50: Chapter 50 Beautiful women have always had tragic fates (21)

21

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, how could Pei Ji have believed that Liu Shi would dare to poison the water wells of the city's commoners?

"What is that in your hand?"

"P-Prince, it, it's nothing..." Liu Shi's mind was in chaos; she had no idea how to explain it. She shook her wrist violently, trying to shake off the medicinal powder she was holding.

"Ah—" The next moment, her wrist was snapped by him, twisted into an unnatural shape, and the pain made cold sweat stream down her face.

Pei Ji snatched the packet of medicine from her hand and pushed her toward the guards beside him. "Search her. See if she has anything else on her." He turned and ordered, "Bring the army physician here and have him examine this."

"No, no, I won't be searched! Prince, I am your concubine! I will not be searched!" Ignoring the heart-wrenching pain in her wrist, Liu Shi struggled desperately. Hearing this, the soldiers hesitated, and she actually almost broke free from their restraint.

"Did none of you eat today?" Pei Ji barked, and the soldiers dared not slacken, each lowering their eyes to carry out their orders.

Before long, four or five identical paper packets were found in Liu Shi's bosom and sleeves and handed to Pei Ji.

"Prince... Prince." Liu Shi collapsed to the ground, struggling desperately to crawl toward Pei Ji to explain. "Prince, that is just some medicinal powder I take daily for my complexion..."

Pei Ji's gaze was dark. "Then eat it right now in front of me."

Liu Shi's almond eyes widened, and her body shrank back instinctively; she dared not take a single step forward. During her hesitation, the physician arrived and took the medicinal powder from the Prince's hand.

Liu Shi slumped to the ground, utterly defeated, looking completely terrified.

The physician first sniffed it, then placed a small portion of the powder into a porcelain bowl, added some water, and stirred it. He ordered someone to catch a stray cat and force-fed the concoction to it. Before long, the cat succumbed to the poison and died.

The physician bowed with cupped hands and reported, "Reporting to the Prince, based on the color of the toxic powder, the symptoms, and the time it took to take effect, this poison likely comes from the sap of a plant unique to Beirong, known as the Upas tree. The sap of this plant is highly toxic; when dried and ground into powder, it takes on this light green color, which is quite distinctive."

"Bitch!" Pei Ji backhanded her, slapping Liu Shi to the ground.

She was, after all, a delicate woman and could not withstand his blow. Her pretty cheek swelled up instantly, and when she opened her mouth, she spat out a mouthful of blood, along with four teeth.

"Can you blame me? What choice did I have? They forced me! They fed me poison and compelled me to poison the wells. The next day, after the soldiers were poisoned, I was to open the city gates... I had no choice, Prince... I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong. Please, spare me this once."

"Then why didn't you tell me from the beginning?"

"I..." Liu Shi hesitated.

What was she thinking at the time? She had thought, even if she told Pei Ji, what then? The commoners and soldiers of Qinzhou City would be safe, but could they get the antidote for her in time? Who would save her life? What if it wasn't in time, or if they couldn't find the antidote at all? What would she do?

She had to save herself.

Therefore, she concealed the fact that she had been poisoned and threatened, and entered Qinzhou City according to their plan. Although she loved Pei Ji, if she lost her life, what would she have to love with? She simply loved herself more; there was nothing wrong with that.

"Drag her away." Pei Ji waved his hand.

"No, don't... Prince, don't kill me! Prince, I love you! I beg you, for the sake of how much I love you, please spare me! I've already been poisoned and don't have many days left to live; please, have pity on me! I promise to stay far away from you, far away from Qinzhou City." The pain in her wrist was stabbing and relentless. Gritting her teeth, Liu Shi lunged forward, trying to grab Pei Ji's leg, but he kicked her away.

She accidentally struck her broken wrist, causing another wave of excruciating pain that brought tears to her eyes and nearly made her faint.

"I will not kill you." Pei Ji looked down at her from above. "Tomorrow morning, you will go and open the city gates for the Beirong Army."

"No, no! Prince! I was wrong, I was truly wrong! I won't dare to do it again." Upon hearing this, Liu Shi shook her head like a madwoman.

Pei Ji leaned down and gripped her chin. "You must go! If you fail to lure the Beirong Army here, I will have you sliced into a thousand pieces and fed to the dogs."

The pain in her wrist and chin caused tears and snot to stream down involuntarily, sticking together in a truly pathetic mess.

"Watch her closely for me. Don't let her die; she still has a great use tomorrow."

Liu Shi was dragged away, and the others dispersed. Pei Ji looked toward the shadows, and Zhao Yan, with her hands behind her back, walked out gracefully.

"How did you know she was trouble?"

"My apologies. I heard the conversation between you and her in the study tonight." She hadn't done it intentionally; when Liu Shi arrived, the two of them had been in the study discussing the plan to attack the city the next day and were temporarily interrupted. Later, when Liu Shi was brought in, she had voluntarily stepped aside.

She had gone for a stroll outside, and when she returned, the two of them were still talking.

Because they were set to march the next day, their discussion had been interrupted halfway through. She was genuinely worried that the Prince would get caught up in romantic nostalgia, reminiscing until they ended up in bed, delaying important matters. If someone else went to knock on the door and happened to incur the wrath of that bloodthirsty Prince and got executed, what would happen? Zhao Yan decided to bite the bullet and go knock on the door herself to remind him.

Just as she reached the door, she heard their conversation.

This was the official explanation Zhao Yan gave the Prince of Beichuan. If she were to be blunt, it could be summed up in one sentence: she had been on guard against Liu Shi all along!

Liu Shi claimed she knew Pei Ji was in Qinzhou City because she heard it from refugees along the way, so she ran to seek refuge. However, all the refugees along the way had been settled in the neighboring commandery by the Beichuan Army. How could she have encountered refugees? Furthermore, the refugees appeared before Pei Ji had captured Qinzhou City; it was impossible for her to have received the news from them.

Then who told her?

Qinzhou City was under lockdown, so naturally, no one could enter or leave. That left only the Beirong Army, who had been beaten miserably over the past two days.

That was why, earlier this evening, Pei Ji had initially ordered Liu Shi to leave immediately, but Zhao Yan had intervened, persuading him to change his mind and let Liu Shi stay for the night and return the next morning.

Zhao Yan confessed her suspicions to him.

Pei Ji was silent for a moment before saying, "I didn't expect her to have the audacity to do this. If we hadn't discovered it tonight, the consequences would have been unimaginable. This was my oversight; I underestimated her too much."

Zhao Yan thought to herself, if I hadn't made you keep her, you would have kicked her out of the city tonight, and she wouldn't have had a chance to act at all.

She had intentionally kept Liu Shi; she had to give her the opportunity to make a mistake.

In her second life, she had dared to collude with Beirong and open the city gates, which was enough to show her selfishness. In this life, she had placed the opportunity before her again to see how she would choose.

Sure enough, if a person's character is rotten, even if she is reborn, she will still choose the old path.

However, in this life, Zhao Yan had exposed her early. She would not succeed, nor would she have the chance to retire to the mountains and marry an honest man to live out a peaceful life as she had in her second life.

The next morning, when the first light of dawn shone upon Qinzhou City, Liu Shi was dragged out forcibly. She looked as if her spirit had been drained away; her right wrist hung unnaturally, completely broken, and the pain had left her entire body numb.

"Go open the city gates," Pei Ji ordered. "Watch her. If she shows even the slightest sign of non-cooperation, execute her immediately."

"Prince... are you truly this heartless?" When Liu Shi spoke, her voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

"Whether I am heartless or not depends on how you act in a moment."

Liu Shi wanted to try and scheme, but firstly, the pain in her hand gave her no time to think, and secondly, Beichuan soldiers were standing in the shadows opposite her, their sharp spearheads pointed at her, ready to pierce through her at any moment.

With her right hand hanging limp, she tremblingly used her left hand to open the city gate, using almost all her strength.

After several attempts, the city gate of Qinzhou City was finally opened just a crack.

She poked her head out and reached out to wave at those outside the gate.

Inside the city, it was deathly silent; outside the city, there was no movement either.

About half an hour later, there was still no movement outside the city. Pei Ji, hiding in a corner, turned his head to look at her. Zhao Yan felt his gaze, curled her lips at him in a smile, pressed her index finger lightly against her red lips in a gesture for silence, and kept her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the city gate. Just as the Beichuan Army, lying in ambush within the city, thought nothing would happen, suddenly, they heard a series of rhythmic footsteps. Although they had been muffled, one could still tell that many people had gathered outside.

Liu Shi was dragged into a corner by the Beichuan Army, her mouth covered.

Creak—

The city gate was pushed open.

One, two... a small squad of infantry rushed in, only to find the soldiers who were supposed to be on guard duty lying scattered about in disarray.

Their faces lit up with joy, and they immediately turned to signal toward the small woods.

Accompanied by a dazzling white light shooting straight into the sky, a chaotic sound of hoofbeats approached from afar. Judging by the sound, there were quite a number of them.

Dalu rode his horse just to the city gate, looked up at the ramparts, and saw not a single sentry on duty. That woman had clearly succeeded! He could not help but be overjoyed.

One after another, he waited for the Beirong Army to enter the city—

"Close the gates, fire arrows!" came the order.

The Beirong Army only had time to turn back and witness the massive East City Gate slamming shut with a boom.

Before they could even be stunned, they saw several squads of the Beichuan Army, armed with bows and arrows, filing out from the staircases on the ramparts, high and low, lining up with sharp arrows pointed directly at them.

Dalu took one look at the situation and thought, 'Oh no, it's a trap!'

"Break through!"

After a chaotic battle, Dalu had added quite a few new wounds to his body.

"General, you go first! We will escort you out." The officers responded one after another.

Seeing his men dying or wounded, Dalu swatted away another arrow flying toward him, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine, let's go!"

Pei Ji flicked his cloak, picked up the broadsword beside him, and lifted his foot to head downstairs. He was determined to keep the enemy general here this time, but Zhao Yan reached out her arm to stop him.

Zhao Yan opened her palm, and Hong Yun handed her a bow and arrow.

She gripped the bow tightly with one hand, notched an arrow, and pulled it taut with the other, her eyes fixed on the Beirong general below the ramparts, who was surrounded by guards and attempting to break through the encirclement.

"Whoosh—" With a muffled groan, the soldier who had been blocking Dalu's front was struck in the chest by an arrow and fell off his horse.

"Whoosh—" A second arrow was fired, and the soldier on the left was struck through the head, falling off his horse.

The third arrow struck the Beirong soldier to Dalu's right.

Seeing the soldiers right next to him falling one after another, Dalu looked like a frightened bird. He looked up and glanced around, meeting the eyes of Zhao Yan, who was aiming at him.

Zhao Yan curled her lips at him and said softly, "It's your turn—"

Dalu seemed to understand her lip movements; he turned around, pushed aside the people next to him, pulled on the reins, and fled backward.

Suddenly, the horse beneath him seemed to go mad and reared up on its front hooves. Caught off guard, he was thrown off the horse, rolled several times on the ground before stopping, his helmet falling off during the tumble.

Dalu could not care about such things; he picked up his weapon from the ground, stood up, and turned to run toward the gate.

He brandished the broadsword in his hand, seemingly blinded by the bloodlust of battle. Anyone who dared to block him was met with his blade, and for a moment, he was invincible.

"Ah!" Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his arm. He staggered, and the broadsword in his hand clattered to the ground. Looking at his arrow-struck right arm, Dalu glared with hatred at the figure in silver-white armor on the ramparts. "Who exactly are you, daring to ambush me!"

Another flash of sharpness, the sound of an arrow piercing flesh—Dalu looked down to see an arrow piercing his left leg. The force was so great it seemed intended to pin him to the ground, and in his pain, he was forced to his knees.

Dalu looked up, his face deathly pale, his eyes shooting venomous glares at Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan stepped down from the ramparts with steady footsteps. She glanced at Dalu, who was kneeling on one knee, and nodded with satisfaction. "I really do prefer it when others kneel while speaking to me."

She turned to look at Pei Ji and said, "Who said barbarians don't understand etiquette? Isn't he quite well-mannered?"

Pei Ji curled his lips indulgently.

"You..." Dalu was so angry he wanted to stand up, but with his hands and feet pierced, the pain was unbearable, and he had no strength left to argue with her.

Fortunately, Zhao Yan did not intend to continue mocking him. She ordered someone to take him away to stop the bleeding; he was a big fish, and he must not die before they went to Changning City to exchange prisoners.

She then ordered the soldiers to clear the corpses and count the prisoners. When everything was finished, a soldier reported that Liu Shi, who was locked in the prison, was constantly shouting that she had made up for her crimes and begging them to let her out.

Zhao Yan raised an eyebrow. She didn't actually think this made up for it, did she?

If she had succeeded in poisoning the wells in the city, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and they would have walked the same path of eternal damnation as in the second lifetime.

"Execute her." Pei Ji did not even lift his eyelids as he ordered.

"My Prince, why not leave her to me to handle?"

Pei Ji looked at her and said, "Don't let her leave alive."

"Naturally."

Pei Ji nodded, considering it agreed.

"Heh... Making up for her crimes? It's not up to her to decide. Tie her up and parade her through the streets; let the common people of Qinzhou judge her."

The soldiers looked at each other; this move was ruthless enough.

Qinzhou City had just suffered the bullying of the Beirong; there were many commoners who had lost loved ones, as well as women who had been humiliated and suffered severe physical and mental trauma. They hated the Beirong people so much they wished to drink their blood and eat their flesh! Once Liu Shi's actions—colluding with the Beirong, attempting to poison the wells of Qinzhou, and opening the city gates to let the Beirong in—were announced to the citizens, how could they spare her? They would rather tear her apart with their own hands!

As expected, as soon as Liu Shi was pushed out of the prison, the commoners who had been waiting outside took out the things they had prepared and threw them at her.

She seemed unable to hear the insults; rotten tomatoes and vegetable leaves hung all over her, but she was senseless and unaware.

A foul stench was poured over her head—it was excrement.

Her eyes were like a pool of stagnant water, letting those people do as they pleased. She felt lost in her heart: What was the point of her living another life? So, it turned out that in her previous life, dying peacefully in the cold palace had already been her best ending. Why did she have to be reborn?

A sharp pain came from her head. Someone in the crowd threw a stone at her, hitting her square on the forehead. Blood immediately gushed out, blurring her vision. In her hazy state, she seemed to see a beautiful face, like that of a fairy.

That face, she had once been fortunate enough to see! Why was she reborn? Wasn't it because she had inadvertently seen that fairy step through that door, and she had followed closely behind, also stepping through that door?

Her face suddenly came alive. She stretched her arms toward that figure, her voice barely audible: "Fairy, Fairy, save me..."

As Zhao Yan walked gracefully toward her, the crowd gradually retreated and stopped their actions. A soldier beside her hesitantly reached out to stop her: "Miss Bai, it is too filthy here; you had better go back first."

Zhao Yan smiled at him slightly and said, "It's fine, I will just say a few words to her and then leave."

She stopped three steps away from her and crouched down: "Do you have any regrets?"

Liu Shi's eyes widened, shining with light. She knew her! She actually knew her! Was she like her, also a reborn person?

"I regret it, I have long regretted it. Fairy, save me! I am on the same path as you; you must save me!"

Zhao Yan chuckled, "Do you know who I am?"

Liu Shi scrutinized her carefully. That face—she would never mistake it; it was the fairy she had seen the day she was reborn. But this voice... it was somewhat familiar. "You are Bai Zhaoyan!"

"You save me, as long as you save me! I won't tell the Prince anymore that you are not of the Bai Clan; if you want to be of the Bai Clan, then be of the Bai Clan."

"Why would I save someone who has been obsessively thinking about killing me? I am just here to see how miserable you truly are."

"No, you misunderstood! I didn't want to kill you! I really didn't, I..." Liu Shi anxiously tried to explain, fearing that it would be too late and she would turn and leave. Now, only she could save her!

But in the eyes of others, they only saw her constantly trying to get close to Miss Bai. What good intentions could such a treacherous person have? The soldiers warned her repeatedly, but she remained oblivious and still tried to reach for Miss Bai, eventually being pierced through the body by someone's spear.

She stared blankly down at the spearhead piercing her body, her eyes filled with wretched hatred. As she opened her mouth, blood sprayed out: "Why didn't you save me! Why!"

Zhao Yan leaned close to her and said in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Because you wanted to kill me."

"I didn't... I..." Suddenly, Liu Shi's words stuck in her throat, her eyes looking as if she had seen a ghost. "You are—you are..." A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and she could no longer form a complete sentence.

"I am Princess Anle Li Yuan of the Liang State."

Liu Shi was filled with horror, her eyes wide as she gasped for air, until she stopped breathing altogether.

In her first life, she loved Pei Ji deeply, but fate played tricks on her; she met him too late. Pei Ji had a deceased first love—Princess Anle Li Yuan—and could not see her existence at all. Later, he even led troops to campaign against the Beirong, leaving her to grow old and die in the cold palace of Yandu.

In this life, she was reborn and entered the Prince of Beichuan's palace first, becoming a concubine of the Prince of Beichuan, Pei Ji. She wanted to prevent Princess Anle Li Yuan and Pei Ji from meeting, so she went to great lengths. When the city fell, she ordered men to go to Fenghua Palace to kill Princess Anle Li Yuan first. Unfortunately, when her men arrived, Li Yuan had already escaped.

In the end, in the end, it was all for nothing...

Only Zhao Yan knew that if she had not arrived, in the second lifetime, Princess Anle Li Yuan would have been found by Liu Shi's men before she could escape and would have been pierced through the body with a blade.