Nine Nights Owl Song

When Su Jiuge walked out of the palace gate, night had already completely enveloped Luojing City.

The streets outside the palace gates were sparsely populated, and a few vendors were packing up their stalls. In the distance, the dull and monotonous sound of a watchman striking his clapper could be heard.

Shen Qing stood beside the carriage waiting for her, holding her knife in his hand. She took the knife and hung it at her waist; the scabbard touched the hidden pocket on her waistband with a soft thud.

"Back to the manor?" Shen Qing asked.

Su Jiuge shook her head.

"Go to Prince Zhao's residence."

Shen Qing did not ask why.

He turned and walked ahead, three steps away, with Su Jiuge following behind him.

The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage headed towards Yongningfang. The sound of the wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Su Jiuge leaned against the carriage with her eyes closed.

The emperor talked to her a lot today—asking her how Xiao Yan was doing, telling her that Xiao Yan didn't want to be the crown prince, and saying that she and Xiao Yan should "get along well".

The last sentence, "I'm entrusting this sixth prince to you," doesn't sound like something an emperor would say to a subject; it sounds like a father making a promise.

The carriage stopped in front of Prince Zhao's residence. Su Jiuge got out of the carriage, walked to the door, and knocked.

The door opened, and the doorman was the same thin man in his fifties, who showed no surprise at seeing her. He stepped aside to let her in. "Miss Su, the Prince is waiting for you in his study."

Su Jiuge glanced at him. "Did he know I was coming?"

The doorman smiled.

"His Highness said that someone from the palace will be coming tonight, and told this old servant to wait. He didn't say who it was, but this old servant guesses it's Miss Su."

Su Jiuge remained silent, passing through the screen wall, the courtyard, and the covered walkway, heading towards the study.

The night at Prince Zhao's residence was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear your own footsteps.

The plum tree in the courtyard had already shed all its blossoms, and its bare branches gleamed silvery-white in the moonlight.

Su Jiuge walked into the courtyard and saw that the study light was on, the door was open, and Xiao Yan was sitting behind the desk brewing tea.

He was dressed in a moon-white casual outfit, his hair was casually tied up with a hairpin, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a section of his forearm.

The water in the teapot had just boiled and was bubbling away.

He picked up the teapot and poured hot water into it. The tea leaves tumbled in the water, steaming hot.

He stared intently at the teapot, as if performing a ritual.

Su Jiuge went in without knocking and sat down opposite him.

Xiao Yan didn't look up. He put the lid on the teapot, waited a while, then poured two cups of tea and pushed one of them in front of Su Jiuge.

"Why did you suddenly decide to contact me today?"

Su Jiuge picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"Just came from the palace."

Xiao Yan's fingers paused slightly.

"What did Father say?"

Su Jiuge put down her teacup and looked at Xiao Yan's face.

The candlelight flickered on his face, casting his expression in shifting light and shadow.

She stared at him for a long time, so long that Xiao Yan became somewhat uncomfortable.

Xiao Yan turned his face away.

"What are you looking at?"

Su Jiuge said, "Let's see how long you can keep up this act."

Xiao Yan's finger stopped at the rim of the teacup.

He didn't speak, and neither did Su Jiuge; the two stared at each other across the teapot.

The candlelight flickered between the two people, casting their shadows on the wall, sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

Xiao Yan spoke first.

"What did your father say to you?"

Su Jiuge didn't answer, but instead asked a question:

"His Majesty asked you what kind of person I am, and what was your answer?"

Xiao Yan remained silent for a long time.

"I said you're the most interesting girl I've ever met."

"Anything else?"

Xiao Yan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"If I marry you, I will never be bored for the rest of my life."

Su Jiuge looked at him.

"His Majesty asked me if I would like to marry you."

Xiao Yan's fingers tightened slightly.

"What did you say?"

Su Jiuge placed the teacup on the table.

"I say, Your Majesty need not concern yourself with my affairs with the Sixth Prince. When the time is right, things will naturally fall into place; forcing things will not bring happiness."

Xiao Yan was taken aback.

He looked at Su Jiuge, whose usually cold and expressionless face now held a light he had never seen before. It wasn't gentleness, but seriousness.

"You told Father that we don't need his concern?" Xiao Yan's tone was incredulous.

"Um."

"You say such things in front of the emperor?"

"Um."

Xiao Yan rubbed his temples.

"Do you know that if you said something like that, anyone else would have been dragged out and beheaded already?"

"His Majesty won't cut off my head," Su Jiuge said calmly.

"He appreciates me."

Xiao Yan looked at her.

"You really dare to say anything."

"I'm telling the truth," Su Jiuge said, her tone even calmer.

"His Majesty asked me what kind of person you were, and I said you could brew tea, peel chestnuts, and eat osmanthus cake. His Majesty asked me if I would marry you, and I said I didn't need him to worry about it."

Su Jiuge did not inform Xiao Yan that the emperor knew he was the master of Qianji Tower; this was a matter between father and son, and not something she could interfere with.

Xiao Yan remained silent for a long time.

"What do you think Father Emperor will think?"

Su Jiuge thought for a moment.

"He thinks we're interesting."

Xiao Yan suddenly laughed.

It wasn't a forced laugh; it was the kind of laugh that couldn't be contained and welled up from the bottom of my heart.

He was laughing so hard that tears were almost coming out, and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"Interesting. Father finds us interesting. An assassin and a playboy. Indeed, interesting."

Su Jiuge looked at him.

"Xiao Yan, have you ever thought about it? His Majesty treats you like a child because he has never seen your true self."

Xiao Yan put down his teacup.

"What do you mean?"

"You've played the role of a useless bum in court for over twenty years; he's never seen you serious. You think he's protecting you, but actually he's protecting the son he imagines—not the real you."

Su Jiuge looked into Xiao Yan's eyes.

"You should let him see the real you."

Xiao Yan's finger stopped on the teacup.

Su Jiuge stood up. "I should go back now; the Shen family is waiting for me for dinner."

She stopped at the door without turning back.

"Xiao Yan, you are the master of the Thousand Machines Pavilion, not a spoiled prince. Stop pretending, or you'll forget who you really are."

She finished speaking and walked out.

Xiao Yan sat behind his desk, watching her figure disappear through the door.

The tea had gone cold, and the flickering candlelight cast his solitary shadow on the wall.

He suddenly felt that the study was too big, so big that it felt empty. He picked up the glass of ice-cold tea and took a sip. The ice-cold tea was very bitter, but there was a hint of sweetness after the bitterness.

Su Jiuge walked along the veranda of Prince Zhao's mansion, her pace neither fast nor slow.

Shen Qing followed her silently, three steps behind. She walked across the covered walkway, through the courtyard, and past the screen wall. The gates of Prince Zhao's residence slowly closed behind her.

Su Jiuge boarded the carriage and leaned against the side. The carriage headed towards the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

She suddenly remembered what Xiao Yan had just said.

"You really dare to say anything."

It wasn't that she dared to speak; it was that she didn't want to lie. Lying to the emperor was too exhausting. You had to remember what you said, prevent yourself from being exposed, and always wear a mask.

She's worn enough masks.

The carriage stopped in front of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

Su Jiuge got out of the car, and Uncle Fu was waiting for her at the door.

"Miss is back. Madam is waiting for you for dinner."

Su Jiuge nodded and went inside. The main hall was brightly lit, and everyone was there.

A group of people sat around a table with steaming hot food on it.

Shen saw her and waved with a smile.

"You're back? Come quick, the food's getting cold."

Su Jiuge walked over and sat down next to Shen Shi.

Ms. Shen put a piece of pork rib on her plate.

"What did His Majesty say to you when you entered the palace today?"

Su Jiuge took a bite of the rib.

"His Majesty asked me what I thought of the Sixth Prince."

Everyone at the table stopped eating.

Su Zhentian looked at her.

"What did you say?"

"I said he can brew tea, peel chestnuts, and eat osmanthus cake," Su Jiuge said, chewing on a rib.

Su Chengzhi almost spat out the wine in his mouth.

Su Chengen patted his back, and Su Chengxun blushed, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Zhentian rubbed his temples.

"You said in front of the emperor that the prince would eat osmanthus cake?"

"Um."

Su Zhentian took a deep breath and finally gave up.

"Have a meal."

Su Chengen added a sentence, Su Chengzhi lowered his head and ate his rice, Su Wan'er put a piece of green vegetable on Shen's plate, and Shen ate it with a smile.

Su Jiuge ate the ribs one piece at a time.

She spoke a lot today, more than she usually does in a month.

There were things she should have said, and things she shouldn't have said, but she didn't regret it.

On the ninth day of the second month of the eighteenth year of Yong'an,

Night. Su Jiuge lay on the bed, looking at the lotus pattern on the ceiling of the bed curtains.

Xiao Yan said, "You really dare to say anything." It's not a question of whether she dares or not; it's that she doesn't want to lie.

Deceiving the emperor was too tiring, deceiving Xiao Yan was unnecessary, and deceiving one's family was wrong.

She had deceived many people in her life—the targets of the Dark Pavilion, the assassins of the Blood Hall, and everyone who wanted to kill her. But she didn't want to deceive the people she cared about.

She rolled over and closed her eyes. There was still a lot to do tomorrow.

The sound of the night watchman's gong came from outside the window.

On the ninth day of the second month of the eighteenth year of Yong'an, the tenth day of the second month will be in a few hours.

Spring is getting closer and closer. The willows are sprouting, the forsythia is blooming, and everything is getting better.

She is also getting better, transforming from a murderous knife into a human being.

A person with family, friends, allies, and goals.