Fate Trading System – Chapter 389

Plan B

Mandarin Ducks 19

“He’s no simple character.”

Princess Yuyuan was unwilling to say more. When Liu Yunyi saw her displeased expression, he shut his mouth and stopped asking.

Princess Yuyuan grew even more irritable. Ever since the last incident, Liu Yunyi’s attitude toward her had become much more cautious. He seemed obedient to her every whim, but how could she not know what was truly in his heart? She knew what consequences her actions would have, but she wanted to make it crystal clear to Liu Yunyi what his place was.

Princess Yuyuan let out a cold laugh. Liu Yunyi didn’t quite understand why, but he still sat down quietly.

There was the light clink of chopsticks against a bowl. Chewing the exquisite food, Princess Yuyuan felt utterly bored.

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Great snows had walked the human world several times, fluttering down and leaving without regret.

The spring breeze blew the branches green, tender hues bursting forth.

Su Xin and Liu Yunyi met again at a palace banquet. They were seated on opposite sides, and though there was some distance between them, with nothing in the way they could see each other clearly.

Liu Yunyi’s eyes widened in shock. He hurriedly lowered his head and drank his wine to cover his loss of composure.

Su Xin knew he had recognized her.

Good. At least he wasn’t so forgetful as to shove her to the back of his mind.

Su Xin met Liu Yunyi’s gaze only that once. For the rest of the banquet, she never again looked up at him, focusing either on the performances onstage or on Lin Suhuai beside her.

No matter how the appraising gazes lingered on her, she kept her smile, unruffled.

Liu Yunyi’s heart was tangled like hemp¹. He had never imagined he would see this person here.

Xu Jinyan… it was actually her.

How could it be her?

Shouldn’t she still be waiting there?

The three-year promise—Liu Yunyi was the one who broke it.

He had a better future here. Why would he go back to marry a woman who would do nothing for his official career?

In any case, he had failed Xu Jinyan. It wasn’t as if she would remain unmarried for life. With Old Master Xu’s temperament, since he hadn’t returned for over three years, how could he possibly let Xu Jinyan just stay at home? He would surely have married her off; perhaps she hadn’t honored the three-year promise either and had married someone else within those three years.

Liu Yunyi hadn’t even sent anyone back to investigate. He didn’t want to face any of it. He wanted to sever all ties to that place.

Whether Xu Jinyan had married or not, he wanted no more connection with her. He knew how strong the jealousy of the princess beside him was. If she learned that before coming here he already had a woman with whom he had privately pledged a lifelong bond², she would certainly lose her temper. After all, he had told the princess she was the first woman he had ever fancied. Princess Yuyuan hated being deceived more than anything.

What frightened him even more was that when Princess Yuyuan lost her temper, she didn’t shout like others. She was silent, watching him with a faint, unreadable smile—and then he would learn what true misery was.

Last time, he had nearly been scared impotent. Who could accept it? The person who had just been tangled with him on the pillows suddenly pushed him away and slashed her own face into a bloody blur. A beautiful moment was forcibly turned into an Asura hell³.

Since then, whenever he lay in bed and made similar movements, that day’s scene would surge up uncontrollably— that terrifying face seeming to reappear, the thick stench of blood filling his nose and making him retch.

Whatever Liu Yunyi was thinking, Su Xin was quite at ease at the banquet.

Lin Suhuai habitually wore a blank expression. Only when she looked at her wife did a gentle smile appear on her face.

“Is it good?”

Lin Suhuai picked up an exquisite pastry from a small plate to feed Su Xin, asking in a low voice.

The pastries were all small and delicate, perfect for one bite, and tasted excellent.

“Mhm, you try one too.”

Su Xin nodded and fed one to Lin Suhuai.

Seated toward the front, their small, intimate movements still drew attention. Many people noticed.

The General and his wife are truly affectionate, they thought to themselves—though each with their own designs.

After parting at the banquet, Su Xin never saw Liu Yunyi again.

But Su Xin knew they would meet eventually.

Liu Yunyi would surely be confused and send people back to his hometown to inquire.

Then he would be told she had married a wealthy merchant from the capital city and already followed him elsewhere.

He would grow even more puzzled. True to his temperament, he would suppress all thoughts for the moment and watch how events unfolded.

Their current positions were already “not dead, not rest”⁴ in the shadows. Liu Yunyi knew that once they were victorious, the emperor would be toppled. As the emperor’s confidant, Lin Suhuai would be removed; as the General’s wife, her end would be no better.

There was no need to do anything extra. Liu Yunyi certainly didn’t want others to know about their past.

Time slipped by. The commoners of the capital would never know the undercurrents hidden beneath the peace.

The court maintained a delicate balance, but as the emperor’s moves grew bigger, the balance quickly broke. The court was alarmed by the sound of wind and the cries of cranes⁵. Everyone was on edge, carefully weighing the situation—choosing a side, or maneuvering for their own interests.

This time, Su Xin was truly hugging a big thigh⁶ to complete her mission. She didn’t need to use any schemes of her own; she only needed to wait for their effort to topple the Empress Dowager’s faction to achieve her goal.

What she did was use Fourteen to monitor them. When she discovered small plots, she had Fourteen invade Lin Suhuai’s or the emperor’s dreams to project images—small hints to push the waves and add to the billows⁷—so they could find problems faster and act more efficiently.

People have great faith in dreams, and the ancients even more so; they were omens.

Spring plowing, summer weeding, autumn harvest, winter store.

Three years flashed by.

By the time the second great snow fell on the capital, the emperor and Lin Suhuai were ready to draw in the net.

Su Xin knew her mission was nearly complete.

So she had Fourteen make her bodily condition deteriorate. In others’ eyes, her body grew weak and she fell gravely ill.

Better to give a warning shot now than leave suddenly then.

When Su Xin first fell ill, Lin Suhuai was frantic, even summoning every doctor in the capital to see her. When the emperor heard, he put the entire Imperial Medical Academy⁸ on standby. They all shook their heads, unable to determine a cause.

Watching Su Xin grow thinner by the day, Lin Suhuai became taut with a killing aura, beside herself with anxiety.

“You will get better. I’ve already sent people to find the divine doctors⁹ of the Jianghu¹⁰. There must be a way.”

Lin Suhuai had first suspected poisoning by that faction, but every doctor said they had never seen such a strange illness—it was not poison.

“It’s alright. My health has never been that good. I’ve been mentally prepared for a day like this.”

Su Xin held Lin Suhuai’s hand and shook her head.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. My business is almost finished. When it’s all over, I’ll take you to travel and see the world, alright?”

Lin Suhuai’s voice trembled, tinged with a fear she herself didn’t recognize.

“I won’t let the man who failed you meet a good end. You will see the day we succeed.”

“Mhm, I believe you,” Su Xin said softly, smiling.

“When the time comes, let me meet him, alright?”

“Alright. Whatever you wish.”

Although Su Xin’s decline was orchestrated, it was not just surface-deep. She truly felt the weight of severe illness—spirit flagging, much of her time sunk in a stupor.

So she didn’t know that every night the person by her pillow would start awake, touch her face, and then hold her as she fell back asleep.

Parting in life, separation in death—both are torment; no one has it better.

On the day of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new¹¹, the court was reshuffled. To common folk, this prosperous age was still the same; the country had not changed dynasties¹². Everything remained as usual as they celebrated the most important festival of the year.

But for some, it was a sleepless night.

The emperor finally felt the danger to him had been cleared away. He had schemed for years for this day.

Liu Yunyi was brought before Su Xin. Thinner than before, she still rallied her strength, her beautiful eyes resting on the man kneeling on the ground.

“Do you know what your fate will be?”

“It’s nothing more than death, one way or another. What do you want?”

Liu Yunyi did not panic. The outcome was set. When he learned someone wished to see him, he had already guessed who. He owed this person, but he did not regret his choices.

He thought Xu Jinyan surely hated him, but in their few encounters they had only brushed past like strangers. She hadn’t given him a second look nor shown disgust or hatred. He had assumed that was the end. With a husband who cherished her, she would forget him.

But clearly, it wasn’t over.

“How could I let you die so easily?”

Su Xin stepped before him and pronounced his imminent fate.

“You really tricked me back then. For such a great ‘favor,’ how could I not ‘repay’ it properly? You’re useless now anyway. I can do whatever I want with you. If you want a quick, clean death—impossible.”

Smiling, Su Xin spat out one humiliation after another, making Liu Yunyi’s heart pound with terror.

“Vicious.”

His face went deathly pale. He knew she was likely to do exactly as she said.

“General, I didn’t expect your judgment to be so poor that you married such a black-hearted woman!”

Liu Yunyi looked toward Lin Suhuai with a mocking edge, hoping that Lin Suhuai would find Su Xin’s cruelty unbearable and stop her—but he never expected that she would say what she did.

“As long as my wife is happy.”

Lin Suhuai put her arm around Su Xin, utterly unconcerned.

“Actually, there’s another way. If you don’t want to try what I just said, then do as I say.”

Su Xin waved her hand, and Liu Yunyi was led away.

Lying in bed, Su Xin heard Fourteen’s voice.

【Congratulations, Host. Mission complete. Remaining time: one hour.】

“Suhuai, if you and I only had half a shichen¹³ left to live, what would you want to do?” she asked, hugging the quilt.

Lin Suhuai looked at her, lips pressed into a sad curve.

“I wouldn’t want to do anything—just talk with you.” She pulled Su Xin into her arms.

“I’ve always wanted to thank you. And… I’m sorry.”

“We’re family. Why say thank you? Besides, you’ve done nothing to be sorry for.”

She tugged the quilt up to cover her well.

“If you had known it would come to this, would you still have married me back then?”

“I would. Absolutely. If I’d met you earlier, I’d have been even happier.”

How could she not marry her? It was like knowing the path of this world was covered in thorns, yet still choosing to walk through boiling water and tread on fire¹⁴ to walk it once.

Half a shichen. No more, no less. Not a breath off.

The person in her arms fell silent.

Lin Suhuai buried her face in Su Xin’s neck, as always.

“Suhuai, Mother made something delicious for Jinyan. She’ll definitely like it.”

The General’s wife entered with a smile, carrying a bowl, and saw Lin Suhuai turned sideways to her.

Only when she came close did she realize what had happened.

Tear tracks still wet on her face, Lin Suhuai looked dazed.

“Mother… she’s fallen asleep,” she said, forcing a smile.

The General’s wife stared blankly at the bowl she had dropped and shattered. She opened her mouth, at a loss.

“Mother’s hands… I’m getting old, they’re no use. I’ll go to the kitchen and bring Jinyan another bowl.”

She fled as if escaping, but didn’t go far—leaning into her husband’s arms, weeping bitterly.

Lin Suhuai dimly recalled the first time she met Su Xin.

Her eyes were bright, her smile like flowers in bloom.

I dared not let my feelings run too deep, for fear it would prove a grand dream.

But in the end, I was utterly submerged, unable to help myself.

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