Chapter 6: The Joke Repeated

The next day.

At Jade Terrace House, the sound of silk strings and flutes drifted through the air, pleasant and enchanting to the ear.

Song Junyao was drinking away his anger with several close companions from the noble gentry.

With a sharp crash, Zhao Yan, the second son of the Palace Secretariat, slammed his wine cup heavily onto the table.

His eyes burned with fury. “That venomous, scheming woman Fu Jinhe made all the noise yesterday. Miss Jiang already apologized to us in all sincerity, yet she still would not let it go, even spreading rumors in the streets to smear the reputations of Miss Jiang and Brother Song!”

His elder brother, Zhao Zimo, wore a dark expression. “Fu Jinhe truly has great ability! She has stirred up a storm across the city, making people suspect that Brother Song and Miss Jiang are carrying on behind closed doors.”

“And now there are even those who say her affections were misplaced, and that she ought to break off her engagement with Brother Song and sever the hairpins and the mirror between them.”

Song Junyao’s brow twitched violently, and Fu Jinhe’s indifferent gaze rose unbidden in his mind.

His fingers tightened, the knuckles whitening.

Break off the engagement? Preposterous. She was the one who could not bear to part from him cleanly.

Besides, the one who ought to bring up ending the engagement was him. She was not worthy.

After long thought, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Chu Changling’s eyes. He gave a cold snort. “Fu Jinhe has been far too vicious and arrogant. She must pay the price and repay Brother Song and Miss Jiang for this humiliation!”

The Zhao brothers’ eyes brightened at once. The several of them had always prided themselves on punishing evil and upholding good. Whenever Fu Jinhe dared harm Miss Jiang in secret, they would strike back with full force.

This time would be no exception.

They hurriedly asked, “What brilliant plan does Brother Chu have in mind?”

A cold smile curved Chu Changling’s lips, and he lowered his voice. “In a few days it will be Brother Song’s birthday. Brother Song need only write a letter to Fu Jinhe, inviting her to meet him alone on Cloud Peak Mountain, where snow never melts, to celebrate his birthday. She will surely go gladly.”

“I have heard that as a child she was chased by a vicious dog and has since been terrified of them. Then, we secretly release a pack of dogs to frighten her a little. The mountain paths are treacherous; once she panics, it would not be unlikely for her to fall flat on her face.”

The Zhao brothers clapped with delight after hearing this. “Good, good, good! The wicked are best tamed by vicious dogs. It is time to let a hound extinguish that arrogant flame of hers!”

“To think that the legitimate daughter of the Grand Tutor’s household would be driven by a dog into such terror, tumbling into the snow with no one to call to, no one to answer her. That will be her retribution!”

Chu Changling glanced at the handsome Song Junyao. “Brother Song, what do you think?”

The Zhao brothers knew full well that Song Junyao was a man of integrity. At once they urged him on.

“Brother Song, a gentleman has things he will do and things he will not. But Fu Jinhe has done evil first; this is simply her just deserts.”

“You must not go soft on her!”

Song Junyao’s expression straightened, and after a long pause he said, “Very well. It is time she received a small lesson.”

The Zhao brothers broke into satisfied smiles and said gleefully, “Brother Song is, after all, a reasonable man. You will not side with your fiancee.”

“We can hardly wait for that day to arrive, just to witness Fu Jinhe in disgrace.”

How false. Chu Changling sneered inwardly. Song Junyao was plainly no righteous man, yet he always put on the air of moral grandeur.

If not for Miss Jiang, he would never have deigned to call him brother.

At the same time.

At the Hanlin residence.

“Miss, please calm yourself.” Bai Tao looked nervously at the shards on the floor. She had never seen her young lady so furious before.

Jiang Manxue’s dazzling face was overcast with chilling malice.

Fu Jinhe, that idiot she looked down on the most, had somehow seen through her intentions in advance and turned the tables on her instead.

Now the rumors in Chang’an City about her and A Yao were spreading everywhere, threatening the renown she had built in this era after crossing over.

The more she thought about it, the more rage filled her chest. She would never allow an absurd product of this age to climb over her head and strut about arrogantly!

“This was my own negligence. I let Fu Jinhe seize the opening. Next time, I will surely crush her beneath my feet and win a complete victory.” Jiang Manxue ground out the words.

Bai Tao echoed quickly, “Miss, that is certain. With your reputation as the most talented woman in Chang’an alone, that wretched Fu Jinhe is already inferior. How could she compare with you?”

Only then did the foul air in Jiang Manxue’s heart ease a little.

Outside, a servant announced, “Miss, someone outside the residence has sent you a gift.”

Bai Tao’s eyes lit up, joy in her voice. “Could it be that Young General Song knows you have been wronged and has specially sent you a grand gift to comfort you?”

She could not help teasing her. “Miss, Young General Song is truly considerate to you.”

Jiang Manxue arched her pretty eyes and chided, “You little thing, you talk too much.”

Fu Jinhe, Fu Jinhe, however much effort you waste, what of it? The man you love most thinks of nothing but me.

She turned and said toward the door, “Bring it in.”

“Yes, Miss.” The servant entered carrying an exquisitely luxurious jade box and presented it before Jiang Manxue.

Jiang Manxue cast a flirtatious glance, then opened the jade box with eager anticipation.

Bai Tao craned her neck to look, her voice almost fawning. “The jade box is already so splendid. What lies within must be…”

“Aaah—”

Jiang Manxue’s shriek cut Bai Tao off. Her face turned deathly pale, and all the blood in her body seemed to rush backward into her brain.

The jade box slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, and the “grand gift” revealed its true form.

When they looked closely, it was actually several bloody tongues!

Bai Tao and the other woman staggered backward in fright.

Jiang Manxue’s long nails dug into her palm, slowly drawing blood, yet she seemed not to notice.

With furious laughter, she said, “Very well, Fu Jinhe. Since you insist on fighting me, I will accompany you to the end.”

……

Grand Tutor’s Residence.

Spring stretched on endlessly. Pear blossoms hung from the branches, and butterflies danced around them in flight.

Fu Jinhe wore a horse-face skirt, the hem swaying in the breeze and lending grace to her cloudlike coiffure.

Today, on a whim, she had taken up the pot-throwing game she had once forgotten in a corner of her former life.

The pot stood several paces away. She pinched the first arrow between her slender jade-like fingers and sent it cleanly flying, striking the left handle of the pot with an opening hit.

She took up the second arrow and shot again, landing consecutive hits through the handles.

The third and fourth arrows followed, striking the mouth of the pot one after another. Not a single shot missed; every one hit true.

Fu Jinhe turned back and smiled brilliantly.

Her heart swelled with emotion, surging through every limb and bone.

She was not some foolish puppet controlled by plot. She had her own preferences, her own strengths, and she too could shine.

Bi Zhu gazed at Fu Jinhe, striking and spirited, with admiration in her eyes, and exclaimed sincerely, “Miss’s pot-throwing is absolutely marvelous! I can hardly take my eyes off you!”

It had been far too long, truly far too long, since she had seen her young lady in such splendor.

Her young lady had once been infatuated with Young General Song, as if her soul had been stolen away. She had done many foolish things for him and nearly lived herself into oblivion.

Now that the young lady had suddenly awakened and gathered her wits, the air about her had become elegant and composed, as though the young lady from long, long ago had returned.

Fu Jinhe smiled lightly and nodded.

She waved for the waiting servant to retrieve the arrows from the pot and begin again.

Neither arrogant nor self-effacing, she radiated ease and self-possession from within.

Bi Zhu said no more, standing quietly as she admired this beautiful scene and this beautiful woman.

She could not help thinking that everything was indeed turning in a better direction.

Rumors in the streets about Young General Song and Miss Jiang were spreading, and the two of them, who had sought fame and profit through deception, had suffered some backlash of their own.

Was it mere coincidence, or had someone been helping from the shadows?

After the morning incident, the young lady had sent someone into the city to investigate, and there seemed to be nothing unusual. It appeared to have been an accident.

Bi Zhu suddenly had a fanciful thought.

Maybe there was a dashing young gentleman in Chang’an, silent as a mountain, who adored the young lady, kept a close watch on everything she did, and cleared away obstacles for her without ever daring to speak of it.

He was patient. He was restrained. He was utterly devoted, with no one in his heart but her.

Yet he was also mad and fervent, his hidden feelings surging like waves and devouring his reason.

When his love grew too deep, he could no longer control himself and would seize the young lady back. Even if, in his imagination, he had replayed it countless times, once he had her, he would kiss her until she was drenched in his longing, tasting the sweet fragrance he had desired day and night.

He would press skin to skin with the young lady beneath a curtain of hibiscus, tangled and tender, forgetting heaven and earth alike.

And yet, in the end, he could not bear it; he could not bring himself to profane the delicate guest he held at the tip of his heart.

Ah, how deeply moving indeed.

Suddenly, a servant stepped before Fu Jinhe. “Miss, Young General Song has sent you a letter.”

Bi Zhu’s lovely reverie was instantly broken.

Her eyes widened. That ruinous Young General Song, what a perfectly untimely wretch!

Fu Jinhe’s expression did not shift in the slightest. She casually waved a hand and said, “Bi Zhu, read it for me and tell me what he says.”

“Yes, Miss.” Bi Zhu took the letter from the servant and had him withdraw.

She opened it, glanced through it, and immediately spat in contempt and disgust. “What shamelessness does Song Junyao have? He wrote here: ‘In five days, on my birthday, meet me at dawn at Snow Crest Mountain. Do not be late.’”

“Listen to that overbearing tone of his. Snow Crest Mountain is ten li outside the capital, and dawn is barely light. He actually orders you not to be late, Miss. He is selfish and arrogant to the extreme.”

“Miss, when someone offers you extra courtesy for no reason, it is either theft or deceit. That beast in fine clothing has suddenly invited you; there is surely a trap. You must not go.”

Fu Jinhe walked over gracefully, an arrow in hand, and her eyes held a clear, chilling glint.

It seemed that because of her rebirth, the butterfly effect had brought this plot forward by a full year.

In her previous life, on Song Junyao’s twentieth birthday, he had likewise invited her to meet him at Snow Crest Mountain with that same haughty air.

She had waited in the snow for hours, shivering in the biting wind. And yet she had still held onto hope, believing she would spend his birthday with him.

In the end, she did not wait for him. Instead, several vicious dogs came snarling toward her. Frightened nearly out of her wits, she fled, only to fall into a cave in the mountains, where the dogs could no longer reach her.

She had broken her leg, the pain nearly knocking her unconscious. She called his name, hoping he would descend like a god to save her. From first to last, he never came.

If not for the Grand Tutor’s household sending people to find her, she would have died on Snow Crest Mountain.

Now the same joke was being replayed. That alone was proof enough that Song Junyao had set this trap with his own hand to lure her into it.

Was it because he was the male lead of the story that he could trample her sincerity at will and hurt her without end?

She had a thousand reasons to refuse.

Fu Jinhe took the letter from Bi Zhu’s hands and flung it into the air.

An arrow shot out with fierce precision, piercing the paper and then thudding firmly into the ground.

Her gaze and her voice were both utterly calm. “I will not go.”

But what Song Junyao owed her in her former life, she would certainly make him repay!