The Times Spent in Pretense

Commandery Princess Jiamin stared at Hua Liuli as if the latter were a fool.　　

Hiding her shyness and timidity, Hua Liuli returned her gaze.　　

None of them spoke in the quiet carriage. It rocked and swayed, their destination unknown.　　

All of a sudden, someone lifted the door curtain to the carriage. The female assassin looked at Hua Liuli and Jiamin, who were staring at one another. Then she fished out a knife from her waist. Approached them slowly.　　　　

“Let’s have a conversation about this. Don’t scratch up our faces!” Commandery Princess Jiamin swung her face to the other side. “We can make ourselves look ugly by dressing up, really! If you scratch up our faces now, it won’t scab for a while, and it’ll attract attention more easily. It’ll be unfavorable for you.”

The female assassin swept her gaze through the two of them. Leaning against a wall of the carriage, Hua Liuli had eyes full of tears, looking at her, seeming pitiful. That gaze reminded the female assassin of a kitten from her childhood. One her master had killed by throwing to the ground.　　

She slipped the dagger back into its scabbard. Her expression chilled. “I’m only responsible for transporting you two out of the mountain, as per Leader’s orders. After that, we don’t care how they’ll treat you.”　　

“Big Sister, you won’t be following them?” said Hua Liuli, watching the female assassin with a timid look in her eyes.　　　　

“I told you not to call me ‘Big Sis.’” The female assassin turned her head away from Hua Liuli. “Don’t blame us. We have no choice. Young Master said that as long as we accomplish this task, he’ll let our leader go.”　　

“You’ve abducted us and are trying to bring us out of the capital, but even if we run to the ends of the earth, you can’t escape the court’s pursuit. So what’s the point?” said Hua Liuli, looking down. “Why don’t you let us go? That way, perhaps you can still keep your lives.”　　

“Little girl, don’t try to fool me with these lies meant for children.” The female assassin sneered. “Stop dreaming. When you reincarnate, choose a luckier life. Don’t die a premature death like in this one.” 　　　　

The female assassin withdrew from the carriage. Seeing her leave so quickly, the people who came with her said, “Why haven’t you scratched their faces yet?”　　

A sneer. “If we do that right now, wouldn’t that announce to other people that there is something wrong with their faces? Do you think you’re stupid, or is the court stupid?”　　

The person who had asked the previous question suppressed his anger. Turned around to leave.　　

Once they left the capital, the female assassin and her leader would be killed. But at this moment, the other assassins could not ruin their young master’s plan. As such, they held back from killing them. The assassin who had questioned the female assassin turned and had the others change the two girls’ appearances, so that they wouldn’t be recognized. 

“I think this female assassin won’t live long,” said Jiamin. They had been quiet the whole way, and she was afraid. But she also did not want Hua Liuli to see her frightened, so could only pretend to be calm and chat up the other girl. “In novels, these kinds of people will die in the end.”　　　　

Hua Liuli blinked. Paid her no mind.　　

Their arms and legs were bound, and the window and door curtains were shut tight. They basically did not know where they were headed.　　

Many hours later, Hua Liuli and Jiamin were forced to eat a bowl of congee each. And mixed with the congee were sleeping drugs, knocking them out.　　　　

When they woke up again, it was already the next day. As the female assassin escorted and watched them while they relieved themselves, Hua Liuli examined their surroundings.　　

The abductors dressed up as members of a caravan. The female assassin’s group and the other group, which had more than ten members, did not seem to be on good terms with one another. This second group looked at the girls with evil intentions and lechery in their eyes.　　

“Young Master said that once this task is completed, you’ll let us go,” said the female assassin to the second group as she pushed Hua Liuli and Jiamin back into the carriage. “From then on, we won’t cross paths again.”　　　　

“In order to bring these two women out of the capital, the court has already discovered all our spies and manpower. If you stay in the capital now, only death awaits you. So why not continue working for Master and accumulate a great deal of contributions together?”　　

The female assassin cupped her hands in a salute. “Goodbye.”　　　　

Since the female assassin’s group did not take his offer, the expression of the second group’s leader darkened. He looked at some assassins, then turned around and said to his subordinates, “Go.”　

“The female assassin you curried favor with has already left.” Nearly twenty hours had passed since they ate anything. Jiamin leaned against a wall of the carriage weakly. “What should we do now?”　　　　

If the two of them were truly sent to the planned destination, they would lose their lives without a doubt.　　

“The mountains are tall and the roads dangerous here. It looks like the border between the capital and Shanling Prefecture. Word has it that there aren’t many people living here. That ferocious beasts often roam…” Hua Liuli twisted and turned her wrists. “There are four more hours until dusk.”　　　　

At the sound of those words, Jiamin felt even more anxious. Without that other group of assassins around, who cared about things like the separation of the sexes, she was full of worry toward the remaining group of assassins. 

In a flash, Jiamin’s worries became reality. Come evening, although their rope bindings were unfastened, the criminals around them jeered at them, spouting obscenities.　　　　

If it weren’t for the fact that Jiamin couldn’t beat them in a fight, she would have beaten them to death already. She turned to Hua Liuli, who was eating with her head lowered. And she couldn’t hold back her anger anymore, scolding in a low voice and through clenched teeth, “Eat, eat, eat. All you know is how to eat. Don’t you have a sickly body? Don’t you have to throw up whatever you put in your mouth, get dizzy whenever you eat? Why are you able to eat everything?”　　

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.” Hua Liuli placed down the empty bowl. Wiped the corners of her mouth. Slowly, she stroked her waist.

“Oh! Are you still hungry, lass?” A man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks burst into laughter. “Come, be obedient and call me Big Brother. I’ll give you something delicious to eat.”　　　　

The other people laughed heartily as well, and some also jeered.　　

“They’re high-class commandery princesses. Why humiliate them?”　　

“The commandery princesses of the court aren’t much. At a time like this, aren’t they as obedient as dogs?”　　

Humiliating noble commandery princesses gave them a large sense of satisfaction. Everyone smiled in a carefree manner. 

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Jiamin was angered to the point of shivering; even her eyes had gone bloodshot.　　

“When I was young, someone told me that being weak was a type of weapon.” Hua Liuli looked at those men who teased them wantonly. “But this only works on humans, not animals.”　　　　

“Awww, the little lasses are calling us animals.”　　

“Truly worthy of being called a commandery princess. Even her scolding voice is so pleasant to hear.”　　

Swish.　　　　

Jiamin absentmindedly thought that she saw shining white light before her eyes. Before she could react, her ears caught a thump. The man who had approached them collapsed onto the ground at once.

The obscene speech disappeared. The laughter disappeared. At the valley, one could only hear a cold whistle of wind. It resembled a malicious spirit sobbing.　　

In a daze, Jiamin raised her head. Looked at the Hua Liuli who was standing in front of her to shield her, and the flexible double-edged sword that had appeared out of nowhere in the other party’s hand, mind blank.　　

“Every child of the Hua clan carries a flexible double-edged sword for protection.” Hua Liuli shook the sword, flinging off beads of blood. “Sickly people dislike fighting.　　　　

“Everyone has a dream. But they destroyed the beautiful dream of a young lady.” Hua Liuli kicked the corpse on the ground. It rolled to the side. “I don’t usually get angry. But when I do, people lose their lives.”　　

“Motherf*cker! This woman’s a dog that bites! Brothers, take up your weapons!”　　　　

When Jiamin heard these people start to pull out their swords, she snapped back to her senses with a start. In passing, she grabbed the sword on the corpse’s side and unsheathed it with a trembling hand. Then she stood next to Hua Liuli.　　　　

“Move farther away from me,” said Hua Liuli, staring at Jiamin.　　

To which Jiamin clenched her teeth. “Hua Liuli!”　　

“I’m sickly. It’s contagious.” Following that, Hua Liuli gripped her sword and charged at the crowd without glancing back. Her strong and quick pace caused Jiamin to wonder which the sickly one was between the two of them. 

At this moment in the capital, Princess Shunan’s estate, Prince Ying’s estate, the Hua family’s estate, and the imperial palace dispatched many people to find the two commandery princesses. 　　　　

Even the garrison soldiers guarding the city walls had been replaced with elite soldiers sporting serious expressions. And all the neighboring large prefectures were monitoring their borders tightly, not allowing any suspicious people to enter or exit.　　

The capital’s inhabitants, who were usually sensitive to the court’s decrees, started to wonder in private whether something big had occurred in the imperial palace. Otherwise, why would there be a curfew, and why would there be so many guards running about? 　　　　

“Your Highness, there are traces of people having lived in a dilapidated temple to the west of the capital.”　　　　

The crown prince looked at the map of the capital. He pointed to a spot before him.　　

“The west of the capital?” said Prince Ying, rising to his feet. “To the capital’s west is Nanzhou. We must immediately lead troops in pursuit.”　　

The crown prince did not pay Prince Ying, who had left in large strides, any mind. He rolled up the map. Asked his personal attendant, “Has there been any news from the Hua estate and Princess Shunan’s estate?”　　

“Reporting to Your Highness, there hasn’t been any at the moment.” A moment of thought. “Just a while ago, Princess Shunan sobbed in front of His Majesty for a good while and wanted to post a notice in the city to search for the girls. But His Majesty barred her from doing so. Contrary to what one might expect, the Hua estate is much more quiet. After Third Young Master Hua asked for instructions from His Majesty, he led people outside the capital.”

“Let’s go.” The crown prince stood and made to leave.　　　　

“Your Highness, it’s already getting dark. Where does your honored self want to go?”　　

“Shanling Prefecture.” A whistle as the night wind blew at the crown prince’s robes. Without looking back, he said, “Immediately arrange for people to leave the capital with me.”　　

“Yes,” said Changsui, doubtful. The tracks of the evildoers who had abducted the two commandery princesses appeared not too far from Nanzhou. So why was the crown prince headed for the opposite direction, toward Shanling Prefecture?

“Third Young Master, don’t worry. Commandery Princess will be alright,” consoled Shanlu, a servant who had accompanied Hua Changkong for many years. He noticed the quick pace of his master. “Commandery Princess is clever. She will find a way to protect herself without a doubt.”　　　　

“I’m not afraid that she can’t protect herself. But…” A sigh escaped Hua Changkong’s lips. He gazed at the small road blanketed by the night, hastening on with his journey.　　

The Hua clan’s martial arts were the accumulation of generations’ worth of battlefield experience. It was a style that did not contain any superfluous action gorgeous to the eye, each and every move meant to defeat the opponent. To defend oneself and one’s comrade-in-arms.　　　　

It allowed one to survive, allowed one’s comrade-in-arms to survive, allowed one to defeat the opponent, and allowed one to defend one’s land. 　　

The edge of the sword slashed the evildoer’s throat, merely leaving behind a thin line of blood. When the sword slashed another person, blood bubbled out from the first person’s neck at last, the body collapsing to the ground without a word.　　

Once the last person had fallen, Hua Liuli turned around. Her gaze fell upon Commandery Princess Jiamin, who was curled up in a corner holding a sword.　　　　

Under the moonlight, Hua Liuli was free of even a speck of blood. Her footsteps were very light, expression very tranquil. However, to Jiamin, she resembled a female poltergeist about to turn against her.　　

Jiamin recalled how she had made cutting remarks and mocked Hua Liuli in the past, and the longer she looked at the other party, the more she thought Hua Liuli would use this chance to kill her.　　

Her teeth clattered and she strived to compose herself. “L-let’s talk about this. Actually, I don’t like Prince Ying at all. I was just talking rubbish in the past. You and him are a great match. It’s just him that has poor eyesight.”　　

When her life was at stake, the man she liked was nothing.　　

But never had she expected that after saying these words, Hua Liuli’s expression would grow even more unsightly. Jiamin blurted, “You are the number one beauty of Great Jin, and can have any of the five imperial princes you like! And…. And… you are the Hua family’s greatest pride. Mistress Hua’s greatest fortune is to have you as her daughter. Hahahahaha, Hua Liuli, I was wrong. Don’t kill me!” As Hua Liuli grew closer and closer, Jiamin covered her eyes.　　　　

In her whole life, she had never regretted as much as she did this very moment, regretted how terrible her mouth was. If she could return alive, she would definitely, definitely speak less. She would never offend Hua Liuli again! 　　

“What are you talking about?”