Chapter Forty: A Crown Shattered in a Fury for Beauty's Sake

"Have you figured out the identity of that maid? Was she your trusted confidante? How much did she know about your affairs? Should we take this opportunity to investigate those around you? No, just checking those closest to you... well, that’s not safe either. I think you’d better start by investigating everyone in your mansion. It’s not that I’m lecturing you, but look at yourself—a Great General, yet you don’t even know the backgrounds of the people under your own roof? If they hadn’t exposed their true colors to harm me this time, who knows how much longer you would have been deceived? How are you supposed to make me feel at ease..." Luo Yunyao rambled on. The more she thought about it, the more worried and fearful she became. Finally, she gave Qin Jinghao a punch and said indignantly, "Can you make me feel at ease in the future? Can you stop making me worry like this?"

As Luo Yunyao chattered away, she realized Qin Jinghao had caught her hand. The man, as cold and clear as jade, spoke with a hint of a smile, "It is precisely because I need you to worry about me."

Luo Yunyao knew her earlier distraction had been impolite, and more importantly, it had made him worry. Of course, she couldn't bring herself to apologize to Qin Jinghao, so she played along with his words. Her beautiful eyes swirled, and she cast him a coquettish glance. "You flatter yourself."

Qin Jinghao smiled and held her gaze steadily.

She was his girl, the one he had determined to walk through life with. A moment ago, she had been lost and vacant, and he had been helpless, forced to wait for her to recover on her own. Yet, Luo Yunyao had recovered faster than he expected. Or perhaps, it was simply that she cared for him so deeply that the mere issue of a maid near him caused her such intense concern for his safety and interests.

In that moment, Qin Jinghao likely understood his position in Luo Yunyao’s heart.

He was placed in the most secure, core place of her heart. Just as he had placed her in the same spot.

Qin Jinghao bowed his head, brushed his chin against Luo Yunyao, and asked softly, "Have you recovered?"

Luo Yunyao understood. Qin Jinghao saw that she had regained her composure, but he was still worried whether she had truly shaken off the distress.

Luo Yunyao leaned into his touch, enjoying it. "Didn't I just hear the Great General’s words? What else do I have to worry about? However, Great General, I took those words to heart, you know. You mustn't go back on your promise."

Regarding Xiao Limo’s affection, Luo Yunyao felt nothing but panic and fear.

As an emperor, one must inevitably attain the supreme position and possess endless women. Well, there might be rare exceptions, but Luo Yunyao didn't feel she would ever encounter such an anomaly. Most importantly, she didn't actually like the Crown Prince at all; she had no fondness for him, and in fact, she was quite afraid of him.

Luo Yunyao had been thinking just now: if Xiao Limo ascended the throne, what would be her fate if she remained an official in the Western Qin Dynasty? The more she thought about it, the more she felt she would be unable to escape his clutches.

Of course, with the Great General as her backing, that possibility became an unknown. But heaven knows, even as a woman who had transmigrated into a clichéd romance novel, she didn't want any of those melodramatic plots to unfold. The idea of an emperor and a general clashing over a woman, or fighting bloody battles to the death for her sake—how ridiculous! She didn't want Qin Jinghao to do anything so foolish.

What did it matter if he was the future heir? Or even the Emperor himself? Luo Yunyao believed she would never let this situation lead Qin Jinghao into a trap.

Luo Yunyao made up her mind then and there, reaching out to take Qin Jinghao’s hand. "I want to restore the Binuo Kingdom before Xiao Limo ascends the throne—no, at the very least, I want to leave the officialdom of Western Qin before he takes the throne." She spoke softly at first, but after gripping his hand, she squeezed tighter. "Although the Great General has given me his word, I do not wish to be a 'femme fatale' who drags you down. Besides, once I restore my kingdom, as the Eldest Princess of Binuo, if I were to simply become a female emperor... well, it would be uncertain who the true 'disaster' is."

Of course, Luo Yunyao was just speaking for the sake of it, enjoying the satisfaction of the words. Being an emperor was too exhausting, and she had no desire for it; restoring a kingdom was already enough of a burden. She admitted she wasn't a person of great ambition.

Qin Jinghao closed his hand over hers. "Yes, it will happen. I am here." *I am here, and I will help you.* Qin Jinghao didn't say it out loud, but Luo Yunyao knew.

Luo Yunyao suddenly thought of something and excitedly tapped Qin Jinghao’s hand. "Hey, how did you handle your situation with Yue Liuxi before? Teach me! Let’s settle it like that." She continued, feeling quite pleased with herself, "Just handle the Crown Prince the same way. I am truly clever."

Qin Jinghao thought back to how he had handled Yue Liuxi. It seemed he had simply ignored her, right? After all, he had never held her in his heart, so he paid no heed to her attempts to curry favor. Then it occurred to him: if Luo Yunyao handled Xiao Limo the same way... his jade-like, indifferent expression darkened for the first time.

The Great General thought to himself that he must never let Luo Yunyao know how he had treated Yue Liuxi in the past. Back then, Yue Liuxi had been able to get close to him. If Xiao Limo dared to... The Great General’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist. Then, seeing Luo Yunyao’s relaxed, joyful expression as if she had solved a major problem, he loosened his grip. Qin Jinghao secretly resolved that from now on, he had to set a good example for this person who lacked self-awareness and was often quite thick-skinned.

The thick ink of night deepened, the bright moon grew softer, and the scent of osmanthus mingled with the moonlight, brewing an atmosphere of peaceful, timeless beauty.

Both knew that the matter of Xiao Limo had temporarily come to an end. In the future, they would face whatever came their way, dealing with it slowly; in short, it would no longer plague this couple in such a way.

Luo Yunyao admired the faint osmanthus flowers with Qin Jinghao for a while, feeling completely at ease, when she suddenly remembered with great annoyance, "Hey, tell me, did we forget the real business again? Where were we in our discussion?"

Qin Jinghao cast a glance at her, his indifferent eyes clearly conveying the sentiment, "Just give up the struggle."

Luo Yunyao reflected on herself inwardly and struggled to pull their conversation back on track. "Right, have you checked the background of that maid? Any discoveries?" She continued to rattle on, not giving Qin Jinghao a chance to speak. Luo Yunyao was truly worried that if he spoke, she would lose control and derail the topic again, so she despotically preempted him: "That maid clearly knew the ins and outs. Speaking of which, did she know I was a woman? But if she did, it makes no sense for her to frame me like that. She could have just exposed me to the Emperor directly. Wouldn't that have been easier for me to die? Why go to such lengths to set up such a huge scheme?"

Luo Yunyao asked such a long string of questions that it was impossible for someone as cold and detached as the Great General to answer them one by one. He picked a key question to answer, leaving the rest for Luo Yunyao to ponder on her own. "She was not a confidante. Those I trust are always investigated with absolute clarity. After all, I am a man who has walked the battlefield with blood on my hands; I would never be so careless." He spoke of his years of slaughter with nonchalance, not forgetting to distract himself to comfort Luo Yunyao. "That maid had a clean family background and was purchased by the steward himself when she entered the mansion. However, whom she contacted and what she encountered remains to be investigated."

Luo Yunyao trusted the steward Qin Jinghao had chosen, so she shared her thoughts to ensure he would take note: "That maid was likely under some sort of threat. When she died, the expression she gave me didn't look like she truly intended to harm me. She felt guilty toward me, too. And she didn't want to die, but she had no choice." Looking at those eyes, which had been full of various emotions and should have been vibrant with youth, Luo Yunyao couldn't help but sigh. "She was a pitiable person."

Qin Jinghao pondered this. He didn't say much about Luo Yunyao’s sentimentality, as he was not an emotional man. "In that case, the relationship between the mastermind and the maid remains to be examined. At least their relationship wasn't one of close intimacy, where the servant follows the master's lead. I will have people focus on investigating the maid’s recent activities."

Luo Yunyao continued, "I don't know if the maid was clever or if the mastermind behind the scenes was clever. She took a secluded path at the beginning, so by the time I realized it, it was already too late. You should go take a look at that path again. I don't know if such a path is one that a busy maid could walk at will. If that path wasn't discovered by the maid, then it must have been the mastermind... er, well, it doesn't necessarily have to be the mastermind. But speaking of which, it must be someone who knows you inside and out, or perhaps someone who knows the Great General’s mansion inside and out. For such a person, besides those you absolutely trust, it shouldn't be difficult to narrow down the search." As she spoke, she thought of potential loopholes and reminded him, "Hm, there is another possibility—for instance, if this small path was only recently discovered, then it’s even simpler. Someone in the General’s mansion must have noticed such a suspicious person."

Qin Jinghao listened quietly to Luo Yunyao’s words, neither confirming nor denying. When she finished and assumed he had taken it all in, Qin Jinghao said with detached grace, "Weren't we discussing motives earlier? Let’s see who we can deduce from that."

Luo Yunyao heard this and felt a stir in her heart. She realized she didn't even know if he had been listening to her properly, but she followed his train of thought anyway. "Motives, you say?" She suddenly thought of how she had analyzed this issue for Xiao Limo, but because Xiao Limo was different from Qin Jinghao, she felt it was much more meaningful and clearer to discuss it with Qin Jinghao. She followed her previous line of reasoning: "Gain and plotting. Actually, we’ve already discussed the interests involved. There seem to be quite a few people who want to harm me, which makes it difficult to deduce from that, but..." Luo Yunyao and Qin Jinghao locked eyes, a gleam in their gazes: "But if someone wanted to harm both of us at the same time, the scope narrows significantly. Just as you said, Great General, a person like you has nothing worth harming."