Volume 1, Chapter 20: A Strange Trial
On the way back, Zhu Xiaozhi finally learned about Wang Qi’s background: her father had once been an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel during the previous emperor’s reign, but after the Empress Dowager took power, he was demoted and exiled to the Western Regions. The middle-aged man, frustrated by his failed career, did not survive the hardships; his wife died alongside him, leaving behind two children.
When the brother and sister traveled eastward, they took on all sorts of odd jobs to save money for medical treatment. Wang Qi was discovered by Madam Liu while playing the pipa at a tavern in Tongguan and was mistakenly taken as a concubine.
Later, she escaped from Fanyang and, after much searching, finally found her brother wandering like a lost soul in Tongguan. They then resumed making a living by selling literary works.
Their group returned in full force to Princess Zhaoyang’s residence, with the siblings occupying two small rooms on the southwest side. Zhu Xiaozhi opened her contacts list and was pleased to see two new names added—the Wang siblings—each accompanied by a translucent little heart, their dates of death consistent with natural order.
The Zhu family members each had three solid hearts, while the Wang siblings, like Song Jun, had only one. Zhu Xiaozhi guessed the number of red hearts related to the level of affection, but what did the translucency signify?
Still needing to confirm her suspicion that Wang Qi was indeed the legendary poet immortal, she ordered paper and ink prepared, then invited the girl inside alone.
“If you can compose prose, could you write a few lines of poetry for me to see?”
Unexpectedly, Wang Qi suddenly grasped her hand, her eyes moist and shining.
“Sister, I like you.”
The look Wang Qi gave her was sticky and tender, her brows soft and affectionate—the gaze of someone enamored. Her wet eyes resembled those of an innocent fawn.
Startled by this sudden display and the blush on Wang Qi’s face, Zhu Xiaozhi quickly stepped back, pulling her hand free.
“I took you in because of your talent, nothing else!”
But Wang Qi did not relent. She lay her soft body fully in Zhu Xiaozhi’s arms, tugging her hand to stroke her own face. The gentle brush of her fine hair tickled Zhu Xiaozhi’s entire arm like a coquettish kitten.
“Sister, I feel so bad. Please help me.”
Such a direct plea caught Zhu Xiaozhi off guard. Looking at the girl’s flushed, apple-red face, alarm bells rang in her mind.
She struggled to push Wang Qi away as she drew closer. In a moment of panic, though unsure why, she couldn’t help but quip,
“That would be... a different kind of price... No, sorry, I don’t have that kind of preference!”
“Sister, please,” Wang Qi begged.
Half of Zhu Xiaozhi’s body was pressed beneath her, and inwardly she wailed: how could a perfectly normal person suddenly change like this?
Wang Qi heard nothing, only clutching Zhu Xiaozhi’s arm tightly, pressing it firmly against her chest.
Zhu Xiaozhi awkwardly tried to extricate herself, but the small girl’s stubborn strength was surprisingly great; no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
“Could she have taken some wrong medicine...?” Zhu Xiaozhi despaired, managing only to half-drag Wang Qi’s soft, yielding body step by step toward the door.
---
Their robes were disheveled, revealing pale shoulders.
Zhu Xiaozhi quickly tugged Wang Qi’s slipping collar up to cover half her face, then straightened her own neckline before reaching to open the door.
“Madam Wei!”
But there was no answer—the courtyard lay empty under the blazing sun.
Under the streaming sunlight, Wang Qi’s eyes were glazed, as if shrouded in mist, clearly not normal. Could this have been a setup against herself?
Using a little girl in such a way—whoever was behind it must be truly wicked!
But what was their goal? She had only just arrived in Chang’an a few days ago and had already made such a malicious enemy?
Lost in thought, Wang Qi’s fuzzy head nudged open Zhu Xiaozhi’s collar again, her warm breath near the collarbone, almost pressing a kiss.
At this critical moment, Wang Shi’s somewhat dazed voice sounded from behind.
“Your Highness and my sister... what are you doing?”
Wang Qi finally froze but kept her head buried in Zhu Xiaozhi’s embrace.
Zhu Xiaozhi hastily smoothed their clothing and pushed Wang Qi out.
“Perfect timing. Your sister isn’t well—maybe she ate something bad. Please take her home quickly; I’ll call a physician.”
But Wang Shi clearly didn’t believe her.
“I saw clearly that Your Highness was adjusting clothes for both yourself and my sister! My sister is the most well-behaved and quiet—whether the other party is male or female, she would never do anything improper.”
“I’m not—I didn’t...”
She hadn’t expected this upright young lady, Princess Zhaoyang, to have such a strange inclination!
Wang Shi furrowed his brows deeply and half-drew his sword in a threatening stance.
“Princess Zhaoyang, I didn’t expect you to be such a person!”
He strode forward and snatched his sister from Zhu Xiaozhi’s arms.
Wang Qi tightly shut her eyes and leaned against her brother, her eyelids twitching slightly, lashes fluttering like moth wings.
“This is a misunderstanding—I can explain!”
Zhu Xiaozhi felt if she didn’t seize this moment, even plunging into the Yellow River wouldn’t clear her name. She grabbed Wang Qi’s shoulders and shook her.
“Little Pipa, say something, little Pipa…”
“Don’t touch her again!”
Wang Shi used his sword sheath to fend off Zhu Xiaozhi’s frantic hands, but Wang Qi finally opened her eyes a sliver and whispered faintly,
“It’s really not Your Highness’s fault. It was me—I don’t know why, but I suddenly lost consciousness…”
It was utterly humiliating—in truth, the moment her brother appeared, she was fully awake; her subsequent feigned sleep was simply because she couldn’t face reality.
She only admired young heroes like her brother and revered Princess Zhaoyang with envy and respect.
How had she done something so inappropriate when alone with Your HighI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.