I'm competing with the male lead for a woman (GL) - Chapter 18

“You ask how I know?”

Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin, her expression somewhat inscrutable: “I thought this was common knowledge.”

“…”

Xiao Jin was silent.

What did that mean? Was she implying that Xiao Jin wasn’t human?

Although Xiao Jin wasn’t a native, she knew that a highly confidential operation like the assassination of Lord Yan could never be common knowledge.

However, to avoid saying the wrong thing and messing up public knowledge, she decided to remain silent and wait for Chu Shao to continue.

Fortunately, Chu Shao was cooperative this time. Seeing Xiao Jin’s silence, she smiled and continued.

“A few days ago, when I accompanied you to the palace, I saw His Majesty in the Imperial Study. But standing there listening to others talk was quite boring, so I found some amusement for myself by observing the clothing and behavior of the people around me.”

Clothing and behavior?

Xiao Jin frowned. She was busy fighting wits with the male leads at the time and didn’t pay much attention to that.

Besides, even if she had noticed, it was unlikely that she, a modern person, would fully understand the clothing of a fictional dynasty.

“Then I discovered that the Fourth Prince seems to be extremely fond of crape myrtle flowers. Not only are his shoes embroidered with crape myrtle, but even the jade pendant at his waist has a crape myrtle pattern.”

Chu Shao’s words reminded Xiao Jin of this small detail.

The Fourth Prince was indeed wearing a deep purple sandalwood robe that day, and with his handsome appearance, as long as he didn’t open his mouth and reveal his true nature, he looked quite dignified and polite.

Using crape myrtle as a signature feature made him a typical royal noble in web novels—commonly known as the second male lead.

Since the Fourth Prince was so fond of crape myrtle flowers, it would be suspicious if she didn’t know this prominent feature.

But it wasn’t her fault.

After all, she read web novels quickly, and the original author never mentioned the Fourth Prince’s pattern was crape myrtle.

Of course, even if the author had written it, Xiao Jin wouldn’t have noticed the Fourth Prince’s details. Everyone knew that the Fourth Prince was just an insignificant stepping stone.

Seeing the smile on Chu Shao’s lips deepen and her eyelashes flutter as if she were expecting something,

Xiao Jin was determined to disappoint Chu Shao, because she had already thought of a foolproof response.

Xiao Jin held the token in her hand and said calmly: “Precisely because my fourth brother’s jade pendant is engraved with crape myrtle, the assassin couldn’t possibly be sent by him.”

“Everyone knows he loves crape myrtle, yet the assassin happens to be carrying a crape myrtle token. There’s no such coincidence in the world.”

Of course, there was one exception.

It wasn’t impossible for such dramatic, IQ-reducing coincidences to appear in novels.

Chu Shao said: “But what if the person who left the token thought of this and deliberately shifted the blame to someone else? That’s also possible.”

Smiling, she lightly stroked Xiao Jin’s bamboo wheelchair, as if exploring something.

After the assassination, Xiao Jin replaced the wooden wheelchair with a bamboo one. She was curious what the other person wanted to do.

After listening to Chu Shao’s words, Xiao Jin was silent.

If she reasoned based on this premise, the crape myrtle token must have been left by someone to frame the Fourth Prince.

The biggest beneficiary of her conflict with the Fourth Prince was naturally the Crown Prince, and such selfish actions did seem like something the scheming male lead would do.

Moreover, the assassins were highly skilled in martial arts but showed mercy in every move, and Xiao Jin could hardly think of any other reason besides the male lead being the mastermind.

Besides, this was just a dog-bl00d abusive novel, weak in political intrigue. She believed that characters other than the male and female leads wouldn’t be too intelligent.

But Xiao Jin felt that things weren’t that simple.

Considering these, Xiao Jin rubbed her forehead: “Princess is right. If I were to have a falling out with my fourth brother over this token, the biggest beneficiary would naturally be… the Crown Prince.”

“But it’s also possible that someone thought of this and deliberately framed the Crown Prince. But I’ve always been on good terms with the Crown Prince, so such a scheme would be too clumsy.”

“Moreover, this token is actually a counterfeit, and the craftsmanship is extremely exquisite. Unless someone is deeply immersed in antiques and jade ware, they would never be able to see through it. If I hadn’t noticed this, wouldn’t the mastermind have failed?”

Chu Shao didn’t speak, just lowered her eyes and looked at the crape myrtle token in Xiao Jin’s hand.

In fact, she wasn’t very interested in these power struggles.

More than the mastermind hidden behind the crape myrtle flower, Chu Shao was more concerned about what kind of body was hidden beneath Xiao Jin’s robes.

Chu Shao had a feeling that Xiao Jin was hiding a secret.

Xiao Jin was different from many people she had met. The secret on this person might be her crippled legs, or it might be the bl00d on the handkerchief.

Such a broken person, even if pieced together, was just a half-dead invalid.

Logically, Xiao Jin shouldn’t have survived until now, but she had survived and even started investigating who was behind the assassination attempt.

This alone was interesting enough.

Thinking of this, Chu Shao smiled slightly and agreed: “Your Highness is right. The mastermind is nothing more than those few people. If you want to find out, you will eventually know who it is.”

“…”

Nothing more than those few people?

Xiao Jin thought, the female lead’s words were truly arrogant. It didn’t sound like something a princess of a fallen country would say.

But Xiao Jin wasn’t surprised that Chu Shao spoke so casually.

After all, Chu Shao’s personality was like that, so she wasn’t surprised by anything she did.

However, Chu Shao was also right. Those who wanted something from the original owner were nothing more than the most noble people in Qi.

Xiao Jin felt a little relieved and put away the crape myrtle token: “Indeed, it’s nothing more than those few people. Since someone wanted to kill me last time, there will definitely be a next time.”

“However, this time he left a flaw, and perhaps we can explore it from this flaw.”

“What flaw?” Chu Shao asked.

Xiao Jin answered concisely: “In a way, this flaw is thanks to the Princess.”

Chu Shao smiled, seemingly surprised: “Oh?”

Xiao Jin explained: “Because the Princess’s swordsmanship is too superb, she didn’t leave a single survivor when dealing with the assassins, so I can only get information from the dead now.”

Chu Shao smiled slightly. She really didn’t know that she had inadvertently made such a “great contribution.”

“However, I don’t have the ability to make the dead speak. Perhaps I can only let that person pry something out.”

••••

The rain in the capital had stopped.

The pharmacy shop deep in Cangjin Alley opened its doors early, and Su Tan picked up a broom and swept away the last pile of snow in front of the door.

She only had one broom and only swept the snow in front of her own door.

Not because she was unsociable. After all, the surrounding shop owners had gone south for the New Year and wouldn’t be back until next year.

The south was a good place, with wild geese and hot springs.

If she hadn’t had old debts to repay many years ago, Su Tan might have returned to the south by now, planting herbs and taking care of the seasonal flowers.

Su Tan leaned against the door, squinting at the crystal-clear sky, suddenly missing the winters of Yao Country and the honeysuckle flowers that grew everywhere.

Unfortunately, Su Tan didn’t have much time to reminisce.

Because recently, she had found her debtor and might be able to find a way to repay some of her old debts.

However, it would take time.

Su Tan sighed. Although she knew she didn’t have much time, she still felt that she needed to plan carefully to find a way to infiltrate the heavily guarded Lord Yan’s Mansion.

This thought only lasted for a moment.

Because the next moment, a carriage broke through the morning mist and sped toward her.

The neighing of the horses echoed, just like the night a few days ago when a group of uninvited guests broke into Cangjin Alley.

Su Tan watched dozens of guards jump out of the carriage. They were wearing silver armor and looked like brave and skilled soldiers.

But these soldiers were all holding pots of green mint. Some had a few small white flowers, and some were wilted from the rain and didn’t even want to bloom.

It seemed that the owner of these mint plants didn’t know how to take care of flowers.

Thinking of this, Su Tan guessed who the owner of the mint was and asked the soldiers, knowing the answer: “May I ask where you came from?”

“Miss Su, we came from Lord Yan’s Mansion.”

The soldiers in silver armor smiled brightly, seemingly not feeling how inappropriate it was for seven-foot tall men to appear at her door holding green plants.

After all, they had done even more inappropriate things.

They had even snatched a bride from the street, and it was a prince’s bride, which was truly thrilling.

After listening to the soldiers’ words, Su Tan was silent for a long time.

Because it had been many years since anyone had called her “Miss Su.”

Looking at the energetic guards, and then thinking about the disabled prince in Lord Yan’s Mansion, after a long time, Su Tan found it difficult to imagine how a violent god of death could lead such a vibrant group of soldiers.

If they were just vibrant, that would be fine.

But the key was that the guards piled dozens of pots of mint at the door of her pharmacy shop without saying a word, shouting: “Miss Su, these flowers and plants are specially sent to you by His Highness. We’ll just leave them here for you.”

Su Tan couldn’t say anything, because she didn’t want to accept the mint plants sent by Xiao Jin.

But since she still wanted to infiltrate Lord Yan’s Mansion, she had no reason to refuse.

But whether she accepted or refused, it would look suspicious. After all, it was suspicious that Xiao Jin had inexplicably sent her dozens of pots of mint.

Just as Su Tan was speechless, the most suspicious thing happened.

In the freezing snow, a middle-aged man in a black robe stepped off the carriage.

He had a very ordinary appearance, but when he smiled, many wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

There was a small bruise on the middle-aged man’s forehead, which looked like he had accidentally bumped into something.

But he didn’t seem to care and stepped forward, bowing humbly to her: “Doctor Su, I am the steward of Lord Yan’s Mansion. His Highness has asked me to deliver a message. I hope you will listen.”

Su Tan said politely, “Please speak.”

The middle-aged man took a few steps closer, acting very mysterious, and said to Su Tan in a low voice: “Well, His Highness doesn’t have anything serious. He just wants to ask you…”

“Ask me?”

“Ask you to help examine a corpse.”

Su Tan was silent for a long time before saying, “But I’m a doctor, not a coroner.”

The middle-aged man smiled: “His Highness said he knows, but he still wants to find you because the Dali Temple couldn’t find anything.”

Su Tan shook her head: “If the Dali Temple couldn’t find anything, what can I find?”

“But His Highness said he believes you can find something.”

Su Tan was expressionless: “His Highness believes I can examine a corpse? So that’s why he would rather find a pharmacy shop owner to examine a corpse than hire a coroner?”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then smiled embarrassedly: “Doctor Su, actually His Highness may not believe in you, but in himself.”

Su Tan looked at the middle-aged man with a bump on his forehead. She found that everyone in Lord Yan’s Mansion was quite ill.

••••

It was a sunny day, but the main courtyard of Lord Yan’s Mansion was very empty.

Because Lord Yan was in a good mood today and brought a woman back from outside the mansion. It was said that the woman was a doctor and looked quite beautiful and refined.

When the servants saw Su Tan get off the carriage in a green robe, they felt that the prince’s taste had become increasingly unpredictable.

Only after Su Tan entered the main courtyard did they dare to whisper: “The Princess Consort is already the most beautiful person in the world. Why did His Highness bring that lady back to the mansion?”

“Oh, what do you know? No matter how bright the pearl at home is, it will become less precious over time. As long as he is a man, he will always take concubines.”

And the person being discussed by the servants was sitting in a wheelchair, leisurely drinking a cup of honeysuckle tea.

The tea smelled fragrant. Xiao Jin supervised Su Tan’s autopsy while handing another cup of tea on the table to Chu Shao.

Chu Shao smiled and took it: “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“You’re welcome.”

Xiao Jin picked up the cup and took a sip of tea.

Looking at Su Tan working hard, she suddenly recalled her days as a corporate slave and felt a sense of pity.

Considering that they were both corporate slaves, why make things difficult?

Although there was only one pot and two cups on the table, Xiao Jin pretended to be friendly and said to Su Tan in a calm voice: “Doctor Su, if you’re tired, have a cup of tea and take a break.”

Su Tan was holding a silver knife, and the bl00d on her hands hadn’t been wiped clean.

She turned her head and looked at Xiao Jin with a cold expression: “Your Highness, I would like to know why you insist on making tea with honeysuckle?”

For her, honeysuckle was both the flower of her homeland and a hidden scar in her heart.

Su Tan narrowed her eyes and even began to suspect that Xiao Jin knew something.

But Xiao Jin was wondering, did she need a reason to make tea with honeysuckle? What, did honeysuckle commit a crime in its previous life and offend the female supporting character?

Xiao Jin had already started to be sarcastic in her heart, but she still maintained a smile on her face.

She didn’t care about the stench of the corpse in the room or Su Tan’s resentment.

Instead, she stared at the other person and asked slowly, “Why else? This tea clears heat and detoxifies. When else should I make it?”