The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Hua Rong leaned back in her chair, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the painting.

Those peach blossom eyes gazed out the window, lost in thought, as if they were thinking about something, or perhaps they weren't thinking about anything at all.

He actually found it quite strange.

Her cousin seemed to treat Shen Yan quite well, but also seemed not so well.

Well, my cousin has so many enemies, yet he has never covered anything up for Shen Yan.

Those eyes hidden in the shadows, those blades lurking in the shadows, were all clearly pointed at her.

My cousin knew perfectly well, but he never took action.

To put it bluntly, my cousin would occasionally go to listen to her play the zither.

Just sit there, listen quietly, say nothing, do nothing.

He listened and then left, like a gust of wind.

This action alone is enough to cause many people to misunderstand.

But Hua Rong always felt something was wrong.

He knows his cousin too well.

If it were truly someone my cousin genuinely liked, he would probably keep it hidden very well, so that his enemies outside wouldn't notice it at all.

Even his cousin probably doesn't know that such a person exists in this world.

My cousin looks cold, but he's even colder inside.

But if you truly care about someone, that concern will be deeper and heavier than anyone else's.

So much so that he would rather bear everything himself than fail to protect that person.

But he wasn't like that with Shen Yan.

But then he thought, how could someone as cold-hearted as his cousin possibly have a sincere heart?

He thought of himself.

If it weren't for the fact that his cousin looked so much like his aunt Hua Qingwan, his cousin probably wouldn't even give him a second glance.

He realized he must have misunderstood.

My cousin is incapable of loving anyone.

Love?

Too extravagant.

For my cousin, just being alive is enough.

"Nonsense, don't you want your tongue anymore?"

Bei Chenji's voice suddenly rang out, as cold as a knife that had been quenched in ice.

The chill was almost tangible, making people shiver, and even the air seemed to freeze.

"Don't associate me with her, lest people misunderstand."

He paused, his gaze growing even colder, like an unyielding glacier:

"I only mistook her for someone else before, which is why I took care of her a little. It's not as complicated as you think."

If he hadn't mistaken her for someone else, he wouldn't have paid her any attention at all.

He has many enemies, but he would never intentionally implicate others.

He had previously thought that Shen Yan was the little girl who had saved him that year, which was why he had someone keep an eye on her.

Now that he knows it was a misunderstanding, he has no patience left for the Sang family's daughter.

Even if Shen Yan was just an infant at the time, she was still considered innocent.

But so what?

She is still a member of the Sang family.

It is the Sang family, stained with the blood of the Beichen clan.

Without that redemptive filter, he now feels utter disgust for her.

I find it so disgusting that I can't even bear to look at it for a second.

They won't waste manpower protecting it.

"Oh. If it's not, then it's not."

Hua Rong pursed her lips and muttered to herself.

"Anyway, my cousin is destined to be a widow."

His cousin is so fierce and cold, what girl could resist such an unromantic and aloof iceberg?

Even a stone can gain some warmth if you hold it in your arms.

But his cousin is like a block of ice; you could never warm him up, no matter how long you try.

Although he muttered softly, Bei Chenji heard him clearly.

Just as he was about to say something—

"Master—"

Qian Su rushed in, his face grave.

His expression was so heavy, as if he were carrying an immense burden, making it hard to breathe.

He walked faster than usual, almost rushing in, his robes fluttering and creating a gust of wind.

Bei Chenji's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"According to Nightblade's investigation, a Heavenly Fire Array has appeared outside the city, intercepting..."

Qian Su paused, then glanced at Hua Rongshi.

That single glance held so many things I dared not say, so many things I couldn't bear to say.

"Princess Mirror."

"Although Young Master Feng had tried to suppress the news, the commotion was too great, and Ye Feng's men went to investigate immediately, which is how they obtained this information."

The words fell.

"Thump—"

A muffled thud.

The precious painting scroll in Hua Rongshi's arms fell to the ground with a thud.

The sound was very soft, as soft as a falling leaf.

But when it lands on everyone's heart, it feels as heavy as a thunderclap.

He hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

His movements were so hurried that they were unlike the dashing and debonair Prince Menghua, unlike the always jovial and unserious man he was.

My fingers were trembling when I picked it up.

It was as if all the strength in his body had been used to prevent the scroll from slipping again.

He clutched the scroll tightly, raised his head, and looked at Qian Su.

Those peach blossom eyes, which always held a hint of a smile, were now filled with icy coldness.

The chill was so deep it seemed to freeze everything.

"Qian Su, how dare you!"

His voice was extremely low, so low it seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his chest.

Yet it carried an unprecedented air of authority and coldness.

That coldness didn't seem like him; it seemed like someone else.

"You dare to make a joke like that!"

"My wife should be resting at Mirror Night Snow Lodge right now, how could she be outside the city? How could she have been ambushed?!"

"Dare to curse her again—"

He spoke each word as if he had used all his strength.

Every word seemed to convey a sense of impending collapse.

"We will not let them off easily."

"Your Highness, how dare I joke?"

Qian Su bowed and presented the intelligence report with both hands.

The movements were respectful, and the posture humble.

But that intelligence was like a knife, handed to them.

"This is a secret report from Ye Feng. Please take a look."

Before Hua Rongshi could even reach out, Bei Chenji had already snatched it away.

His movements were so fast, they were like a blur.

He gripped the thin piece of paper tightly, his knuckles turning white and veins bulging.

The paper trembled slightly in his hand, as if it might be crushed at any moment, as if it couldn't withstand the force of his fingertips.

That line of cold text was like fine needles.

Each needle pierced his heart.

"Outside the city... the Heavenly Fire Formation... Princess Mirror... has passed away..."

Suddenly, the old Taoist priest's words echoed in my ears.

The sound seemed to come from another world, sometimes near, sometimes far.

Sometimes it's in my ears, sometimes it's on the horizon, and sometimes it seems to rise from the depths of my heart.

"A cursed star, bringing misfortune to family and friends. Those who are near you will be harmed, those who love you will perish..."

The voice was old, hoarse, and carried a kind of fatalistic compassion.

It's like a prophecy.

It's like a curse.

It's like a shackle that you can never break free from.

His breathing suddenly stopped.

In that instant, his heart felt as if it were being pierced by a thousand needles.

The pain was so intense that he could barely stand.

My fingertips are trembling.

I couldn't stop trembling.

He did not approach her.

He clearly didn't get close to her.

He kept his distance, not daring to approach, not daring to disturb, not daring to become her calamity.

Why?

Why was she still cruelly taken away by fate?

Why don't you come at him?

Why did you have to hurt his little Xue'er!