Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 61
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
Xuanji Killer
In the room next door.
Chen Bi knelt rigidly on the floor, head bowed, not daring to look at the man seated directly in front of her.
The man wore purple robes. His skin was wheat-colored, his sword-like eyebrows slanted up towards his temples, and his thin lips were hidden beneath a high-bridged nose. His eyes were like cold stars, the faint halo within them resembling a lone wolf in the frigid night staring down its prey, striking fear into one’s heart.
Seeing the delicate figure kneeling before him, the coldness in his eyes intensified. “Chen Bi, how many days have you been in Yanxue Kingdom?”
“Replying to the Young Master… less than four months.”
“Less than four months, ha.” The man gave a cold laugh, pointing at the Third Princess who lay unconscious on the bed. “Such a short time, don’t tell This Seat1 you’ve developed feelings for her. She’s a woman, Chen Bi. Could it be that you, like Xi Yun2, are some kind of freak3 who likes women?”
His tone was aggressive4, as if she would end up a corpse on the spot5 if she admitted it.
Chen Bi lowered her head further, her gaze shifting sideways towards the person sleeping soundly on the bed. Her hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly.
She, like Xi Yun, was an orphan girl taken in by Xuanji Tower.
Dongli Kingdom and Huachen Kingdom had nothing else in abundance, but discarded or killed female infants were exceptionally numerous. According to the Shifu who had taken her in, when she found her, she had been abandoned in a stinking ditch, nearly drowned.
Shifu picked her up and raised her with the other orphan girls. Specialized masters trained them in the techniques of assassination and infiltration.
Once they reached fourteen or fifteen years of age, they were sent to various countries, planted beside powerful figures to await the opportune moment to strike.
Xi Yun was from the previous batch selected; strictly speaking, she should be Chen Bi’s Shijie6.
According to the person who taught them assassination, Xi Yun had been dispatched to the side of Yanxue Kingdom’s Eighth Princess Royal7. But she was a foolish freak. After spending a long time with the Eighth Princess, she actually fell in love with her. She couldn’t even accomplish the simple task of stealing the Eighth Princess’s letters for the Tower’s people to copy the handwriting. Because of this, she was captured by the Tower’s people and subjected to severe torture.
That time, when Xi Yun emerged from the Punishment Hall, covered in wounds after her ordeal, Chen Bi happened to be passing by, wiping her blade after finishing a day’s training.
The people in Xuanji Tower never showed mercy. To deal with those who developed divided loyalties, they would whip them for half an hour with soft whips embedded with barbs, then use hooks to pick open the wounds. Repeating this twice could make a person wish for death but be unable to attain it.
Xi Yun was drenched in blood, yet she smiled when she saw Chen Bi, saying, “Luckily, they didn’t hit my face or neck, otherwise the Eighth Princess would easily find out.”
At that time, Chen Bi also thought her extremely foolish. To risk her life for a stranger, a woman no less. She replied disdainfully, “Are you afraid the Eighth Princess will find out you’re an undercover agent and kill you?”
“No, Her Eighth Highness wouldn’t. She would only worry about me.” Despite such severe injuries, Xi Yun could still smile so happily. “She would first summon many physicians to treat my wounds, then hold me and apply medicine for me.”
“Are you having delusions?”
Where could such a kind person exist?
Every time they were injured, they were lucky if they didn’t receive beatings and curses from their instructors: How could an assassin allow themselves to get injured so carelessly? You must not have been trying hard enough!
Then they would take up a whip and lash the injured areas.
Sometimes, a whipping was considered light punishment. The hardest to endure was being forced to stand outside in the snow for a whole day without food, even when suffering from frostbite on their hands and bodies in the freezing weather.
If they were sick or injured, the instructors would just casually toss them a bottle of medicine and let them deal with it themselves.
—What about those beaten half to death, with no strength left to take medicine or apply ointment?
Who cared about that? Anyway, the Tower never lacked abandoned orphan girls. If one died, she died. They could just go pick up more.
So, whenever she was sick or injured, she always endured it alone. Even if she only had a breath left, she would grit her teeth and swallow the medicine.
She was afraid she might die accidentally. Those who died had no graves, not even a burial mound. Their bodies would be taken away by the poison experts in the Tower, thrown to the venomous creatures they raised, and devoured completely.
She didn’t want to die without an intact corpse8. She wanted to survive.
“It’s true.” Xi Yun was very happy. Seeing the unbandaged wound on Chen Bi’s arm after her training, a trace of pity flashed in her eyes. With trembling hands that were still intact, she took out a bottle of medicine from her sleeve and handed it to her. “This is wound medicine Her Eighth Highness had the imperial physician prepare. Take it.”
“Don’t you need it yourself?”
Her eyes were full of laughter, radiating happiness. “No need. Her Eighth Highness will have more made for me.”
Chen Bi hated it most when others looked at her with pity, but that time, unusually, she felt no revulsion. She silently accepted the item and watched Xi Yun limp away from Xuanji Tower.
Their interaction ended there. Later, she heard that the Tower sent others to steal the Eighth Princess’s seal and imitate her handwriting to fabricate evidence of rebellion. Then, they dispatched assassins to kill her when she was unprepared. And Xi Yun, who could have originally escaped alive, actually committed suicide with a gold hairpin.
The death of an orphan assassin had no impact.
But the death of a member of the imperial family was taken very seriously by Yanxue Kingdom.
The Emperor of Yanxue Kingdom was an intelligent woman. After her younger sister died, she openly raided the royal residence but secretly brought her sister’s only child into the palace to raise. She also covertly assigned dozens more hidden guards to protect her own children and sisters.
The areas around those imperial daughters became impregnable9, making infiltration very difficult.
But if Xuanji Tower wanted to gain benefits from Yanxue Kingdom, it was imperative that someone infiltrate the circles of these imperial daughters.
After carefully studying the daily interactions between the Eighth Princess and Xi Yun, their instructors concluded that the imperial daughters of Yanxue Kingdom were inherently naive and very easy to deceive, especially those who disliked imperial power and preferred poetry and songs.
From the Emperor’s generation, it was the Eighth Princess. For the next generation of imperial daughters, they targeted the Third Princess.
Thus, they had Chen Bi pose as a wandering orphan girl, kneeling by the roadside, deliberately bumping into the imperial daughters’ sedan chairs.
She still remembered that the weather that day was exceptionally cold. The snow on the trees hadn’t fully melted, and the stones on the road were frozen particularly hard.
She deliberately used a stone to injure her own calf, then relied on her skills10 to dodge the guards and collide with the sedan chair. Before she could even speak, the sedan curtain was lifted. The person inside was very beautiful, with gentle features and the scent of pear blossoms about her.
Instead of accusing her of being blind and bumping into her sedan, she first asked, “Miss, are you injured?”
Meeting those gentle, concerned eyes, the pitiful words Chen Bi had prepared instantly scattered. Seeing her dazed and blank look, the Third Princess thought she had hit her head and immediately had the accompanying imperial physician treat her injuries.
While the imperial physician treated her wound, the Third Princess stayed beside her. Seeing the horrifying injury on her leg, she gasped and asked the physician to be gentler, then had someone find clean clothes for her to change into.
At that moment, she dimly realized that Xi Yun hadn’t been lying. There really were people who would care if they got hurt, who would care if they bled.
She followed the Third Princess into her residence. The Third Princess was very kind and wasn’t harsh even with her servants. When Chen Bi spoke a little about landscapes, calligraphy, and painting, the Princess assumed she also had insights into poetry and songs, so she would occasionally come to chat with her.
To ensure their undercover agents successfully gained the target’s trust, Xuanji Tower taught them seduction techniques. Chen Bi secretly used them, seizing opportunities to present herself well before the Third Princess, eventually leading the Princess to take her as a favored concubine.
The Third Princess treated people generously, and she treated this favored concubine even better.
Whatever Chen Bi wanted, the Princess would take her to buy it. Whatever she wanted to do, the Princess would let her do it. It was the first time she knew what it felt like to be doted on.
But Xuanji Tower’s orders could not be defied, otherwise she would die. She didn’t want to die yet; she wanted to stay with the Third Highness.
Last night, word came from the Tower that the Young Master ordered her to come to this medical hall; he wanted to speak with her. At that time, she had been overjoyed, thinking about going to the bookshop with the Third Princess.
The Third Princess had promised to take her after the palace banquet ended, and she hadn’t broken her word. She had arranged for Chen Bi to be taken to the bookshop first, intending to join her later.
But Chen Bi had deceived her, claiming the bookshop was stuffy and she wanted to rest. So she brought her here to this inn. As soon as they entered the room, she secretly used knockout incense to render her unconscious. She even staged a scene, waiting for the Third Princess to wake up so she could tell her she had fainted from exhaustion. The Third Princess pampered and loved her; she wouldn’t suspect her. That way, she could continue staying by her side.
After doing all this, she stayed in the room, quietly waiting for someone from Xuanji Tower to find her.
She thought it would be her own instructor, but she never expected the Young Master himself to come looking for her.
Seeing her keep her head bowed, the man sneered, “Why aren’t you speaking? Has your heart gone wild? No longer thinking about Xuanji Tower?”
“This servant wouldn’t dare. This servant also hasn’t… developed feelings.”
“You’d better not dare.” The man sneered again and walked towards the bed.
Seeing this, Chen Bi panicked, hurriedly shuffling forward on her knees to block his path, saying nervously, “Young Master, harming the Imperial Daughter now will alert the Emperor.”
“Hmph, you’re afraid This Seat will touch her?” the man said contemptuously. “A freak who likes women isn’t enough to catch This Seat’s eye. It’s just that This Seat heard from the High Priest of Huachen Kingdom that Yanxue Kingdom has an imperial daughter with the fate of a Nine Heavens Phoenix11, and This Seat was merely curious.”
He glanced over from a distance. Unremarkable. Only her face was slightly better looking. She didn’t look like someone with a phoenix fate at all. Probably just something those superstitious people from Huachen Kingdom made up to fool others.
After that one glance, he turned around. “This Seat came to find you personally for two reasons. One, to warn you. Two…”
He reached into his sleeve and took out a small box. “Feed the contents of this to her.”
“May I ask the Young Master, what… what is this?”
“What is this?” The man smiled maliciously, lowering his head to lift her chin. “This is called Ourén Gǔ12. It’s something from Changsheng Valley. Once eaten, a person becomes like a puppet, only able to obey the commands of the one possessing the Mu Gu13.”
He took out another box. “This Seat plans to feed this Mu Gu to you, making the Third Princess obey only your words from now on. She will love you forever. What do you think?”
The chilling frost in his words made one’s blood run cold.
Chen Bi quickly shook her head. “This servant is unworthy of consuming such a valuable item.”
Giving her the Mu Gu was just a test. The reputation of this Young Master of their Xuanji Tower was already widespread—sinister, ruthless, bloodthirsty, and cruel.
It was even rumored that the current Eldest Miss, his own younger sister, who had lost her martial arts skills, might have been poisoned on his orders.
Facing someone like this, who disdained even familial bonds, she had to be exceedingly careful.
“Good, you know what’s good for you14.” The man put the box containing the Mu Gu away, took out a handkerchief, wiped the cold sweat from her face, and smiled. “Rest assured, This Seat won’t take your life. As long as you perform well, This Seat will even recommend you for the position of Altar Master.”
“Many thanks, Young Master.”
“Mm. Get up.” The man chuckled lightly. “This Seat must leave now. You’d best not disappoint This Seat, otherwise…”
Chen Bi thought of the rows of torture instruments in Xuanji Tower and quickly lowered her head, her clothes mostly soaked with sweat. “………Yes.”
Smoothing out the newly formed wrinkles on his robes, the man smiled and straightened up, brazenly opening their room door.
Him, the dignified Young Master of Xuanji Tower, being expected to leave through a window? This Chen Bi was truly audacious enough to blot out the sky15. If she weren’t still useful, he would definitely have thrown her into the Ten Thousand Insect Tower to let her die without an intact corpse.
He had just stepped out of the room when the door to the adjacent room opened. Before he could react, “Splash!” A basin of water descended from above, drenching him.
Soaked like a drowned rat, he furiously looked to his left. “You—”
Seeing the appearance of the girl who had thrown the water, he swallowed his words.
As the Young Master of Xuanji Tower, he had seen countless women over the years, but never one as beautiful as the one before him.
Although her expression was icy cold, and her eyes held not a shred of emotion as she looked at him, it was precisely this kind of woman who was the most thrilling to conquer.
He suppressed his anger, instantly putting on a smile. “Miss, you’ve gotten my clothes wet.”
“My apologies. I was just talking with my sweetheart16 and didn’t see the Young Master.” The one who threw the water was none other than Ji Qingchi. She had just overheard their conversation and was itching to rush next door and kill this so-called Young Master. How dare he insult an imperial daughter of their Yanxue Kingdom? Did he not value his life?
Su Yi had managed to persuade her otherwise, and had prepared dirty water in advance, saying that if this Young Master happened to pass their door, they’d splash it in his face.
Unexpectedly, he really did pass by their door.
Now Ji Qingchi seized the opportunity. Hearing the door next door open, she immediately grasped the timing and poured the entire basin of stable boy’s foot-washing water, obtained from the innkeeper’s assistant, onto him.
The man’s smile froze. “Sweet… heart? Miss has a beloved?”
“Darling, who is it?” Su Yi appeared at the right moment, walking slowly and unhurriedly to the doorway, rubbing her eyes and reaching out for an embrace.
Ji Qingchi understood immediately, pulling Su Yi into her arms and smiling as she tapped her nose. “Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”
“Stop it, don’t rub my nose. I was just woken up by the voices, I can’t sleep.” Su Yi deliberately spoke in a cute, coquettish voice, snuggling against Ji Qingchi’s shoulder.
Her adorable appearance made Ji Qingchi unable to resist affectionately ruffling17 Su Yi’s little head a few times. After doing so, the smile vanished from her face, replaced once again by a blank expression. “As the Young Master can see, this is my sweetheart.”
The man’s face instantly turned ashen. He pointed at them, “You… you two women…”
“Oh my, is this Young Master perhaps envious of us two women?” Su Yi took the chance to look up, deliberately clinging to Ji Qingchi’s shoulder, appearing frail and weak. “Does the Young Master also wish to be with a man? Unfortunately, I don’t have any handsome men around, otherwise I would definitely recommend one to the Young Master. How pitiful that the Young Master is all alone. I wonder if it’s because no man wants him? It truly breaks one’s heart.”
Su Yi’s words thoroughly infuriated the man. He couldn’t bring himself to utter the word “freak” again. Glaring furiously at Su Yi, he stomped away quickly, “Thump thump thump”.
Watching his retreating back, Ji Qingchi couldn’t resist the urge to take out a hidden weapon and finish him off.
Su Yi quickly pressed down on her hand, shook her head, and whispered, “Let out a long line to catch a big fish.”
Only then did Ji Qingchi withdraw her hand. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she kicked open the door next door.
Chen Bi, holding the small box, jumped in fright. She recognized Ji Qingchi. Seeing her, she subconsciously started to explain.
Ji Qingchi couldn’t be bothered with her. She walked straight past her and woke up the Third Princess.
The Third Princess had fainted right after entering the room. Now, seeing her Ninth Imperial Younger Sister here, she was quite surprised. Su Yi came in and patiently explained the whole story18.
While they spoke, Ji Qingchi held a soft sword in her hand, ready in case Chen Bi attacked them or tried to flee suddenly.
Surprisingly, Chen Bi did nothing. She just knelt on the ground, head bowed, silent.
After hearing Su Yi’s explanation, the Third Princess fell silent.
Su Yi said, “Third Highness, rest assured. You were deceived. I believe Her Majesty will not blame you.”
The Third Princess shook her head. “It was This Palace who was a poor judge of character. This Palace will request punishment from Mother Emperor later.”
She stood up, walked over to Chen Bi, and asked gently, “Is Chen Bi your real name?”
“This servant has no father or mother, no name.” Chen Bi lowered her head, speaking softly, “This is the name given to me by the Shifu who picked me up.”
“Then it counts as your real name.” The Third Princess smiled faintly. “You didn’t completely deceive This Palace. Little Nine and the others also know your scheme now. There’s no use for you to remain by This Palace’s side, and I fear those people from your Tower will cause trouble for you. How about this: here is a bank draft for one thousand taels. Take the money and find a place to live under a new identity.”
Chen Bi didn’t take the money. “This servant will not leave. This servant wants to follow Your Highness.”
Ji Qingchi gave a sarcastic laugh. “Imperial Elder Sister, I’m afraid you don’t understand the rules of their assassin Tower. Her mission has been exposed. Even if she fled to the ends of the earth, those people would hunt her down and kill her. Of course she won’t leave Imperial Elder Sister’s side. Tell me, where could be safer than beside Imperial Elder Sister?”
“That’s not it.” Chen Bi shook her head, looking pleadingly at the Third Princess. “This servant simply does not wish to leave Your Third Highness. I beg Your Third Highness to permit it.”
She began to kowtow, banging her head on the floor with “Thud! Thud! Thud!”. Soon, her forehead was a bloody mess.
The Third Princess couldn’t bear to watch and wanted to help her up, but Ji Qingchi strode forward and pulled her aside. “Imperial Elder Sister, one cannot conspire with tigers and wolves19. Her words cannot be trusted.”
Chen Bi looked up, gazing yearningly at the Third Princess. “If this servant has spoken half a false word, may I die a horrible death.”
“Fine. You say you want to stay by my Imperial Elder Sister’s side. Just saying it isn’t enough; there must be a price.” Ji Qingchi sneered. “Become our spy within Xuanji Tower, help us bring down Xuanji Tower. Are you willing?”
Xuanji Tower was the place that raised her, yet it held not a shred of warmth.
If she refused, the Third Highness who had shown her warmth would surely abandon her.
Chen Bi nodded firmly. “I am willing.”
This actually surprised Ji Qingchi. However, words alone are no proof. Fearing she might turn traitor, Ji Qingchi deliberately injected a stream of her own Zhenqi20 into her body.
Chen Bi immediately turned pale with pain. Ji Qingchi said coolly, “This is an acupoint-sealing method21 This Palace created herself, which seals the heart meridian22. If you serve us wholeheartedly, This Palace can regulate your Zhenqi once every half-month. But if you betray us, you won’t last half a month before your body explodes and you die.”
“This servant… agrees.”
Seeing her expression was sincere and didn’t seem fake, Ji Qingchi immediately regulated the energy for her once.
Chen Bi’s complexion eased. Ji Qingchi said to the Third Princess, “Third Imperial Sister, you should still take her back as usual. However, you absolutely must not be as close to her as before.”
Chen Bi’s heart ached terribly, but ultimately, she had brought this upon herself, so she couldn’t blame anyone.
The Third Princess sighed. “Alright, This Palace understands.”
Now, none of them had the leisure to stay at the inn. Fearing further trouble, they parted ways and returned to their respective homes.
Ji Qingchi wanted to spend more time with Su Yi, so naturally, she went back with her. Su Yi’s shoulder injury hadn’t healed yet, so Ji Qingchi carried her back.
On the way, Su Yi poked her shoulder and smiled. “Your Highness was truly impressive just now.”
The smile on Ji Qingchi’s lips couldn’t be hidden. “How about it? Did your heart flutter?”
“Not quite to that extent. It’s just that when Your Highness used Zhenqi earlier, I was thinking, when others threaten people, they use things like poisons or Gu. Isn’t it too tiring for Your Highness to use Zhenqi? One person is fine, but if there were dozens or hundreds of people, would Your Highness have to seal each person’s heart meridian with Zhenqi one by one? That would be far too exhausting.”
No one ever knew what was going on in Su Yi’s little head. Hearing this, Ji Qingchi was somewhat exasperated. “Then what do you suggest?”
“When we get back, I want to research with Miss Feng if there’s anything specifically designed for threatening people.”
Su Yi was full of fighting spirit. “It definitely won’t lose out to that Ourén Gǔ thing.”
“Alright.” Ji Qingchi lowered her head, smiling as she helped tuck in the cloak that the wind had blown open. “This Palace believes you can do it.”
LP: Su Yi: Researching more effective methods to threaten people for my wife
Footnotes
- 本座 | běn zuò | Lit. “this seat”; An arrogant form of “I” used by powerful figures.
- 溪云 | Xī Yún
- 怪胎 | guàitāi | Lit. “strange fetus”; A derogatory term meaning freak, monster, oddball.
- 咄咄逼人 | duōduō bīrén | Lit. “sound of chiding presses people”; Describes an aggressive, overbearing manner.
- 横尸当场 | héng shī dāngchǎng | Lit. “corpse lies horizontally on the spot”; To die violently then and there.
- 师姐 | Shījiě | Senior Sister Apprentice.
- 八亲王 | Bā Qīnwáng | Eighth Princess Royal. The title Qīnwáng is typically male (Prince Royal), but context later strongly suggests this character is female.
- 死无全尸 | sǐ wú quán shī | Lit. “die without a whole corpse”; To die in a way that leaves the body dismembered or destroyed.
- 固若金汤 | gù ruò jīn tāng | Lit. “solid as gold soup”; Describes something heavily fortified and impenetrable.
- 功夫 | gōngfu | Skill, martial arts prowess.
- 九天凤凰命格 | jiǔ tiān fènghuáng mìnggé | Fate/destiny chart of a Nine Heavens Phoenix; implies supreme nobility and power.
- 偶人蛊 | Ǒurén Gǔ | Lit. “Puppet Person Gu”; A type of 蛊 (gǔ) – legendary venomous insects/parasites used in poisons, black magic, or control techniques.
- 母蛊 | Mǔ Gǔ | Lit. “Mother Gu”; The controlling part of a Gu parasite system.
- 识抬举 | shí tái jǔ | Lit. “recognize being lifted”; To know how to appreciate a favor; know what’s good for oneself; not be insensible to kindness.
- 胆大包天 | dǎn dà bāo tiān | Lit. “gallbladder big enough to wrap the heavens”; Incredibly daring, audacious, insolent.
- 心肝 | xīngān | Lit. “heart and liver”; An affectionate term of endearment, like “darling” or “sweetheart”.
- rua | rua | An onomatopoeic internet slang term, often used in ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) contexts, meaning to pet, rub, or gently squeeze something cute, like an animal’s head or a person’s face/head.
- 来龙去脉 | lái lóng qù mài | Lit. “coming dragon going vein”; The entire sequence of events; the ins and outs of a matter.
- 虎狼不足与之谋 | hǔ láng bù zú yǔ zhī móu | Lit. “tigers wolves not enough with them conspire”; One cannot trust or make plans with treacherous and dangerous people.
- 真气 | zhēnqì | True Qi/Vital Energy in martial arts/cultivation contexts.
- 点穴法 | diǎnxué fǎ | Acupoint Striking Method; technique to block meridians or control/harm someone.
- 心脉 | xīnmài | Heart Meridian/Pulse, crucial point in martial arts/TCM.
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