Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 6
"Thank you..." Zi Jin suddenly smiled sweetly at Feng Yin. Such a smile was so dazzling on the thin and slightly dark-skinned Zi Jin's face, and her eyes were like huge vortexes that sucked people's souls into them.
Fengyin was captivated by the smile, unaware that Zijin had suddenly shoved her. Fengyin fell onto Zijin's body and was immediately pulled by a golden light. She tried to break free, but the golden thread tightened more and more.
"Jin'er!" Feng Yin struggled to reach out her hand to Zi Jin for help, but Zi Jin coldly looked at the helpless hand and remained unmoved.
“This was never meant for me. My mission was to wait for the Hidden Soul to come into this world. Now that my sister has arrived, it is time for Zi Jin to leave.”
"Jin'er, let me go! If I can come in, you can come in too!"
“There’s no going back… Father… doesn’t want Jin’er, Father doesn’t want Jin’er anymore… They don’t want Jin’er either… Sister, you must help Jin’er take care of Father… Father… Sister… Jin’er hates… Jin’er hates so much… so much…”
Feng Yin's vision was already blurred; Zi Jin's frail body gradually became transparent until it was so faint that it could no longer be seen. Feng Yin's vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
When Fengyin opened her eyes again, her mind was a blur. She found herself still lying on Zijin's bed. The scene of Zijin pushing her flashed before her eyes again, and she hurriedly jumped off the bed. Before she could even finish the jump, Fengyin knew she had a physical form again.
She sat blankly on the edge of the bed, unable to accept the fact that she had been reborn into Zi Jin's body.
After a long while, Feng Yin still hadn't seen a single maid or servant come to attend to her, and she felt a little strange. Seeing that Zi Yin Feng's anger when Zi Jin was seriously ill didn't seem fake, could something have happened at the General's Mansion?
Without even straightening her clothes, Fengyin hurriedly ran towards the front courtyard she remembered. Before she even reached the front courtyard, she heard a sharp, piercing voice that was neither male nor female.
"...I heard that the General's beloved son was on the verge of death three days ago. I hereby grant permission for the young prince and his sister to enter the palace to recuperate. This is my decree."
"Your subject...accepts the imperial decree."
As Feng Yin entered, she saw Zi Yingfeng's family rising to receive the imperial decree. She slowly walked over, timidly stood beside the general, and looked up at Zi Yingfeng.
The general's wife, Madam Zi Ruan, straightened the twins' clothes with slightly red eyes, whispering intimate words to them.
Zi Yingfeng glanced down and saw Zi Jin, whose hair was disheveled, clothes were rumpled, and feet were bare. He shouted angrily, "How dare you show your face in the front courtyard! Drag the young master away!"
None of the melodramatic family scenes that Feng Yin had envisioned materialized, leaving her dumbfounded in the face of Zi Yingfeng's anger.
Could it be that I was seeing things the day Zi Jin was sick? No, I've become Zi Jin, and the events of that day are still vivid in my mind, how could it be fake?
The maidservant quickly pulled Zi Jin into the inner room, deftly washing and tidying her hair and clothes.
Looking at Zi Jin's reflection in the mirror, Feng Yin thought, "If this little girl were as beautiful as a twin, perhaps she wouldn't be so neglected by her father." She wondered where Zi Jin's soul had gone. It was strange; Feng Yin had seen so many dead people, yet she had never seen a living soul. How could Zi Jin live while her soul left her body? There were many oddities about her.
Zi Yingfeng walked to Zi Jin's side. He had tried to hide Zi Jin's existence all these years, but in the end, he couldn't. If Zi Jin hadn't fallen ill at this critical juncture, he certainly wouldn't have alarmed the imperial physician; and if the imperial physician hadn't been alarmed, he wouldn't have known of Jin'er's existence. He also blamed himself for being too impulsive when Jin'er was ill, for unleashing that thunderous rage; the spies in the palace would surely have reported the truth.
An illness rendered all that he had done over the years futile.
"Jin'er, come over here." Zi Yingfeng opened his arms and squatted down next to Zi Jin.
Having just experienced Zi Yinfeng's unpredictable temper, Feng Yin looked up at him uneasily, but hesitated to approach him for a long time.
Zi Yingfeng stepped forward and pulled her into his arms: "I've wronged you all these years. It's all my fault. After you enter the palace, you must remember that the Zi family doesn't have a third young lady, only a young master, understand?"
Feng Yin was completely stunned, her heart trembling: "General, this is the crime of deceiving the emperor! It's punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! Aren't you afraid of death? If you're really not afraid of death, don't take your whole family with you!"
Zi Yingfeng secured a simple wooden hairpin to Feng Yin's male-style hair bun, then patted the jade pendant hanging from her chest under her brocade dress, and said, "Jin'er, you must wear the wooden hairpin and the Soul-Gathering Jade with you wherever you go. Do you understand?"
Kazane was still in a daze.
Zi Yingfeng stood up, glanced down again, and then turned and walked towards the outer room.
Feng Yin stared blankly at that lonely and desperate figure, and her heart... suddenly ached terribly. Without realizing it, she chased after him and grabbed Zi Yingfeng's collar.
Zi Yingfeng's eyes reddened slightly. He suddenly squatted down and hugged her tightly, looking fragile and desperate.
Fengyin leaned on Ziyinfeng's shoulder, wrapped her arms around the general's neck, and gently touched his cheek with her lips.
His resolute face was filled with the sorrow of parting and the despair of a desperate gamble.
Zi Yingfeng suddenly stared blankly at Feng Yin, his expression excited, his hands trembling: "Jin'er? Is Jin'er back?..."
Feng Yin frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. Was this a bit too much?
Zi Yingfeng carefully observed Feng Yin's expression, his eyes flashing with wild joy. He hugged Feng Yin tightly, holding her close as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones: "Jin'er, you've finally returned. It really is Jin'er who's back!... Jin'er, you... believe me, I will definitely take you away, and from now on... we'll never be apart again, never again!"
After a long while, he let go of her hand, gazed at her, and turned to leave. That turn seemed resolute, as if he had made a firm decision.
Feng Yin stared blankly at Zi Yingfeng's receding figure. Was this... going too far? This father was too strange, no! He was simply too eerie!
The servants had already tidied up Zi Jin's clothes, which consisted of only one bundle.
The twins' luggage filled four large trunks, requiring a horse-drawn carriage to fit them.
Fengyin sighed inwardly: This world is truly unfair.
Kazane got into the car with the twins, who looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
His eyes seemed to say: When did we get such a big brother?
The other person replied with a glance: I don't know.
Feng Yin finally understood that when she investigated Zi Jin before, it wasn't that the servants kept quiet about the injustices Zi Jin had suffered, but rather that only the two servants and the steward who took care of Zi Jin knew of her existence in the vast General's Mansion.
If Zi Jin hadn't fallen ill, she wouldn't have needed to come to the palace this time, right? No wonder I've never seen any other servants enter or leave Xiyin Pavilion; now I understand why that place is called Xiyin Pavilion.
Feng Yin thought for a moment: Zi Jin has never had any contact with anyone since childhood, so how did she know about "Hidden Soul" and the uses of Soul Gathering Jade and Steel Hairpin? How many secrets does Zi Jin hold?
When Fengyin first saw the gates of the imperial city, she tried her best to hypnotize herself: I am Zi Jin, I am Zi Jin, I am Zi Jin, I am Zi Jin...
Fengyin was unaware that when she took over Zijin's possession, Fengyin ceased to exist in this world, leaving only Zijin.
Once inside the palace, the twins were taken away by Consort Zi Ruan's younger sister, the Imperial Noble Consort, leaving Zi Jin alone with the eunuch who was leading the way.