Chapter 45 The reason they knew the timing was wrong was because…

Chapter 45 The reason they knew the timing was wrong was because…

Knowing the timing was wrong was because Liang Zhao and the prefect's wife had argued, and in a fit of pique, Liang Zhao became even more determined to bring Xiao Quexian along. He even hastily moved up the departure time, leaving Qin Ji feeling helpless.

Everything was planned perfectly. First, he and Xiao Yanhui went to see the pandas, then they strolled around the villa, then he picked a horse that suited his taste and took her for a few laps, and they had a good lunch. It seemed that Yanhui'er's physical strength and energy would be almost exhausted.

It just so happened that she was taking a lunch break, and I could go up and do some "personal business" while I was there.

But to my surprise, those people arrived ahead of schedule.

Although the timing wasn't quite right, Wei Sa didn't think it would have much of an impact. He had already spent a lot of time and effort to seize the opportunity and arrange everything properly, so there was no need to give up because of a trivial one or two-hour difference. Therefore, he decided to proceed with everything as originally planned.

"Never mind." Such accidents are beyond the control of subordinates, so Qin Ji didn't pursue the matter further. He only asked, "What about Su Mingyue's side? Is she ready as well?"

“Yes, I specifically transferred the guard who is skilled in medicine and poison to his side yesterday, but Su Mingyue can’t give him a high dosage of medicine, otherwise it will be easy for her to notice something amiss,” Wei Sa replied.

"You decide what to do. Anyway, he's just an extra today. Ask the Su family what their intentions are in sending him all the way to Jiangzuo to seek cooperation with us. Also, is the Su family secretly taking sides? Do they have any other plans? Just be careful not to alert them."

After handing over Su Mingyue's affairs to Wei Sa, Qin Ji saw that it was almost time and reached out to press his hand against the slightly heavy door in front of him.

"Have people guard the gate and along the walls. No one is allowed to approach before I come out," Qin Ji emphasized, turning his gaze to the villa manager standing a few steps away in the courtyard.

As soon as Qin Ji uttered those words, the atmosphere around them immediately became tense and oppressive.

"Yes, sir." The steward bowed in response and then waved his hand, after which everyone in the courtyard withdrew in an orderly fashion.

Then, they found places to guard the area, either openly or secretly, and for a time, the courtyard was monitored like an iron barrel. Under such protection, it was very difficult for even a bird or an insect to enter, let alone a person.

After looking around, Qin Ji pushed the door open with a little force and entered.

On the surface, this is just an ordinary guest room in a villa, even though it has huanghuali furniture, sweet white glazed porcelain, and calligraphy and paintings by contemporary "masters" hanging on the walls, and exquisite gemstone flowers inserted on the low table by the window.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of room furnishings can see that while the room is luxurious, the luxury is rather understated and lacks any personal touch. This perfectly suits its function as a guest room for temporary accommodation.

There wasn't even a proper bed in the house; only a neatly made chaise lounge stood by the window. Xiao Quexian was leaning against this lounge, her face serene and peaceful, as if she were lost in the deepest, sweetest dream.

Seeing this scene, Qin Ji curled up a mocking smile: This scene is really familiar. Isn't what he arranged for Xiao Quexian today a case of retribution?

Suppressing the sudden, panicked, and shocked image of his first time traveling through time, Xiao Yanhui turned his gaze to the bronze Boshan incense burner beside the imperial concubine's bed.

A wisp of smoke was rising, and as the smoke spread, a strange fragrance in the air slowly changed.

The fragrance was initially delicate and subtle, but gradually one could discern an extremely sweet and cloying taste within this subtlety. At its most intense, the sweetness even produced a fishy smell that made one feel nauseous.

Of course, only those who have taken the antidote can smell that nauseating aftertaste, while those like Xiao Quexian who have been affected will only be unable to extricate themselves from the sweet fragrance.

Qin Ji casually sat down on a chair nearby. At this moment, all the doors and windows of the room were tightly closed. Although it was daytime, the room was still dim, and his black robes almost blended into the shadows.

In the dim light, his demeanor seemed to undergo a subtle change. His eyes became extremely dark, so dark that they seemed bottomless. After the usual smile on his face disappeared, a gloomy look seemed to emanate from him as if it were a tangible thread.

With a blank expression, he took out a small, tightly wrapped incense stick from his pocket, lit it with a tinderbox, and as the tip of the incense burned a little crimson, a wisp of very faint blue smoke blended into the sweet fragrance in the room.

Xiao Quexian, who had been sleeping soundly on the imperial concubine's couch, suddenly reacted. Her calm expression was broken, and even through her thin eyelids, one could see her eyes moving rapidly, and fine beads of cold sweat gradually appeared on her forehead.

The medicine has clearly taken effect.

“Xiao Quexian,” Qin Ji’s voice was low and calm, devoid of any emotion, like the cold tapping of jade: “Tell me… are you Xiao Quexian? What did you see in your ‘past life’?”

He paused for a moment, then added another question: "Do you know what time travel is?"

As the sound entered her ears, Xiao Quexian's consciousness was being drawn in the direction Qin Ji hoped for within her dream.

Xiao Quexian was still lying there, but her eyes suddenly opened, staring blankly ahead, as if all the light in her eyes was focused on another world that no one else could see.

As Qin Ji asked the question, her lips moved unconsciously, and a dreamlike, ethereal voice escaped from her lips.

"Yes, I am Xiao Quexian, I... I'm back, I have great fortune, I'm back... Transmigrated... I don't know what transmigrating is..."

Qin Ji's eyes flickered in the dim light. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Xiao Quexian didn't know what time travel was.

But what did she just see in her past life? It's hard to say, or perhaps her brain's defense mechanism allowed her to avoid the question?

"Why must you break off the engagement with Qin Ji?" Qin Ji decided to start by asking this question, which Xiao Quexian had already achieved her goal.

"He's cold, selfish, and ruthless. He's also a useless good-for-nothing, just a merchant's son... His only redeeming quality is his face... He wouldn't let me leave the house; he must have killed me... That scumbag Qin Ji tore Liang Lang and me apart..."

Qin Ji's face grew increasingly dark. This was the first time he had ever heard of a drug that could make someone so open and honest. If he wasn't certain that Xiao Quexian was devoid of self-awareness at this moment, he would have suspected that Xiao Quexian was doing it on purpose.

Listen to how badly he's been criticized. And judging from what Xiao Quexian said, in her past life she did indeed marry him, but they became a resentful couple, and then Xiao Quexian had an affair with Liang Zhao? And then he simply killed Xiao Quexian?

After a brief deduction, Qin Ji had to admit that this was a possibility.

After testing the effects of the medicine and getting a preliminary understanding of Xiao Quexian's condition, Qin Ji stopped dwelling on worthless romantic love.

"Who was the emperor who succeeded you in your past life? What happened to Prince Cheng?" This was what he really wanted to know.

"The Emperor?" To everyone's surprise, Xiao Quexian looked completely bewildered: "An emperor is an emperor, and there is no emperor who succeeds him."

His hand tightened suddenly, gripping the chair armrest tightly. If not for his composure, Qin Ji would have been furious and cursed. Xiao Quexian had died so young; she hadn't even lived to see that old man.

“Prince Cheng? A prince whose fief is in Jiangzuo... I’ve never met him, I don’t know him.” Xiao Quexian answered very simply, clearly she hadn’t paid attention to these things in her previous life.

"Which prince was named Crown Prince?" Qin Ji asked tentatively, but he didn't really expect to get an answer from Xiao Quexian anymore.

"Second Prince... Prince Rui... God of War..."

Xiao Quexian's answer this time was very vague.

Qin Ji pondered for a moment: the Second Prince had indeed always been one of the important candidates for the position of Crown Prince.

As for Prince Rui, none of the princes have been granted the title of prince yet, so we will probably have to wait until later to find out who this Prince Rui is.

And who the God of War mentioned by Xiao Quexian is remains unknown.

It's likely that when she died, the position of Crown Prince hadn't been decided yet, but due to the various power struggles, the princes vying for the position were probably mentioned repeatedly, and those messages were passed around to Jiangzuo, which is why she gave such a vague answer.

They came to ask about her past life memories, but now it's like they've come to hear a prophecy. Qin Ji sighed helplessly and had to change direction again.

This time, however, there were results. In Xiao Quexian's past life memories, there was another severe drought that affected at least three prefectures, as well as locust plagues, floods, and so on.

The closest such event to this time was two years later when a large-scale border rebellion would occur in the southwest.

Qin Ji suspected that the God of War she mentioned earlier was likely related to this rebellion.

......

People's livelihood, disasters, border defense, certain officials—one question after another was asked. Xiao Quexian could answer some, knew nothing about others, and had only heard rumors about some. As time passed, the incense stick in Qin Ji's hand gradually burned to the end.

"Why do you hate Xiao Yan Hui?" Qin Ji asked one last question as the incense was about to burn out.

"Why? Why is she living a better life than me? Why is she so happy... I'm not reconciled! I'll make her marry Qin Ji! Hehehe, I'll make her marry Qin Ji... I'll make her watch me become Mrs. Liang, and I'll rise to power alongside Liang Lang... Kneel at my feet... Make me kneel at her feet..."

Perhaps because she had been immersed in the aroma of medicine for too long, Xiao Quexian, who had been relatively stable, suddenly became agitated. In fact, she could no longer distinguish between her past and present lives in her answers, and her words were incoherent.

With a flick of his fingertips, Qin Ji extinguished the burning crimson incense, tossed the last bit of incense into a copper basin filled with water, and raised his hand to shield the room from the cloying, nauseatingly sweet and fishy smell.

Qin Ji's gaze swept over Xiao Quexian, who had closed her eyes again, lingering for a moment on her neck before finally squeezing her slender, bamboo-like hand and turning to leave.

"Take care of everything, don't leave any traces." After saying this, he walked hurriedly into his yard.

The scent of the medicine is too strong. He needs to clean himself up properly now. If he goes back to see Yan Hui'er like this, she will definitely notice something is wrong.

It was almost lunchtime, and although I had said before that I wouldn't have to wait if he hadn't returned, I had invited him over, and it would be impolite to leave him to eat lunch alone.