Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 56: Third Princess

As soon as they entered the high vermillion doors of the palace, the atmosphere instantly became tense. The road was completely surrounded by guards with weapons and heavy armor and on the way, the carriage was stopped several times, but after seeing Xuan Qing on the carriage, it was then let go.

Lin Rufei sat in the carriage with his eyes closed as he listened to Xuan Qing and the guard, who received them, chit-chat. The guard seemed to be very worried about the current situation and from the beginning to the end, his frown never subsided. Xuan Qing’s expression did not change much and he still looked compassionate just like when Lin Rufei first met him.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. Several people came out from the carriage. Fu Hua and Yu Rui could only wait outside. Lin Rufei followed Xuan Qing and they entered the inner hall.

The inner hall was burning with elegant incense and a man in a yellow robe was sitting in front of a bookcase talking to another man in a vermilion uniform about something. Seeing that a few people came in, they stopped talking. This person should be the emperor of Dajing, Bai Jinglun. The man beside him was the person Lin Rufei wanted to send the invitations to, Bai Tianrui. Although Bai Jinglun didn’t look too old from his face, in fact, he was graying at his temples. The fine lines at the corners of the eyes also reveal his true age. But Bai Tianrui, by his side, was still in a graceful posture. As Xuan Qing said, a pair of peach blossom eyes were smiling at them. If it was only from the face, this Bai Tianrui really didn’t look like a powerful role and more like a reckless and unbridled swordsman.

The two brothers were both very good-looking. One majestic and stable and the other, suave and elegant, they really were the dragon and phoenix of the people.

“Master Xuan Qing is finally here.” Bai Tianrui laughed, “We suffered a lot waiting for you, ah.”

“Amitabha Buddha.” Xuan Qing folded his hands, ignored Bai Tianrui, and said directly to Bai Jinglun, “Your Holiness, where is the imperial prince and princess now? This monk is going to go check it out right now.”

Bai Jinglun said, “They are in the bedchambers on the side.” He then stood up, “I’ll go with you.”

“That’s fine.” Xuan Qing said but suddenly extended an invitation to Lin Rufei, who was standing beside him, “Would Lin gongzi like to go and have a look too?”

Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment and said, “This ……” was a private matter of the imperial family and it didn’t seem good for him to participate as an outsider.

As Lin Rufei was thinking so, Bai Tianrui, who was sitting on the side, suddenly got up and walked to his side. He made a gesture towards Lin Rufei as if they were acquaintances and gently placed his hand on his shoulders. He smiled and said: “Lin gongzi does not need to be formal, our Bai family’s relationship is very good. One family does not speak two languages, if you are interested, there is no harm in going to see.” 

Lin Rufei was confused by Bai Tianrui’s self-acquainted words, but then he saw that Bai Jinglun, who was the current emperor, also nodded his head.

Since the words have already been said, if he refused again it was as if Lin Rufei was not sensible. In the end, he could only agree. He followed Xuan Qing and the others and went in the direction of the bedchambers.

Bai Tianrui looked at Lin Rufei with interest and asked one or two questions from time to time, such as how old Lin Rufei was, how long it took to travel from Kunlun to here, and how he met Xuan Qing. The ones Lin Rufei could answer, he answered, and the ones he could not answer, Lin Rufei vaguely brushed passed them. This questioning and answering did not feel like chatting at all and seemed to feel more like a lecture.

In the end, it was Xuan Qing, who was next to him, that could no longer stand it. He knew that Lin Rufei was thin-skinned and that there was nothing he could do about Bai Tianrui, a battle-hardened prodigal son. He opened his mouth and told Bai Tianrui to be more careful and that Lin Rufei was the heart of the Lin family. If he manages to summon Lin Bianyu over, be careful of the entire Dengxiao City suffering.  

Bai Tianrui tsked and said, “Xuan Qing you are wrong, I was just chatting with Lin gongzi, why do you have to be so sensitive?”

Xuan Qing almost gave him an eye roll: “You just rely on the fact that Lin gongzi is thin-skinned to continue being shameless.”

Bai Tianrui let out a long sigh and looked lonesome, but in the blink of an eye, a smile was on his face again and he continued to chat with Lin Rufei about random things.

Lin Rufei was gentle in nature and did not feel impatient. He answered his questions here and there and it wasn’t until they reached the entrance of the bedchamber that Bai Tianui abruptly stopped his voice and looked serious.

This entire way, Bai Jinglun, from beginning to end, did not say a single word. He signaled to his subordinates to open the door and took the first step into the room.

The room was guarded by heavy troops inside and outside. Even the couch was guarded by two stern-looking guards. Only when they saw the group come in, did they slowly retreat.

This place was so heavily guarded that not even a mosquito could fly in. Furthermore, there was a cultivator of the eighth level like Bai Tianrui keeping watch, how could something still go wrong? This question suddenly pop into Lin Rufei’s mind.

Then he took a look inside the room. On a bed not far away, was a beautiful maiden in a long dress who was sleeping. Xuan Qing walked up with a serious expression and after a careful examination, he said, “How long has Her Highness been in a coma?”

“Thirty-four days.” Bai Tianrui replied.

“Tell me in detail.” Xuan Qing said again.

“On the fifth day of last month.” Bai Tianrui said, “Moumou originally wanted to take some maids out of the palace to play behind her father’s back, but before she could go out, she was found and seized back.” He looked at the young girl who had been unconscious for a long time on the bed and continued, “After that, she was nowhere to be found and by the time she was found again, she was already unconscious.”

“Where was the person found?” Xuan Qing asked.

“Under the plum tree in the imperial garden.” Bai Tianrui sat down at the edge of the bed and gently helped the princess to straighten her hair. His voice was slightly cold, “The maid was already dead by the time she was found, right by her side ……”

Xuan Qing knitted his brows: “Tell me in detail the stuff after that.”  

Bai Tianrui then talked about what happened after the third princess, whose pet name was Moumou, fell into a coma.

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At that time, they thought that Moumou had been killed by a traitor and had been poisoned with an unknown poison, so the whole palace was searching for suspicious people. But who knew that while they were searching, other princes were also in trouble. The first incident was the second prince. He was resting in his own residence, but suddenly something slipped into his residence in the middle of the night and almost strangled him alive in bed. Fortunately, a servant passing by with a lamp heard the commotion in the room, rushed in, and saved the prince. But neither the prince nor the servant saw the perpetrator’s face.

The whole palace was in a state of panic and the emperor sent extra guards to watch all the princesses and princes.

But even so, something still happened.

The youngest sixth prince was washing at night when a man suddenly appeared behind him and pressed his head into the water basin. The water basin only had a shallow layer of water and logically speaking, it could not be dangerous, but no one expected such an incident. The sixth prince struggled with all his might and knocked over the bronze mirror placed next to him, which alerted the guards who came in to save him from being drowned alive.

But according to the guards, only the sixth prince was seen inside the house, there was nothing behind him, not to mention the miscreants.

If it was just once, it could be explained by coincidence, but accidents happen one after another, no one could fool themselves. It was definitely someone who had set their eyes on the imperial heirs.

However, no matter how they searched, they could not find a bit of evidence of that thing. Even Bai Tianrui, a powerful person with a level eight cultivation, also seemed to have become an ornament, and could not find a single clue.

In desperation, they had to ask Xuan Qing to come over. They wanted him to help.

After listening to Bai Tianrui’s description, Xuan Qing asked where the remaining princes and princesses were.

“Originally, I wanted to gather them together and protect them.” Bai Tianrui said, “But who knew that a few days ago, there was another accident.”

Xuan Qing said, “The bloody handprints?”

“That’s right.” Bai Tianrui said in a deep voice, “In his Holiness’s bedchamber, there was a row of bloody handprints. I was next door at that time, but I didn’t feel anything.”

Xuan Qing fell into deep thought, “And after that?”

“After that?” Bai Tianrui spread his hands, “After that, I found out that I can’t be of much help. I could only simply drive a few of those little guys hiding in the palace back home.”

Fortunately, his Holiness did not have any major incident, otherwise, it would really be a problem.

The imperial heir apparents were a total of six people; two princesses and four princes. And now three people have experienced accidents, how could the emperor not be anxious?

“This thing comes and goes without a trace, it’s really troublesome.” Bai Tianrui said, “I may have to trouble Master Xuan Qing some more.”

Xuan Qing slightly squinted his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something.

Lin Rufei looked at the unconscious princess on the bed and suddenly said, “I have a question, I don’t know if I should ask it or not.”

“Please speak, Lin gongzi.” Bai Jinglun said.

“What harmed her highness, why do you guys call it ‘thing’?” Lin Rufei felt that it was very strange. Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t it be called a miscreant? Now, as they talked, the way of referring changed. 

Bai Jinglun’s eyes darkened and he was silent for a moment before saying, “Because no human can do this.”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Xuan Qing waved his hand, “There is nothing strange in the world, and I can count two or three people who can do this.”

“For example?” Bai Jinglun asked.

Xuan Qing looked at Lin Rufei and said, “Kunlun Lin family’s Lin Bianyu, Yunan He family’s He Xieyi, there are also a few senior brothers in the Nanyin Temple …… however, they are not worth mentioning.”

“But they are not in Dajing.” Bai Tianrui coldly argued, “Moreover, I am still here, if they come, I am sure to know.”

Xuan Qing was not angry at the rebuttal and shook his head, “I was just giving an example of someone who could do this.”

Bai Tianrui crossed his arms against his chest and smiled. This smile looked very bright but Xuan Qing sighed, shook his head, and said ‘Tianrui, Tianrui, don’t rush to be angry with me. Let’s get this over with first, then it still wouldn’t be too late for you to get angry.’ He was very clear about this prince and at a glance, he knew that he was certainly not happy.

When Bai Tianrui heard this, he narrowed his eyes and didn’t speak. He simply spread his hands towards Xuan Qing as a gesture of invitation.

Bai Jinglun frowned and said, “Tianrui, do not be rude to the master.”

Xuan Qing said indifferently, “Not a problem, not a problem.” He turned his head and said to the third princess, “I’m sorry[1].” He then leaned down and took the princess’s wrist, taking her pulse.

Lin Rufei took advantage of this time to look around and took in all the furnishings of the room. Probably because they feared that people would hide in the room, all the furniture was moved out, leaving only a soft couch bed shrouded in muslin. The windows were closed and the light in the room was not too good, but there were many candles lit in the corners, so it was not very dark. There were more than a dozen guards inside and outside the room. Even for a swordsman with the cultivation level like his second brother, it would not be an easy task to kill the princess quietly and without alerting anyone.

So who could it be? And what does it have to do with the thing that Gu Xuandu needs? As Lin Rufei was thinking, he heard Xuan Qing let out, “Strange.”

“What?” Bai Tianrui asked.

“The princess’ soul is intact, the veins in her body are flowing fine, and there is no strange poison.” Xuan Qing blinked, “You could say that if she wasn’t still unconscious, she would simply be a normal person.”

“No poison?” Bai Tianrui raised his eyebrows, “Are you sure?”

Xuan Qing nodded affirmatively.

“Then why does she stay asleep?” Bai Jinglun seemed to love this daughter of his and his tone was a bit anxious.

Xuan Qing pondered, “This, I can’t say for now. Are the injured princes also here?”

“They are all next door.” Bai Tianrui said.

“Then let’s go take a look.” Xuan Qing turned around and walked out.

Lin Rufei followed and also took a look at the princess. The princess was lying on the soft couch as if she was simply sleeping. Her face was no different from normal people and she was even more rosy than his pale face. Xuan Qing was right, if they hadn’t said that the princess was in a coma, most likely no one would have thought that she had had any accidents.

In that case, exactly what happened to the third princess ……

Xuan Qing went next door and met the two injured princes. The place they were residing in was also heavily guarded, but since the two were still awake, it was a bit boring to be trapped inside. When they entered, the two were propping their chins up and playing chess.

Lin Rufei took a glance at the chessboard. The chess style was messy and anxious and it could be seen that both of them did not seem to be in a good mood.

When they saw their father coming, the imperial princes rose and saluted, and then turned their curious eyes on Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing.

Bai Jinglun was not in a good mood and did not bother to explain. He waved his hand and instructed Xuan Qing to check on the two princes. Xuan Qing then went forward to check the prince’s body.

The second prince’s neck wound had not yet dissipated, and they could clearly see two bruised handprints. From the size of the handprints, it was most likely not the hands of adults, but children. The sixth prince had no injuries but was so scared that when Xuan Qing took his pulse, he kept shrinking his neck, not daring to say anything.

Xuan Qing said, “If I remember correctly, the mother consort of the two princes is the same person, right?”

Xuan Qing had said this so suddenly and the atmosphere in the room became a little strange.

The second prince, who was older and had already reached his crown[2], calmly said, “What does Master mean by asking this?”

“I just wonder why that thing picked you two out of the four princes.” Xuan Qing said, “With so many princes, there should be some reason.”

The second prince said in a deep voice, “It’s probably because the two of us are unlucky.” In the end, he was the son of the emperor, the words he spoke were full of confidence.

“I wonder what the second prince was doing on the day the third princess had an accident?” Xuan Qing didn’t mind the second prince’s hostility at all and asked in a gentle voice.

“My brother and I were riding horses on the horse farm.” The second prince said indifferently, “Later when I heard that something had happened to third sister, I rushed back to the palace.”

“Oh, that means the two of you were together?” Xuan Qing said.

The second prince said, “So what if we were together?”

“Talk properly.” Bai Jinglun coldly spoke out, “Who gave you such a big temper?”

When the second prince was reprimanded, his face showed some reluctance. However, he still hung his head and said “okay” in a low voice. Bai Jinglun coldly snorted and flung his sleeves away, “You guys ask.” His attitude towards the two princes and his treatment of the princess was as different as Heaven and Earth.

The sixth prince saw that his father was angry and sobbed again in a small voice. The atmosphere in the room froze to a standstill.

Bai Tianrui was indifferent. He smiled and sat on the side, picking up a piece of dried fruit and eating it with a hitch. He asked Lin Rufei if he wanted one, after Lin Rufei refused, he waved his hand, indicating for Xuan Qing to continue asking and that he didn’t need to give face to these two princes.

Xuan Qing sighed and asked the princes some more questions. The second prince answered very carefully this time and didn’t dare to pull a long face at Xuan Qing again. But from the beginning to the end, only he was talking. The sixth prince stayed next to him crying quietly and from time to time, he would raise his hand to rub his eyes.

Xuan Qing was almost finished asking so he got up to say goodbye. But when he was about to leave, he suddenly said to the sixth prince: “That day in the horse farm, what was the name of the horse your highness was riding?” 

The sixth prince looked at Xuan Qing dumbly and said, “What?”

Xuan Qing said, “It’s the name of the horse you rode in the stable that day when the princess had an accident.”

“Called …… called ……” The sixth prince stammered and didn’t answer for a long time. In the end, it was the second prince who reached out and pressed his shoulder. He said in a deep voice, “Called Lei Yun.”

“Oh.” Xuan Qing smiled, “I guess that must be a good horse.”

(t/n: Lei Yun means Thundercloud)

“Naturally.” The second prince’s tone was hard.

The people in the room were all human prodigies so how could they not tell that something was strange? It was just that no one said anything. They all pretended that nothing happened and walked out of the room. It wasn’t until they were out of the room that Bai Tianrui spoke up and ordered the palace staff to check whether the princes were or were not in the stable on the day of the princess’s accident.

If they were there, then that was fine. However, if they weren’t, then this matter was a bit strange. 

When Xuan Qing came out and said he wanted to go around the palace, Bai Jinglun sent Bai Tianrui to accompany him, saying that Xuan Qing could go to any place in the palace, no need to be restrained.

Xuan Qing said that he first wanted to go to the place where the princess had an accident.

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The palace was very big and because of the accident, there were guards walking around everywhere. It could be said that it was heavily guarded. Lin Rufei took out the invitation and handed it to Bai Tianrui while the three of them were spending time together. Bai Tianrui took it with a smile, looked through it twice, and then put it in his bosom.

“Tianrui, tell me honestly, did you sense those things or not.” When they reached a certain corner, Xuan Qing suddenly spoke. Listening to his tone, it seemed he and Bai Tianrui were old acquaintances and their relationship seems quite good.

Bai Tianrui raised his eyebrows: “Xuan Qing, what do you mean by that?”

Xuan Qing said indifferently: “I just want to know if this is muddy water[3].”

Bai Tianrui snorted: “So what if it’s muddy water, can you still refuse?”

Xuan Qing sighed.

“If you would have known, you wouldn’t have bothered in the first place.” Bai Tianrui shook his head and sighed in pity, “Although that guy Bai Jinglun is not good at swordplay, his brain is first class. His favor is not easily returned.” As he said this, he also patted Xuan Qing’s shoulder and rejoiced in his misfortune, “You regret now, right?”

Xuan Qing did not say anything and sighed again.

“But I’m not really involved in this.” Bai Tianrui said, “Besides, you know, I’ve never been very interested in these things.”

“Then what are you interested in?” Xuan Qing said.

Bai Tianrui smiled and looked at Lin Rufei, who was standing next to him, and Lin Rufei’s back went cold. Xuan Qing almost wanted to give Bai Tianrui an eye roll and said, ‘If you’re not afraid of death then go for it. If you really kicked the iron plate[4], be careful not to break your legs.’ However, Bai Tianrui didn’t have the heart to listen. He had also been to Kunlun before but had never seen Lin Rufei. However, he had to say that the pale face and slender body of the Lin family’s youngest son was more interesting than his second brother. Although his complexion didn’t look good and he heard that it was long-term sickness, his sick appearance gave off a feeling that he was even more beautiful than Xi Zi[5]. 

Lin Rufei, at this time, finally understood the meaning when Xuan Qing told him to be careful of Bai Tianrui. This Prince really gave off a feeling that he would eat anything. 

Xuan Qing went around the imperial garden and didn’t find anything special, which he felt that it was really strange. He told Bai Tianrui to carefully check his two nephews, since those two probably lied. And he also asked how the relationship was between the princes and the princess. 

Bai Tianrui was not interested in these things and lazily told Xuan Qing about the secret of the palace. The second prince and the sixth prince were born as the sons of the Empress. The current first prince and the third princess were from a concubine and although her mother’s family had little power, they were very loved by his Holiness. Because of these reasons, their relationship was not very good.

“But these things are normal.” Bai Tianrui was not at all concerned about this kind of small fight, “This generation is no good, they are too stupid. When I was their age, I used much more vicious methods.”

Xuan Qing shook his head: “The Prince must not speak presumptuously!”

Bai Tianrui said, “It doesn’t matter, if I only had five levels of cultivation, he would probably still guard against me. Now that I have eight levels, he wishes for me to stay in the palace with him every day.” The “he” in this sentence referred to the current Holiness, Bai Jinglun.

Lin Rufei also understood Bai Tianrui’s meaning. A sword cultivator at the fifth level may still be fascinated by mortal objects and want to fight for power. But Bai Tianrui was already on the eighth level. He obviously had completely exceeded the realm of mortals. These merits and fame, for him, were just a passing cloud. So not only did Bai Jinglun not feel that he was a threat, but he took him as a pillar of support for Dajing.

“The thing you said, I don’t even need to check to know. But in front of my brother, I do not dare say.” Bai Tianrui said, “Those two were definitely not at the horse farm.”

“Oh? You know?” Xuan Qing said, “Then where were they?”

“Of course they were bullying the third princess.” Bai Tianrui lightly said, “That day the third princess wanted to go out of the palace to Dengxiao City to see the lights but was stopped halfway. Who do you think would be so boring so do that? Of course, it was her two idle brothers. Girls are not like boys. If boys were a little bit wild, His Holiness would not mind. But girls couldn’t be, because sooner or later, they were to be married and could not lose the imperial family’s face.” 

Xuan Qing said, “So the princess went to the imperial garden?”

“Yes.” Bai Tianrui said, “She likes it there.”

Xuan Qing fell into deep thought.

Lin Rufei said, “Could it be that she collided with something in the imperial garden”

Xuan Qing shook his head, “I do think that they might have run into something when they were about to leave the city.” Thus the third princess went straight into a coma, the second prince and the sixth prince nearly had their lives taken, and there was no telling if an accident would happen next.

Lin Rufei said: “You said, a few days ago, his Holiness’s bedchamber also had bloody handprints appear?  Why didn’t that thing strike at His Holiness?”

Bai Tianrui thought for a moment: “I’ve thought about this, but I can only guess that His Holiness was probably carrying something that the thing couldn’t get close to.”

Xuan Qing said, “That is a possibility. I wonder if I can check what his Holiness is carrying on him?” 

Bai Tianrui laughed, “He probably won’t let you.”

“Why?” Xuan Qing asked.

“Remember the rabbit spirit that he liked back then?” Bai Tianrui said, “Even now he is longing for it. His pouch that he carries everywhere has a lock of white hair cut off from that rabbit spirit. Say, if this thing was seen by people, wouldn’t he be ashamed to death?” As he said this, he very nonchalantly laughed out loud

Xuan Qing coughed dryly. His expression showed embarrassment and said, “You’re right.”

Lin Rufei found that this Prince was really nasty and excessive and only when he was under Bai Jinglun’s eyes, would he be a little more peaceful.

********

The author has something to say:

Lin Rufei: The Princess is unconscious.

Gu Xuandu: Mn?

Lin Rufei: A kiss is needed to wake up.  

Gu Xuandu: Who are you going to kiss? ? ? 

Lin Rufei: My family’s unconscious Princess Gu, ah. 

Gu Xuandu: ………………..Come, I am ready.

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[1] Technically what was here was him apologizing for offending, because in Chinese culture, guys and girls can’t casually touch each other. 

[2] No clue if I ever explained “crown” but it’s like a coming of age thing, when they reach 20 years old. This is also the time when they can get a courtesy name. I think in previous occasions, I might have just referred to the characters as “coming of age”  

[3] Something troublesome.  

[4] Kick the iron plate: can be interpreted as thinking that other people are soft and easy to bully, but it turns out that other people are better than they are, and suffer a loss. 

[5] For those who may not remember: Copy and paste from Chapter 28. Nickname for Xi Shi(c. 450 BC), “a famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties 四大美女 of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu”