Chapter 20: Taking a Gamble?

The snow-covered palace grounds were still beautiful, yet their profound silence made the scene feel particularly cold and distant.

Yin Sumo and Zhao Jiao stepped out of Fengxiang Palace and walked all the way to the edge of Qin Lake.

A chilly breeze swept over, carrying the cold from the lake’s surface, and Yin Sumo instinctively hugged his hand warmer tighter.

Noticing this, Yin Sumo took off his white fur coat and draped it over Zhao Jiao.

Zhao Jiao was momentarily taken aback.

Behind her, Linglang and Yinkou exchanged glances, one bowing her head while the other scratched hers, both looking around uncertainly.

“Didn’t the imperial physician say just yesterday that your wounds are most vulnerable to the cold wind?” Yin Sumo said matter-of-factly, but his evasive gaze betrayed him.

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Indeed, it was cold, and Zhao Jiao did not want to be at odds with herself.

“Why exactly did you enter the palace?”

Unexpectedly, Yin Sumo asked abruptly. Zhao Jiao slowed her steps, pondering how to answer.

At first, she hadn’t planned anything specific—just wanted to come, gather information, understand the current state of affairs. If possible, she would stay and make further plans. But when she saw Feng Yu’er at the palace gate, ideas began to form; upon meeting her again in Fengxiang Palace, she decided to seize the opportunity and set a trap.

“Is this question troubling you? Very well, I do not want to hear any well-rehearsed evasions,” Yin Sumo said again when Zhao Jiao remained silent.

Zhao Jiao was momentarily stunned. This man was something else…

He knew she was troubled yet still asked, then refused to accept any evasion. Were they close? Close enough to speak honestly?

But... if she told the truth, would he believe her?

“Your Highness, you joke. How could I ever be evasive with you? I just wasn’t sure how to put it. I came to the palace partly to spite my father—he is so biased—and partly because the opportunity was rare, to see the world. I never expected to be selected for anything. But when I saw Feng Yu’er at the gate...”

Zhao Jiao stopped mid-sentence. “Your Highness, can we move somewhere else to talk? The wind by the lake is biting cold! I’m pierced all over like a sieve, and I feel the chill everywhere...”

Yin Sumo was momentarily speechless, glancing at Zhao Jiao’s cheeks flushed from the cold, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Just ahead is the Cold Palace. If you’re not afraid, we could go there to shelter.”

“Let’s go. It’s better than standing here in the cold wind.” She had visited the palace a few times when she was young.

Yin Sumo quietly adjusted his pace as if wanting to shield her from the wind.

“You may continue.”

Zhao Jiao smiled faintly, tugging at the white fur coat. “Alright, to continue—when I saw Feng Yu’er, I wanted to slap her twice. Your Highness, isn’t it quite the coincidence? I ran into her again at the Empress’s residence. I barely managed to hold myself back from rushing at her. I wanted to stand up for Princess Hezhao...”

“Stand up for Hezhao?”

Was she really willing to risk everything for Hezhao? To fiercely protect a friend, unafraid even of the Long Princess’s manor?

Compared to her, many people in the world were not so devoted.

Yet why did Yin Sumo feel there was more beneath the surface?

Nianzhao sneered, “Yes!” That was true, but standing up for Hezhao was only part of it.

“Let me guess—you know about Nianzhao and Prince Li’s affair? That’s why you feel indignant on Hezhao’s behalf? Or is there something else?”

“Your Highness, if you don’t understand Princess Hezhao, you would think that,” Zhao Jiao explained. “When Prince Li chose to stay aloof and keep himself safe, Hezhao regarded him as a stranger. Whoever he associates with is none of her concern. She won’t care about a man who has abandoned her. Neither will I. What she cares about is betrayal and deceit! She treats Feng Yu’er like a sister, yet Feng Yu’er deceived and betrayed her. Your Highness, tell me, isn’t Feng Yu’er, who usurped someone else’s place and bullies others by relying on her power, truly in need of retribution?”

“...She deserves to be dealt with, and so you dare risk your life to pit an egg against a rock?”

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like courting death.

“I have no choice. I have only this cheap life and nothing else to risk. But my luck isn’t bad, Your Highness. Shall we make a wager?”

At the Cold Palace gate, Zhao Jiao stopped and looked up at him quietly.

She wanted to make a bet with him?

Yin Sumo’s eyes brightened, raising an eyebrow with growing interest.

“A wager?”

“To bet whether I can win this round today and keep my little life!”

Having said that, Zhao Jiao stepped into the Cold Palace. Behind her, Yinkou hurriedly tried to step forward to stop her, but Linglang blocked her way.

“Wait here. The masters know their limits!”

Even the prince was unreasonable—who brings a young lady to browse the Cold Palace?

“This place is truly desolate. It must be long since anyone has come here.”

Zhao Jiao looked around. The Cold Palace was remote, especially this one. There had been no sign of a soul outside just moments ago. If she remembered correctly, the late Empress had been banished here before she passed away. There was another place in the palace also called the Cold Palace, which was at least livelier.

Had Yin Sumo deliberately brought her here, or had they arrived here by accident?

She glanced at him, her thoughts turning—after all, the late Empress was his mother.

Yin Sumo toyed with a jade bead in his hand, meeting Zhao Jiao’s gaze with a calm expression, betraying no flicker of emotion.

“It is normal for it to be desolate. No one has come here in over ten years. My mother stayed here for a year... By the way, you wanted to wager with me just now. Fine, then we shall make a bet. If you truly win today and keep your life, I will grant you one favor. As long as it is within my power, I will do my utmost to fulfill it. How does that sound?”

Zhao Jiao raised an eyebrow, smiled, and stepped forward, raising her right hand. “A handshake seals the agreement!”

Yin Sumo smiled beneath his lowered head and reached out his hand. “Agreed!”

If he tried to renege, would a handshake be enough to hold him?

Their hands met in a clap, and Zhao Jiao felt she had won a promise, a rare sense of pride flashing across her face.

“So confident?”

“Though I am risking my life, I am not reckless. Your Highness, just wait and see!”

“Wait and see... but be careful!”

A gust of wind blew, shaking the snow that clung precariously to the eaves above.

Yin Sumo reacted swiftly, catching Zhao Jiao’s arm and spinning her out of harm’s way.

Zhao Jiao, realizing what had happened, calmly pulled away to maintain distance.

Yin Sumo’s expression darkened at her instinctive reaction—what did she take him for? If not for seeing her in danger just now...

Late to realize this, Zhao Jiao smiled awkwardly and thanked him, “Thank you... Your Highness.”

“Don’t bother with thanks. Don’t think I’m...” Yin Sumo shot her a glare but stopped himself mid-sentence.

“Your Highness, did you come here when you were young?”

Zhao Jiao deliberately changed the subject to ease the awkwardness, thinking the time was nearly right to attend the banquet. She wondered if that person would show up today...

It was said that in recent years, she rarely attended such banquets and seldom left the Long Princess’s manor.

“I came secretly.”

How had they wandered here so unexpectedly today?

“Your Highness said your mother stayed here for a year. Do you think the flowers and trees here might have been planted by her? It’s so quiet and empty. If you have nothing else to do, you might come by and see—it would be a way to remember your mother.”

Actually, she wanted to tell him that the plum tree in the corner ahead was planted by his mother. She had once stumbled in mischievously and seen the late Empress Yuan planting it. Back then, this place was not as bleak. Though simple, it was tidy, with many flowers and plants...

“You’re right. That plum tree was planted by my mother!” Yin Sumo smiled faintly.

He knew!

Zhao Jiao felt a bit embarrassed, as if her words had been superfluous. This Prince Su was shrewd—she hoped he wouldn’t overthink it... Her mouth, indeed...

“I was just speaking casually. What a coincidence...”

Zhao Jiao stopped talking immediately, feeling her words increasingly unnecessary.

Yin Sumo, however, smiled mysteriously and said with hidden meaning, “Why are you so nervous? It’s not just casual talk. Could it be... you really know? Or you’ve told so many lies that by chance you hit the truth and fear I might overthink? Let’s go. It’s about time. After the banquet, if you keep your life, I will personally escort you home!”

“I wouldn’t dare trouble Your Highness!” She meant, of course, she wouldn’t be selected...

“Using me, using the Empress—what is there in this world you wouldn’t dare do?” Yin Sumo said boldly and strode ahead.

Zhao Jiao followed calmly with an innocent smile, “How could I...?”