Free Web NovelChapter 32: Sibling Rivalry
Grunts and the sound of weapons clashing against each other could be heard outside the training ground.
Qingyue flexed her wrists before picking up the wooden sword she was using for practice.
A small grin danced on her lips when she saw Crown Prince Zhao Chen already sparring with one of the soldiers. That was exactly who she’d been looking for the entire morning.
From where she stood she could see the frown etched into his forehead. She’d been told he was with the Empress when she visited his quarters.
Looked like whatever they’d talked about hadn’t been favorable to Zhao Chen. She also knew without doubt that it had something to do with Ru Yi.
"If the woman I loved, who is also pregnant with my child, was languishing in a cold cell—" Qingyue made sure her voice was low but firm enough so only Zhao Chen could hear, "the last thing on my mind would be training."
The crown prince’s face hardened when his step-sibling stopped in front of him. "Not that you would know what it means to love someone," he shot back.
Shen Qingyue said nothing as she took a fighting stance. "How is the investigation going?" freēwēbnovel.com
Zhao Chen looked away briefly, "What’s it to you?"
"When was the last time you visited her?" Qingyue asked, although she already knew the answer.
The Empress banned everyone from visiting the supposed criminal because she feared she would sway the officials conducting the investigation. But Qingyue already knew the real reason.
She didn’t want the news of Ru Yi’s supposed death out. Not yet.
What Qingyue didn’t know was what the Empress was playing at. And how Zhao Chen could be so oblivious to his mother’s antics.
She struck her wooden sword forward, catching the crown prince off guard. The blunt blade landed on his shoulder.
"You didn’t tell me we were starting," he almost yelled, the pain almost paralyzing his entire arm. He knew first how brutal the triplets truly were.
Most people looked at their delicate faces and thought they were just spoiled princesses. Zhao Chen knew better. Hadn’t the three of them terrorized him since they were all kids?
"If you’re going to be the Emperor one day—" there was a sly smile on Qingyue’s face that was more fitting for Yexue, "then you need to be ready at all times. I thought you’d have learnt that by now."
Zhao Chan’s expression was tight. "How very kind of you to remind me."
This time it was the crown prince that attacked first, Qingyue gracefully stepping out of the way before his wooden weapon could graze the delicate skin on her cheek.
"Has your offense always been this slow?" Qingyue asked at the same time she spun around and hit him on the other arm. "Come on, this can’t be the level of skill you intend to protect your people with."
As if Zhao Chen wasn’t already angry.
This time he yelled as he quickly charged forward, aware of the soldiers who had stopped briefly to watch them fight.
Shen Qingyue stepped back just as the crown prince’s blade cut through the space where her throat had been. The wind of it brushed against her skin.
"You should take this more seriously," Qingyue taunted him, almost smiling when she realized she was already getting a rise out of him. "If you must be a fighter to protect the people you love."
Zhao Chen’s second strike was sharper, he aimed lower.
Qingyue caught his wrist, bringing them close enough to breathe the same air. "Where were you on the night of Lin Yuexin’s murder?"
The crown prince inhaled sharply. His face turned ashen. "What...what do you mean?"
Qingyue leaned in. "You were meeting the princess during the ball, just before she was found dead." She pulled away, eyes glued to his face, picking apart every expression that flickered through them.
"Anything you’d like to tell me?" she urged when he remained silent.
"I was at the ball, I didn’t mean her." The slight waver of his voice betrayed him.
"But you wrote Lin Yuexin a letter, you were in communication with her all these while."
"Look..." Zhao Chen was growing aggravated. "Let’s take this conversation somewhere private."
"Why?" Qingyue raised her brow, "you don’t want people to find out what a coward you are? Letting someone else suffer for a crime you committed?"
The crown prince looked around, yelling at the soldiers to keep up with their training.
"I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I didn’t kill Lin Yuexin."
"But you didn’t want to marry her either, and a brainless fool like you took the easier way out. Except—" she poked his chest, "this flimsy part of your plan didn’t work. You thought it’d be easy to break the maid out of cell, and then run off into the sunset together."
Zhao Chen gulped.
He’d always hated how perspective the first triplet was.
"For the last time I didn’t kill Princess Lin Yuexin. I might not have wanted to marry her, but I didn’t hate her enough to—"
Shen Qingyue switched tactics. She dragged Zhao Chen off the training ground, and didn’t stop until they were inside the armory. She locked the door.
"I’ll advise you to tell me the truth, Zhao Chen. If you want Ru Yi to remain alive."
That did the trick.
"What did you do to her?"
"You should be asking your dearest mother." Qingyue remained cool and level headed even though she wanted to smash his head into the rack of weapons mounted on the wall. "She sent an assassin to—"
She didn’t need to complete the sentence. freёweɓnovel.com
The horror that crept into Zhao Chen’s face was instant. He grabbed the collar of Shen Qingyue’s robe.
"If you so much as laid a hand on Ru Yi, I’m going to make sure you burn in hell!"
Shen Qingyue tapped his head like one would do to a pet. "Your anger is misplaced. But I’ll make sure Ru Yi is safe if you do as I ask. Now, get your hands off me."
He stubbed back, knowing Shen Qingyue would really slice off his wrist if she wanted to. "What do you want?"
"I want to know what happened that night between you and Lin Yuexin. If you even try to lie your way out of this, I’ll make sure your dearest Ru Yi does not see the light of day."
This was the very reason Shen Qingyue was the scariest wolf. It was the casual manner she dealt out threats with that bored tone like she was talking about the weather.
More especially how she could decapitate a man without working a sweat. Even Zhao Chen knew there was no way out for him.
The only reason he was still well and breathing behind the palace walls was because the triplets allowed it. He knew he was on borrowed time, which was why running away with Ru Yi was his best bet to staying alive.
"It’s true that I’d been in communication with Lin Yuexin for some time, but not for the reason you think of." He scratched the back of his neck. "We were discussing various ways to call off the wedding without causing conflict between our families."
"Go on."
"Lin Yuexin was the one that suggested I leave the palace with Ru Yi. She supported our love for what it was. But...she started to summon Ru Yi frequently to her chamber. I got worried that she’d changed her mind and wanted to hurt Ru Yi."
Qingyue tapped her foot against the ground. Restless.
"One night I visited her residence without prior notice, and found her with Ru Yi..." he couldn’t get himself to say it.
"Zhao—"
"They had their lips pressed together!" It was with great difficulty he finally said it out loud. "I didn’t confront Ru Yi because I didn’t want her to lose faith in me. The night of the ball, Lin Yuexin said she wanted to discuss something with me. But when I got to our designated meeting place, she was already on the floor."
What the crown prince didn’t mention was that Lin Yuexin was still alive at that time.
"Instead of alerting anyone, you ran away and let the woman you claim to love take the fall."
"I panicked..."
Shen Qingyue scoffed. "You truly are an incompetent man, the worst of your kind."
"I’m not going to let them execute her!"
"Not if she doesn’t make it to the end of the trial." Shen Qingyue straightened her shoulders. "I have a condition. Do it and I’ll keep her alive until she’s called to court again. But saving her from execution is all up to you."
"What do I have to do?" Zhao Chen pleaded, a life with Ru Yi was the one thing he’d never give up on. "I’ll do anything you ask."
Shen Qingyue gave him a rare genuine smile. "Help me get into the Empress’s private chamber."
