Chapter 22 The Scar Verification
I quickly reined in all my exposed emotions.
I returned to my usual calm and indifferent look.
As soon as I sat on the stone bench, the courtyard gate opened again.
Yuwen Huang had returned.
A row of young eunuchs followed him.
Each carried a delicate food box.
"Beloved!"
He walked over with a beaming smile, his eyes shining brightly.
"I thought you might be hungry, so I had the imperial kitchen prepare some snacks. Try them!"
He waved for the boxes to be opened layer by layer on the stone table.
All kinds of pastries appeared.
Their aroma wafted over.
"This is osmanthus crisp, this is almond pudding, this is..."
He named them one by one and pushed the plates toward me like he was showing off treasure.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
My tone stayed distant.
"Why be polite with me?"
He ignored my coldness, sat down across from me, propped his chin, and watched me.
"You should come live next to me. This is where Xiao Heng is held. Xiao Heng eats people without spitting bones and kills without blinking."
He must have thought Xiao Heng imprisoned you here.
"But do not worry. Now that I am here, I will protect you."
He started again.
I picked up a pastry and asked casually, "Your Majesty, are you speaking of the Northern Border Crown Prince?"
"Who else!"
Yuwen Huang frowned sharply, disgust covering his face at once.
"That hiding turtle! Xiao Heng wore a broken mask and used dirty tricks on the battlefield! He even bewitched me!"
My fingers holding the pastry paused slightly.
Hah. Bewitched?
"Oh?"
I lifted my eyes and looked at him quietly.
"I heard the Northern Border Crown Prince commands troops like a god and once made Your Majesty... quite troubled."
"I was letting him!"
Yuwen Huang raised his voice defensively, yet his ear tips reddened.
"Besides, that man must be ugly and faceless, so he never shows his true face! He is probably a short pockmarked dwarf! How can he compare to you?"
I said nothing.
In the shadows came a faint choking sound.
I slowly set down the pastry.
Suddenly I felt stopping Hei Yu and the others earlier might have been too merciful.
"Your Majesty..."
My tone turned cool.
"Perhaps he simply does not want to show his face."
"Not showing his face means he has guilt!"
Yuwen Huang declared it firmly, then leaned closer and vowed.
"Beloved, rest assured. I will throw that Xiao Heng into the death prison right away for you to handle!"
I looked at his handsome face so close, full of seeking praise, and took a silent breath.
"Your Majesty, have you ever thought that I am the Xiao Heng you speak of?"
"What?"
Yuwen Huang's eager tenderness froze on his face.
"You... nonsense!"
His voice grew hoarse with incredulous shock and anger.
"How could you be him? Xiao Heng is a sinister demon who kills without blinking. How could he... be like you?"
His gaze swept my face frantically.
He searched for any disguise, his eyes full of chaos and overturned panic.
"I have seen him! On the battlefield..."
He tried to use the masked Shura image from memory to deny me, but the words felt powerless before the truth.
He stared at me, breathing fast, chest heaving hard.
That look was like seeing a scam that had fooled him completely.
"Evidence..."
He raised his head sharply, eyes sharp yet carrying a faint plea, as if hoping I would deny it.
"You claim you are Xiao Heng. What proof?"
I met his gaze and stayed calm.
"The Northern Border Crown Prince Xiao Heng has an old arrow wound three inches below the left scapula, from the Luoyan Slope battle two years ago, thanks to Your Majesty's archers. Would Your Majesty check it personally?"
That was the campaign he commanded himself. He could not forget.
Yuwen Huang's face turned deathly pale at once.
He seemed drained, body swaying, eyes blank for a moment.
Luoyan Slope...
The place where he lost troops yet, it seemed, first felt a complex worthy-opponent touch toward that masked rival...
He looked at me as if seeing another vague dangerous figure through me.
I watched two vastly different perceptions clash wildly in his expression.
"You... you..."
His lips moved but nothing came out.
His gaze shifted from shock and doubt to near-betrayed anger, then settled into chaotic daze.
He suddenly turned and almost fled.
He left no polite word behind.
I watched his panicked back vanish at the gate and slowly wiped all extra expression from my face.
"Come out, all of you."
Three figures appeared silently again.
Hei Yu could not hold back first.
"Your Highness! Did he believe it? He was scared. When do we strike?"
Qing Lan stayed calmer.
"Your Highness exposing yourself, was it too risky? If he hardens, we lose the lead."
Bai Zhi looked at me.
"Palace guards are already moving. He will mobilize troops. Your Highness, decide soon."
I walked to the stone table, fingers brushing the pastries, eyes turning cold.
"He will not act at once."
"Why?"
"Because he is confused."
I spoke lightly.
"The deadly enemy he must destroy and the person he just swore to make Empress have overlapped.
He needs time to sort it, and a reason to convince himself and the court."
I looked at them.
"And this is our chance."
"Hei Yu, contact our stakes in the imperial army and learn tonight's defenses.
Qing Lan, send word out so the border old troops prepare, but do not move rashly.
Bai Zhi, prepare that thing. If it fails, we need an escape."
"Yes!"
The three answered, eyes ruthless.
At the same time the imperial study felt heavy enough to drip water.
Yuwen Huang sat high on the dragon throne with a dark face.
Below stood the trusted ministers and royal princes he summoned urgently.
"My lords..."
His voice was hoarse.
"About establishing the Empress and the Northern Border Crown Prince Xiao Heng... I need your true words."
The white-haired old prince stepped out first.
He firmly pushed to wipe out Northern Border remnants.
"Your Majesty! Xiao Heng is the enemy Crown Prince and a great threat!
Your Majesty was once bewitched and insisted on the Empress, shaking the foundation!
Now that Your Majesty is awake, execute him publicly to calm the realm and remove the root!"
"I second!"
Another general declared.
"Your Majesty, non-kin have different hearts. He carries Xiao blood. Keeping him breeds trouble! Kill him!"
The word "kill" struck Yuwen Huang hard.
His mind flashed the cool peerless face.
It flashed the cool touch when I gripped his wrist.
"But he..."
Yuwen Huang spoke dryly.
"If he... is not as the rumors say..."
The old prince spoke with pain.
"Your Majesty! Do not be fooled by his looks!
Xiao Heng bears the name Jade-Faced Shura and excels at disguise!
Have you forgotten his schemes on the battlefield?
Now he is captive. Who knows if this is another way to bewitch you?"
"I heard he dared admit his identity to your face. His arrogance shows! If this villain stays, the nation has no peace!"
"Bewitch... means..."
Yuwen Huang murmured.
Yes, perhaps a cleverer bewitchment.
Using that face and grace to make him lose control and even say the outrageous words to make me Empress!
But...
A faint voice deep inside seemed to resist.
When thinking of killing him, his chest seemed to twinge.
He wondered what truth hid in the missing memories.
He waved wearily and dismissed them.
He sat alone in the empty hall, gazing at the heavy night.
Kill or not?
It seemed the safest permanent choice now.
Yet the growing emotion seemed to wrap him like vines, making breath and decision hard.
He slammed his fist on the dragon desk irritably.
Xiao Heng...
What exactly did you do to me?
While he struggled inside, I had already laid traps in the courtyard.
Night deepened and palace lanterns swayed.
I changed into tight combat clothes, dagger cold in my sleeve, waiting for blood.
Hei Yu hid in the eaves shadow like a ready falcon.
Qing Lan and Bai Zhi took positions.
Time passed in tight silence.
Just as I thought Yuwen Huang had chosen the cold, practical decision and braced for battle—
Familiar staggering footsteps sounded at the gate again.
No armor or weapons, only him.
He pushed the gate open, appearing in moonlight.
No imperial dignity, no killing resolve.
His eyes red and hair messy, dragon robe damp with dew.
He stood there, eyes mixing pain, struggle, grievance, and madness, voice utterly hoarse.
"I... I checked... the scar... it is real..."
He staggered forward, nearly falling.
"You all... want me to kill you... I know... they are right..."
His voice choked, tears finally fell down his cheeks.
"But... I cannot do it!"
"Tell me... what exactly happened! Tell me... why did I fall in love with you?"
Yuwen Huang's tearful question dropped like a stone into my frozen heart lake, stirring only a tiny ripple.
Tell why?
I also wanted to know why it reached this point.
"If Your Majesty truly wants to know..."
My tone stayed icy with maintained distance.
"You might as well ask your loyal men lurking outside, ready to kill me on the spot."
His pupils shook and he turned sharply.
At the same moment blades unsheathed outside the wall, and Hei Yu roared, "Protect Your Highness!"