The Child I Raised Has Been Reborn - Chapter 29.2

The midday meal passed quietly. As the warm sunlight streamed in, the atmosphere in the room gradually grew cozy. After finishing her meal, the Grand Princess left the bedroom, instructing Mingshu to rest and recuperate.

Only then did Mingshu realize she was staying in the Grand Princess’s private chambers. She was puzzled. Your Highness isn’t known for kindness. Even if she’s grateful, why would she let me stay in her own room?

Could it be that she truly cares about me?

Just as she was growing suspicious, a maid led Commandery Princess Long’an into the room.

The sudden, silent entrance startled Mingshu, making her heart skip a beat. She quickly pulled the blanket tighter around herself. In this situation, where I’m weak and she’s strong, I can’t show any weakness.

Time passed quickly. Qin Jianhan strode across the room in two steps, her voice sharp with malice. “Everyone talks of the women from the Pleasure House. How their skills in bed surpass ordinary women. You little demon, you’ve managed to wrap the Grand Princess around your little finger in just a month. You’ve certainly earned my respect. A lowly insect like you, suddenly elevated to the heavens.”

The harsh words pierced Mingshu’s ears, stirring her heart. Having learned from past mistakes, she restrained her temper. “The Commandery Princess is a born beauty. You must learn these seductive arts. If you don’t, the Esteemed Ones won’t spare you a glance. I’m lowly, and you’re no better.”

The Emperor has countless concubines. You, Qin Jianhan, are just a grain of sand in the vast sea.

“Sharp-tongued and cunning,” Qin Jianhan said, her anger flaring as she swept a cup from the table with a crash that shattered the bedroom’s silence. Mingshu smiled faintly, her bright grin like a mocking taunt. “My sharp tongue and feigned injuries are irrelevant. What matters is that Your Highness falls for it. One willing to strike, the other willing to endure. What grounds do you have for complaint?”

“You… you’re utterly shameless,” Qin Jianhan stammered, startled by Mingshu’s blunt admission. She wasted no more breath, turning to Ping’er by the door. “Did you hear all of this?”

Ping’er blinked innocently. “Yes, I did.”

Mingshu scoffed. “I didn’t force her to admit anything.”

“No, the Commandery Princess is perfectly fair,” Ping’er rolled her eyes at her.

Mingshu acted as if she hadn’t heard, turning to Qin Jianhan with her most amiable voice. “Your Highness, you treat me like the person you fear in your midnight dreams—the one whose death you declared, yet she became the straw that broke your back. When you sleep, does she enter your dreams to recount your past misdeeds? Or perhaps when you’re intimate with His Majesty, does she watch you?”

“You… you’re talking nonsense!” Qin Jianhan’s heart lurched. There was something familiar about those eyes, as if she’d seen them before.

Mingshu stood up from the bed and walked to her, smiling innocently. “A-Han, have you ever missed me? That last cup of tea was quite delicious, wasn’t it?”

Qin Jianhan’s face paled. She stared at Mingshu as if she’d seen a ghost, then shoved her violently backward. Her heart pounding wildly, she fled the room like a madwoman.

Mingshu fell back against the bed, wincing from the pain. Yet a knowing smile played on her lips. This is only the beginning.

Those with secrets to hide will always fear, and fear will always betray them.

*****

Qin Jianhan ran out, fleeing as if her life depended on it, as if someone were chasing her.

When she reached the gates of the Grand Princess’s Residence, she collided with the guards. The Grand Princess, who had just entered, frowned. “What a disgraceful spectacle. Running around in such a panic.”

Qin Jianhan jerked her head up, terror gripping her heart. “Aunt, that… that Mingshu is a ghost…”

“What nonsense!” Qin Tangxi’s brow furrowed as she ordered attendants to escort the Commandery Princess back to her chambers.

When the maids reached out to help her, Qin Jianhan shoved them away and clung to the Grand Princess’s sleeve, desperate to make her believe. “Aunt, I swear it’s true! She claimed to be Zhao Lan and deliberately staged that self-harm plot!”

“Qin Jianhan, have I taught you to spout such nonsense? The ways of gods and demons are governed by heaven. With such blind credulity, have you forgotten everything I’ve taught you?” Qin Tangxi brushed her hand away, looking down at her with disdain. “Utter another word of this nonsense, and you’ll be thrown out of the Grand Princess’s Residence.”

Terrified by her aunt’s harsh words and stern expression, Qin Jianhan froze. Remembering Mingshu’s eyes—those eyes so like her own—she wished she could gouge them out. If she destroyed them, they’d be gone…

Qin Tangxi had no patience for her hysterics. “Your engagement to the Palace Attendant’s family is nullified. I’ve already removed your name from the Grand Princess’s Residence registry, and the Imperial Genealogy no longer records you. Pack your things and return to the House Hu. I’m sparing you this time out of respect for your mother’s memory, but if this happens again, the law will show you no mercy.”

“Aunt…”

Qin Jianhan’s heart shattered as she watched her aunt walk away. Involuntarily, she blurted out, “Aunt, have you truly abandoned me?”

A trace of weariness flickered in Qin Tangxi’s eyes as she lowered her gaze. “It’s not me who has abandoned you. You’ve done it yourself.”

*****

Mingshu’s back ached from the impact, and Ping’er’s nagging echoed in her ears. “Yesterday, I still thought you were a good person. Who knew it was all an act? My eyes must be blind.”

“Blind or not, they’re useless anyway,” Mingshu retorted, chuckling so hard she had to burrow into her blankets.

Ping’er, furious, planted her hands on her hips. “Do you think I won’t tell Your Highness that you poisoned yourself?”

Mingshu propped her chin in her hand, eyeing the hollering woman sideways. “Ping’er, are you even using that brain of yours? I think we’re cut from the same cloth as in our past lives—good-looking but utterly useless.”

“Your brain’s the useless one! Your whole family’s brains are useless!” Ping’er seethed, her hands still on her hips. “I may have lost my memory and forgotten the past, but your head’s full of nothing but mischief. I’m telling Your Highness!”

“Ping’er, Your Highness won’t believe you. No one would voluntarily confess to such a thing.”

Ping’er froze, then slapped her forehead. “Right! No one would admit to their own misdeeds!”

Outside the bead curtain, the listener sighed at this childish exchange. She had found Ping’er five years ago in front of a temple during a blizzard that claimed many lives. Feverish and delirious, Ping’er had awoken with no memory of her past.

“Ping’er, go out first.”

Ping’er turned and saw Your Highness. After a moment of hesitation, she decided not to fall for Mingshu’s tricks and said nothing of what had just transpired. Instead, she reported, “The Commandery Princess visited earlier. She seemed quite displeased with Miss Mingshu and shoved her to the ground.”

“I see,” Qin Tangxi nodded. Approaching the bed, she saw the young girl lying there, her eyes half-closed.

Mingshu opened her eyes at the sound of her voice. “Your Highness.”

Her delicate, expressive eyes fixed intently on the newcomer.

Qin Tangxi felt uneasy under the girl’s gaze. Lowering her own eyes to avoid it, she leaned over to lift the quilt. Her gaze lingered on Mingshu’s nightgown before she patted her back. “Does your back hurt from the fall?”

Mingshu made a questioning sound. “How did Your Highness know I was hurt?”

“If it didn’t hurt, why would you be lying here?”

“True…” Mingshu chuckled sheepishly.

Qin Tangxi pressed a hand to her forehead, exasperated by the girl’s naivety. Lifting Mingshu’s nightgown, she saw a mottled patch of bruises—this girl was as fragile as tofu, turning blue and purple at the slightest touch.

Unaware of Qin Tangxi’s thoughts, Mingshu sensed her kindness and boldly asked, “Your Highness, why are you so kind to me?”

Qin Tangxi paused, startled. The girl’s dewy eyes gazed up at her, and inexplicably, her heart warmed. She blurted out a lie: “I bought you. If I didn’t care for you, it would be a waste of money.”

“Then… do you like me?” The little girl’s eyes widened, their glassy irises shimmering with flawless beauty.

Even Qin Tangxi, usually so composed, found herself unsettled by the question. She glanced at Mingshu calmly and replied, “Do you think I would like someone I bought?”

Unfazed by the awkwardness, Mingshu pressed on, “Do you see me as a substitute for Miss Zhao?”

Qin Tangxi hadn’t anticipated such a startling revelation, even in her wildest dreams. She couldn’t help but stare, taken aback. “You have quite some nerve. Don’t you just want to be someone else’s replacement?”

“The scenery at Your Highness’s residence is lovely. I like it,” Mingshu replied evasively. She was grateful for Qin Tangxi’s persistent remembrance, yet she needed to cling to this powerful patron to avenge the Duke of Xinguo’s Residence.

Qin Tangxi paid no mind to the girl’s disjointed answers. As a servant brought ointment to treat the wound, she took it without hesitation, lifted her sleeve, and liberally applied it.

The girl was young and naive, her skin remarkably smooth and fair, like the milk used in the imperial palace. Touching her felt not only silky but also sent a tingling sensation straight to Qin Tangxi’s heart.

Applying the ointment was simple and swift. The girl remained motionless, like a fish on a chopping block, utterly submissive.

Qin Tangxi’s eyelids trembled slightly as she placed the medicine on the table. “What frightened Commandery Princess Long’an today?”

“Are you here to scold me?” Mingshu asked, obediently rising to kneel on the couch. She explained softly, “She called me a fox spirit, so I frightened her with Miss Zhao’s incident.”

Qin Tangxi’s expression darkened. “Knowing too much can make you a target for silencing.”

Mingshu lowered her head, remaining silent. She was nothing but a caged bird now, powerless to act, indulging only in empty words.

“I was wrong.”

“Your remorse seems sincere. Stay away from her.” Qin Tangxi didn’t press further, rising and walking to the outer chamber.

The girl before her was a master of deception, her innocent appearance hiding a cunning mind. She had gone to great lengths to get close to Qin Tangxi, proving her complexity. Whether she had actually poisoned anyone or not, she was undoubtedly involved in the River View Tower incident.

After sitting alone in the outer chamber for a while, a message arrived from the Jiang Residence: Jiang Zhiyi’s birthday had arrived.

Qin Tangxi had personally promoted Jiang Zhiyi, and it was also she who had tricked Qin Tangxi into entering the Jade Spring Tower. After careful consideration, she sent a reply accepting the invitation.

******

The next day, the Ministry of Justice delivered the culprit.

The River View Tower had many waiters, most from impoverished families. Someone had bribed Zhao Hui, a waiter, to slip poison to a wealthy merchant. Through a series of mix-ups, the poisoned tea was delivered to the wrong private room.

Finding the conclusion unsatisfactory, Qin Tangxi decided not to pursue the matter further and let the Ministry of Justice handle it according to the law.

Later that evening, Consort Dowager An sent a letter. When Qin Tangxi opened it, she found only an address.

She turned to look at the person lying on the daybed and placed the letter on the table.

With so many pressing matters lately, she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages. After washing up, she naturally lay down on the daybed.

Mingshu was startled, clutching her quilt tightly. “Your Highness, we’re… we’re going to sleep together?”

“Quiet,” Qin Tangxi snapped, snatching the quilt from her grasp and pulling her closer, deliberately making her voice colder. “You were bought by me. Do you expect to sleep on the daybed while I sleep on the floor?”

Mingshu froze, realizing the logic of her words. She carefully released her grip on the quilt and considerately tucked it around Qin Tangxi. But when she remembered the words “you were bought by me,” she gritted her teeth and reluctantly scooted closer.

Was this… an order to attend to her needs in bed?

Crammed under the same quilt, Qin Tangxi felt her breath grow shallow. The girl’s body was so warm, her breath sweet and fragrant, like holding a coal fire.

Her mouth went dry.

Unaware of Your Highness’s predicament, Mingshu hesitated before inching closer. As she leaned in to kiss the corner of Qin Tangxi’s lips, she trembled.

The spray of her breath left Qin Tangxi’s mind blank. “What are you doing?”

Startled, Mingshu shrank back. Wasn’t I supposed to attend to her needs?

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