The Heart Given to Brighten the Moon - Chapter 5

Song Mingyue was stunned. It wasn’t because the normally timid and death-fearing Shen Danxin had dared to speak so bluntly, but because these words, spoken in a fit of exasperation, sounded exceptionally sincere.

Song Mingyue took a moment to examine herself. She wasn’t naturally arrogant or overbearing; she had simply been thrown off balance by someone as unpredictable as Shen Danxin.

“You possess no martial arts, you stand alone in this world, and you have neither power nor influence,” Song Mingyue challenged. “How can you expect me to believe you?”

Reminded of this reality, Shen Danxin also recognized the problem. After a moment of thought, she reached under the bed and pulled out the clothes she had changed out of last night still damp and nearly beginning to frost. She shook them out in front of Song Mingyue, tilting her chin up. “Look closely at these garments. Is there anyone in this world who could create such a thing?”

Amidst the life-and-death drama of the previous night, Song Mingyue hadn’t looked closely. Now, examining them in detail, setting aside the style, even the fabric smooth as silk to the touch was unlike anything she had ever seen, neither in the common markets nor within the palace walls.

Even more shocking was the small black tablet Shen Danxin fished out of a small pocket. It was the size of a palm, one side as smooth as a mirror and the other a matte, dark finish.

“Nearly forgot about this thing, wonder if it’ll still turn on after taking a swim,” Shen Danxin muttered to herself, tinkering with the black object. After a while, she gave up and held it out to Song Mingyue. “Look at this as well.”

Wary and cautious, Song Mingyue took it and turned it over in her hands for some time. She racked her brain but found no hidden mechanisms or secret locks. She handed it back. “What kind of rare divine weapon is this? It has no edges or corners; how does it kill?”

“Why is your head filled with nothing but killing and arson, little girl?” Shen Danxin bared her teeth and tapped a slender finger on the black tablet. “This is a wondrous treasure. It is called”

She stopped herself. If she said “cell phone,” Song Mingyue would surely think she was talking nonsense again, and her own nose might not survive another blow. She quickly corrected herself: “It is called the Head-Bowing Box.”

“Why?” Song Mingyue asked innocently.

“Because, because everyone who sees it cannot help but bow their heads.”

Hearing this, Song Mingyue was startled to realize she was indeed bowing her head to peer at the black object held in her palms.

“And what is its purpose?” Song Mingyue looked up, her face filled with curiosity.

Shen Danxin was momentarily dazed. In this state, Song Mingyue looked a bit more obedient and much more pleasant. A young girl of barely sixteen oughts to be like this; what a waste of such beauty to spend her days with a dark, brooding face.

Seeing her drifting again, Song Mingyue’s brow furrowed. “What flowery lies are you concocting to deceive me now?”

“Nothing, nothing! I wouldn’t dare.” Shen Danxin waved her hands frantically, gently took the black tablet back, wrapped it in the damp clothes, and shoved it back under the bed. “This thing is like a mirror; it is only for looking, it cannot do much else.”

Song Mingyue had been born as a “phoenix on a branch,” pampered and raised with a silver spoon. Although she had suppressed her nature for years to survive, she remained stubborn and prone to “nest-bullying.” Since Shen Danxin wouldn’t explain, she couldn’t bring herself to beg for answers. Her interest vanished instantly, and she let out a sigh of resignation.

Being older and living under another’s roof, Shen Danxin adhered to the virtue of respecting the young and didn’t hold it against her. She put on a thick-skinned smile to lighten the mood.

Just then, the “life-saving” Song Mingjue appeared at exactly the right time. Carrying the rabbit-fur cloak, now white as new, he stole a glance inside and walked in with a radiant face. He presented the cloak to Song Mingyue with both hands. “Sister, look! Sister Lvling’s skill is truly marvelous; it’s even more brilliant than before.”

Song Mingyue spared it only a dull glance, casting the cloak aside as if it were worthless dross. Song Mingjue was at a loss. He looked at the “guilty-looking” Shen Danxin and mouthed the words: What’s wrong with my sister now?

Shen Danxin shrugged and spread her hands, making it clear she had nothing to do with it.

As the two were gesturing back and forth, Song Mingyue suddenly let out a long, mournful sigh. “When will these days ever end?”

The towering forbidden city was no easy place to live. Not only did the servants and guards live in constant terror, where meeting a good master was a blessing from ancestral graves, and meeting a bad one meant living with one’s head on the line but it was a battlefield in its own right. Since ancient times, those outside have sharpened their heads to get in, while those inside have tried every means to escape. For people of such “special” status as the Song siblings, surviving to this day was nothing short of a miracle.

As the old proverb goes: Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

While Song Mingjue and Shen Danxin were thinking of how to comfort the pitiable girl, a high-pitched, androgynous voice rang out from outside: “Is the young Miss Song present?”

The three of them froze like wooden chickens. Shen Danxin was the first to react, spinning around like a headless fly as she searched for a place to hide. But how could a cramped room hide someone of her height? As the footsteps approached, Shen Danxin paced in circles like a duck on a hot griddle.

“Get on the bed!” Song Mingyue moved with lightning speed, shoving Shen Danxin into the bed frame and throwing the quilt over her.

The footsteps stopped at the door. Beneath the quilt, Shen Danxin didn’t dare to breathe.

“What is the young Miss Song doing?” Standing at the door was a clean-shaven, fair-faced man wearing a palace eunuch’s robe with silver-threaded embroidery at the collar.

Song Mingyue got off the bed calmly and walked over with a normal expression. “Eunuch Xianzhong? To what do we owe this visit?”

Princess Zhao Hui had three eunuchs of the “Zhong” generation by her side, each holding a supreme status in the Luanqi Palace. This refined, scholarly-looking Eunuch Xianzhong was ranked even higher than Feng Zhong, and his mind was far more calculating and deeper. Behind his civil appearance, he was just as ruthless as the notorious Eunuch Jinzhong. Fortunately, Xianzhong had always maintained a degree of mutual respect with the Song siblings.

Xianzhong immediately withdrew his gaze from the bed and gave a slight smile. “Her Highness the Princess requests your presence. Young Miss Song, please come with me.”

Song Mingyue never dared to disobey a summons from Princess Hui. Without another word, she cast a glance at her brother, then followed Xianzhong. Before she left, Song Mingjue draped the brilliant rabbit-fur cloak over her shoulders.

Once the sounds outside vanished completely, Shen Danxin cautiously peeled back a corner of the quilt. Only Song Mingjue remained, standing alone at the door peering in the direction his sister had gone.

Shen Danxin let out a long breath and climbed off the bed. She slapped the shoulder of the boy, who was nearly her height, and asked with a tilted chin, “Hey, what’s the deal with that androgynous fellow? Why do you look so miserable?”

Song Mingjue gave a bitter smile. He sat at the table, flipped over two chipped teacups, filled them, and handed one to Shen Danxin. “Zhao Hui is the fourth of the princes and princesses,” he said worriedly. “She, the Fifth Prince Zhao Wu, and the Seventh Prince Zhao Yi are all children of the Empress. In the seventh year of the Taiyuan Era, Zhao Zongqian married off the Third Princess to ensure border peace. Since then, the Fourth Princess has been the apple of everyone’s eye. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she is showered with every ounce of favoritism.”

Song Mingjue spat out a mouthful of bitter tea leaves and continued, “In earlier years, she frequently threw the palace into chaos and was punished by the Empress to copy the Rules for Women for three days and nights. Though her temper has moderated somewhat, rumors still fly of servants being beaten to death or crippled over trivial matters. But deaths in the palace are a common occurrence; Zhao Zongqian cannot be bothered to care, and the Empress turns a blind eye. She personally chose three ‘hound-servants’ for the Fourth Princess to handle her dirty work. That Eunuch Xianzhong was one of them.”

Shen Danxin followed his example and took a sip of the tea; the bitter, astringent flavor exploded in her mouth and nose. She pursed her lips tightly to avoid spitting it out and swallowed with great effort.

“No wonder Song Mingyue said Zhao Zongqian kept you alive for entertainment,” Shen Danxin grumbled, grimacing. “It seems you’re kept specifically for one person’s entertainment.”

Song Mingjue sighed, his smile carrying a hint of tragedy. “Not entirely. When Zhao Zongqian rose in rebellion, he kept us alive to silence the critics and show his ‘mercy’ to the world. Those scholars who once dared not speak then took the opportunity to praise Zhao Zongqian as a ‘wise ruler of a chaotic age.’ All because he spared the lives of just two people.”

Song Mingjue, still having the appearance of a youth, had an air of worldly desolation in his brow that didn’t belong to his age. Finally, he said softly, “A thousand lives vanished in a single night, yet it only earned three words of praise from the scholars: ‘A good kill.’”

Shen Danxin looked at the murky tea in her cup and set it down gently. She was an outsider and had no comforting words for this boy struggling to survive. Seeing her silence, Song Mingjue gave a self-deprecating smile. “I have lost my composure. Miss Shen, please do not take it to heart.”

However, Shen Danxin feeling entirely out of place here, was even more worried. If she couldn’t find a way back to her own world, would her end be even more wretched than these siblings? From what she could see, only these two still held a shred of kindness; otherwise, she wouldn’t even be alive today.

Hardening her resolve, Shen Danxin took a deep breath. “What did that Fourth Princess want with your sister?”

“Nothing more than some tricks to humiliate her,” Song Mingjue said, eyeing the sudden change in Shen Danxin’s aura. “She only feels satisfied when my sister is made to look like a fool before the crowd.”

“Will she go too far? Will she take her life?”

Song Mingjue’s brow furrowed. “Minor injuries and humiliations happen often. But as long as the Empress does not permit it, Zhao Hui would not dare to openly take my sister’s life.”

Shen Danxin stood up, her face darkening. “Do you know where they went?”

“What?” Song Mingjue was startled, then realized her intent. “Miss Shen, please do not act on impulse! I have already spoken with Old Huang, the slop collector. Tomorrow at midnight, you can hide in a slop bucket, and he will smuggle you out of the palace.”

“A drop of water should be repaid with a fountain, let alone a life,” Shen Danxin said with a look of haughty pride. “She’s just a Green Tea Bitch who’s never suffered a setback. I can handle her!”

“Lead the way!”