Arc 3 – Chapter 179, Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (73)

"Is she still alive?" Yin Mei asked, her expression distant.

"The last time I saw her, she was covered in blood. The river was rushing, leading to a hundred-foot waterfall. The impact of the water was fierce. Even if I had not been injured, it would be hard to get away unscathed..." Mu Yan knew who Yin Mei was referring to. He did not say directly whether she was dead or alive, but his words let Yin Mei know that it was unlikely Zhou Min had survived.

Hearing Mu Yan's words, Yin Mei was unsure of her feelings. Was she relieved, glad, secretly happy, or was she grieving and sighing? Regardless, she felt sad.

She thought that perhaps only if Zhou Min died would she have a one-in-ten-thousand chance to be with Shangguan Qi. She believed that persistence could wear down the hardest rock and that one day, she could oust that woman from Shangguan Qi's heart by leveraging his guilt towards her.

The other possibility was too frightening to think about. Shangguan Qi's calmness and repression these days filled her with fear. It was a silence and outcry that was so rational it was almost cruel.

"Don't overthink, give Shangguan Qi some time. He... just doesn't want to owe anyone a life..." When Mu Yan uttered these pale excuses, he couldn't convince himself. The Shangguan Qi he saw up close, the pain and repression in his eyes, was it really what he thought?

"Really?" Yin Mei forced a smile, looking at the night's end, suddenly feeling very cold. After all she had done, was it still not enough?

...

"Girl, you're awake. It's already late at night. I've kept the porridge warm on the stove. I'll bring it to you..." The old man mending shoes under the oil lamp noticed Zhou Min stirring and immediately put down his work to help her sit up.

"Thank you, old man, for your trouble!" Zhou Min didn't know how long she had been asleep but felt weak when she woke up. Her chest and back were very uncomfortable.

She knew it was the result of the injuries caused by weapons.

"It's no trouble, you wait, I'll bring it to you..." As soon as the old man left, her smile faded. She had heard some of what the two old people had said by her bed in the afternoon while half-asleep, especially when they mentioned the surname Shangguan.

Names related to her mission were like conditioned reflexes for Zhou Min. However, what they mentioned shocked her. It was different from what she knew and saw in her previous life! From the conversation and behaviour of the two old people, it wasn't hard to guess that Shangguan Qi and the current emperor of the Qi Kingdom were not full brothers. The current emperor was not Shangguan Qi's own brother, and their mother was not their biological mother. So, how much did Shangguan Qi know about this?

In her previous life, Shangguan Qi helped his so-called brother remove the royal city of Zhou Kingdom for the blood clam. His brother attacked the Zhou Kingdom under the pretext of the princess of the Zhou Kingdom assassinating the prince of the Qi Kingdom.

Ultimately, her father gave her the Dragon Hidden and told her to leave and find Shangguan Qi, saying, 'I hope he understands everything; I hope you can be happy!' What did that mean?

What exactly had she missed in her previous life?! As Zhou Min's mind was in chaos, a vague image flashed in her mind and disappeared. When her third brother went to the border in her previous life, he seemed to have come to see her. But then, she was drunk because of Shangguan Qi and Yin Mei.

She remembered her third brother looked at her with desolate and mocking eyes that day. His mouth was moving, and he seemed to have said a lot to her.

But at the moment, she had no recollection...

As Zhou Min tried to figure things out, the old woman eagerly brought the porridge in. She sat next to Zhou Min, "Girl, have some porridge. You're still very weak."

"I'll do it myself," Zhou Min said, reaching out to take the bowl from the old woman's hand, but she avoided it. Zhou Min frowned, "You're weak now. Let me feed you."

"Well... okay, thank you. May I ask what your name is?" Zhou Min looked at the old woman's firm eyes, blinked, thought of something, and compromised.

"My husband's surname is Fu. You can call me Grandma Fu!" Grandma Fu scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and fed it to Zhou Min. Zhou Min obediently opened her mouth, and the taste of rice and its thickness spread.

"It's delicious, thank you, Grandma Fu. How long did I sleep again?" Zhou Min didn't feel hungry before she had the porridge, but once she started eating, she realised how hungry she was and how long it had been since she had had white rice.

"It's already been a day and a night! But, Girl, how did you drift from the river to Wancheng alone? And what about these injuries? Did you encounter bandits? Were you alone? Where are your relatives?" Grandma Fu asked casually as she fed Zhou Min, her eyes filled with genuine worry.

But Zhou Min knew they wanted to know whether the person who gave her the jade pendant was with her or if it was the young master they had been looking for.

"We did encounter bandits. My fiancé and I got separated while escaping. I was hit into the river, and then I don't know..." Zhou Min half-closed her eyes, hiding the suspicion in her eyes, and told a part-truth, part-lie story. As for the fiancé, she just followed what the two old people guessed.

After all, if the jade pendant was as important as the two old people said, she didn't know how to explain why Shangguan Qi had left it with her.

Although, Shangguan Qi seemed to have said she should help him find his nanny and tell her to burn everything!

What thing? Who is the nanny? Where to find her?