173: Chapter 173 How could the fallen plum blossoms know your heart?

"Those dancers from the east, the new musicians in the West Garden, and that suddenly favored head palace maid from the Bureau of Imperial Clothing..."

"The backgrounds of these people all seem to be somewhat unclean."

"I have already dealt with these people in secret."

"But I am, after all, just an ordinary woman of the inner palace with limited abilities."

"If any have slipped through the net, or if the involvement goes deeper, you may use your own discretion, Great King."

Su Chen picked up the silk scroll and unfolded it, casting a quick glance over it.

The records were concise and clear, the analysis was rational, and it pointed directly to the heart of the matter.

He suddenly remembered that the woman before him came from that powerful state on the Jiangnan plains of the East—a nation founded on commerce, with an intelligence network spanning the world, which even the Yin Dynasty had to wary of.

The Jiang State.

She was the most beloved young daughter of the Ruler of Jiang. It was said she had been intelligent since childhood and was particularly skilled in calculation and strategy.

Her marriage alliance was originally a union born of mission and interest.

It was just that after she married into his family, because of Su Daji's affairs, he seemed to have never truly tried to understand her.

In fact... he had never even attempted to understand her.

Su Chen had been obsessed with conquest and 'pleasure,' treating her as a beautiful political ornament, left to wither in the depths of the palace.

Left there for several years.

"You..."

Su Chen didn't know what to say for a moment.

Should he thank her?

The two were husband and wife; a simple 'thank you' would seem too distant.

But not thank her?

The two of them had no marital intimacy to speak of; they had never even had physical contact.

Queen Jiang, however, seemed to see through his silence.

She gently shook her head and walked to the window, gazing at the old plum tree in the courtyard.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, her elegant silhouette and the tree's shadow slowly merged together.

Equally solitary, lofty, and cold.

Yet hidden deep within the palace, unnoticed by anyone.

(Note: Clarification again! Clarification again! Su Daji and Queen Jiang have loved 'Su Chen' from the very beginning! The King Zhou of this world is just Su Chen himself!)

(Everything King Zhou experienced was experienced by Su Chen; it was just that for the sake of the narrative pace, it was accelerated by the author, the will of this world!)

"The Great King need not feel guilty, or... burdened."

Her voice was very soft, falling like a maple leaf blown by the autumn wind.

"This marriage was never a matter of mutual affection."

"You are the Lord of Yin Shang Dynasty, and I am the Princess of the Jiang State."

"Neither you nor I are people who can afford to be impulsive."

"Between us lies the weight of the realm and conflicting interests."

"Too many things stand between us."

She paused for a moment, as if gathering courage.

"I know the Great King has no place for me in his heart."

"From the night of our grand wedding, when you lifted my veil and your eyes held only scrutiny and calculation, without a shred of the joy a groom has for his bride, I knew."

"Later, you took in many beautiful concubines and indulged in wine and song."

"In this deep palace, listening to those rumors, whether true or false, I gradually... grew used to it."

"But."

She suddenly turned around, her gaze looking straight at Su Chen.

"But Great King, I married you; I am your wife."

"Even if it is only in name, even if you have never regarded me as a wife."

"In my heart, from the moment I stepped onto the bridal sedan and left the capital of the Jiang State."

"I, Jiang Li, have been your wife."

"What should a wife do?"

"Support her husband, educate the children, manage the household, and share his worries."

"You did not need my support, there were no children to teach, the household had specialists to manage it, and you disdained to share your worries with me."

"All I could do, it seemed, was to avoid causing you trouble."

"And then, in places where your gaze did not reach, block some of the hidden arrows and spears for you."

"So that you could have a little more peace of mind."

"Even if you would never know."

"Even if you would never come here to spare me a single glance."

Tears that had been held back for a long time finally slid from the corners of her eyes.

Silently.

She quickly turned her face away and raised her hand, using the corner of her sleeve to wipe them away extremely fast.

When she turned back, her face had regained its calm, though her eyes and the tip of her nose were slightly red.

Su Chen felt his throat tighten.

Queen Jiang did not look at him again. Instead, she turned and walked to the bed, fumbled under the pillow for a moment, and took out an object, clutching it tightly in her palm.

She walked back to Su Chen and opened her hand.

It was a cloth doll.

The fabric was fine silk, but the color had faded with age. The stitches were fine and dense, showing the care put into its creation.

The doll's features actually bore a sixty percent resemblance to Su Chen, and it was dressed in a miniature version of the Emperor's casual robes.

However, at the doll's chest, the fabric color was slightly darker, as if it had been repeatedly rubbed.

"This was something I secretly sewed in the likeness of you the year I married into the family."

"At that time... I was still young and didn't know better."

"I always thought that even if I couldn't see the real person,"

"It would be good to have an object that looked like you to accompany me."

Su Chen was speechless.

So, this was the so-called 'Witchcraft Curse'?

He remembered that when Queen Jiang first married in, she seemed to be clutching such an object tightly in her hand.

It was just that the experiences of the first half of his life had been deliberately put on fast-forward by the Angel Investment System.

Even on an important occasion like the grand wedding, he hadn't stayed for long.

He really had no particular impression of Queen Jiang's affairs.

"Later, not long ago, I was banished by you to the Cold Palace."

"I begged a strand of hair that you had dropped from the palace attendant who helped you arrange your clothes."

She gently pried open an extremely hidden seam at the back of the doll's head, revealing a small bundle of dark hair inside, carefully tied with a red string.

"I put it inside."

"Very foolish, isn't it?"

She gave a self-deprecating smile, but tears welled up again.

"But it was just such a foolish doll that accompanied me through one long night after another in this Cold Palace."

"When you weren't there, I could only hold it and imagine you were by my side."

"Listening to me talk about things from my hometown, about what I saw today."

"Talking about... those grievances and longings that I couldn't voice."

There were some other thoughts in her heart that she didn't actually say out loud to Su Chen.

For example.

It was actually when Su Chen banished her to the Cold Palace that she truly fell in love with him.

At first, in her girlhood.

She had only heard that the Yin Dynasty had such a divinely brave King.

But that was merely an untouchable 'white moonlight' of her youth.

This state continued until before she was banished to the Cold Palace.

Until Su Chen made that decision.

As intelligent as she was, how could she not guess?

The Great King was protecting her.

It was at that time.

That she realized the Great King had her in his heart.

The bud that had been closed since her youth finally bloomed into a flower bearing bitter fruit upon its stamen.

Only.

She did not tell Su Chen these things.

There was no longer any need.

She gently placed the doll on the table in front of Su Chen, her fingertips brushing against the doll's cheek with lingering affection.

She took two steps back, bidding farewell to her own fantasy.

"The Great King now has a soulmate by his side."

"Beauty Su is very good."

"In the future, the Great King must take care of himself."

"This deep palace is treacherous, and the hearts of people are unpredictable."

"I hope the Great King will remain vigilant at all times and take care of his royal health."