The Rise of Phoenixes Novel Translation #173

He never imagined she would suddenly attack after what just happened. The only thing he felt was a thud on the head, sparks appearing in his eyes before the world went completely dark. 

He fell without a sound. 

Then she started screaming. 

The scream was long and shrill, full of terror, piercing the dark silence like a wire. 

As she was screaming, she rolled off the daybed. On her way down, she swept him to the back of the bookshelf with a kick then with a combination of rolling and crawling, made her way swiftly to the back window. Because the back window wasn’t facing her direction on the daybed so Jin Siyu didn’t choose to go close it. She quickly rolled over, jumped up, raised her hands to pull open the window, and in the dark, something flashed from her hand at the same time. 

*Crack!* 

Something was trigged and shot into the study before nailing itself somewhere, buzzing with vibration. 

When she started to scream, Jin Siyu was already rushing over. Going by memory, he threw himself towards where the daybed is but found it empty. Shocked and dismayed, he yelled “Shao Yao!” 

She screamed, cowering under the rear window, trembling “Someone is here!” 

Jin Siyu lit a candle in his hand, the dim light showed the worry in his face “Shao Yao!”

He hurried over and pulled her into his arms, “How did you get here?”

“Someone!” She turned in his arms and pointed at the back window, “Just now, when you went to close the windows, I was laying on the daybed, I suddenly felt someone jump in and grabbed me. It seemed like the person discovered something wasn’t right and threw me aside. I got thrown out and kept falling until I ended up here…eh, where did that person go?” 

Looking around in a panic, she gasped “Where did they go?” 

Jin Siyu stared at her, she is a mess after rolling around on the ground, her hair was in a disarray, even her makeup had been messed up. The softwood Phyisican Ruan had used to stabilize her fingers had also mostly fallen off. It was obvious that someone had pulled her by the hand and the pain from that had caused her to cry, washing away her makeup. 

“You really saw someone?” He asked slowly. 

He was startled when she shook her head. 

“It’s not seeing but feel.” She replied, “I only heard the back window slammed open, the sound of the violent wind, then someone grabbed me and threw me out. It was very fast…my head got dizzy when I fell. I only heard more wind sound over my head, then you lit the light…That person, was he a person or a ghost? How can he be so fast? Where is he now?” 

Jin Siyu looked up at the swaying trees outside of the rear window and said slowly, “I think…because the front windows were locked and then you exposed his presence so he went out through the back window.” 

She raised her head in surprise, her gaze unconsciously looking past the wall, and gasped again. 

On the front wall, a dense row of black iron arrows was nailed into it, glistening in the candlelight. 

“He set off the trap mechanism.” Unsurprised when he followed her gaze and saw the arrows, Jin Siyu explains, “As long as someone doesn’t move around in the study within a logical route then it could trigger the trap mechanism.”

“Then who are they?” She muttered, “Assassins?”

Jin Siyu clapped his hands and soon someone came in, “There was an assassin who broke into the study just now. Put the whole manor on high alert and increase the night shift patrols. Also, search the whole place immediately.”

“Yes Your Highness!” 

Letting out a long breath when Jin Siyu picked her up, she muttered in his arms “I thought I was about to die…”

“Why didn’t you think maybe you were being rescued?” Jin Siyu looked down at her with a faint smile, “What if this person came to save you?”

“Save me?” Her eyes widen before smiling, “Someone who came to save me would toss me away? I think it’s most likely your enemy.”

“Oh?” Jin Siyu put her back on the daybed, “Why?” 

“It’s not possible for someone of your status to be without enemies.” Her answer was simple.

Lost in thought for a few moments, he finally replied “Yes, since I was a child I have experienced 131assissinations. To me, they are just normal occurrences.”

He said it lightly. She lowered her eyes– if it really is something he doesn’t care about at all then why would he remember the number so clearly?”

“You look a mess. Let’s call Physician Ruan to come to look at you.” Jin Siyu tells her. 

“It’s late, I am not injured either, so there’s no need.” She shook her head, “My heart is just beating a bit faster after being frightened. Let me lie down for a while and we can just chat.” 

“Or I can take you back to your room?”

“How about you?” She looked at him, “I think you are the one who needs the rest more.” 

“After I take you back, I still need to come back.” He sighed, “There are some troublesome matters.”

“Oh?”

Instead of answering her, Jin Siyu stayed silent and frowned slightly. 

She doesn’t speak either but closed her eyes to rest. For a while, there were only sounds of paper being rustled about by the wind. After a bit, Jin Siyu came to help her up and she raised her head, giving him a smile. 

Dazed when he saw her smile, before Jin Siyu’s mind could process it he has already blurted out a sentence. 

“My fourth brother has been stirring things up, I am upset…”

The moment the words came out he regretted them but there was no way to take them back so he could only give her a bitter smile. 

She looked at him inquiringly and said softly, “It’s hard to have something weighing you down, if you are willing, you can treat me as a listener.” 

“It’s nothing much.” Jin Siyu thought about it and sat down beside her, holding her hand lightly “Taking advantage of my defeat, my fourth brother was able to get rid of some of my people in key government positions. The military secretary was replaced by my uncle. My uncle has always favored him. With the army still on the frontline, everyone knows there is still a war coming in the spring. With his people in key military positions, if they choose to do something then, it will be troublesome for me here.”

“Your fourth brother?”

Jin Siyu gave her a wry smile and explained, “We have the same mother.” (Like Ning Yi’s brothers, most princes don’t see each other as siblings but enemies. With how many concubines emperors have, most princes don’t have the same mother so it is usually assumed that princes who have the same mother will at least have a closer relationship.) 

“Then why would it come to that?” She asked, “If he is your uncle, then even if he favors your brother, how far could he really go? Do you really need to be this worried about it?”

“You don’t understand…” After hesitating for a bit, Jin Siyu finally explained, “Even though he is my brother from the same mother, but we have never gotten along. My mother has never tried to help us get along either. To her, no matter which one of her two sons takes the throne, she will be the grand empress anyway. She will help both of us but whichever one of her sons don’t live up to her expectation then she will abandon that one and give her full support to the other. This is also how she has been able to thrive for so long in the palace but now…she is using the same tactic on her sons.”

After being silent for a long moment, she sighed “The frightening royals…”

What a frightening place, the mother can’t be a mother, a son can’t be a son, and a brother can’t be a brother. 

Jin Siyu let out a bitter smile, laid down beside her with both of his hands behind his head and mutters, “You see, the closest brother but he is your biggest obstacle. You can’t move him nor can you kill him, what can you do?” 

She silently laughed– really can’t be moved nor killed? If that’s really the case, then you would not have had the thought in the first place. 

“Brothers can’t be killed,” She casually flipped through the book in her hand, “But uncles who don’t know their place are not so untouchable…” 

Jin Siyu was surprised by her words and turned to stare at her for a moment before bursting into a laugh, “Nonsense. You don’t know how powerful my mother’s clan is. Sons can be abandoned at will, but her brothers are the backbone of ensuring the family clan’s prosperity. My mother is very protective of her maternal clan, if I do something to my uncle, it will certainly anger my mother and shake my own foundation.” 

Still wearing the same nonchalant expression, she replied “That’s simple, just let your uncle lose your mother’s love then.” 

Intrigued, Jin Siyu turned to face her and asked “Do you have any good ideas?”

“No ideas.” She yawned lazily, “Is Da Yue’s palace full of beauties?” 

“What full of beauties.” Jin Siyu laughed, “Father is old and mother is…strict, so in order to avoid harming father’s royal body, the palace has not brought in new royal consorts for many years now. Which means, most of the consorts are now old ladies.” 

“Yes,” She laughed, “The palace is too quiet so naturally the empress has paid more attention to the court.” 

The sentence was only half completed but someone as smart as Jin Siyu immediately understood her meaning, “Truly, only women understand women, but…my uncle would not be willing to offend my mother.” 

“What offense?” She replied, “Since there is a war, then as the military secretary your uncle must need to make recommendations for generals, right? Once the generals recommended by your uncle win on the battlefront, then it is only normal that they would present their prisoners to the emperor, right? Then what His Majesty does with the prisoner…then that’s His Majesty’s business right?”

Jin Siyu looked at her with a grin and said, “At the border of Da Yue, there are a few tribes whose women are very lovely and especially skilled at charming men…” 

She looked back at him with a smile, not saying anything. 

“If my father really favored these women then it will force my mother to pull her attention back from the court and punish my uncle but I know my mother very well and these women with only their looks will not be able to last long against her…then…” 

“Then it will be your turn to be the good son.” She stretched lazily, “In the end, it doesn’t sound good for an emperor to favor a war prisoner so that’s when Your Highness whose whole heart is solely focused on the well-being of the country will gather the officials to advise His Majesty. By that time, the emperor most likely will also be getting tired of his new beauties. With pressure coming from inside and outside, His Majesty will relent. In the end, the empress will be grateful to you.” 

Jin Siyu stared at her with bright eyes before suddenly leaning forward and pulling her into his arms, “Shao Yao, I never imagined that you would help me.” 

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