These assassins likely come from the same region. The mastermind must have been recruiting talented young girls from that area for years. These flowers were probably sent by their villagers. A blessing sent to the children working far from home."
"If we find the region where these pear flowers grow, we'll be close to the mastermind."
Shen Changyin took the dried flower and examined it. "It couldn't have been an open recruitment. And it couldn't involve registered commoners, or the news would have leaked."
"Hidden households. Hidden fields." She marked the key points.
"I'll send people to investigate the flower's origin." She tucked the flower away and signaled for a maid. "Serve breakfast to Her Highness."
Xie Yu didn't stand on ceremony. She ate meat early in the morning without feeling it was greasy. After working all night and seeing so many corpses, her appetite was at its peak.
Shen Changyin stood. "But you must wait a bit. Our betrothal banquet is approaching. We mustn't make large movements now. The investigation must be done quietly."
Xie Yu was focused on her lean-meat porridge. She nodded while eating. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shen Changyin leaving. Without even putting down her bowl, she waved three fingers stuck to the rim as a goodbye.
Shen Changyin returned to her room. Her gaze drifted to the magnolia on the windowsill. Yesterday's buds had already bloomed more.
But the flower that had been perfect yesterday now seemed overly open, and two petals had fallen.
Shen Changyin approached and picked up the petals. After a closer look, she noticed that one small twig from the magnolia seemed to be missing.
Probably snapped on the way home.
She sighed lightly and tossed the fallen petals into the vase. The pink magnolia petals floated on the water like tiny boats.
The vendor was right. Real flowers wilt too easily. They weren't as suitable for blessings as velvet blossoms.
It didn't matter much. She didn't believe in blessings anyway.
Luck and fortune had long ceased to mean anything to her.
Even the betrothal had long lost its atmosphere. She and Xie Yu had turned it into a simple cooperation.
She shook her head, picked up her documents, and left the room.
The betrothal banquet would take place in a few days. The secret investigation would continue quietly. After that morning, she didn't pay attention to the magnolias again.
Until four days later, on the morning of the betrothal banquet, when she had to visit the imperial ancestral mountain with Xie Yu, following the Xie family tradition.
Shen Changyin was dressed and ready to leave. Just as she walked toward the door, something caught her eye.
The magnolia that should have wilted had been quietly replaced with several branches of perfectly blooming cherry blossoms, bathing in spring sunlight on the windowsill.
Shen Changyin approached. As expected, one cherry blossom branch had been snapped at the tip, revealing green bark.
Someone had been using the broken twig to judge the right time to replace the flowers for her.
—
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