The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 180 : Concealing a Desire to Murder

Translated by : Moondancer

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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On a snow-white woolen blanket, like a splash of red paint a woman lay in a crimson dress. Her face was covered with the same colored veil, revealing only a pair of incomparably clear eyes. The eyes had a kind of bewitching innocence with which a single glance would intoxicate a person until one did not remember their own name.

A grey-clothed man next to her reported in a slightly nervous tone, "Saintess, Jiang Xin Zhi has escaped. Someone picked him up at Liao River, but we couldn't catch up in time."

After a long silence, a lazy female voice drifted through the air, "Really? You couldn't even do this? Yuan Chuan, you're becoming worse and worse."

"Saintess is right," Yuan Chuan replied as he looked down. "But although Jiang Xin Zhi escaped, we did have some gains. News has come from the capital that Xuan Li was unsuccessful in resolving the military provisions issue. Their spies haven't found anything yet, but our people have discovered signs that the mastermind came from the Jinying Wangfu."

The words 'Jinying Wangfu' clearly moved her. She turned her head, and her voice seemed to contain a smile as she asked, "Oh? Who was it?"

"Before Jinying Wang left, he invited his two martial brothers, Fourth Brother Qi and Fifth Brother Xia, to the capital, and the two are currently staying near the Jinying Wangfu. And the reason he did so was to protect Jinying Wangfei – Eldest Miss Jiang, Jiang Xin Zhi's meimei, and the current Hong'an Junzhu. The way the military provisions problem was solved doesn't seem like something Qi Feng would do. If the news from the subordinates is correct, it should probably have been carried out by Jinying Wangfei."

The woman didn't speak. A tense silence fell, and the surrounding maidservants lowered their heads while Yuan Chuan maintained his respectful bow. When the wafting incense had almost burned out, she finally let out a cold sneer. "Jinying Wangfei? What's she worth?"

Yuan Chuan carefully glanced at her bright eyes which had momentarily darkened with a familiar fleeting emotion. Then she slowly stood up. She wasn't particularly tall, and could even be called petite. A bright red skirt outlined her slender figure and her every move was filled with charm – not the charm of a woman from a brothel, but rather like a kind of innocence. It was as if she were born like this, like a beautiful cub born to tempt others.

"He burned our rations, so the South Xinjiang soldiers can no longer take part in this war." Although her tone was still as lazy as before, each word had an underlying meaning.

"Exactly. Tian Jin has sent messages to us saying they are unable to provide much more military rations. Therefore, they hope we can think of something ourselves," Yuan Chuan said. "Saintess, do you wish to...?"

With their rations destroyed, their soldiers could no longer stay. Tian Jin was too busy taking care of itself and didn't trust South Xinjiang much in the first place, so there was no way they would be willing to give them much grain. Moreover, what little they might give had no way of solving their urgent need. It would be a thankless task for South Xinjiang to continue helping Tian Jin against Great Jin.

"Traitors aren't worthy of being my allies," the woman stated coldly. "Tian Jin is about to be defeated. They also know that, which is why they have taken this stance. Yuan Chuan, you go back and pass on my order: the alliance is over, our soldiers are to return to South Xinjiang as soon as possible."

Taken aback, Yuan Chuan tentatively asked, "Saintess, if we go back to South Xinjiang like this, Great Jin... Is Saintess giving up?" He knew better than anyone just why Saintess had become an ally of Tian Jin, so he was very surprised when he heard her decision.